Come to Wilcox Park on July 12th to learn different Skills and Tactics needed for any Demonstration or protest

Schedule

* 12:00 PM - Vegan potluck in the Park - Bring a dish to pass for a pre-workshop lunch

* 1:00 - Protest 101 - Learn the basics of how to organize a protest!

* 1:45 - Creative Protest - Radical Cheerleading, street theater, & more!

* 2:30 - Health And Safety - What to wear, bring, and how to stay safe at a demonstration

* 3:15 - Legal - How to deal with law enforcement

* 4:00 - Black Blocs - Find out what a black bloc is and different black bloc tactics

* 4:45 - Lockdowns and Blockades - How to stop business as usual using different techniques

ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS) has endorsed a call to action urging chapters affiliated with Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) to participate in direct actions aimed at disrupting the Democratic National Convention (DNC) this summer in Denver.

From the call:

If we, as a radical movement, are going to attempt to pressure the Democratic Party candidates, the time to do so is before they are elected. We can’t roll over and wait until they are in office. But on the other hand, if we, as a radical movement, seek to utilize direct action to bypass the mechanisms and apparatus of the State, opting in stead to actively (re)create and establish viable, sustainable, decentralized, localized, horizontal, and participatory modes of communal self-governance, we must also challenge the Democrats, sending the message that in pressuring them, we are in no way endorsing or legitimizing their power, authority, or rule. In fact, we seek to abolish it, as well as all other coercive mechanisms of the State. If we think a movement can exist out of electoral politics, then we must reclaim the mantel of dissent. With these things in mind, we have several questions for the Democrats, as well as for ourselves:

* If voters gave control of Congress to Democrats in 2006–rather explicitly (and belatedly) due to dissatisfaction with the Iraq war–why is the United States still in Iraq?

* Why is it that none of the presidential candidates (Democratic Party or otherwise) pay any attention to polls of people in the country the U.S. has made such a mess of, in which overwhelming proportions of the people simply want the U.S. out, now?

* How are any of the elites in the U.S. political mainstream demonstrating any respect for “democracy” when they ignore the opinions not only of their own constituents but of the people who are most directly affected? Who, of these elites, can we acquit of war crimes? And how, if we offer support to any of these elites, do we escape complicity with these war crimes ourselves?

* By resisting (or refusing to participate in) the limiting mechanisms of the electoral process, do we, through inaction, effectively condone war crimes by failing to do everything we can to stop them? Or is it that by refusing to engage in concerted direct action (and failing to recognize that the political mechanisms of the State are both ineffectual and illegitimate), we, through inaction, are effectively complicit in war crimes by failing to do everything we can to stop them?

Across the country, groups have been talking–and talking seriously–about disrupting the DNC by means of direct action. The DNC–like the RNC–is shaping up to be an event that we won’t want to miss. But unlike the RNC, the DNC gives us the additional opportunity of saying NO to the narrow (two party monopoly) options provided by the State. We feel that the DNC is equally as important as the RNC, as neither party represents the people. We also feel that if there is no radical presence at the DNC, radicals at the RNC appear to be supporting the Democrats, when in fact we oppose the whole system. In the face of the last eight years, let us not forget the prior eight year Democratic presidency of Bill Clinton, which brought us NAFTA, 500,000 dead Iraqis, welfare reform, militarization of the US-Mexico border, etc.

Read the full call to action.

ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS) will be giving a presentation on the upcoming protests at the Republican National Convention (RNC) taking place in late summer at the Bloom Collective on June 18. The presentation will use images and footage to detail the history of mass protests in North America, provide information on strategies and tactics that will be used to protest the convention, and provide information on how you or your group can get involved.

June 18 - 7pm
The Bloom Collective (1134 Wealthy St SE)

On May 14, members of ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS) distributed 1,000 leaflets at a campaign rally held by Illinois Senator and Democratic Party presidential candidate Barack Obama in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Obama has campaigned as an opponent of the Iraq War and has said that he will “end the war.” However, he has no intention of ending the Iraq War. Obama calls for the “withdrawal” of “combat troops” (a classification that is never defined) over a 16-month period that will go into 2009. Obama has said that he will keep a residual force either in Iraq or “in the region” to attack “al-Qaeda” and protect diplomatic and military installations. Estimates from people within and outside of the Obama campaign suggest that this residual force could be as high as 60,000-80,000. Furthermore, as the attention focused on Blackwater has shown us–the US occupation depends on military contractors. However, Obama has refused to rule out their continued use in Iraq. So, what is Obama’s Iraq policy? It is the continued occupation of Iraq.

Our leaflet read:

IRAQ: WE NEED A CHANGE!

The numbers speak for themselves…

-Over 1 million dead Iraqis &
over 4 million displaced
-Over 4,000 US dead & 30,000 wounded
-Over $519 billion spent on the war

Obama wants us to hope for change, to believe that there can be peace…

According to his plan:

-The withdrawal would include only “combat troops”–a classification that is never defined and would happen gradually throughout 2009.

-”American troops may remain in Iraq or the region” and the troops will “protect American diplomatic and military personnel in Iraq, and continue striking at al Qaeda in Iraq.”

-There’s nothing about withdrawing contractors such as Blackwater from Iraq and he has refused to rule out their continued use in Iraq.

-Obama has also declined to say specifically how many troops would remain in Iraq under his plan, nor has he announced a timetable for the withdrawal of all troops, combat or not.

Let’s make sure the US GETS OUT NOW!

Support an immediate withdrawal,
which is supported by a majority of Iraqis
and an increasing number of US troops.

IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL means:
NO benchmarks or conditions,
NO US military bases,
NO troops, and NO advisors.

Only we can make the change!
Let’s make it NOW!

It is important that the antiwar movement not be fooled–Obama will not end the war, nor will any politician. Our power lies in the streets and at the grassroots, we can pressure elected officials, but once we put our faith in them and our energy in getting them elected–we have lost.

A Note on Timing: Some of our allies in the antiwar movement have suggested that the time to pressure candidates is after the election and have argued that right now, we need to focus all of our efforts on getting Obama elected. However, while we know that none of the presidential candidates will end the Iraq War, we also know that they will certainly not do so if the antiwar movement acquiesces and makes no demands of candidates seeking office. If we don’t pressure candidates now, we can be certain that once they are in office they will ignore our demands.

Unconventional Michigan presents:

Shutting down the RNC: Michigan Consulta!

For about a year, groups across the nation have been organizing mass resistance to the Republican National Convention (September 1-4th) in Minneapolis/St. Paul. One of these groups is Unconventional Michigan; a state wide group getting people excited and prepared to go to the Twin Cities with the purpose of shutting down the RNC. In order to accurately prepare, inform, and hype folks up Unconventional Michigan is planning a one day consulta comprised of many workshops such as:

Independent Media
Legal and Medical Support
Blockades
Plugging into Actions

The consulta will be on Saturday June 14th at the Northstar Center:
106 Lathrop St. Lansing MI 48912.

Registration starts at 9AM!

A $5 dollar donation is suggested

For more information, visit:

http://uamichigan.wordpress.com

Tuesday, May 20 — 6pm
GVSU Pew Campus (Downtown GR)
Building C — Group meeting room

ACTIVATE will be holding a meeting for new members (and old members) next Tuesday (May 20) at 6pm at Grand Valley’s Pew Campus downtown. It will be in Building C in one of the group meeting rooms. We will give a brief recap of past activities and then discuss plans for the summer, including activist workshops and protesting the upcoming party conventions (RNC & DNC). Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, April 30 - 7:00pm
The DAAC (115 S. Division Ave)
$2 suggested donation

What would you do if America was invaded? Meeting Resistance raises the veil of anonymity surrounding the Iraqi insurgency by meeting face to face with individuals who are passionately engaged in the struggle, and documenting for the very first time, the sentiments experienced and actions taken by a nation’s citizens when their homeland is occupied. Voices that have previously not been heard, male and female, speak candidly about their motivations, hopes and goals, revealing a missing perspective from the Iraq War.

Following the film there will be a brief presentation by ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS) about antiwar organizing in Grand Rapids.

A trailer for the film:

The event is sponsored by The Bloom Collective and Mediamouse.org.

Over the next several months, ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS) will be devoting a considerable amount of our time and resources towards organizing opposition to the 2008 Republican National Convention (RNC) and Democratic National Convention (DNC).* We believe that the political conventions–the DNC in Denver and the RNC in the Twin Cities–offer tremendous opportunities to not only succeed on the national level, but also to strengthen our organizing here in Grand Rapids. Our resistance to the conventions grows out of our antiwar work over the past two years and our understanding that electoral politics will not bring about the systemic changes needed to prevent future wars and dismantle the systems of oppression (racism, patriarchy, capitalism) that keep us in chains (For more on our view of electoral politics, see: http://www.activategr.org/statements/2008-elections/).

ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS) has already started to organize against the political conventions. We have endorsed the direct action strategies for both conventions and have attended various meetings planning for the conventions across the country. We have developed and delivered a presentation explaining the plans for the conventions. We have circulated a call to action within Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) calling for participation in the direct action effort to shut down the RNC and have participated in organizing against the RNC within SDS. We have also been involved in organizing with activists around Michigan as a part of Unconventional Michigan. However, this is only a start–in the coming weeks we hope to announce a variety of additional efforts including workshops, movie showings, and other such efforts.

We know that many people in Grand Rapids–perhaps the majority–will be unable to get to the conventions and understand that at first glance, organizing against the conventions may seem as if it moves us away from our local work opposing the Iraq War. However, we believe that organizing against the conventions nicely compliments our work here in Grand Rapids. By holding trainings on the various skills that people need to participate in the protests–street tactics, legal, etc–we can learn skills that have a usefulness far beyond the political conventions and that can plug into a variety of organizing efforts, including antiwar organizing. In hosting presentations about the plans for crashing the conventions, we aim to initiate conversations whereby we reflect on what has worked for the left both nationally and here in Grand Rapids over the past several years. We also will challenge and confront political candidates–of any party–when they visit Grand Rapids during the campaign season. Finally, for our own group–organizing around the political conventions is fostering connections with groups around the country and in Michigan while helping us grow in new ways and acquire new skills.

We also view organizing against the conventions as a critical component of our commitment to challenge people to think critically about the electoral system in the United States. Either through direct experience with organizing against the Iraq War or study of past social movements, we have seen that elections are a dead end route for movements seeking systemic change. Time and time again we have seen “the left”–and the countless others who do not identify as a part of the left–put their faith into electing the “right” politicians only to see those politicians stab them in the back and betray the movements and individuals that supported them. With so many people seeking “change” this year, we believe that radicals have a unique opportunity to raise important critiques about the failings of representative democracy and capitalism.

In the Spirit of Resistance,
- ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS) - http://www.activategr.org

* While much of our work will focus on getting folks out to the RNC–primarily because of the Twin Cities’ proximity to Michigan–we stand in solidarity with the groups aiming to disrupt the DNC. The Democratic Party has shown that it offers no alternative to the Republicans. We have seen the Democrats’ “oppositional” and so-called “liberal” politics–the continuation of the occupation of Iraq, NAFTA and neoliberal trade agreements, “welfare reform,” the militarization of the US-Mexico border, and 500,000 Iraqi children killed during US sanctions against Iraq in the 1990s–and know that they offer no hope.

Celebrate Earth Day with ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS) by participating in the following solidarity action against I-69:

The Bulldozers have arrived! Clearing has begun in preparation for the construction of I-69, the NAFTA superhighway, in Southern Indiana. Under contracts totaling more than $25.3 million from the Indiana Department of Transportation, Gohmann Asphalt and Construction of Clarksville, Indiana has demolished homes and trees along the first 1.77 miles of the proposed mega-highway, and will soon begin the actual road construction. This is the same Gohmann Asphalt and Construction that was fined $8.2 million this past December for defrauding the public with false asphalt density tests on road projects.

This Earth Day, April 22nd, Please take the time to call Gohmann at (812) 282-1349 and politely ask them why they are accepting the state’s blood money to build a highway that 70% of Indiana residents don’t want - according to INDOT’s own research! Or fax them at (812) 288-2168 and remind them of the 400 families, 5,300 acres of farmland, 1,510 acres of forest, 400 acres of unique underground karst features, and 95 acres of wetlands that will be lost to this gigantic government pork project. If the phone at Gohmann is busy, try calling the Indiana Department of Transportation at (317) 232-5533 and question their wisdom at spending $3.5 billion to reduce travel times between Evansville and Indianapolis by a mere 10-15 minutes. Of course, they might tell you about the need to provide multi-national corporations a more cost-effective way to move goods and capital throughout the continent, and allow them to cheaply exploit the natural resources of Latin America with a network of massive infrastructure projects of which I-69 is only the first step.

Call Early, Call Often! Really, call often.

Visit stopi69.wordpress.com for info and updates. We will never let them build this road!

On Wednesday, April 16, ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS) will be giving a presentation on the upcoming Republican National Convention (RNC) protests taking place this summer in the Twin Cities. Come learn about the history of mass mobilizations in North America, plans and strategies for this summer, and how you can get involved!

Our presentation will be taking place as part of the Grand Valley State University SDS meeting. However, they are letting us open up the presentation to folks in the general community, so feel free to come out if you want to learn more about the RNC and/or GVSU SDS.

RNC Presentation @ GVSU - 04/16
7:00pm
Manitou Hall’s Basement
GVSU Allendale Campus

A “Facebook event” for the presentation:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=13781171706