seattle indymedia center

the WCW folks helped the cops by trying to push everyone back towards the rally when people were being arrested and assaulted by cops. people MUST be allowed to witness what the cops do to arrestees to make sure they are not beat up and to support them and make them feel not alone.

p.s.- this article orginially from  http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20061005140351130

The meeting in Seattle was ultimately not meant, at least according to me, to be a feeder march for the larger WCW protest. A call to organize an anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian contingent at the Seattle and Olympia marches had indeed gone out on several list-serves, but at the subsequent meeting our focus was shifted from following the commies around like a bunch of black-clad gadflies to using the event to be constructive.
Earlier in the year there had been a series of Anarchist Open Forums in Seattle and the group that I met with felt that we could help to reinvigorate the Western Washington anarchist scene by doing something similar and promoting it at the WCW march today. We just wanted to network.
Nevertheless, that propsed post-WCW meeting was not actualized in time and some of us went to the march with the only goal of meeting some anarchists there. Some of us brought literature and some of us brought flags, apparently.
The incident with the police was not anticipated, at least not by us. The encounter began a little after noon when two Seattle bike-cops approached a group of around 15 anarchists with a red and black flag and then unexpectedly confiscated the flag, which had been supported on someone's back. While demanding to know why the flag was taken, the assembled anarchists were told that if they wanted it back that the owner would have to go along and have a talk with the police. Many in the group felt this to be an unsatisfactory answer and they followed the police with the flag back to a backup cruiser that had just been summoned. At this point, about a minute from the time of the flag confiscation, upwards of fifty civilians, both anarchist and not, and a few mainstream news-cameras, had circled the police as they retreated. Ten to twenty police had also arrived on the scene. The assembled protesters made demands for a return of the flag with civility until one cop, unprovoked, slammed his bike against the arm of one of the protesters.
That person yelled, "Hey, don't touch me asshole!" and the cop abruptly parked his bike and jumped on the man.
Now we come to the point in the story where footage of the incident hits local t.v. stations and the anarchists are variously described as "rioting" and "violent." Here is a link to some news footage.
 http://www.kirotv.com/news/10011996/detail.html#
While some people were being assaulted and cuffed by police, others were working to intervene and move those people out of the brutalizing reach of the police. According to me, that was the extent of civilian on cop interaction. Although the reporters say that police were assaulted, I have talked to nobody at the scene who witnessed this. It is also troubling that while airing footage of cops injuring innocent people, mainstream reporters simultaneously describe a violent mob of dangerous anarchists. This is a perfect example of news sensationalizing.
Reports say that around three and as many as five people were arrested at the Seattle protest today. I know that three of these people are comrades still in prison. Some news reports say that someone had a rifle, but nobody I know had a rifle. We suspect that it is someone totally unrelated to our anarchist meet-up.

To elaborate on the previous comment, the WCW (RCP) not only assisted the police in corraling dissenting protesters, but accused anarchists of being divisive. However, as 15-20 of us assembled outside the King County jail in support of those who were unjustifiably arrested, not a single person from WCW showed up in solidarity. It's clear to me that WCWers/Democrats/liberals/Communists want the support of anarchists without actually making this reciprocated in any way, and have vested interests in maintaining the authority of the police and the state.

I was not yet at the rally when this happened, but I heard about it when I got there. From what I've *heard*, I cannot but agree that the actions of the organizers (on this point) were disgusting. Perhaps this may sound hard to believe (based on many anarchists' experience with organizations who claim to be communist), but real communists do not condone the organizers' response to this blatant police provocation.

On another point, I don't think you should condemn all these people for not showing up for jail support when the information necessary for this to take place on a mass scale simply wasn't there. I, for one, heard nothing about it until I read this post. I'm sure there were plenty of people (including liberals) who would have been happy to show up outside the jail if there was a real attempt to make this happen.

you know why there wasn't mass info about jail solidarity: because the WCW people are zombie's and cannot stray from the program laid out by the central leadership, who they read a boring ass letter from at the rally. all they would've had to do was announce at some point the situation and what people could do about it.

it was horrifying to see our friends targeted and attacked by police. now these guys have to deal with some serious legal charges. if you have pictures or film of the incident as i know many folks were there with cameras please send contact  oly-imc@riseup.net.

thanks & solidarity

If anyone was arrested at a rally I helped organize, I would want to know everything about the incident, and if I thought the arrest was unjust in any way, I would have made sure everyone knew about it, that everyone knew it was unjust, and I would have told everyone I could have to show up in solidarity. The RCP's failure to do so is a clear sign of what the organization thinks of people it doesn't agree with.

You are right in that RCP does not necessarily represent all communists everywhere, but I've seen this kind of if-I-don't-agree-with-them-then-they-don't-deserve-my-help attitude far, far too often, from all angles of the left and the so-called left except, oddly, from other anarchists.

hey x9, we seem to have some differences but you have your head together and seem to be an open minded person and we definently need more of us. but to your comment that maybe nobody announced jail solidarity you just didn't hear me apparently. i went around the federal building crowd and told people for the first 15-20 minutes then as we were leaving i personally shouted over the crowd many times in the different ares that we were doing jail solidarity even close enough for even the speaker to hear, i know, because i have an incredibly loud voice when i want it to come out. if you didn't hear i'm sorry that i didn't yell the announcment loud enough, but i knew its was futile to try and get the wcw crew to even give out a 5 second announcment between their speakers. thats what i saw yesterday and from yesterday i trust the organizers even less.

I'm one of the youth/student organizers with WCW and I witnessed the incident. When the pigs started attacking the guys, me and other wcw people were among those yelling at the police to let them go and asking "what is his charge?" Also there WAS an announcement from the stage calling witnesses to tell what happened and offering legal assistence. If some of y'all didn't already start out with hostility towards WCW you would've paid attention. I don't know how are we ever gonna accomplish anything by doing exactly what the REAL enemy wants us to do, by fighting amongst ourselves.

I'm one of the youth/student organizers with WCW and I witnessed the incident. When the pigs started attacking the guys, me and other wcw people were among those yelling at the police to let them go and asking "what is his charge?" Also there WAS an announcement from the stage calling witnesses to tell what happened and offering legal assistence. If some of y'all didn't already start out with hostility towards WCW you would've paid attention. I don't know how are we ever gonna accomplish anything by doing exactly what the REAL enemy wants us to do, by fighting amongst ourselves.

WCW organizers "corraling people and helping the police?" that is an utter fucking lie- I was there - a bunch of people who weren't anarchists, includign World can't Wait people- also opposed the arrests, yelled at the cops as you all did, And world can't wait called for witnesses, tried to gather information and also exposed this attack from the stage, tried to hook those up who were friends of those arrested with legal help, and yes that's right, went forward with the rally and march- as planned-

but you know what- everything doesn't come down to three arrests- this regime is fucking destroying the planet. you think we should narrow legalizing torture, murder in Iraq, plans for mass murder in Iran, and letting Black people die into New Orleans- into a jail solidarity rally around police brutality? No, that wasn't going to happen.

And you may not give a fuck about uniting people to oppose what this regime is doing- which is like Hitler, and reaching out to the people on the streets who aren't yet stepping out against it, and trying to bring them into things- lots of people who you seem to have nothing but disdain for, but I do and so do the others who were there for that protest. In fact a lot of the people who complained we should have just canceled the rally and march and gone to the police station instead- weren't even there to support the rally in the first place and even passed out flyers in opposition to it! so much for "solidarity".


Do you think all these people who work with World Can't Wait- do you think Cindy Sheehan and Howard Zinn and Mark Ruffalo and Cornell West and Jesse Jackson, and Anne Wright and all the rest involved in this movement are RCP dupes? What's the fucking difference between you and Joe fucking McCarthy?

Are you really that ignorant and blind? Wake the fuck up. Or if not, quit trying to portray yourself as being about anything better for the world.

Wow the partyl ine turns around and events get changed in less than 48 hours the RCP was helping the anarchist the whole time in a defining act of solidarity. Next issue of the Revolutionary Worker "Communist Youth Birgade Battle Police in Cal Anderson Park."
Damn somone must have a hotline to chairman bob

"but you know what- everything doesn't come down to three arrests- this regime is fucking destroying the planet. you think we should narrow legalizing torture, murder in Iraq, plans for mass murder in Iran, and letting Black people die into New Orleans- into a jail solidarity rally around police brutality? No, that wasn't going to happen."

Wow, this says a lot

Yea it feels good to pat yourself on the back for having a permitted march for people on the other side of the world, but when the opression of this war hits in your own back yard the RCP helps the police and screams "Quit being divisive!" Everyone head back listen to the speakers and give us some money. Would this march stop any of the above issues...NO! There was a chance to "bring the war home" and fight not a symbol but a hand of opression, but the WCW/RCP shook that hand.

So RCP what about all your bad ass flags whith the pictures of fist and M-16s. Where is your revolution RCP...oh wait it only exist in the pages of the papers you sell

The Seattle Bike Police unit is sadistic. They are at every action and most often are the INSTIGATORS by assaulting civilians with their bicycles. A group of videographers and still camera photographers should be assigned to filming their actions. Never take your eyes off them when they enter a crowd. They are dangerous and malicious. They have repeatedly brutalized people. THEY NEED TO BE ON A LEASH.

why does "anarchist" need a vanguards help to get our comrades out of jail?

stop wasting your taking shit to rcp fuckheads.

Some comments on this thread from a Communist who participated in October 5th.

Why is it that the most important thing (and clearly overriding concern) about October 5th as a whole , to the people attacking World Can’t Wait on this thread, is the arrest of friends of yours, as opposed to the fact that this was a nationwide day in more than 200 locations involving tens of thousands of people to unite in opposition to a government that is taking society toward fascism, legalizing torture, murdering innocents in Iraq, allowing people in New Orelans to continue to suffer and institute a theocracy.?

You not only seem to have no positive comment on this, but no comment of any kind, and instead seem to wish that the whole idea and plan and mobilization for this protest should have been turned into a jail solidarity rally, for your friends. Not that they shouldn’t be supported and defended, or that the Seattle police attack wasn’t unjust and shouldn’t be opposed (it should and was), but honestly, if you can’t see the main thing here, it might be time to rethink things.

Why is it that you come to a rally that you clearly have disdain for, pass out a flyer attacking that rally, calling it a tool of Communists, declaring in effect that any one in association with it is simply a dupe, and then when you get into a little tussle with the cops, have the gall to complain about how you haven’t been extended the proper amount of solidarity?

Further, to attack the protest for not changing it’s whole purpose and it’s political goal and reason- which is extremely urgent- in order to focus primarily on your own friends, over and above the political goals of this protest- is simply to attack something that is very precious to people- the possibility of a way to counter what’s happening now, by millions of people.

And to claim that because WCW didn’t focus on your jail solidarity action, as opposed to it’s own rally, march and later rally at the Federal building-that this shows further lack of solidarity on WCW’s part, strikes me at playing at being a radical, and seeing what you are doing as just a part of some type of lifestyle choice. But this isn’t a joke, what we’re dealing with in this country now. What Bush is doing goes for everyone, and no-one is escaping it (including y’all) , anymore than they did in Nazi Germany. This is obviously, (to anyone paying attention), deadly serious. But you don’t seem to have much of a clue or have even a position on how to stop any of this.

It’s something to see people post on the internet attacking a protest, then showing up to it and standing to the side handing flyers out against it, getting into a scuffle with the cops, then blasting the organizers for not shifting everything to focus on their scuffle, then marching to the head of that protest (which they not only didn’t mobilize for but didn’t even support and instead flyered in opposition to!), all the while claiming that others are being opportunists!

And your claim that you will have none of Communist leadership and disavow leadership of any kind, while you march to the front of a planned event you only attacked, shows you are just saying in your own selfish and rather petty (as well as frankly ignorant) way, that you yourselves are the ones who know better than everyone else who should lead, while you claim that Communists are dictating!

At least you might have the honesty to tell the (actual) truth that WCW did not “block” or “corral” anyone from going back to the main rally- but instead organizers of it, along with others- opposed the attacks, sought to get witness information and the names of the arrested, exposed this to the crowd and spoke against it, and also sought to help with getting lawyers for you, as well as even told you (at the federal building) you could try to gather money from the crowd for a legal fund! And then yes, sought to call people on a bullhorn to come to the main rally. If you can’t tell the difference between this and ‘blocking” or “coralling” I think you don’t have much of a grasp of reality, which you don’t appear to.

You talk about the RCP being zombielike! You (and I don’t mean all anarchists- just whoever these people posting the crap on this thread) all spout the same story, feeding off each other, making it up as you go with a pre-existing anti-Communist ideology talking about 1917 in Russia. Your way of coming at things (once again- those of you posting the crap on this thread, not all anarchists) - with such a pre-existing viewpoint where everything is filtered through anti-Communism such that even simple facts are twisted to conform to your pre-exiting viewpoint brings to mind a Christian fundamentalist! If you don’t think you all are spouting the exact same “line” and ideology, guess again.

But your line and ideology are leading people nowhere and to nothing. Especially facing a country seeking to create an unchallenged empire for decades to come, a Christian fascist theocracy, etc. What exactly is your plan to do anything about that, or are you simply playing at being a radical? If so, better to wake up and realize this isn’t a game.

Commenting on this thread, as well as
 http://seattle.indymedia.org/en/2006/10/255236.shtml,  http://seattle.indymedia.org/en/2006/10/255235.shtml, and  http://seattle.indymedia.org/en/2006/10/255206.shtml.

The cops’ attack was unjustifiable and brutal. Dozens of people on that edge of the crowd responded by yelling at the cops to let the guys go, with some people trying to pull the assailants off their victims.

To his credit, I recognized one WCW person there shouting at the cops and trying to find a way to help out along with the rest of us. Other WCW people also say they did this. But then there was a woman with some apparent official capacity for the day who placed herself between the crowd and the then-handcuffed victims and tried to herd people back to the stage area. In other words, let the cops have their way with the young guys arrested!

The response from the stage was similar. Yes, it was a surprise attack. But by the time she spoke the MC must have been told that the police were acting brutally to young people who had essentially done nothing. Yet, like a good bureaucrat, all she could think to do was call everyone to the stage to hear the two hours of speeches. Couldn’t shorten them in order to deal with the situation.

In fact, the WCW’s “Response to Arrests on October 5” argues for imposing bureaucratism on the entire movement: “it's not wise, and, sometimes a fatal mistake, to air political antagonisms in public, including the Internet.” In other words, elitists should work out what’s “best” for the rest of us behind closed doors. And, if they can’t work it out, this is a formula for bureaucratically shutting one side up

But if one is really interested in building the mass movements of the oppressed what is really fatal is to NOT publicly struggle out political antagonisms. What is correct or incorrect is of public concern, and the masses themselves have to consider, debate, and decide which side is right, if either of them. Without this there can be no forward motion.

Someone is right, someone is wrong, or perhaps both are wrong, but if the groups involved in an antagonism are truly interested in leading a democratic movement of the masses---the only kind of movement that can ultimately be successful---then they will feel it their duty to publicly rally the masses to their side and isolate the ideas and organizations they think wrong. Additionally, such public struggles often excite people about getting politically active; and, it just might happen that they have something wiser to say on the particular political antagonism than either of the original sides.

WCW published this statement, but the RCP obviously supports it. In doing so it shows how really anti-Marxist-Leninist and revisionist it is. For example, the public airing of political antagonisms by Marx and Lenin fill volumes and volumes of large books. Moreover, Lenin lived in conditions of police tyranny much worse than we presently see. But he knew that there could be no revolution without mass participation and resolution of controversies.

The WCW statement also worries over October 5 being diverted into a battle with the police that would have resulted in the rally being shut down. It goes on: “If that had happened, the people arrested while demanding their flag back from the police….. would have, consciously or unconsciously, been playing right into a trap…..”

The problem with this is that it’s a diversion. No one was advocating a battle with the police, and WCW knows that the cops weren’t there gunning to find an excuse to smash the event. There weren’t that many of them, and most weren’t in riot gear. So was there really a trap to be played into? Nevertheless, it does raise legitimate concerns that I will return to.

But if the movement as a whole is to learn anything from this I think we have to oppose the kind of sectarian axe-grinding and incitement we see coming from both sides on several Indymedia threads.

First, while one can’t always tell which Indy comments are really from anarchists, and which might be from cops or right-wing provocateurs, one thing said in them must be outright denounced. This is that RCP gets paychecks from FBI. In the movement we must learn to shut down such scurrilous charges. In fact, experience has shown that the state authorities themselves often are at the root of them.

But “An anarchist” is so caught up in the atmosphere of sectarian mud-slinging that s/he can’t think. Thus s/he writes “While none of us have any proof, I would not put it past them to have told the police to take our flag and provoke us.” It doesn’t occur to this person that perhaps the police read the discussion under the call for an anti-capitalist contingent on this newswire, with it’s various calls to “fuck shit up”, etc., and were therefore gunning to watch and harass anyone who to them looked like an anarchist. Yet I think this is likely because, for among other reasons, when Frank put out a SIMC call to build a street demonstration shortly after 9/11 the cops showed up at the event that resulted and began asking for “Frank”.

There’s another side to the question of the wild charges being hurled at the RCP, however. This is that even if were connected to the issue of politically defeating its politics would remain to be done. This can’t be done by just calling the RCP names, even correct ones. Rather, it involves widely exposing how these politics do not serve the class interests of the proletariat and oppressed, when they do not. And, even more fundamental than this is the question of going to the oppressed layers of the masses and organizing, organizing, organizing around truly revolutionary politics.

Secondly, quite a few anarchists are using the occasion to essentially say: “See! We always told you those communists were no good!” when the RCP is not communist at all. But were the RCP really Marxist and Leninist, and Oct. 5 had never happened, anarchism would still oppose it. So advice to anarchists that they should really look at communist theory and compare it to RCP’s revisionist theory and practice is generally creates little interest. Still, I think it’s fair to ask these writers if they think its really true that all those groups that they would label “communist” have the same politics as the RCP? Further, since these groups obviously weren’t the organizers of the WCW event, is it principled to lump them together with RCP? Also, is possible that some of the attacks on communism in general might be motivated by self-serving sectarian hatreds that get in the way of cooperation in the movement, where cooperation is possible?

On the other side of the sectarian turmoil I think it’s important to oppose the ideas and methods of WCW supporter publius. He doesn’t call the anarchists FBI (and only one anarchist, or purported anarchist, called the RCP this---but neither has any anarchist publicly oppose it yet), but he’s essentially in the same swamp.

“All day you misbehaved like the spoiled rotten brats you are and then complain.”

Yes, tyrant daddy! But in your sectarian fury you “forget” to mention that this anarchist circle was peacefully sitting on the grass for most of the time it was at the rally. You also “forget” to mention that those who the police attacked hadn’t done ANYTHING to warrant it.

Publius also fumes that “the bottom line is when you show up to a protest you are on your own. that's right, you're responsible for yourself oh privileged one”.

This is wrong, absolutely wrong, but I’m glad that publius wrote it because it leads back to the question of lessons to be learned from what happened Oct. 5.

I’m told by my younger comrades that saying “one for all, and all for one” is considered to be a trite expression these days, but I can’t think of a better way to express the idea that the mass movements that we’re trying to build up must develop a profound sense of solidarity. In other words, when you show up to a protest you’re joining a collective effort and joining a collective: the movement. You are no longer on your own! Without this sense of solidarity none of the current movements can really become large and militant, and overthrowing the bourgeoisie is unimaginable.

Obviously, such solidarity cannot be declared. It can only be developed through the process of struggle, and through increasing mass political consciousness gained through struggle.

Bound up in this is that we must build the kind of movement where those who call protests do feel responsible for those who come. Of course, it’s not the leaders’ fault when the police launch surprise attacks, and no one should blame them when this happens. And, it’s also true that in a CERTAIN SENSE everyone at a protest is responsible for themselves because one knows that even by being at a protest one always runs a certain risk of being assaulted or arrested by the cops, or attacked by right-wingers.

But we can’t have a movement where misleaders say “you’re responsible for yourself”. If the cops start snatching militants or other people they don’t like out of marches---like they’re famous for doing in New York, Portland and, getting so, Seattle---then responsible leaders should take the lead in organizing against this.

At the current stage of the movement this doesn’t mean that they should lead the crowd in really mixing it up with the police in order to free a protestor who has been grabbed. And, on Thursday none of the anarchist friends of the people assaulted and arrested advocated this, or did they do it. Why? Well, I believe that I personally could have freed one of the guys by giving one cop a good body block. But I also know that I can’t run fast, and would have therefore been arrested on heavy assault charges. I think anarchists and others in the crowd similarly realized that really mixing it up with the cops would result in more “casualties” than it was worth. So all we could do was hotly denounce and chant, and keep our eye on what the cops were doing to the prisoners in order to politically expose it later.

So, in these conditions all we can really expect groups calling demonstrations to do is lead in shouting slogans against the cops, passing the hat for bail money, and giving political support to those arrested. But people originally come to a protest march in order to make a political statement around certain ideas, excite people on the streets about them, and draw more people into the movement. So the leaders’ responsibility is also to at a certain point continue with this objective, i.e., “we’ve suffered some losses, but we go on with our mission!”

But none of this is to preach satisfaction with the current stage of our movement. For example, Bolivian miners hurl dynamite sticks in order to ward off police attacks, while Korean workers arm themselves with shields, clubs and helmets in order to shove the police back for blocks. But these kind of things are the result of tightly organized mass movements that have taken years to build up (and they are not led by affinity groups). Examples of the best our movement can presently do are more modest: hurl teargas back at the police in order to keep a protest in the streets longer (as was done at the anti-WTO demonstration), sometimes free a person who is grabbed by the police, physically push the cops back for half a block (as was done in front of Portland’s Hilton a couple years ago), etc. The underlying issue is not that we don’t already have brave people in the mass movements, nor that they don’t already have good ideas about what can be done in order to resist police attacks. No, the main issue is our size, organization, and experience. This can only be changed through steadfast political work to arouse the masses (which requires building organization) coupled with changes in the objective conditions.

At risk of being slandered as part of the peace-police contingent I’ll raise one last thing because there have been Indy comments that called on anarchists to go to the WCW march to “fuck shit up”.

I don’t know what was exactly meant by this, but another side of the responsibility of the leaders of a political demonstration in defending it against police attacks is to stop acts by people in the crowd that the police will use as an excuse to crack heads and break up a protest. Here I’m not talking about people being militant along the lines that the demonstration was called on. Instead, a classic example of what I mean is a group of people who used to opportunistically hide in Seattle demonstrations in order to shoot the cops and break widows with slingshots. Other examples might be people who hide behind demonstrators in order to throw rocks, or a guy who used to use the opportunity in order to smash things with a hammer. The organizers should mobilize the crowd against doing such things, and the perpetrators should be stopped. But, fortunately, this is not presently an issue we’re having to deal with. And, contrary to publius, anarchists “behaved” (his word, not mine) well enough on October 5. In fact, in response to the police assaulting and arresting their comrades, they acted honorably.

After suffering a lot of pain on October 5, three innocent people are now worrying over what is going to happen to them. In Portland more people went through the same, and are going through the same. These are just more reasons to continue building the movement against the brutal system that caused this.

So, moving to the future, I think that all who want to build the movement against imperialism should mobilize for and participate in the anti-imperialist feeder march and contingent on October 28. This includes anarchists as well as RCP and WCW people. So bring your signs, banners, slogans, literature, flags or chants---and, knowing the Seattle Anti-Imperialist Committee, I don’t think it’s going to squabble with you over who marches in front! I might add that I think new chants that target imperialism, emphasize the class nature of the war(s), and target both Bush and the Democrats are needed in the movement as a whole, as well as at this event. Work some out, bring them, and popularize them!

Unlike Oct. 5, the Oct. 28 feeder march has no permit. This raises some particular problems insofar as dealing with the police.

One of these is that being forced to march on the sidewalks means that cops are going to be hemming us in and probably throwing their weight around. So, for the common interest we’re going to have to be cool and likely have to put up with various personal insults and indignities from these God’s gifts to humanity. But we’re certainly not going to shut our mouths.

Another problem is that being forced to march on the sidewalks means that we’re strung out. This makes it harder if not impossible for any large number of people to see and get to the scene of a police assault on someone. But, since we’re acting legally and with level heads, it would be very hard for the cops to defend any such eventualities in court and among the people---where I for one will make it an issue in the unlikely event that it happens.

The imperialist system has nothing to offer the masses of people it exploits and oppresses but wage-slavery, racial discrimination and attacks on immigrants, consumerism, demands for police-state conformity, environmental destruction, decay and early death. Today, scores of thousands of Iraqis and 2737 U.S. soldiers will never see another sunrise because of it, and tomorrow there will be more. Who were these once-living people? Among the Iraqis, everyone from infants to grandparents. And the G.I.s were overwhelming sons and daughters of working and poor people, especially national minorities: people just like you and me.

It therefore seems that it’s the responsibility and duty of all who oppose this great crime and tragedy to do all they can to further the anti-war movement. A key part of this is drawing out and explaining the class nature of the wars being fought and planned by U.S. imperialism in everyday work. Another part is showing how there really are no Democratic Party or other saviors within the establishment. Change will only come when large numbers of ordinary people realize the necessity of taking political matters into their own hands in order to fight for THEIR collective interests. Another part is supporting and mobilizing for anti-imperialist marches like the feeder and contingent for Oct. 28. The world has shown over and over that no great movement has developed without using the tool of street protests.

So if we want a larger and more militant anti-war movement I think this is the way to get it. But it’s going to take patience and time. Moreover, we can’t let the fact that political trends or groups in the movement have political differences deter us, nor should we think the key to advancing the movement is to find a way to unite all the various groups or political trends active within it. This cannot be done for the simple fact that some of these trends represent the politics of different social classes (proletariat and petty-bourgeoisie). This is why they’ve opposed each other for 150 years. The differences between them can‘t be resolved as long as these classes exist.

What we can do, however, is to demand that groups refrain from sectarian brawling, even when one side has just grievances. When this occurs we should expose it for what it is, and rally mass opinion against it. No one wants to hear this kind of stuff, whether from anarchists, the RCP, or others who may actually be more politically important. What activists want to hear is answers to questions concerning how to build the movement, what to do?, etc. And it’s not an issue that anarchists, the RCP, and many others don’t often have good idea about what to do in a particular circumstance, or a good slogan, etc. They do. A further thing we can do is to demand that they cooperate to the extent that this is possible---and it is possible to cooperate to build an action. But the real key advancing the movement still lies elsewhere. I think it lies in work to build a different kind of movement and a different kind of left. I think the SAIC action on Oct. 28 is another small step in this direction. I therefore again encourage all to mobilize for it and participate.

I'd be interested to see the literature distributed by the anti-imperialist group prior to the SPD assault. Would someone who has copies of that literature please scan and post here?

Thanks.

The literature that the WCW-Seattle referred to in their statement is the "Reinventions" pamphlet entitled "The World Can't Wake." The group "Reinventions" apparently found it worth setting up a domain exclusively dedicated to showcasing this pamphlet:  http://www.worldcantwake.org

...

Just to be clear, the WCW-Seattle statement was referring to THIS leaflet, not anything endorsed, written or distributed by the Seattle Anti-Imperialist Committee.

SAIC, for its part, distributed its two latest leaflets--one that does directly address WCW's politics, using a method very different than that employed by the author(s) of the "Reinventions leaflet--and a handbill for an anti-imperialist feeder march scheduled for the 28th of this month. All of this and more can be found at  http://www.seattleaic.org

An observation:

It seems a lot of the communists who have posted to this and other related threads only place validity on state-sanctioned actions, as in permitted carbon-copy marches and rallies, but think anarchists do nothing when they work outside of activism-as-usual, including guerilla leafletting, network-building, jail solidarity, etc. So what are anarchists doing to make the world a better place? One answer is that we're creating meaningful connections with each other and many of us experiment with tactics, from the personal to the public, which don't need to be elaborated upon here. Marches and capitalist buckets are not the only legitimate paths to change, you know.

so is there going to be a O22 march this year?

Until one of the persons who where arrested that day speaks out against WCW/RCP I’m not gonna believe in any of this horse shit from either side. And I still can’t believe “anarchists” are show up to a WCW/RCP march, why? Don’t give me that networking answer because you most likely alright knew everybody who showed up to that “do nothing march” already. I mean really how people showed to that march a 100 people ooo maybe 200. If you want to build another march or event or whatever you might want to talk to people you haven’t talk to already.

Anarchists already hate the RCP I never listen to gossip and I’m not gonna start now. And part of me really thinks that a cop posted this report (that just gossip).


wcw - cops: on the same team
Posted by: anok at Oct 06, 2006 00:13