A Peace Team in action

When we first started placing peace teams in the Lansing area, the cops really considered us a pain – and told us so.  They were sure we’d just get in the way, and that we’d do more harm than good.  We were a real irritant to them.  Then, after watching us in action year after year, they really changed their perception.  The first time they articulated this was at the Pride Day event last year.  Pride Day is the annual state-wide celebration for LGBT folks held in Lansing (the state capital) and consists of a parade, a commitment ceremony on the steps of the Capitol building, and then a day-long festival with music, booths, vendors, etc.  It also draws right-wing extremists who feel compelled to taunt and sneer at attendees.  In this case, a protester (“minister” with hate language sign saying all gay/lesbian people are going to hell) was arguing with a Pride Day attendee who was apparently the father of a gay son.  The father was utterly furious with the “minister”, and it looked as though this was going to explode into a full-fledged fist fight.  A young rookie officer started to walk over and force the two apart, baton in hand, when a senior officer stopped him and said, “The Peace Team can handle it”.  The young officer looked a bit surprised, but then saw that we did (handle it).  We defused the situation, and no force was used.  It was nice to hear the sergeant put the brakes on the officer who looked to use force, and this was the first recognition we’d gotten that they trusted & valued our work.  It also prevented what could have been an additional escalation in violence with the introduction of a police officer to the situation.

Then last Fall, when Fred Phelps (the minister from “GodHatesFags.com”) and his entourage were scheduled to make protesting appearances at a Lansing High School & at Michigan State University, the Lansing & East Lansing communities met in a town-hall type setting to decide how to handle this:  Fred Phelps and his family purposefully instigate violence as part of their “modus operendi”.   The police forces from both cities were in attendance.  Initially, the meeting was being held as a meeting of the whole, but then they decided to split into “planning for the Lansing High School protest” and “planning for the East Lansing/MSU protest”.  Since I was the only representative from MPT in attendance, I stood up, introduced myself & that I represented MPT, and said that I was there to offer MPT’s help if either community wanted our help.  Immediately, both groups said that they wanted MPT there and, most surprising of all, the first people to say so were those who already knew who we were and what we do:  the police officers.  A Lansing police sergeant said “Yeah, we want MPT there”, and the East Lansing officer said “We do too.”  So they had to split the meetings so that MPT’s input could be shared with both groups.  The day of the protests, MPT peace teams were at both events, and there was no violence.

Then, earlier this year, at the “Right to Work (for less)” rally (protesting union-busting legislation), the police sergeant in charge came over to us and said, “I’m so glad you guys are here.  You really do excellent work.  You’ll be here all day, won’t you?”.   And then at this year’s Pride event, the sergeant in charge came over to some Peace Team members towards the end of a very long day and told them “You all do a remarkable job, and we really, really appreciates you being here.”

So, it took 20 years of the police seeing us in action, but from what they’ve told us, they now see us as a true asset in keeping volatile situations safer and nonviolent.  And we do it without any kind of violence or intimidation, without resorting to squelching people’s freedom of speech, or their right to possess different mindsets, or having to identify “who’s right” and “who’s wrong”.  It’s done courageously, but with a sense of integrity and respect for all.  And it works!  So, at least here in Michigan, the police are now recognizing that what we do works, and that’s a good start for finding a new way of doing things for everybody.

– Mary Hanna