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THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING IN DC O26
by pjd
Saturday, Oct. 19, 2002 at 1:11 PM
pdonahue@libcom.com 412-681-4408
Effective resistance against a war that could kill millions is at risk if failure due to what this writer percieves as petty bickering.
I am sure everyone reading this is aware of the rally and march planned in Washington DC on October 26. The importance of a huge turnout (at least quarter million) CANNOT be overstated! A weak turnout will be worse than no turnout at all.
An yet, I percieve an odd sort of apathy regarding this event among the student-activist organizations in Pittsburgh. I was shocked to find this on POG's site:
"Last years anti-war movement dissolved due to lack of direction, fading interest, and constant in-fighting.
The Thomas Merton Center has done a awesome job this time around as war approaches. We don't know what type of role our group can fill, but we are eager to see what results the Thomas Merton Center can help Pittsburgh attain."
Additionally, I understand that a good number of activists are planning on not going to DC because the organizers are affiliated with political groups which are rather authoritarian in their perspectives.
Well, it seems to me these perspectives are pretty petty, considering the millions of human lives that could be threatened by this war.
The idea of ANY activist organizing group sitting on the sidelines to see what other groups can do on such an urgent issue incredibly irresponsible.
Let me make a rather obvious suggestions of what "type of role" your group can fulfill:
1. First, you can make sure your own warm body is in DC expressing your rage on October 26.
2. Second, you can make sure as many other angry yelling bodies are there too, through flyering, cajoling, wahtever it takes.
3. Third, you can arrainge the appropriate transportation for fulfilling #1 and #2 above.
Pursuant to the above, I will be buying three tickets on one of the Merton Center buses. I will be using one of them. If the buses fill up, I will give all of them away and my Pickup with a cap is available as an overflow vehicle which can carry six including driver.
The most important thing is that, short of serious illness, ther are NO EXCUSES for not being in DC on O26.
chill yo
by andybot
Saturday, Oct. 19, 2002 at 3:16 PM
there's a difference between showing people ways to resist and telling them what they *have* to do in order to be effective. that's a pretty strong post, and uses really strong, alienating language . . . tell me about the event, tell me why i should go, but don't tell me i *must* go and make me feel like a failed activist if i don't . . . that's a great way to convince me i don't fit into the movement at all.
I strongly disagree
by member of pog
Saturday, Oct. 19, 2002 at 7:41 PM
412-682-4035
hmm. where to begin.
Pog is involved with Anti-War work. You are flat out wrong and I think that you are misrepresenting us by claiming that we are sitting on the sidelines. We are organizing and supporting other group�s anti-war events. We were at the last Merton Center rally (we brought what 15 people) We were at the speak out against the war this morning (pog was 5 out of 20 of the people who showed up) We are putting on direct action trainings with Zi and the Thomas Merton Center such as the one yesterday and one this coming Wednesday ( I fact I believe you are aware of) for people who might be involved in anti-war actions.
Let me add context to the line you quoted from our website. We are not in a position to take a "lead" role in organizing the framework for large anti-war actions in Pittsburgh. We do not have the resources in people or money to do what we did for the Sept IMF-WB actions in DC (including the fact we still need to pay back one of our members over a thousand dollars that was spent to get a lot of people out of jail in DC) The Thomas Merton Center has a giant database of names, a list of people who have signed up to do civil disobedience on the Iraq issue, they have been involved in anti-war action in Pittsburgh for A LONG time, they have a newspaper and access to vast resources, they have been mobilizing for months, and they have credibility/name recognition with a lot of people and groups that we don't have. Now who do you think should be in the forefront of planning major Anti-War actions? This doesn't mean we are sitting around twirling our thumbs going wow I can't wait till the Merton Center stops the war. We are supporting anti-war actions (that feel we can support) whenever and however we can. It would help me if I knew what exactly your complaint is with what we are doing beyond not endorsing the 26th actions? Do you want us to have our own actions against the war? Do you want us to spend more of our time on the death that will result from war and less on the death that will result from the FTAA? Do you want us to have more extensive anti-war info on our website?
I think everyone understands the seriousness of what going to war is going to mean. Not feeling comfortable going to the 26th action in DC doesn't make anyone a �bad activist�. Did you hear one single person criticize people who didn't go to DC for the Friday people's strike? Did anyone complain about the people who only went on Saturday? NO. Will everyone who goes to DC for the O26 event be at the anti-FTAA solidarity march we are having the next day? Where was IA, IAC, and WWP during the World Bank-IMF meetings? The IMF-WB have caused untold suffering and death for years now so why didn�t they sign on the actions? Did any other group in Pittsburgh respond to the call out for Solidarity this Oct 27-31 from the Global South? I think that illustrates the absurdity of the line of reasoning you are pursuing? What you are saying is the same stuff I hear from some Vanguard parties about why you have to join the party. It is the only way. No one who is serious about changing the world can be outside the party. Ours is the True way, the TRUTH! There are NO EXCUSES. It is ludicrous to suggest that people have to go to ONE particular event and that they are failures if they don�t. Who are you to tell people what they have to do. The government and large corporations are killing millions of people in a multitude of ways and most people I know are trying to fight injustice in the way they feel is most effective. You accuse us of not acting in Solidarity? I am anti-authoritarian, but I still work with and support the actions of groups that are not. Being hierarchical to me isn't a reason not to work with a group. The problem with SOME of these groups is what they use the power of the hierarchy for.
As far as International Answer:
I've been to International ANSWER stuff before. I have been involved in coalitions with them and the groups that are most associated with (WWP and IAC) I have many criticisms of them that make me choose not to go to DC. I�ve directly and indirectly witnessed from them: lying, stealing of name databases and other resources, power grabs, misrepresentation, and lots of backstabbing of other activists on the part of these organizations. In a lot of areas they have done substantial harm to anti-war organizing in the past. We all draw a line in terms of who we choose to support. Do you support the Workers World Party? (Which IA is in a lot of ways a kind of front group for?) Would you work with a right wing group that was against the war? What about one of Pat Buchanan�s groups? What about Nazi's (were you at the Nazi rally against Israel and for the rights of those in the re-occupied territories- were you with the counter demonstrators either?) Do you attend every single important progressive event that happens in the country? It's bullshit to play a holier then thou game of Uber activist.
One other point I would like to make is that by going to DC you are supporting IA along with opposing the war. The same way people who go to a TMC event are in a lot of ways supporting TMC. You give the group visibility and credibility that they will use for a particular agenda. Some groups use your presence for positive ends and some don't. I don't believe that IA will use my presence in a positive or neutral enough way to make up for the good that I can do taking part in the "action"
Oh ya, and a lot of people associated with POG will be in DC and a lot of them are traveling with the TMC. If you have a particular problem with what pog is doing I'm sure they will listen to your concerns. The internet isn�t exactly the best place for a lot of these conversations to take place on. It�s harder to see and feel our common humanity when staring at a computer screen.
#My views are not reflective of everyone in my group.
My Thoughts
by Sam
Sunday, Oct. 20, 2002 at 10:14 AM
Well, for one, some people have to work. Yes, even on a Saturday.
Secondly, ANSWER *really is* a Stalinist front group.
Third, I think it would've been nice if some kind of local solidarity event was organized. It's sometimes nice to take a break and go to a big city for these seasonal events, but it's not enough. Too many activists neglect the latter part of the slogan "Think globally, act locally."
Local solidarity event
by Quinten
Sunday, Oct. 20, 2002 at 10:25 AM
quinten@andrew.cmu.edu
Here's something I just got in my email:
Community Vigil for Peace in Iraq & the Middle East
Saturday October 26th
Noon - 1 PM
Penn & Highland St.
1 East Liberty - Pittsburgh
Join individuals and families from the East End in Standing Up for Peace & Justice in Iraq, the Middle East, and in the U.S.A
Stand in Solidarity with Hundreds of Thousands of People Marching in
Washington D.C. and San Francisco, CA**
~ Bring Refreshments and Snacks to Share ~
1.1 This Community Vigil is being organized by Area Residents
On another note, I think it is very dangerous to allow an event to be co-opted by ANSWER, which is not just a front for an authoritarian and Stalinist group, but is actually pro-Saddam, not just anti war in Iraq. I think that I'll be trying to go to the local rally.
Alternatives and reasons to go to DC O26
by R. Workman
Sunday, Oct. 20, 2002 at 2:48 PM
I agree that PJD has taken what was on POG's website totally out of context and warped the meaning of what was said. This is nothing new among certain parts of the Left. I was active in the S27 action in D.C., and worked closely with people involved with POG. I feel that there is some hypocracy out there (not you specifically, Paul) among "socialists" who said that: 1) they did not feel comfortable working with "anarchists," and who then say 2) "you must come to D.C. if you are against the war." Understanding, joint action, and support work both ways!
That having been said, I do support the TMC organizing a bus trip to D.C. for this event. I do not see it as a "Stalinist" event even though it has been organized by "Stalinists," and I feel that it is more important that there be a large showing of people against the war than the negative potential for these groups using turnout to further their aims. I don't think they are fooling too many people on the left. Obviously, we all have to draw the line somewhere. I would not attend a Neo-Nazi rally against Israeli occupation, but I see the IAC and WWP as fairly harmless in their current form, and keep in mind that their political distinctions/views (i.e., Stalinist) will not be announced by them to the media or general public, so I don't think we will be supporting them in this fashion.
If I thought our participation would be a clear and strong support for Stalinism, I would not attend. For those that would like to participate in something a little different than the old mass march and assembly (or, in addition to it), I have come across a site seeking participation in a pre-ANSWER action.
http://dc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=35483&group=webcast
I agree, but...
by Sam
Sunday, Oct. 20, 2002 at 4:19 PM
I don't see the event itself as Stalinist either, and I whole-heartedly encourage anyone who's able to attend.
I just don't understand why we have to badmouth (and thus alienate) activists who for whatever reason are unable to make it.
As a previous poster mentioned, opposing the FTAA is as important as opposing the war. Those who plan to participate in the solidarity actions on the 27th (and those who plan to participate in the Pitt actions on the 25th) might have a hard time fitting the actions on the 26th into their schedule.
Further, it blows my mind that someone would just assume that all progressive people are middle class college students who can just take off at the drop of a hat. For working people (y'know, the ones whose concerns our various movements are supposed to be addressing? Remember them?) that's often not the case.
Additional Thoughts
by Sam
Sunday, Oct. 20, 2002 at 4:39 PM
To expand on the "think globally, act locally" comment:
It isn't enough to go to these seasonal mega-events. In a speech at A20 earlier this year (which was also organized be WWP fronts and pretty much killed my desire to work with them again), MLK III (with whom I'm in disagreement about lots of things, but still) noted that the important thing isn't to attend such events; the important thing is what we do when we come home from them. We need to organize in our schools, workplaces, and communities.
Think about it: wouldn't it be a lot nicer if we had many simultaneous actions of a few thousand in every city, than one big action organized by a single organization? Doesn't that better symbolize the spirit of the Left? I think so.
We are firefighters
by pjd
Monday, Oct. 21, 2002 at 6:34 AM
Here is how I view it...
A massive turnout in DC on Oct 26 is our last hope for saving possibly millions of lives - I repeat, SAVING LIVES. Think about it on these terms. We are firefighters and we have a planet-sized fire to fight.
O26 has been designated the day of worldwide action to fight this fire.
From this perspective, I consider a huge turnout in DC an incredibly urgent undertaking requiring that we put other issues aside.
I was not at all my wish to denigrate POG members, indeed, I know little about them. I was simply reading the statement on the web page at it's face value, and in light of the facts of the paragraph above. Maybe the web page statement needs some rewording. I just wanted to emphasize that everyone, down to individuals, needs to be organizing.
I understand that some job commitments may prevent some from going. However, there was plenty of time to arrange for the day off. What kind of boss are would anyone work for where one can't take a day off without fear of getting fired? There may be events real soon that will require much bigger efforts (such as a national general strike). What then?
Why work
by R. Workman
Monday, Oct. 21, 2002 at 7:41 AM
Without going into details about the philosophical and political implication of work and withdrawing work, vis-a-vis capital (read autonomist works for more info.), many people in Pittsburgh need to work for money. Yes, one day off *can* spell financial disaster for many. Also, pjd, you assume that people have a lot of job options, as if all these jobs were floating around for us to gravitate towards. This does not mean that we shouldn't organize in our workplace to better our conditions. But that's not always easy to do.
We can't all have cushy government jobs ;)
let's work to save lives in whatever way we can
by andybot
Monday, Oct. 21, 2002 at 8:42 AM
--- "A massive turnout in DC on Oct 26 is our last hope for saving possibly millions of lives - I repeat, SAVING LIVES" ---
it is on one level incredibly self-righteous and on another level incredibly naive to prescribe for everyone else a course of action to *save lives*.
the society we live in is really rotten on nearly all fronts, if you didn't notice. it would be nice if we could all stop suffering throughout the globe by simply going to DC for one weekend. i'm not saying the rally this weekend can't or won't be effective- i'm 100% behind everyone who is going. but, pjd, you imply that this is the only way to stop a war on the iraqi people- you even make it sound like this is the only way to make a better world.
there are really simple steps that each of us can take in our everyday lives to alter this society that makes things like sanctions and bombs falling on iraq seem acceptable to many people. *please* don't discount these things as you try to gather support for this weekend's rally. spreading the idea that there is one and only one way to stop a war is both wrong and dangerous.
if you're not going to DC, why don't you try something like talking to people on the street or in your classes or at work about why this war is wrong? or maybe making and posting flyers that explain what's wrong with the impending war to your neighbors in pittsburgh (who, because of the incredible blackout power of the corporate media may not even know there IS a rally in DC, even after it happens)?
gatherings of this sort are great, and i can't stress their importance enough, but we can't rely on them as our only defense against an ugly humankilling war.
hate to be blunt
by 08
Monday, Oct. 21, 2002 at 11:35 AM
to be blunt:
This rally will not STOP the coming war. It doesn't matter if there are 100,000 or 250,000 people there. Remember the Gulf War? Numbers by themselves mean very little unless they are part a sustained and escalating campaign of resistance. It is very dangerous to delude yourself into thinking that this event has any chance of materially impacting the course of war.
For reference please look at the London anti-war events. They turned out 400,000+ last month in the UK and it hasn't done much to shift then national dialogue. It made big headlines for a day and that was it. The event was similar to the upcoming O26 event (very scripted and devoid of direct action).
I do agree that there are some positives to a large public display of opposition. It will show people that a lot of people are against the war and they aren't alone. It will hopefully energize those in attendence to go back home and do the on the ground organizing that is what has the potential to interfere with the war.
apology and appeal
by pjd
Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2002 at 9:11 AM
It was never my intent to come across as arrogant, nor to generate devisiveness. I am angry at our ineffectiveness in resisting against this big deadly expansion of empire and that's what came out in my posts. My apologies for any offense to anyone who is working hard on their priorities in POG or elsewhere.
I am aware that a very large turnout will be downplayed by the media, unless it is large enough to create some chaos due to sheer numbers (I hope). I certainly hope there will be some "unrulyness" before the day is over. A small turnout, however, _will_ get attention and just provide justification for accelerating war plans and would be worse than no action at all.
Also, a big turnout will get big coverage in the press outside our borders. Seeing significant resistance right in the belly of the beast, will encourage many of our friends in more-democratic Europe and elsewhere.
There should be free seats available on the four buses (or overflow vehicles) to DC. Everyone who can manage, please come out for the day.
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