It was a model of the modern style of civil disobedience: about 370 antiwar protesters, including Cindy Sheehan, arrested at the White House peacefully -- and on schedule.
Thus concluded three days of demonstrations against the Iraq war.
Yesterday's finale played out under agreed-upon and paradoxical rules of engagement: permitted, but not entirely allowed; defiant of authority, yet enabled by the police; emotional, yet routine. Another choreographed ritual of civic life, like the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns. Protesters and police played their roles perfectly, as if according to a script. The screenplay would go like this:
Getting Arrested at the White House:
One (Nonviolent) Act in Three Scenes
Scene 1: At 10 a.m. the sanctuary of Foundry United Methodist Church, nine blocks north of the White House, is filled with hundreds of protesters. They wear labels with names of dead American troops and Iraqi civilians. Organizers Gordon Clark with the Iraq Pledge of Resistance and Steve Cleghorn with Military Families Speak Out announce final logistics.
Steve Cleghorn: Yesterday we ran out of sheets that have maps of the route around the White House. Today we have more if you need one. On the back is a map of the Park Service detention facility, and how to get out of there by walking to Metro.
Gordon Clark: Is there anyone who has not had nonviolence training?
Upstairs, veteran activist Nadine Bloch of Takoma Park has the group role-play interactions with police.
Nadine Bloch: Sitting down is a technique you may want to use. Sit down. I want people to experience the dynamic. Protesters, how do you feel? Grounded, intentional, powerful. This is a beautiful place to be.
Scene 2: The group begins marching to the Ellipse, led by clergy and protest notables including Princeton professor Cornel West and Leslie Cagan, organizer with United for Peace and Justice.
Cornel West: We are going to bear witness today.
