By Unconventional Denver
There have been many speculations about what the conventions will look like this summer. Some of those predictions have come from the mainstream media, others from conservative talk radio, and of course there is the buzz that goes on between people. Recently, Crimethinc. weighed in with the piece What to Expect From the Conventions. Much of the information in that article is incomplete and incorrect and does not convey the actions Unconventional Denver has been organizing against the DNC. We would like to use this as an opportunity to let people know what is really happening this summer in Denver.
Perhaps part of the reason for the inaccuracies of the article is that we have had no interaction or conversations with its author(s);we were not consulted for information or asked for clarification on points. Fortunately,we have published a zine that outlines the schedule of Unconventional Denver’s calls to action throughout the week of the DNC. These range from reclaiming space occupied by the police state, to targeting corporate fundraisers and the city’s infrastructure of capitalism, to blockading the spectacle of delegate voting.
In addition to the zine, we are also in the middle of a western states tour (after completing a tour in the east), providing up to date information to collectives, infoshops, and other radical spaces. The zine, as well as tour information, is available at http://www.dncdisruption08.org.
Separating Fact from Fiction- What’s Really Going Down this Summer
First, let’s start by clearing up a few inaccuracies.
Myth #1:Unconventional Denver cancelled one of two primary days of action,despite two nationwide consultas and months of planning, at the request of an immigrant and Chicano rights coalition.
Truth: The “We Vote No! Blockade the Spectacle” action is still on.
Tuesday will prove to be a day of both solidarity and powerful direct action. In the morning, we will be involved with and supporting what will be a historic immigrant/Chicana rights and No Borders mobilization. In the afternoon, the “We Vote No! Blockade the Spectacle” action will begin, as we use a diversity of tactics to directly confront the pantomime of democracy enacted by delegate voting.
Myth #2: Anarchist organizing has taken place in the shadow of Recreate 68, a coalition of liberal and radical groups.
Truth: Anarchist organizing takes place in both Recreate 68and Unconventional Denver. Recreate 68 is not a liberal group and has maintained a radical stance from the beginning.
Unconventional Denver and Recreate 68 have explicitly different roles in organizing the DNC protests. The task of R68 has been to lay the logistical foundations for the protests. Unconventional Denver has a much narrower mission of organizing direct action at the convention. R68 has had a lot of media exposure because press presence is part of their role. In addition, to say that R68 is overshadowing the work of anarchists is to truly misunderstand both R68 and its relationship with Unconventional Denver. From the beginning, R68 has been a solid group of radicals friendly to anarchist politics, with many core members being self-described anarchists themselves. Unconventional Denver is working closely not only with R68, but also with a number of other anti-DNC organizers, to ensure an effective and supported strategy of direct action.
To conclude that in the Twin Cities “anarchists are involved explicitly in every level of the organizing,”while not recognizing the level of cooperation and interaction in Denver is to recognize anarchists through a very narrow lens. In fact, the analysis smacks of the kind of privilege and ageism that several anarchists in R68 have had to come up against repeatedly. It’s bad enough that anarchists who don’t dress the part and organize things besides direct action get invisibilized by the media (when anarchists are working on food distribution programs they’re called “activists” when they smash windows they’re called “anarchists”); to have it come from our own movement is downright offensive. Yes, pinch yourself, it’s real- the anarchists are main organizers in both groups. We not only have a place in the anti-war march,we’re being invited to lead. When do we get an opportunity like that?
Myth #3: It now appears that, as in 2004, the demonstrations at the RNC will be several orders of magnitude larger than those at the DNC. Like it or not, we must take this into account.
Truth: We’re getting word of participation from many folks from a wide variety of causes and groups. People are pissed off at the failures of the Democrats and will be in Denver to make their voices heard.Had we gotten word that most people were writing Denver off as a “tragic” mistake, we’d be making drastic changes in the strategy put forth. Luckily, we haven’t been getting the same reading.
The political climate now is much different than in 2004 where anarchists in Boston had to deal with the deafening mantra of “Anybody But Bush.” Since then, the Democrats have had four years to turn things around both abroad and at home. They’ve failed on all accounts and people are pissed. We see an anti-war movement with less and less patience for playing nice with the Democrats and more and more actions confronting them on their complicity in war. Though Obama has entranced some, many are still not impressed with a candidate planning to expand the world’s largest military to even greater proportions. We also see an immigrant rights movement that has been sold out by the Democrats both locally (in Colorado we have a Democratic governor backed by a Democratic Congress which has passed some of the most anti-immigrant legislation to date) as well as nationally. We certainly hope that anarchists will reach the same conclusion that Iraq Veterans Against the War, Padres/Jovenes Unidos, Tent State University, the Young Lords, SDS chapters, Code Pink, the Radical Black Congress and countless others have concluded—that we need to confront the Democrats in Denver. Luckily, we know many that have and are confident that others will join as well.
Playing the Numbers Game
We don’t know for sure what the numbers will look like. Will they be larger than the RNC? We don’t know. We feel confident that they will be significantly larger than the DNC protests in Boston four years ago and that they will rival LA 2000 if not surpass it.
However, to make one’s decision based solely on which protest will be bigger is to follow a mob mentality we anarchists eschew. Regardless of what happens in the streets,the spotlight will certainly be on the Democratic National Convention as Barack Obama officially becomes the first black presidential candidate. Folks experienced in direct action know that it doesn’t simply come down to numbers (if that were true, the current anti-war movement would be effective). It’s about being in the right place, at the right time, with your shit together. The DNC is a prime opportunity to interrupt the government’s narrative of genuine democracy and real change and insert the messages that democracy and capitalism don’t mix, that change comes from below, that the Democrats are a force of co-optation, and that while it’s a step forward that a black man can become a presidential contender, the institution of white supremacy will stay intact until we dismantle it ourselves.
RNC vs. DNC- A showdown!?!?
Rather than look at these protests from a scarcity model, in which Minneapolis and Denver must compete for the attention of the same people, we should be looking at these protests as two distinct protests within one mobilization. The idea of diversity of tactics and a model of abundance is that people have different needs and interests and they will meet them in different ways. We disagree with the assertion that it is about deciding which convention is universally the better one to attend. These protests are being organized in different ways with different means to get to the same end—smashing the state and capitalism. People should, and will, choose where to go based on what is most relevant to their lives and the struggles they are engaged in.
Finally, though there is a decline in traveler culture, we have been working with our comrades up north to frame these protests in ways that will help people make it to both. The most arrestable activities in Denver are at the beginning of the week, and we’re organizing decompression sessions on Thursday as well as caravans from Denver to Minneapolis, with places to crash and rest along the way provided by our fellow anarchists in the Great Plains.
We hope this article clears up some of the confusion. The effectiveness of the anti-convention strategies as two parts of one cohesive, successful mobilization depends upon the choices people make now and into the summer. The 2008 Democratic National Convention will be historic. It’s up to us to determine why.
This article is in response to this article written by CrimethInc.
