urban guerrilla

As the situation calms down in Panama, let's return to my current region of residence.

For those living in the Mid-West/Great Lakes/Great Plains regions, the RNC should be one of the strongest opportunities in a very long time to organize a regional mobilization, both for general protest and permitted marching, and for the more aggressive tactics that groups like Unconventional Action and Bash Back are planning.

Yes, we know, community and workplace organizing supersedes these kinds of mobilizations. But they are and can be an important complement to our work, especially when, as in the case of the Twin Cities, most of the organizing is being done by experienced local activists.

And for those of us from Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Missouri, etc. etc., this is a great opportunity to come together, organize together, and march in the streets together.

So far, the big plans include a major march on the first day of the four day convention, which happens to be Labor Day, a bicycle ride from Madison zig-zagging through towns along the way, a poor people's march the second day, a possible march the fourth day, and 'direct action' for the first day.

Analysis

I do have two main criticisms of the Twin Cities direct action plans. Firstly, don't put all your eggs in one basket. It sounds to me like the focus is almost entirely for one day of actions with hopes of its spread to the whole half-week. In New York in 2004, it appears that that's what they did for August 31st, but it really wasn't. There were actions planned for every day.

Likewise, the local planners are openly focusing on trying to shut the convention down, and I think New York was so empowering because that wasn't really our focus. Shutting meetings that make global capitalist policy is one thing, but this is just a ceremony. I have n problem with trying (or pretending to) shut down the convention, but in New York, the actions were dispersed to both hit the city for its hosting and repression, and to carry out actions at the many different tourist trips, parties, and gatherings, that the delegates and other convention goers had organized. That was, in my opinion, incredibly successful on a number of levels. It roused many New York passersby to join us randomly, it felt much more empowering to many activists, and it harassed the Hell out of tons of the convention goers.

Now, the Minneapolis-St. Paul will have a very different set of circumstances. Most importantly is the local population. Yes, there are many progressives locally, and the local activists have organized anti-war protests and other things for their size that put Chicago to shame. But the Twin Cities cannot be like New York in part because: A) it's much smaller, B) it's much more dispersed, C) it's Labor Day weekend so many local people will be out of town anyway, D) New Yorker culture is more aggressive and more likely to get involved.

But along the Labor Day tip, I have seen woefully little using this opportunity. Firstly, on the political level, the local unions are not rushing to work on these protests, and the activists are not putting class and labor issues at the forefront of what is de facto a Labor Day march.

On a tactical and propaganda level, I think it would be useful to exploit the other, more cultural side of Labor Day. What do people do on Labor Day weekend? It's one of (if not) the main weekend for family road trips, with particular emphasis on bar-b-ques. So, organize a mass barbecue. Get people in neighboring states to take their road trips to the Twin Cities. Make sure there is child care. Make it sound fun.

I will be keeping close tabs on the organizing and will keep you up to date with non-sensitive information over the next several months. See you in St. Paul!