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Elliott's CM Manifesto

From: elliott young

Date: Nov 28, 1994

Subject: Hegemony and the State

 

Biker Friends and Comrades,

 

I have been remiss at reading my e-mail for a week and discovered a veritable mountian of communications. I wanted, however, to respond to a message that Fred sent last week. He argued that those who got the tickets and were arrested were the most vocal and by sticking out made themselves open for arrest.

 

First, this is not always true. On the 9/30 ride I attempted to remain so incognito that I took to wearing a wig. I made no attempt to shout, look at, let alone speak to the cops. I was still given a ticket for 3 abreast when it was not the case. When I was arrested last year I had merely asked why Brendan was being arrested. While it is true that Joshua told the police that they were an illegitimate authority, they arrested him for a warrant that he already had.

 

My point is that whether one actually commits a violation or not, they can and have been arrested and given tickets. And it is a pain to fight it in the courts because a judge will always believe a cop over a young or otherwise disenfranchised person. The second point, and more important, is that Fred's advice cooperates and accepts the hegemony of the State. If we speak out, which is still protected by the Constitution, then we have openned ourselves to be harrased. The problem, I believe, is not that Joshua spoke truthfully or that others shouted profanity at cops who were stealing their bikes and arresting their freinds. The problem is that more of us did not join in. For those of us who were there on 12/3/93, we all saw how the situation got beyond the cotrol of the cops. The whole group shouted "To Serve and Protect the Rich from the Poor" and the cops had to leave with their token arrests. They would have arrested more individuals but they could not arrest the mass, so we won.

 

Of course, every time one decides, or as in most cases does not decide, to stand up and speak out, one hopes there will be others behind him or her. If we allow the cops to silence us from lawful speech then we have accepted their illegitimate power. If we are not ready for mass direct confrontation, again legal (but surely grounds for arrest), then I think we should puruse alternative strategies.

 

As for the City Council, the City Manager, and the rest: For those of you who have the energy and time, go for it. There is something useful about demonstarting the illegitimacy of police power. Perhaps a demonstartion in front of the police station would bring our message to the belly of the beast. Though I agree that the beast is the whole City government, Henry Ford, the Big 3, and worldwide capitalism, the cops happen to be the agency directly responsible for harrassing us. Plus, I think making the issue police harrassment will allow CM to make links to other communities that experience this type of thing everyday -- blacks, latinos, poor people, street kids.

 

This is not just about not being able to have a bike ride. The emperor wears no clothes. But Fred, we cannot keep silent about it because we are afraid to draw attention to ourselves. There is no way to avoid tickets and arrests by being inconspicuous, only by not riding with CM. So I guess I agree that we should press on with 12/9 as planned, but we should also make a committment to ourselves to draw a line in the pavement. When they cross the thin blue line, we should either be ready for collective action (at a later date) or start checking the listings for cheap pick-up trucks.

 

Get up, stand up- stand up for your rights,

 

Elliott