Jan 18: Join the Green Bloc!

Build the party! It's time for regime change! Then the Green Party can start oppressing people just like all the other parties have done! Woo hoo! Or maybe the green party has a plan to solve all the world's problems...

Some constructive criticism: I think if you want to have the contingent be that effective, even in this post you should have said what the party is about, and why you want to have people join the contingent.

I think the Green Party should stay as far away from any "breakaway" marches as possible, since their politics are so different from those of the kinds of people who want to break away from one of these marches. We don't need to have Medea Benjamin (from the green party) talking shit about the black bloc again like she did in Seattle- if she doesn't want to be associated with tactics the black blockers use, she should just stay away.

Maybe the Green Party can have a breakway march from the authoritarian breakaway march that wants to exclude it....

"As Benjamin herself proudly described her shameful conduct to the New York Times: "Here we are protecting Nike, McDonalds, the GAP and all the while I'm thinking, 'Where are the police? These anarchists should have been arrested." On the Nation website one can find an equally disgusting sample of this ass-kissing of corporate slave drivers. Stephanie Greenwood excitedly quotes the slogan of a person she describes as "her Nation boss", said slogan being "Capitalism, no thanks! We'll burn your fucking banks." But woe betide any demonstrator who took this slogan seriously, as encouragement to inflict direct injury on capitalist property. Greenwood goes on to report admiringly a scene outside Levi Strauss where the respectable protesters "brought kids who had kicked windows in over to the cops and asked them to arrest them."

Fortunately for the kids, the cops didn't heed the invitation. Had they done so, these kids could now be facing up to ten years for "malicious mischief", which is the charge prosecutors in the North West are bringing against street activists. And those people turned in by Benjamin and the others did endure awful treatment in jail. "
http://flag.blackened.net/global/100historyrewrite.htm

"I think the Green Party should stay as far away from any "breakaway" marches as possible"

Wow, some respect for diversity.

So if people showed up with a green flag to march or run in the streets with the breakaway, people would tell them to leave? Are breakaway people going to be patrolling the group and telling certain people they can't be involved? Gee, that sounds like ANSWER at the front of it's marches . . .

This seems to be what a lof of people make the breakaway march out to be on here - that it's an exclusive group that most don't fit into so shouldn't be *allowed* to be involved.

Medea is another story. Sure, lot's disagree with her move in Seattle, and lot's agree with it. Medea has also been arrested many many times now, sometimes as the ONLY protestor at events with the moron and his regime. She doesn't represent the entire Green Party. Same thing with Nader - lots agree, lot's don't. We respect diversity. DIfferent Green Party's in different states have different policies. But yes, non-violence is one of our key values. If some choose to consider rock throwing as violent, that's their right. So what? I don't see it as that and I'm Green. Chances are those people wouldn't be running around looking for the breakaway march if they think throwing a rock is violence.

What about the other parties - will democrats, republicans, peace and freedom, libertarians, etc. also be told to not participate? If someone votes, are they not allowed to be in the breakaway march?

http://www.greenpartyus.org/tenkey.html

Ten Key Values of the Green Party
As ratified at the Green Party Convention in Denver, CO, June 2000.

1. GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY
Every human being deserves a say in the decisions that affect their lives and not be subject to the will of another. Therefore, we will work to increase public participation at every level of government and to ensure that our public representatives are fully accountable to the people who elect them. We will also work to create new types of political organizations which expand the process of participatory democracy by directly including citizens in the decision-making process.

2. SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
All persons should have the rights and opportunity to benefit equally from the resources afforded us by society and the environment. We must consciously confront in ourselves, our organizations, and society at large, barriers such as racism and class oppression, sexism and homophobia, ageism and disability, which act to deny fair treatment and equal justice under the law.

3. ECOLOGICAL WISDOM
Human societies must operate with the understanding that we are part of nature, not separate from nature. We must maintain an ecological balance and live within the ecological and resource limits of our communities and our planet. We support a sustainable society which utilizes resources in such a way that future generations will benefit and not suffer from the practices of our generation. To this end we must practice agriculture which replenishes the soil; move to an energy efficient economy; and live in ways that respect the integrity of natural systems.

4. NON-VIOLENCE
It is essential that we develop effective alternatives to society’s current patterns of violence. We will work to demilitarize, and eliminate weapons of mass destruction, without being naive about the intentions of other governments. We recognize the need for self-defense and the defense of others who are in helpless situations. We promote non-violent methods to oppose practices and policies with which we disagree, and will guide our actions toward lasting personal, community and global peace.

5. DECENTRALIZATION
Centralization of wealth and power contributes to social and economic injustice, environmental destruction, and militarization. Therefore, we support a restructuring of social, political and economic institutions away from a system which is controlled by and mostly benefits the powerful few, to a democratic, less bureaucratic system. Decision-making should, as much as possible, remain at the individual and local level, while assuring that civil rights are protected for all citizens.

6. COMMUNITY-BASED ECONOMICS AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE
We recognize it is essential to create a vibrant and sustainable economic system, one that can create jobs and provide a decent standard of living for all people while maintaining a healthy ecological balance. A successful economic system will offer meaningful work with dignity, while paying a “living wage” which reflects the real value of a person’s work.

Local communities must look to economic development that assures protection of the environment and workers’ rights; broad citizen participation in planning; and enhancement of our “quality of life.” We support independently owned and operated companies which are socially responsible, as well as co-operatives and public enterprises that distribute resources and control to more people through democratic participation.

7. FEMINISM AND GENDER EQUITY
We have inherited a social system based on male domination of politics and economics. We call for the replacement of the cultural ethics of domination and control with more cooperative ways of interacting that respect differences of opinion and gender. Human values such as equity between the sexes, interpersonal responsibility, and honesty must be developed with moral conscience. We should remember that the process that determines our decisions and actions is just as important as achieving the outcome we want.

8. RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY
We believe it is important to value cultural, ethnic, racial, sexual, religious and spiritual diversity, and to promote the development of respectful relationships across these lines.

We believe that the many diverse elements of society should be reflected in our organizations and decision-making bodies, and we support the leadership of people who have been traditionally closed out of leadership roles. We acknowledge and encourage respect for other life forms than our own and the preservation of biodiversity.

9. PERSONAL AND GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY
We encourage individuals to act to improve their personal well-being and, at the same time, to enhance ecological balance and social harmony. We seek to join with people and organizations around the world to foster peace, economic justice, and the health of the planet.

10. FUTURE FOCUS AND SUSTAINABILITY
Our actions and policies should be motivated by long-term goals. We seek to protect valuable natural resources, safely disposing of or “unmaking” all waste we create, while developing a sustainable economics that does not depend on continual expansion for survival. We must counterbalance the drive for short-term profits by assuring that economic development, new technologies, and fiscal policies are responsible to future generations who will inherit the results of our actions.

Ten Key Values from other state and local Greens.
There is no authoritative version of the Ten Key Values of the Greens. The Ten Key Values are guiding principles that are adapted and defined to fit each state and local chapter.

I think its great that the green party will be at the protest, the more people the better.
And if the greens want join the breakaway march, then im all for it as long as they dont try to turn it into another authoritarian march by acting like police and stopping others from engaging in direct action activities.
The world really doesn't need any more cops.

If there are going to be three separate breakaway marches, Red, Black and Green, and they're all going off in different directions at the same time, how on earth are the cops going to be able to deal with it?

Isn't it pretty authoritarian to create a situation that can lead to the majority of people getting hurt by cops who use the breakaway march or "direct action" as an excuse to break up the rally? After-all, the majority of people do not have a say in the breakaway march, didn't vote for it and aren't going to even learn about it. That sounds like the tyranny of the minority to me. We need to build a democratic, broad movement where people are able to decide what happens at a march or rally. Not adventurism by a handful of self-proclaimed radicals.

For hiding my post.

Isn't it pretty authoritarian to try to make everybody all go on the same march?

jeez, what controversy! um, it seems obvious to me that by "breaking away" from the larger rally/march, the breakaway march is not "endangering" anyone who doesn't want to be there. unfortunately i think this means it will draw a lot more police "escorts" and attention. and there's also this assumption that breakaway folks will be "throwing rocks", etc. not necessarily - breakaway marches can disrupt traffic, and can do lots of other things.

the only people you can blame for what the cops do is the cops. there have been plenty of times throught out history when the cops have attacked peaceful marches without any provication. if you want to blame someone for police brutality blame the police.

the only people you can blame for what the cops do are the cops. there have been plenty of times throughout out history when the cops have attacked peaceful marches without any provocation. if you want to blame someone for police brutality blame the police.

There have been other times when they switched sides, and gone over to the demonstrators. That's what Bastille Day is all about.