Port protesters are determined to stop immoral war

• Published December 05, 2007

For two weeks in November, the Port Militarization Resistance (PMR) confronted war operations in Olympia's backyard. Depending on one's perspective, it was either a show of the determination of concerned residents standing up to an illegal and immoral war and occupation, or it was simply all hell breaking loose. The perspective depends on what one chooses to focus on.

If we want to discredit the demonstrations, we need only focus on the few broken windows and the rock thrown at the police — all of which happened on one night — while ignoring the entire two weeks of community actions. We need only focus on the 1 percent of the violence that was attributed to the demonstrations, and ignore the 99 percent of the violence committed by the police against the demonstrators.

The Olympian editorial board says that the victims of police violence are "whiners" who had "asked for it." Tell that to Kris Krossman, who says he was skateboarding on Capitol Way, unaware of the demonstrations at the port, when police shot him three times with pepper ball rounds and then repeatedly struck his face with a baton. According to Krossman, the police left him on the ground, with his face bleeding, and walked away.

The few isolated incidents of violence attributed to the demonstrators, and which countered PMR's principles of nonviolence, occurred only after days of police violence. Priorities are misplaced when a broken window is accorded more value than the beaten bodies of nonviolent residents.

When someone spray-painted graffiti against port militarization at the Handy Pantry, it was members of PMR who repainted the wall. When Olympian photographer Tony Overman was doused in pepper spray, it was members of PMR who came to his aid.

The Olympian editorial board chided activists for "tarnish(ing) the anti-war effort." It condemned demonstrators for putting their concerns into action and claimed that they had "clearly crossed the line." Yet in 2004, when the same activists had merely proposed a phone-in campaign to protest the militarization of the port, the editorial board also disapproved.

We didn't ask for the battle to be brought to our home town. For years we urged our representatives to stop the militarization of our port, but the Port of Olympia insists on allowing our backyard to be used as a conduit for war operations in Iraq. We pledge to respond accordingly.

As long as the road to Iraq goes through Olympia, we will be there to block it. The stakes are too high to wait for The Olympian to propose acceptable — and hence ineffective — methods of protest.

The Olympian editorial board wants us to be held accountable for our actions, but it is precisely because we take accountability that we act. Those who fail to act should be held accountable for their complicity, and those who criticize us should exit the peanut gallery, take the stage and lead by example.

The presence of military vehicles from Iraq reminds us that our small town has an effect on the rest of the world. We must decide what kind of effect it will be.

Phan Nguyen is a longtime Olympia resident, an information technology specialist and a member of Olympia Port Militarization Resistance.