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One week ago, University of Maine philosophy professor Doug Allen was arrested as part of an anti-war protest in U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe’s office along with 10 other people. They had planned the event, complete with press releases, in commemoration of International Peace Day.
In the last issue of The Maine Campus, my fellow editor Matt Williams condemned Allen’s actions, calling them “a blatant publicity stunt meant to draw more attention to himself than his cause.” I disagree.
I concede that Allen and his companions’ actions were bold – though that does not mean they were designed for personal gain. Rather, I expect that the protesters anticipated many people would feel alienated by their actions, such as Williams, and they hoped that dialogue would escalate out of that alienation.
Like Williams said, the point is not about Allen’s views on the war, but how he chooses to express them. And he does, often: The United States has been involved in the Iraqi conflict for nearly four years now, and in my time at UMaine I don’t even think there has been a week without at least one protest, sit-in, lecture or dialogue on this campus. Allen has been involved in the vast majority of the anti-war movement, and I don’t anticipate that he intends to stop any time soon.
Democracy, liberty, freedom – all these principals that have been tossed around in a rather Orwellian way since Sept. 11, 2001: You don’t have them if you don’t exercise them. And that means everyone, even those with whom you do not agree. Allen and the others wanted to illustrate how sincere they felt about their cause, and that is why they sat in Snowe’s office. This wasn’t about the picture in the paper, this wasn’t about the sound bites on the radio. This was about proving that they cared enough to make a huge personal sacrifice for it, and maybe you should too.
Williams argued that these actions set a bad example for students, and “it is the next logical progression for impressionable young people who have the idea planted in their heads that being arrested is an important part of protesting.”
Not only do I feel that he underestimates our peers, it bothers me that he implies that a nonviolent sit-in encourages rioting. It is this kind of mentality that begins the slippery slope of eroding “freedom.”
Furthermore, it seems to me that the only place where this brand of activism and political involvement is acceptable is in universities, and – let’s be honest – if he were a construction worker, bank teller, auto salesman or even school teacher – he would be in danger of losing his job without hope of finding a new one. Our society limits the ordinary person from becoming involved in the decisions that shape their lives, and most people don’t notice or care.
Williams’ comparison of Allen’s arrest to the typical actions that would send a student to judicial affairs is absolutely ridiculous. For one thing, if there had been students arrested with him, I highly doubt that they would have faced any repercussions from the university. On the other hand, if the arrest had taken place for a reason that demonstrated he was a danger to himself or the people around him, I think that he would be in even more hot water than a student facing the same allegations.
You don’t have to agree with Allen’s view on the war. You don’t even have to agree that his action was successful. But you should agree that his right to protest – and be arrested – is one of the cornerstones of democracy, freedom and liberty – all those things we are supposedly fighting for overseas.
Pattie Barry is a fourth-year French and new media major.
