I was reading the newspaper the other day and read about Cynthia West. No, she’s not famous. But, she did decide to take civil action and was describing her experiences. Which reverberated in my soul.

You see, Cynthia quit her job as a bartender, packed up her things and drove out to Sacred Stone Camp (part of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation). Because she decided she wanted to help the Native Americans protect their lands (RAA: although it may not be their land) from the oil pipeline construction in North Dakota- and to protect their (and our) water resources from spills (RAA: this is more certain).

She was surprised that a contingent of several hundred police officers from 8 states, replete with military armored vehicles and riot gear, were sent to confront the peaceful protesters. (Compare and contrast that with what the Feds did when alt-right, armed protesters took over a federal park and offices.) Basically, the protesters were attacked with noise, rubber bullets, and tear gas.

Oh, and they were arrested and placed in cages. (There was “officially” no space in the jail.) 32 folks in a 10 by 14 foot cage, all with their hands tied behind their back (with “flex-cuffs”), with no real accommodations. (There was a concrete floor.) [A total of 140 folks were arrested like this.] The next morning, the prisoners were transported to Fargo, where they were strip searched, charged with conspiracy to endanger, maintaining a public nuisance, and rioting- and then left in jail. (The sheriff was quoted as saying he was very angry that so few of those arrested were “locals”.)

An anonymous donor paid for Cynthia’s $1500 bond. The donor also had to drop $ 800 to get her car released, since it was impounded during her arrest. (Since the brake fluid was drained “as a present for her” and the steering column was also damaged, the donor also paid the towing fee of $ 118.60 to get it to a service center.)

Now, you might think this is an aberration. But, I know it’s not. It’s a long standing practice of how sheriffs (and other law enforcement types) deal with non-violent protesters.

Back in the 1960s, Tennessee was less than thrilled to have “Northern Agitators” come down to help register Blacks to vote. And, the “lawmen” chased after the activists with guns. (Of course, in other cities, billy clubs, fire hoses, as well as guns were used to “suppress” the protesters. Folks were killed and maimed by the “authorities”.)

A few years later, Mayor Daley of Chicago thought it appropriate to send in riot police and the Illinois National Guard to bash the heads of peaceful protesters at the Democratic convention. Daley had voided the permits for the demonstrators in Lincoln Park, so he could use “appropriate force”. (There were no plastic flexicuffs back then- when arrested, real handcuffs were used.) The carnage led the venerable newsman of CBS,  Walter Cronkite, to intone, “I think we’ve got a bunch of thugs here, if I may be permitted to say so.” He was talking about Daley’s minions, not the demonstrators!

When there were demonstrations at the Pentagon in 1971 May Day Protests, the “authorities” rounded up some 12,000 of the protesters and placed them in fenced in areas.  We didn’t call them cages then. But, since they were illegally arrested and mistreated, many did receive (almost a decade later) damages of $ 10,000 apiece- one of the very few demonstrators to have received compensation.  (This was via an act of Congress.)

And, most of you have seen the acclaimed movie Selma, that depicts the actual events that folks encountered while they attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge. In reaction to the alt-right agitation that accompanied this past political election, Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld (The National Synagogue, DC) decided to educate the young- and the old- as to this encounter.

Over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend, folks will be traveling to Selma and Montgomery, Alabama. That’s the congregation of Rav Shmuel, along with several other religious communities. Where they will visit various sites and meet with local (surviving) members of this march to learn first-hand what was involved.

I don’t know if there is still space (I know most of the hotels in the area have been booked), but if might be something y’all should attend.

Because this part of our history should never be repeated.

Share this: