An Anarchist Critique of March 19th Anti-War Actions

By: crudo, D.A.A.A. Collective

For all intensive purposes, an anarchist presence engaged itself during an ANSWER organized rally on March 19th in San Francisco. The group of about 100, gathered with black flags, banners, and a sound system. Two forums were set up to discuss community based issues like the Muni Fare Hike, (several workers talked), and ongoing curfew and youth issues in Oakland. Large amounts of literature were given out, advertising the forum to protest goers, and also detailing what anarchism was and it’s relationship to the anti-war movement. The group of anarchists attempted to gather people for some sort of action by dancing through the main ANSWER rally, and were stopped and almost accosted, and then took to the streets. A breakaway march then followed, (not to be outdone, a bike bloc was also active), with several hundred people taking to the downtown area, evading police, snaking on and off of the sidewalk, and moving fast and without much problems from police. Eventually, around 9 people were arrested after sitting down in the middle of an intersection.

The following essay is a collection of thoughts and critiques of the past action, and some very simple thoughts of how things could be done better.

The first part of the day was the gathering of the anarchist contingent at the corner of Dolores park. Black Flags, (and red and black flags), flew against the fence, and people gathered and created a space to gather. A large sound system played hip hop, punk, and dance music, as Food Not Bombs served food. The music drew a good response, with several people enjoying Dead Prez, (as opposed to the ANSWER stage music). Large amounts of small quarter sheet flyers were handed out, detailing the upcoming forum at the next rally point, which would address the Muni Fare Hike, and other community based issues. Copies of a small pamphlet with information on anarchism, links to local and national websites, an anarchist critique of the war, and a large poster stencil were also passed out, (and was also in Spanish). All these were good things. Music, information, food, people. A winning combination.

Simple things can make a huge difference, however, and here are some ideas. Firstly, walking up and down the park, one could tell that most of the tables were dominated largely by bizzaro Marxist-Leninst/Maoist type sects. One had to carry a big stick to fend off the assaults of, “Socialist Worker?”, “No! No! Back to hell you demon spawn!!!”. The newspaper hawking also created a sense of being staked by anti-capitalist Mormons, bent on your joining league with them. Simple spreads of anarchist literature would have made a huge difference. Free, cheap, interesting, inviting, and provocative, anarchist literature invites many people in to talk to us about what we are about, and encourages them to consider anarchism as an alternative to the existing power structures. Free literature tables, (or simply on blankets and banners), helps to create a space of learning and giving. Also contributing to that space of giving would be Food Not Bombs. But, while Food Not Bombs feeding people was good on Saturday, the only people who seemed to be eating was the anarchist contingent. It’s good we get our fuel going before the march, but Food Not Bombs could have easily set up right next to the main walkway, and offered food to the large community. This sharing of food in a direct anarchist context, further allows more mutual aid and gift economy to flourish in an environment that reeks of boring leftism and authoritarianism. These simple additions could have helped to create a warm, interesting, and inviting anarchist contingent gathering space for other people who were interested or positive to anarchism and anti-authoritarianism.

After waiting for the march to start, we then took our place in the march. The sound system allowed chants to be done by one group of people, while another person had a chance to use the megaphone. This allowed the anarchist bloc to sound very loud, and also get a good response from its participants. The group generally marched well as a group, not going to fast, which is a problem usually. The music was nice, and got people moving and pumped up.

There were many things however that could have been done better on this section I thought though. Firstly, our banners generally seemed bland and uninteresting, even compared to some of the ANSWER and socialist stuff. I also think that the “black bloc” appearance hurt us as well, as it was also mentioned on indybay.org by various posters. It’s easy to understand why people generally don’t want to be involved with the anarchists, largely because we look uninviting and stupid a lot of the time. Marching down Mission Street, being lead by ANSWER, is not the time to be blocked up, in full black, and with masks. Anarcho-punks also made the group look often like a big circle pit, and I think generally need to re-consider their appearance at protests. What is the point of blocking up when you have spikes and patches all over you? Do you really think the cops aren’t going to be able to pick you out of a crowd? Also, as far as outreach and pulling others into the march, the socialists and Leninists had us beat. No literature was distributed, and no attempt was made to make connections with people along the way. Simple things like Anarchist Marching Bands, Food Not Bombs bike carts, and Radical Cheerleaders all could have added to a general feeling of anarchist celebration and resistance. I think we need to look critically at each aspect of how we engage in protest, and think about how we go about doing things. There is a time and place for militant protest, and there is a time and place for breakaway marches. However, how can we expect people to simply chant and engage with us if we are outputting to the point of creating barriers. We also need to create a space where all people who have anarchist and anti-authoritarian stances can come together. Black Bloc is not the end all anarchist grouping, it is a tactic created by people for a certain tactical result.

At the second rally point a “general assembly” form was set up. The sound system was once again used to discuss various community issues. Several local workers discussed the Muni Fare Hike, and several others discussed situations going on in Oakland in regards to curfews, etc. I was pleased to see that many people who were listening to the ANSWER speakers came over and listened to the anarchist assembly and stayed to hear what was going on. Several posters on indybay.org have stated that perhaps the rally point could have been somewhere else to allow for better to hear the speakers better, but I believe that organizers did a pretty good job in this arena. Literature again, could have been a great thing to have. The IWW held it down against a sea of boring crap, as the only group resembling an anti-authoritarian perspective, (seriously, there’s a group called the ‘International Bolshevik Tendency”), and anarchist literature would have been well received. Food Not Bombs, or simply bags of dumpstered food, (where was that one guy who usually shows up with free dumpstered stuff?), could have also presented people with a free alternative to the various vendors. Also, the continued “black bloc” attire drew lots of police presence, (although I think that anything that reeks of anarchy will do this, no matter what it looks like), and possibly scared some people away. These are all things we need to consider.

With the general assembly over, we now had to decide what we were going to do with the rest of the day. It was decided that we were going to try and have a dance party while marching through the main ANSWER segment, (if you haven’t been to an ANSWER rally basically people gather in a main lawn segment and listen to speakers), and then try and build our numbers. While moving the sound system, hip hop played, and almost automatically, a lot of young people, (mostly of color), started getting excited and started dancing. As we got closer to the main part of the ANSWER stage, I, (and other people), were almost attacked by ANSWER supporters. Two guys were in my face screaming, yelling, and cursing me out. I made it clear to one guy that he was in dire need of settling his fucking kettle, and told him that if he wanted me to move that first he had to get out of my way. We then did basically a U space, going to the end of the park, and then back up to where we started, dancing all the way. We then spilled out into the front of the street, and people again began to dance. The crowd made its way, (very organically), to the start of the blocked off street were the police were. Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name Of”, came on, and people went off. Suddenly with a burst of energy the bloc, which by now contained a lot of ordinary people that were leaving the ANSWER protest, ran straight towards Market Street. Some people picked up barriers and metal barricades, throwing them into the street and at police officers. The bloc then made its way into the street with surprising speed. The music was still going, but was lagging behind because of the speed of the march. The police largely had to work to keep up, although soon would be on top of the situation. From then, the bloc snaked up and down various streets, and was able to escape the police time and time again. When police looked like they were closing in on a certain group, the bloc would go to the sidewalk but would not stop marching. Police having the group on the sidewalk generally could do nothing. Then the bloc would run again into another street in a new direction, and the process would begin again. People on the opposite sides of the street also flanked the others, and would spill into the march, and then back onto the sidewalk. Police units of motorcycles and a paddy wagon were roaming around, but never really where in a position to contain all of the marchers. In the end, the sound system, (although turned off), was taken, and 9 people were arrested while sitting in the middle of an intersection. It must be noted that I think that the group showed an impressive amount of speed and ability to evade police and kept the protest moving. The tactic of moving, running, etc, in and off the street and side walk should be considered for future actions.

The breakaway march on the 19th happened very organically and without any planning, but I think it presents us with a few things to think about. Firstly, what is a successful un-permitted action? Was this one? What were we really trying to accomplish, did we accomplish anything? Many people think that going on Market Street is a good tactic, however, I’m skeptical. Firstly, the large stores that sell things by and large get their business from walk ins, not from people driving. While shutting down the street may hurt the Market Street economy in a very small way, the action in itself is more symbolic I would say than anything else. Shutting down the city however is, I think, a legitimate goal. If the war is an extension of the capitalist systems drive to own and control resources, workers, people, and markets, then stopping the ability of the local extension of the capitalist system from functioning here will make it harder for it’s tentacles of imperialism and occupation to function elsewhere. If this is the goal, then “shutting down” a city is a worthwhile tactic, and to some extent the breakaway march on the 19th did do that to the best of its ability with the people that it had. If this is the goal however, direct action minded activists need to think seriously about the way in which they go about disrupting the functioning of cities. Going into detail here is pretty pointless, but the point to be made simply is that understanding various streets and places that allow for traffic and people flow is crucial if one’s goal is to “shut the city down”.

Other goals of un-permitted marches are to simply “keep the protest going”, and to take a militant revolutionary protest feel out into the streets. Militant street protest can also send a message to elites that anger is so great in the population, that people are willing to engage militancy in street protest. Another possible tactic is to focus the un-permitted protest towards some type of institution or thing. A recruiting station, a corporation that profits from the war, a political party office, etc, are all possible targets that can direct that attention of a breakaway. These targets need to be on the radar of militants, who need keep these things in mind and bring them up to the larger group. Research before going to a protest is crucial, and can help build plans for direct action.

The breakaway march on the 19th was not directed at one specific institution or aimed generally at shutting down the city, but was instead a spontaneous organic outburst of desire to take to the streets of the city and keep the protest going. Such actions are fine, and are better than sitting around doing nothing and listening to ANSWER speakers, but I think a few points can be made. Firstly, engaging repeatedly in types of un-permitted actions like what happened on the 19th will not get us that far, and if they only perpetuate themselves without change, we run the risk of becoming as stale and stupid as the Stalinists and Leninists we mock. Actions like the one on Saturday although may be rightfully done, help solidify in many people’s minds an idea that the black bloc and anarchists generally have no analysis of the current global and regional situations, and are there generally to “fuck up shit”, and ruin the space for other activists. Focusing our rage on certain specific entities I think can help to over come this misconception, and also gain more people interested in taking militant action. A largely successful action would have been around Army recruitment, with many youths attending the protest there in defiance against the military on campus, and also in the light of recent anarchist lead attacks against army recruitment centers. These are just ideas however, and also exist within the context of the amount of people that are there to engage in doing action.

Militant direct protest offers a possibly dangerous, (to activists), alternative, but ultimately more effective one than reformist march/rally/march/rally. Many people know that action must be taken against large hierarchal structures, and that these institutions will not change, much less abolish themselves by will of their own. A struggle and one that will use confrontation is needed to challenge, and ultimately destroy these existing power structures in order for something else to take its place. As revolutionaries who supposedly want social revolution, we must take this business seriously, and in a context and mind-frame that we intend to win. We can’t treat this movement and our interaction within it as just another stop on a train hopping travel, just another Against Me! show, or simply an opportunity to become the people we see in black in out activist videos. Also, if we are going to except the banner of “post-left”, or at least be in opposition to the current leading left organizations that are organizing events, we must step up to the plate an offer an alternative that invites others to our position, or better yet gives them the skills to organize, revolt, and work with us as we dismantle and build. Running through the streets might be fun, exciting, and bold, but ultimately if we are running through them simply for the high, and not towards the dawn of a new world, then it’s all for nothing.

To re-cap, here are some general thoughts and conclusions:

1.) Creating an inviting anarchist and anti-authoritarian environment for people at large protests is important if we want to engage other protest goers into working with us, or perhaps joining us. Many young people coming into large struggles are influence by anarchist writers and movements, and are interested in anarchism, however often see the anarchist movement as a “scene”, and therefore feel unwelcome. Free literature and lots of it is important. Literature from a wide variety of anarchist and anti-authoritarian perspectives is also important, as to not let anarchism appear to be just another secretarian form of political through, but a large, wide movement. Feelings of giving, cooperation, and gift economy need to be created, this can be done through making signs and banners on the spot, including local struggle and their connections with bigger themes into our critique, and also providing basic services for free like food (not bombs), water, massage, etc.
2.) When not engaging in illegal forms of protest, (i.e. not breakaway marches, etc), anarchist contingents need to drop the black bloc form of protest. Anarcho-punks need to consider their dress not only in relationship to police IDing them, but also to how they will be perceived by larger audiences. Black blocs often give people the impression that they are the only cohesive group of anarchists at protests, while a wider more broad groupings of anarchists can create a much different feel. Our banners, and other forms of communication, (including chants), need to reflect this openness. Music helps to break the barriers with people, and create a feeling of happiness while resisting.
3.) Permitted anarchist street protest can give us an opportunity to create a roving carnival of gift economy and mutual aid. Food Not Bombs doing roving feeds, free literature being given out, etc, can all help to build this. Groups of radical queers dancing, radical cheerleaders leading chants, anarchist marching bands etc, and whole hosts of other groups can also add to this by bringing in various aspects that other groups can’t. This is also part of building, (during permitted marches), and sense of broader anarchist involvement that will allow more people to become interested in anarchy, and hopefully connect with us.
4.) When being critical of ANSWER, the RCP, and other groups, we should be at the same time willing to offer up another alternative. If ANSWER didn’t buy the permits and organize the rallies, what would be done in their place? How do we intend to stop the war? Propaganda directed at this subject should be distributed by anarchists, as to help explain our criticism of ANSWER, etc.
5.) We must take militant street protest seriously, and not treat it as an opportunity to simply run around and evade the police, (who generally are a side issue). If our goal is to actually change things through direct action, we need to seriously think about how we can engage directly and effect things. Repeated tactics are not acceptable, and people need to constantly be thinking of new plans, targets, and ideas. People must stop attending actions waiting for the “black bloc”, and for the “breakaway”. Instead, people need to actively be thinking about how THEY and their affinity groups are going to engage, or at least help in doing a certain actions.