IMF/WB Protests -- What you can do
Anti-Capitalist | 19.08.2001 00:36
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
---
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!
---
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.
---
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
Anti-Capitalist
e-mail:
info@abolishthebank.org
Homepage:
http://www.abolishthebank.org/
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