I got off at Farragut North metro like I do every day, but this time headed to where I saw people. I found myself surrounded by kids lying all over the sidewalk in black, bandanas, combat boots, gas masks, piercings, tatoos, radioactive hair colors, etc. I was in the middle of the Black Bloc. We were on the frontier of the Forbidden City, cops lined up behind metal fencing that blocked the street. After some "The Good, the Bad, the Ugly" face-offs, the mob started forming up, chanting "Our streets" and marching around the enclosed perimeter. They looked like the desert creatures in Star Wars. Could have been a thousand or two, though more kept coming along the way.
Naturally I marched with them. It was either that or go the Ellipse and hear some speaker droning on. I kept looking for Chuck0 but never saw him.
The march was uneventful. Eventually we got to the Ellipse. Very hot out there but dry. Bumped into Tom Kruse through a mutual friend -- he's in fine shape. Met David McReynolds in the flesh, after corresponding with him over the net for a couple of years.
The Bloc seemed more stocked with gear than political slogans. More cultural than political on the surface, but clearly something with political implications. In general the demo was striking for its perfect chaos of slogans and causes, all around the general theme of capitalism stinks. Some of the cadre groups were out there, but not as many as at other demos I've been to, nor in much force. YSA seemed to be doing good business. Lots of races/nationalities in the crowd, predominantly young. A fair number of union types carrying Jobs with Justice signs.
The media coverage here has not been awful, in my view, though there is not a lot of conveyance of the content of the protests. A lot of the coverage has been gossipy stuff in the "Style" section. Han Shan (an organizer) as teen heart-throb.
The coverage of today will look a lot like Woodstock. Little trace of China/PNTR stuff. To me the potential of these two separate tracks to coalesce into something much more interesting gives them power even as separate things. Regarding CC's comment about who will 'control' this, I would say that nobody will control 'it,' because there is no 'it.' But both the AFL affiliates and the non- union types will evolve. It won't be your father's AFL-CIO anymore.
I think the week is already a success, regardless of how the WB/IMF meetings are affected. The WB and IMF are confirmed topics of criticism.
Tomorrow promises major disruption of downtown. From what I could see there are more than enough hardcore anarchists to cause total mayhem. Basically the police are reduced to protecting the meetings or protecting downtown from disruption. All indications are that the meetings come first. So they will end up looking stupid for that choice. They may also have erred in shutting down the protestors HQ yesterday. It has given them time to regroup, I suspect. Tomorrow . . .
mbs