DIRECT ACTION BLOCK FOR NEXT ANTI-WAR DEMO
kon4m | 05.03.2002 23:54
In Solidarity,
kon4m
kon4m
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kon4m@hotmail.com
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kon4m | 05.03.2002 23:54
kon4m
e-mail:
kon4m@hotmail.com
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Comments
Hide the following 18 comments
nice idea
06.03.2002 00:38
Anyway, that was the reasoning behind the anticapitalist bloc at the big one in November. Mass decision-making procedures were set up, but unfortunately the samba band were chosen as an easily-identifiable marker. They (or certain elements within the band) decided to act unilaterally, forget all of the previous arrangements and go and fucking stand in Trafalgar Square and listen to the fucking MPs speak.
As yet I have still heard no explanation of this.
Any takers?
red'n'black
Stick to completely legal ways of dissent
06.03.2002 00:38
But seriously, any destructive behaviour will just do damage to STWC and endanger all their marches, and stop them getting their message across while just angering people who might otherwise consider joining with them. Okay it probably *will* get you news coverage but not all publicity is good publicity. Publicity of people engaging in property destruction is actively Bad Publicity. The only people that will attract is others who want to engage in property destruction, and those are *not* people who will stop the war. What you need to stop the war is to attract huge numbers of pensioners and middle-aged families with kids and respectable boring tax-paying people in 9-5 jobs, and those are the people who will be repelled by news coverage of people smashing things up. You hate McDonalds but most of them don't so if you smash McD's windows you just look like vandals - and then they'll never join with you. To attract these people you need a lot of Good Publicity.
Furry Dave
e-mail: furry1dave@yahoo.com
wrong
06.03.2002 07:07
the movement is still in its infancy. the us action would not enjoy world opinion and the majority of people in this country arent behind the strikes. plus do you really think that smashing up grovesnor square is going to make bush back down? come to think of it he may try and bomb here
agricola
SIT DOWN FOR PEACE!!!
06.03.2002 09:14
Next time (March 30?) lets get loads of people to join in a sit-in (at the same place?) be they anarchists, NVDA pledge signees or socialists who have had enough of towing The Party Line. A few hundred of us should be pretty hard to move and cause enough disruption to get us noticed without generating too much really negative publicity.
Thoughts?
Disillusioned kid
e-mail: s30party@hotmail.com
Homepage: http://uk.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=24056&group=webcast
Direct Action isn't Violence
06.03.2002 10:49
Last Saturday's peaceful sit-down by about 150 persons on Piccadilly Circus proved that anarchist-led direct action can attract popular support in a large demonstration - and that such action can be effective.
I believe that the poster of this article wants to break from the mind-control habits of the SWP and its bogus front parties. Frankly, if the SWP were in Downing Street and not Tony Blair, I woulD probably be in a concentration camp by now!
The point is creative direct action - a mass invasion of Grosvenor Square need not necessarily be violent. Why do some contributors on Indymedia still persist with the lie that all anarchists are interested in is smashing windows? Anarchism is moving beyond this mentality - we don't want to cause pointless destruction, but we do want to reclaim public spaces (including Grosvenor Square), even if the SWP thought police decide this is inconvenient for their propaganda.
Strangely enough, I didn't notice the SWP acting in solidarity with us when 50 activists were being beaten and kicked by armed cops on the very same square ten days ago. Maybe this is because an SWP member is just a frustrated riot cop.
I suggest that we hold a mass sit-in/cum picnic on Grosvenor Square on March 30, which is the day of the next big Stop the War/CND demo. Activists should not attempt to rush the square en masse, but should gather surreptitiously on the side streets. Bring costumes, hampers and picnic baskets! I'll be there half an hour after the demo starts at Speaker's Corner . . . come along if you want to make a real difference!
The time for direct action is not at some mythical point in the future . . . don't let protest be retrograde . . . the time for action is now, before Bush and Blair devastate another innocent civilian population with their cluster bombs!
MARCH 30TH, PICNIC ON GORSVENOR SQUARE, HALF AN HOUR AFTER THE DEMO KICKS OFF. BE THERE!!!
Anarchist Rioter
Bring the war home
06.03.2002 11:51
I would definitely be up for your suggestions so email me.
S
e-mail: mikhailbakunin666@hotmail.com
brake the law - defend democracy!
06.03.2002 12:17
In Solidarity,
kon4m
kon4m
e-mail: kon4m@hotmail.com
hey ho let's go!
06.03.2002 12:29
(ps i particularly liked the part where some marxist party or other came past shouting 'victory to the intifada!' and suddenly subsided to embarrassed silence when the ridiculousness of such a chant coming from people not prepared to run the 'risk' of sitting down in a road in london became apparent!)
berb
Couple of questions
06.03.2002 12:31
However why wait until the next "big demo" to do direct action? The war is ongoing and actions should be constantly happening. We need to offer an alternative to the STWC way of doing things, not simply subvert their existing structure.
Also, why the constant focus on London? I believe that we should be taking direct action against the military - it doesn't take many people to successfully blockade a military base, even fewer to cut into bases and these kinds of actions can have a direct effect.
E
forgive a small comment
06.03.2002 13:32
But plese, to Anarchist Rioter; it's really upsetting and offensive to claim we want to put folk in concentration camps. Many comrades had relatives who died in the Holocaust; and no shortage of 'Trots' were killed in Stalin's gulags too. So please, consider if it's worth causing deep offence for the sake of a bit of rhetoric.
internationalist
dont bleat too much, 'internationalist'
06.03.2002 15:09
well, sorry, but if the SWP does indeed resort to prototype Stalinist methods at the moment, how can you guarantee there will be no future gulag or auschwitz ?
'internationalist' may be a 'sincero', one of those people who joined the SWP swayed by the argument that a large party per se was a safe bet for a socialist victory IN ITSELF, when the history of the 20th century,( as opposed to the more optimistic marxs own 19th) has indeed resulted in the collapse of the mass party, in both germany and russia (in different ways, for sure) but ending up exactly in the gulag and auschwitz.
an anti SWP person
let's build something!
06.03.2002 16:02
democracy!
liberty!
justice!
In Solidarity,
kon4m
kon4m
e-mail: kon4m@hotmail.com
Separate March
06.03.2002 18:39
ZeroZero
aye for direct action
06.03.2002 19:11
My suggestion is that we all go on the march and do the peaceful bit (showing both friends and foes where we're coming from), then afterwards go over to Grosvenor Square and do our thing. The evenings are warming up now, so more people are going to be up for gathering more spontaneously.
As for 'adverse' publicity, could it be worse than no publicity? Well yes, if people do stuff that's really stupid, but we don't have to. The 'picnic in Grosvenor square' sounds like a good starting point.
Anyway, its encouraging to see a lot of people contributing in this vein. Am looking forward to standing shoulder to shoulder with you.
Finally, lets not have too much discussion of tactics on the net - sorry to those for whom that's obvious. No problem with a general discussion though - let the police plan to meet our more extended action, it will raise the overtime bill. Every pound spent policing London is a pound not spent on the military. In this sense, we will be standing shoulder to shoulder with our friends all over the world.
Hasta la Victoria.
See you there.
james thorne
e-mail: squatticus@hotmail.com
contact
06.03.2002 19:40
action@letsgetfree.cjb.net
wonko the sane
e-mail: action@letsgetfree.cjb.net
Mea Culpa
06.03.2002 20:18
But there is no use thrashing out this argument forever. Maybe the Stop the War Coalition should do its thing and the anarchists/autonomists will do ours, and we can all agree to disagree (at least for now).
I will post some more details about the proposed "Picnic For Peace" on Grosvenor Square in couple of weeks, and I'll try to get in touch with some more of you guys out there. I'll be Barcelona at the EU Summit for the next ten days - this should keep me busy for a while - I'll post some details of this too, in case anything *controversial* should happen!
Anarchist Rioter
Sounds promising...
07.03.2002 00:03
The main point I'd like to make is that we need everyone in this movement. I don't think that just marching around London once every few months will succceeed by itself but I don't think direct action will suceed by itself either. Both of them together, combined with all the other, more local stuff might. That doesn't necessarily mean that the big marches should become direct action events though. Whoever said about remembering who the enemy is was right. Arguments within the movement will not help. That doesn't mean we should discuss tactics and it doesn't mean that if people think a tactic is actively damaging the movement they shouldn't say so but I do think we should stop critising people for marching and instead encourage those who want to/can to join in some direct action.
The point is that any action should act as a compliment to the other actions, adding to the anti-war movement, not as a focus for arguemnts about tactics nor as a divisive "do our action instead of their action" sort of thing. This also has the advantage that it will encourage more people within the movemnt to see direct action in a positive light and either to join in or at least support those who do. This is as true of the marches (which are one form of action) as it is of any direct action planned. That's why I'd like to see some direct action happen but I'd like it to fit with rather than clash with the march.
I also agree with the comment that we don't have to wait for the next big march or even focus on London. One of the ways in which NVDA can be most powerful is because you don't need thousands of people.
Anyway, I like this idea, I think it has potential so lets make it work.
Adam Conway
e-mail: a_d_conway@yahoo.co.uk
Reply to Red 'n' Black- from some sambaistas
07.03.2002 02:21
If you'd like to hear why some of us sambaistas made the decisions we did on the second London Anti-War demo-
then yourself or anyone else is more than welcome to come and meet us at open practice meetings at QMAC, Queensland Road, N.7 on Wednesday nights between 6.30 and 8.30pm
Maybe we can talk a little, play a little..and by our interaction...
let's move some symbolic to direct actions...
insubordinate
Homepage: www.rhythmsofresistance.co.uk/