I Have to Remind Myself that Anti-Segregation Civil Rights Activists Were Hated Too
Non-Violent Direct Action can stir up a lot of negative reactions.
Four hours after an article was published in the Seattle Times about our blockade of Amazon headquarters there are 99 comments about the article. (As I’m halfway done writing, there are 115.)
They were (mostly) not supportive.
Even though I have a response in my head for each and every comment, there is no point in replying. Only one or two of the comments even touch upon what we were protesting.
Amazon is pushing for the expansion of, and increasing the flow/pressure of gas through a 60 year old gas pipeline to fuel its data centers in Oregon. The story was covered in the Seattle Times hours after the protest. The governors of Washington and Oregon are against the fracked gas pipeline expansion. The senators of Washington and Oregon are against the pipeline expansion. I’ll go into the details in my next piece.
What I’m sharing here is the responses both from employees and online reactions to the article.
I’ve found the negative comments come in categories.
-Some take the ‘you are powerless’ stance.
These and the Gaza protests will have no impact.
I just shake my head and laugh at the silly ridiculousness of these characters.
These are pretty straightforward attempts to prompt a protester to just give up. I get it.
-Others take the ‘you are hypocrites’ tack. I would say overall the most often recurring point of view.
How hypocritical that they used cars to block the entrance to the garage.
Holding their jackets over their heads to protect from the rain. HMM, jackets made of cotton or wool? No, probably not, most likely a synthetic that is derived from — oh wait… That just adds to their hypocrisy.
They’ll all be meeting in Ballard for brews after the protest and once at the bar they’ll instagram on their smartphones made of conflict materials by children in third world countries.
There was even a comment harkening back to the “Shell No!” campaign of 2015 citing the hypocrisy of kayaking in plastic boats. Looking back to an article in the Guardian, from May 2018, “It’s a bunch of crap,” said Greg Huyler, a 51 year old scuba diver from Yakima, Washington. “The problems is all of these kayaks are petroleum products, and they’re going to gripe about drilling for oil. And 90% of them drove here in cars that use petroleum products.” It appears the hypocrite comment stays ever young.
-There is the ‘point fingers at someone else’ ploy.
The problem is there isn’t enough green energy to keep up with demand. Amazon isn’t going to shut down because there isn’t enough green energy. Look to the state legislature and the governor if you want to fix this problem. Where is that carbon credit money going? It’s going to programs that promote more electricity use, not to programs that strengthen green energy infrastructure and increase supply.
-Then there’s the ‘I’m going to say something spiteful, just because’ response.
Makes you want to just stay inside and cozy up to your gas fireplace.
-There’s the comment tinged with denial.
Wait, it the sky falling at Amazon? No, it’s just the rain landing on the heads of all the chicken little protesters.
-Let’s not leave out the ‘protests should be outlawed and protesters jailed’ view.
I am firmly opposed to any protests that limit or destroy other people’s lives, either for the short term or long term. If they block a street or highway, either remove them or allow them to suffer the consequences of their actions. Same with blocking buildings and events. As far a protesting actions of foreign or domestic governments, immediate arrest and long prison sentences.
Why is it legal to block people from going to work? Why is there no arrests?
jail time for these progressives
Domestic terrorism.
These eco-terrorists should be arrested
-There are the comments disparaging a protester’s work ethic, moral fiber, and intentions.
If you are going to engage in civil protest/disobedience, you have to be willing to accept the consequences. Some of the things they did today broke state laws and city ordinances, for which they could have been jailed or cited and fined. The police chose not to, as usual the case in unpermitted Seattle protests, but maybe that leniency should end. Let protestors put their money and their freedom behind their convictions. If they do, I’d pay attention to their blathering.
Something tells me these protesters have someone else paying their rent for them.
Those people need to find work to actually contribute to emissions reductions. Not working on a week day and disrupting other people that are actually producing something for society is not acceptable. Where are their parents? They need to shape up.
What makes you think these aren’t just lazy out of work people grifting off their parents or significant others to pat themselves on the back to feel like they are making a difference?
People who do nothing protesting a company with ambitious climate goals? Why aren’t these adults at work on a Wednesday?
These some of these assumptions make me laugh. Over a third of the protesters are older folks, retired from their jobs. They know what the world used to look like from their youth. They’ve seen the changes with their own eyes. If you really want to know, my 90 year old mother is at home in New York.
We stayed for an hour which was both too long and not long enough. We didn’t get arrested which somehow showed that we aren’t of strong enough moral fiber.
The ‘grifters’ I have protested with are materials scientists, lawyers, teachers, stage hands, nurses, doctors, social workers, accountants, students, musicians, actors, wait staff, childcare providers. You know, all those shifty types.
Some are retired. Some take time off work to make a stand.
Reaction from Amazon Employees
My group blocked a bike entrance, a sliding door. It was the quietest door of the building. Some angry employees tried to muscle their way past us, incensed that we were preventing them from getting to work. Early into the protest security began directing employees to different buildings. Still, a couple of the workers tried to push us out of the way with their bicycles.
What surprised me the most, was the disdain of the employees. I understand that it is hard to face when a company you work for is causing harm, but these employees didn’t even want to know why we were there. Only one cyclist took our flyer explaining the protest. Three bystanders asked for more information. That was it. The employees practically walked by with their fingers over their ears so they would not hear what we had to say.
There was definitely an air of indignance, of rage at being inconvenienced. How dare we stop them from working?
Our world is heating quickly, oceans acidifying, wildfires burning, relentless destruction of never ending wars. Every day is a new disaster. Every tomorrow will come another. None of that matters. I need to get to work!
I know some people get upset with activists throwing soup on paintings.
But doesn’t it make sense to protest Amazon’s behavior at Amazon’s headquarters?
I remind myself that although the civil rights period is remembered as one of the most groundbreaking and positive eras in American history, this wasn’t always the case. The demonstrations of civil rights activists and organizations were designed to create upheaval in American society. Their ‘uncivil’ and disruptive behavior was not lauded by many at the time.
I’ll view the now 125 primarily negative comments as just part of the change making process.
Andrea
March, 2024
