Fwd: [Peace-discuss] Refined P4P introductory flyer... (fwd)

[Alfred Kagan]

I just have a small point.  We have met with the City of Champaign's 
lawyers as well as the police.  I would like to see that added near 
the beginning since it provides added context to our situation.

>
>Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 21:25:18 -0600
>From: Randall Cotton <recotton at earthlink.net>
>To: peace-discuss at lists.groogroo.com
>Subject: [Peace-discuss] Refined P4P introductory flyer...
>
>Following is a refined draft of a document intended to inform new and
>prospective participants in the weekly Prospect for Peace (P4P)
>demonstrations. It was first formed by Kim Kranich and posted to the
>peace-discuss list. Next it was revised by Kim along with Carol Inskeep,
>Ricky Baldwin and myself. A draft revision was passed out at the last AWARE
>meeting and the resulting comments were taken into account to form this
>draft. Please reply to me with any additional comments or suggestions. I
>plan to have a couple hundred copies on hand this Saturday at P4P.
>
>Thanks
>R
>
>----------------------
>
>Welcome to AWARE's "Prospect for Peace" Nonviolent Demonstrations
>Saturdays 2-4PM just north of I-74 on Prospect Avenue, Champaign
>
>Thank you for joining us today.  Since the very beginning of the U.S.
>administration's efforts to mount an invasion of Iraq, Champaign-Urbana's
>AWARE (the Anti-War, Anti-Racism Effort) has organized street demonstrations
>in opposition. Our demonstrations are intended to engage passersby and
>drivers in thoughtful and respectful dialogue about why we oppose war
>against Iraq and are trying to stop President Bush's new doctrine of
>"preventive" war.
>
>We have met with Champaign police and have agreed to ground rules that
>protect our Constitutional right to assemble and petition drivers with
>leaflets as well as protect our safety and the safety of others.
>
>We ask you to voluntarily respect the following suggested behavior while you
>are participating in this peaceful demonstration.
>
>1. Park your vehicle in one of the large parking lots near Lowe's and
>Circuit City or somewhere else you normally shop. Note, however, that your
>car will be ticketed and towed if you park in the Tires Plus parking lot.
>
>2. Be peaceful and nonviolent in your actions and words. A demonstration
>against aggression whose participants are aggressive defeats its own
>purpose. A small percentage of passing drivers may respond to the
>demonstration with insults or offensive gestures. It may be best to ignore
>such responses entirely. Some choose to deflect such attacks with positive
>responses (such as flashing a "thumbs-up" or shouting "I love you").
>Returning insults or gestures or attempting to argue is probably
>counterproductive and could lead to pointless conflict.
>
>3. We are counting on people to be responsible about making signs and props
>that are in keeping with the spirit of the protest, which is to educate and
>appeal to a broad audience. If a sign is extreme or potentially offensive,
>it could repel people who might otherwise be swayed by our demonstration or
>who might otherwise be inspired to join us. But while we ask demonstrators
>to give this serious thought when creating signs and props, we are generally
>opposed to rules which censor content or stifle creativity.
>
>4. Some of us will be leafleting according to agreements we've worked out
>with the police in which one or two of us hand leaflets to people in the
>lane of traffic closest to the sidewalk.  If you're interested in leafleting
>too, please ask the person currently leafleting if you may have a go at it.
>If you have a document of your own that you'd like to hand out as well, we
>ask that you introduce it at the Sunday AWARE meeting (see below for meeting
>details) prior to handing them out at a Saturday "Prospect for Peace" event.
>
>5. For safety reasons, AWARE has agreed not to walk out onto or demonstrate
>on the median strip or anywhere on the road surface (except in the act of
>leafleting as described above). Doing so could result in police giving us a
>warning and then a ticket if we, even one of us, remain in violation.
>
>6. Though physical threats are rare, there have been two occasions since
>anti-war demonstrations began in October 2001. In the first incident, a car
>drove up onto the sidewalk (there was no contact or injury). In the second
>incident, a driver got out of his truck and shoved a protestor. If any
>violence occurs or threatens, please alert an organizer as soon as possible.
>Also please remember to write down the license plate number and vehicle make
>and model. Ask an organizer with a cell phone to call police dispatch
>immediately (333-8911). Police have issued a citation for one driver
>already.
>
>Please join us for other AWARE activities as well.
>
>* In the event that President Bush declares war against Iraq, we will gather
>for a candlelight vigil at Westside Park (Church and Randolph Streets in
>downtown Champaign) from 5-9pm. For questions the day of an attack, please
>call 721-7224 for more information.
>* AWARE meets Sundays from 5-7pm at the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media
>Center, 218 W. Main Street, in Urbana.  344-8820. Join us!
>* "No Iraq War" lawn signs are available for a $3 donation by calling Jeff
>at 384-0945 or Carol at 344-9155.
>* To sign up for AWARE's electronic mailing lists, please visit our web site
>at: www.anti-war.net
>
>Please spread the word and help us build a nonviolent resistance to war.
>
>Thank You!
>AWARE Organizers
>
>This document last revised 2/27/2003 by REC
>Direct comments on this document to recotton at earthlink.net
>
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-- 


Al Kagan
African Studies Bibliographer and Professor of Library Administration
Africana Unit, Room 328
University of Illinois Library
1408 W. Gregory Drive
Urbana, IL 61801, USA

tel. 217-333-6519
fax. 217-333-2214
e-mail. akagan at uiuc.edu