Michael Bray
\nFebruary, 2008<\/p>\n
Not all folks who oppose the war in Iraq are Communists.\u00a0 But most of those engaged in the harassment of the Marine Recruiting Station in Berkeley are.[1]<\/a>\u00a0 Why is it that Communists block access to young people who want to volunteer to fight their country\u2019s wars, but they oppose and obstruct\u00a0 those who simply want to speak<\/em> against (quite short of blocking access to) abortion?\u00a0 Why do we tolerate these blockaders but not Christians who block access to abortion \u201cclinics\u201d?<\/p>\n This action in Berkeley reminds us of her ideological sister city, Oakland (see our Oakland City Council story at http:\/\/www.uncleraisin.com\/UR\/CA\/Oakland01.asp<\/a>), which passed an ordinance to suppress the speech of anti-abortionists outside abortion facilities.\u00a0 And so it was no surprise to find Library Trustee Ying Lee, former Berkeley councilmember and former aide to Communist Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, participating in the anti-Marine Recruiting Station protest.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n Among the groups involved with the protest were \u201cCode Pink, A.N.S.W.E.R., Courage to Resist, Veterans for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War, the ACLU\u201d according to the anti-war participants World Can\u2019t Wait.[3]<\/a>\u00a0 The particular three who were arrested were wearing orange jump suits and had chained themselves together to prevent people from entering the Recruiting Station.[4]<\/a>\u00a0 Their attire simulated that worn by federal prisoners and in particular was designed to show solidarity with the terrorist prisoners detained at Guantanamo Bay.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n Steve Rubenstein and Kevin Fagan, staff writers of the San Francisco Chronicle<\/em>, report as follows on the arrest of three orange-clad World Can\u2019t Wait members on February 2, 2008:<\/p>\n The demonstrators snapped their locks shut at 7 a.m. and spent the next 7 1\/2 hours blocking the door, waving and chanting as hundreds of cars driving by honked in support. Finally, at 2:30 p.m., police snipped the chains and arrested them.<\/p>\n Two of the three were cited for blocking a business and released, and the third was booked into jail on an unrelated traffic warrant, police said. . .<\/p>\n At one point, UC Berkeley student Kyrolos El Giheny walked up to the front door\u00a0 and tried to go inside to talk to Lund about a possible Marine career. He was unable to get past the chained protesters.<\/p>\n \u201cThey told me, \u2018No business as usual today,\u2019 \u201c El Giheny said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of nutty. It\u2019s really an infringement on my rights.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul Chin photographed three police officers observing the action from across the street.[6]<\/a>\u00a0 They watched as three persons blocked access for an entire work day.\u00a0\u00a0 The action of these three police officers may be sharply contrasted with that taken against Donna Holman in Iowa City.\u00a0 Mrs. Holman blocked no<\/em> access, carried no <\/em>chains, did not<\/em> lock herself together with two protestors.\u00a0 She simply handed out tracts to women who were entering an abortion \u201cclinic.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 For this, she was jailed for 30 days (after refusing to get a psychiatric evaluation and submitting to any drug treatment that might be prescribed), put on probation for a year, fined $760.00, and required to put up $1000 bail following her initial arrest.\u00a0 I.e. she was well harassed<\/em> in consequence of handing our literature.<\/p>\n So what about this double standard on \u201cprotesting\u201d?\u00a0 Why are anti-war blockaders treated so leniently in comparison to anti-abortion blockaders? Of course, the anti-abortionists would proclaim that their action is not simply the expression of a political opinion but the actual interposition of their bodies to directly stop the killing innocent children while yet in the womb of their mothers.<\/p>\n The anti-war folk might think they are arguing the same case.\u00a0 Thus: the young ignorant potential recruit is embarking upon a course in which he will eventually put himself at risk of death.\u00a0 And, like protective, self-appointed foster parents, they are intruding themselves into the process to disrupt a \u201cbad choice.\u201d\u00a0 (Well, something like that must be the logic of the matter, but I do not have a good Communist brain as is necessary to fully apprehend the comparison.)<\/p>\n [1]<\/a>Free Republic\u00a0 http:\/\/www.freerepublic.com\/focus\/f-news\/1964855\/posts<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n [2] <\/a>Judith Scherr, Berkeley Daily Planet,<\/em> Feb. 1, 2008 http:\/\/www.berkeleydailyplanet.com\/issue\/2008-02-01\/article\/29070<\/a>, retrieved on Feb. 15, 2008.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [3]<\/a> http:\/\/www.worldcantwait.net\/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4535&Itemid=223<\/a> retrieved from World Can\u2019t Wait web site on February 14, 2008.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [4]<\/a> Series of pictures of three blockaders at http:\/\/www.contracostatimes.com\/ci_8141855<\/a> and at the San Francisco Chronicle<\/em> at http:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/cgi-bin\/object\/article?o=7&f=\/c\/a\/2008\/02\/02\/BALTUQKOE.DTL<\/a> retrieved on Feb., 15, 2008.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [5]<\/a> Ibid., Free Republic<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [6]<\/a> http:\/\/www.sfgate.com\/cgi-bin\/object\/article?o=7&f=\/c\/a\/2008\/02\/02\/BALTUQKOE.DTL<\/a>, retrieved on Feb. 14, 2008.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Michael Bray February, 2008 Not all folks who oppose the war in Iraq are Communists.\u00a0 But most of those engaged in the harassment of the Marine Recruiting Station in Berkeley are.[1]\u00a0 Why is it that Communists block access to young people who want to volunteer to fight their country\u2019s wars, but they oppose and obstruct\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=326"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":328,"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326\/revisions\/328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelbray.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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