To Hell with Good Intentions
“Next to money and guns, the third largest North American export is the U.S. idealist, who turns up in every theater of the world: the teacher, the volunteer, the missionary, the community organizer, the economic developer, and the vacationing do-gooders. Ideally, these people define their role as service. Actually, they frequently wind up alleviating the damage done by money and weapons, or “seducing” the “underdeveloped” to the benefits of the world of affluence and achievement. Perhaps this is the moment to instead bring home to the people of the U.S. the knowledge that the way of life they have chosen simply is not alive enough to be shared.” – Ivan Illich, “To Hell With Good Intentions”
“We must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men.” –Boondock Saints
We are rapidly approaching the Republican National Convention. Groups are packing community centers for public meetings, and living rooms for affinity meetings. Trainings in direct action, legal observation, and street medicine will begin shortly, if they have not already begun.
And just as we prepare, so are the city of St. Paul, the St. Paul Police, and right-wingers. Nothing to be surprised about: the city has long been trying to shut down protest in the city to keep open the orgy of corporate money, pollution, and war crimes, and the SPPD has been all too complacent in assisting in this, stocking up on tasers and other lethal weaponry. And right-wingers and military supporters (although surprisingly not vets) are talking hard about beating, jailing, and killing “extremists” and “protesters.” Such evidence can be seen in a Star Tribune article detailing STP’s propaganda campaign against protest, which includes a clear effort to dehumanize and marginalize protesters, so that–at least in the public eye–police won’t really be gassing or killing real people when they inevitably attempt to do so. Just check out the comments section, where there are clear calls for violence against protesters.
The ironic thing is that those who will be instigating the violence, destroying property and lives side by side, are not those mysterious black-clad hooligans, but rather those who continue to believe the lie that they are agents of peace: yes, the police.
But the real threat that we, the “radical” “fringe” “extremists” on the “left” face (radical: getting to the roots of the problems we face, rather than playing petty politics; fringe: operating outside of a corrupt and sick society that values money over life; extremist: extreme poverty and catastrophe merit extreme measures) is really others within the “left” as it is defined in this country. Before explaining why they contribute more towards our imminent collapse more than to its alleviation, let me talk about the protest itself.
September 1-4, the Republican National Convention will be held in St. Paul, MN. There is a three-tier, three zone strategy in place with the goal of preventing the convention itself from happening, much less the coronation of King John. The tiers represent a hierarchy of escalation, meeting primary goals then rising according to capacity and strength. The zones, meanwhile, permit a separation of time or space, to give all who are needing to protest an opportunity to do so in line with their comfort levels, without restricting the ability of others to do the same. Thus, it lets black bloc actions happen simultaneously with the peace march, while (hopefully) escaping the infighting which happened in Seattle, where protesters devote more energy to doing the jobs of the police, rather than spending that effort confronting power holders. This is part of what I will talk about later.
We have faced assault after assault over the past 8 years (well, since time immemorial, but who’s counting?). War has implicitly been declared against us–the left, the students, the poor, the women and queers, the workers and farmers–and every action taken by the current administration can be seen as an attack, an act of war. We are tired of being assaulted as such, we are tired of being jailed, starved, robbed, and injured. On September 1, we have a chance to stand up, and in the style of the Zapatistas, say “YA BASTA! Enough is enough!”
Many will show up to “protest,” to practice their “right to free speech.” We will not. We come out of self defense, both of ourselves and of our world, and of our neighbors all over this beautiful planet. The feeling of entitlement to speak freely and protest smacks of ignorance and naivety of the daily struggles of most people in our own country, who face a denial of both in their daily lives–people of all colors, women, gays, lesbians, queers, and transfolk, the poor, workers, and farmers: any of us who lack a voice in our everyday environments, who lack the freedom to be who we are in public without facing violence, who lack democracy in their jobsites. And this “right” to free speech also pivots around a faith in the Consitution, and in law and order, and in the state, which we really know are just tools to be used against us at the convenience of the holders of economic and political power in this country. Thus, we should not be so incessant about our rights as Americans, because those rights are merely carrots to lead us around the circular track of complacency. Rather, we should not be afraid to act in our own defense, and denounce those who abuse us, even from outside the bounds of their law. We should feel no remorse at confronting them in their offices, at their homes, in their streets, at their conventions, for they felt no similar remorse when they enslaved us, raped or beat us, or stole our lands and livelihoods.
This brings me to the point which I intended to make. As you can view in that same comment sections, or anywhere where there is discussion of direct action, you will encounter a holier-than-thou, morally-superior attitude amongst those Obamaniacs and self-proclaimed “progressives”, who support that false “right” to protest, but apparently will go out of their way to deride those who choose other forms of protest. We do not condone, obviously, the killing of cops or others, for they are workers too, with families. Yet we also do not expend more energy selling out those who are more radical, with the purpose of crowning ourselves heir to the left base. This is why the Democratic Party suffers the poverty and spinelessness it does now; it and its moderate supporters have been more than willing to dance with the devil, working with the real opposition to decapitate anarchists, communists, socialists, and all those who more legitimately represent their captured base. They claim to be the left, while sitting on thrones of trust funds and mansions; really, they are the bourgeoisie, opportunists and power-grabbers each and every one.
Additionally, their power-preserving doctrine has created the sins of “partisanship” and “divisiveness.” In short, they want everyone to be on the same side–that of the bourgeoisie. They know that if there are battle lines drawn, the artificial left/right divide will morph from what it is now (split over gun laws and abortion) and will become a real class division. Obviously, a united working class is dangerous (more dangerous than the currently united exploiting class).
We are expected to act civilized and as gentlemen; we have never been treated as such. We are the wretched of the earth, the filth, the producers of all wealth yet the receivers of none. Everything for everyone and nothing for ourselves. Such an outlandish suggestion is perpetuated by those same elites that claim to be our allies yet seek only our domination. The lines have already been drawn, my friends, those very same lines which we are supposed to ignore, by the bourgeoisie itself. It has declared war long ago, and it is time to respond in kind.
Most troubling is the pseudo-moral, voluntary capitulation and pacifism of the middle class. It is widely thought that allowing yourself to be brutalized, even killed, is the most effective way to bring social change. I won’t talk about this in-depth; instead I will recommend Peter Gelderloos’ “How Nonviolence Protects the State” and Ward Churchill’s (despite other controversies) “Pacifism as Pathology.” For the people who promote such an absurd idea are not the ones being beaten and jailed, but rather those already abused and exploited–allowing yourself to be victimized more will clearly not win anything. And such a strategy relies on paternalism: that powerful white males will see this and be converted, and then support them from their ivory towers and trust fund thrones. NO! Only by acting in self-defense can the exploited, the wretched gain empowerment, and even conceivably gain victory and equality. Such strategies, as employed in the past, have resulted in the whole-sale slaughter of radicals, while civil rights leaders sold out their base and delivered them to the wolves in liberals’ clothing.
In the context of this convention, no protest or display, no matter how victimizing, will convert Republicans. We are not there to convert, we are there to protect ourselves. We do not target hearts, we target bodies. This is not doublespeak for violence; we are merely physically shutting down the convention, and prohibiting business as usual. We recognize that in all actuality business will go on; but we strive for a performance that empowers others to action, that shows our strength and creates space for others to feel power over their own lives.
This manufactured fear of divisiveness and partisanship protect the rights of the elite over the rights of the rest. That delegates, war criminals and executives have the right to meet over our right to protest is elitist to the base. Perhaps it is good intentions; but as I said before, rights are not universally applied. Just as we have never had true freedom of speech, we should not be so preoccupied with protecting the supposed freedoms of our oppressors, especially when that speech results in a global genocide.
So I say, to hell with good intentions, to hell with non-partisanship and unity, for these things are myths, they are privileges which are not meant to benefit us. Let us be as divisive and anti-partisan as possible! The elites of the party are our enemies, plain and simple, for they only see us as animals to exploit and dominate. I’ll repeat, they are our ENEMIES, and should be thought of as such, for they already treat us accordingly.
An ode to the folks in black
We dressed all in black, so that we could be free to act as individuals;
We covered our faces, so that we could be seen for who we truly are;
We carried spray cans and bricks, so that we could finally tell our side of the story;
and We organized, so that we could be strong and win!
From Behind the Orange Curtain 