heh,
I was trying to find out if this was the shoot out that happened right after they took the building. Apparently, the sequence of events was: take building, cops attacked, started fires as barricades against further attack and to disperse tear gas.
But I had a question for you and others about policing and discipline.
I notice that OO'S response to this is to batten down the hatches: remain committed to a diversity of tactics, demand a don't help cops stance, keep arguments internal... Which is interesting because it's asking for discipline. Which, from what I can tell is the source of a lot of debate: anger that some folks threw chairs to stop people from spray painting, anger that some folks broke rank and talked to media, anger that other folks were lobbying politicians (which they'd specifically said they would not do), and failure of some folks to understand what adopting a "diversity of tactics" means.
Anyway, as back story: A lot of the debate going on has to do with the early on agreement to accept a diversity of tactics used outside the camp. The agreement was that people would respect other people's tactics and that people engaging in violent tactics do so by remembering that there's privilege involved in being able to get arrested. etc.
Apparently, there is currently a proposal to flesh out exactly what a diversity of tactics looks like in the aftermath of the use of such tactics. It looks like they remain committed to a diversity of tactics and are now making more clear that they expect a little, uh, discipline.
This is just a proposal, but apparently it is up for discussion. It'll be interesting to follow if there is public debate.
proposal to adopt and abide by the St. Paul principles November 6, 2011 in Announcements, Open Mic, Reflections
to be proposed at the General Assembly Monday, November 7th 2011 .
St Paul Principles*
1. our solidarity will be based on respect for a diversity of tactics and the plans of other groups.
2. the actions and tactics used will be organized to maintain a separation of time or space.
3. any debates or criticisms will stay internal to the movement, avoiding any public or media denunciations of fellow activists and events.
4. we oppose any state repression of dissent, including surveillance, infiltration, disruption and violence. we agree not to assist law enforcement actions against activists and others.
* more on the origin of these principles available from http://rnc08report.org/archive/224.shtml -- http://cleandraws.com Wear Clean Draws ('coz there's 5 million ways to kill a CEO)