Support the Hyde Square 7
ON OCTOBER 21, seven members of the Boston branch of the International Socialist Organization who had been having a political meeting in Hyde Square's Junebug Cafe were kicked out by the owner after she saw some sandwiches not made there--despite the fact that we had already paid for the cafe's food and drinks, and that the food from outside was being shared just before leaving to take home.
We immediately and politely left, going outside to finish our discussion for a few minutes before parting ways. Despite our unequivocal compliance, the owner of Junebug Cafe called the cops.
What may have started off as a bizarre issue over sandwiches became something else when the police couldn't find a law that we were breaking and realized we were socialists. The cops claimed we were trespassing and ordered us to move, but we were clearly on a public sidewalk and stood our ground. The police then said that the seven of us, who were in three spread-out groups on a nearly 11 foot-wide and 100 yard-long sidewalk, were blocking it. Although the charge was absurd, we split up and moved to either edge of the sidewalk, leaving ample space in the middle.
Confounded by our peaceful refusal to be bullied, the officers retreated. But they couldn't tolerate our confidence in knowing and standing up for our rights and called for back up. We were told that we were not allowed to leave and were increasingly harassed by what became a total of 10 police officers, who taunted us both during and after the arrest with political comments and jabs. We were told by the newly arrived sergeant that we needed to be moving if we were forming a picket. We were sarcastically asked questions like what we thought about marijuana laws in the state of Massachusetts.
We were arrested when we requested a lawful reason for why the police were asking for our IDs. In fact, when they arrested the first of us without warning, the rest of us immediately gave our IDs up, but were arrested anyway. Although the police report states refusal to give ID as cause for arrest, the cops had our ID's in hand when we got to the police station. After the arrest an officer sarcastically sang "We Shall Overcome" to us while laughing as we were being booked. Antiwar and other political flyers were removed from our bags and laughingly passed around between the cops.
For knowing our rights and knowing the law, we were ridiculed, manhandled, cuffed, tossed in cells and charged with disorderly conduct. The so-called "justice system" of the courts has so far sided with the police and against any real justice whatsoever. They have denied each plea of "not guilty" and denied our motions to dismiss the charges. We now have to stand trial on January 28 for this farce.
We are building a defense campaign that is not just about our case, but about opposing police repression against anyone standing up and defending their rights. This overt attack on a socialist organization is another in a string of attacks on people who speak the truth and stand up against the injustices of the system.
Especially during times of economic crisis and war, the capitalist system wields a heavier hand against those who suffer the most under it--the thousands of Arabs and Muslims who have been locked up and "disappeared" to further the agenda of the "war on terror" or the regular racial profiling faced by people of color. This includes the day-in, day-out repression faced by poor and working people in our neighborhoods. The murder of Oscar Grant at the hands of Oakland police is the latest example of the brutality at the core of the system.
The police harass people, particularly people of color regularly. For working-class people, police harassment, searches, unwarranted questioning by police is a daily occurrence, leaving working class and people of color feeling defenseless and powerless against the police. Added to this is the organized repression of activists on the left. All designed to rub out attempts at standing up against the status quo.
This arrest was designed to frighten and silence us and others who are beginning to radicalize and become activists, but we will not be silent.
Today, millions of people are disgusted by the Patriot Act; disgusted by the excuses of a system that enriches the few on the backs of the millions. Opportunities for us to build confident movements are all around. For that to happen, a strong and united left needs to emerge. The slogan of the labor movement puts it clearly: "An injury to one is an injury to all."
Signed,
The Hyde Square 7: Tom Arabia, Becca Bor, Akunna Eneh, Katie Feyh, Brian Kwoba, Alpana Mehta and Keith Rosenthal
