> So are you seriously comparing the effect of Seattle
> with last weeks demonstration?
>
> I still have yet to receive a satisfactory response to
> my question: Are these types of "street promenade"
> marches anything but a pep-rally for the already
> converted?
Anybody who has been an activist for over 5 years will understand the importance of this question immediately. The Left in the U.S. has put together numerous events like the ANSWER rally and march (albeit generally smaller) without much effect on social change. I think these types of protests have some utility, but riskier and edgier dissent is necessary also.
Incidentally, I was talking about these things with another activist yesterday. Some activists have criticized DC-based anti-capitalists for the low numbers at our People's Strike in September. Regardless of anybody's assessment of that protest, the goal was never to put 200,000 on the streets of Washington. That would have been nice, but 2000 people can accomplish much more that 100,000 at some permitted rally and march.
I pulled out copies of the Washington Post from the day after the People's Strike and some sections I still have of last Sunday's paper. The rally of 100,000+ netted one photo on the bottom of the front page of the newspaper. The article about the rally, which was very favorable, started on the front page of the Metro section (with a photo) and was jumped to the back pages of the Metro section.
The coverage of the People's Strike, in contrast, filled the pages of 4 sections of the next day's Post: the "A" section, Metro, Style, and Business.
The coverage on the front page dominated the top of the page, with a photo. This article jumped to another part of the A section. The Metro section included an article on the protest, along with many color photos. The article in the Style section (front page) focused on the Critical Mass bike ride and included lots of photos. The Business section had a brief article that explained the reason why people were protesting the World Bank and IMF.
Granted, some of this coverage was prompted by the fact that there were two days of protests, but this is what just the Post did after the People's Strike. I'm leaving out the numerous articles that were published in the lead-up to the weekend of protests.
If your goal is to get your message out to the public, it appears that you have to be willing to take a few risks in your plans.
Somebody sympathetic to ANSWER recently wrote something to me recently about how the sheer numbers of ANSWER's protest last weekend showed that they were in a better position to organize a 'general strike' in Washington than the anarchists.
To which I responded: "I don't think the police issue permits for general strikes."
;-)
Chuck0
------------------------------------------------------------ Personal homepage -> http://chuck.mahost.org/ Infoshop.org -> http://www.infoshop.org/ MutualAid.org -> http://www.mutualaid.org/ Alternative Press Review -> http://www.altpr.org/ Practical Anarchy Online -> http://www.practicalanarchy.org/ Anarchy: AJODA -> http://www.anarchymag.org/
AIM: AgentHelloKitty
Web publishing and services for your nonprofit: Bread and Roses Web Publishing http://www.breadandrosesweb.org/
"...ironically, perhaps, the best organised dissenters in the world today are anarchists, who are busily undermining capitalism while the rest of the left is still trying to form committees."
-- Jeremy Hardy, The Guardian (UK)