Welcome to the "new Normal" -- Just imagine --
A community college holds a graduation ceremony which features a politician who has done his best to dismantle education in California. Some students, faculty and staff object to his presence at this event, and attempt to have him "disinvited." They follow protocol in trying to get on the Board of Trustees meeting agenda only to be denied. Thanks to that pretense of democracy in Board decision-making, the public comment session is dominated by community, faculty and students offering a range of reasons for rescinding the invitation to the Governor. Even with the Governor's office insisting on having 48-hours prior to the event to inform the college as to whether or not he will actually attend, the Board ignores the dissention and proceeds with the intention of having the Governor as commencement speaker. This despite the clear display of acrimony that this decision has engendered among such a diverse representation of SMC and the Santa Monicacommunity.
As word of this development circulates, various organizations [labor, community, immigrant-rights, women's, among others] decide to exercise their rights of freedom of speech and assembly. In response, SMC administration and local law enforcement commence to curtail the expression of these rights. They invoke concerns for "security" and "decorum" as sufficient cause to deny the expression of those rights. Yet, as evidenced by the current debates in the U.S. Congress over the extension of the U.S.A. Patriot Act, we are living in the "new Normal" where dissent, disagreement and critique equate to disloyalty and being unpatriotic -- or worse, being a "person of special interest" worthy of indiscriminant detention. So we were not surprised by the "show of force" and close surveillance [i.e., cameras and undercover officers] by various law enforcement agencies that permeated the event. We learned that only in the specially designated "free speech zones" on campus were political messages allowed. I videotaped campus police refusing to allow a student wearing a chicken suit with a political message as well as faculty and students displaying political messages [t-shirts, buttons, and placards]from going anywhere near the library where a reception for the Governor was to be held. They were threatened with ejection from the campus and arrest if they did not comply with the orders to leave the area. They/We complied and headed to the football stadium where the graduation ceremony was to be held. All along the way we were shadowed by cops on bikes, plain clothes security talking into their lapels, and poorly disguised undercover cops. Clearly they hoped their physical intimidation tactics would prevent us from committing some nefarious deed. So imagine our surprise when the "chicken guy" was allowed to enter the stadium without being searched, questioned, or deterred. Upon further consideration I and others decided to accompany him for his own protection. Inside it became quickly apparent that he was going to be closely surveilled. No less than a SMPD detective took a post directly next to me with anywhere from 6 to 10 undercover cops close by. We exchanged video shots -- this not being the first time we had made contact in my capacity as a NLG legal observer covering numerous protests. A couple of alert faculty on the stage informed us that they had overheard cops on the radio discuss how to remove "chicken boy" from the stadium. This became a dilemma for security since he wasn't breaking any laws nor engaging in disruptive behavior. Fortunately the chicken was allowed to stay and express his right to free speech. While elsewhere in the stands, cops confiscated banners being held up by protesting students -- not outsiders as reported by some. In the end "chicken boy" made it out unscathed except for numerous fans wishing to pose with him for photos.
What difference did all this activity make?? Time will be the judge as they say, but I want all those dissenting people inside and outside the stadium to know that for many it amounted to "shock and awe." Some of those observers would clarify that they found it "shocking and awful" while others of us would characterize it as "shockingly awesome!" And that little tingle in your gut when you were at your most "shockingly awesome" -- that's the sense of EMPOWERMENT that comes with taking a stand and speaking truth to power. I am enormously proud to have shared this historic event with my "comrades in arms" -- a war metaphor that unfortunately in warranted in academe of late. But as pointed out by others we cannot let this momentum succumb to business as usual. It is vital that the coalition-building and alliances forged by this battle be maintained for those conflicts to come. Remember what democracy should look like, and how precious it is right now.
"Saoirse, Ceart agus Siochain,"*
Gail Livings
Social Sciences
* Gaelic for “Freedom, Justice and Peace”
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