198 Sundays: It's A Pink World

So how many different tactics have we seen used by CodePink in DC?  At least 7, methinks:

Symbolic Public Acts
26. Paint as protest

During the East German Rising, on June 17, 1953, the night shift at the Stralsund shipyard covered the name of a new lugger, Walter Ulbricht, with thick black paint, and the ceremony scheduled for the next day to launch that new boat for the herring fleet had to be canceled.  In 1962 in Eisenbach, East Germany, someone altered a huge picture of Walter Ubricht by painting a rope around his neck.

I think Desiree's action with Condi Rice counts here, and maybe Medea's bloody handprints on the Hall of Shame Certificates (not to mention 21. Delivering Symbolic Objects). Not painting over something as in the examples Sharp mentioned, but using red paint to simulate blood seems to fit.

30. Rude gestures

There are many variations of rude gestures and behavior which convey insults.  They may rarely be used in situations of political, and even international, conflict.  One example comes from the Sino-Soviet conflict.  According to Edmund Stevens, in January 1967

...each morning an entire platoon of Chinese soldiers would march out on the ice and lowering their trousers train their buttocks towards the Soviet side, the ultimate in Chinese insults.  This exercise continued until one morning just as the Chinese assumed their positions the Russians set up large portraits of Mao facing in their direction.  The Chinese hastily covered themselves and retired in confusion.  There were no repetitions.

Such things certainly upset Rep Dana Rohrabacher, and whilst dressed as Bush I mockingly picked my nose and "assumed the position" a number of times on Friday.

Pressures on Individuals
31. "Haunting" officials

As a means of remind officials of the "immorality" of their behavior in repressing a nonviolent resistance movement and of the determination and fearlessness of the population, volunteers may sometimes follow and "haunt" officials everywhere they go, thus constantly reminding them of the population's determination.  For example, as Joan Bondurant has reported, during the 1928 Bardoli campaign in India: "Volunteers followed officials everywhere, camping on roads outside official bungalows.  When arrested, they were replaced by others until authorities tired of the process."

The daily engagements with Senators in offices, hallways and tunnels I think falls under this category.  Kay Bailey Hutchison practically ran past us to get away from our questions.

32. Taunting officials

Instead of predominantly silent and dignified behavior used in the above method, people may mock and insult officials, either at a certain place or by following them for a period.  In the summer of 1942, for example, in Honan, China, under Kuomintang rule, tax collectors and soldiers seized grain from unwilling peasants who were facing a severe famine, having refused to accept either money or farm tools instead.  As a result,

in many villages, more soldiers had to be called in before the tax collectors dared removed all the grain.  As they dragged it away, the peasants would follow like a pack of monkey scarecrows, bitterly mocking, and sometimes threatening, without a trace of "virtue and obedience."

We sarcastically thanked the likes of Sen Rockefeller and Rep Barton, amongst others, for their support.  I asked Sen Craig if our troops would be home before he resigned.

33. Fraternization

An alternative to a social boycott of soldiers and police of the opponent is to fraternize with them, in the process subjecting them to intense influence and direct or indirect propaganda or both. 

The objectives may be 1) to become personal friends with the soldiers and convince them that no personal hostility or desire to injure them is involved in the resistance; 2) to convince them that the objectives of the regime which they serve are unjust and immoral and that those of the nonviolent actionists are just and right; 3) to persuade the soldiers (or other agents of repression) to reduce the efficiency with which they carry out orders against the resisters and the population, or, eventually, to mutiny and refuse to carry them out; or 4) to provide information for the population and the resistance movement on the opponent regime's plans. 

Such fraternization is accompanied by noncooperation with the regime and disobedience of its regulations.

I personally make it a point to engage the cops whenever possible by introducing myself and asking their names, shaking their hands, putting my arm on their shoulders, thanking them for their professionalism, etc.  Also did that after some confrontations with the media.  They aren't my friends when they're doing their jobs, but I can be friendly and give them pause and a little space to consider the morality of their involvement in the apparatus, etc.

Drama and Music
35. Humorous skits and pranks

Political humor may become a method of nonviolent action when expressed in some social form such as a humorous prank or a skit, or, conceivably, a play of political satire.  In such cases the humor or satire ceases to be simply a verbal political dissent (as often expressed in dictatorial counties in political jokes passed from one person to another) and becomes an act of public political protest.

I think we did a lot of this on Friday with the Bush and Cheney heads.  We not only did perp walks and had the Pink Police read from the Constitution around the courthouse, but we also made sure we were disrupting shots by the media.  I put on as good a Bush verbalism impression as I could, complete with slurring and malaprops.

37. Singing

Under appropriate conditions, singing may constitute a method of nonviolent protest--for example, singing while an unwanted speech is being made, singing national or religious songs and hymns, rival vocal programs to compete with boycotted ones organized by the opponent, singing while engaged in a march, civil disobedience, or some other act of opposition, and singing songs of social and political satire and protest.

Though I want Congress to ban Give Peace A Chance at marches, I otherwise fully support singing as protest.  It's a big part of CodePink's idiom, and while we didn't go caroling per se, we did often sing some alternative Christmas carols throughout the week in a variety of venues.

Oh, CodePink has also indirectly encouraged Lysistratic Nonaction and now directly advocates Revenue Refusal, so they really are running up their tally of Methods!  There might even be some I've missed.

Think any of these might be up your alley?  Then maybe you should consider getting into the action in DC or joining (starting?) your local CodePink chapter...

ntodd

Covered on previous Sundays:

THE METHODS OF NONVIOLENT PROTEST AND PERSUASION  

5. Declarations of indictment and intention
8. Banners, posters, and displayed communications
9. Leaflets, pamphlets, and books
11. Records, radio, and television
15. Group lobbying
19. Wearing of symbols
21. Delivering symbolic objects.
22. Protest disrobings
23. Destruction of own property.
34. Vigils
38. Marches
44. Mock funerals

THE METHODS OF SOCIAL NONCOOPERATION

57. Lysistratic nonaction
61. Boycott of social affairs
66. Total personal noncooperation

THE METHODS OF ECONOMIC NONCOOPERATION

71. Consumers' boycott
90. Revenue refusal
117. General strike

THE METHODS OF POLITICAL NONCOOPERATION

120. Withholding or withdrawal of allegiance
122. Literature and speeches advocating resistance
137. Refusal of an assemblage or meeting to disperse
140. Hiding, escape, and false identities
148. Mutiny

THE METHODS OF NONVIOLENT INTERVENTION

159. The fast: a) Fast of moral pressure; b) Hunger strike; c) Satyagrahic fast
160. Reverse trial
162. Sit-in
164. Ride-in
171. Nonviolent interjection
178. Guerrilla theater
179. Alternative social institutions
193. Overloading of administrative systems
195. Seeking imprisonment
196. Civil disobedience of "neutral" laws