Some of t he most famous, and infamous people have been to jail for various reasons.  Martin Luther King Jr., Adolf Hitler, Fidel Castro, Nelson Mandella, et cetera...

As-salaamu alaikum

-Omni

I would like to list a whole lot of worthy causes that I would go to jail for: the right to associate with others and to protest, freedom of religion, to defend my children or grandchildren, but I know myself pretty well.   I'm a coward.  I rejoice that there are others who march hand in hand, who stand up for what they believe in, who try to protect the rights of native fishermen, or the lives of endanged species, but I'm not one of them.  Maybe when I was younger ----   But right now I don't think I would survive long in jail, maybe not even long enough to have the authorities realize that I needed my medicine and to get it to me.   Goodness, I'm even nervous putting into print (or cyberspace) what I think of a certain government leader. 

So I think maybe self-defence, or defence of my children and grandchildren would be the only thing I would go to jail for.  

I am prepared to face the consequences of my responsible prophetic action in solidarity with the oppressed poor of our prosperous social economy.

A story from the archive is pasted below. It bears witness to my readiness to stand firm in the place of my convictions.

So that you have some indication that my actions were responsible, I offer these lines from the president of BC Conference at the time:

"B.C Conference's statement concerning Faithful Public Witness is spelled out as a witness that is "grounded in the scriptural and theological basis of public witness and action." This statement also speaks of advocacy initiatives in the area of provincial politics and of a willingness to be prophetic.

While George would not represent himself in the Britannia demonstration as acting on behalf of B.C. Conference, he does see his actions there as a faithful response to his calling to a ministry in behalf of the poor and marginalized of our society in these present times. George has a carefully thought-out theological rational for his actions and is willing to accept the consequences for them." 

UNITED CHURCH MINISTER SPEAKS OF HIS ORDEAL WITH POLICE

It was shortly after 2 o'clock in the afternoon of Thursday October 3rd (2002). when Reverend George Feenstra, an outspoken advocate for social justice, was violently grabbed and arrested by police. Reverend Feenstra had his hands cuffed behind his back, his head thrust into a wall, and was -with a bloodied face - transported to the police station. He had only moments before joined an anti-Campbell demonstration gathered in front of Britannia School.

News of the demonstration had reached the Reverend shortly before it started. He was told about it at Turk's coffee shop on Commercial where he goes most days for a cup of coffee.

"The gospel of Luke says: 'The spirit is upon me to clothe the naked, to feed the hungry, give shelter to the homeless poor and relieve the oppressed,'" explains the Reverend. "My intellectual engagement of this text is deeply rooted in my own experience as an immigrant, as a child who grew up in the welfare system, and as a young man who spent a good number of years living essentially in a homeless situation. This informs my passion for social justice."

Reverend Feenstra entered the school area. To the left he found a small gathering of protesters, and to his right an assortment of police officers. He made an assessment and decided on an action.

He put on the sponge clown nose that he almost always carries in his pocket, and facing the crowd proceeded to make mime-type motions. The message? "The intimate relationship of power and money. Present trends in our society seem to suggest that what is good for money will one day be good for persons. To bring that day about, the affluent minority seems ready to exercise power to protect the interests of many, whatever the cost to persons."

Why as a clown?

"The clown is an essentially harmless figure with a foolishness which seems innocent and naive. This makes it possible for the clown to draw attention to the political abuse of power," says Reverend Feenstra. "Some years ago a young woman, Karen Ridd, and some of her colleagues went to El Salvador and successfully employed clown strategies to resist prevailing political oppression. The clowns engaged children in play while carefully 'witnessing' the activity of the military and police. Seeming harmless they would approach armed officers with flowers and balloons. Doing so they hoped to evoke the humanity inside the uniform and thereby promote the possibility of justice."

After a few moments, the Reverend, who had his back turned to the police, raised his voice and said: "I am going to turn around and the police are going to take me away!" to announce his first advance into the "space" near the line of police officers standing by the door of the building. He then turned slowly around and walked, with exaggerated motions of arms and legs for comedic effect, towards the police line. His foolishness was intended to communicate his non-threatening intent.

Stopping just before the police line he turned to face the crowd and raised the first finger of his right hand to signify a first attempt, The Reverend then turned to approach the police line a second time in the same clown-like and non-threatening way. When he raised the first two fingers of his right hand to signify a second attempt the police seized and cuffed him "very quickly and with a great deal of force."

He offered no resistance.

Members of the crowd called for the police to release him. Some approached the police. But the police refused to let him go.

The crowd attempted to block the path of the police as they began to move the minister to a police wagon.

The Minister's hat and clown nose were knocked from his head: "I was lifted by my handcuffed arms and pressed against a stucco wall. My forehead was injured and blood began to flow. My glasses fell to the ground," recalls Reverend Feenstra.

The Minister was placed in the holding cell of a police wagon where he sat for almost an hour. When the wagon had pressed against the resisting crowd it proceeded "at high speed and with siren sounding to the city jail." Caught off guard the minister was thrown against the walls of the cell. "I recovered and braced myself to avoid injury," says the Reverend.

At the police station Reverend Feenstra asked to be allowed to make a phone call. He was not permitted to do so. Instead, he was told that he would be allowed to do so "soon," and the ordeal continued:

"I was moved in and out of the prison cell several times to answer questions pertinent to the intake procedure of the jail," says Reverend Feenstra. "I was told to remove all of my clothing and then examined from all angles. I was told to raise my testicles, then to turn around, bend over, and spread my buttocks."

When Reverend Feenstra asked why he was being searched in this manner, the jail guard replied that it was "simply a routine procedure."

He was photographed and fingerprinted, then taken to be examined by a nurse.

At about 5:30 p.m. he was examined by a medical practitioner, and at 6 p.m. he was finally allowed to telephone his wife. At 7 p.m. he was visited by a lawyer sent by someone in the crowd who had managed to get the Reverend's name before he was placed in the police wagon.

George Feenstra spent the night of October 3rd in jail, and was awakened the next morning at 6 a.m. to be taken to another cell. At 10:30 a.m. he was taken to the court's "duty counsel" for a five minute interview and returned to his cell. At 11:30 his injuries were again examined by a medical practitioner.

It was not until 8 p.m. of Friday October 4th - more than 29 hours after his arrest- that Reverend Feenstra was released under absurd conditions: to appear in court on a charge of assault; not to associate with the other detainees until the trial date; not to carry any weapons; not to disguise himself; and to keep at least two city blocks from Premier Campbell.

FOR THE BC LATIN AMERICAN CONGRESS,

ALICIA BARSALLO
 

Wow - that sounds like quite an ordeal! How did your date in court go?

What would I be prepared to go to jail for - most of which have been listed above. Definitely the freedom of speech and religion, the right to protect myself and my loved ones. I would also protest against the government if it decided to take away human rights. I have attended several protests - especially anti-war ones. Sometimes it's interesting living in a capital city - there are certainly plenty of protests that happen here.

 Here is another angle:  would you purposely break a law you disagree with to bring attention to it's absurdity and try and effect change?  If other avenues for change appeared to be blocked of course.

As-salaamu alaikum

-Omni

That would depend on my expectation (or lack thereof) for success.  I mean, if the law actually got changed as a direct result of my civil disobedience, then it's likely my sentence would be cut short.  But it'd depend on how long that took to happen (if it happened at all).

Maybe - it would depend on the law. If it was a law repealing the right to associate with someone because of something like their skin tone, sexual orientation or sexual orientation, then yes I would seriously consider breaking it.

Omni, I would love to hear your answers to these questions!

Hi somegal... I was acquitted on all counts, after a process stretching nearly two years. The arraignment hearing was on Halloween. The judge and I discussed whether my clown nose constituted a disguise. He ruled that I was not to wear it in public. Doing so would constitute contempt of court, and be liable to punishment. I did continue to use the nose in church, always warning folk of the danger.

GeoFee

What a harrowing experience you had. You've got balls!

Hi Omni

Nice to see you. I hope things are going well  for you.

I'll say ditto to what seeler has posted re my reply to the OP. But then if I was actually faced with a certain situation I might get my Irish temper up and jump into the fire. I don't know. As somegal says it might depend on what the law was and what was forbidden.

I am glad to hear of your acquittal Geo, but what an ordeal you went through - and for two years! It's too bad that you can't wear a clown nose in public anymore, but I am glad that you have continued to use it in places like church. It seems that a clown nose on it's own would be a pretty lousy disguise!

Wow GeoFee, way to put it on the line :3  Do you think what happened to you represents a change in society?  Has it always been that way?

I would gladly go to jail for any form of 'treason' against this government.

As-salaamu alaikum

-Omni

It would have to be an issue in which I had a legitimate stake.

I would go to jail for defending my wife and family. I would kill anyone who tried to harm them. That's about it. Everything else is negotiable.

blessings

I would be willing to go to jail for almost anything. We live in such a morally corrupt world that it's almost  a mark of disgrace not to be in jail.