Standing up to foreign aggression and domestic repression: No compromise on justice

author : Mat Slobodkin topic : Port Militarization Resistance | Port of Olympia

by Mat Slobodkin

Of the "Olympia 22" I was probably least involved in the protests in terms of organization and planning. I had heard of the port resistance movement as many of my close friends were among the organizers and were continually being arrested the week before the 30th of May, the day on which I was arrested. I am a bit ashamed to say that I was unwilling to join earlier due to my reluctance to become involved in anything that might interfere with my final weeks of studies. On May 30th I heard about a rally at the port and decided to go.

It is wrong to back away in fear if the struggle is as right and as urgent as an act against an illegal and immoral occupation. I have not regretted for one moment the actions I took on that day. To give in to such a brutal show of force would encourage the police and the ports to use these tactics again. In being there on that day, the Olympia 22 have forced the police and the port to carry their illogically vicious policies to resolution, and only in this will their actions be met with true consequences. If none of us had gone to jail, the police would not have to defend their actions, and everyone would have forgotten.

I find myself in a position to compromise (plea bargain ) and save myself from spending more money and time going to trial, not to mention the even higher possible cost of a conviction. In doing so, I would show the police that their tactics work, and even worse, discourage further protesters from taking the stand the Olympia 22 took that day. I cannot.

One thing I want to emphasize is that I was not arrested for my actions on that day. I was arrested for riot. The Washington State Penal Code defines riot quite clearly.

RCW 9A.84.010

Riot.

(1) A person is guilty of the crime of riot if, acting with three or more other persons, he or she knowingly and unlawfully uses or threatens to use force, or in any way participates in the use of such force, against any other person or against property.

This is a crime that I never committed.

I feel that these charges against us, and in particular the blatantly false charges of riot against Daniel and I, are attempts to suppress future resistance and speech against not only the war, but future, perhaps unforeseen, issues. While the war is obviously the urgent subject, the tactics used by police, and so far condoned by the courts, challenge the ability of future generations to speak up against illegal acts by our government. In my eyes, this repression is the most dangerous threat to our freedom and our political power as a people. If allowed to stand, the acts at the port of Olympia by the police would rob us not only of our own voices, but rob future generations of their voices as well.