---- Original Message ----- From: "Doug Henwood" <dhenwood at panix.com>
Nathan Newman wrote:
>But as far as Seattle (and this applies even more to later protests) I
think
>the vast number of activists are peaceful, disciplined fighters for
>justice-- and they have refused to restrain the small number of vandals and
>violence-freaks who give the police the excuse to arrest and beat the shit
>out of the rest.
-First of all, people who smash windows aren't "violence freaks." You -may not like what they do, but it's pretty minor league stuff.
I'm not referring just to them, but really to the folks who like the battles with the cops, like the violence and the tear gas. I've been to enough demos to see that faction- heck, I probably have a small strain of it myself, which is why I recognize it easily. Window-breaking is often a shadow parody of more real violence, but it's often acting out that fantasy (safely) as much as making a political statement.
>And second, what do you
>want "the vast number of activists" to do? Surround the
>window-smashers? Call the cops?
A big yes on one. No on two. I am a big proponent of "peace police"; every union rally has one. I think it is the responsibility of those advocating alternative social institutions to demonstrate that their alternative is not a lawless one, but a more just and democratic vision.
>And third, don't you agree that it helps the "vast number" of activists
that there
> are some crazies around, to whom they can seem like reasonable
alternatives?
No.
The crazies are not enough of a real threat to cause actual fear in the corporate class-- other than creating the minor inconvenience of moving to safer venues, but gated communities are a price the corporate class are quite willing to pay. So the crazies are not even the potential threat sometimes used by moderate forces to extract reformist concessions. They had a small public relations advantage of pulling attention to the initial protests, although even then that was counterbalanced by their absorbing the media oxygen of the actual message, and that more damaging effect outweighs any potential positive with each new action.
-- Nathan Newman