Bloodied at a protest? Kind of the point.

First, I've got about 92 stitches all told from various protests--some of the stitches clearly warranted and desired, some not. But the whole point of my showing up and NOT MOVING, NOT GIVING IN and getting clubbed, kicked, etc. and then COMING BACK with a bloody face, was to witness that violence was not the answer. My bloody face offered to them what they had done (and then sometimes they just did it again, sometimes not). But this is actually what I wanted. I was never going to overthrow anyone; they sure as hell weren't there to debate. I wanted them to bloody me to show them that I was more resilient and stronger than they--that they could keep hitting and that I would keep returning to show them the errors of their ways.

Why do I say all of this? Because I'm not quite too sure why everyone is lamenting the beatings of the protesters. Were they there to debate? Probably not. To show numbers? Yes. To disrupt civilly? Yes. But when one disrupts and is asked to desist, one is supposed to abide by the law. When one refuses (because the law here protects not the innocent but the predatory) and is asked again and refuses, well, there are repercussions. And many of us desire those repercussions. Where I come from, all of those bloody faces (which is why I HATE pepper spray) are there for the cause, for rhetorical purposes. Today bloody faces may not do what they used to do, but this is why in REALLY oppressive regimes people light themselves on fire or a high-profile individual goes on a hunger strike. That's all that's left.

Am I apologizing for the cops? No, of course not. My scars would resent me. Am I saying that many here at DU are missing the forest for the trees when it comes to protesting civilly and taking a beating? Yes, I am. We aren't victims, people; we're martyrs. That's the point--from Tolstoy to Ghandi to MLK. We are witnesses to their corrosive violence. Our bloody faces are the canvas. I guess I'm just not sure why there's debate on here about the violence. Of course there's violence. That's what we wanted. We don't cry about it now. There's no surprise here. We should see congratulatory posts for our brothers and sisters who have done this for us. The only thing we ought to lament is that the media actually debates the violence and apologizes for it. But the more apology, the more we need to resist and keep getting bloodied (I admit that I have not taken a whacking during these protests).

So to all of my bloodied brothers and sisters: Perhaps our scars will tell their stories to one another.