I'm going to go, if others here want to join me.
-Thomas --- Peninsula Peace and Justice Center <ppjc at peaceandjustice.org> wrote:
> Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2005 17:30:00 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Peninsula Peace and Justice Center
> <ppjc at peaceandjustice.org>
> To: <entheogens at yahoo.com>
> Subject: [ppjc] Regarding the anarchist protest
> march in Palo Alto
>
>
> A note from PPJC director Paul George regarding the
> anarchist protest march in Palo Alto this coming
> Saturday...
>
> Dear PPJC members and friends,
>
> By now you have no doubt heard about the anarchist
> protest march planned for Palo Alto this coming
> Saturday evening, June 25. Local newspapers have
> been all over the story, apparently because of
> anticipated violence at the march. We have received
> a number of inquiries here at PPJC asking how we
> feel about it.
>
> To respond, I think it's necessary to look at this
> from three different angles: the organizers, the
> police response, and the media coverage.
>
> The protest is being organized by the Peninsula
> Anarchist Collective, Anarchist Action Palo Alto and
> apparently other, similar groups. These same groups
> organized a march on May 20 that resulted in some
> broken windows and two arrests-plus a fairly
> apparent over-response by at least some members of
> the Palo Alto Police Department and other agencies
> that were called in.
>
> The organizers of Saturday's march held a press
> conference yesterday (Tuesday) at Lytton Plaza,
> which I attended. Anarchist Action Palo Alto handed
> out a statement that said they planned to "inflict
> more economic damage", but noted that "economic
> damage" could mean boycotts or civil suits. The
> Anarchist Action statement went on to say that "the
> protest's organizers themselves have no plans to
> break corporate windows or engage in any other
> similar activities."
>
> A second statement distributed at Tuesday's press
> conference, this one from Peninsula Anarchist
> Collective, said, in part, "we must oppose force by
> force"; "the powerful and greedy must be opposed by
> any and all means necessary"; "We must fight not
> only with words but with blows"; and, "We are not
> violent people and any violence perpetrated by
> anarchists is only in response to far greater
> crimes." (While that last sentence is inherently
> self-contradictory, I absolutely agree that the
> crimes and violence of the Bush administration far
> exceed anything the anarchists might inflict on
> downtown Palo Alto).
>
> Finally, one of the protest organizers was shown on
> TV last night saying that while she would not
> personally engage in violence or vandalism, she
> would "absolutely support" anyone who did.
>
> On the flip side of the coin we have the Palo Alto
> Police Department. The PAPD apparently will be
> calling in "reinforcements" from every police agency
> in Santa Clara County and the California Highway
> Patrol. Palo Alto Police Chief Lynne Johnson has
> publicly acknowledged that she has sent undercover
> agents to try to infiltrate organizer meetings-an
> act that we unequivocally denounce. Johnson also
> announced a "zero tolerance" policy for Saturday
> evening. Whatever that might actually mean isn't
> clear, but it sounds like the police are almost
> itching for a fight.
>
> Such a massive police response is excessive and is
> more likely to provoke than prevent violence. A
> more reasonable approach might result in a couple of
> windows being broken, but the planned police
> response practically guarantees direct
> confrontations between marchers and police.
>
> Finally, the police response and the ensuing media
> coverage are resulting in a self-perpetuating cycle
> of escalating hysteria. Granted, the story is
> legitimate news. However, as I reminded the
> reporter who wrote today's front page story in the
> San Jose Mercury News, that newspaper never once has
> found it newsworthy to report in advance about any
> of Peninsula Peace and Justice Center's massive
> peace marches. (I also called the reporter to task
> for his claim that there hasn't been a "major"
> protest in Palo Alto since the Vietnam War. I
> reminded him of the 5,000 people who marched
> peacefully against the Iraq war in February, 2003,
> just as an example. He apologized and vowed to
> correct the record in a future article.)
>
> So, what to make of all this? The best conclusion I
> can come to is this: It's an unfortunate situation
> all around.
>
> 1. While I have no substantial criticism of the
> political analysis contained in the organizing
> groups' press statements and websites, their May 20
> "action" seemed to me to contain zero political
> content. By failing to clearly articulate any
> coherent political message, they allowed the media
> to define their action and portray them as bored
> teenagers simply acting out. I've read their
> literature and know that isn't true. But it seems
> the possibility of a repeat of this scenario is
> highly likely on Saturday evening.
>
> 2. If PPJC had been asked to endorse Saturday's
> march-which we weren't-we would decline. PPJC is
> dedicated to non-violence and it is pretty clear
> that violence is, at the least, condoned by
> Saturday's organizers, and quite possibly
> encouraged. PPJC is committed to non-violence not
> simply for its own sake-we believe non-violent
> resistance to illegitimate authority is ultimately
> more powerful and effective than violence. As
> Gandhi said, "Non-cooperation is not a passive
> state, it is an intensely active state-more active
> than physical resistance or violence."
>
> 3. The police response is quite alarming and must
> be monitored-and protested-vigorously. The
> attempted infiltration of a political group is
> appalling and Palo Alto residents should call on
> City Council to put an immediate halt to it.
>
> 4. The media should also be carefully monitored and
> held to account for how they cover Saturday's march.
> With a history of marginalizing political dissent
> and protest, for the local media to give so much
> coverage to the May 20 protest and the coming march
> smacks of sensationalism, not journalism.
>
> I congratulate the young people who are organizing
> Saturday's march-I know how much work it is. I
> applaud their efforts to protest the criminal war in
> Iraq and the corporate dominance of our lives.
> Although we may disagree on tactics, we are engaged
> in the same struggle. However, although I may
> attend as an observer, I won't be marching on
> Saturday evening.
>
> Peace,
> Paul George
> Director, Peninsula Peace and Justice Center
> paul at peaceandjustice.org
>
>
> June 25: March Against War & Empire
> Meet 7:00 pm, Saturday, June 25 - Lytton Plaza in
> Downtown Palo Alto
> Organized by Peninsula Anarchist Collective,
> Anarchist Action Palo Alto and others.
> http://www.anarchistaction.org/
>
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<<We are at such a point in mankind's evolution where changed conditions invalidate all our policies that have been so successful even in the recent past, and that presumably have constituted the ideal response to a presumably unchanging and unchangeable human condition. No wonder we are stupefied and confused-but our mistake is the same which many cultures have made before us, namely to force a rigid model upon a fluid reality.
Erich Jantsch - "Design for Evolution: Self-Organization and Planning in the Life of Human Systems"
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