-
Earlier this summer,

In addition, now that the band has finally made enough money to cover the recording costs of the album, they are offering it for free downloading. Donations are still welcome to cover the costs of making this available.

“Germinate” is still available on CD via CrimethInc. Far East. From the Depths is scheduled to record another record this fall.

Information on the situation facing arrestees in Toronto is still sketchy at best, as most of those with serious charges have not received bail hearings yet and full coordination of support campaigns has yet to emerge. We will present an additional update on repression and arrestee support as soon as possible.

Full report here.

We’re pleased to bring you breaking news from Vancouver, where united indigenous and anarchist resistance has disrupted the capitalist and nationalist triumphalism at the opening of the Olympic Games.

Anti-Olympic Riots and Militant Actions Rock Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories

The following report was collectively produced by several participants in this past weekend’s militant resistance to the 2010 Olympic games. This is not a full analysis of Olympic Resistance but rather an in-depth account of what just went down. For more background on why people are resisting these games, check no2010.com and olympicresistance.net.

This was not “just another summit”—this was the culmination of several years of direct action by indigenous people, anarchists, anti-poverty activists, environmentalists, and others against the 2010 Olympics. One of the most inspiring aspects of this convergence was the framework that created it. Unlike many summits, which lack an anti-racist and anti-colonial analysis, indigenous sovereignty and decolonization was front-and-center this time. Indigenous people called upon their allies to help defend their territory against further colonization, and solidarity activists answered that call. An anti-capitalist analysis permeated the entire movement and it was a radicalizing force among the broader activist community. This was not a showdown in which local issues were left on the back burner; as far as the authors know, this was the first summit in North America that was entirely focused on local issues.

The movement was mostly local, as well. Although the numbers may seem small in comparison to mobilizations in Europe and the US, Vancouver is a very isolated city and is not easy to travel to—as many who have tried know. A border separates it from every other major urban center on the West Coast, and the guards turned away countless people hoping to join us. It takes several days of traveling by car to reach Vancouver from Canada’s other major urban centers. Although many people did travel here from across Turtle Island [North America, in the colonial lexicon] and even Europe, the majority of the participants were from the immediate vicinity.

Anarchist hurdles

Anarchist bowling

February 12: First Day of Action

The first official day of action for the Anti-Olympics Convergence was quite a busy day. After the torch run was successfully blocked in two different neighborhoods, thousands of Anti-Olympics dissidents marched on the opening of the games.

8:30 a.m.
Hundreds of downtown Eastside residents, including native warriors, anarchists, and other supporters successfully blockaded the intersection of East Hastings and Cambie Street. When police attempted to disperse the crowd by force, some stood their ground while others sat down in the middle of the intersection, refusing to comply with the police orders. Unable to clear the street, the police were forced to tell the torch relay to change its route and not travel down Hastings into the downtown Eastside.

A fascinating bird’s-eye-view of this blockade from start to finish is available here.

9 a.m.

Local residents and other protesters successfully keep the Olympic torch off Commercial Drive.

Hundreds, including many anarchists, took the streets and used barbed wire and boulders to block the torch from coming through their neighborhood. Once word came in that the torch was being re-routed, they moved up Commercial Drive to ensure that it would not get around them and up the Drive. They met a line of mounted police (chant: “Get those animals off those horses!”), but ran through an adjacent alley to take the streets again. A minor confrontation occurred with a few Olympics enthusiasts. The torch was successfully kept off Commercial Drive, and when torchbearer Carrie Serwetnyk arrived she was chased out of the neighborhood and had to be escorted into the back of a police cruiser with torch in hand.

3 p.m.: Take Back Our City Mass Mobilization

Traffic cone contends for the high jump gold medal at the opening ceremonies.

Several thousand protesters, including one hundred in a black bloc, assembled at the epicenter of the Olympic circus at 3 p.m. Led by indigenous elders, they marched from the Vancouver Art Gallery to disrupt the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Olympics at BC Place. The participants respected the call that this be an all-ages, family-friendly demo. However, in contrast to many demonstrations, “family-friendly” did not mean imposed pacifism. This march respected the autonomy of all, and there was a great deal of communication between various groups in order to mutually support each other.

In response to a request for people to move to the front in order to protect indigenous elders from police harassment, the black bloc and native warriors faced off with the pigs. The black bloc contingent was organized, closing ranks and holding police at bay. Members confiscated officers’ hats, vests, and flashlights while tossing orange pylons, tires, and other debris their way—simultaneously mocking the display of state force and inspiring, supporting, and defending those around them. After a long pushing match during which police officers and protesters exchanged blows, it was clear that the conflict was in a stalemate and the crowd began to disperse. Police managed to kidnap three people who were charged with breach, and one with assault.

February 13: Heart Attack!

Black bloc intent on “clogging the arteries of capitalism.”

8:30 a.m.
400 anarchists arrived bright and early at Thornton Park at 8:30 a.m. for the “Heart Attack” demonstration. Calling for a diversity of tactics to “clog the arteries of capitalism,” the march was intended to cause mayhem and attack the corporate heart of downtown Vancouver. After giving time and cover for everyone to “block up” and practicing a turn-around drill in case it was necessary to reverse direction, the march immediately took over both directions of Main Street and moved north towards East Hastings. Things got off to a slow start, with only minor debris being dragged into the street. A marching band arrived and joined the ranks of black-clad militants chanting “What’s the direction? Insurrection! What’s the solution? Revolution!” Marchers tricked the police into thinking they were heading towards the police station. As police scrambled to protect their fortress, the march headed west on East Hastings—through Canada’s poorest neighborhood—towards the intended target: the heart of Vancouver.

As people gained confidence, they started dragging everything that wasn’t bolted down into the streets in order to block police vehicles from following in their wake. Some began spray-painting buses and attacking luxury cars. No damage was done to any buildings in this neighborhood, however. Heart Attackers were received with popular support, and many downtown Eastside residents felt inspired by our presence and joined in.

Arriving at Victory Square, the scene of the previous morning’s successful Olympic Torch blockade, the march took a left up Cambie Street. The energy intensified as it entered more opulent territory, and more property being damaged. A dumpster was dragged out of an alley, spray-painted, and overturned in the middle of the street, as police nervously looked on. Officers kept their distance from the unruly crowd, however, which was now smashing parking meters, defacing billboards, and continuing to obstruct intersections with newspaper boxes.

What dumpsters were to the Pittsburgh G20, newspaper boxes were to the Heart Attack march in Vancouver.

The party really got started as the ungovernables turned onto Georgia Street and made their way closer to Vancouver’s Olympic celebration zone. This hub of capitalism features many flagship stores of Olympic sponsors and is the central gathering point for Olympic tourists and enthusiasts. The streets were crowded with these consumers, and the arrival of the march was hardly met with the same level of support it had received in the downtown Eastside. At this point several belligerent individuals attempted to interfere with the march, leading to physical and verbal confrontations. Some of these vigilantes tried to unmask demonstrators, but were met with overwhelming resistance and forced off the street. One man attempted to incite other Olympic supporters to confront us but couldn’t garner any support and had to settle for urging police to “go get these guys.”

We were made for this.

The march made it fourteen blocks down Georgia Street, wreaking havoc upon the Olympic spectacle. As newspaper boxes continued to appear in the street, chairs, lumber, a ladder, and other instruments were seized from our surroundings in order to escalate the conflict. Having pierced the pericardium, the bloc attacked the aorta, smashing in the windows of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s Olympic department store in front of thousands of shocked upper-class spectators. At this point newspaper boxes ceased to function merely as passive blockades, as anarchists gave them wings and sent them flying through the windows of Hudson’s Bay and a TD bank. This attack on the intersection of Granville and Georgia—the pulse of corporate Vancouver—broke the spell of the Olympic delusion.

As the march proceeded west towards the Lions Gate bridge and the Westin Bayshore hotel, which housed the International Olympic Committee, riot cops appeared in greater numbers, attempting unsuccessfully to flank the crowd on the left. One demonstrator blocked the path of the police and was shoved, initiating hand-to-hand streetfighting. The pig who had initiated the conflict was immediately punched in the face by a member of the black bloc, and was forced to retreat as he realized he was surrounded by militants ready to defend their comrades. Soon after this confrontation a line of riot cops blocked the street ahead. Boxed in with nowhere to go but through the line, many of the black bloc ran, kicked, punched, and scrambled their way to the other side.

Unfortunately, not all were able or willing to fight their way through. As cops attempted to make arrests, all hell broke loose with anarchists on both sides of the line coming to defend and de-arrest their comrades, fighting the police for control of the intersection. This intensity of hand-to-hand conflict between anarchists and police has not been seen in “Canada” for nearly a decade. Several of the de-arrests were successful, but a handful of arrests were effected. In the end, the police held the intersection, successfully fragmenting the rioters into smaller and more vulnerable groups. Many dispersed at this point, but a group of approximately one hundred, including a festive marching band, were able to continue south, looping around to head west on Robson. Over an hour later, this group was surrounded and detained by riot cops; the police were eventually forced to release them by bystanders and supporters chanting “let them go.”

Subsequent Repression

Immediately following the dispersal, police attempted to use any excuse they could to harass, detain, and arrest suspected rioters, legal observers, media, and organizers. Several people were snatched off the street while leaving the intersection of Robson and Jervis. A few hours later, Gord Hill was given a $115 ticket for swearing at a police officer who was making an arrest outside of the Vancouver Media Co-op. Another known organizer was arrested on E. Hastings for “riding a bike on a sidewalk.” He was then charged with obstruction as he stood up for a homeless man who was being hassled by Police in Pigeon Park. Two legal observers were also ticketed for jaywalking on E. Hastings.

A reconvergence of the Heart Attack march had been planned for Robson and Granville at 5 p.m. that evening. However, it was canceled due to a variety of factors including the arrests, the increased repression, and the fact that police knew about this reconvergence point and would likely be eager to make more arrests. Those who did appear were illegally detained by riot police in front of thousands of Olympic spectators, but were released after a short period of time.

The following day, several people were snatched in relation to the Heart Attack demo, and police are still investigating videotapes and looking for more victims. We hope they won’t find any.

Also on Sunday, about 5000 participated in the 19th annual Women’s Memorial March, honoring missing and murdered women from Vancouver’s downtown Eastside. Led by indigenous women, this event was not an explicitly anti-Olympic protest, but many anarchists and other protesters participated.

Post-Action Debrief

As some had predicted, the primary tactic of the police was fear. They did not use the LRAD they had purchased; they never used tear-gas, rubber bullets, or any other form of long-range combat tactics. When they did attempt to control or arrest protesters, they used a hands-on approach. It was clear to some of us that they desired to avoid images of Vancouver engulfed in tear gas during the first day of the Olympic Games. The Olympics are all about nationalist propaganda, and the whole world actually is watching, unlike at most other demonstrations. Even with their billion-dollar security budget and high-tech crowd-control weapons, the police were unable to prevent a riot that had been announced years in advance. They effectively had their hands tied.

The black bloc relied heavily on what was readily available to them in the streets instead of bringing their own materials into the demo. Unfortunately, there were no mass supplies—no hard banners, paint bombs, projectiles, batons, or bandanas—to share with others who wanted to join.

One criticism was that people kept attacking the same windows, even throwing paint bombs at them after they were already smashed, instead of using that energy and opportunity to destroy additional property. A window that is smashed, has paint on it and a newspaper box through it does make a great photo-op, but smashing windows at a protest can be quite risky. If you’re brave enough to take that kind of action, make sure it counts!

The original target for the Heart Attack march had been the intersection of Denman and Georgia, in hopes of blocking traffic in and out of the Lions Gate Bridge, a major artery leading to the Olympic Games. Blocking the bridge turned out to be unachievable, but the march did succeed in clogging the arteries of Vancouver commerce in general. Considering the scale of militant confrontation, anarchists suffered very few arrests—at least thus far.

On the other hand, yet again the call for decentralized actions didn’t produce widespread resistance—at least as far as we know at this moment. Many anarchists argued that it would be easier to act in cells in their respectful communities and target corporate sponsors as the security apparatus would be concentrated in Vancouver. However, it is undeniable at this time of writing that the most effective resistance yet has been at the convergence itself.

This is only a preliminary assessment of this convergence. There are many other actions and demonstrations planned, and we won’t know the full scale of everything until the dust settles. The Olympics continue in Vancouver for two weeks. There is still time to plan solidarity actions. A list of corporate sponsors can be found here. A full assessment of this movement, the involvement of anarchists, and what it means for the future of militant struggle in “Canada” will appear in the near future.

Anarchists to pigs: Get the fuck out of our community!

Further Coverage
Vancouver Media Coop
Friendly Fire Collective
Insurgent Photo

[Banner photo by Michael Thibault, Crimson Phoenix Photography, www.crimsonphoenixphotography.com.]

Grand juries exist to coerce civilians into providing information about themselves and others to law enforcement and intelligence agencies. They operate in secret; no judges or defense attorneys are present, and neither Constitutional rights nor conventional evidence-gathering protocol apply. Grand juries are frequently used to harass activists and dissidents; for example, a grand jury forced independent journalist Josh Wolf to serve 226 days in a federal prison simply for refusing to turn over a videotape he had shot at a demonstration.

Carrie was already called to appear before this grand jury on October 15, and refused to answer questions, reading a statement declaring that she had “no intention of testifying before this grand jury” on account of her personal convictions. It is possible that if she and Scott refuse to answer questions this Tuesday, they will be thrown in jail for up to a year.

Both Carrie and Scott have contributed immensely to their communities and to the struggle for a freer world. Among other projects, Carrie has worked with EWOK!, a Twin Cities group supporting environmentalist defendants and prisoners, and the Coldsnap Legal Collective, which has been instrumental in supporting arrestees from the 2008 RNC protests. In addition to his own involvement with EWOK! and the Anarchist Black Cross, Scott participates in Oyate Nipi Kte, a group dedicated to the liberation of the Dakota people and the rediscovery of their traditional ways of life, and the editorial board of the Dakota community journal Anpao Duta. If these two are kidnapped by the state, it will be a tremendous loss.

Supporters are calling for a phone-in day to pressure the prosecutor to leave them alone. This Monday, call US Attorney Cliff Cronk and demand that he dismiss the subpoenas. Let them know this harassment is unacceptable and will be met by popular outrage and opposition at every turn. Feel free to take up as much of their time as you can—they clearly feel entitled to waste ours.

Monday, November 16, 9 am to 4 pm Central Standard Time

US Attorney’s Office
Cliff Cronk: (563)449-5432

Support Webpage for Carrie and Scott

General Purpose Poster against cooperating with police investigations [PDF, 576k]

Imagine, if you will, gentle reader, the animist version of this story in which dumpsters, long accused of complicity in anarchist “lifestylism,” step out of their social role to join the social war. Free food, even when distributed via programs like Food Not Bombs, is not enough—we want freedom itself, and the dumpster does too, and it gains momentum down the hill as it rolls, alone and magnificent, directly into a pair of oblivious policemen.

Our friends at the Super Happy Anarcho-Fun Pages, profiled earlier on this blog, have risen to the challenge, publishing a special issue of their comic delightfully lampooning our biannual Rolling Thunder. This sendup chronicles the adventures of one Skip, a dumpster who forsakes his place in a dropout community to make war on the ruling social order. It is available for downloading here:

web version [6MB PDF] : letter-size print [6.6MB PDF] : A4 print [6.7MB PDF]

In addition to the felony charges filed in Pittsburgh and the house raid, the Twitter defendants—and perhaps others?—are apparently being targeted by a secretive federal grand jury. Supporters have established an informative and frequently updated blog here. A rudimentary support page for David Japenga can be found here. The Twitter case will set important precedents about people’s legal rights to use modern communications technology—a matter that could determine the shape of protest in this country for decades to come. It is also important to support David Japenga, who is the state’s scapegoat for this mobilization.

Meanwhile, last Thursday, over 100 other defendants appeared in court for charges stemming from the G20 protests. A smug judge lectured college students who had been randomly assaulted by police, while prosecutors and public defenders attempted to intimidate brutalized arrestees into accepting plea bargains and thus giving up their opportunity to sue the authorities over the abuse.

Donations to the support campaign for those targeted by the Twitter charges, the house raid, and the grand jury can be made here; the Pittsburgh G20 Resistance Project is also taking donations for a legal fund to support arrestees.

This appraisal explores the triumphs and shortcomings of the G20 mobilization, in hopes that these lessons can be applied soon on a variety of other battlefields.

Read full piece here.

We’ve also designed a poster promoting the unpermitted mass march to downtown Pittsburgh scheduled for Thursday, September 24, which we predict will be the high point of the mobilization.

The recession has been acknowledged for a full year now; capitalism has been twisting the knife for centuries. As survival gets harder and the last illusions are dispelled, many people are looking around for alternatives. But few anarchists are presenting them, leaving the door open for fascists and other opportunists to capitalize on popular distress. It’s ironic that anarchist opposition to capitalist institutions—and anarchist emphasis on alternate lifestyles making the best of poverty—reached their peak a decade ago during a period of apparent prosperity, when they could be so much more persuasive today.

Since Obama’s election, some of us have waited impatiently for a chance to bring opposition to global capitalism back into the public eye. On September 24 and 25, the G20, twenty of the world’s most powerful governments, are convening in Pittsburgh, with the intention of presenting themselves as the ones who can solve the same crisis they have forced upon the rest of us. The summit will take place at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, supposedly “the world’s first and largest green convention center”; meanwhile, as if to dramatize the complicity between liberal governments, ecological devastation, and working class suffering, the International Coal Conference is scheduled to take place in Pittsburgh the preceding three days, September 21-23. This opportunity to connect the dots is being handed to anarchists on a platter—the question is whether we have the numbers, networks, and momentum to take advantage of it.

The G20 summit is calculated to cement the impression that Obama and his cronies run the only game in town when it comes to addressing economic and ecological crisis. It’s a media spectacle, but it has concrete effects: it enables the right wing to frame themselves as the opponents of the prevailing order, while isolating all who desire a different opposition. Effective anarchist resistance in Pittsburgh could shatter the illusion that Obama and his class represent the longings of the public for a better world, focusing attention on more radical responses to the present crises. It would show that anarchists are not simply the extremist fringe of the anti-Bush, anti-war movement, but that we have an entirely different program—perhaps the only hope for working and unemployed people, wild ecosystems, even life itself.

The Backstory on Anarchist Organizing in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh has a rich history of anarchist activity, extending back well into the 19th century. More recently, the Pittsburgh Organizing Group [POG] has made a name for itself as a long-running explicitly anarchist organization. Since summer of 2002, POG has taken the lead in the anti-war and global justice movements, utilizing every tactic from unpermitted marches and lockdowns to community picnics, and participating in mass mobilizations from the 2002 anti-IMF “People’s Strike” to last summer’s protests against the Republican National Convention. POG also carries out regular trainings, puts on speaking engagements, and publishes the semiannual journal Steel City Revolt, which sets the bar extremely high for local publications. In short, POG is one of the few effective anarchist organizing bodies to persist from the so-called “anti-globalization” era through the anti-war era into the Obama age.

POG has joined with several other local Pittsburgh organizations to build a broad-based mobilization against the September summit, forming the Pittsburgh G20 Resistance Project. This coalition has joined other groups organizing against the G20 to craft the Pittsburgh Principles, a solidarity agreement modeled on the historic St. Paul Principles from the mobilization against the 2008 RNC.

Infrastructure

As in prior mass mobilizations, volunteers are organizing various forms of infrastructure to support protesters. A group is coordinating housing for out-of-town participants. There is a legal number to report harassment and arrests, and a legal support group has formed to support arrestees and counter state repression. There are also groups focusing on providing food, preparatory trainings, and medical care in the street.

Days of Action

The Three Rivers Climate Convergence is organizing actions against the International Coal Conference September 21-23.

Thursday, September 24

The main event on the first day of the G20 is an unpermitted mass march on the building housing the summit meetings. This march will include contingents focusing on workers, students, and climate issues, as well as various musical groups and other feeder marches. It is a space for a diversity of tactics manifesting opposition to global capitalism.

The march begins at 2:30 p.m. in Arsenal Park, at 40th Street & Penn Avenue, in Lawrenceville.

Out-of-town participants should study the terrain the march will pass through in advance.

Friday, September 25

Capitalism is not simply imposed by a few heads of state; it is a decentralized system perpetuated at every level of society. Accordingly, on the second day of the summit, actions will take place throughout Pittsburgh targeting institutions that perpetrate the daily oppression and devastation of the capitalist economy. The Pittsburgh G20 Resistance Project has prepared a menu of suitable locations for such actions. Pick a location, plan your action, and come to Pittsburgh!

The idea is that all the actions will conclude at 11:30 a.m. sharp, whether they last for four hours or four minutes up to that moment.

How To Get Involved

-Form an affinity group, discuss what you’re ready to do, make plans for Thursday and Friday together, and come to Pittsburgh September 21-26. Consider organizing a fundraiser in advance and a speaking event upon your arrival home, to draw on community support and spread awareness of why you are going.

-For more information about the mobilization: www.resistg20.org

-Visit the Pittsburgh G2O Resistance convergence center at 4374 Murray Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15217. It’s at the corner of Murray and Hazelwood in Greenfield.

-Fliers and posters are available promoting the mobilization.

Promotional Poster

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We’ve prepared a poster [2.3 MB PDF] promoting the unpermitted mass march in downtown Pittsburgh scheduled for Thursday, September 24, which we predict will be the high point of the mobilization.

We hadn’t planned on this—perhaps we’d forgotten that we are in a war that is constantly unfolding, that doesn’t permit truce or respite. It’s hard to bear in mind at all times how much depends on us, to remember that we are responsible for making the kind of resistance we want to participate in come about in our lifetime. At the same time, we can’t only react to our enemies, even when they are constantly provoking us—we must also take the time to develop long-term relationships and projects, or else we’ll never be able to take the initiative.

So what will the convergence in Pittsburgh look like?

From Barnstorming to Barn-Raising . . .

Originally, our plans for this summer’s convergence were simple enough. Having perfected our previous format, the wilderness retreat, we were going to experiment with a new model. Staging our eighth convergence in an urban setting, we hoped to pioneer a way for a transitory nationwide event to contribute permanent infrastructure to ongoing local organizing.

Accordingly, we looked around for a building to purchase in Pittsburgh, with the intention of converting it into a working social center in the course of the gathering. As capitalism continues to decimate entire regions, it is up to us to collectivize the abandoned resources and demonstrate that our alternative can succeed where the so-called free market has failed. We’ve spent enough time talking about how things could be different—we have to find ways to make them different.

. . . and Back into the Teeth of the Storm

But the context looks a little different now that the G20 is slated for Pittsburgh. We can expect more pressure from our enemies, so some of our original plans may be more difficult to carry out. At the same time, we are still committed to organizing a convergence dedicated as much to building and questioning as to conflict with the state. This convergence will provide a wide range of points of departure—from a free health care clinic that will function for the course of the event to direct action trainings that will remain useful long after the G20 meetings, and everything else you can imagine as well.

The G20 does not make Pittsburgh any more or less an epicenter of capitalism than it already was. Even before Obama picked it as a shining model of economic recovery, Pittsburgh suffered from gentrification, structurally imposed white supremacy, and all the other scourges of a hierarchical society. These forces must be fought constantly and on a wide range of levels, not simply at global trade summits—though summits, too, offer a chance to fight, and this might be a historic opportunity.

All who are interested in the G20 protests should think critically about what they want out of them and begin talking about how to make those dreams come true. Pittsburgh is about to host a local meeting to discuss the infrastructure and format for the protests; we urge other interested communities to hold their own consultas, so by the time we see each other in July we will be able to compare notes.

Anarchists—whether or not you are invested in the G20 mobilization, we beseech you to bring your talents and projects to Pittsburgh this July. It has never been more important for us to find one another, to make something happen, to demonstrate all the different ways we can resist this world and create another. Help us write the next chapter in the struggle for our lives.

Call for Workshops, Skillshares, and Presentations!

If you would like to present a workshop, organize a discussion, show a film, or otherwise usefully engage the attention of other participants, please send us a description of your plans, and stipulate any limitations or requests.

email cwc.booking@gmail.com

Call for Workshop and Discussion REQUESTS!

This year, we will set aside time for people to present workshops on things they know about, and set aside a separate time for people who have questions they wish answered to share those. Formulate a question you’ve always wanted help with, and bring it to share with others.

For example: Were there women involved in the anarchist resistance in the Ukraine? (The answer is yes.) Are prisoners better off under Obama? (Unfortunately, the answer is no.) How do I get the alarm tags off the shoes at Exploitation Incorporated? (Come to Pittsburgh and find out!)

Alternately, it could be a question that has no easy answer, but that you are excited to discuss with others: Is polyamory inescapably wedded to drama? What agency, if any, can we have in bringing about a worldwide revolutionary struggle?

For best results, email your question to us now, so people can be thinking about it in advance: cwc.booking@gmail.com

Call for Nighttime Entertainment!

Calling all performers: all musicians, all poets, drag troupes and puppeteers, all storytellers, all choreographed dance teams, comedians and surrealists, to participate in the Convergence Cabaret—a nightlong variety show, a spectacular spectacle showcasing all of your weird and wild talent.

AND . . . with no nighttime fire to gather around, we’re looking to put together some participatory, performative, exciting social spaces EVERY evening. Do you have a play to perform or one to cast during the convergence? Are you coming with your genderfucking square dance band? Contact us with your entertainment ideas, small and large.

Email cwc.booking@gmail.com to sign-up.

Call for Help! We Need the Following Resources . . .

If you can share any of these resources in advance, or any others that might be useful, please email info@crimethincconvergence.com:

Store credit for Home Depot and Lowes
Bike repair tools and bike parts
A generator

Food stamps
Condiments
Shipments or deliveries of specialized goods (e.g., boxes of Odwalla bars, cliff bars, etc.)
Spices
Tremendous quantities of food

Kitchen equipment
Rocket stoves
Propane blasters
Water coolers
Carafes

A massage table
Herbal tinctures
First aid supplies
Rubbing alcohol
Large bandages
Tape
Cotton balls
Emergen-C packets

Costume materials
Art supplies
Fabric

Bookshelves
Racks (as in ’zine racks!)
Milk crates
Cinder blocks
Wooden boards

Gardening equipment
Seeds and starts, fruit trees, etc.

Children’s toys

Free literature

What Should I Bring?

Urban camping gear (sleeping bag, sleeping pad), musical instruments, a laptop if you have one and wish to use it in the computer-based workshops, a bicycle (really useful!), mix tapes and seeds to swap, picture frames, gifts for other convergence attendees, ideas, games, workshops, much more . . .

Tours to the Convergence

We’ve been notified of a couple tours heading to the convergence. If you wish us to announce yours, email us about it. Here is a description of one such tour:

The cutthroat revolutionary puppeteers of The Mysterious Rabbit puppet Army are going on a one month tour to help do their part to overthrow the ruling social order. They will be performing several shows, including:

Donny Don’t—A puppet show about security culture
Jack and the Beanstalk—A dramatic anti-capitalist retelling of the old fairy tale
Little Red Riding Hood—An animal-centric look at a familiar story
The Mysterious Rabbit Puppet Army’s Guide To Landing Your Dream Job—Practical tips for weathering the storm

They’ll be distributing an absurd quantity of ’zines, posters, stickers, and books. If you live in a small town anywhere along the tour route and would like them to perform there, that can be arranged. To reach them for further information about any of these shows, or to invite them to your town, email rabbitarmy@live.com.

MYSTERIOUS RABBIT PUPPET ARMY TOUR

Tuesday July 14th Richmond, VA
Wednesday July 15th Washington, D.C.
Thursday July 16th Baltimore, MD
Friday July 17th Philadelphia, PA
Saturday July 18th New Haven, CT
Sunday July 19th Allentown, PA
July 20th through 26th CrimethInc. Convergence
Monday July 27th Athens, OH
Tuesday July 28th Off
Wednesday July 29th Columbus, OH
Thursday July 30th Off
Friday July 31st Bloomington, IN
Saturday August 1st Off
Sunday August 2nd Louisville, KY
Monday August 3rd Off
Tuesday August 4th Nashville, TN
Wednesday August 5th Off
Thursday August 6th Asheville, NC
Friday August 7th Charlotte, NC
Saturday August 8th Greensboro, NC
Sunday August 9th Chapel Hill, NC

Next Time . . .

. . . We’ll announce some of the events scheduled for the convergence, offer a rudimentary schedule, and drop some hints as to our other plans. To contribute or make suggestions, please email cwc.booking@gmail.com and info@crimethincconvergence.com.

Remember, meet at the Northside Commons (W. North Ave. and Brighton) by the pond, on Monday, July 20. The convergence runs July 20-26.

One of the acts on the roadshow, a puppet show teaching basic security culture skills, is especially timely in view of recent government efforts to entrap and frame environmental activists. We’ve obtained the script and an audio file, and are sharing them here to equip you to put on the puppet show yourself if you so desire. If your community could use a refresher in protecting your privacy and safety against snooping, evil-intentioned G-men, just build some puppets and adjust the show to your local needs! You can even use the audio recording if you prefer not to memorize the script yourself.

The Mysterious Rabbit Puppet Army Presents:
Donny, Don’t!

Featuring:

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Audio Recording [3.7MB MP3]

Olivia the Owl: Hello, eco-warriors! We’re here today to talk about the for-profit extermination of all life on this planet, and your heroic and sheroic efforts to stop it. We’ve been noticing that as you good folks become stronger and more effective, those ecocide profiteers and their lackeys in the FBI have been coming down really hard on y’all. They’ve been exploiting your good nature and trusting community and turning those things into a weakness. So we’re taking the day off from eating mice—

Brian the Bear: …and stealing picnic baskets!

O: —to give you a quick lesson on keeping your community safe. And here to help us are all of our woodland friends. I’m Olivia the Owl and this is Rita the Raccoon, Brian the Bear, Peter the Pig, and Ben the Snapping Turtle.

Ben the Snapping Turtle: What!?

O: And the star of our show: Donny Don’t. Peter will be playing a cop.

Peter the Pig: Hey, why do I always have to play the cop?

O: I dunno it just… seems to fit.

O: So! Today’s lesson is about security culture.

Ben: AKA common sense 101.

O: So, kids, remember—the name of the game is don’t do what Donny Don’t does. The first thing we’re going to talk about is GOSSIP.

Donny: Hey, did you see on Indymedia that somebody pulled up all the survey stakes at that development on Winding River Road? Y’know, where the winding river used to be?

Rita the Raccoon: Yeah, that’s so cool. I’m really glad that happened.

D: Yeah, I bet we know who did that. Last night Ben…

Everybody: DONNY, DON’T!

B: Now, Donny, when you speculate and gossip, you not only put other people at risk, but also put yourself at risk. If the police think you know who did it, they could target you as well.

D: You mean I could go to jail just for knowing something?

O: Yes, the pigs call it “obstructing justice.”

P: The cops, you mean.

O: Right. Whatever. The next thing we want to talk about is BRAGGING… Take it away, Donny!

D: Hey, have y’all seen all that graffiti downtown protesting Bank of America’s investment in coal?

R: Yeah, I really hate Bank Of America! I’m glad that happened.

D: Yeah, it took me like 5 hours last night to…

Everybody: DONNY, DON’T!

B: While we’re all happy that you took action against those heartless corporate monsters, sharing your secrets with other people puts yourself at great risk. Even people who you trust might share your information, or crack under pressure during interrogation. Aside from that, you’re also putting your friends at risk, because you’re giving them a piece of information that the cops want.

Ben: INDIRECT BRAGGING.

R: Hey Donny, we’re having a demonstration against the new Cliffside coal power plant. You wanna come?

D: No, I try to stay away from above-ground demonstrations these days. I’m trying to keep a low profile. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea for me to be seen around there. Ya know what I’m sayin’?

Everybody: DONNY, DON’T!

O: Now, Donny, what you just did is called indirect bragging. It’s the practice of implying or eluding to things. It’s just as bad as bragging. In these situations you should make a clever excuse, like a lunch date or a meeting. Also, you could just not show up, and invent an excuse later. It’s not easy having your friends think you’re uninvolved in important political actions, but it’s also not easy going to jail for yourself or the people who would be supporting you from the outside.

Ben: NEED-TO-KNOW BASIS.

R: Ok, I’m going out to see a movie. See ya later, Donny.

D: What movie? Can I come?

R: Eh, Hoot. Naahh, I think we’re just going to go on our own.

D: What theater is that playing in? And why are you wearing all black?

R: Ummm, I’m going to the one downtown. I wear black all the time.

D: Who you going with? Why’s your backpack so big? Are you smuggling in popcorn?!

R: Just some folks… Why are you giving me the third degree?

D: Oooooooh. I get it. I see what’s going on. You’re going to see a “mooooovieeee…”

B: Alright, stop right there, folks. Social norms within a resistance movement need to be a little different than other people’s. If your friends are acting evasive or don’t seem to be forthcoming with information, it’s important to trust them and just let whatever it is rest.

O: Being in a community of resistance means having a higher level of trust than many people are used to in a lot of circles.

R: Don’t ask, don’t tell. It’s not just a good idea for vegans eating at restaurants, it’s also a great way to keep everybody you care about as safe as can be.

Ben: ENTRAPMENT.

R: Hey, there’s that guy Peter who comes to our anti-biotech meetings.

D: I like him, he’s really enthusiastic and helpful.

R: I think he’s cute.

P: Hey kids!

R&D: Hi, Peter.

P: So, all this protesting we’ve been doing is great and all…

R: It sure is…

P: I was just thinking the other day that maybe it’s time to step it up a bit…

D: Like lock downs and banner drops?

P: Like maybe we should just get rid of that lab once and for all…

R: I dunno…

P: I’ve got a recipe for plastic explosives and I can pay for the stuff.

D: Sounds like a good idea to me!

Everybody: DONNY, DON’T!

B: Trying to get activists to build explosives and then charging them with possession of unregistered fire arms or conspiracy has become a popular tactic of federal agents in recent years.

O: If somebody you don’t know that well asks you to build a bomb, just say no. If you’re going to build bombs, build them because you want to, not because somebody else thinks it’s cool.

R: Thinking for yourself, now THAT’S cool.

Ben: WHEN THE PIGS COME A-KNOCKIN’…

P: Eh, guys, that’s not cool! [Whole cast snickers]

(Knock knock knock)

P: Hello, I’m agent Peter Pecker with the FBI. I’m looking for Donny Don’t.

D: That’s me, what do you want?

P: Your friend Rita may be in big trouble but we thought maybe you could help clear some things up.

D: What are you talking about?

P: Does she talk about Animal Liberation a lot?

D: She talks about it but she’d never—

Everybody: DONNY DON’T!

B: Donny, this is very important. Never ever talk to the FBI or police. If they already knew enough to get you or your friends in trouble, they wouldn’t be asking you questions. Does that make sense?

D: But I was just trying to find out what they wanted, or I could have lied to them to throw them off track…

O: These people are specially trained to get you trapped in a conversation, making it harder and harder to stop answering questions. They can observe when you stop answering or which questions make you squirm. They are trained to make you trip up and contradict yourself. Really, avoiding talking to them is the only safe option. They won’t be able to scare you, trick you, confuse you, or convince you of anything.

Ben: Just say no, dare to resist Gestapo swine.

P: Oh, cut it out, would ya!? It’s not funny!

Ben: New fangled contraptions, technological alienation, social mapping, and you…

D: Hey, did you see the new pics on my Myspace page?

R: No, lemme see what you’ve got…

D: Check this out!

R: OMG, Donny, what are these? Is that you holding a molotov cocktail?

D: Yeah, and this is all that graffiti from the Bank Of America.

R: Oh, and you’ve got a whole blog on here about shoplifting and scamming when you travel!

D: Yeah, read the entry about South Florida.

R: Donny, what if the FBI or police read this?

D: I mean, they can’t prove anything…

R: Donny, Myspace assists law enforcement with about 150 investigations A MONTH, and in the past, people’s Myspace pages and blogs have been used to attack their character in court so that they are denied bail!

D: But it’s set to private!

R: Right, because Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Myspace and Fox News, is all about privacy. Y’know, the FBI used to spend a large portion of their budget for tracking activists and social mapping, which means figuring out who knew who and who was into what. Now here’s all of your friends across the country. Oh, and a list of your interests; you’ve done the work for them. In a worst-case scenario, if somebody we know had to go on the run, would it be safe for them to stay with anybody they were publicly networked with?

D: Wow, I hadn’t thought of that…

Ben: Electronic Surveillance.

P: Hey, y’all!

R/D: Hi, Peter.

P: Hey, so I wanted to talk to y’all about this idea I had for a great action.

D: Let’s take our batteries out of our phones so the feds can’t listen in!

P: So, like I was saying, there’s this I-69 contractor who has an office downtown…

R: Um, maybe this classroom isn’t the best place for us to discuss this, it’s pretty well known that we hang out here a lot.

P: Rita, it’s not bugged. I’d know if it was bugged, and it’s not.

D: Sounds like impeccable logic to me! So, what do you wanna do at the office? Let’s fu-

Everybody: Donny, Don’t!

O: With the rise of techno-industrial civilization, our enemies are able to carry out surveillance in ways that were unthinkable 50 years ago. There are safe places and unsafe places to talk about sensitive subjects. Safe places are walks in the woods, beaches, and restaurants that aren’t well-known hang-outs. Unsafe places are cars, houses, well known hang-outs, or cabins in remote areas, even if your friends say they’re safe. It has also been shown in court cases against mafia members that your cell phone can act as a microphone or GPS tracking device, even when it’s off, as long as the battery is still in. Even corporate CEOs take their batteries out before high-level meetings sometimes.

B: If something doesn’t feel right, it’s probably not. Stopping a friend from a dangerous security faux pas doesn’t mean you think they’re stupid, or a cop. Or a stupid cop. It just means they could make a mistake that could be dangerous for them or for you. Does that make sense?

R: Safety first!

B: Also, folks, it’s important to recognize that there is a possibility that even with solid security culture, something could go wrong and you could wind up in interrogation for something you did or didn’t do. If this does happen, it’s important to remember 2 things:

R: I’m going to remain silent. I’d like to speak to my lawyer!

O: Every question they ask you is an admission that they don’t have enough evidence to convict you or your friends. Otherwise, you’d be rotting in a cell, and they wouldn’t need to ask you anything. This is where remaining silent during their questioning becomes important. If you start a conversation and then the talk turns in a direction you don’t like, it could be more difficult to end the conversation than to have stayed silent in the first place. They’ll try to trick you by telling you that your friends have already snitched or they’ll be all like it looks bad now, but this is the chance to clear your name. Let’s try a role play in the interrogation room.

P: So, your name is Rita Raccoon. And your address and social security number?

R: I’m exercising my right to remain silent and want my lawyer.

P: I’m just trying to clarify a few things, we’re not talking about the case here.

R: Right, silent.

P: I mean, I get what you guys are doin’. My daughter works for Greenpeace, and used to lock herself to every damn thing. You guys been into environmental stuff for a while now?

R: Well this one time I was SILENT!

P: You got any tattoos or scars?

R: Siiilent night…

P: We’re gonna find out eventually, anyway.

R: Is my lawyer here yet?

B: They will do everything they can to shake your faith in your friends, your movement and yourself, but it is so important that we all sit tight and believe in each other and ourselves so that the cops can’t break us down.

O: No matter what they promise you, you should know that most people who snitched during the green scare have gotten comparable time in prison to those who maintained their integrity.

B: One last important thing is that while y’all must keep yourselves safe, y’all must also stay visible and get your message out to others. You must learn to publicize your successes through magazines, web pages, press offices and new creative ideas that keep everyone safe while ensuring that the movement doesn’t fade into obscurity.

O: It’s also very important to deal respectfully with people who know less about security culture or who make an honest mistake. If it’s avoidable, don’t call them out publicly or make them feel stupid. Security culture makes it very easy to become paranoid and stifle all conversation, which is exactly what the government and corporations want. You must learn to communicate clearly but without endangering yourselves any more than necessary.

R: So remember: No compromise in defense of the earth, stay safe, and be yourself. Good night everyone!

In the wake of this campaign, there has been talk of applying the SHAC model in other contexts, such as environmental defense and anti-war organizing. But what is the SHAC model, precisely? What are its strengths and limitations? Is it, in fact, an effective model? If so, for what?

This analysis explores these questions in depth, charting the history of anti-HLS organizing and reviewing subsequent attempts to utilize the same tactics.

Read full piece here.

What’s going on in Greece? Is it simply a matter of disenfranchised youth protesting a discouraging job market, or is there something more afoot?

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What’s It All About?

The corporate media has ignored the banners decrying police brutality and unaccountable authority, seizing instead on the idea that the unrest is the result of widespread unemployment and poor economic prospects for young Greeks. Thus prompted, many people—including some radicals—have focused on these issues as well.

At such a distance, we are not equipped to speak on the causes of the riots or the motivations of the participants, but we know better than to trust the media. Some corporate outlets have gone so far as to announce—in language that might be less surprising in a magazine like Rolling Thunder—that the events in Greece may presage the second coming of the anti-globalization movement thought to be vanquished after September 11, 2001. Though this might be true, we should hesitate to let the corporate media provide us with our narrative, lest it prove to be a Trojan horse.

If the riots are not about Alexandros after all, are we to believe that—were the economy more stable—it would be acceptable to shoot down 15-year-olds? After all, police kill people all the time in the United States without anyone smashing a single store window over it. Is this simply because we have a lower unemployment rate?

Should we accept that the rage being vented in Greece is economic in origin, the implication is that it could be dispelled by economic solutions—and there are capitalist solutions for the crisis in no shorter supply than socialist ones. Perhaps the exploitation, misery, and unemployment currently rampant in Greece could be exported to some meeker nation, or else enough credit could be extended to the disaffected stone-throwers that they could come to identify as middle class themselves. These approaches have worked before; one might even argue that they have driven the process of capitalist globalization.

If Greece could somehow be transformed into Sweden—if every nation could be Sweden, without any having to be Nigeria—would it be OK to shoot teenagers then? They shoot anarchists in Sweden too, you know.

To the extent to which the resistance in Greece is simply an expression of frustration at dim financial prospects, then, it is possible that it can ultimately be defused or co-opted. But there are other forces at work here, which the corporate account de-emphasizes.

These riots are not coming out of nowhere. Masked anarchists setting fires and fighting the police have been common in Greece since before the turn of the century. In 1999, shortly before the Seattle WTO protests, there were major riots when Bill Clinton visited. At the time, the economy was livelier—and the socialists were in power, which seems to contradict the theory that the current unrest is simply a result of dissatisfaction with the conservative government.

Corporate media generally ignore anarchists, trivializing them with qualifiers such as “self-styled” when they refer to them at all. That corporate outlets have been forced to detail the anarchist involvement in these and other struggles in Greece attests to the depth and seriousness of anarchist activity. Leftists may attempt to portray the events in Greece as a general uprising of “the people,” and certainly countless “normal” people have participated, but it is clear even from this vantage point that anarchists started the rioting and have remained the most influential element within it.

We hypothesize that the rioting in Greece is not simply an inevitable result of economic recession, but a proactive radical initiative that speaks to the general public.

Though the rioting was provoked by the murder of Alexandros, it is only possible because of preexisting infrastructures and social currents—otherwise, such murders would catalyze uprisings in the US as well. Such an immediate and resolute response would not have occurred if anarchists in Greece had not developed a culture conducive to it. Thanks to a network of social centers, a deep-seated sense that neighborhoods such as the one in which Alexandros was killed are liberated zones off-limits to police, and a tradition of resistance extending back through generations, Greek anarchists feel entitled to their rage and capable of acting upon it. In recent years, a series of struggles against the prison system, the mistreatment of immigrants, and the privatization of schools have given innumerable young people experience in militant action. As soon as the text messages circulated announcing the police killing, Greek anarchists knew exactly how to respond, because they had done so time and again before.

The general public in Greece is already sympathetic to resistance movements, owing to the heritage of struggle against the US-supported dictatorship. In this regard, Greece is similar to Chile, another nation noted for the intensity of its street conflicts and class warfare. With the murder of Alexandros, anarchists finally had a narrative that was compelling to a great number of people. In another political context, liberals or other opportunists might have been able to exploit this tragedy to their own ends, but the Greek anarchists forestalled this possibility by immediately seizing the initiative and framing the terms of the conflict.

It’s Not the Economy, Stupid

That is to say, it’s always the economy. But it’s not just the economic hardships accompanying times of recession—the resistance in Greece is also a revolt against the exploitation, alienation, and hierarchy inherent in the capitalist system, that set the stage for police to murder teenagers whether or not a significant percentage of the population is unemployed.

To repeat, if alienation and hierarchy were themselves sufficient to inspire effective resistance, we’d see a lot more of it in the United States. The decisive factor in Greece is not the economy, but the cumulative efforts that have built a vibrant anarchist movement. There is no shortcut around developing an analogous movement in the US if we want to be capable of similar responses to oppression and injustice. Militant actions, such as some of the solidarity actions that have occurred in the US thus far, can provide some experience and momentum, but the creation of enduring cultural spaces is probably more essential.

Anarchists in the United States face a much different context than their Greek colleagues. Greece is a peripheral participant in the European Union, while the US remains the epicenter of global capitalism, with a correspondingly more powerful repressive apparatus. The legal consequences of participating in confrontations with the police are potentially more severe in the US, at least in proportion to the support for arrestees. Much of the population is more conservative, and both radical and oppressed communities are more fragmented, owing to the tremendous numbers of people in prison and the transience enforced by the job market. There is little continuity in traditions of resistance—in most communities, the collective anarchist memory does not stretch back beyond a decade at the most. The events in Greece are inspiring, but US anarchists can probably learn more from the infrastructures behind them than from the superficial aspects of the clashes.

Likewise, radicals in the US can draw inspiration from Greek anarchists without forgetting what is worthwhile in local anarchist communities. Though Greek anarchists clearly excel at confrontation, this does not guarantee that they are equally equipped to contest internal hierarchies and forms of oppression. The capacity to work out conflicts and maintain horizontal distributions of power is as essential to the anarchist project as any kind of offense or defense. It would be unfortunate if a fascination with the Greeks led US anarchists to deprioritize discussions about consent, consensus-based decision-making, and privilege.

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The Insurrections to Come?

The events of the past two weeks may help reframe the global context for struggle, as the Zapatista revolt did in 1994. The rioting in Greece is not the only major unrest in the world right now, but it is perhaps the most promising, because it is explicitly directed against hierarchical power.

Most current hostilities, even those not organized by governments, are not as promising. Not everyone who takes up arms outside the state’s monopoly on violence is fighting for the abolition of hierarchy. Nationalist campaigns, fundamentalist crusades, religious conflicts, ethnic strife, and the gang warfare of illegal capitalism pit people against each other without any hope of liberation. We have to set visible precedents for liberation struggles if we hope future conflicts will pit the oppressed against their oppressors rather than against each other. Greece may be one such precedent. We can create similar precedents on smaller scales in the US, by taking the initiative to determine the character of confrontations with authority. The anarchist mobilization at last summer’s Republican National Convention was arguably an example of this, though certainly not the only format for it.

Today, party communism is largely discredited, and most influential resistance movements do not see seizing state power as feasible or desirable. This leaves two roads for critics of the current world order. One is to support reformist heads of state such as Obama, Lula, and Chavez, who cash in on dissent to re-legitimize the state form and, as if incidentally, their own power. On the other hand, there is the possibility of a struggle against power itself—whether waged consciously, as it currently is in Greece, or as a result of complete social and economic marginalization, as in France in 2005. The latter path offers a long struggle with no victory in sight, but it may be the first step towards a new world.

Resources

Our friends at the Center for Strategic Anarchy are following events in Greece closely as they unfold, and their website is an excellent resource for news and updates. We also recommend this collection of stirring photos from the conflict.

If something scares us, it is the return to normality. For in the destroyed and pillaged streets of our cities of light we see not only the obvious results of our rage, but the possibility of starting to live. We no longer have anything to do, other than to install ourselves in this possibility and transform it into a living experience: by grounding on the field of everyday life, our creativity, our power to materialize our desires, our power not to contemplate but to construct the real. This is our vital space. All the rest is death.

-from a statement from the occupation of the Athens School of Economics and Business

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Appendix: Questions for the Greeks

In order to provide more informed coverage of the events in Greece on this website and in the forthcoming issue of Rolling Thunder, we are soliciting participants in the uprising to answer the following questions. If you or anyone you know can help us with this, please email us at rollingthunder@crimethinc.com.

How have the actions been coordinated within cities? How about between cities?

What kinds of organizing structures appeared?

Were there any structures already in existence that people used to organize?

What different kinds of people have participated in the actions?

What different forms have the actions taken?

How many of the participants had been involved in similar actions before December 6? For how many participants do you think this is their “first time”?

Which of the tactics used in the actions have been used before in Greece? Did they spread in the course of this rebellion? If they did, how did it happen?

Have any conflicts emerged between participants in the actions?

What is the opinion of the “general public” about the actions?

How important to the context of these events is the legacy of the dictatorship in Greece? How does it influence popular opinions and actions in this case?

Do you think troubles in the economy are as important in these events as the corporate media is saying?

What other motivations, besides anger against the police and the economy, do you think are driving people to participate?

Are political parties succeeding in co-opting energy from the uprising?

What has been the role of anarchists in starting and continuing the actions? How clearly is their participation seen by the rest of society?

How much visibility do anarchists have in Greece in general? How seriously is anarchism taken by the majority of Greek people?

What role have subcultural groups—like punk, squatting, etc.—played in making the uprising possible?

What things have made the anarchist movement healthy in Greece?

In what ways do you think the anarchist movement in Greece could be better or stronger?

How effective has police repression been in shutting down the anarchist movement? How have people resisted it?

What do you think the final result of the events of December will be?

Here’s a new poster on the economic crisis

Everybody knows that you’ve got to have money to make money, and never is that more true than in a speculation-driven economy. As the stock market reached unprecedented heights, its connection to the nuts and bolts of the economy became more and more illusory, making a “correction” inevitable–and profitable, for some. Gambling on the correction became a money-making scheme in its own right, and continues now after the collapse, without regard for the fact that such late-game betting assures that the recession will be all the more severe. Institutional investors can afford to play this game because, for them, a collapse of the stock market just means an opportunity to gamble on bonds or currency or whatever other financial product which might benefit from the disappearance of trillions of dollars in artificial value.

But if the value lost in the stock market is artificial, the consequences for human beings are very real. The ranks of the unemployed are rising by the hundreds of thousands every month. Inflated prices for consumers goods will largely stay inflated, even as earnings decline and homes are repossessed. And while the ultra-wealthy will ride out the recession in a riot of luxury and consumption, everyone else will be faced with a new, harsh reality—one in which the means of subsistence are increasing hard to achieve.

So for all the media’s obsession with stunned stockbrokers and disgraced corporate tycoons, their suffering is distinctly abstract: paper losses to be pondered during a long and comfortable early retirement. The rest of us will be forced to wonder why the most basic needs of our lives—food, shelter, medicine—are tied to the whims of a marketplace designed for collapse.

Further Reading

A brief introduction to the sources and implications of the economic crisis

A glossary of terms for the crisis

Prescient discussion of the crisis before the media even acknowledged it

Featuring a revision of our earlier Obama poster, and a PDF [6.2 MB] of a paper used to satirize corporate media the day after the election . . .

STAY THE COURSE

As much as radicals have focused on bringing people together in public spaces over the past ten years, not all public togetherness is necessarily radical. On election night, when sports-riot-size crowds took to the streets of many cities to celebrate Obama’s victory, the subtext was that representative democracy, long discredited under the Bush regime, had been rehabilitated as the populist spectacle it was always meant to be. The chants of “Yes We Can!”—appropriated, like most of Obama’s shtick, from actual grassroots movements outside electoral politics—translated to “Yes He Can”: in endorsing the transfer of power from one politician to another, people may feel powerful, but it is not their power they celebrate. It was exactly the kind of display that prompts young defeatists to declare that “the masses” don’t want anarchy; to be fair, with hundreds of millions of dollars for publicity, anyone could probably have achieved the same results—even anarchists.

Obama has ridden to power on the same social currents that radicals have relied on to propel their organizing and outreach over the past eight years: disgust with the excesses of empire, longing for more fairness and sociability in daily life, optimism about vague alternatives. It is no coincidence that the liberal anti-war movement died out just as the presidential campaigns got underway; the race effectively subsumed the energy of all not explicitly critical of representative democracy. This cooptation of popular momentum is as essential to the disempowerment of the populace as the brutal repression associated with the right wing. The powers that be are equally willing to tear gas us or hire us to go door to door registering voters—whatever it takes to keep us from building our own power outside and against their structures. In that regard, Obama’s election marks a new phase of their efforts to keep their system viable—calculated to defuse discontent, further marginalize radicals, and maintain the essential power imbalances of our society while giving the institutions that perpetuate them a makeover.

Top-down structures obscure the motivations and individuality of the participants, but they don’t necessarily neutralize them. Some of those who packed the streets on the night of November 4 must harbor desires too radical to be realized under capitalism, desires which might still bubble to the surface despite the veneer of social consensus. In Minneapolis, not far from September’s bitter street conflicts outside the Republican National Convention, a mixed crowd of East African immigrants and predominantly white anarchists occupied a major intersection for several hours, blocking traffic and defying police until the authorities resorted to pepper spray and finally called in massive backup. Chants of “Yes We Can!” and “U-S-A!” mingled with “Smash the State!” and the traditional “Whose Streets?” as drummers pounded out rhythms, dancers filled the lanes, and multiracial lines of masked youth taunted and blocked police cruisers.

In one reading of this event, the anarchists were cynically endangering the less privileged immigrants by luring them into a dangerous situation; presumably, had the anarchists gone home, the immigrants would have had the sense to stop provoking the police and get back to pulling themselves up by their bootstraps—a challenge that can only be easier now that there is to be a black President, never mind the recession. In another reading of the situation, the anarchists and immigrants found tentative common cause in seizing public space, coming together on the basis of a shared desire to celebrate—even if they respectfully disagreed on the details of what was worth celebrating. Together, they were able to obtain a few hours of the visibility and jubilation normally forbidden to their class; and the inevitable confrontation with the police demonstrated to all that, Obama or no, we only get what we are prepared to defend.

The Obama years will doubtless offer us countless complicated opportunities such as this one. But bad advice abounds in radical circles as this new era looms. Some, afraid of being misunderstood, caution against confrontational organizing of any kind, forfeiting the initiative precisely when it is most important to maintain radical momentum. Others, in attempting to keep a principled distance from all things reformist, risk isolating anarchist projects, denying them the interplay with other efforts and milieus that makes them effective and infectious. How do we chart a middle course, staying connected to popular currents without subordinating our own priorities to those of the forces that exploit them?

What Now?

Unfortunately, there is a recent precedent for anarchists freezing up and dropping the ball, which too many have already forgotten. After September 11, 2001, radical projects and momentum collapsed around the country as anarchists, fearful of appearing insensitive and of running afoul of the anti-terror reaction, cancelled plans and stepped back from organizing. The resulting loss of impetus contributed to the decline of the anti-globalization movement in the US and enabled authoritarians to determine the character of the incipient anti-war movement; it took years for anarchist organizing to recover from these setbacks. The lesson is that, however inconvenient a particular historical juncture may be for anarchists, it’s always easier to maintain organizing than to start over from scratch.

Yes, Obama is the first person of color to be elected President. His victory doesn’t mean representative democracy is suddenly inclusive and egalitarian any more than the successful careers of Bill Cosby and Michael Jordan indicate that capitalism isn’t structurally racist; it also doesn’t mean that the inequalities of the system are suddenly invisible to our neighbors. We can affirm others’ enthusiasm at the shattering of this particular glass ceiling without endorsing the authoritarian structure that remains or giving up on our opposition to it being intelligible to those around us. Real relationships with people in adjacent communities are the best protection against the corporate media accounts portraying them as lockstep converts to liberal democracy; those who insist most stridently that confrontational organizing is now self-defeating may do so because they lack connection with their neighbors.

Make no mistake about it—more people of color are in prison in the United States than ever before in history. Obama will not grant them clemency or reassemble the communities torn apart by their kidnappings. Global capitalism continues to plunder peoples and devastate ecosystems, disproportionately affecting people of color worldwide. If anything is racist, it is failing to attack the roots of the system that perpetrates these injustices.

Some have expressed fears that any overt resistance to Obama’s ascendancy will be misrepresented as racist, but these have already proved unfounded. Although there was considerable discussion on this topic before the protests at last summer’s Democratic National Convention, not only did corporate media coverage fail to cast any such aspersions, locals on the street also seemed clear on the motivations of the predominantly white black bloc. Participants in the protests could certainly have done more to convey their opposition to white supremacy, but the precedent indicates that it is possible for anarchists to act against Obama without being misconstrued.

Coming out of the protracted mobilizations leading up to last summer’s Democratic and Republican National Conventions, anarchists have actually built up some networks and momentum. It would be all the more tragic, then, for hesitation to erode those modest gains. Depending on what happens next, the clashes outside the Republican National Convention in St. Paul indicated either that anarchists have regained the initiative in the streets, or simply that they were the last rats to leave the sinking ship of the anti-war movement. Either momentum will fizzle as ad hoc networks drift apart, or additional efforts will shift anarchists to the forefront of radical struggles now that the former liberal opposition occupies the highest seats of power.

A word is necessary on what it takes to maintain healthy networks, since anarchists in the United States have had so little success with this. Networks only persist when they offer something concrete and desirable to the participants. Were there an anarchist federation that could provide its members with free health care, this country would not lack for anarchists. The networks that developed in the buildup to the convention protests flourished because they offered the opportunity to participate in something exciting and historic; they are unlikely to endure unless people find other ways to use them to circulate useful resources. Otherwise, as has happened countless times already, most people will drop out in search of more productive uses of their time, leaving only the most tiresome individuals to play at bureaucracy as an end in itself. Some tentative attempts are unfolding to make use of the networks that linger in the wake of the conventions; if they don’t take off, anarchists will have to start all over again next time a nationwide mobilization is called for.

So what are anarchists to do, at the opening of the era heralded by Obama’s victory? First, we should maintain explicitly anarchist organizing. This doesn’t mean refusing to work with non-anarchists, but establishing our own projects and organizing bodies, so we won’t be stuck reacting to others’ initiatives or lose ourselves in authoritarian structures that absorb our efforts without bringing real liberation any closer. The efforts of the RNC Welcoming Committee provide an excellent example of this, in stark contrast to the absence of any serious anarchist initiatives at the Republican National Convention of 2004. Now that the Democrats hold power in Washington, D.C., it should be much easier to distinguish ourselves and our positions than it was when we were lumped in with the liberals under Bush.

And how can we organize popular resistance, when seems that everyone loves Obama? With the economy in shambles and global warming finally acknowledged as reality, the answers to this question should be obvious enough. Capitalism hasn’t gone anywhere—on the contrary, its negative effects are only more and more apparent to all. Rather than entrenching ourselves on the losing side of the pro-or-anti-Obama debate, we should sidestep that trap to pose new questions. Here is one example of how this could play out concretely. The past two Presidential inaugurations have featured spirited liberal and anarchist protests questioning the legitimacy of the new ruler; this time, rather than simply repeating that equation with significantly diminished prospects of success, it would be strategic for an anarchist mobilization to focus on economic issues and economic targets, plenty of which can be found in Washington, D.C. As of this writing, a vague call to action for the inauguration has circulated, but it remains to be seen whether anything more concrete will materialize.

Above all, to repeat this once more, we cannot afford to withdraw into the shadows as we did after September 11, 2001; a world sliding swiftly into catastrophe cannot afford this either. But to urge anarchists to maintain confrontational organizing is not to endorse any and all action for its own sake; on the contrary, it is essential that we pick our battles carefully. The disaster of capitalism presents us with an endless number of fires to put out, and running around attempting to do so with no strategy can only exhaust us pointlessly. As our numbers and resources are currently extremely limited, we should start with the objectives that will best enable us to extend our networks and capabilities. Once we’ve done so, we’ll be better equipped to put an end to mountaintop removal, thwart the racist deportations carried out by ICE, and so on.

We leave it up to you, dear readers, to sort out what this looks like in practice—though here’s a hint.

Appendix A: A Point of Departure

This year, with one exception, anarchist actions around the election were fairly isolated and predictable. There were the usual scattered acts of vandalism, presumably limited to small in-groups, and principled refusals to participate in the electoral spectacle, which attract an even narrower demographic; only one effort stood out as subversively combining public and clandestine elements.

The morning following election day, consumers around the country woke up to find that the newspapers in the dispensers on their streets, and in some cases even in their very driveways, had been provided with a spurious front page courtesy of local pranksters. This occurred in at least twenty cities, including Washington, D.C., New York City, Lawrence, Milwaukee, Duluth, New Orleans, and Chicago, not to mention several cities in Iowa, California, and North Carolina. One paper estimated that 1000 copies of their publication alone had been affected.

Presumably, one or two groups came up with this idea, then solicited the participation of others around the country. Because it involved comparatively low risk on the street level, it offered a perfect opportunity for newer groups to build up experience in an activity they wouldn’t necessarily have had the resources to pull off alone and to invite new people to participate. This is exactly the sort of format that can enable a network to increase its numbers and capabilities. On top of all this, the action gave visibility to dissent precisely when Obama’s triumph was obscuring it.

This action demonstrated the proper way to make use of the networks that remain after the convention protests. Had one group simply called for actions targeting corporate media, surely very little would have happened. The point of a network is to save organizers the trouble of duplicating groundwork, and to increase the scope of what can be achieved with the same tactics so it is possible to escalate conflict without increasing individual risk. Further efforts to utilize these networks need not take the same form, but they must follow the same basic principle; otherwise, the groups that compose the networks will inevitably return to the isolation of focusing exclusively on local projects without outside support.

Download the paper used in the aforementioned newspaper prank: PDF [6.2 MB]

Instructions for how to pull off a newspaper wrap can be found in Recipes for Disaster.

Appendix B: Revised Poster
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Now that Obama has won the election, we’ve revised our earlier poster to keep it relevant. Please print these out and disseminate them: PDF [684 KB]

We’ve already published extensively on this topic, most notably in the guide Blocs, Black and Otherwise. The following is largely a refresher for anyone who needs it before hitting the streets again.

Fashion Tips for the Brave and Fabulous

Do you desire to be an autonomous individual rather than a faceless, mass-produced cog in the machine? Great! That is, unless you are marching in a bloc—where conformity is a weapon that you can use to smash the machine itself.

The goal of the bloc as a tactic is to have everyone look as similar as possible, so that, ideally, no single individual can be identified within the anonymous mass. This helps to keep everybody safer. If only some people within a bloc take these precautions, the cops can more easily spot and target individuals and groups, which is dangerous both for those who are acting within the bloc and for those who are not. Those who make the effort to stay anonymous can draw extra police attention; those who don’t can be more easily identified, which can make them easier targets. Neither of these situations is desirable.

Take this stuff seriously! If you’re setting out to accomplish something risky, taking these precautions is crucial. If you’re not, you can help to protect your comrades and avoid making yourself a target.

• If you’re going to wear a mask, keep it on at all appropriate times! If you are captured on camera or witnessed at any point with your mask off, you can then be easily identified with it on.

• Be extremely conscientious about where and when you change into and out of your mask and anonymous clothing; there should be no cameras or hostile witnesses. If possible, explore the area in advance to find appropriate spaces for changing. Remember that police are especially likely to target masked individuals who are not in a crowd that is similarly dressed.

• Wear different outfits layered one upon the other, so you’ll be prepared for any eventuality. Ideally, you should have one outfit for getting to the site of the action without attracting attention, your anonymous gear for the action itself, and then another outfit underneath so you can look like a harmless civilian as you exit the area. Don’t forget to stay hydrated, particularly if all those clothes get hot.

• If you have tattoos that are or could be visible, cover them up! You can do this with makeup or concealer, especially if you use heavy-duty products designed for that purpose. Many actors and dancers use Dermablend to cover up tattoos, burns, and scars. It comes in numerous colors that can be mixed to match your skin tone, and it’s water resistant and rated for 12 hours of wear. It’s expensive, but cheaper than bail! If you can’t find Dermablend or a similar product, cover your tattoos with clothing that won’t ride up. Tuck your clothing in if you have to.

• Likewise, if you have visible piercings, take them out—or at least cover them up so they are sure not to be exposed.

• Do not march in a bloc wearing your regular clothing, especially if it’s distinctive. Cops may be stupid, but they can probably match the pictures of the masked-up person with the purple polka-dotted pants to pictures of the same person in the same outfit minus the mask—even if the pictures were taken on different days.

• If you are going to carry a backpack or bag, don’t take the one you carry around in everyday life. No matter how perfect your outfit is, it’s all for naught if your bag is recognizable—especially if, like many people, you change bags much less frequently than you change clothes.

• The same goes for your shoes, for similar reasons—wear different ones during the action than you wear every day. This is also important because cops can attempt to use footprints or other traces from shoes as evidence.

• Do not wear patches or other identifiable insignia on your clothing while in a bloc, unless everyone else has exactly the same ones in exactly the same places.

• Don’t just cover your face! Bandanas are popular and convenient, but they don’t conceal enough. Cover your head completely so your hair cannot be seen—especially if it’s distinctive. In a black bloc, you can do this by wearing a ski mask or making a mask out of a T-shirt—stretch the neck hole across your eyes and tie the sleeves behind your head, with the rest of the shirt covering your head and shoulders. In other circumstances, you could try a wig, if that fits the aesthetic of your action.

• If possible, cover your eyes. Goggles can do this while serving the dual purpose of protecting your eyes from chemical weapons; nondescript sunglasses could also work in a pinch. Both of these can be obtained in prescription form and are better to use than your regular glasses, particularly if your regular glasses are distinctive. Contact lenses are not recommended in situations where you may come into contact with chemical weapons.

• Be careful not to leave fingerprints and DNA evidence! Wear cloth gloves—leather and latex can retain fingerprints and even pass them on to objects you touch. Wipe down tools and other items with alcohol in advance, to clean fingerprints off them—you never know what might get lost in the chaos. Don’t forget about the batteries inside flashlights!

• Practice at home! Don’t go out in a bulky outfit you’ve never worn before expecting to pull off cop-shocking feats of dexterity. You need to be familiar with your outfit and comfortable moving in it; it’s important that your vision isn’t compromised, too.

• Do not let any of this give you a false sense of security. Be careful! Assess your relationship to risk honestly; don’t do anything if you’re not sure you could live with the worst possible consequences. Stay aware of your surroundings and listen to your instincts. Make sure you know and trust the people you’re working with, especially when it comes to high-risk activities. Practice proper security culture at all times. Know and assert your legal rights [PDF - .9 MB], especially in stressful situations. Doing so may not make things better, but failing to do so will certainly make them worse!

Don’t get caught! Stay safe(r), and smash the state!