IMF/WB Protests -- What you can do

by Anti-Capitalist Sunday, Aug. 19, 2001 at 10:24 PM
info@abolishthebank.org 703-276-9768

IMF/World Bank Days of Action, September 28th - October 4th, Washington info@abolishthebank.org | http://www.abolishthebank.org/ What you can do...

"This might be the biggest protest we've had in D.C., maybe ever."
-- Washington, DC police officer

"Now you ask me how you could help this movement or what you could do, and I have no hesitation in saying, much. Every revolution requires revolutionists..."
--Isabel Meredith, from "A Girl Among the Anarchists"

Whether you are planning on participating in the actions against the IMF and World Bank or organizing a solidarity demonstration or expressing your solidarity in some other way, the Anti-Capitalist Convergence (ACC) -- the radical organizing group for the days of action -- offer the following suggestions:

Be prepared

The first thing out of towners should do is be prepared. Print off guides and maps from the web before you come down here. The less time that local organizers have to spend on orienting people is vital time that can be spent on critical problems that come up at the last minute.

Maps:
http://www.abolishthebank.org/en/maps.html

See also:
http://www.mapblast.com
http://www.wmata.com/metrorail/systemmap.htm

Housing:
http://www.abolishthebank.org/en/housing.html

Eating guide:
http://www.abolishthebank.org/en/guide.html
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Donate to the Anti-Capitalist Convergence

The Anti-Capitalist Convergence needs money! We are anti-capitalists and anti-authoritarians, we are NOT NGO's and business unions who have thousands of dollars at our disposal. We are operating on a shoestring budget and every donation (however small) counts. Thanks for your support!
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What else?

1) Spread the word. Put up flyers everywhere. Organize a teach-in at the local college. Talk to high school students. Flyer workplaces.

Flyers and stickers:
http://www.abolishthebank.org/en/outreach.html

2) Contact the local media and ask them if they want to do a local angle on the protests.

3) Get your literature ready before you get to Washington. The cops shut down Kinkos last time (A16) to disrupt us.

4) If you aren't going to Washington, prepare for support from your community. Be prepared to do solidarity rallies for those in jail, letter writing to local newspapers, and posting to websites.

5) Organize your affinity group and plan some actions that can be done once you hit the ground in Washington. Stay tight and stay secure.

6) Get your organization, your union local, or other local group to draft and submit a solidarity statement with the days of action. If you are part of an anarchist group or collective, consider endorsing the Anti- Capitalist Convergence. Contact outreach@abolishthebank.org to send your endorsement or solidarity statement.

7) Talk to your neighbors and family about what you are doing.

8) Keep building resistance to capitalism in your community. You can build this local community of resistance through several methods:

1) organize alternative cultural activities;
2) build counter-institutions;
3) engage in popular education; and
4) raise hell and create trouble for the local capitalists and their lackeys.

The methods used for #4 can range from organizing a workplace into a union to conducting a campaign against local slumlords. Remember that the aim of anarchism is NOT to get people to join one big movement, rather to empower people to use the methodology of anarchism to liberate themselves from this fucking capitalist system.
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Anti-Capitalist Convergence Principles of Unity

(These are as adapted from CLAC and CASA's principles of unity. Two groups that organized for the FTAA protests in Quebec City.)

*We are opposed to capitalism. We fundamentally reject a social and economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and exchange. We reject a system driven by an exploitative logic that sees human beings as human capital, ecosystems as natural resources, and culture as simply a commodity. We reject the idea that the world is only valuable in terms of profit, competition and efficiency.

*We reject the ideology of neo-liberalism, whereby corporations and investors are exempt from all political and social measures that interfere with their so-called "success".

*We are anti-imperialist, opposed to patriarchy, and denounces all forms of exploitation and oppression. We assert a worldview based on the respect of our differences and the autonomy of groups, individuals and peoples. Our objective is to globalize our networks of resistance to corporate rule.

*Respecting a diversity of tactics, we support the use of a variety of creative initiatives, ranging between popular education to direct action.

*We are autonomous, decentralized and non-hierarchical. We encourage the involvement of anyone who accepts this statement of principles. We also encourage the participation of all individuals in working groups, in accord with their respective political affiliations.

*We organize with a regard for security culture, keeping in mind the constant repression and infiltration of political movements by the state.

www.abolishthebank.org

Original: IMF/WB Protests -- What you can do