Speech by Rev. Rich Lang (Occupy Seattle Chaplain) given Friday November 18, 2011 in front of Seattle Municipal Bldg. (Seattle Police Dept. Office of Police Accountability) in response to pepper spray incident on November 15, 2011.
Please let me know if you air this segment at talkingsticktv@yahoo.com
Here is the text of the open letter...
An Open Letter to Police, We are not your enemy. You are not our enemy. We are neighbors. We are fellow citizens. We go to the same schools. Shop in the same stores. Worship in the same faith communities. Thrill to the same sports teams. Drink in the same bars. Weâre even often rooted in the same extended family by blood and marriage. But something has gone terribly wrong. The system ...is turning us into enemies. I believe that the vocation of policing no longer supports police --- instead, you have been militarized and trained to think that the patriotic voice of dissent is a threat that you must contain, and at times, suppress. Youâve been trained to use chemical warfare against your fellow citizens. Trained to provoke and bully and agitate fellow citizens. Trained to think that we want to hate you and harm you. But thatâs not true. We are not here to destroy property. We are not here to hurt people. We are not here because we love walking and sleeping and living outdoors in the rain and the cold. Weâre here because we want a better life --- for ourselves and for you. You too are one pay cut away from deep hurt, one lay-off away from despair and anger, one collective-bargaining, union busting political policy away from powerlessness and hopelessness. We are no different. But the young among us have already been sacrificed to the god of the Free Market and its doctrine of surplus labor. The young have already had their future foreclosed. What will become of your children? Do you think your baton and gun and handcuffs and spray can, your nets and surveillance will protect them? Do you think you can secure them? Stop hating us. Stop seeing us as your enemy. JOIN US! Treat us with respect and weâll treat you with respect. Donât obey orders to hurt us or harass us. Donât submit to cruelty and brutality. Donât commit treason against your neighbors. We might not look like much --- but the winning side of history will be ours. Because we believe in liberty and justice for all. We believe in Americaâs promise of equal opportunity. We believe in the social common good. We believe in live and let live. We believe WE ARE each otherâs welfare. So come and join us --- walk with us ---not against us. Together let us role model hope for our country --- hope for our future ---hope that this night will pass and a new dawn will most surely come for us all. Rev. Rich Lang an Occupy Chaplain Pastor of University Temple United Methodist Seattle
![<?php echo $config['site_title']; ?>](/static/images/rp-navimg.gif)
![Support the <?php echo $config['site_title']; ?>](/static/images/support.png)
