Port Militarization Resistance - Strategy and Tactics

Strategy and Tactics

While attempts are made to appeal to local governing bodies to cease military shipments, many PMR members and port action participants believe these avenues have largely been exhausted. Thus, PMR the organization and adherents of the PMR strategy focus on direct action, a political philosophy which relies on circumventing the authority of elected officials.

Tactics used in PMR actions vary, and have included each of the following:

• Daily/Nightly vigils
• Picketing
• die-ins
• banner drops
• Human blockades and locking arms
• civil disobedience such as ignoring police-designated "free-speech zones"
• Soft-arrest demonstrations
• Physical road blockades
• Unpermitted marches
• Property damage.

While each of the above listed tactics has been used at PMR hosted protests, PMR does not necessarily endorse each of those, and organizers have from time to time spoken out against various actions taken at its protests.

It has also been suggested by port action participants that one of PMR's most effective tactics is the forcing of local jurisdictions to escalate their security expenses during the shipments, making the shipments less valuable.

Port Militarization Resistance has encouraged participants to engage in a mixture of direct action and indirect action for the purposes of obstructing military shipments. PMR has at times acted as a cohesive unit, and at other times has encouraged members to organize into affinity groups.

Port Militarization Resistance has issued statements committing itself to non-violence. This commitment includes refusals to engage in things like "verbal harassment" and "malicious sabotage." While the organization has never been involved in any act in violation of this commitment, not all participants in port actions consider themselves aligned with PMR the organization, and some have engaged in actions which would be in violation of PMR's commitment to non-violence.