Joshua
"In the world through which I travel, I am endlessly creating myself." -Frantz Fanon
----- Original Message ----- From: "Chuck0" <chuck at mutualaid.org> To: <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com> Sent: Monday, February 10, 2003 11:50 PM Subject: Re: Judge Denies March Permit, Feb15 Protest Goes On
>
> 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
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> 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/
>
> "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
>