WHERETHEYLIVE.ORG Launched in Response to Florida Taser Outrage
What can we do to prevent people from being tortured for asking good questions? More generally, how can we respond effectively to abuses of power, in an era when the authorities and the media they own are ignoring most forms of peaceful protest?
After spending many hours of conversation with Father Frank Morales of St. Mark's Church during my recent trip to New York, I think I have an answer.
Frank Morales (who now stands beside David Ray Griffin and Rev. Rich Lang in my pantheon of Christian heroes) has been struggling against military and police abuses of power almost since I was in diapers. In my interview with him on 9/8/07 (archived free at: http://www.republicbroadcasting.org/get_archive.php?hn=Barrett&yr=07) and in private conversations that kept us up till the wee hours, Frank brilliantly analyzed the trends toward martial law and police state tactics. He pointed out that protesting OUTSIDE THE HOMES of those who abuse their power has often been the most effective way to apply pressure on malfeasant police and other authorities. In New York, the mere threat of doing this has gotten immediate results.
So, inspired by Father Frank Morales, and horrified by the tasering of a young man who asked John Kerry some very good questions, I have created WHERETHEYLIVE.ORG (I have registered the domain name; anyone who wants to help build the site is welcome to contact me at kevin@mujca.com)
WHERETHEYLIVE.ORG is founded in the spirit of Thoreau, Gandhi, King, Abdul-Ghaffar Khan, and the many other heroes of principled nonviolent resistance. It will publicize the home addresses of those who are alleged to have seriously abused their power over others, for the purpose of facilitating NONVIOLENT demonstrations on public property outside those home addresses.
I just called the University of Florida Police Department at (352) 392-1111 to ask them for the names, home addresses and phone numbers of the officers who assaulted the young man. I was, of course, refused. The next step is to put out a call to everyone in or around the University of Florida to help us identify these officers and find out where they live. Their home addresses will be posted as soon as they are available and the website is up, and people in the area will be asked to show up to picket in front of their homes until these officers are fired and prosecuted for assault.
WHERETHEYLIVE.ORG will also seek and post home addresses of suspects in the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on 9/11 and during the 9/11 wars. Each posting will include a summary of the evidence that the individual has seriously abused his or her power over others, along with the home address and a call to nonviolently picket that address.
Those who wish to participate in this project may contact me at kevin@mujca.com
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We're ready in LA
I believe Bill Maher may live in Long Beach according to something I read last night. Get me an address. Waxman too. This is going to be fun!
If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention.
Interesting idea...But
For now, the address www.wheretheylive.org points to the scholars site, I guess it's a temp parking spot for the address till it gets built?
I'm also wondering how people in the general public will react to this. I can hear the words "vigilante" tied in with it already. Then again, if it is public record and done peacefully , of course I would support it.
The problem I see is that many of these characters are criminal minded and might pull out the old shotgun if someone shows up at their address. Pressure on them is good, but if just one figures he has nothing to lose, he might just make a stand with a protester outside his home and it could end up bad.
I hope if they decide to do this they stay safe.
Yea, I don't like this
Yea, I don't like this either. It does reek of vigilantism, which is something we certainly do not need. I much prefer YT's idea of "Truth Towns" where we don't go hunting for people like this garbage suggests. But we do peacefully demonstrate outside the their residence - like the what Code Pink pulled off outside Pelosi's house.
Barrett is suggesting outsides their homes...
Just like you suggest with the example of Pelosi. Here's what he said:
"It will publicize the home addresses of those who are alleged to have seriously abused their power over others, for the purpose of facilitating NONVIOLENT demonstrations on public property outside those home addresses."
Try It And See...
I guess try it and see then. If it is public record and people want to do it in a peaceful way then I don't see why not. I just know how cops get though, as opposed to politicians. They do things like call their "boys" to come harass people, keep track of who in their neighborhood showed up, things like that.
Showing up at a cops house to protest after he knows his name is online, there is bound to be some cop connected to some bad people in low places, that will make things difficult.
Crooked cops are thugs, and approaching their home is like approaching the home of a gangster. All I'm saying is use caution. This isn't like approaching a politician in a public place or on the street.
If this website is used to go after more cops in the future than the one's mentioned, I would STRONGLY suggest that it's not a few people at a time. Make sure you got numbers behind you, even if it's supposed to be peaceful.