Here in Philadelphia, the police and the
occupiers at City Hall have had an uneventful relationship so far. At shift
change yesterday, I witnessed the captain on duty introduce the night shift
captain to one of the organizers. But
all is not so tranquil in all of the cities being occupied.
In Boston and Seattle, police have set in motion
plans for clearing parks, said an
article in the New
York Times.
Those actions resulted in over 100 arrests today
in Boston. The protestors had
crossed two lines, said an article on boston.com.
First, by threatening to tie up traffic and, second, by expanding their
campground to a newly renovated area that the city had asked them to stay off.
A statement from Occupy Boston claims that the
Boston PD “brutally attacked” the protestors, said the article.
Violence has yet to affect the Occupy Philly
movement, and if Jeanne Schmolze
has anything to do with it, protestors will know how to handle themselves,
non-violently, in the face of opposition.
Schmolze is a 66-year-old Philadelphia resident
and Katrina survivor. She moved to New Orleans in 2003 and came back to
Philadelphia after the storm in 2005, when she lost her home. She is currently
retired, unable to survive on social security, and will be reentering the
workforce. Until then, she’s decided to be of service however she can and is
planning for a de-escalation seminar this week, in order to better educate
those participating in the movement.
“I’ve found that a group of people can turn into
a mob very quickly,” she said in a phone interview this afternoon.
In order to manage a situation and try and
retain some level of respect on all sides, there are certain tactics that
demonstrators can use to protect themselves, while still occupying in
solidarity. Most revolve around body language, group dynamics and
communication.
Schmolze has had years of experience with
conflict during her many years dealing with volatile populations of severely mentally
ill and drug-addicted people as a social worker and union negotiator in
Philadelphia, she said.
“I’ve taken a lot of training to know when
something’s turning aggressive how to nip it in the bud,” she continued.
It’s these skills that have helped her to learn
how much space you need, when to touch someone, when not to, how to react to
different looks and how to deescalate an impulsive situation.
An aggressive action against officers could
result in an aggressive response. But calling an officer by their name, could
help to defuse a situation, before it gets out of control.
Coordinated, passive, civil disobedience in the
face of police implements like nets is also a way to diffuse a situation, she
said. “Five rows of people should sit down; three rows, the police can stomp
right over you, but 5 rows…it shows that we will not be moved. We’re sitting.
The aggression will come from the other side. ”
If a situation gets out of control, safety
should always come first, she said, and an exit route should be communicated to
the group. But “if people start bolting and running, it sets it off. If you’re
walking away, there’s an assumption that you didn’t do anything. If you start
running as a pack, [police] will intervene there.
“By taking two or three breaths, when you’re
afraid or in a panic, you’re able to make a better decision as to what’s best
for you and the group,” she said.
