[lbo-talk] Re: DC

Michael Catolico mcatolico at mindspring.com
Sun Sep 25 10:04:56 PDT 2005


one other interesting phenomenon from the demo in dc is the way the crowd started to act. there were endless numbers of speakers and the organizers didn't have the courtesy to even let the crowd know how many were left. there was simply a string of "our next speaker will be..." there were a lot of redundant speeches and a lot of off topic comments. and much of the energy of the event (as spectacle) dissipated over the uneven presentations.

most folks can see the interconnectedness of various struggles but they don't need to hear it repeated 8 times. so at one point the crowd nearest the speakers (many of which were elderly folks who'd been standing for a couple hours already), simply turned, said "let's march" or "let's shut this city down," and then took to the streets.

this is not to be construed as an indictment or rejection of the organizers or the speakers in any way. it was clearly, to me, 1) an authentic expression of the enthusiasm of this crowd to "do something" and 2) a very democratic expression of "we the people" will decide when and how we will take to the streets regardless of the intentions of any leaders or organizers. i don't see this as chaos or confusion but as a germinating form of real democratic self-determination. from any historical analysis, revolutionary action & change can be seen to burst forth at the most inconspicuous points. to see the very directed instincts of this mass of people is a very refreshing and encouraging sign.


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