File spoon-archives/anarchy-list.archive/anarchy-list_1999/anarchy-list.9912, message 447


Date: Thu, 09 Dec 1999 17:03:09 -0500
From: Chuck0 <chuck-AT-tao.ca>
Subject: [Fwd: Seattle - the highwater mark of our resistance 



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 09 Dec 1999 03:20:22 PST
From: Chris Crass <chriscrass1886-AT-hotmail.com>
To: chriscrass1886-AT-hotmail.com
Subject: Seattle - the highwater mark of our resistance

Shutting Down the WTO and Opening Up a World of Possibilities
-an open letter to my comrades

"The people, quite simply, spoke.  A wide fusion of radical 
environmentalists, labor activists, human rights advocates, and social 
justice workers made the WTO listen when for five years it had adamantly 
refused.  The terms of the free trade debate have forever been changed;
no 
amount of tear gas or police harassment of demonstrators after the fact 
changed the bottom line.  For one day, a ragtag army of nonviolent
global 
citizens spoke - and the world listened." - Seattle Weekly 12.02.99.

I had been standing, arms linked, with members of my affinity group by
my 
side in a street blockade for several hours on Tuesday afternoon, when
word 
was passed along that all WTO meetings for the day had been cancelled.

The day had started early - 5:30am - my affinity group joined hundreds
of 
people at the park to begin actions that truly felt historic.  We were
part 
of the Cowborg cluster - clusters of affinity groups had been formed to
take 
specific actions to use non-violent direct action to shut down the WTO. 
The 
city had been divided up into 13 wedges - pieces of pie A-M and ours was
Key 
lime.  The Cowborg cluster was one of several clusters in our wedge
alone.  
There were hundreds of affinity groups and dozens of clusters,
organizing on 
such a scale that I had never before participated in, the excitment was 
intoxicating.

The cowborg cluster had a large cow puppet with BGH written on its side 
representing the grotesque use of hormones and chemicals in factory
farming. 
  We were to take an intersection and a dozen people would lock-down
while 
30-40 of us would protect them with our bodies and hold the intersection
as 
long as we could to help tie up downtown and prevent any movement into
the 
convention center where the WTO ceremonies were to begin.  We marched
with 
thousands into the downtown and then moved to our location.  We took our 
intersection and within minutes we could see other intersections
occupied as 
well.  Communications people on bicycles zoomed by announcing which 
intersections had been taken - the hotels are surrounded, clusters are 
taking there sections everywhere, the police are disoriented and can't
keep 
up with us - we were told.

We danced, we chanted, we sang, we celebrated.  A street party had begun 
several blocks up from us.  I went to check it out and soon found myself 
helping blockade the delegates from China.  An organizer began speaking
to 
the delegates in Chinese and there in the street, international talks
were 
taking place between activists and representatives from 135 nations
around 
the world about human rights, social and environmental justice.

The cowborg cluster - recognizing our utter (no pun intended) success
left 
our intersection and marched triumpantly around downtown joining other 
blockades and street parties.  Downtown was ours - everywhere you
looked, 
the beautiful faces of activists realizing their dreams shined brightly.

The first announcement came - the morning cessions had been cancelled,
the 
opening ceremonies were off.

I could hardly believe it - we shut down the WTO!  We hugged each other,
we 
shouted, we cheered.  One of the most powerful organizations on the
planet 
had been brought to a stand-still.

We rested and then returned to the blockades for the afternoon.  Groups
of 
activists were everywhere holding intersections.  We joined a blockade a 
stood in solidarity with thousands of other activists working to keep
the 
WTO shut down and then again the messages came that the entire day had
been 
cancelled - shortly thereafter we hear the concussion grenades and saw
the 
tear gas.

A group of hundreds several blocks down from us was being fired upon
with 
rubber bullets and tear gas.  What I saw would continue and get worse. 
The 
police were relentless.  The defenders of power and privilege had to
punish 
us for what we had accomplished.  The next few days were consumed in 
marches, blockades and military action by the police.  A state of
emergency 
was declared by the Mayor, the national guard was called in and the tear
gas 
was flying everywhere, the pepper spray was indiscriminate, the sound of
the 
concussion grenades and helicopters flying above was a constant -
echoing in 
my mind long after they stopped.

We marched on Wednesday with the Steelworkers and thousands of unionists
- 
alongside grassroots activists from all over the world, organizing
around 
multiply causes.  We were fired upon by the police and my affinity group
was 
consumed in tear gas.  As we tried to get out of there, I looked back
and 
saw a comrade from our affinity group buckled over on the street
completely 
surrounded by tear gas.  We carried each other, each in a different
state of 
trama and pain.  We regrouped and made decisions - as we had been
throughout 
all of the actions - as an affinity group using concensus process.

Being tear gassed in the streets with thousands of amazing activists
brought 
so many emotions to the forefront - anger and profound sadness seeing
people 
you love squirting lemons in their eyes to get the pain out, tears
running 
down their face, an undeniable sense of solidarity with everyone who is 
struggling in the streets to resist corporate tyranny and standing up to 
state violence.

As a movement of people we were unstoppable.  The lock-downs, the
blockades, 
the marches, the organzing continued until finally the WTO ended is
total 
disarray - the negotiators of corporate power and profit oriented policy 
were left bankrupt by a movement of people who represented a radical 
coalition of activists that came from around the world and mounted an 
unprecedented campaign of non-violent resistance.

*on organizing*

People were amazing well organized.  Everynight there was a
spokescouncil 
meeting where all of the affinity groups sent a spokesperson to discuss
and 
agree on strategy for the next day.  These meetings and others that took 
place regularly were excellent examples of what we can do - of how we
can 
operate as a strong yet decentralized movement that can come together in 
mass and still operate as small groups.  The organizing demonstrated how 
effective it is to operate under the principle that we are all leaders,
we 
are all organizers, we are all participants in this struggle.

The actions were creative, the jail solidarity was brilliant, the 
collectives doing jail support, media, and much other important work 
operated well and allowed people to focus, share common work and utilize 
skills and recources effectively.

*on anarchist involvement*

while the media obsesses over anarchists who destroyed property - the
real 
story was that anarchists were simply everywhere doing a hundred
different 
things.  Anarchists were doing jail support, media work, making meals
for 
thousands, doing dishes, facilitating strategy meetings, leading
workshops 
and discussion groups.  Anarchists were doing medical support work,
security 
at the warehouse space, communications between affinity groups and
clusters, 
organizing marches and blockades and lock downs and tripod sits and
forming 
human chains.  Anarchists were making puppets, banners, signs, leaflets, 
press releases, stickers, and customes (like the lovable sea turtles). 
Anarchists were starting chants, designing posters and newspapers,
playing 
music, negotiating with the police and jailers to get our comrades out
of 
jail.  Anarchists were squaters occupying an empty building and
attracting 
national media to the issues of property, poverty and homelessness.  
Anarchists were held in solitary confinement for being such effective 
organizers of mass non-violent civil disobediance that rocked Seattle
and 
ignited the imaginations of the world.  And yes anarchists targeted 
corporate chainstores.

*on property and resistance*

As a movement we need to think critically about how our actions and our 
messages get interpreted by the rest of society.  Some of the people who 
engaged in property destruction were very clear and left messages 
"anti-sweatshop" that were easily understandable - however, there were
also 
people who genuinely looked like they were just lashing out randomly and 
unthoughfully (which might be justifiable, but not necessarily effective
in 
making social change).

However - as a movement we also need to recognize the difference between 
property destruction and violence.  I remember watching - years ago - 
thousands of people hammering away at the Berlin Wall that stood as such
an 
obviously symbol of political oppression.  I did not once think that
those 
who were smashing the wall were violent.  It was a jubilant and
inspiring 
moment.  Nor do I think that those who were toppling statues of Stalin
in 
Eastern Europe are violent.  Again another obvious symbol of
oppression.  In 
the United States, under corporate capitalism, the symbols of oppression
are 
the golden arches of McDonalds and other corporate stores that are 
destroying the planet and amassing enormous power at our expense.  While
we 
need to think strategically about our tactics and be open to debate and 
dialogue, we also need to put things into perspective.  While I advocate 
non-violent direct action, I understand where others are coming from and 
hope that we can discuss these issues as a movement that is diverse and 
vibrant.

The issue of violence is squarely upon the state as it attacked
protesters 
and people in the neighborhoods and demonstrated an uncompromising 
willingness to aggressively assualt non-violent demonstrators.

*the future

Seattle was truly amazing and it was made possible because of all of the 
organizing that we do day-to-day, the often unglamorous work that makes 
social change happen.  Our ideas of what is possible have been greatly 
expanded.  I have heard many people say that it will take them a while
to 
process all that has happened, and I feel the same way.  Hopefully we
can 
share our ideas and think hard about what we did and what we can do so
that 
our movement will grow.

I want to thank all of the people that did so much to make so many
amazing 
things happen - shutting down the WTO while the whole world is watching, 
makes you happy to be alive and inspired to dare to dream higher.

in solidarity,
chris crass

   

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