OlyPMR Women's Caucus takes direct action for global human rights

author : Kyle Taylor Lucas topic : Port Militarization Resistance | Port of Olympia | Iraq Occupation

by Kyle Taylor Lucas

Though conspicuously absent from mainstream media coverage, evidence of authentic democracy was demonstrated by 39 women who locked arms and placed their bodies on the line at the Port of Olympia on Nov. 13. They took action for human rights and to stop use of the Port of Olympia as a revolving door to perpetuate war on an innocent nation, as well as to stop the killing and maiming of our men and women in the armed forces. They stood in solidarity on behalf of human rights and in support of Iraqi women who are being murdered and whose families, lives, country, and culture are being destroyed.

The women’s caucus of the Olympia Port Militarization Resistance (OlyPMR) held the Port of Olympia main gate with their bodies and averted passage of Stryker combat vehicles returning from Iraq. These 39 courageous women and their female supporters organized throughout the afternoon, then formed a human blockade in opposition to the illegal and immoral occupation of a sovereign country and the massacre of more than 1 million innocent Iraqi civilians. Their female supporters in like numbers stood behind, fast and strong, and joined their voices in unity as they faced and advised the forty Olympia cops standing in full riot gear ahead of them: “No force is necessary, we are nonviolent. No weapons on our bodies, we are nonviolent.” One observer wondered at the irony and rhetorically asked, “Who will protect us from our own police?”

“I went to the port tonight in solidarity with women globally who struggle to stop human rights abuses,” said Shizuno Wynkoop, “and to support soldiers by keeping them home with their families instead of sent off to war.” Another participant, Patty Imani, expressed grave concerns about the potential health hazards that the community is being exposed to by the depleted uranium in the returning military equipment.

Following an earlier weekend miscalculation of a convoy route and blockade, as the routes kept changing, the women’s caucus met several times over two days and decided upon a more organized action, with the support of the main body and other affinity groups. During the course of the late afternoon and Tuesday evening, as the women waited for the Stryker combat vehicles to exit the port, they were attacked by racist and sexist taunts and jeers, and threats of violence from the flag-waving war supporters positioned on the opposing corner.

Originally, nine women committed to the direct action, with about a dozen women supporting. As the afternoon wore on and more and more women arrived at the port gates, they joined the line as participants and as legal and medical support. The action was planned and coordinated solely by the women’s caucus. However, dozens of male allies formed a human shield between the women and the haters, whose hostility and threats had escalated.

The tension was palpable as the riot police rolled in equipment that appeared at first to be a cannon. Many wondered aloud if the police intended to shoot into the crowd, but it turned out to be a portable light pole that, once lit, added to the ominous picture of 40 cops outfitted in full Darth Vaderesque riot gear, with batons and guns staring down 39 women peacefully seated with linked arms. The courage of these women was exemplified by the fact that many had already been traumatized by random and brutal police assault during previous days—some of whom were exercising their right to free speech and others who were mere bystanders and witnesses. After witnessing the excessive force—and in some cases downright brutality—against non-violent protesters, none will ever look at the police in the same way.

Predictably, the corporate media blacked out the real story of these brave women who put their bodies on the line for humanity and peace. The Olympian chose instead to sensationalize and focus on isolated property damage incidents and the actions of non-OlyPMR activists who threw rocks, rather than to tell the story of 39 courageous women who stood for peace and human rights. Had they done so, they would have been obliged to contrast the police arrests of 39 women who were exercising their free speech rights in the very same way as the protesters they had brutalized with pepper spray, batons, bean bag rounds, pepper ball rounds, tear gas, concussion grenades, and stinger balls in the preceding days. As the women embarked upon their action, foremost in their minds were the stories of protesters who reported riot police who lifted their goggles to directly spray pepper spray into their eyes (that is, unnecessary force and police brutality).

Countless untold stories abound. In particular, the threats, violence, and assault of the pro-war camp have gone unreported. As one example, one of the men from that camp—in view of police who did nothing—hurled obscenities and exposed his genitalia to the arrested women confined in a city transit bus. But how could the public know of this when the local daily paper, The Olympian, failed to report the police assaults on three of its own journalists as news, evidence of which was captured on video? They only reported it in an editorial the following week. Beyond that, their reporters failed to accurately report the violence against the people. For example, they failed to report on the contrast between police actions occurring on Saturday morning when police directly sprayed men and women protesters who were doing nothing but linking arms in front of the port gates, and that of the 39 women who did the same and who were arrested. Further, there were accounts of unprofessional conduct by the Olympia Police Department that beg for investigation.

Other untold stories include differences among the affinity groups in terms of strategy and tactics. Though everyone supported the action as it unfolded, issues have since been raised about inclusiveness, about race and ethnicity, and about ability. The movement is evolving and growing pains are inevitable. A challenge will be to ensure that in its evolution, it is a movement that is diverse and inclusive.

Though 39 women who resisted, were arrested and released, didn’t stop the war, they slowed it down. There is no blueprint for stopping war, but together, during 11 days of resistance in Olympia, and after their elected leaders had failed them, people united and rose up to try. The women’s caucus, though ignored by mainstream media, called attention to the inhumanity of war, to the plight of women in Iraq whose voices are not heard here in North America, and they made a resounding statement for democracy and the power of the people. The bloggers and alternative media are reporting across the nation. People are watching and listening worldwide, and similar movements are afoot.

A majority of Americans want an end to the war, and the people have exhausted all of their options. They worked hard and elected a Democratic Congress who promised to end the war and occupation of Iraq, and yet time and again the Democratic Congress has betrayed the people’s trust. The Port of Olympia is complicit by creating a revolving door for the war machine, and members of OlyPMR regard it as a moral and human duty for the people to take to the streets.

The women united in this action and the members of the Olympia Port Militarization Resistance and other affinity groups who occupied the Port of Olympia in resistance over 11 long days have shone a beacon of hope and inspiration across the nation and world. It is a beacon of hope for peace, a beacon of hope for the power of the people to act when betrayed by their elected leaders, and it is a beacon of hope for democracy.

Kyle Taylor Lucas is an Indigenous woman of North America and a member of the Olympia Port Militarization Resistance and of the OlyPMR Women’s Caucus. She provided legal ground support during 11 days of recent resistance at the Port of Olympia and is a long-term human and civil rights activist, who, as an opinion columnist for the Olympian, expressed early opposition to an attack on Iraq and its sovereign peoples and has since actively opposed occupation.