>
> After I had been to a few of demos, it was pretty clear nobody was in
> charge and the traditional commie groups just showed up like everybody
> else. After about `67 the local cops ignored the commie angle and
> reserved their serious efforts for the Panthers. But the FBI and feds
> continued to believe all these anti-war events and black power rallies
> were somehow communist inspired---and their assignment was to locate
> the leaders and find or fabricate the links to communist fronts---like
> anybody with a Che Guevara poster and a Redbook---it was laughable,
> even if occasionally fatal. The FBI focus, and hence the later
> historical focus on the CP, SWP, SDS and the Black Panthers misses the
> point. It was a movable feast of committees floating on sea of anger.
>
> The reason there is such a circus of re-writes of 60s movement
> histories is precisely because there was no centrally lead
> movement, so in retrospect just about anybody could claim credit and
> probably find FBI files to certify their authentic histories.
Thanks, Chuck. You've very eloquently described a situation that doesn't lend itself to easy histories about activism. All to often, histories on activism tend to focus on famous individuals and organizations that are involved. Activism these days is even more decentralized and horizontal, which means that if you don't understand this crucial fact, you will be quite confused about the state of activism and dissent.
I bet the cops are really confused. I think this is why they like ANSWER, because a top-down, centralized organization is something they understand. It's much harder for them to comprehend a movement comprised of temporary organizations and shifting players.
Chuck0
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"...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)