September 5th, 2008

I cover Alliance of the Libertarian Left activist William Gillis's contribution to the RNC Welcoming Committee press conference at leftlibertarian.org:

William’s willingness to personally speak out, not just against the brutal, self-destructive police state, but also as an unrepentant and bold advocate for anarchism at a time when adherents to that peaceful philosophy are being singled out as terrorists, is nothing short of heroic. We all owe William a debt of gratitude, for I’ve never felt more proud of my opposition to the criminals and serial sadists of the state as I did watching him speak.

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September 3rd, 2008

The Alliance wishes to convey it's unconditional support for the resistance against the fascist police state occurring in the twin cities. We wish we could be there, because we believe there are important lessons being learned on site about how the Seattle model has been rendered ineffective by the Miami model. Essentially, as I argue at my blog, we need to realize that protest is dead:

So if we’re in a police state now, what do we do? Obviously, there was a point at which the citizens of Germany in the ’30s gave up on speaking out. There was a point at which the Soviet citizens stopped protesting the Bolshevik treachery. Throughout history, people who found themselves under a totalitarian government had to face a terrible fact: that the modes of democratic society were no longer tenable.

But to admit to yourself the horrible truth, that we have lost our country, that is the truly difficult thing. Keep in mind, however, that it has always been through denial, self-deception, and lack of honesty on the part of the people that totalitarianism has gained a foothold. We must be courageous, pragmatic, and most of all careful. The rules have changed, and if we’re going to play this game we do well to use our time-outs to strategize, not simply to feel sorry for ourselves. In other words, as much as I hate to say it, we’re going to have to unlearn the bad habits of citizenship in a democratic republic.

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It’s time for the activist movement to modify their tactics to reflect the new environment. Flaunting our outrage in the hopes of media attention and citizen backlash has failed. Throwing our bodies on the gears of the machine has not slowed it, let alone stopped it. Protesting every violation of our rights just demonstrates in spades how vulnerable and dependent we are. Demonstrating and organizing just provide easy targets for agent provocateurs, infiltration, and extralegal, preemptive harassment.

What can we do in Richmond to move the resistance forward? The Alliance wants to hear from you on what the next steps are in the fight. Yes, it is a fight: if the uniformed thugs in Minneapolis have demonstrated anything, it is that normal civil society is a thing of the past. In a way, they have done us a favor by making their intentions so clear. Time to stop lamenting the police state and start resisting it.

For more information, check in with Twin Cities Indymedia for ongoing coverage. Also, listen to this week's program on Weekly Sedition - big ups to RVA's own Kontra for a thoroughly compelling show!

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