The murderer of Archbishop Romero in El Salvador was found liable in a civil lawsuit for crimes against humanity and for "an extrajudicial killing," and was fined $10 million. (I love that phrase, extrajudicial killing - killing outside the law, killing not sanctioned by a court. The government has a monopoly on killing - a subject for another time, perhaps.)
My friend José writes about this in his blog today. I have had a few conversations with José, who about a year ago was considering going to law school, about the power of litigation in our society today. How legal action, and often civil suits, are now the primary way that things get accomplished, the way people are forced to stop doing bad things, and punished for having done them in the past.
Another example is the detainees at Pier 57 last week during the RNC. The police piled people into a former bus garage full of toxic chemicals and held them there for longer than the 24 hours maximum stipulated by our constitution. Now they are using legal action to hold the City of New York acccountable.. In an email I was forwarded that came from one of the detainees, I read that one of the chants they chanted while inside was "WE WILL, WE WILL, SUE YOU!" (to the tune of the Queen song We Will Rock You).
Other examples abound, like forest defenders who use legal action to stop logging. I think it's great that the people have learned to harness the power of the judicial branch, to employ those modern sorcerers called lawyers (there are actually some good ones on our side) to fight for good.
I do find it ironic, like many related ironies, that even those progressives who preach the most radical of social change, the complete dismantling of "the system," employ this tactic. I'm not attacking them, or at least all of them. Some may wave the flag of violent revolution in one hand while holding their cell phone talking with their lawyer in the other, not realizing the contradiction. However, many others may be like me, holding extreme beliefs but recognizing that the realization of those dreams will be a long process fraught with peril and careful, difficult work. Using the master's tools to take down the master's house. Where molotov cocktails fail, perhaps lawsuits will suceed.
Posted by steev at Septiembre 6, 2004 09:05 AM