Writers Circle Prompt: Compromise

My entire life has been full of compromises, some of which I'm proud--especially those that strengthened relationships.  At the Women's Encampment for a Future of Peace and Justice, the women who built the space had much opportunity--actually much need--to compromise.  

On some things, compromise proved to be impossible.  For example, we were open to all women, but some felt a need to be surrounded by Christian crosses which they painted on signs and on tents and buildings.  Other women felt a need to be surrounded by symbols of Wiccan beliefs such as the pentacle.  The two groups dueled throughout the run of the encampment, sometimes destroying each other’s' artwork.  Conflict resolution was unable to forge a lasting peace between the two extremes.  We tried establishing different areas for crosses and for pentacles.  We tried prohibiting all religious symbolism. Both compromises were constantly violated.  We learned a lot about the beliefs that motivated the conflict, and often found companionship and even humor in times of peace.

Another area with fragile compromise was keeping the back border of the encampment--the one that bordered the army base--free from protest actions and signs.  Most of us thought we would be safer that way.  However, a few anarchist women who were against any forms of control, violated the rule by climbing the fence to enter the military base.  I was not there to see what happened when they were arrested.  I know we doubled security along that boundary.

On other things, we did better.  Since we were protesting the apparatus of war Americans established world-wide, some women objected to camping under an American flag.  Others wanted to claim the flag and attach new meaning to it.  After much discussion, the compromise was to hang the flag among homemade quilts and other flags, which showed our diversity.  We had lots of opportunities to discuss the quilts, flags, protest sins, and t-shirts that announced our differences and similarities.

Since this was an encampment for women, we asked the men we were related to and our friends to play supporting roles rather than be present on the grounds and in the actions.  This request struck everyone as fair and reasonable.  Several mothers, however, wanted to camp with their male children.  The compromise was to establish a discrete area of the campground with its own bathrooms and showers for mixed genders.  Boys were allowed up through the age of 11.  Childcare was offsite with all genders together, and men took shifts along with women caregivers.  News agencies also had to contend with the women-only encampment.  They were the ones to compromise.  We welcomed female reporters, so a few news agencies actually added women to their reporting staff.  We saw this as one of the ways the encampment made the world a better place.

Most of the compromises we made had to do with living--cooking, sleeping, security, and the actions themselves.  The encampment did not establish peace and justice in the world, but as an experiment in living it was highly successful.  We learned to live together and to negotiate, even in areas that we could not compromise.  What we all had in common was a desire to eliminate nuclear weapons and to dismantle the apparatus of war and racism.  We learned to do actions together, with women who wanted to be more aggressive making sure that other demonstrators were safe.  And in the process, we found ways to laugh and enjoy each other.

© 2025 Susan L. Chast

Writer's Circle Prompts.

Please respect my copyright.