A personal account of the women's action at the Port of Olympia

author : Daisy Montague topic : Port Militarization Resistance | Port of Olympia | Police Misconduct | Iraq Occupation

by Daisy Montague

November 13, 2007, a Tuesday evening around 9 pm, will be forever etched in my mind as a day when a group of strong women took direct action to halt the war of aggression against people in Iraq. I and 38 other women decided to sit in front of the main gates of the port of Olympia to stop the military vehicles from the 2nd infantry 3rd brigade from moving from the Port of Olympia to Fort Lewis military base, where they would be recommissioned only to be returned to Iraq to continue the bloodshed again. We do not agree with the military occupation of Iraq and feel that we have exhausted our options. Petitioning and writing letters to our congress people in an attempt to end the war have been to no avail.

When the women’s group was established to create an action without any male bodies, I was concerned that we would be reducing our numbers by half. The police have a tendency to be more aggressive toward the smaller groups of protesters. I was worried, but my sisters in the women’s group reassured me that this decision would not only create a huge impact on the community, but would also attract more women to join us. They were right. We began with about 15 women who wanted to be a part of the direct action and eight who wanted to be a part of the support group. Our direct action group numbers more than doubled and our support group numbered 300 people who were at the scene of the protest.

As soon as the riot police arrived on the scene, we made our move. The energy was high as we linked arms in communion and made a line that stretched from the sidewalk at Batdorf & Bronson coffee roasters to the edge of the gate on the opposite side of the street. We sat down with arms linked, many with bandanas around our necks and goggles on our heads to protect ourselves from the chemical weapons that the police had been using so generously on anti-war protesters. As we occupied the road, our support people moved to the right of us to protect us from the heckling of the pro-war protestors. We also had people behind us chanting, “Ain’t no power like the power of the sistas because the power of the sistas don’t stop!”

The women of this action sat on the cold pavement in solidarity with the women of Iraq and women all over the world who are victims of violence by outside forces, as well as hostile intimate forces in their own homes. We continually communicated to the police that we were non-violent protestors and that no force was necessary to remove us from the streets.

As I think back on the action the women took, I understand what a profound and human achievement we were a part of. In our patriarchal society, women are considered to be weak, submissive, and domesticated in their natural right; I believe we were courageous and powerful in our challenge of the state apparatus. It was amazing to see the cops squirm as they changed their tactics to clear out a road full of women, as opposed to a group of integrated protestors. There were two news teams with cameras on the police and us during the action, which probably swayed the police from using unnecessary force. The police hauled us off one-by-one into vans and into a city bus hired from InterCity Transit of Olympia. It took the van an entire hour to get to the city jail, mere blocks away. They held us until 4 in the morning.

I am proud to have been arrested on these terms of civil disobedience along with the other courageous women. These people understand that it is our duty as civilians of the USA to challenge a corrupt government that is waging an aggressive war against a country that poses no threat to our safety. May the power of the people never stop, and may the women be leaders of the movement that has come to call in our own city of Olympia.