Civil disobedience—the refusal to comply with the law as a means of protest—has made its way through the Civil War, apartheid in South Africa, and the struggles of Gandhi. U of T students discussed what it means in this age on Saturday.
The Law Union of Ontario’s Annual Conference last weekend included a workshop to discuss issues of deep concern for activists and non-activists alike.
“There has to be a rethinking of how we mobilize,” said John Clarke from the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty. “Marches can’t be conducted in orderly fashion, and we don’t want to meet with the cops to discuss strategies. If we do it that way, we’re not getting anything done.”
Students and community members discussed whether civil disobedience should be violent or non-violent, and activists urged protesters to improve struggles on behalf of issues they deem important by thinking about strategy.
According to some of the speakers, protesters need to think out tactics, or methods of resistance, before leaping into demonstrations and direct action.
Whyman told attendees they should work on building struggles comprised of large numbers critical of how society operates. “We want to move from civil disobedience to social disobedience,” he said. He talked about “actually building a mass movement and building confidence in people to undermine the system that exists in our society.”
Clarke commented on how media slant affects public perception of protest. “There is a sense that we are some sort of isolated group that really doesn’t have much influence and are crazy, and essentially irrelevant in any situation,” explained Clarke.
Moderator Sam Babe, a U of T law school student, described the conference as an opportunity for people to bring social justice issues into their everyday lives. “What I was hoping for everyone to get out of this meeting was answers to questions we could pose to anyone, not just activists or those on the left, but bring awareness to the average person and myself as well.”
The panel also included Ray Bazowski, professor of political science; Len Desroches, activist, author and non-violence trainer; and Ann Hansen, former “Squamish 5” member and author.
