Reading how police officers Darren Wilson and Daniel Pantaleo have gotten off scot-free for murdering unarmed black civilians has left me sad and outraged. Being in Thailand, I feel like I’ve been too far removed from events at home to really process them. Little opportunity to discuss, vent, listen, learn, and funnel anger into action. So many people can speak much more powerfully to this issue than I can, but I want to share three things I’ve been thinking about. I hope you’ll respond and let me know what you think.
1) About a month ago I attended a peaceful land rights protest in Chiang Mai to show my support to farmers, many of whom belong to ethnic minority groups, who are facing eviction by oppressive Thai government policies. The military is currently controlling the government of Thailand, and under martial law, public protests are banned. About 100 armed soldiers showed up to stop the protest, and a few activists were briefly detained. But after some tense negotiations, protest leaders agreed to a meeting with government officials who would hear their demands, and to call off the protest march (for now). Though the Thai military showed up to shut down this protest, the response was far less MILITARIZED than the response to peaceful protesters in Ferguson and around the United States. This is not to say that the Thai military has not committed atrocious crimes while suppressing anti-junta protests here, because it has. But it’s utterly unacceptable that local police forces in the US, that have been using tear gas, guns, and armored vehicles to shut down peaceful protests, are more militarized than an actual military.
2) People are racist, and we need to do everything in our power to combat that racism. But we also need to remember that racism is systemic, and is being perpetuated and used as a tool by those in power to keep power. In the United States, look no farther than the (Private) Prison-Industrial Complex. In Burma, look no farther than the anti-Rohingya propaganda spread by the government to foment unrest and thus keep its grip on power, maintaining control over valuable natural resources. Racism and violence all over the world are part of a system that puts profits over people, and as human rights activists, we need to find ways to dismantle that system. A good way to start would be holding police officers accountable for murder.
3) I am incredibly inspired by the hundreds of Stanford students who have taken action in the midst of Thanksgiving break and finals. Seeing this kind of cohesive movement at my university, one with the power to shut down the 101 freeway, has given me energy to fight for justice in my work here. Keep up the good work.
Justice for Michael Brown. Justice for Eric Garner. Black Lives Matter.
Nonviolent Ecology 