I woke up this morning to news that the primarily Native American activists protesting the newly desired corporate pipeline in Dakota walked onto private land to block the construction that had started while the appeal is awaiting to be heard in court...and those people were attacked by dogs from the company's private security firm. Yes, PEACEFUL PROTESTERS WERE JUST ATTACKED BY DOGS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. I mean...W.T.F. Is this amateur hour? Is it 1963? Has the opposition not learned ANYTHING from history? Is it "opposite day" when it comes to how best to handle peaceful social justice protests? Who are these awful security people and why should we now trust the people who hired them? Some kind of modern-era Bull Connors from Birmingham styling themselves as "big deals" because they have a walkie and a dog frothing at the mouth? Dogs biting children...sigh...why does history always have to repeat itself? When will people learn? Why do the words of Nelson Mandela feel so necessary right now for those corporate oilmen to hear?
Activism seems very "environmentalist" instead of "environmentalish" of me...I get it. Feels intense. But.... (stick with me after the jump)
"If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy.
Then he becomes your partner."
- Nelson Mandela