>>
>
> Chuck replied
>
>>
>> All the more reason to engage in civil disobedience.
>
>
> Chuck, it might be a good idea to read what you are replying to. Lou was
> AGREEING with you, supporting the action in Holland tunnel - saying that
> awareness is high enough that this is a good time for that kind of tatic.
Right. I've already apologized for putting my foot squarely in my mouth.
> I have a question for both of you and Lou since you agree on this. What
> good exactly does it do? A strike costs elites money. The disruption of
> ordinary folks lives is incidental. Generally CD and direct action do
> two things. They raise costs for elites and eductate the public.
> (Sometimes they also build solidarity within a movement.) Which of these
> three purposes does blocking the Holland tunnel serve, and how? This is
> not a rhetorical question; I am not in or from the NY area, so I have no
> idea of how blocking the Holland tunnel would affect elites. And while I
> can't think of how CD by 25 people will educate people or build
> movement solidarity, perhaps it does do one of these thing.
I think actions like blocking the Holland Tunnel have to be seen in the context of bigger campaigns of direct action and civil disobedience. Today's action, in and of itself, was not a terrible blow to the power elites. But when more of these actions start happening, they start adding up. The big Seattle protests of 1999 were the culmination of years of smaller actions.
Actions like today's put the elites on notice that resistance will grow and risks will be taken if the elites continue with their policies. Today, one tunnel. Two months from now, all the tunnels and bridges. Since actions like this one tend to inspire and "rally the troops," so to speak, a small action can have a multiplying effect. Several weeks ago somebody altered around a dozen billboards in Ohio. Other people see that and start imitating.
I'm not sure how effective this protest was in educating the public, but it did put the elites on notice and has provided some inspiration to activists.
And everybody is out of jail at this point.
Chuck0
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"The state can't give you free speech, and the state can't take it away. You're born with it, like your eyes, like your ears. Freedom is something you assume, then you wait for someone to try to take it away. The degree to which you resist is the degree to which you are free..." ---Utah Phillips