my report from DC

David Jennings djenning at arches.uga.edu
Thu Apr 20 06:53:42 PDT 2000



> Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2000 14:10:47 +1000
> From: "rc-am" <rcollins at netlink.com.au>
> Subject: Re: my report from DC
>


> I get the impression that the nationalists in the AFL-CIO and the
> Buchananites had gone home and left the streets to DAN, RACB and, well, the
> cops -- which is why the message that came through, at least in this part of
> the world, was focussed on the most spectacular days after the Steelworkers'
> rally took place, and was uneqivocally internationalist.

Yup.


>
> Which is a great thing. But every moment is a crossroads, and aside from the
> statement from the RACB, none of the other sections have taken a position on
> this publicly -- other than those who've endorsed Buchanan such as Dolan that
> is.

Next demo, I'll carry a sign saying "Pat B. Sucks Ass". I'm not kidding.


> (Are you serious,
> there is such a thing as 'Meanyism'? Am I missing something?)

Maybe we're talking about different Meanys. I'm talking about the guy in the middle of Gompers-Meany-Kirkland. I was under the impression (from various posts to my favorite listserv) that the AFL's asia desk was pretty much old school.

Here's an idea: i think that there will be alot of mobilization against the SOA this November. Lets agitate then and during the lead up to get a formal apology out of the AFL and ICFTU for cold-warriorism.


>
> Also, does anyone have a sense of what effect the first lot of 600 or so
> arrests had on the rest of the actions? Were most/all of these people still
> in jail on subsequent days?
>

Dampening. As I mentioned in my notes, the cops were toying with demonstrators, I guess to thin out their ranks. The prison-industrial arrests showed that the cops were willing to play dirty. I had a friend arrested in that lot, and she said that it was dirty indeed: the disperse order came, _immediately_ following by a phalanx of cops chanting MOVE in unison. From what I heard, about half of the arrested practiced solidarity inside, at least initially.

-d



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