Bill McKibben, the man who organized the ongoing protest against the Keystone XL pipeline, was in the group of arrestees on the first day. They were the only group that has been held overnight so far, and were actually held for an entire weekend before having the charges against them dismissed in court on Monday.
As the person who raised the call for people to come to Washington, engage in non-violent civil disobedience, and risk arrest, it was probably fitting for McKibben himself to be arrested.
Since before I arrived here, I have been thinking about whether I should get arrested myself. I think it would have been an interesting, worthwhile, and powerful experience to express my opposition in that way. At the same time, there is a strategic case for participating as a volunteer rather than an arrestee. To a large extent, the purpose of this action is to draw attention to the Keystone XL pipeline, the arguments against it, and the reasons for opposing oil sands exploitation generally. By volunteering as a photographer and documenting the cycle of each group being trained, taking action, being arrested, and being released, I think I am helping to serve that purpose. Already, images from Tar Sands Action photographers have been used by a wide variety of news organizations.
I am also concerned that getting arrested might keep me from being able to enter the United States in the future. The fight for sensible climate change policies will be a long one, and it will surely involve other important actions in this country, as well as conferences, possible study at American schools, etc.
I hope the answer I gave on the radio, when asked why I was not planning to be arrested, will not excessively put off other Canadians who are considering it. So far, arrested Canadians have been treated just like Americans and released after a few hours and payment of a $100 fine. The charges against them have been very mild, and there is a good chance they will never have any further difficulties because of them.
Perhaps it is selfish of me not to express my opposition as powerfully as possible, or unfair of me to call upon others to take an action I am not taking myself. I applaud those who are choosing to engage in this act of civil disobedience and I hope that they will drive President Obama to think deeply about the ethics of this pipeline and reject it. For my own part, I genuinely believe that I can do more to encourage the emergence of a low- and eventually zero-carbon global society by doing all I can to maintain my ability to travel to the United States in the future. I also think that by volunteering to take photos and generally help out for the 15-day span of this event, I am making a meaningful contribution to its success.
As it is being employed here, civil disobedience is a tactic intended to serve the aim of avoiding dangerous climate change. It is not an action that has moral value in and of itself. I will continue to try and serve that cause using the skills and resources at my disposal.Â
As always, I am happy to discuss my position with those who disagree. People who think I should get arrested still have ten days to convince me, as well as to travel to Washington and take a stand themselves. It would be great to have more people down here to participate in the civil disobedience, as well as to act as supporters and volunteers.
On the Greyhound ride to Washington, I wrote an explanation of why I was planning to volunteer with this group.
Refusing to get arrested yourself because of the inconvenience it might cause you does send a bad message. It certainly reduces your ability to recruit others to participate.
If climate change really is so very important, you should be willing to run the risk and make the sacrifice personally.
This is some information the organizers got about the legal situation of Canadians in relation to this action. I was told I could share it for the benefit of Canadians thinking of participating:
I am feeling torn about whether to get arrested. The legal consequences seem likely to be minor, but there is some risk. It also alters the optics of my participation in this event a bit, which could have consequences in other spheres.
As a result of Hurricane Irene, we’re making a few changes to our plans for this weekend.
Saturday’s demonstration is planned to continue as usual. If you are planning to sit-in Saturday, but are concerned about travel problems or other issues related to the hurricane, we encourage you to reschedule for later next week, which we expect to be even bigger than this week. We’ll be making a final decision tonight during our training about whether to move forward, based on the latest weather reports.
“Artists for the Climate: How to Defuse a Carbon Bomb” – an art event planned by local DC artists and DJs against Keystone XL – will still take place as planned in St. Stephen’s Church, 7pm on Saturday night.
Sunday’s demonstration is cancelled in expectation of extreme weather in DC, and out of respect for those who are facing the immediate impacts of the storm. We don’t feel we can expect to safely continue the action. Sunday night’s training will still continue as planned to prepare for the action on Monday.
It does not escape us that on a warmer planet, storms of this size and character will become more likely and dangerous. The storm only strengthens our resolve to stop this pipeline and the tar sands.
We’re taking Sunday off, but we plan to come back even stronger, starting on Monday when we’ll be joined by a big contingent of religious leaders and top climate scientist James Hansen. Wednesday will be a re-scheduled youth day of action, and we have many more people scheduled to join us later in the week. On the 3rd we’ll cap off our action with a big showing as the Sierra Club leads a rally in Lafayette Park.
If James Hansen is getting arrested on Monday, that will be the day to do it, if I choose to do so.
Getting arrested will only help if the cameras are rolling. Your greatest contribution to the cause is through your documentation!
This event is actually pretty comprehensively covered by photographers, even without me.
I need to beg laptop time, since my old G4 iBook wasn’t worth lugging down.
By the time I get a few unedited shots uploaded to Flickr, two or three other photographers have put up dozens of shots nicely tweaked in Lightroom or Photoshop.
The people outside the White House have the moral courage to stand up for the rights of all those around the world and far into the future who will suffer because of climate change.
You need to decide if the value of your contribution outweighs the costs it may have, both in terms of future climate advocacy and all other business that involves entering the United States.