New School student Cecily McMillan has been the subject of worldwide media attention since her arrest at Zuccotti Park on March 17. The arrest, which was caught on video, has raised the profile of police tactics used against Occupy Wall Street protesters.
On Thursday, New School President David Van Zandt released a statement urging the university community to “continue to oppose violence at peaceful protests by any person, and make the safety of all a paramount concern,” as well wishing McMillan “a rapid recovery.”
The Free Press has obtained the following statement, McMillan’s first public comment since the night of her arrest.
Statement by Cecily McMillan
March 21, 2012
I am going to make a brief statement about the events of Saturday night in Zuccotti Park. Since I have an open case, I can’t discuss specifics about the facts surrounding my arrest or my treatment in police custody. However, I have every intention of fighting the charges against me. I am innocent of any wrongdoing, and confident I will be vindicated.
Most importantly, I want to reiterate my long-standing personal commitment to non-violence, and non-violent forms of civil disobedience. When police are ordered to move on us, it is easy to become scared, and to react fearfully. We need to rise above the tactics of some police: if we become violent, we are no better than them.
It doesn’t need to be this way. In Madison, Wisconsin, a year ago, when we were protesting the governor’s attacks on unions, many of the police worked with us to help keep these protests peaceful. Going forward, I hope we can similarly work with local law enforcement officials in New York City, and that they receive training in de-escalation and the use of less violent tactics. And we as a movement also need to adhere to non-violent forms of protest.
I believe our movement will endure – but we can only thrive if we have the sympathy and support of the public.
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I think there is some hypocrisy going on here. There is actual footage of McMillan bashing her elbow into a cop’s face. What happened to McMillan was terrible; she didn’t have access to proper medical services or an attorney and she clearly was brutalized by cops. However, she did not follow the tenets of the kind of non-violent activism which she claims to support in this statement and other interviews (ex. Democracy Now).
I don’t mean to say that police violence like this is justified. I just feel as though there is a strong desire to have heroes and martyrs to taut as examples of courage and innocence, which is perhaps creating a fervor that is blinding some people from recognizing nuance and complexity with regards to these sorts of issues.
Cops kill people every week. Unarmed, homeless, mentally disabled, fetuses, you name it. None of these dead beats seems to have any interest when the state lets those murdering swine off. But a girl at a protest throwing an elbow (don’t care if it’s accidental), oh, she’s like Hitler Lets crucify her. Americas a loser country.
“Personal commitment[s] to non-violence” don’t normally include throwing an elbow to a cop’s face. I can’t say that she wasn’t aggressively treated prior to that action, but it did occur before the worst of what is being reported.
viscousness of the Pigs*
While some of us may disagree with Cecily’s politics, mocking an individual who has been exposed to the viscousness is vulgar and uncalled for.
Long-standing commitment to non-violence? From THIS girl?!
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!