On June 23, 2010, 23 protesters were arrested during a demonstration for immigration reform in downtown Seattle. What begun as a protest in front of the Federal Building organized by the Washington Immigration Reform Coalition (WIRC) escalated when over 200 people moved into the streets, blocking traffic for over 3 hours. "We demand immigration reform, and we feel it is such an issue of moral crisis, moral urgency that we are ready to risk arrest ourselves," said Pramila Jayapal, Executive Director of One America, an immigration rights group.After the demonstration ended, the most discussed point was whether blocking traffic, which left many drivers stuck for hours during one of Seattle's hottest days, helped or hurt the cause. Ken Schram from KOMO 4 News and the Michael Medved Show deemed the demonstration a bad tactic to win over people's support for immigration reform.
I opened a discussion on Facebook asking people about their thoughts on the recent use of civil disobedience in Seattle. Those in favor referred to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gandhi's successful use of civil disobedience during their fights for justice, while the ones against thought the demonstration was simply a disaster because it alienated the public that we need to support the cause.
I personally think that civil disobedience is needed to show the urgency of an issue, especially when everything else has already been tried yet some politicians are still reluctant to even listen to the reasons why Comprehensive Immigration Reform or the DREAM Act should be passed now. Of course, I also understand how upsetting drivers stuck in traffic during a hot day can be a poor tactic. However, this demonstration needed to attract the attention of the media and make it clear that key leaders in our community, who happen to move a lot of votes, are willing to get arrested to change our broken immigration system.
In the end, the bigger problem with this demonstration (which someone brought up via Facebook) might have been a lack of preparation to engage the inconvenienced drivers. A simple fix would involve printing out leaflets to distribute to the cars with an explanation of what was happening, why it was happening, and what bystanders could do to support. It could have won over some support or at least placated frayed nerves. While it's difficult to judge the overall positive or negative impact of this act of civil disobedience, I think it was necessary to make a big gesture, and it certainly demonstrated how urgent many people feel immigration reform is.
Photo Credit: washingtondreamact
