Date: Wed, 08 Dec 1999 21:58:54 -0500 From: Chuck0 <chuck-AT-tao.ca> Subject: Anarchists help light National Christmas Tree OK, it wasn't that dramatic, but the local Washington, DC -AT- scene turned out tonight for our weekly holiday protest for Leonard Peltier. This month we are having weekly candlelight vigils in front of the White House on Leonard Peltier's behalf. Our goal is executive clemency for Peltier. Tonight we got together around 5 on the Ellipse for the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony (tm), where we knew that Clinton would be. We weren't really able to be close enough for him to see our signs or hear us, but we did manage to get the message out to several thousand people. The folks working on the Brian MacKenzie Center were joined by student activists from the University of Maryland and American University. We only numbered about 25, but I think we were effective without being too annoying. We fanned out in small groups, so that people would feel more comfortable asking us who Leonard Peltier is. One of the big mistakes that standard mass demos do is not having individuals on the perimeter talking to people who feel uncomfortable approaching a large demo. Our actions didn't go off without the standard amount of hassling by the cops. Nick and some other guys (forget your names, sorry!) has brought some black flags and bamboo poles. Secret Service intercepted them as they walked across the Ellipse. They checked Dave's ID and consfiscated the poles. They said something stupid about the poles beign too wide around. I came up to this scene and started messing with the cop, making fun of his orders to me. I eventually walked backwards from the scene to become part of the "public." Dave told me later that the cop called me an asshole. Anyway, I think our presence made the SS very nervous. Nobody was arrested over the poles, but one woman who was with us was later escorted off the Ellipse by a cop. For those of you who are out of town, you can't even hold a protest sign up on Federal property without being hassled about having a permit. There are lots of laws and rules governing free speech in this fascist town. After the Christmas tree lighting ceremony--which was pretty damn corny, what with the opera singer, the choir, and Bill Clinton singing "Jingle Bells"--we went around the White House to do our candleight demo. There were around 15 of us for this action. I left after half an hour, so I don't know what else happened. If you are in the D.C. area, we welcome you to join us next Wednesday night when we do another vigil. BTW, I talked to Dave, who was in Seattle. He thinks that there were around 4-6000 anarchists and anti-authoritarians in attendance during the N30 actions. He has more stories to tell, which I hope that we can hear along with Om's next week. Jingle bells, jingle bells, Peltier is still in jail... -- Chuck0 http://flag.blackened.net/chuck0/home/ Dr. Laura is scared of this sig file +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Mid-Atlantic Infoshop http://www.infoshop.org/ Spunk Library http://www.spunk.org/ "All the anarchy you'll ever need, organized neatly and with reassuring authority." -- 1998 Rough Guide to the Internet FREE MUMIA ABU-JAMAL AND LEONARD PELTIER! +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
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