Michael Pollak wrote:
> [I talked to several people over the weekend who don't normally go to
> marches, but who were thinking of going to this one, and without
> exception, the idea of marching illegally made the whole thing seem much
> more attractive to them. It seemed like yet another outrage, and breaking
> the law seemed like the perfect way to express the depth of their own
> outrage -- besides having more of an effect for the same reason, and so
> feeling more effective.]
Amen. The police have screwed themselves, because protest permits are one of the most effective ways to control protesters. On the flip side, I think this bodes badly for dissent in this country, as I think the cops will just resort to violence.
> [What do people think are the chances of a stationery rally turning into
> an illegal march given the opposition of New York's army of cops? Chuck0,
> do you have any suggestions for making it more likely?]
Yes, I have a few ideas, but I can't share them here publicly. Several anarchists on the East Coast have come up with a few new strategies to neutralize the advantage that New York cops have, but we aren't quite ready to put them into motion.
The important thing to keep in mind that if your rally or march is penned in by cops, your options are limited. That's why groups need to organize stuff outside of the expected rally and march.
Divide and conquer the police, if you will.
> [It's funny how many people who would never think of challenging the
> police at a permitted rally, never mind throwing a brick, get fired up
> about the idea when the march has been made illegal. If there's one thing
> that Americans across the spectrum can get self-righteous about, it's
> their first amendment rights.]
It's about time. One of the reasons why I've marched with the black bloc is to protest the stupid notion that the cops have a right to decide when, where, and how we will protest. I could never understand the idea of getting a permit to exercise your basic constitutional and human rights.
Of course, what most activists and protesters don't understand is that the protest permit system was developed by the police after the 1960s to get activists to police themselves. Bashing heads in the 1960s made the cops look bad, so in the 1970s they developed new methods of working with activists.
Let me just add that I'm extremely disappointed that UFPJ is devoting so much time to complaining about not getting a permit. To some extent, this controversy generate publicity (which is why the IAC plays this game so well), but the terrible problem is that it makes all the media coverage focus on the legality of protest and policing, instead of on the issues. If I were involved with the UFPJ, I would have made a small fuss today, but would have quickly switched gears to get on message about the war.
Chuck0
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"The state can't give you free speech, and the state can't take it away. You're born with it, like your eyes, like your ears. Freedom is something you assume, then you wait for someone to try to take it away. The degree to which you resist is the degree to which you are free..." ---Utah Phillips