File spoon-archives/avant-garde.archive/avant-garde_2000/avant-garde.0008, message 26


From: "Vireo" <deisis19-AT-ix.netcom.com>
Subject: Fw: [free radical] R2K REPORT
Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2000 12:45:21 -0400


> Subject: Fw: [free radical] R2K REPORT
> > To: <free-radical-AT-egroups.com>
> > Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 17:26:35 -0700
> > Subject: [free radical] R2K REPORT
> >
> >
> > FREE RADICAL: chronicle of the new unrest
> >           by L.A. KAUFFMAN
> > --------------------------------------------------------
> > [to subscribe, send a blank email to free-radical-subscribe-AT-egroups.com]
> > forward freely; sorry about the ad, I'm changing services soon
> > --------------------------------------------------------
> > R2K REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Issue #9
> >
> >
> > The police stole our message.
> >
> > The Philadelphia police, that is, before the massive
> > direct action - or should I say, "lawless rampage" -
> > outside the Republican National Convention on August 1.
> >
> > "Zero hour" for the protests, as folks called our start
> > time, was set for 3:30PM that day. At that moment,
> > affinity groups would converge on selected targets
> > throughout Center City, blockading key streets and
> > intersections, while "flying squads" of other protesters
> > would circulate throughout the entire area, reinforcing
> > blockades or creating temporary ones of their own.
> >
> > The tactical goal was to snarl as much traffic as possible
> > for as long a time as possible. The objective was to draw
> > attention to issues of criminal injustice, while inconveniencing
> > convention delegates on their way to the GOP's festival
> > of corporate wealth.
> >
> > A few hours before the appointed time, police surrounded
> > the cavernous West Philly building that had been dubbed
> > the Ministry of Puppetganda. They arrested everyone inside -
> > about 70 Puppetistas - and then destroyed everything that had
> > been built there: giant puppets, banners, signs, and costumes.
> > These protest props were to dramatize the policing and prison
> > issues that motivated the direct action, and to communicate
> > our vision of change.
> >
> > It was a smart move by the police. Stripped of our means of
> > communication, we looked as if we had no message to convey.
> > This perception became a running theme in corporate media
> > coverage of the August 1 demonstrations; we were cast as
> > mindless hordes wreaking random havoc.
> >
> > There were about two hours on Tuesday when chaos reigned,
> > and I have to say it was glorious. Not the small-scale
> > window-breaking, tire-slashing, and graffiti, mostly targeted
> > at police vehicles; the use of those tactics in the context
> > of a big direct action leaves me lukewarm at best. (The sort
> > of property destruction where people sabotage experimental
> > genetically modified crops and so forth: that makes my heart
> > go pit-a-pat.)
> >
> > What thrilled me in Philly was the success and character of the
> > action from an organizational point of view. By about 5:00PM,
> > all you needed to do if you wanted to know where disturbances
> > were happening was to look up in the sky and follow the
> > helicopters. I somehow never bothered to count them, but
> > there were half a dozen at least, spread out over a large area.
> >
> > Each helicopter hovered over an effective, autonomously
> > organized blockade. Throughout the afternoon, the whir of
> > helicopters was joined by dozens of sirens, as long lines
> > of police dashed around the city trying to contain the
> > protests, only to encounter new disruptions in previously
> > quiet locations. Center City was gridlocked, and delegate
> > buses were stuck in the traffic before they could even
> > pick up their intended passengers. (I got a great photo
> > of my affinity group in front of one such vehicle, flashing
> > the message "Take Next Bus.") Delegates who wanted to get
> > to the convention had to walk some distance before they
> > could even hail a cab. We made our presence felt.
> >
> > The decentralized character of the action rendered police
> > surveillance ineffective and made our protest impossible
> > to stop. The district attorney is already trying to pin
> > conspiracy charges on people whom the authorities perceive
> > as leaders, like John Sellers, the director of the Ruckus
> > Society, which trains activists in blockading and other
> > nonviolent techniques. (His bail was set at a jaw-dropping
> > $1 million.) But the beauty of the action is that it wasn't
> > a conspiracy. There was no central planning of the actual
> > blockades: The people who created the various disruptions
> > kept their plans to themselves, and no one knew everything
> > that would go down. On the day of the action, communications
> > people relayed information between the various geographic
> > sectors, but there were no "leaders" in the usual sense,
> > directing or even coordinating the course of events.
> >
> > Instead, actions of this sort rely on organizers - people
> > who play a very different role. For Philly, these key
> > activists crafted the call to action, focusing on police
> > brutality and the prison-industrial complex; they got the
> > word out about the protest, encouraged others to come,
> > and handled endless logistical details.
> >
> > The lasting significance of the Philly action won't be
> > its effect on public opinion (and wouldn't have been, even
> > if we hadn't bombed so badly in the media). It will be how
> > and by whom it was organized. The Philly organizers were
> > not the same crew that put together the Seattle WTO
> > protests or the IMF and World Bank actions in Washington,
> > D.C. (The overlap between the organizers of the two earlier
> > actions was so extensive that many called the D.C.
> > mobilization "cliquish.")
> >
> > The major players in Philly were a good deal younger
> > and far more racially diverse than the organizers of
> > Seattle or D.C. Activists of color - including members
> > of New York's SLAM (Student Liberation Action Movement)
> > and Philadelphia ACT UP - were key in initiating the
> > mobilization and played central planning roles
> > throughout the months of organizing.
> >
> > In twenty years of activism, I've never seen a comparable
> > effort: a decentralized direct action based on affinity
> > groups and consensus decision-making process, that was
> > substantially shaped by people of color. Throughout the
> > last two decades, the movements that have used this
> > structure and process have been overwhelmingly white -
> > including the Seattle and D.C. mobilizations. In Philly,
> > the issues, priorities, and analysis of movements of color
> > intersected an organizational style developing in
> > predominantly white movements: The convergence was
> > wonderful to see.
> >
> > After Seattle, Elizabeth (Betita) Martinez published a
> > widely circulated essay, "Where Was the Color in Seattle?"
> > The piece, drawing on interviews with a number of young
> > activists of color who attended the WTO protests, has
> > sparked debate and action throughout the overlapping
> > activist networks that make up the emerging movement
> > for global justice. Many whites have taken anti-racism
> > trainings in the months since, and have sought to make
> > new alliances by supporting movements of color, rather
> > than expecting activists of color to join predominantly
> > white campaigns. Meanwhile, many activists of color -
> > inspired by Seattle and D.C., even though critical of
> > their monochromatic character - have embraced and
> > transformed the Seattle organizing model, as part
> > of a longer-term renaissance of direct action within
> > African-American, Latino, and Asian-American movements.
> >
> > The Philly protests are an exciting sign of progress,
> > an indication that sturdy bridges are beginning to form
> > between predominantly people of color and predominantly
> > white movements. If these alliances continue to strengthen,
> > along with analogous bonds between labor and environmentalists,
> > just imagine what this movement can do. Even without puppets.
> >
> > *******
> >
> > You've heard of the Revolutionary Anarchist Black Bloc,
> > with their controversial tactics and fierce demeanor.
> > Philly marked the advent of a new force on the streets:
> > the flying squad of the Revolutionary Anarchist Clown Bloc.
> > Bedecked in silly wigs, red noses, and other trappings of
> > resistance, the Clown Bloc aimed "to show the Republicans
> > they are not the only clowns in town."
> >
> > As they swarmed through the streets of Philadelphia,
> > they left fellow protesters giggling over their deadpan
> > take-offs on classic activist slogans: "Hey hey, ho ho,
> > hee hee!" "Three word chant, three word chant" and so forth.
> >
> > Their official communique, even more of an activist in-joke,
> > stressed their political openness: "We are not, however,
> > calling for a strictly anarchist clown bloc. We hereby
> > open the call to those who do not identify as anarcho-clowns,
> > but nonetheless struggle to create the same revolutionary
> > antics: autonomist fan-dancers, situationist contortionists,
> > anti-fascist jugglers, council communist hula-hoopers,
> > wobbly tall-bike riders and stilt walkers, radical
> > cheerleaders, primitivist fire breathers, and yes,
> > even anti-state libertarian marxist mimes! Together,
> > we can take back our lives from dominations by elephants,
> > jackasses, ringleaders, and all others. Our intent is not
> > to be divisive of the larger protests, but to support them
> > by wearing very large shoes."
> >
> > ******
> >
> > It was remarkable how many irony-impaired spectators didn't
> > get the Billionaires for Bush (or Gore), several dozen
> > delightful performers who marched under the slogan,
> > "Because inequality isn't growing fast enough!" Wearing
> > tuxedos and evening gowns in the Philadelphia heat, the
> > Billionaires put it all in perspective:
> >
> > "Gore or Bush, Bush or Gore,
> > we don't care who you vote for.
> > We've already bought 'em
> > We've already bought 'em"
> >
> > "What do we want?"
> > Prison labor!
> > "How do we want it?"
> > Cheap!
> >
> > My favorite Billionaire moments came when my friend Alex
> > took some of the paper money he was carrying and sidled up
> > to journalists from the corporate media. He'd take a fake
> > $5000 bill and slip it into the journalists' hand or pocket:
> > "You all are really doing a great job for us," he'd say.
> > "We're really happy with what you've been doing."
> >
> > ******
> >
> > During the most chaotic part of the day on Tuesday, I was
> > walking not far from City Hall with Alex and other members
> > of my affinity group, when I spotted the loathsome Phil Gramm,
> > Republican senator from Texas, heading right for us. "Hey Alex,
> > that's Phil Gramm," I said. Alex was quick on his feet.
> > "The party's over. The rich aren't going to have their way
> > any more," said Alex. Gramm slowed down. "Bullshit," he replied
> > (and I swear this is an exact quote). "The rich have always
> > run everything, and they always will." What I would have
> > given for a video camera.
> >
> > *******
> > For more on the Philly actions, visit
> > www.phillyimc.org
> > www.r2kphilly.org
> > www.billionairesforbushorgore.com
> >
> > FREE RADICAL is an e-column on the current upsurge in activism,
> > written by L.A. Kauffman. It will appear only sporadically
> > until the end of September, as I labor to complete my book,
> > DIRECT ACTION: RADICALISM IN OUR TIME.
> >
> > ABOUT THE AUTHOR L.A. Kauffman (lak-AT-free-radical.org) is writing DIRECT
> > ACTION: RADICALISM IN OUR TIME, a history of U.S. activism since 1970. A
> > longtime radical journalist and organizer, she is active in a number of
> > New
> > York City direct action campaigns. Her work has appeared in the Village
> > Voice, The Nation, The Progressive, Spin, Mother Jones, Salon.com, and
> > numerous other publications. .
> > --------------------------------------------
> > TO SUBSCRIBE, send a blank email to: free-radical-subscribe-AT-egroups.com
> > TO UNSUBSCRIBE, send a blank email to:
> > free-radical-unsubscribe-AT-egroups.com
> > --------------------------------------------
> > Back issues of FREE RADICAL are on the web at www.free-radical.org
> > All contents Copyright 2000 by L.A. Kauffman
> > FREE RADICAL is syndicated by Alternet (www.alternet.org)
> >
> > ignore any commercial advertisements that the corporate creeps who now
> > rule
> > eGroups have inserted into this message



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