Seth's story (a protester assaulted by Australian police)

(I am sharing the text and photo from Seth's post from another platform, with his permission)

Check that photo again.

That’s me under all those cops.

At about 10.30am Tuesday I was assaulted and arrested by Victorian Police while standing outside the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) currently being held here in Naarm. @ShutDownIMARCAllianceHome for details.

It was the first time I have ever been arrested in my 32 years on this beautiful planet.

I risked my personal safety, I put my body at the mercy of the cops and I’ll explain later why that is far more dangerous than you might think.

Moments before this image I was standing still in a nonviolent protest line, arms linked with the protester next to me. With no warning and completely unprovoked, I felt both hands of one of ‘Victorias finest’ close around my neck, completely cutting off my air supply. The force of the attack was so strong that my glasses and hat were knocked to the ground. More hands landed on my shoulders and arms. First I heard: “stop resisting arrest” and then: “that’s it mate, you’re under arrest.” I am half-blind without my glasses so reached out with a semi-free arm to grab them. I knew the handcuffs were next so threw my glasses on a nearby ledge so they weren’t stomped on. I have not seen them or my hat since.

A total of four officers forced me to my knees and shoved my head into the pavement. My arms were twisted behind my back and thick white cable ties were fastened around my wrists all while the cops screamed in my ears “Stop resisting” After about 6 or 7 seconds my neck was released and I could breathe.

At no point did I resist this overwhelming, disproportionately violent assault. In accordance with my personal commitment to non-violence, I completely submitted and obeyed all police orders at all times. I repeated “I am not resisting” over and over and over. I asked for my spectacles which were right next to us on the ledge and was told “too bad, you can’t have them now.”

The cable tie on my left wrist was so tight I was experiencing excruciating lightning sharp pain radiating into my hand and up my arm. My fingers were going numb and I felt the tingling get stronger. I knew that meant nerve damage if not released so asked repeatedly “Please loosen my left hand!” I was ignored for the first 15 or so requests till finally one of the officers realised I wasn’t lying and pushed me to my knees and tried to cut them off.

The ties were sunk so deep into my flesh that it took three cops over two minutes to free me, even with a special tool designed for this exact task.

The rest of my arrest and processing at Melbourne West Police Station was relatively standard, as I now understand. Except of course for this delightful interaction:

Cop: “So what do you do for a living?”

Me: “No comment” (standard response recommended by legal counsel)

Cop: “Yeah you’re probably a fuckin’ dole bludger aren’t ya?”

Classic.

Four hours later I was released on bail. I now have a court date in March 2020 to face three charges:

- Assaulting an Emergency Services Worker (the arresting officer Sam Griffiths apparently)

- Obstructing Police

- Resisting Arrest

I can say with confidence that in this state with almost no police oversight, no officer will ever face any charges for what they did to me, and they know it.

The two activists who were linked next to me in the line, and who you can see in the second photo with the long arms of the law wrapped around their necks, were arrested along with me. One of them so violently that he defecated in his trousers at the force of the batons hitting his body. Note the bruise on his leg two days later. The activist who (legally) filmed the events was chased down by police and arrested as well. He managed to post the videos before he was caught and dragged into the divi van with the rest of us. It was a premeditated, coordinated attack on that part of the protest at that time.

To make it crystal clear if it was not already: I was engaging in peaceful, nonviolent direct action which is not only legal but a vital part of a healthy functioning democracy. As a yogi and just a reasonable human being I abhor violence, of any kind, to anyone, anywhere. I wasn’t violent, but I was loud. I made my voice heard. I joined the chants. I linked arms with the other activists and cried “Shame!” at the IMARC delegates entering the building, I also yelled out that I loved them and that I knew they could change their ways. Not all the activists agreed with me loudly proclaiming my love…

The fourth photo is taken moments after I had been released. I cried on the street for about half an hour afterwards, releasing my sorrow to the world. Thinking of how brutal my experience had been but knowing that if I wasn’t a relatively high status member of this society, I could have had much worse treatment. In that moment I sensed a deep lake of pain and empathy expanding within me for those without all the privilege I have, those without the ability to get arrested to make a point. To get arrested for the sake of our collective survival on this earth. Those experiencing homelessness, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people of colour, immigrants, refugees, all the many wonderful flavours of queer people, people with disabilities and all those who fall into the many unlit spaces in our country where the police have their way unwatched. Who watches the watchmen, indeed?

I woke up Wednesday morning at 5.30am, a little more bruised and dusty than the morning before, to find the beautiful note in the last photo waiting for me. I went straight back to the blockade. Nevertheless, she persisted.

This time to provide emotional support to those holding the line. To provide hugs, snacks, and a sympathetic ear to those being brutalised, pepper sprayed, and arrested that day, as I was the day before. While I was walking the line the police started shoving, soon the pepper spray was out, I copped some on my clothes but thankfully not in the face. 20 minutes later I rubbed my eye and felt the sting.

I was back there again this morning on the last day. Giving hugs. Listening. Being present for the pain and vulnerability of others. Showing up with my own pain and vulnerability and letting my fellow activists see that someone understands them. Someone knows.

So now I sit here to write, sting fading in my eye and on my skin, protest chants in my ears, phone numbers in permanent marker fading on my forearm - there in case I got arrested again.

Why would I do this? Why would I put myself in that place of potential harm? Why would a ‘normal,’ ‘reasonable’type like me behave like this? Well I see no value in reasonable behaviour or leaving feathers unruffled anymore.

We (all 7.7billion of us) are on track for some very very extreme consequences of our own making coming up in the near future, most people are aware of climate change, but few are aware it’s really a Climate Catastrophe and do not yet understand it will directly affect those in the developed world along with those in poorer countries.

To outline this point, a quote from a recent paper by Professor Jem Bendell, a leading sustainability academic:

"When I say starvation, destruction, migration, disease and war, I mean in your own life. With the power down, soon you won't have water coming out of your tap. You will depend on your neighbours for food and some warmth. You will become malnourished. You won't know whether to stay or go. You will fear being violently killed before starving to death."

He is talking about places like Europe, America, Australia, even New Zealand.

This is what we are facing, and much sooner than is popularly thought. Dramatic consequences, within our lifetimes. To me at least, my actions seem much more rational with this in mind. The chances of living into old age, for me and everyone my age that I know, has dropped significantly and continues to drop because, in part, of the actions of the humans entering that building I was trying to blockade when I was arrested.

IMARC is attended by 400+ companies. Together they contribute 18% of global annual greenhouse gas emissions. These companies are responsible for shocking exploitation of indigenous peoples, the environment and their workers.

I am not waiting around for change anymore, nor turning my face away. I am doing everything in my power, including sharing my experiences and opinions with you now. There is no way I will do this perfectly, I am human and we all make mistakes. I am, however, behaving like my house is on fire, because IT IS ON FIRE!

In response to how I feel, I wrote this list a few weeks back, I am sure it has holes, misses things and there will be things on there some people will disagree with, but it’s my current work in progress and it’s what I am doing and what I really wish everyone was doing. If I can get arrested and abused, you can do this stuff:

Outward:

- Shop local (and from regenerative farms)

- Cut out plastic (everywhere)

- Use public transport or cycle.

- Eat mainly plant based food (meat, cheese, and eggs from regenerative farms ARE worth buying)

- Grow your own food.

- Fly in aeroplanes occasionally or not at all.

- Join every social + climate movement you can - if only to join others who believe what you do - action will lift your spirits as it has lifted mine + nonviolent mass protest is one of the few things that has changed the world in the past.

- Stop buying new things. All things eventually become trash. Buy experiences that are remembered not things that are thrown away.

- Buy only what you absolutely need, second hand quality things if possible. Repair anything that is broken.

- Switch to ethical super/banks/insurance/utilities/other services.

- Donate excess $$ - derive self-worth from how much you can give, not how much you have.

Inward

- Connect to Self.

- Connect to Others.

- Connect to Nature.

- Do work with purpose - now, don’t wait, you don’t have as long as you think.

- Serve your community.

- Start the self-healing journey you have been putting off - now, you don’t have as long as you think.

- Enjoy your life - find and experience JOY as an act of resistance to the status quo.

- Be creative daily.

- Tell the people you love that you love them, often.

- Spend less time looking at screens and more time looking at faces.

- Stop and smell the roses / pat the dogs / cuddle the babies.

There is also a fund for all the activists like me who have been arrested. This fund pays for our legal fees and fines, many of us cannot afford to pay fines. Anything you can give makes a difference, thank you.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-activists-arrested-at-mining-conference

Australia is becoming more and more fascist and corrupt by the day. Restrictions on the media, expanding police powers and no independent oversight, to name but a few things. What I went through and have observed this week proves my suspicions. What we have right now in Australia is very very similar to the early years of Nazi Germany before the war. Everything still seems normal but the insidious changes are being made behind closed doors. This makes what I and the other activists are doing more and more dangerous. If this trend continues we will start to see ‘disappearances’ like those in Europe saw in the 40’s.

Yes there are ‘good’ cops and ‘bad’ cops, and many of their actions are needed to keep the peace. Even the good ones, however, have given their consent to be the brutalising force of the many headed hydra of Capitalism / Colonialism / Sexism / Homophobia / Climate Criminal activity / etc etc. It’s all different parts of the same beast and even the ‘good’ cops are complicit in the violence of the whole organisation.

That being said I do not hold a shred of animosity to any of the beautiful humans who assaulted me, these days I am less and less attached to my physical body. I know in my bones that hate and anger get me nowhere. I choose to love them and place them in the warmest section of my big wounded heart instead, and hope they change their ways. We need every single human, cops too.

On this, the poem by Pastor Martin Niem?ller says it better than I can:

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

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