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.