A polemic on protest: reflections on violent RNC resistance

[bestill_myheart]

I am clicking through a Rueters slideshow of events that took place on September 1st, 2008 in St.Paul, Minnesota. Many of them are very familiar to me, as I was just marching through those very streets 24 hours ago, but juxtaposed with the backdrop of protest and civil disobedience are snapshots of the people within the walls of the Excel Arena

Comments

[mybloodsforyou]

I read this whole thing and actually enjoyed it. a lot of what you bring up is one of the main things that turned me from the 14-15 year old upstart punk who wanted to smash the state, to a 24 year old whose direct emotional attachment to the cuddle of capitalism manifests itself in an uplifted mood after a shopping trip to banana republic. there are obviously moments of writing in here i disagree with, but for once, i'm not here to criticize.

[bestill_myheart]

thanks, neal. apparently my anarchist friends in question didn't agree. i think i just lost a bunch of my friends over this. ugh. : (

[mybloodsforyou]

on a personal level: friends are the people who you should be able to tell your opinions in an open forum without being hatefully judged, and frankly ending a friendship with someone because you don't have the same exact beliefs is fascism. to be friends with someone is to share in an equality of each others presence and voice, to stop being friends with someone because of a difference of opinion is to say that you are better than them and don't want to associate with them as a result of it. so honestly, if someone is going to stop being friends with you because you openly expressed a genuine opinion, then fuck them. people like that are so crowded by labels and the romanticism of throwing a brick through a window in a riot they forgot how to take care of the people that are around them on a daily basis

[bestill_myheart]

your smarter than you look, christyson. haha, jk. but i really do appreciate your comments. your a good kid. i think my friends will come around, i do understand that they are under a lot of mental and physical stress right now. whether or not they "brought that on themselves" is not an issue for me, i support their right to recuperate.

i hope you're well in cleveland. give clancy a nice long belly rub from me.

[pressessence]

I think your intuition is essentially correct concerning the protests although, perhaps, for the wrong reasons. There is no point in getting into discussions about violence, to take a 'line' on 'shit happens' is futile

geez

[richard_myers]

The "...illogicity of politicos..." ???

The "...sheer unreality of the pretensions of the protest..." ???

You sound like a psycho-therapist that's paid by the buzzword.

[bestill_myheart]

Thank you for responding; do you have a link to the article to which you refer?

[lifeinthewoods]

i have many friends that went down there...

but i have more that didn't.

I heard, all around me, "I really support them going down, but I'm not into what happens there." And these are people that are extreamly active in projects like Books to Prisoners, working with sex workers, etc. So there are many others that have similar ideas to yours. Don't feel alone!

[bestill_myheart]

thank you, jon. this comment means a lot. i am feeling very alone right now since 90% of Activist Student Union/DePaul Students Against the War is mad at me about this right now. : (

reflections on violent RNC resistance

[richard_myers]

raechel, this is an important issue. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

richard myers
Denver, Colorado

Re: reflections on violent RNC resistance

[bestill_myheart]

thank you, richard, i appreciate that.

[anonymous]

I found your post through an email to a listserv, though I'm also in Chicago. I disagree with a lot of what you said, but I think it's also disappointing something like what you wrote would make enemies of friends. I think you were honest, and to me that's more important than cheerleading actions over which you have serious qualms. More importantly, the "violence v. nonviolence" debate isn't one that is closed or should ever close, and I think that were you to engage your friends in genuine dialog perhaps both sides could at least find ways to respect one another's opinions (and that includes their acceptance of your position no less that your understanding of diversity of tactics).

Your idea that "in Seattle the violence was a tactic of protecting the nonviolent protesters" is wrong, however. The black bloc attacked property across the city, offensively.

Secondly, "fighting against Republican ideology is an abstract idea, one not destroyed by breaking a Macy’s window" seems like a bit of projecting as to the goals of the black

[bestill_myheart]

I really appreciate this response as it offers really strong critique against my argument

[anonymous]

i gave an RNC talk at the mess hall a few months ago; I think you were there.

[bestill_myheart]

yep, i was! cool, i'm sure i'll see you around.