There was no screaming, tear gas or street blockage, and a meeting with two police officers culminated in an offering of cookies and hot chocolate from a protester.
Laramie resident Nancy Sindelar served as one of the mobilizers for the protest of the appearance of former Vice President Dick Cheney. The group, known as Wyoming Citizens Against Torture (WYCAT), marched outside the Rochelle Gateway Center. Sindelar said that the protest’s focus was non-violence.
“If it bleeds it leads,” Sindelar said, “But we don’t do blood.”
WYCAT said they believe Cheney to have committed war crimes and this was the focus of the protest, rather than the event, a presentation by Liz Cheney about her new book “James Madison: A Life Reconsidered.”
Planning since late January, the group met on a nearly weekly basis at the “Peace House,” a dwelling owned by Sindelar established to facilitate protests and organizing. Emphasizing pacifism, WYCAT focused on distribution of materials relating to James Madison’s views on war and waving protest signs.
Some protesters came all the way from Colorado.
“When I found out Darth Cheney was going to be here and we were going to let people know a little bit about him I had to be here,” a Leadville, Colo. resident who wished to be identified only as Scott said.
Bob Starkley, one of the protest organizers, said that it was a triumph for WYCAT.
“I think it was a success,” Starkey said. “There was a lot of honking, and a lot of thumbs up, even from the people going to the event.”
Composed primarily of veterans and older Laramie residents, the group notably lacked student participation. Derek Depiero, a UW junior studying Political Science, said that he feels it is partially due to political beliefs, and partially due to conflicted feelings about Cheney politically versus his contributions to the university.
“I think there’s some hesitation because there’s plenty of people who’ve received money from the Cheney’s,” Depiero said, “Its kind of hypocritical to be like ‘lets protest against him even though I got $800 to go to Guatemala last year.’”
Students who had participated in the “#blacklivesmatter” protest in December noted that a fear of social retribution can drive students away from organizing.
“Students who may be passionate about those issues may not go out and protest out of fear of being ostracized,” African American and Diaspora Studies senior Natawsha Mitchell said. “People here aren’t used to collective action.”
Political Science Professor Andrew Garner said that student protests should be encouraged, but cautioned that organizers need to be aware of the propriety of their protest.
“I think its good for students to become politically active,” Garner said, “The context needs to be appropriate for the protest.”
In addition to the absence of students, none of the protesters identified themselves as UW faculty. International Studies Professor Adam Henne said that faculty may be reluctant to turn a friendly workplace into a more contentious one.
“We have a pretty genial workplace here,” Henne said, “People don’t want to rock the boat.”
Director of International Studies and one of the primary organizers of James Madison event, Jean Garrison was unshaken by the actions of the protesters.
“It’s a matter of free speech,” Garrison said. “That’s what Madison was all about. It’s very much in the spirit of our country and very much in the spirit of what the Cheney’s believe.”
