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Indybay Feature
G8 Mission Protests: A setback, not a victory
What happened in the Mission on Friday night was fucked up. As a participant in the action, what I saw was a predominantly white group of anarchists who overturned news boxes and threw trash on the streets and sidewalks of an area that is home to a large number of working-class and low-income families, including many Latinos, African-Americans and immigrants. If Bay Area anarchists are really interested in building a widescale working-class movement against capitalism and war, they need to seriously re-evaluate their communication with the working class - trashing their streets sends a message of "fuck you" to the people we are trying to reach.
What happened in the Mission on Friday night was fucked up. As a participant in the action, what I saw was a predominantly white group of anarchists who overturned news boxes and threw trash on the streets and sidewalks of an area that is home to a large number of working-class and low-income families, including many Latinos, African-Americans and immigrants. Yes, there has been gentrification in the Mission. But the Mission is still NOT the financial district. If Bay Area anarchists are really interested in building a widescale working-class movement against capitalism and war, they need to seriously re-evaluate their communication with the working class - trashing their streets sends a message of "fuck you" to the people we are trying to reach.
Let me just say that trashing PG&E, Wells Fargo and other corporate targets is right on. PG&E has been screwing the people of San Francisco for decades and their greed needs to be confronted and fought by many means.
Props to the graffiti interventions against corporate America's colonization of our mental and geographic space via advertising propaganda.
But anarchism is supposed to be about mutual aid, direct democracy and the creation of a world free of violent coercion. Anarchism can and must grow as a political movement and way of life. Unfortunately, the West Coast G8 Solidarity Action was a set-back for the Bay Area anarchist movement.
It is true that several Mission residents did join the Black Bloc and expressed their outrage and opposition to economic exploitation and the police violence that sustains racial and class oppression. "Fuck the police" is a good beginning towards more deeper acts of solidarity between anarchists and the urban poor and working-class.
But as some anarchists continued to pull news boxes into the street and overturn trashcans of garbage, other Mission residents voiced their anger at us, accusing us of trashing their home. And no, it wasn't just yuppies that were pissed, but working-class Latinos and African-Americans.
While some activists may have felt that the disappearance of police during portions of the protest was a victory for us, I think there's a different meaning. If we were in the Financial District, there probably would have been many more cops following us - the rich get the best security forces (public and private) to protect their precious property. Honestly, the police were probably less concerned about protestors trashing the Mission - they are not paid to protect working-class and poor neighborhoods. They are paid to harass, attack and oppress people in those neighborhoods. In that sense, the actions taken against Mission residents (i.e. pouring trash bins onto the streets, not the strikes against PGE/Wells/etc.) is the same kind of “fuck you” attitude that the cops display towards most of the residents of the Mission.
We should ask ourselves if this is how we want convey the liberatory message of anarchism to our potential comrades and allies. Calling for a class war against the rich while we throw trash all over a working-class neighborhood is contradictory, stupid and offensive. If Bay Area anarchists are interested in expanding from a predominantly middle-class, white, punk-rock youth movement into a beautiful and righteous multi-racial, multi-class movement against capitalism and war, we should have a serious discussion about what went right and what went wrong on Friday night.
Let me just say that trashing PG&E, Wells Fargo and other corporate targets is right on. PG&E has been screwing the people of San Francisco for decades and their greed needs to be confronted and fought by many means.
Props to the graffiti interventions against corporate America's colonization of our mental and geographic space via advertising propaganda.
But anarchism is supposed to be about mutual aid, direct democracy and the creation of a world free of violent coercion. Anarchism can and must grow as a political movement and way of life. Unfortunately, the West Coast G8 Solidarity Action was a set-back for the Bay Area anarchist movement.
It is true that several Mission residents did join the Black Bloc and expressed their outrage and opposition to economic exploitation and the police violence that sustains racial and class oppression. "Fuck the police" is a good beginning towards more deeper acts of solidarity between anarchists and the urban poor and working-class.
But as some anarchists continued to pull news boxes into the street and overturn trashcans of garbage, other Mission residents voiced their anger at us, accusing us of trashing their home. And no, it wasn't just yuppies that were pissed, but working-class Latinos and African-Americans.
While some activists may have felt that the disappearance of police during portions of the protest was a victory for us, I think there's a different meaning. If we were in the Financial District, there probably would have been many more cops following us - the rich get the best security forces (public and private) to protect their precious property. Honestly, the police were probably less concerned about protestors trashing the Mission - they are not paid to protect working-class and poor neighborhoods. They are paid to harass, attack and oppress people in those neighborhoods. In that sense, the actions taken against Mission residents (i.e. pouring trash bins onto the streets, not the strikes against PGE/Wells/etc.) is the same kind of “fuck you” attitude that the cops display towards most of the residents of the Mission.
We should ask ourselves if this is how we want convey the liberatory message of anarchism to our potential comrades and allies. Calling for a class war against the rich while we throw trash all over a working-class neighborhood is contradictory, stupid and offensive. If Bay Area anarchists are interested in expanding from a predominantly middle-class, white, punk-rock youth movement into a beautiful and righteous multi-racial, multi-class movement against capitalism and war, we should have a serious discussion about what went right and what went wrong on Friday night.
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well i personally had a lot of fun. i personally saw neighborhood people join in the action. but then again i don't spend all my time scheming ways to convert people to my ideological program. as far as i can tell a lot of people are very angry..anarchists and "the masses" (or fresh meat, as you might call them) are pretty pissed off at the state of our surroundings...some people are looking for catharsis. it's hilarious that while you cry "racism" you are being the most racist of all because you are making assumptions about the will of the people in the mission district. you are saying you the stereotypical activist know for sure that the people in the mission district didn't want the cops to be fought windows smashed etc. but as far as i could tell... BY ACTUALLY TALKING TO PEOPLE the only people who were offended were yuppie gentrifiers.
the point of my being in anarchist is THAT I BELEIVE IN THE REALITY OF MY DESIRES not that I Believe In The Truth Of My Program
yours for the destruction of civilization
-bill
the point of my being in anarchist is THAT I BELEIVE IN THE REALITY OF MY DESIRES not that I Believe In The Truth Of My Program
yours for the destruction of civilization
-bill
Right on! Though I strongly identify as an anarchist, I couldn't bring myself to go last night, largely because I was afraid it would go similarly to how it seems to have gone. Confrontation can be good, yes, for sure. But if we want to build solidarity, there needs to be more focus on working together to improve each others' lives, not just getting together to fuck shit up. Whether you're looking at the Black Panthers or even the Hamas, they got widespread support from their communities, largely because of the positive things that they did/do for their communities. This support than continued on towards their confrontational tactics, as well. But it works in THAT order! People need to EXPERIENCE what you are for, not just hear chants about what you are supposedly for while experiencing what you are against all the time. Comprende?
For your information: the mission was originally NOT a latino community, it was a community of Irish immigrants who were gentrified by the latino community.
And it's not the yuppies who are inconvenienced by trashing the PG&E bill payment office or the Sketchers outlet store - yuppies don't need to pay their bill in person and they can afford to shop at the fancier Sketchers boutique. And they don't need to go to bak branches because they bank online. You're just encouraging the banks to pull out of the mission and put in their over priced "check cashing services" (yes, the big banks own all the check cashing services and make a fortune off them).
The Black Blockheads trashed businesses that were useful to the community, and not the "gentrifiers" you like to pretend you're hurting.
Stop making excuses for your violence. You're as bad as Bushco. You're an embarrassment to your cause.
What's next Black Bloc? Putting bombs in transit systems?
Why not spend all your energy going to DC and lobbying congress to remove so many of the benefits that corporations have, benefits that have let the corporations become so powerful?
Corporations are your enemy, and they're really powerful. You'll need to the US government on your side if you really want to crush them. Congress is finally starting to realize that the corporations are getting out of control. Once the congressmen realize that they're no longer in control - that the corporations are dictating the law - they'll finally be ready to do something about it.
And it's not the yuppies who are inconvenienced by trashing the PG&E bill payment office or the Sketchers outlet store - yuppies don't need to pay their bill in person and they can afford to shop at the fancier Sketchers boutique. And they don't need to go to bak branches because they bank online. You're just encouraging the banks to pull out of the mission and put in their over priced "check cashing services" (yes, the big banks own all the check cashing services and make a fortune off them).
The Black Blockheads trashed businesses that were useful to the community, and not the "gentrifiers" you like to pretend you're hurting.
Stop making excuses for your violence. You're as bad as Bushco. You're an embarrassment to your cause.
What's next Black Bloc? Putting bombs in transit systems?
Why not spend all your energy going to DC and lobbying congress to remove so many of the benefits that corporations have, benefits that have let the corporations become so powerful?
Corporations are your enemy, and they're really powerful. You'll need to the US government on your side if you really want to crush them. Congress is finally starting to realize that the corporations are getting out of control. Once the congressmen realize that they're no longer in control - that the corporations are dictating the law - they'll finally be ready to do something about it.
I agree that trashing the mission isn't cool, but the author of this article needs to check their racist language. There are plenty of working class whites living in the mission. Those punks tussling with the cops probably lived around the corner or down some alley, and were trashing their own neighborhood. You mr. Local anarcho-communist need to loose the bullshit racist mentality that all whites are rich and live in fancy houses.
Robert wrote:
"Once the congressmen realize that they're no longer in control - that the corporations are dictating the law - they'll finally be ready to do something about it."
The corporations (i.e., capitalists) have been dictating the law in this country at least since 1865. Before that, they shared that task with the slaveholders. Any candidate for Congress who has illusions to the contrary when (s)he runs for office is dumber than Robert.
"Once the congressmen realize that they're no longer in control - that the corporations are dictating the law - they'll finally be ready to do something about it."
The corporations (i.e., capitalists) have been dictating the law in this country at least since 1865. Before that, they shared that task with the slaveholders. Any candidate for Congress who has illusions to the contrary when (s)he runs for office is dumber than Robert.
I didn’t go last night cuz I figure people wanted to smash shit and I had get up early go to work today and I don’t like jail. I agree throwing trash on the street seems pretty stupid I guess the mob mentality took over. But the real problem is that we anarchist (this goes for all activist) seem to be always talk about ourselves to ourselves. We need to do more it would great if we when to the street of missions talk to folks on street about what their thoughts are (of went down last night).
I share the fear that main stream media and police (state "the man") spin will be "middle class white kids trash latino and black neighbor" that sounds bad. But it’s not really true either. We to think how our action can be looked at by outsiders. Don’t really care what main stream media thinks of us I do care very much what working class folks are thinking. So we need to ask face to face.
I share the fear that main stream media and police (state "the man") spin will be "middle class white kids trash latino and black neighbor" that sounds bad. But it’s not really true either. We to think how our action can be looked at by outsiders. Don’t really care what main stream media thinks of us I do care very much what working class folks are thinking. So we need to ask face to face.
Your analysis is spot on. Having a solidarity action in the Mission to build community support does make sense, but any action in an underprivaliged community should de-empathize property destruction and do things towards city beautification. Personally, I think an action during the Mission is better suited towards daytime hours.
If there is going to be a more militant action, either specific targets should be planned ahead of time, or at the very least the action should be done in a wealthy part of the city, ideally the financial district.
It's true the cops seemed less than interested in protecting the Mission from property destruction; in fact, on several occasions towards the beginning the cops PA boomed "Get off the sidewalk" repeatedly, and the tone of voice was notably apathetic.
I think we need to have some serious discussion together as an anarchist community and assess last night's action comprehensively. If we're to build unity and actually forment revolution than we need to know what we're fucking doing and we need clearly established unity amongst one another.
Last night's action showed we're nowhere near there, but it shouldn't be hard for us to get back on track. Hopefully Anarchist Action can help facilitate the much needed discourse.
If there is going to be a more militant action, either specific targets should be planned ahead of time, or at the very least the action should be done in a wealthy part of the city, ideally the financial district.
It's true the cops seemed less than interested in protecting the Mission from property destruction; in fact, on several occasions towards the beginning the cops PA boomed "Get off the sidewalk" repeatedly, and the tone of voice was notably apathetic.
I think we need to have some serious discussion together as an anarchist community and assess last night's action comprehensively. If we're to build unity and actually forment revolution than we need to know what we're fucking doing and we need clearly established unity amongst one another.
Last night's action showed we're nowhere near there, but it shouldn't be hard for us to get back on track. Hopefully Anarchist Action can help facilitate the much needed discourse.
For more information:
http://nogovernment.us
Oh brother, another stupid commie using race to insult and disparage the work of anarchists. For your information, the Mission is a diverse neighborhood, not some exclusive zone of Latino people or whomever. I'm sure that a fair shar of the protesters live in the Mission, so what better reason to protest there?
I think many of us are tired of the constant put downs of militant activists from anonymous cowards on Indymedia. If you'd like to see something different happen, go organize it. Don't bother with your fucking bullshit about all of these anarchists being white. I fucking know some of the organizers and they aren't very white at all.
I think many of us are tired of the constant put downs of militant activists from anonymous cowards on Indymedia. If you'd like to see something different happen, go organize it. Don't bother with your fucking bullshit about all of these anarchists being white. I fucking know some of the organizers and they aren't very white at all.
For more information:
http://www.infoshop.org
I also agree with you, and think the dialogue needs to go further than these "comment" postings (which I think we all agree never really go anywhere.)
There are a lot of extremely hostile wingnuts on indymedia, so I respect your wish to remain anonymus. If you are serious about next steps, though, I'd like to talk.
jeffsotheraddress [at] hotmail.com
There are a lot of extremely hostile wingnuts on indymedia, so I respect your wish to remain anonymus. If you are serious about next steps, though, I'd like to talk.
jeffsotheraddress [at] hotmail.com
I am a San Francisco native and have lived in the Mission most of my adult life. I have two kids and work for a living. I am not a yuppie by any means and, like most people with families in this neighborhood, I have mixed feelings about gentrification.
I don't object to your political beliefs--we'd probably have a lot to talk about--but I have to live here and raise my kids here, and it's really annoying to have a bunch of self-righteous kids throw trash onto the streets and contribute even more grafitti and vandalism to the urban landscape.
You want to protest the G8? Go for it. But why mess up my neighborhood? Whatever statement you're trying to make, the end result is that you're fucking up my neighborhood, lowering my quality of life, and inconveniencing me. And, believe me, I am hardly a paragon of capitalism; I would just to be able to take my daughter for a walk and not encounter piles of dogshit and trash for a change.
Thanks for making my neighborhood look even crappier than it did yesterday!
I don't object to your political beliefs--we'd probably have a lot to talk about--but I have to live here and raise my kids here, and it's really annoying to have a bunch of self-righteous kids throw trash onto the streets and contribute even more grafitti and vandalism to the urban landscape.
You want to protest the G8? Go for it. But why mess up my neighborhood? Whatever statement you're trying to make, the end result is that you're fucking up my neighborhood, lowering my quality of life, and inconveniencing me. And, believe me, I am hardly a paragon of capitalism; I would just to be able to take my daughter for a walk and not encounter piles of dogshit and trash for a change.
Thanks for making my neighborhood look even crappier than it did yesterday!
yeah ok i live in the mission too and have no fucking problem with trash in the street -- if the alternative is cops or cars. i too would prefer not to have trash lying around, but the concrete is just as fucking ugly.
talking to people is great, whether they live in the mission or anywhere else. SO GO FUCKING DO IT. if you want something to get done, do it yourself. thats the enire principle of anarchism.
but smashing things is pretty ok too.
honestly, throwing newspaper boxes and trash cans in the street is a good tactic against police cars in pursuit and aids in keeping them away for the exra minutes needed to smash windows, vandalize, whatever. and honestly, its not racist or classist to strike out against companies that are preying on the poor. if you think sketchers is doing service for the community youre a fucking dumbass.
talking to people is great, whether they live in the mission or anywhere else. SO GO FUCKING DO IT. if you want something to get done, do it yourself. thats the enire principle of anarchism.
but smashing things is pretty ok too.
honestly, throwing newspaper boxes and trash cans in the street is a good tactic against police cars in pursuit and aids in keeping them away for the exra minutes needed to smash windows, vandalize, whatever. and honestly, its not racist or classist to strike out against companies that are preying on the poor. if you think sketchers is doing service for the community youre a fucking dumbass.
your neighborhood would look much better if instead of all those mom and pop stores, the 99 cent stores, the burrito joints, the working class shit, you had big sterile plate glass windows and gap and chain stores, hipster boutiques, law offices.
and then your neighborhood would basically not contain any of the people you currently share it with, but it sure would LOOK nice.
get the point? capitalism is evolving through neo liberalism to replace all the character of your neighborhood with economic oppression of you and you neighbors, with stuff that looks good but starves and evicts you, the naive shill for your own enemies. the language the capitalists use is "gentrification" which translates, into your parlance, as 'making "your" neighborhood "look better"'.
dont you see the problem with what you are saying? what are you more scared of? that kids in the mission will see some graffitti and trash in the street or the fact that the kids in the mission wont have an education, healthcare, housing, nutrition, and clean air?
and then your neighborhood would basically not contain any of the people you currently share it with, but it sure would LOOK nice.
get the point? capitalism is evolving through neo liberalism to replace all the character of your neighborhood with economic oppression of you and you neighbors, with stuff that looks good but starves and evicts you, the naive shill for your own enemies. the language the capitalists use is "gentrification" which translates, into your parlance, as 'making "your" neighborhood "look better"'.
dont you see the problem with what you are saying? what are you more scared of? that kids in the mission will see some graffitti and trash in the street or the fact that the kids in the mission wont have an education, healthcare, housing, nutrition, and clean air?
Wow, wild action west coast. Good but strange work. In the west bank we chose our action intentions depending on the place of focus(target). Some are all out rock and bottle rain storms(in the camp) and others are missle free for mom and the grand parents. It really does depend on the turnout and the neighborhood. Sometimes people get angry at us chanting at troops because they are trying to get some sleep.
its propbally nothing new for the hood to see windows smashed, and drunks kicking over the trash. Having the cops show up isnt going to help people out either especially if there trying to sell off there last qp.
constructively, great choice of location but its ok to tone it down once in a while to make space for the people who really need it to see what we are about... creative, intelligent plans and skills to acheive radical new associations and structures. Then take em to tear it up.
its propbally nothing new for the hood to see windows smashed, and drunks kicking over the trash. Having the cops show up isnt going to help people out either especially if there trying to sell off there last qp.
constructively, great choice of location but its ok to tone it down once in a while to make space for the people who really need it to see what we are about... creative, intelligent plans and skills to acheive radical new associations and structures. Then take em to tear it up.
Barricades help slow and/or stop traffic, including police vehicles, which is needed in a street action. Rioters of all races and ideologies drag trash into the street to make barricades, so your arguments have nothing to do with the realities of class war. Don't cry over spilt garbage when people are putting themselves on the line to disrupt the normal functioning of capitalism.
Look I wish race not an issue but it is. Believe it not and ignoring the problem of racism is not going to solves god damn thing.
>honestly, throwing newspaper boxes and trash cans in the street is a good tactic against police cars in pursuit and aids in keeping them away for the exra minutes needed to smash windows, vandalize, whatever
I agree but to the people who don’t know that their was a protest against g8 and what that means why they should give a fuk. is what I was trying to get at.
I’m graff writer going 14 years now. I fuk shit up everyday so what.
If this action was just to fuk shit then there no need look at what might of went wrong. And if this action was only for the few that knew about it there is no reason to follow up talk to anybody in the neighbor about happen how last night. But if there was idea to educate folks about g8 (imperialism) and what anarchism is, maybe we should follow up.
diy attitude need change to dio
>honestly, throwing newspaper boxes and trash cans in the street is a good tactic against police cars in pursuit and aids in keeping them away for the exra minutes needed to smash windows, vandalize, whatever
I agree but to the people who don’t know that their was a protest against g8 and what that means why they should give a fuk. is what I was trying to get at.
I’m graff writer going 14 years now. I fuk shit up everyday so what.
If this action was just to fuk shit then there no need look at what might of went wrong. And if this action was only for the few that knew about it there is no reason to follow up talk to anybody in the neighbor about happen how last night. But if there was idea to educate folks about g8 (imperialism) and what anarchism is, maybe we should follow up.
diy attitude need change to dio
This seems to be the discussion thread relating to events. Here are a few thoughts and questions.
Does anyone else suspect that whoever was in charge was treating Mission street as a containment zone, just like on ordinary days? It is clear to everyone that 6th street and 16th and Mission and a few other spots are all policed differently, where they would respond to complaints in other areas much faster, and leave junkies stay in these areas. Drug dealing and prostitution has all gone off the street due to cell phones, but there are still areas of the mission where a fraction of people are mentally screwed up and act territorial. I'm shocked by the daily number of violent incidents when I have sometimes glanced through daily police reports. After the first half hour, do you think the police said "we have better stuff to do, and they aren't near union square"? There was no Rick Bruce or Greg Suhr giving orders. The CBS report says that the first officer who raced his car down the street was responding to an unrelated local call, and that is consistent with his behavior.
Secondly, (and you can use coded or edited language if you were nearby). I've been trying to piece together what happened on 23rd street, by watching my video over and over which was done near where Josh Wolf had better quality footage of an arrest - where camera light bulbs provided eerie flashes. Was the first officer who jumped out of his car the one with brown hair photographed by the Chronicle freelancer choking a young white guy? Or was he the one who was beaten 75m down the street? I interpreted him as the one doing the arrest by the truck, but where did the beaten officer come from then?.. was that the second car on the scene? The one with the taser came a little bit later. It is my understanding that both the woman Doree and the guy with longer hair were people standing around watching arrests, and I have no idea what the first guy was arrested for.
Can anyone explain why one officer said "I'm federal police", and some of the cars had a different federal logo. Is that homeland security? There are so many categories of law enforcement, from BART police to park rangers to private security guards, to airport and homeland security police. I even think some animal rights activists should be better off embracing their inner authoritarian to be fish& game police catching people who kill endangered sturgeon, abalone and rockfish, because it is more productive than the Huntingdon Life Science project by far, and they could do the job well.
Thinking about it, I'd prefer that demonstrations not have the *objective* of fighting with police, as if that is a goal. I'm not out to humanize them, because for instance, I am very against the prison guard's union even though it is a working class union. Yet, police are working class, some of them are not bad people (my coworker is also law enforcement), and it's no proper goal to fight them. We need to rise above. Even if you are a destruction oriented punk, why do this when law enforcement is assembled
Does anyone else suspect that whoever was in charge was treating Mission street as a containment zone, just like on ordinary days? It is clear to everyone that 6th street and 16th and Mission and a few other spots are all policed differently, where they would respond to complaints in other areas much faster, and leave junkies stay in these areas. Drug dealing and prostitution has all gone off the street due to cell phones, but there are still areas of the mission where a fraction of people are mentally screwed up and act territorial. I'm shocked by the daily number of violent incidents when I have sometimes glanced through daily police reports. After the first half hour, do you think the police said "we have better stuff to do, and they aren't near union square"? There was no Rick Bruce or Greg Suhr giving orders. The CBS report says that the first officer who raced his car down the street was responding to an unrelated local call, and that is consistent with his behavior.
Secondly, (and you can use coded or edited language if you were nearby). I've been trying to piece together what happened on 23rd street, by watching my video over and over which was done near where Josh Wolf had better quality footage of an arrest - where camera light bulbs provided eerie flashes. Was the first officer who jumped out of his car the one with brown hair photographed by the Chronicle freelancer choking a young white guy? Or was he the one who was beaten 75m down the street? I interpreted him as the one doing the arrest by the truck, but where did the beaten officer come from then?.. was that the second car on the scene? The one with the taser came a little bit later. It is my understanding that both the woman Doree and the guy with longer hair were people standing around watching arrests, and I have no idea what the first guy was arrested for.
Can anyone explain why one officer said "I'm federal police", and some of the cars had a different federal logo. Is that homeland security? There are so many categories of law enforcement, from BART police to park rangers to private security guards, to airport and homeland security police. I even think some animal rights activists should be better off embracing their inner authoritarian to be fish& game police catching people who kill endangered sturgeon, abalone and rockfish, because it is more productive than the Huntingdon Life Science project by far, and they could do the job well.
Thinking about it, I'd prefer that demonstrations not have the *objective* of fighting with police, as if that is a goal. I'm not out to humanize them, because for instance, I am very against the prison guard's union even though it is a working class union. Yet, police are working class, some of them are not bad people (my coworker is also law enforcement), and it's no proper goal to fight them. We need to rise above. Even if you are a destruction oriented punk, why do this when law enforcement is assembled
plenty of people were dragging shit into the street, but few, if any were trying to set it up in such a way that it would slow any police, most were just tossing shit into oncoming traffic, in very unconstructive ways. im not against this as a tactic, and i dont much care that it happened, but people do need to be aware of what they are doing an why, an there was a lack of that..
um yes, suhr was there, and giving orders.
This writer can easily remember when there were no gangs in the Mission District. The current gangs at least have some excuse: there is no hope in this dying society. And st least the gangs who live in the Mission District do not claim to have any radical politics.
This outfit, most certainly filled with police agents as agent provocateurs promoting violence and fights with the police to give radicals a bad name, acted like and as far as I am concerned, is a gang of apparently mostly white young people who, like all poor gangs, have no decent homes, and clearly are not eating enough as they are pencil thin, which is enough to make anyone angry. However, taking your anger out on the Mission District is not radical; it is stupidity at best.
As to the 100-200 who were there, in the Bay Area you can get 200 people out for just about anything on any day of the year, including Christmas Day. There is nothing radical about that. After all, there are 7 million people who live in the Bay Area.
Radical revolutions, the kind that put an end to the capitalist profit motive and replace it with a society where labor shares the wealth equally with all, are made by organizing labor on the job, and including the workers' families in worker organizations.
Clearly, from all these photos, no such organizing took place. We see in these photos the actions of a gang of hoodlums, trashing the workingclass community of the Mission District. And, in so doing, they made it possible for the police to attack innocent bystanders. Shame on this stinking, rotten, agent provocateur gang.
This outfit, most certainly filled with police agents as agent provocateurs promoting violence and fights with the police to give radicals a bad name, acted like and as far as I am concerned, is a gang of apparently mostly white young people who, like all poor gangs, have no decent homes, and clearly are not eating enough as they are pencil thin, which is enough to make anyone angry. However, taking your anger out on the Mission District is not radical; it is stupidity at best.
As to the 100-200 who were there, in the Bay Area you can get 200 people out for just about anything on any day of the year, including Christmas Day. There is nothing radical about that. After all, there are 7 million people who live in the Bay Area.
Radical revolutions, the kind that put an end to the capitalist profit motive and replace it with a society where labor shares the wealth equally with all, are made by organizing labor on the job, and including the workers' families in worker organizations.
Clearly, from all these photos, no such organizing took place. We see in these photos the actions of a gang of hoodlums, trashing the workingclass community of the Mission District. And, in so doing, they made it possible for the police to attack innocent bystanders. Shame on this stinking, rotten, agent provocateur gang.
to everyone who participated (which was not me) i really hope you don't let all the naysayers make you doubt yourself. these people are resistant to change and dont seem to like being inconvenienced on their friday night. Who wants to think about world poverty and the G8 after all, when it is so much better to have a beer at a Mission bar or something and unwind from their busy workweek.
The fact that you made it onto sfgate means mission accomplished to me. When I told a friend about a "violent protest in the mission", she said "What is the G8?" Let's not forget that while the G8 is pretending to try to solve the problem of poverty in Africa and Global warming, they are the cause of the problem, and that is what this was about. Too bad for the people who felt inconvenienced by this.
The fact that you made it onto sfgate means mission accomplished to me. When I told a friend about a "violent protest in the mission", she said "What is the G8?" Let's not forget that while the G8 is pretending to try to solve the problem of poverty in Africa and Global warming, they are the cause of the problem, and that is what this was about. Too bad for the people who felt inconvenienced by this.
Well, we can also look at it this way: it got the story into the chronicle and on the 10o'clock news, so now people will know there is some dissent here with the G8. Unfortunately, the mainstream news only care about their stupid sensationalist stories and freakshows so if you want to get your story in you have to get their attention somehow. I think next time if everyone strips naked instead it might achieve some attention, or a creative performance instead of a destructive one.
"I'm afraid we have awakened a sleeping giant and filled it with terrible resolve," said Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto, right after the enormous tactical success of Pearl Harbor.
I have an idea. How about instead of protesting on Mission district, we protest in the finanial district? There are way more corporate business places and would be more effective. Think about it. I think it's a great idea.
The focal point of news reports is the cop who is now in the hospital as a result of the attack. Things like this just push people away at a time when solidarity is needed. Did this change any minds about anarchism or did it just feed the stereotype of anarchism as chaos and violence?
getting in the newspaper and tv is no great accomplishment, nor should it be the goal of radicals. if you do get into the paper or on tv, it's always done with the idea of ridiculing and/or trivializing our vision. it adds to the aura of criminality as well, which in turn attracts all kinds of dubious (dare i say sociopathic?) characters to the next demo.
putting a cop in the hospital at a time when it is not that clear that cops as a class are the huge "enemies of the people" that militant posturers make them out to be is horribly counter-productive. even though most non-yuppies who work and live in the mission already know that cops are bad guys, this particular attack looks and sounds gratuitous and unprovoked. self-defense is always seen and understood as legitimate--even against the cops--by our potential and current allies. but this case was not a clear moment of self-defense, and it does nothing but generate sympathy for the victim of mindless thuggery. plus it gives the cops the public excuse to crack down hard on anyone who appears to have been involved in the melee.
why the mission? why not the financial district? the financial district is deserted on a friday night. the point of the demo was to show public and loud solidarity with those of our comrades protesting in scotland (and in other parts of the world). if the demo had taken place at, say, noon on friday, then the financial district might have been more relevant. however, many who would like to protest actually have jobs, and calling in sick too often just looks bad.
clearly i have somewhat conflicting opinions about the events of friday night. i hate cops and the scumbag got what he deserved for being one; the possibility of injury or death is part of his chosen profession, so too bad. i'm not crying for him. but unprovoked attacks against the cops do nothing good for us. the location of the demo was also not the greatest choice--unless all that's interesting to the organizers is getting on tv.
so, in conclusion: a little more strategic thinking for next time. weigh the possible consequences of location and tactics a little more. try not to get hung up on media coverage--save that for the big stuff. the media will always get it wrong, so don't waste it on the little things.
putting a cop in the hospital at a time when it is not that clear that cops as a class are the huge "enemies of the people" that militant posturers make them out to be is horribly counter-productive. even though most non-yuppies who work and live in the mission already know that cops are bad guys, this particular attack looks and sounds gratuitous and unprovoked. self-defense is always seen and understood as legitimate--even against the cops--by our potential and current allies. but this case was not a clear moment of self-defense, and it does nothing but generate sympathy for the victim of mindless thuggery. plus it gives the cops the public excuse to crack down hard on anyone who appears to have been involved in the melee.
why the mission? why not the financial district? the financial district is deserted on a friday night. the point of the demo was to show public and loud solidarity with those of our comrades protesting in scotland (and in other parts of the world). if the demo had taken place at, say, noon on friday, then the financial district might have been more relevant. however, many who would like to protest actually have jobs, and calling in sick too often just looks bad.
clearly i have somewhat conflicting opinions about the events of friday night. i hate cops and the scumbag got what he deserved for being one; the possibility of injury or death is part of his chosen profession, so too bad. i'm not crying for him. but unprovoked attacks against the cops do nothing good for us. the location of the demo was also not the greatest choice--unless all that's interesting to the organizers is getting on tv.
so, in conclusion: a little more strategic thinking for next time. weigh the possible consequences of location and tactics a little more. try not to get hung up on media coverage--save that for the big stuff. the media will always get it wrong, so don't waste it on the little things.
What makes you think it was unprovoked?
When is a major clash with the Police politically, strategically , and tactically justified ? Let's say the U.S. govt. escalates the war and attacks Iran . And then there's another ''9-11 '' or a ''7-7'' . Then Newsome shows his true corporate self (something that some people who should know better have forgotten due to him taking a sane view on Gay rights issues ) says the situation is dire, declares a '' State of Emergency '' and bans public demos . I would then be for mass defiance , with every group that could possibly be enlisted mobilizing to say '' WE WILL MARCH '' . Proceeding to build as large of a defence team as possible to , if necessary , lead the physical defence of the demostration if attacked by any one including the Police . DEFEND NOT ATTACK . ( In this country often Demostration ''monitors'' act as ''peace police '' or even like assistants to the real cops ! In France for example Radical Leftists have serious , compendent ''services d' order ' ,defence monitor teams that are prepared , (and do ) go toe to toe with rightists, outright fascists, sometimes the very violent Right wing Zionist group Betar , and the notorious French ''riot'' cops if necessary to defend the march or rally in question . ) Anyway in a situation where you have thousands of people prepared to defy a police state measure , then a confrontation is worth the price . The 7-8 action sure wasn't .
Where? To do what?
I was presenting a hypothetical situation that if public demos-rallies were banned defying that would be worth the potential price . In such a situation as i posed the most likely focus would be something along the lines of ''NO WAR ABROAD , NO ''POLICE STATE'' AT HOME ! "" But my point was in such a scenario it would be worth the cost , and potentially a majority of the Bay area could be persuaded to support, a fight for our basic right to march against the war . ( As opposed to this past Friday's action)
i find it incredible that after every anarchist demo, there are always the same arguments saying that these tactics dont work. Everyone constantly thinks the anarchist movement is a failure, every action makes no sense and is counter productive. Well, if this were really true that the anarchist movement is doing everything wrong, it would have been dead a long time ago. yet somehow, the last time i checked at least, the anarchist movement is growing. at least people know that such a thing as anarchists exist and are serious. that is a huge improvement. the fact that most people have probably now even heard the word 'anarchism' is a huge improvement over 5 or 10 years ago.
i see it like this. way back in the 50's and 60's when most people didnt think there was even such a thing as gay men and lesbians, many in the movement said that even bad publicity, like an evil gay character in a movie, was a good thing, an improvement over complete invisibility. (By the way i like the idea of having anarchist pride parades like the one earlier this year that i never got to see)
You cannot expect the anarchist movement to take over and have a wordwide revolution when you are starting with such a tiny group of people. so lets give credit where credit is due, please. i'm not talking about just being a cheerleader, or about not taking criticism or just being bullheaded about what kinds of actions you take. i'm talking about being proud of what you have been able to accomplish, and recognizing small victories.
i see it like this. way back in the 50's and 60's when most people didnt think there was even such a thing as gay men and lesbians, many in the movement said that even bad publicity, like an evil gay character in a movie, was a good thing, an improvement over complete invisibility. (By the way i like the idea of having anarchist pride parades like the one earlier this year that i never got to see)
You cannot expect the anarchist movement to take over and have a wordwide revolution when you are starting with such a tiny group of people. so lets give credit where credit is due, please. i'm not talking about just being a cheerleader, or about not taking criticism or just being bullheaded about what kinds of actions you take. i'm talking about being proud of what you have been able to accomplish, and recognizing small victories.
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