I recently posted a comment in a diary about the non-violent civil disobedience that took place in Oakland (and which is happening in many other places around the country as well), in which I linked to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 'Letter from a Birmingham Jail'. It got me thinking that this would be a good time to consider what Dr. King has to say about non-violent direct action, and the significance of what he calls 'the white moderate.'
The white moderate might see in this protesters diverting emergency services from saving lives
My purpose here is to see how Dr. King's ideas can help us think about the reaction of many people to the current wave of non-violent civil disobedience. Specifically, I want to reflect on some of the, mostly white, voices from among the perhaps broadly centrist-liberal population who see and present themselves as in agreement with the aims of the current Black Lives Matter movement(such as ending the rampant police violence and killing of African Americans, reforming the legal system so that it actually promotes racial justice, opposing racism, etc.) but who cannot bring themselves to support the non-violent civil disobedience that is currently escalating around the nation: blocking traffic, stopping trains, interrupting business as usual at shopping malls, creating human chains at police stations, and the like.
Certainly many people here have read and re-read Dr. King's justly famous Letter from a Birmingham Jail (and know the history involved much better than me), so I'll forgo an extended discussion of its contents and context. I'll just mention that Dr. King, from the discomfort of his jail cell, was responding to his critics - from among fellow supporters of the civil rights struggle - who had written to him criticizing his 'unwise' tactic of civil disobedience. He provides his rationale for engaging in the direct action of non-violent disobedience, and patiently explains his motivations, hopes, and goals.
As Dr. King discusses the history, significance, and necessity of direct action, he turns to the obstacles blocking progress in the struggle for freedom and justice for African Americans:
I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.
It should be obvious that there are many striking similarities as well as many significant differences between the conditions of the civil rights movement in the 1960s and the current situation. By participating in the civil rights movement, followers of Dr. King faced serious backlash and possible serious injury and even death. Today's activists don't deal with the threat level that was systematically faced by those protesters half a century ago. Nevertheless, there are always risks involved, since unarmed protesters are vulnerable when confronting a hostile, heavily militarized police force and, occasionally, irate, reactionary white citizens.
Considering the current situation, by now we've all heard the rallying cries of those who say they support the goals of racial justice, but who oppose direct action: 'I support the cause, but you're inconveniencing drivers' and 'You'll lose support with these tactics'.
Well, sorry, but as one critical observer one observer recently put it,
I’m sorry about your inconvenience. And I’m even sorrier to be the one to tell you that no one gets to live outside of history.
Photo credit: Sam P.K. Collins, via ThinkProgress
Another common response is to say that civil disobedience represents 'a selfish action to make yourself feel good'. As for this claim, over the years I've developed a general rule for those who say that direct action protesters are doing it for reasons of feel-good self-importance, or selfish attention-seeking:
Anyone who makes that accusation has never participated in an act of civil disobedience, and doesn't know what it really feels like.
No one who decides to directly defy the police as part of a protest makes the decision lightly, and most train and prepare well in advance. Indeed, I've been at sit-ins where I've seen people tremble and cry in fear when the ultra-intimidating police in robo-cop riot gear arrive on the scene. And that's among those who stick around: some protesters leave when the moment for civil disobedience arrives.
This happened in California not so long, long ago
And I do not judge those who choose not to participate in civil disobedience. People have all sorts of reasons for limiting their participation in protests, and I respect that. I've bowed out of some direct actions because I chose at the time to prioritize other issues, usually family or work obligations. But I do question the judgment of those who snipe from the sidelines at those putting their bodies on the line in the struggle. If you really, genuinely believe what you are saying, that direct actions actually harm the movement, then please have the courage of your convictions and get out there and protest the protesters. Bring your signs, "Please stop, you're making me uncomfortable!" and chants, "2, 4, 6, 8, mild inconvenience is what I hate!'. I'll see you there, but from the other side.
One other characteristic that typifies the contemporary 'white moderate': they don't say that they themselves are bothered by direct action and civil disobedience. No, they are just helpfully informing us that some white people out there, trapped in their car or huddled around their tv watching CNN/CBS/NBC/ABC in a suburb far, far away, are being alienated by images of these disruptive protests.
What these concerned people are doing, then, is taking it upon themselves to be the self-designated spokespersons for what they portray as the anxious white public. Yet they don't want to take responsibility for the views they feel compelled to represent. Well, if you find yourself, repeatedly, giving voice to a perceived silent majority that denounces direct action, then you are not a messenger bearing bad news; by continually broadcasting, constantly amplifying denunciations of direct action, you are, in fact, advocating for that position.
Who's afraid of The BlackOut Collective?
(Photo via TheBlackOutCollective Facebook page)
I'll end with Dr. King's wise words on the relationship between law and order, justice, and the 'obnoxious negative peace' that direct action aims to upend:
I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress. I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that the present tension in the South is a necessary phase of the transition from an obnoxious negative peace, in which the Negro passively accepted his unjust plight, to a substantive and positive peace, in which all men will respect the dignity and worth of human personality. Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured.
(Update: thank you invisible hand of the Rescue Rangers!)