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Dan Clore
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 Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 3:39 am Post subject: "Group Aims to Cause DNC Chaos" |
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News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
[Readers should bear in mind that mainstream mass media often
misrepresent anarchists. Also, there seems to be some kind of law
against giving URLs for websites mentioned in news articles.--DC]
http://tinyurl.com/6ygram
democratic national convention
Group aims to cause DNC chaos
By Jeremy P. Meyer
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 07/11/2008 10:17:04 AM MDT
In Denver this weekend, a group of anarchists who have pledged to
disrupt the Democratic National Convention will hold a secret action
camp to learn about medical training and legal rights and to practice
nonviolent tactics.
"We don't want history to remember the Democratic National Convention in
Denver as something that went smoothly," said Tim Simons with the
self-described anarchist group, Unconventional Denver.
"We want people to know there was dissent and people spoke up," he said.
In the meantime, local governments in the region are inking contracts to
send hundreds of law enforcement officers into Denver during the last
week of August to work the convention.
Aurora will send nearly half its force to Denver, Jefferson County will
ship more than 100 deputies and Arapahoe County is expecting to add 100.
Dozens of other agencies are sending officers: Colorado State Patrol,
Arvada, Wheat Ridge, Englewood, Littleton, Colorado Springs, El Paso
County, Douglas County and many others.
"We want to make sure we are adequately staffed for the number of people
who are going to be here," said Sonny Jackson, a Denver police
spokesman. He would not disclose what agencies will be participating or
how many officers are expected.
"We respect everyone's First Amendment rights," Jackson said. "We hope
that the citizens will come in and conduct themselves in a law-abiding
and responsible manner."
With the contingent of local officers and federal agents and the money
being spent on security from a $50 million federal grant, protesters
worry about possible outcomes.
"The police are gearing up for confrontation," said Glenn Spagnuolo,
organizer with the protest group Re-create 68. "Police are getting
dressed up for a fight, and if there isn't one, they will create one."
He said he has not heard of any of the protest groups planning violence
against the police or citizens.
Plan for disruption
Numerous anti-war groups have announced their intention to demonstrate
in Denver during the Aug. 25-28 convention, but most have promised
peaceful actions. The language of the anarchist groups is more
confrontational. Unconventional Denver is part of a national group of
anarchists planning to descend on Denver.
The group says it will engage in nonviolent direct action and has called
for protesters "to engage in a broad variety of tactics to disrupt
fundraising events and prevent Democratic delegates from putting on the
spectacle they claim as democracy," according to the group's website.
Unconventional Denver wants to shut down, disrupt or delay the
convention; storm events; and "ensure that the DNC is a thing of rowdy
beauty."
The website suggests activists "hold" intersections to strand delegates
in buses and "swarm" streets to force police to retreat.
The group has posted a schedule of events for certain days:
Sunday, the group wants to reclaim public space in the city. Monday,
there will be actions against parties or restaurant outings and a "black
bloc" gathering against capitalism. Tuesday, the group wants to shut
down access to the Pepsi Center. And Wednesday and Thursday, there will
be "creative actions" to address specific issues such as global warming,
racism and criminal injustice.
"The streets will be a wild and creative place," said Simons, a
25-year-old graphic artist who grew up in Boulder and lives in San
Francisco.
Simons is helping organize Denver's group, which meets weekly at a
Colfax Avenue coffee shop. He wouldn't disclose the size of the group.
For six days starting Saturday, they will meet at an undisclosed
location to discuss actions and learn how to tend to one another's
medical needs and how to legally monitor the police reactions.
Simons says there will be street theater, "guerrilla gardening" and ways
for alternative forms of media to get out their message.
A group called the Colorado Street Medics will be on hand throughout the
protests to provide immediate medical service, said Zoe Williams, who is
coordinating the expected 120 volunteer street medics.
"We don't want to see a dark, evil atmosphere descending on Denver,"
Simons said. "We want a festive atmosphere that celebrates grassroots
movements."
History of violence
Yet, historically, law enforcement officials have blamed anarchists for
violence in protests.
In 2003, Colorado Springs Police Chief Luis Velez said, officers used
tear gas on war protesters after anarchists from Denver disrupted the
peaceful rally with violent acts -- blocking an intersection and banging
on cars.
Anarchists took center stage in Seattle during the 1999 World Trade
Organization meeting, when protesters smashed shop windows and police
shot tear gas and rubber bullets. The National Guard and state patrol
were called in to quell the chaos.
"I was there," said Simons, who blamed police force for the trouble. "We
were standing up for democracy."
Simons said the real message of what people want will not be heard in
the Pepsi Center or in the Democratic Party's platform; it will come
from what is being said in the streets.
"Politicians and the people in power should be afraid of the power of
the people," he said. "That is the sign of a healthy democracy."
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com
--
Dan Clore
My collected fiction: _The Unspeakable and Others_
http://tinyurl.com/2gcoqt
Lord We˙rdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
http://tinyurl.com/292yz9
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
Skipper: Professor, will you tell these people who is
in charge on this island?
Professor: Why, no one.
Skipper: No one?
Thurston Howell III: No one? Good heavens, this is anarchy!
-- _Gilligan's Island_, episode #6, "President Gilligan" |
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| Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 3:39 am Post subject: Re: "Group Aims to Cause DNC Chaos" |
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On Jul 11, 6:39 pm, Dan Clore <cl...@columbia-center.org> wrote:
| Quote: |
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
[Readers should bear in mind that mainstream mass media often
misrepresent anarchists. Also, there seems to be some kind of law
against giving URLs for websites mentioned in news articles.--DC]
http://tinyurl.com/6ygram
democratic national convention
Group aims to cause DNC chaos
By Jeremy P. Meyer
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 07/11/2008 10:17:04 AM MDT
In Denver this weekend, a group of anarchists who have pledged to
disrupt the Democratic National Convention will hold a secret action
camp to learn about medical training and legal rights and to practice
nonviolent tactics.
"We don't want history to remember the Democratic National Convention in
Denver as something that went smoothly," said Tim Simons with the
self-described anarchist group, Unconventional Denver.
"We want people to know there was dissent and people spoke up," he said.
In the meantime, local governments in the region are inking contracts to
send hundreds of law enforcement officers into Denver during the last
week of August to work the convention.
Aurora will send nearly half its force to Denver, Jefferson County will
ship more than 100 deputies and Arapahoe County is expecting to add 100.
Dozens of other agencies are sending officers: Colorado State Patrol,
Arvada, Wheat Ridge, Englewood, Littleton, Colorado Springs, El Paso
County, Douglas County and many others.
"We want to make sure we are adequately staffed for the number of people
who are going to be here," said Sonny Jackson, a Denver police
spokesman. He would not disclose what agencies will be participating or
how many officers are expected.
"We respect everyone's First Amendment rights," Jackson said. "We hope
that the citizens will come in and conduct themselves in a law-abiding
and responsible manner."
With the contingent of local officers and federal agents and the money
being spent on security from a $50 million federal grant, protesters
worry about possible outcomes.
"The police are gearing up for confrontation," said Glenn Spagnuolo,
organizer with the protest group Re-create 68. "Police are getting
dressed up for a fight, and if there isn't one, they will create one."
He said he has not heard of any of the protest groups planning violence
against the police or citizens.
Plan for disruption
Numerous anti-war groups have announced their intention to demonstrate
in Denver during the Aug. 25-28 convention, but most have promised
peaceful actions. The language of the anarchist groups is more
confrontational. Unconventional Denver is part of a national group of
anarchists planning to descend on Denver.
The group says it will engage in nonviolent direct action and has called
for protesters "to engage in a broad variety of tactics to disrupt
fundraising events and prevent Democratic delegates from putting on the
spectacle they claim as democracy," according to the group's website.
Unconventional Denver wants to shut down, disrupt or delay the
convention; storm events; and "ensure that the DNC is a thing of rowdy
beauty."
The website suggests activists "hold" intersections to strand delegates
in buses and "swarm" streets to force police to retreat.
The group has posted a schedule of events for certain days:
Sunday, the group wants to reclaim public space in the city. Monday,
there will be actions against parties or restaurant outings and a "black
bloc" gathering against capitalism. Tuesday, the group wants to shut
down access to the Pepsi Center. And Wednesday and Thursday, there will
be "creative actions" to address specific issues such as global warming,
racism and criminal injustice.
"The streets will be a wild and creative place," said Simons, a
25-year-old graphic artist who grew up in Boulder and lives in San
Francisco.
Simons is helping organize Denver's group, which meets weekly at a
Colfax Avenue coffee shop. He wouldn't disclose the size of the group.
For six days starting Saturday, they will meet at an undisclosed
location to discuss actions and learn how to tend to one another's
medical needs and how to legally monitor the police reactions.
Simons says there will be street theater, "guerrilla gardening" and ways
for alternative forms of media to get out their message.
A group called the Colorado Street Medics will be on hand throughout the
protests to provide immediate medical service, said Zoe Williams, who is
coordinating the expected 120 volunteer street medics.
"We don't want to see a dark, evil atmosphere descending on Denver,"
Simons said. "We want a festive atmosphere that celebrates grassroots
movements."
History of violence
Yet, historically, law enforcement officials have blamed anarchists for
violence in protests.
In 2003, Colorado Springs Police Chief Luis Velez said, officers used
tear gas on war protesters after anarchists from Denver disrupted the
peaceful rally with violent acts -- blocking an intersection and banging
on cars.
Anarchists took center stage in Seattle during the 1999 World Trade
Organization meeting, when protesters smashed shop windows and police
shot tear gas and rubber bullets. The National Guard and state patrol
were called in to quell the chaos.
"I was there," said Simons, who blamed police force for the trouble. "We
were standing up for democracy."
Simons said the real message of what people want will not be heard in
the Pepsi Center or in the Democratic Party's platform; it will come
from what is being said in the streets.
"Politicians and the people in power should be afraid of the power of
the people," he said. "That is the sign of a healthy democracy."
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpme...@denverpost.com
--
Dan Clore
My collected fiction: _The Unspeakable and Others_http://tinyurl.com/2gcoqt
Lord We˙rdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:http://tinyurl.com/292yz9
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
Skipper: Professor, will you tell these people who is
in charge on this island?
Professor: Why, no one.
Skipper: No one?
Thurston Howell III: No one? Good heavens, this is anarchy!
-- _Gilligan's Island_, episode #6, "President Gilligan"
|
I can't say I think much of such tactics. I was around in 1968 when
there was a riot at the DNC, and all it seemed to do was get Nixon
elected. |
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