Writing

In the days following the Republican National Convention, I was struck by the irony of one conflict on the NYC Independent Media website. For those unfamiliar with the Indymedia setup, the idea is to create an open forum for the democratic exchange of ideas, encouraging a “bottom-up” model for news in opposition to the “top-down” structure of corporate media. Anyone can write and post articles on the open newswire, readers can post their responses, and articles are prioritized by a rating system based on votes from readers.

On September 3, one writer reported on the city’s detention of arrestees until the end of the convention, despite a judge’s ruling for their immediate release. He noted the poor conditions of holding area where they spent 36-72 hours and “had to sleep on a floor slick with motor oil and other toxic residue.”

Most of the responses that followed expressed outrage at the city’s illegal treatment of protesters, including discussion of beatings and use of pepper spray before actual arrests were made. However, some readers were disgusted that the protesters would complain about their treatment when political prisoners in other parts of the world are forced to endure much worse conditions. One wrote, “never forget on your way back to college for the fall term that jail is not supposed to be especially comfortable or fun... every single person who went through that facility will be no worse for the wear in the end.” Another wrote, “so what that ‘protestors’ were ‘inconvenienced’? Working people don’t care that criminal protestors were held over 24 hours in a well lighted, irrigated jail cell and that those same people were well feed on the public dime.” (spelling errors from original posts)

Essentially, the two types of responses cover different answers to the question, “is a little bit of abuse acceptable?” I am by no means devaluing the experience of political prisoners worldwide, but in a culture desensitized to violence, the expectation that dissenters should be physically punished leads to a very blurred line between acceptable and unacceptable forms of state repression. At what point does the state cross that line? If we don’t draw it, who will?

To put the situation in a different perspective, I would like to offer a short story.

Our story takes place in a neighborhood in suburban America. One night, in the middle of a heated argument, Mr. Jones slapped his wife in the face. The next day, the neighborhood was abuzz with gossip. “Did you hear that Mr. Jones slapped his wife?” people whispered. “She was asking for it,” many people said, “she was having an argument with him.”

“But doesn’t Mrs. Jones have a right to have an argument with her husband?”

“Of course she does, but she shouldn’t be surprised when she gets a slap in the face!”

This sent many people in the neighborhood into fits of laughter, because they all knew that Mrs. Jones was quite the outspoken woman. “And really, what has she got to complain about?” they demanded. “Mr. Jones puts a roof over her head and food in her belly. A slap in the face won’t hurt her.”

Soon there were new things to gossip about, and the incident was quickly forgotten.

A few weeks later, the Joneses had another argument. This time, Mr. Jones punched his wife in the face. She covered her black eye with makeup as well as she could, but everyone in the neighborhood knew what had happened, and whispered about it amongst themselves. “Mr. Jones has punched his wife!” they clucked, shaking their heads. “It was a bit harsh,” many people said, “but you know how argumentative Mrs. Jones is. Besides, in some parts of the world men really beat their wives for her kind of behavior!”

Everyone had to agree with that. They had all heard stories about the mistreatment of women in other countries, and felt very glad to be living in America. “A punch in the face really isn’t a big deal,” they said, “there’s no long-term injury, and maybe she’ll be less quarrelsome now.”

A few weeks later, there was another argument at the Jones house. Mrs. Jones stayed in for a few days, and when she was seen covered in bruises, she told her neighbors that she had fallen down the stairs. But they knew better. “Can you believe it?” they exclaimed, “Mr. Jones has beaten up his wife!”

“Yes, it’s a shame,” some said, “but she’s really quite lucky. In some parts of the world, women are killed by their husbands if they step out of line.”

Everyone agreed that Mrs. Jones was indeed lucky to have her life and a chance to recover from her injuries, but they all hoped she’d learned her lesson about having arguments.

A few weeks later, another argument was heard coming from the Jones house. Soon the neighbors saw an ambulance arrive to carry away the body of Mrs. Jones, and the police took Mr. Jones away in handcuffs.

That same night, in the middle of a heated argument, Mr. Smith slapped his wife in the face.

The neighbors agreed that Mrs. Smith should really keep her mouth shut.

But they never again mentioned the Joneses.