An Arrest Experience From A Women of M13

Mori D., 23.03.2005 11:49

This article is a discription of one woman's experience and her action at the Biscuit on March 13th, 50 Women in Action.

Up Past Mile Five

It was a very long night at the fire and I was a little frustrated by all the singing and spiritual togetherness because my need was telling me that those of us willing to lock down would have to have time to prepare.

Finally a beautiful woman came forward and told us of devices that were available. She talked my language and quickly I replied, can you get them? We would like to see.

It was rather excruciating to wait this long. I left Ashland at 4pm and business did not start till after midnight. Legal and nonviolence training was covered hours ago. I knew I had to be clear and focused for morning.

Shortly after, the beautiful woman came back to camp and showed us the lock down devices. Five women agreed to meet in the supply tent to check out these devices and talk strategy. By 1am there were two women that were sure they wanted to go through with lock down.

Our strategy was to head off the security truck that had been allowing the loggers to cross protest lines with their chainsaws and drive them up to the logging sight so they could start their work. This was not going to happen for our dear sisters on the bridge.

At 3:30 am we began to make our way up the mountain just past the 5mi marker to head off a truck that would not dis-empower the women of the bridge. Another woman stepped up just as we were heading up to our post and said she wanted to lock down with us and so there were 3.

It was a cold morning and even colder up the mountain. The support team made it possible. We had folks helping us lock down while others made blockades in front and in back of us with rock, logs, and twigs to keep us safe from vehicles. It felt right. There was such a strength of oneness and team effort. And so, there in the middle of the road we waited. We waited until old grandpa came down the road. Finally he arrived and could not pass. All he met was our first blockade of rocks. Little did he know that we were around the bend. He went back up the mountain to his hideout and later came back in his bull dozer skid steer. He was not happy.

The men holding the blockade were as hilarious as the women in the road by camouflaging themselves with brush as trees and tiptoeing by. One of the blockade men said he was "invisible." Grandpa replied, "get the fuck away from me."

Early that morning we did leave our post once to climb the ridge so that we could see the beautiful women on the bridge and a brave sister hanging from her tripod. What a surreal sight. It kept us strong throughout the day.

The hilarity of our spirits heightened as my thoughts kept saying that we would not have to see any loggers today, that the bridge women would hold them off long enough for them to call it a day.

We all kept a rather high energy as the day passed. I remembered Molly Ivens say that we should be active and have fun. I thought of dear sister Joanie McGowan and her great smile, brave Rachael Cory and all the others before us.

Word came that their were 15 search and rescue people still not able to bring our sister off her tripod. What a feeling of elation.

After awhile the search and rescuers managed to re-cable the tripod and allow vehicles to pass. The women were dispersed as the loggers and police moved forward. They arrived at approximately 1:30 pm.

The sheriff looked at us and assumed that we were not going to move and we all affirmed his guess. We were then placed under arrest and another cop dumped the generator in front of us as if to say, "ok ladies, we will saw you out of there."

The sheriff gave us all ear plugs and two of us eye protection. Our middle woman had both her hands in lock down and could not put her own ear plugs in so I helped her out. Making sure they were in place, I told her a few jokes to see if she could here. We both laughed. She is really good at lip reading.

We stood our place when John West owner of Silver Creek came forward and spoke with the police. They decided to move us out of the road. 9 police preceded to lift us out of the road. We laid there on the side of the road, over very rough rocks, shivering in the cold as the loggers drove past. They looked at us like dirt as we gave the peace sign and sang this land is your land. (Anne Finney would be so disappointed with me, it was the only song I could think of and only the first 2 verses!!!).

After the loggers passed, the police preceded to saw us out of the lock down. The first two woman were placed under cloth and the heat came on. The woman cop raised the side of the cloth to make sure I was breathing. I could see the forest defenders witnessing from the ridge and offered a peace sign up to them in my silence.

After the saw was inside the piping, one of the women screamed. The sheriff said that he would give us the option of releasing and seeing that the loggers were already past, we decided to let go only after the pipe cooled.

The police placed us on the other side of the road in handcuffs, overlooking the valley with its bear fault line and burnt wood, canapes of green, we began once again to sing. As chainsaws fell trees in the distance, so too did our tears. After 45 minutes, we were then whisked away in the paddy wagon sent for us. Another day in the defense for the silent.

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Nice one! 30.03.2005 - 11:45 Thanks for being a strong sister in non violent defense of the wilderness. I locked down to a gate going into a mill in Humboldt and know what it's like to have the saw bearing down close to your fingers weilded by a cold fish sheriff. I think it's only a matter of time before people wake up out of this mass psychosis of war and greed and realize we only have the wilderness we co-evolved with and each other to love, and that shiny toys and stumps ultimatly have no meaning. Solidarity, Raven Raven> e-mail:: raven200@gmail.com