** Breaking the Spell - Coverage and Analysis of the Anarchist Convention

(originally published on the Sonoran Activist Network News, 8.15.00)

Hundreds trekked to LA this past week to attend the North American Anarchist Convention, held concurrently with the Democratic National Convention, several alternative conventions, and a steady flow of street demonstrations that have rocked the city with activity and reflected the need to address deep societal problems.

At a warehouse in a sketchy neighborhood near Elysian Park in downtown LA, black-wearing, patch-sporting crusty punks, red and green anarchists, and others not necessarily fitting the mold of what most perceive as "anarchists", came together to do workshops and trainings that ranged from history of the anarchist movement to bike repair to womyn's healing. In gathering as like minds, they were also enacting their vision of living an alternative to the system, one free from authority, in which personal freedom is maximized yet balanced by personal responsibility.

A security clearance consisting of giving a name, being solicited for a donation, and offered housing. In the warehouse, individuals with backpacks containing all they owned lounged on the floor alone, in small groups, or circled-up in workshops. Tables covered with literature were available for the browsing, and daily movies around the topic of anarchy were also played.

Although some wondered if the conference was perhaps more of a "scene" than a movement, many of those present were there specifically to express a loathing of the corrupt political system and the urgent need to dismantle it. While the general level of organization was low, there was discussion on the need to increase discipline and unity within the movement.

Also a main topic of discussion was infiltration and systematic repression of the movement by the federal government. Several anarchists from Eugene, Oregon are currently facing questionably brought felony counts that, if convicted, could lead to up to eighty-six years in jail. The threat this poorly-organized group represents stems mainly from their advocacy of corporate and state property destruction, which got the spotlight in November as a small group of anarchists smashed windows and sprayed graffiti on chain stores in downtown Seattle during the WTO protests in Seattle. More recently police cars were vandalized at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia.

Anarchism, which has a long worldwide history as a movement, has been gathering momentum among disaffected youth in the US, as evidenced by the attendance of at least several hundred people at the conference. When scores in the "Black Bloc" marched with linked arms during Human Needs not Corporate Greed, it was clear the movement has grown since Seattle and the goals of unity and organization within the movement are being addressed.

The impromptu tactic of tossing bottles and other miscellaneous items at the police line over the massive protective fence at the Staples Center showed the Black Bloc anarchists are still there to challenge the system that tries to control "civil unrest", but that their efforts are at this point still mostly symbolic.

To destroy corporate property is empowering to those who participate in the Black Bloc. A quote from "Breaking the Spell", a movie by an anarchist filmmaker covering the activities of the Eugene anarchists in Seattle explained: "Our whole lives we are barraged with corporate logos and trapped by consumer culture. When you smash the window of Starbucks, it breaks that spell." (not the exact words, sorry)

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To use the term sketchy describing the neighborhood in which the conference was held is inexcusable and shows that the author has no grasp of class struggle. The neighbors were working folks and were very gracious hosts when you concider that they were told by the LAPD that we were there to destroy every thing they had. Those I talked with expressed interest in the things we were doing and some came in to check stuff out a little themselves. To call the neighbors sketchy is not an accurate portrayal those people at all.

Yeah, I second that, the neighborhood was definitely not sketchy, just typical working class.

i agree but i think he was referring to anarchists and a few members of the august collective being threatened. Maybe im just from these sorts of "working class neighborhoods" but the place seemed like a nice area to me.

By calling the neighborhood sketchy, I was referring to the Conference organizers' warning to myself and those I went with to not walk alone in the neighborhood. We were told that a local gang resented the intrusion into their territory, and that this gang was armed and serious. Perhaps I should have explicated this in the article -- clarity is always best in reporting.

This had more to do with personal safety than class struggle, although those two things are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

ps Chocolate is a she!

Regarding the neighborhood the NA@C was held in, it's main problem seemed to stem from one of the major problems with every neighborhood in LA - poor zoning. I'm sure most of the residents would prefer to live someplace without the constant drone and crash of heavy industry interupting them from across the LA "River." Most of the houses I saw around the conference were very well-maintained, some even showing evidence of recent gentrification.

Once again, however, we as anarchists failed to connect in any meaningful way with the community we found ourselves in. It seems to me that this is something that really ought to be addressed in the early planning stages of all future anarchist conferences, especially in light of the renewed anti-anarchist mumblings in the corporate media. What good is it to espouse anarchist ideals if our conventions are just as alienated from their physical locations as Democrat, Alcoholics Anonymous or Rotary conventions? I bet we all could have learned quite a bit about what makes LA tick, and the struggles that that community was engaged in, if we'd bothered to explore it a little more.

As far as i know the organizers went around in the neighborhood and told people about the conference. Some of the "community leaders" actually supported us and talked with the gang after they heard that we were threatened. A few people from the community actually came in(for free) and one night some guy was talking to the security people for awhile. Im sure we could have interacted better with the community although it seems there was some effort to do so.

not even among trotskyists will you find people so ready

to jump down your throat on a moment's notice.

if someone uses language which is a side-effect of our

rather desensitized/desensitizing culture, but means no

harm, why not politely point it out or discuss it, rather

than immediately take a stand-offish tone?

this is one of the main reasons i think the anarchist

movement is going to have problems getting any real public

support. we're too quick to condemn and some people, quite

by accident, i realize, then come off as self-righteous.

I'm from the community where the conference was held and I also happen to be an anarchist. Quite a few of us attended...too bad we didn't know about the "locals discount"!

I thought the space the conference was in could have been better organized i.e. a sleeping area, workshop area. As for the ambience of the conference, it didn't exactly feel "friendly." There was such paranoia that if you didn't fit the Anarchist stereotype you were viewed as a cop. That was kind of a bummer. Also there wasn't much space for lounging or hanging out. People seemed to get really mad if you accidentily sat on their backpack!

My friends and I did manage to meet some new people and we were able to show the out-of-towners what L.A. is really like (from a Chicano Anarchist point of view.) We also passed out little guide books to the area.

All in all, we didn't feel too comfortable at the conference. It would have been nice to connect with more people...

Thanks for the guide to LA. I really enjoyed reading it! If you're planning on doing another one, I'd like to participate. I really dig this city, and even like the suburbs (you can take me out of the burbs, but you can't take the burbs out of me).

[I wanted to come on the other days and hang out, but I was too busy working at IMC (and on this website).]