Takes about 15 days for me to burn out it seems this time, but I\r\nslept a bunch and got over it so in this precious brief moment\r\nof clarity, focus, and free time I want to lay out what I think\r\nis MOST important for LA activists to get from R2K.\r\n<\/p>
\r\nJust so you know I did Monday, T,W,Th,F,Sat,Sunday trainings, 4\r\nhour action basics sometimes twice a day, nonviolence and direct\r\naction, legal and jail solidarity, and 3 hour strategy=power\r\n(attender).\r\nUnity 2000 March Sunday and McCain disruption\r\nKWRU march Monday in the hot sun - we were wilting\r\nTuesday action witness\r\nThen I did overnights and phones at Legal Jail Support office\r\nSunday night, Monday, Wednesday, Th, Friday - plus lots of\r\nmeetings, some facilitation, some media and some driving around,\r\nbasically bonked Saturday night and spent Sunday and Monday\r\nsleeping. I've facilitated the PDAG meeting a couple of nights\r\nand we're heading into a strategy 1\/2 day or all day this week.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\n\r\nBIG PICTURE STUFF - below this is tactical successes and\r\nfuckups.\r\n1. Strategy Informs Tactics!: movement strategy loosely\r\nconsensed (we are doing more of this later this week so this\r\nwill be clarified) is in no particular order, with of course the\r\nover-arch of nonviolence:\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\n(this was a pdag meeting Phila Direct Action Group) \r\nbuild the movement\r\nend corporate rule\r\nend violent criminal (in)justice institutions \r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\nsocial change is proceeded by cultural change (end of slavery,\r\nwomen's right to own property and to vote, blacks voting,\r\nreligious tolerance, bill of rights stuff, etc.). this is why\r\npuppets are dangerous. (change the culture, develop alternative\r\nways, draw attention, get the masses to see it, do it, parallel\r\ninstitutions) \r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\n\r\nback to my own stuff:\r\n
\r\nthe 'movement'? my peers:\r\nanti-apartheid, anti-gulf war, urban activism (needle exchange,\r\nhomes not jails, schools not jails, take back the streets, empty\r\nthe shelters), forest activism (earth first, rain forest action\r\nnetwork), anti-nuke (nuke test site, hansford, rocky flats,\r\nprairie island, seabrook, tmi, etc), native support by whites\r\n(shoshone, dine, traditional hopi, chumash, lakota), prison\r\nwork, white people working against racism and challenging white\r\nsupremacy.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\nother folks above my radar: circle A (more later), people of\r\ncolor communities, labor (I'm just starting with the teachers\r\nunion in SF), anti-sweatshop (primarily students), SEAC,\r\ninternationalists\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\npossible allies not yet reached: Religious Communities!\r\n(Quakers are on board at least in Phila., which is a great start\r\nbut WE NEED TO DIALOG AND HEAR THESE PEOPLE! Black church\r\nleaders are helping was a little hear, lots of support from\r\nblack community anti-police-brutality folks cause we're feeling\r\nwhat they feel a lot more often) \r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\n- the 'olders' and the 'elders' - we are getting more folks with\r\ndirect action experience from the 60s, 70s, 80s and we need to\r\nHEAR and DIALOG about what they like about us and what scares\r\nthem about us. We need these folks (mom for instance).\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\n- labor for real, not this Sweeney jump on your bandwagon for a\r\nday bullshit but real working class support, especially white\r\nworking class - we have HUGE culture clash issues coming our way\r\n- but WE'VE ALREADY had those and we've dealt so let's deal some\r\nmore. This is where strong strong facilitation skills and\r\nconflict resolution and community building skills are necessary\r\nnecessary so we should teach them and learn them now.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\n- who else? what is an ally? \r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\n\r\nthe 'anti-globalization mobalization' really comprises a lot of\r\ndifferent issues but I believe we're onto something with the\r\nbigger strategy presented.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\nfirst, I'm feeling like the 'white vibe' is mellowing and that\r\nis demonstrable in Phila - and was worked on very hard in DC,\r\nand in fact there was massive community of color support in\r\nSeattle. We as white folk need to ALWAYS be thinking of how to\r\nmake room for people of color - not as tokens but as decision\r\nmakers. This is working and it is scaring the shit out of the\r\nman. When we get tired and stressed we lapse into old habits\r\nand 'assuming the dominance paradigm' is one of them - be\r\ncareful and TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF - YOU NEED TO EAT (WELL) AND\r\nSLEEP!\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\nsecond, eco-activism has come around to attacking corporate rule\r\nand corporate $ in politics - we need regulatory agencies that\r\ndisallow environmental destruction (whether they are our own -\r\nor the states)- so it's covered. We are so far past getting\r\npeople to recycle - we won that (almost- but it's in the culture\r\nso we've made lots of progress). \r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\ntry it and see - are these sufficient strategic goals - where\r\nare you at? what sounds good? what's scaring off our allies? is\r\nthis the eye-on-the-prize or unrealistic - feedback - talk about\r\nthis stuff - DON'T RELEGATE STRATEGY TO 'IMPORTANT BUT NOT\r\nURGENT' - schedule it, do it. it's NOT all about making puppets\r\nand jail solidarity.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\n2. Try to see the world as complex rather than simple - the\r\nmedia is not all bad, the police are not all bad, politics is\r\nnot all bad, etc. etc. extinguish dualistic fixations.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\n\r\nThat Said, tactically....\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\n3. KEEP YOUR PUPPETS IN DIFFERENT PLACES! Huge huge bullshit\r\nin the media about 'what was their message' without saying the\r\ncops took the puppets. The puppets must have some immense power\r\nor they would not be such targets - it's about changing culture\r\nand waging a war of ideas. Status Quo knows what's up - they\r\nsmart - they put out all their jingoism and patriotism to prop\r\nup some real myths (columbus discovered america, race difference\r\nshould scare you, etc.) and we're about knowing what the\r\nbrainwashing IS (thank you chomsky) and challenging it. Don't\r\nlet them get the puppets.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\n4. HAVE A UNIQUE MESSAGE EACH DAY! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK\r\nYOU D2K for doing this. You are going to be so great and do so\r\ngreat and blow away the media with this great tactic. love it!\r\ndo it!\r\nwe tried but we didn't quite get it (although almost all arrests\r\nwere on 'criminal injustice' day.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\n5. COUNTERSPIN! nonviolence, nonviolence, nonviolence,\r\nnonviolence, nonviolence, nonviolence, nonviolence, nonviolence,\r\nnonviolence, nonviolence, nonviolence, get it? use demo marshals\r\nif you have to. short story: MLK needed disciplined\r\nnonviolence and a particular Rev. Orange got beat up (hear me)\r\nlike 18 times or something by this one group of angry men just\r\nto prove where he was coming from, and to convince them to not\r\nmolest the opposition during King's time in Chicago - feel me?\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\nyou can obviously see what one 'fracas' has done to the media\r\nspin by the corporate state - avoid it. Unfortunately the more\r\nI hear about the 'violence' the less I believe there was any\r\nexcept cop attacks - Timoney rode his bike into a crowd. The\r\nwomen charged with felonies were puppy-piling to keep one woman\r\nfrom getting her head smashed by a !@# cop.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\n6. LISTEN AND DIALOG! not just with each other and with cops but\r\nwith bystanders and people that would support us if we'd be more\r\nclear or not use one tactics or use another tactic or whatever. \r\nWe need to stop assuming that just because someone isn't for us\r\nthey're against us - it ain't like that. We got to be open and\r\nwe got to be nice about it. The vibe I get from lots of Circle\r\nA is closed and isolated.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\n(vent) I am not going to blame circle A for nothing - but I do\r\nwant to say that IF YOU WANT JAIL SUPPORT - GIVE YOUR\r\nINFORMATION. We've got about 30 people in jail and no info\r\n'cause they never came to a meeting, they never came to a\r\ntraining, and they DEMAND the support of this movement even when\r\nsome part of some of their actions of some of them jeopardize a\r\nlot of really really hard work on the part of hundreds of\r\nothers. \r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\nenough about that - you know what to do.\r\n\r\n7. JAIL SOLIDARITY IS CONFUSING AND MISUNDERSTOOD by the\r\n'allies', which is OK we're getting to it. explain it, explain\r\nit early, explain it often. We are getting painted as\r\n'difficult' and 'stubborn' or worse for 'not giving names'\r\npeople DONT GET THIS. That does NOT mean I suggest giving names\r\nin LA - I have no idea what to do and I'd love to hear what\r\nhappens. There are lots of other social change movements that\r\nhave tried this tactic and left it. We are doing it in a new\r\nway (possibly). What's new? Well it's lots of people, lots of\r\nwhite middle class people, and I don't know what else. \r\n R2K! WE ARE SOLID! (341 today, 9 cited out today 16 tomorrow,\r\nthe trickle is happening)... One thing that is awesome and\r\npowerful is that the 'general population' of the county jail is\r\nnow creating lists of demands for their own selves!!! (better\r\nfood, working phone system, end of guard abuse, end to lock\r\ndowns, etc.) \r\n<\/p>
\r\n There is little to fear from the inmates - who in ACTUALITY\r\nrun the jails (I learned this over time in San Quentin and\r\nFolsom and I would expect very few people to get this without\r\nlots of background so that's tough). Having radicalized\r\nprisoners doesn't exactly make our movement look 'safe' in the\r\neyes of many, but communities of color under police siege\r\nunderstand and let's be clear who we are down for.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\n8. DO NOT 'REASSEMBLE' IN ONE PLACE at the end of the day of\r\naction. Get off the streets. If you are going to 'clump'\r\nanywhere plan to get attacked and arrested. There is no 'non\r\narrest able' category anymore - if you are on the street you are\r\na target especially if you a) wear all black b) carry a cell\r\nphone c)have long hair d)any hair coloring e)any facial\r\npiercings f)person of color etc etc etc Get the picture? We\r\nare under attack for real.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\n9. DO compassionate listening and trauma counseling all the\r\ntime. Before actions, during actions, especially after actions.\r\nRead TRAUMA AND RECOVERY by JUDITH HERMAN, everyone in the\r\nmovement should know this stuff - we were walking around like\r\nzombies after the gas in Seattle and we CAN DO SOMETHING about\r\nit - get the skills!\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\n10. Be nice. If you can't deal with anger get out. It's way\r\nto hot for a bunch of crap. Communicate, affirm, BUILD\r\ncommunity. Build bridges and speak to your boundaries. If you\r\ndon't want to work with someone find some other way to plug in -\r\nthere's plenty to do.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\n11. PARANOIA is working against us. Consider organizing\r\nopenly. Be proud that you have a name and you can give it to\r\nshow solidarity. Maybe there's another way to do the\r\nnoncompliance thing without withholding names I'm not sure.\r\nwhatever. Keep the masks down, be aware that you can be beaten\r\nand murdered for standing with poor and people of color and get\r\nover it - what are we hiding from anyway? They are excellent at\r\nsurveillance and all that stuff, we can't fight them with\r\nsecrecy.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\n12. AFFIRM AFFIRM AFFIRM- we are doing something right and\r\nscaring the status quo - labor, eco, student, and anti-police\r\nbrutality folks in solidarity is potent - we have real people\r\npower - the new 'out' attack on activists needs to be countered\r\nIMMEDIATELY - anyone with juice out there PLEASE contact your\r\nelders or congress people and demand a congressional hearing\r\ninto the federal gommints COINTELPRO style attack on John\r\nSellers, RUCKUS, etc.\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\nListen people. I do what Sellers did. We train people. He's\r\nus and we're him and what happened to him could happen to us and\r\nremember the Nazis - help us now or who's gonna help you later?\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\n\r\nthat's it for now - good luck in Los Angeles. Jodi Dodd and\r\nsome others of us that are California bound are going to meet\r\nand carry more info forward. You rock!\r\n<\/p>
\r\n\r\n\r\nin defense of mother earth\r\n<\/p>\n","contact":"","link":"","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/html","summary":"a few points about things we could have done different in Phila.","numcomment":3,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/2000\/08\/r2k_2_d2k_.txt","filesize":"11.6 kibibytes","article_url":"\/news\/2000\/08\/464.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":472,"heading":"thank you trainer --- c'mon everyone else","article":"i want to express the gratitude of a frustrated member of the philly left. \r\n
\r\nthis is precisely the tye of commentary that needs to be more widely and responsibly contributed to the discussion --- particularly on the la.indymedia page but also within the global justice movement in general. i suspect that many of the more insightful commentaries on the lessons learned in philly will be more forthcoming as the analysts engaged in their formulation become satisfied with the public utility of their respective projects.\r\n
\r\nany attempts by r2k participants or those that are aquainted with some of them to light a fire under their respective asses with regard to commentary on this issue would undoubtedly have beneficial effects on the preparedness of the activist communities engaged in d2k and those which are likely to follow.\r\n
\r\nconsider the fire under my own ass lit. beyond that, any motivational techniques that will wrestle insightful commentary --- no matter how \"preliminary\" --- from the sketch books and laptops of r2k participants are likely to ensure a healthy range of discussion on this topic. perhaps the foundation and first several levels of that discussion can be constructed in time to play a role in the prevention of: strategic mass arrests; pr victories for law-enforcement (who are, nonetheless, engaging in human rights violations and intimidation tactics); and attempts to \"divide and conquer\" the larger crowds which seem to fit the \"profile\" of the contemporary global justice movement. \r\n
\r\npeace ya'll. i'll be back in a day or two with some useful text.\r\n
\r\nloki ","author":"loki","parent_id":464,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2000-08-10 12:02:48","modified":"2000-08-10 12:04:03","fileurl":""},{"id":473,"heading":"Organization with Decentralization","article":"This is the sort of dialog I've been waiting to have surface, and I hope as a big group of 'unrelated special interests' as CNN called us, we'll be able to agree and unite with a singular vision and mutable tactics. \r\n\r\nFor jail solidarity, I have to confess I don't understand the goals of this tactic either. I must stress that I *respect* those who are doing it. Standing up for something you believe, non-violently in the face of imprisonment, is an act of bravery no matter what. But what do we stand to gain from refusing to admit who we are? I believed at first this would draw a speculative news media, but all I see it doing now is diverting the energy of our most dedicated activists to the draining and spirit-defeating goal of fighting a system they cannot see or reason with.\r\n\r\n\r\nFor Anarchists, all I can say is this: you guys look cool. That's not a compliment or an insult, you guys just plain look, well, kick ass I guess. \r\nWhen I saw you in Seattle, dressed all in black, gasmasks and bandanas, it stirred me with visions of rebelion and made me think that the fight against authority had begun again, and this time it wouldn't take any shit. But now I can see that the violent struggle against the government, against the corporations, and against the figure head companies like Starbucks and The Gap, is the most basic and ultimatly hopeless fights we can choose. \r\nThe enemy, in the form of a government that serves big business, will crush us if this is a violent rebellion. They have multiple armies, and have proven they will carpet bomb civilians to save a few cents at the gas pump. If you want to tackle the juggernought head on, more power to you. They'll treat you as a terrorist and they'll ignore every right you may have, and when they've destroyed you they will tell America that the people wanted them to do this and that they should be proud of destroying you.\r\n\r\nViolence will not help us, we will be branded monsters. Dressing in uniforms will not help us, it will make us easy to target.\r\nChaos is not our goal, even if CNN says it is.\r\nSmashing store windows and orange painting cars will not earn the support of a working population that has been fooled into thinking comfort comes from shopping and consumerism. \r\n\r\nWe do not want to change this country because we hate it and we are angry at it, we do what we do because we love the nation, the people in it and the land it is made up of.\r\n\r\nAnd, um, that's all I have to say about that. What's everyone else think?\r\n","author":"TheNewOhioGreen","parent_id":464,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2000-08-10 12:04:03","modified":"2000-08-10 12:29:44","fileurl":""},{"id":518,"heading":"A few views from Philadelphia","article":"1) From being on the streets throughout the entire week and from lots of stories from friends etc...it was clear that the authorities here were particularly displeased with folks with cameras to record police actions. Indeed, the number of still and motion cameras probably was major factor in keeping police as relatively restrained as they were...for which they patted themselves on the back, of course. Trouble is, it seems that they merely SAVED their violence for those in jail where the outside cameras weren't permitted. Violence in jail by jailers is now said by officials to be \"annecdotal\" and \"they say\/we say\".\r\n\r\n2) Whatever pre-emptive things can be done to get INDEPENDENT observers into jails, to assure readiness for medical and dietary needs, to assure medical checks immediately after initial arrest (before being hidden behind the walls) and, perhaps, to get lots of legal counselors available to stay right on the cases ought to be considered. I mean...the police and jailers have nothing to hide, do they?\r\n","author":"Watchdog","parent_id":464,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2000-08-11 15:56:31","modified":"2000-08-11 16:47:22","fileurl":""}]}