🚀 go-pugleaf

non violence - at all costs

Kate, we should prepare ourselves to contact the authorities to protest
this treatment.

Let's get the voice and fax numbers of the Norfolk DA, Police Dept., and
Mayor's office, and City Council and Health Department.   What time is the
serving on Wednesday?

Also what are the press contacts in Norfolk?
Can the Jericho people consider travelling to Norfolk for support, if
necessary?


Kate, Hugh can tell us about the Amnesty status and the investigation by
the UN commission on human rights.  Not sure what sort of info you need re:
arrests.  You can get a bunch of stuff by searching for "arrest" using the
site search at http://webcom.com/peace
also hit the archive at -archive: http://www.tao.ca/~fnbtor/fnb-l/ and look
for United Nations

Definitely have a video taper for wednesday and saturday who is NOT serving
food.
When they come to arrest you can expect a couple things.  First they will
ask you to stop,
which I guess you've already decided against.
They may see the video camera and just leave.
They may just take the soup and dump it in the street and leave.
They may cite you with a ticket and leave.
They may arrest you.  Consider not talking to the police if they do this.
Choose BEFOREHAND whether you will resist arrest in a civil disobedience.
This means going limp and being dragged to the police car, or holding on to
the bucket of food, etc.  If you are demonstrating as a group, which is
preferable, you could lock arms around the soup.

Resist playing to the media, but call them, let them know you think the
police are going to arrest you all.  When they smell possible blood they
come running.

DO SPOKESPERSON TRAINING, everyone should do this who may get even close to
a reporter.  This simply means practice being "on message".  An interview
is not a conversation.  Do not answer any bullshit personal questions like
"do you have a job".  Stay with "serving food is not a crime" or whatever
ya'll agree too.  It is very unnerving to talk to reporters especially
those with cameras or microphones.  Get a video camera and practice doing
this to each other.

non violence - live it.


If arrests are happening, expect your adrenalin to start going and your
decision making to be impaired.  Fight or flight will kick in and both of
those will work against you.  BREATHE and try not to be goaded into verbal
exchange with cop.  They will use psych ops to "get your goat" you can
expect:

why don't you get a job
you hippies (commies) aren't going to change anything
be a nice little (girl boy)
why help these people, they don't do anything for you.
"kumbaya" or some other hippie song they will mock

or silence, which for  lot of people can also be frustrating.

you can also expect to be peppersprayed in the face for refusing to
cooperate.  Stick some bread in your mouth, for some reason this reduces
the tearing.   Watch the cops that do this shit, see if they have an
erection.  One police in the Headwaters arrests had a full erection while
he held a woman's head between his legs.


It may be terribly difficult to have compassion for someone who is treating
you this way, but consider the karma incurred by these people for these
actions.  Have compassion.  This is the best way to not get swept into
assimilating the violence around you.  These people are ignoring the pain
they cause others and that will have a heavy effect on them whether they
know it or not.

you have the right to assemble peaceably
you have the right to express your political views
serving food is an expression of speech
make sure you have literature, this will help, especially if the police
confiscate it
you have the right to be silent
you may also assert your religious rights.
Protecting and serving the poor is a commandment for many religions.


After you are arrested you will be "in the system", which is something like
hell.
You will be asked at every turn to compromise your ideals and your group in
order to protect yourself as an individual.  This is the hardest thing.  If
a number of you are arrested you can expect that they will single someone
out to hold.  If you are all in solidarity, refuse to accept release" on
your own recognizanc"e unless everyone gets it.  Do not give in to their
ideas of a "leader".  Do not be a martyr for you mates unless you made it
clear to everyone you want to do that.   Agree how you will support each
other in jail.

Someone outside of jail must know you are in jail.  You all should
prearrange someone to keep the list and communicate with the jailed people.
This person will need to talk to the men and the women, who will be
seperated.   If "deals" are being made, check with the support person to
see what's going on.  Stay in touch.  Arrange a "story" for everyone - a
local number that is a household that you give to the OR officer (own
recognizance) in San Francisco you must have somebody to 'take' you and
that person must be a local.

Get arrested with a bunch of dimes so you can make phone calls in the cells
- if there is a phone.

Consider going to trial rather than accepting "community service" or
"pleading guilty" or "agreeing not to serve food", if you are up to it tell
them you want a trial, let's get this thing into the courts.

If you are discouraged about the lack of attention, about them "winning",
about anything, know that lots of people support you and believe you are
doing the right thing, and when the time comes people will be there to help.




---
VERY IMPORTANT - non violence
go the health department as soon as possible and investigate the process
for getting a "permit", show good faith.  More than likely they will make
it impossible for you to comply either through fees or some other hoop.
This is catch 22 - they tell you to get a permit then make it impossible to
comply.  This can help but you have to find out what the process is.

If you are asked to "negotiate" with a health department person, TAPE IT.
Even if it's the nicest person, they lie, backtrack, make false promises,
etc.  Write down everything they say they want and you want, as soon as you
can.  Document everything as it happens.


---
FOOD NOT BOMBS,  vegetarian, consensus, non violence.


---

fr:  Kate Cooties

I just got off the phone with another local FNB member, and we're in the
midst of working on press packets to go out to the media before the next
Saturday sharing we do.

We share on Saturdays and Wednesdays, and they busted the last Saturday
sharing. We're not sure if the police or city managers know that we do
sharings on Wednesdays, so tomorrow's will be very low key.

The health inspector who came out did threaten members of FNB with
arrest if they caught them doing another sharing without a permit, and
alerted the cops to be on the lookout for us.  The original complain
against Food Not Bombs came from INSIDE the mayor's office.  This is all
happening in the midst of the gentrification of downtown Norfolk, where
the sharings are, as the new MacArthur Mall is nearing completion.

what we really NEED right now is documentation of past FNB arrests and
pertinent information (like the investigation into FNB persecution by
Amnesty Int'l) so that we can include that in our press packet and
hopefully rally up some local support for the group.

email the information to me at cooties@vabch.com

thanks,
kate cooties
--


>Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 20:00:59 -0500
>From: kate cooties <cooties@vabch.com>
>Organization: Chlam Media Press
>To: fnb-l@tao.ca
>Subject: FNB Norfolk busted!

>
>The Norfolk City health inspector stopped by at the saturday sharing of
>our local FNB chapter. the cops followed... no arrests, but they want to
>shut us down.
>
>The wednesday serving is on as scheduled, but we really have no idea
>what's going to happen. cross your fingers.
>
>kate cooties
>--
>mistress of the cooties
>mailto:cooties@rocketmail.com
>http://www.bluedesign.com/cooties/
>
>-Food Not Bombs List     fnb-l@tao.ca
>-distributing food in opposition to violence
>-archive: http://www.tao.ca/~fnbtor/fnb-l/
>-active cities: http://webcom.com/peace
>-send '(un)subscribe fnb-l'  to majordomo@tao.ca
>