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Authoritiarian capitalism bears its teeth - Blockupy Frankfurt as it happened

Critical Legal Thinkings operatives have been in Frankfurt to blog the astonishing police crackdown that has been going on. Read our liveblog of the events, and see our photos and links at our website.

The crackdown included:
- a complete ban on all protest in frankfurt for days
- 160 cars and 40 buses stopped on motorways and kettled for being suspected demonstrators
- people arrested in towns near Frankfurt and carted off to prison as suspected demonstrators
- people arrested in Frankfurt for not having the right "papers"
- 400 demonstrators arrested for assembling during the protest ban
- peaceful and unrelated Occupy camp cleared by police
- Italian and French activists turned back at the borders
- 5,000 police officers swamped Frankfurt
- a successful illegal pro-democracy demonstration in Frankfurt's centre, for 2 hours, before it was brutally broken up with the police using pain holds and gouging eyes
- a memorial service to gay victims of the Nazis was banned
- even groups of tourists were banned (as technical assemblies)

Nevertheless after a court battle, one protest was permitted, in which 25,000 people peacefully marched through Frankfurt as locals applauded from windows and threw sweets into the crowd.

Local newspapers declared "victory for Blockupy". The blocupation tactic had been a success - the police blocupied Frankfurt with minimal effort from activists, who were able to make the authorities look utterly stupid, and winning popular support for anticapitalist stuggle in the process.

Critical Legal Thinking
Homepage: http://www.criticallegalthinking.com/

Comments

Hide the following 4 comments

permitted protest?

20.05.2012 08:16

that's like, ' sorry sir, I'll have my tounge sticking out next time you swing you're foot into my jaw. My mistake.'

Forgive me for sarcasm. But if people are willing to be tret as sheep, then it will happen.

Once all you people who were kettled realize that you're individual burning sprites of energy, wild, untameable and free. And once you's start acting like it, things will change.

kick punch scream laugh

authoritarian maybe, capitalism no.

20.05.2012 13:18

Capitalism is where each individual has sole property rights over their own personal effects. In true capitalism the only authority is the auto; self, each being equal in authority and accountability to each it interacts with. You clearly don't have that if a state has the right to pass laws and take your property as it wishes. What is commonly called "capitalism" is in fact mercantilism, a vicious form of statism which is closer to Marxism than capitalism; collective property rights are assumed by the state, which in turn grants monopolies to privileged and state protected corporations, which are not accountable to each individual they interact with. Capitalism can not have limits of liability nor monopoly nor privilege. What everyone so hates about "capitalism" can not be capitalism.

If enough people keep repeating something enough times, people will start believing it. Social reenforcement of falsity dose not make truth. Without truth there can be no justice.

anarchist

Sniffy?

20.05.2012 19:58

To Kick

Just explain that to the very many who would agree with you who held back under provocation at the march. Rather than bowing to the authority of aphorism, they could see as well as I that more good was done for the cause by taking abuse without flinching.

The situation itself demanded an appropriate action, not rigid orthodoxy, and it worked. Ordinary people were cheering anti-capitalists in the streets.

To anarchist

I see your point, but what I don't understand is how the free capitalist will not over time accrue surplus by which he necessarily exercises economic authority over those who have had bad luck (this is what happened in dark age Britain after the Romans left - some people who's harvest failed were forced to borrow grain from others, and economic and then political hierarchy followed). Unless you say that at this point capitalism has turned into mercantilism. In which case I am genuinely interested to read how this can be avoided.

Bambino di Napoli

Occupy protesters should occupy job vacancies!

21.05.2012 19:32

Why don't you trouble making occupy protesters occupy job vacancies? If you people went out and got jobs and started contributing to the economy that would help far more than you going around causing trouble and making a nuisance of yourselves.

Occupy a job vacancy

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