A couple points of clarification from discussions with comrades on my last post.
Originally I suggested that all activists in prison on trumped-up G20 conspiracy charges were arrested before anything happened at the Toronto G20 protests. It is true that many were arrested preemptively in house raids, some at gunpoint, and in one case an actual police ambush of a taxi – prior to any of the infamous G20 Saturday actions. Some were arrested during the weekend, however, or turned themselves in post-G20 for warrants issued before.
My main point was that the charges are flimsy and political (evidenced by Harsha Walia’s arrest and release, whose dozens of conspiracy charges miraculously disappeared after Naomi Klein and other prominent activists spoke out on her behalf), and as allies we must not play the game of demonizing the bad protesters while defending those we deem worthwhile. Inadvertently, to make this point, I might have unconsciously played a move from the same game! Oops.
Also, having linked to the Stimulator’s wrap-up video, which is entertainingly framed but highly dismissive of some individual activists who called for police to round up the ‘bad’ activists, I feel it’s appropriate to link to some of the debates around Diversity of Tactics (the respect for people organizing and resisting in multiple ways, even when we don’t agree with the tactics). Just to hopefully forward the discussion. Admittedly, I still enjoyed the video, and Stimulator’s writing and work as a whole, but I also see how it does not necessarily open up space for movement-building or explaining the direct actions of the G20 – perhaps that is what made it so particularly refreshing (many of us are getting tired of unsuccessfully appealing to the “mainstream” or media air time, given the crisis with which we are faced; I’m particularly tired of having no sense of humour). Included below are several of Frank Lopez’ own writings and video which offer an easier entry point.
I really hope if you read just one thing, read Nora Samaran‘s “Toronto and Vancouver: On legitimate and illegitimate protest,” which expresses support for Diversity of Tactics, but also moves away from demonizing individuals on either side of the dialogue/debate and focuses on movement-building and defending political prisoners.
If you want an accessible video summary of the G20 week, and the incredibly diverse communities who organized an unprecedented week of protests, discussions, direct actions, Frank Lopez and Dawn Paley, of Vancouver Media Coop, submitted the same footage from the Stimulator video, but with a less outrageous/irreverent (?) tone for Democracy Now.
Frank also wrote a moving piece on the disastrous impacts of turning activists in to the police, or support our repression in any way by the state: “Snitching on the Resistance: How celebrity activists have set off a witch hunt against anarchist militants.” In particular, his personal story about turning his own father in to the State is profound and important to read before we wish that fate upon any of our comrades.
The Southern Ontario Anarchist Resistance issued its own statement on the internet about the G20 actions: “Statement from the Southern Ontario Anarchist Resistance: In “Carnage” We Find Beauty.”
An anti Black Bloc essay, “Black Bloc-Headed” if you want to see what some anarchists against Diversity of Tactics might say, and to present at least one dissonant, though in my opinion, poorly argued voice.
And a report-back from the webs about the aforementioned Milton prison demonstration, which ends with an apology for inadvertently canceling visiting hours. Learning to apologize for mistakes – commonly referred to as humility – is an important learning for movement-building. Did you know the word ‘humility’ comes from the same word as ‘from the earth’ or ‘soil’?
I say “right on.”
Discussion
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