The anarchists are coming: Media scare tactics unfounded

With the Twin Cities set to host massive protests, an influx of media and thousands of Republicans and supporters, local corporate media are looking to fuel fears that things could get out of control. One activist group being targeted -- they say, unfairly -- is anarchists. They state that their plans do not include violence and that both their message and tactics are willfully misunderstood. News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
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The anarchists are coming: Media scare tactics unfounded, anti-RNC
groups say

By Andy Birkey , Minnesota Independent
August 20, 2008

With the Twin Cities set to host massive protests, an influx of media
and thousands of Republicans and supporters, local corporate media are
looking to fuel fears that things could get out of control. One activist
group being targeted -- they say, unfairly -- is anarchists. They state
that their plans do not include violence and that both their message and
tactics are willfully misunderstood.

Last week, WCCO aired a report on local anarchists that said they “hope
to cause chaos” and are “a group bent on destruction.” The station
superimposed images of property destruction while discussing the group’s
plans. That group is the RNC Welcoming Committee, an umbrella group of
anarchists and anti-authoritarians organizing resistance to the
Republican National Convention.

WCCO is not alone. In July, Fox News accused the anarchists of setting
up a “red sector” devoted to clashing with police, a charge the group
denies. The Star Tribune’s Katherine Kersten has devoted three columns
to whipping Twin Citians into a frenzy over anarchists. In July, the
Pioneer Press recounted the destructive World Trade Organization
protests of 1999 and stated that “a group of Twin Cities anarchists now
is making similar threats against the 2008 Republican National
Convention in St. Paul.”

While local anarchists organizing actions at the RNC are loathe to speak
to the news media, they have done extensive interviews with local
community-based media. Their message and clarifications have fallen on
very few ears. Here’s what they have to say about the media, their plans
and anarchism as a philosophy. None of the members of the RNC Welcoming
Committee use their real names in media appearances.

“We are not as scary”

“We’ve been painted in that bad light, being compared to terrorist
attacks on the Xcel Energy Center, or chemical weapons or other forms of
violence that we are criticized for,” RNC Welcoming Committee member
Bara Cade told Eric Angell on Our World in Depth a program on the local
cable access network MTN. “It’s important for people to know we are not
as scary as people make us out to be.”

Barry Cade, another member of the Welcoming Committee, said, “Our
tactics are not terroristic. If anything I would call them empowering.”

They do intend to prevent delegates from reaching the convention by
blockading transportation routes -- often with street theater, including
a planned dance party by queer group Bash Back!, and even the
possibility of piling stuffed teddy bears at an intersection.

“All that means is you are going to stay in an intersection or a place
and not leave when the police ask them to leave,” said Emma, one of
three members of the Welcoming Committee (also present: Harold and
Tony), speaking to KFAI, a local community radio station. “Essentially,
anything that will stop or slow down traffic -- in this case, the
traffic of the delegates -- could be considered a blockade.”

Tony chimed in, “Even something such as driving slowly.”

Emma says the plan is to “engage in nonviolent civil disobedience
peacefully preventing the delegates access the Xcel Center.”

That nonviolence has been a debate within the anarchist communities
organizing against the RNC.

“We definitely don’t have property destruction in our strategy,” Barry
told Angell. “It’s not part of it, but we do know there are people who
follow the philosophy that ... some property supports violence, and
enables violence to happen.” He cited the examples of weapons
manufacturers or companies that support war.

“There really is an open debate about it. We are just glad this debate
can happen and that people can be a part of that debate,” he said.

Bara added: “We don’t want to say that we condone property violence or
that we support it, but we also don’t want to say we are against it as
well.”

Cooperation and community



Public perception of anarchism is that violence is part of the
philosophy or that anarchist philosophy depends on a lack of authority
that would force communities to descend into chaos. Those perceptions
are at the heart of misconceptions of the movement.

“Anarchism is easily the most understood pol theory in America today, so
much so that newspapers use the silly phrase ’self-described
anarchists,’” Harold told KFAI.

Indeed they do. Virtually every media outlet describes the Welcoming
Committee as “self-described.” The Pioneer Press has done so three
times, the Star Tribune four times, and I used the phrase at the
Minnesota Independent (then Minnesota Monitor) last fall.

Harold said the misunderstanding leads many to equate anarchism with
violence. “The media says direct action is synonymous with violence,
that anarchism is the philosophy with the end goal of chaos and disorder.”

Instead, it’s about sustainability, consensus building, decentralization
and community aid. And each anarchist has their own ideas.

“I think the key issue is people taking control of their own lives
rather than offering up their compliance by being satisfied by giving
someone else control of it,” said Barry. “A lot of people out there who
don’t know what an anarchist is might be an anarchist themselves. If
they look into it a bit, it’s more about creating an environment and
community where cooperation is essentially what keeps a community
running, not coercion.”

So, for example, instead of the Internal Revenue Service forcing payment
of taxes, people would contribute what’s needed of their own volition.
Law and order are the responsibility of every member of the community,
not authorities.

“Anarchy is based on mutual aid,” said Bara. “It’s very community based,
knowing who your neighbors are. ... Anarchy doesn’t mean chaos in the
streets, breaking windows, all these misconceptions. A lot of what we do
is community based. Everyone on an equal level with one another.”

Said Barry, “It isn’t about creating something big but making things
smaller, making communities smaller. Revolution should be the byproduct.”

A message on the two-party system

But with that feel-good message, why disrupt the RNC?

“The RNC used to be for nominating the candidate,” said Harold. “It’s
essentially a huge dog-and pony-show sponsored by some of the worst
corporations you could think of ... where lobbyists pay for access to
high-level politicians.”

The two-party system, a hierarchical structure, is antithetical to the
philosophy of anarchism, they say. It imposes the will of the majority
on everyone else instead of a consensus process that takes everyone’s
needs into account.

That’s why the anarchists are acting. “Direct action has been a part of
just about any effective political movement throughout history,” said
Harold. “We don’t think the political elite will stop if we ask nicely.

Whether the media’s frenzied speculation of mass violence and property
destruction will be realized remains to be seen, but the Welcoming
Committee is adamant that it’s not part of their plan. But delegates and
police can expect some major traffic hassles as the RNC gets into full
swing in a matter of days.

“It’s a huge forum to say what we want,” he said.

http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/article/2008/08/20/anarchists-are-coming-media-scare-tactics-unfounded-anti-rnc-groups-say.html