> I know some Assistant US Attorneys who'd give it a
> try. And some judges who might listen, under the right circumstances.
Of course, anything is possible when it comes to the courts and the cops. Just look at the ongoing Eric McDavid case in California where young activists were entrapped by the FBI. Or the Rod Coronado trial in San Diego where they are trying to convict him of simply talking about how to make a bomb.
I'm all too aware about what the U.S. state does to activists. After all, I run the news site where most activists share news about these cases.
You teach law classes, right? Lawyers always look at radical militant dissent through conservative glasses. Even radical lawyers. Your concern is valid, but I think most activists would agree with me that your take is overly alarmist, even with the current political climate.
I brought up this discussion just tonight with some comrades at our infoshop. One of them pointed out that thousands of activists around the country engage in civil disobedience on a weekly basis. Yes, some do get hit pretty hard by the state, but this was the case before 9/11. I'll add that there are lots of people out there engaging in acts more hardcore than civil disobedience.
By the way, it was amusing to hear about the arrests this weekend at the U.S. Capitol. Civil disobedience at an ANSWER protest? Must be non-ANSWER activists who organized that or perhaps ANSWER has a fresh crop of organizers who are more willing to organize outside of the box.
Chuck