@Demo
SMASH THE STATE AND HAVE A NICE
DAY!
(for Steve)
black flags flying,
running gleefully in and out of stores yelling
ENJOY LIFE!
Cops after us,
quick, down a side street
wait here--I'll be right back--in to look for a bathroom
BUT YOU WERE GONE when I came back
The fuckers arrested you all by yourself for
MOB ACTION AGAINST THE STATE
(Hey, hotshot, teach the rest of us to be that dangerous)
Next time we'll know better,
quick down a side street
and onto a Bus!
---Kathy
We'd planned to attend Thursday's May Day March, but we couldn't
mobilize the group in time. Instead, we went to the Wellington Avenue Church
basement for an evening of socializing, putting faces to the names of familiar
correspondents, re-establishing ties with comrades, and exchanging literature.
Three of us also attended the meeting where plans for Friday's demonstration
were discussed and crystallized. Although some of those participating talked
about strategies for confrontation and spontaneous actions, it was amply
clear that the Chicago Haymarket organizers wanted to emphasize the following
points:
-
We should stick to the pre-arranged route;
-
Comrades should look out for one another (there would be no marshalls along
the route);
-
The police would be out in force, but despite the fact that we did not
have a permit to march, the cops would probably leave us alone if we stayed
on the prescribed route;
-
We should not enter buildings or subways or antagonize cops or bystanders.
People who did these things would be on their own--bail funds and legal
support were not available;
-
Those at the meeting should return to their individual groups with information
about the demonstration.
On Friday, after a perilous ride on one of Chicago's public buses, the
Spooners arrived at Federal Plaza just as the line of demonstrators (about
400 strong) began to move out. We were joined by an anarchist we knew from
Boston, who, at the end of the march, got separated from the group and
was arrested (he was wearing a political button and happened to be standing
on the "wrong corner at the wrong time"). Before this unfortunate event,
however, most of us enjoyed the march through Chicago's business district,
experiencing the demonstration more as a festive occasion than as an angry
expression of our views. Emotions did run higher, though, when marchers
gathered at the Fountain Of Thieves (a memorial celebrating the white man's
domination of the red man), chanting "No More Genocides," as well as when
we congregated at the Chicago Tribune to show solidarity with striking
newspaper workers. Our route also included stops at the Federal Building,
the Board of Trade, the Federal Reserve Bank, the American Bar Association
offices, the IBM building and the Court Building where the original Haymarket
Anarchists were hanged.
Our Spooner Group never got as far as the Water Tower. We were tired
and hungry and we saw that the demonstration essentially had broken up.
We did notice some marchers scurrying underground into the subway; we wondered
what was motivating them to depart from the established route. Later, we
found out that some of the marchers briefly entered Neiman-Marcus, but
we never could confirm whether or not any minor vandalism occurred as reported
by the mainstream press. It was at this point in the march, when people
were dispersing, that the cops began arresting people at random. Those
snatched up into paddy wagons were charged with "mob action."
---Lysander Spooner Collective
The Cops at the War Chest Tour
When I arrived at the square in downtown Chicago, I saw a gathering
maelstrom of anarchists with black flags, bandannas over their faces, noisemakers
(tin cans with rocks in them), banners ("Fuck Authority" was one), and
wearing their assorted funky garb. The crowd gathered, dancing around,
some arguing with the handful of RCP (Revolutionary Communist Party members)
to leave.
From the beginning, there were cops following us. They were few in
number and they kept their distance. It seemed that they didn't know what
to make of us. As soon as we started to march in a disorderly fashion towards
the next square, the cops came within very close range, trying to contain
the three hundred or so anarchists from going into the street. The parade
spread out over half a city block. The number of cops increased dramatically.
I stepped back to get a picture behind the march. I was still on the
sidewalk. I felt a hand touch my back and the next moment felt a powerful
electric shock. I turned to see what it was and saw a cop with heavy black
gloves walking away (that cowardly chickenshit didn't even have the guts
to show me his face). This came so early in the day that my premonitions
about cop behavior were solidified.
We were marching without a permit. We broke every traffic law on record.
We crossed streets in the middle, stopping traffic. The cops would try
to stop the traffic. To a degree they knew how to keep things "under control"
as long as they could.
In front of the IBM building, we held the most intensive part of our
march, attempting to shut down the building and going all out on theatrics
and noise making. One anarchist attempted to burn a flag, at which point
a half dozen cops surged through the crowd and grabbed him, dragging him
into the street before he could get the flag lit (it was his flag anyway).
As one cop started dragging him away, hundreds of anarchists began chanting
"Let him go!" so he let him go. The anarchists definitely had the power
to make the cops release arrested people and we used this tactic throughout
the day. The cops were powerless as long as we stayed a tightly knit group.
The cops would completely freak out if some anarchists tried to enter
a building. Even going around and around in revolving doors of a bank would
cause the cops to flip their teeny brains. They would surge into the crowd,
throwing people aside until they got to the doors, which they would guard.
Once we discovered that the cops would put considerable energy into keeping
us out of the "houses of capitalism," this could be used as a tactic. First,
for humor. Outside of a Cook County Court building the cops sealed off
the doors so our chant began, "We want a tour!" I guess we weren't deserving
of a tour, so we moved on.
The cops ultimately were there to protect private property of the rich,
so when they discovered that two anarchists had busted some lights inside
the Marriott Hotel, they decided to stop the march. A race began between
the anarchists in the front, who were running, and the now about 150 cops.
The cops started rounding people up and throwing them into paddy wagons.
Thirty-seven people were arrested. It was reported that the cops were
arresting people two blocks from the scene just because they had anarchist
buttons on. There was nowhere we could be safe from this purge as long
as we stayed on the streets. Chris and I, with cops behind us and in front
of us, hopped on a city bus and cruised out of there, joining our unjailed
anarchist pals back at the church.
---Barry
the marchers, once assembled, started off through downtown. i was keeping
my eye on the police escorting the march. there were a good number of them
flanking both sides. like the people in the hispanic neighborhood the previous
night, they seemed amused and somewhat curious. i guess even a cop likes
a break in the daily routine. i, for one, didn't know the exact route that
we were going to be following, even though i had a general idea. the first
stop was a ghastly looking correctional facility where many of the marchers
filled the courtyard and treated it like a giant playground. we all got
together and shouted slogans in unison, hoping that the inmates inside
could hear us. there was absolutely no way we could know for sure. as the
march started off again, the cops started yelling to us that we were heading
in the wrong direction. now the charge of bad planning has been leveled
at the organizers on more than one occasion, and i think this is a classic
example. there was some grumbling about, "who's holding this march, us
or the cops?" but the march was redirected to its originally scheduled
route.
through downtown the march went, people passing out posters and pamphlets,
and every one chanting slogans, "we mean business!", "smash the state,
but have a nice day." people in the office skyscrapers were looking down
on us and were greeted by choruses of, "jump!" and "join us!" i thought
the high point of the march was when we assembled on the courtyard of the
city government building and a bunch of the marchers were using pablo picasso's
ridiculous statue as a playground toy. it was fitting: pablo picasso was
a major voice in radical artistic consciousness from before the first world
war up until the end of the second war. from there, he became a "pet" of
the bourgeois patrons of the "arts." picasso presented his absurd structure
to the fascist government of richard daley when picasso himself was a member
of the communist party. that says much about supposed differences between
"left" and "right" wing governments. a small group then formed before the
sculpture and presented a marvelous little piece of guerrilla theatre-dance
that had been choreographed by some people from san francisco's mud theatre.
i was wandering around in the crowd, trying to get some reactions from
the bewildered onlookers. not once did i hear any real hostility on the
part of any of the police, but the same couldn`t be said for a lot of the
business executives in their three piece suits. the marchers milled around
the plaza, then started off for the i.b.m. building chanting, "daley is
dead! we're still here!"
the marchers encircled the i.b.m. building, then gathered in front
of the building's main entrance. people started pounding on the metal pillars
and there was more dance-theatre as we all chanted, "turn the world upside
down!" i noticed with great amusement that one of the women police had
joined in the chant, but she stopped when admonished by a fellow officer.
there were several anti-colonial chants, then the march started off again
amid chants of, "let's go shopping!" we made our way to the north channel
bridge, beyond which lay the chicago tribune building. we all stopped long
enough to vilify a sculpture commemorating an incident of indian genocide
which is considered a significant event in the early history of chicago.
from there, we made our way down to the tribune building.
the tribune building was the only place where i found passersby who
showed any real interest in talking with the marchers about what anarchism
was all about. many of us were talking to picketing strikers. the r.c.p.
was also trying to worm their way in, but the anarchists were right there
to denounce them for what they are: a group who wanted to usurp the conference
for their own ends and who wished to smash the state merely to replace
it with another one with themselves in charge. the word then got around
that the south african consulate was in the building across the street.
the police weren't letting anybody near the front of the building. several
people tried to gain access through an underground parking ramp. had the
police been out to bust heads, these people would have been in grave danger.
they were cleared out without any violent confrontations.
as we started moving up the street from the tribune building, we noticed
the r.c.p. was holding up a haymarket commemorative poster that also had
one of their own self-appointed martyrs on it. the word was quickly passed
around: once we assembled at the water tower, we were going to snatch their
banner away from them and destroy it. at the same time, we were passing
by some posh department stores. people were smearing graffiti on the windows
with soap. others were running around and around through the revolving
doors. it looked like great fun, but i couldn't see that it had much to
do with anarchy. a little farther up, i could see the water tower to the
left. i expected everyone to turn, but they kept going, and that was when
they ran into the first line of police. at a dead run, the crowd bolted
across the street. i expected everyone to assemble there, but no, they
kept running up the street. at that point i thought to myself, "no good
will come from this." i had already lost sight of the front of the march
when i heard the sound of screeching tires. i was still moving up the street,
but walking, trying to get a view of what was going on. the next thing
i knew, the crowd was running toward me with an army of police in hot pursuit.
they grabbed several guys right near me and held them, slipping on the
cuffs. one cop snatched a banner and broke it, the guys who had been carrying
it scurrying away. practically within arm's length of me, i saw a woman
from san francisco getting cuffed to a tree. on a side street by the park,
some redneck had one of the marchers in a hammerlock up against a car.
that was the only time during the whole four days that i wanted to punch
somebody, but the cops were there in seconds to arrest the holdee. i decided
at that point that my vantage point wasn't the best--that probably the
only reason the cops hadn't jumped me was because of my comparatively "straight"
appearance. i moved across the street where i could keep an eye on the
goings-on. upset as i was at seeing my friends incarcerated, i was gladder
than i can express at nobody getting beaten or otherwise physically abused.
---Hal
We were totally not together in the morning and got split up and missed
the beginning of the march. I borrowed a sweater and jacket from Gaz and
Kaz "just in case" (and am I glad I did!). We found the demo somehow and
I don't really remember the places we stopped at--it's all shit anyway.
I was really enjoying myself roaming around the streets with a huge gang
of intelligent, angry people. And the black flags and bandannas over some
faces was a nice addition to the scenery. I remember sliding on the big
sloping metal "objet d'art" that we probably weren't supposed to run around
on. The street theatre was great, but we should have had more propaganda
to give to the people who were trying to figure out "what's going on?"
Holding hands around a building, going on the Tribune picket line (they
have pieces of lots of other buildings on their building), and then my
heart began beating a little faster as we crossed the street to the S.
Afrikan thing and the cops were a little freaked out.
Running down the road next to someone I don't know who's yelling at
a cop--"C'mon ya fat pig, run piggie, run!". When I saw large amounts of
cops, I decided it would be a good idea to leave, but which way? And what's
going on over there with my other friends? I stopped at a drinking fountain
trying to regain calm and still see what was going on, and then I was arrested.
I protested that I hadn't done anything, and the cop said, "Me neither,
I haven't done anything all day, but now it's my turn."
No one would tell me what I, or anyone else, was being arrested for,
but it doesn't really matter because they do what they want and make it
up later anyway.
---Ken
Free in Chicago
At the risk of sounding dramatic, Chicago was an adventure. It
was a situation where many things that really affected me came together
all at once. At a few times throughout the gathering I was overwhelmed
by the experience of what was happening and have been struggling to come
to terms with them since returning.
One of these was on the "War Chest Tour." In this demonstration we
meant to point out not only just how many fucked-up things there are in
society, by going for a stroll downtown and finding how much there is to
critize, but also to suggest that the world and one's life can be so much
better, by being positive.
In this, we in the march would smile and laugh and sing silly, yet
meaningful, slogans like "Smash the state, and have a nice day!" Many of
the things that we said and did were completely spontaneous. We made stops
that no one had planned, such as a statue at the end of a bridge depicting
a "heroic" soldier killing an Amerindian, and made up a lot of slogans
on the spot, like when the rather indignant shout of "Lies!" at the Chicago
Tribune Building was twisted into "Liars, liars, pants on fire!"
I felt that I was using my freedom. I wasn't merely sitting around
talking about being free, as I sometimes feel I do, nor was I marching
around with any sort of anger or moral superiority, but was out in the
world letting the world know what I feel in a way that I felt good about.
At one point in the demonstration, we ran into a courtyard and began
using a statue (by Miro I believe) as a slide. One part of it was slanted
so we could run up the slant and slide down it. There were dozens of people
sliding up and down on it. Whee! Art has a purpose! Life is fun!
We then danced and chanted in the courtyard in some impromptu street
theatre done by a group of wonderful people from San Francisco. It was,
for me, the perfect blend of being fun, creative and intelligent.
This infantilization brought out of me a lightness of spirit and the
killing of what Nietzsche called "the spirit of gravity"--a seriousness
towards life that we are taught is part of "maturity," but is really a
restraint on living our own lives. (Take the image of the old wise man--mature,
serious, and nearly dead!)
Second thoughts on this (gravity pulling me down?) made me wonder if
this was really freedom. Surely there's more to freedom than running wild
in the streets.
I think "freedom" is a very illusive concept. Like "love," who knows
what it means? And since I can function without knowing what love is, I
can do likewise for freedom. Like everything else, it's ultimately meaningless
as a term. But I still think it needs examination, because this term is
central to most political, social, and personal philosophies.
Keeping this in mind, I will philosophize that there are two kinds
of freedom, what the anarchist-egoist Max Stirner called "inner" and "outer"
freedom. Inner freedom is the freedom of the mind, such as not being a
conformist to anyone or anything else. An outer freedom is being "physically"
free--able to go or say what you want. This is the one most people think
of. I like to think of the idea that you can escape from a cell two ways:
you can break out, or you can not desire to leave.
Perhaps during the street episode I had outer freedom. I did what I
wished and mentally I was momentarily freed of controlling desires. On
the other hand, I was doing what others were doing. I was part of the group,
even though I was acting on what I felt were my own desires. This gets
very complex, so I think I will leave it off here, since I am still thinking
about this.
---Scott
THE DISTINGUISHING BLANK
pouring, flowing, welling up to and through
you sweeten the way with your juices and nectars;
scattered and yielded seeds of common fare
call forth your secretive blends of spice;
second skins woven in your true colors
to fit the cycle of contour and season;
the transparent shell fits all
who will fill in the distinguishing blank.
it's all exquisitely ready-made-to-order and absolutely
free
though unavailable in any market
the native aliens, full-time tourists
and posture specialists seek
but never find such
being too busy making money,
money!
money to pay
for the mainstream tap of convenient poison
essence canned,
staples for refined malnutritions,
pre-packaged hungers,
shrink-wrapped identities,
split-level consciousness
with beautiful stone facades.
FOR HAYMARKET '86 GATHERING
---Ben Z. Dream
There were a couple of reasons why I didn't go on the demonstration.
One was that I personally couldn't afford to get into any trouble, and
the circumstances seemed prime for some trouble to happen. A second was
that if there was trouble, someone would need to be out of jail. A third
was that I wanted to talk to friends more than I wanted to shout at enemies.
A fourth was that I really didn't see the point, and the final reason was
that I'm not all that opposed to capitalism in the first place. Regardless
of which of these was the most important reason, I stayed back at the ranch
while others were out getting arrested. So it is that I can tell the story
of the aftermath, but can give no account of what led up to it. I hope
that someone will fill me in.
---Mike
I mostly hung around the edges of the downtown demo on Friday, talking
to the cops and the rest of the audience. I experimented with trying to
shake people's hands, asking them what they thought about the demonstration,
asking them if they liked their jobs. I was struck by how much some people
seemed to enjoy their alienation.
Seeing the IBM building surrounded was inspiring--"I hate Mieses to
pieces"--especially since they offered me a job once, as an electrical
engineer--$25,000 a year to program microprocessor and integrated circuit
test equipment. I tried to explain this but they still wouldn't let me
inside.
At the Tribune Building, I talked to a man who said he fought in WWII
so that punks like us could do this sort of thing--although he seemed to
think we shouldn't be allowed to get away with it. He told me to get a
job. I told him I had a job. He told me that if I was working for him I
wouldn't...well, O.K.
---Boog
One stop where time was well spent was the IBM building. We all held
hands and encircled the building. We also were able to heckle the people
inside pretty well, seeing as there was clear glass. After the ring around
the rosy episode, money was burned (an act criticized as being wasteful),
and that's not all that we tried to burn (of course money burning's a federal
crime). This leads me to the question of direct action on the march. I
tried to burn the american flag. It wouldn't light but I really wanted
to. Did I think of the possible consequences of doing this? Of going to
jail for a felony? Or perhaps having the police go crazy and arrest people
right there? No. At that moment I thought fuck these police. I've never
let a cop think that I respected his or her assumed authority over me and
when at all possible I like to confront them with words and actions that
show my contempt for their laws and the institutions which they are created
to uphold. I wanted to do everything illegal that I could think of. Would
it have been worth it if I'd been arrested? Well I don't like to get arrested,
but this never stopped me before. Following the logic of trying to avoid
arrest at all costs, does that mean no spray paint, no shoplifting, no
mob action against the state? Or should those who are willing take risks,
but only when they are not with people who aren't willing to get arrested?
Of course this hadn't crossed my mind during the march; after the flag
was taken I tried to burn a red RCP flag and managed it on my second attempt.
The police didn't care about a red flag going up.
---Chartreuse Colada
We finally moved on to the Chicago Tribune Building, where we stopped
for a little bit, then went on. We got to a point where some people wanted
to cross the street to the South African consulate, and some people thought
we should go on. I eventually crossed over. We stood in front of it yelling,
but there were cops who stood on the line between the sidewalk and the
tiled area in front of the building making sure we didn't cross it. We
moved on and after a few blocks people started running, then turned around
to run in the other direction. The cops started arresting people. One of
them grabbed a girl who was only a few feet from me. She started screaming
to let her go, she was really a good person--I don't know if she was scared
into believing the cop was there to arrest bad people or if she was trying
to make the cop realize that she wasn't--but other people who were there
and I told him to let her go because she hadn't done anything. The cop
threatened to arrest us if we didn't leave him alone. Farther on I saw
some more cops who had two or three people and a cop grabbed another one
for carrying a black flag. They told me to get away or they would arrest
me, and by that time I had lost the rest of the group, so I walked around
for quite a while. I finally found some guerrilla theater members who were
talking to an interested observer about anarchy. They told me that everyone
had broken up, so we went back.
---David
May 2 4:15 PM
Sitting here at the church. Just got back from the anarchist demonstration
and march through downtown. I am still not sure what has happened, but
the word is that there have been a lot of arrests. I did not see any of
these as I broke away from the march the minute we hit Michigan Avenue.
I was at the front of the march when someone broke away and yelled "shopping!"
I joined in and ran into a shopping mall-type-place and never looked back.
My adrenalin was really flowing as I started to hear windows breaking and
people yelling throughout this whole complex. I almost got caught as I
was running out the doors, not by police, but by two hired security guards
of this place. They had me pinned down on my back and I was trying to talk
my way out of the situation when they told me to shut up and that I was
going to take all the shit for the damage done. So I had pretty much given
up hope when before I knew it some friends of mine returned to find me.
I was then liberated from these two goons as everyone proceeded to beat
them off of me and we all escaped, as they seemed to have no intention
of taking on ten screaming anarchists. It was really beautiful. I had this
complete feeling of dying and being brought back to life. It is difficult
to explain. Someone just said that about forty people were arrested, all
around the area where we broke up. Actually, I am quite surprised that
the police allowed us to go that far. The march had no permit and we were
causing some fairly serious disruption all along the way. At the IBM building
people were spray painting circle A's everywhere and blockading the entrances.
I am overhearing comments by people who are saying that the march was nothing
special, that we could have done much more. Personally, I think a lot was
done and that it was rather successful. It was, in fact, one of the most
radical marches I have been on in quite awhile. People are starting to
filter into the church now and others are beginning to hustle around with
info about those arrested. Some others are trying to get the scheduled
anarcha-feminism workshop going. I don't know if I will attend this or
not considering my position with this particular group of people. But I
would very much like to hear where they are coming from on some important
issues. Perhaps I will just sit back and listen. Yes.
---Tim
-shortly after the actions at the Marriot, Neimann-Marcus, etc. it
became obvious that the police were preparing to make arrests--they zipped
up their jackets, moved into a military phalanx, and began trotting in
the direction of some of the vanguard anarchists who weren't looking behind
themselves to realize what was happening--several of us who did realize,
started attempting to discreetly chase after those who didn't, hoping that
we could get to them and warn them before the police caught them--we were,
unfortunately, unsuccessful and if i remember correctly, at least 1 of
us was arrested in the process of going to the others' defense--i filmed
the arrests that i witnessed (not far from Water Tower Place), trying to
zoom in on the treatment of those arrested and on the license plate of
the van into which they were forced--i then ran off to try to find other
anarchists who could help set the process of freeing the prisoners.
-as i was running away, 1 of the reporters who, presumably, wrote the
"Magnificent Mile" article tried to stop me to interview me--i gave him
some quick answers and explained that i was in too much of a hurry attempting
to go get help for the hostages to talk to him more, suggested that he
talk to as many anarchists as he could manage under the circumstances (for
the obvious reason of getting a more representative sampling), and then
ran on.
-skimming the article now it seems that a fair amount of anarchists
were interviewed--thusly, at least, making the article an exception to
the general press inclination to single out people to make into "stars"
and "leaders"--so i think we can give them some credit for having assimilated
our emphasis on equal individuals--otherwise the article is the same old,
same old--especially in connection with it's over simplistic and misleading
"history" of the original Haymarket event.
-later, at the jail, there were some particularly obnoxious reporters
who seemed to exemplify what it is that lead many anarchists to not want
to interact with the press in any cooperative manner--1 of them, a tv glorp,
"confided" to a group of 5 or so of us that he "thought" he was "really"
a "closet anarchist!"--such an obviously insincere play to get our sympathy
was made clear to have fallen flat when 1 anarchist responded with dry
and obvious cynicism to the effect that she "hardly thought so"--he succeeded
in losing most, if not all, sympathy from us from that point on.
-during his "live" broadcast, i attempted to interpolate from the sidelines:
"Stop Normality Before It Stops You!" but i don't think the microphone
was sensitive enough for it to have been broadcast--or they/we were already
off the air by the time i shouted it.
-at another point a reporter (from the Chicago Tribune?) was asking
me and various other people (including "crowbar") various questions the
answers to which he consistently didn't note on paper because they were
too flippant (i assume that's what he thought) and he was getting angry
and frustrated that we weren't talking seriously like his idea (again i
assume) of how a "revolutionary" should be--he didn't realize that we were
trying to instigate a fun revolution (by our standards) and not give a
lifeless dialectical blither.
-he asked us what some anarchist slogans were and i told him: "No More
Punching-Bag Clowns!"--to which he responded with a gesture of disgust--it
seemed to me that he just wanted us to say what he expected us to say (perhaps
something like: Kill the Pigs--or some such cliche) and was only willing
to quote us if we didn't do anything but fit his pre-conceived stereotype--this
strikes me as a common syndrome with reporters--this tendency toward a
preconceiving which limits their ability to pay attention--of course, reporters
are hardly the only ones "guilty" of such a tendency--the very use of language
for framing thought creates parameters of perception.
-later, i explained again, in response to questions, to another tv
reporter, that the restrictingly rectilinear "sculpting" of the "vandalized"
buildings' architecture had not been vandalized!--as should be obvious,
i explained, the buildings had molecularly reorganized to form what superficially
appeared to be spray painted anarchy symbols and broken glass in order
to express its solidarity with the blessed biomorphic joy of chaos! idiotically,
the reporter thought i was joking! (so what?!) and, once again, shrugged
off the possibility of quoting me--and to think that i was so proud of
myself for having (so i thought) freed the spirit of anarchy so beautifully!
- best wishing wells,
---tentatively, a convenience
COMMERCIAL FOR 10:00 NEWS
aired approx. 9:55 pm
TV SCREEN DIALOGUE AIRED
John Drury, in studio Also tonight, three dozen protestors
----------------------------
cops dragging protestor are arrested after they rampaged
on ground, throwing him through a downtown hotel and damaged
and others into paddy area businesses.
wagon
CHANNEL 7 NEWS AT 10
Friday May 2, 1986
with John Drury and Diane Childers
(John)
John Drury, in Mary Ann, Chicago police tonight
studio continue to hold more than three
caption: dozen anarchists arrested this
"Anarchy Arrests" afternoon after their demonstrations
turned disruptive.
Diane Burns reports the group tonight
is refusing to cooperate with the
police.
----------------------------
TV SCREEN DIALOGUE AIRED
8 anarchists waiting (Diane) Tonight some of the demon-
& talking in police strators waited at police head-
station quarters for word on their colleagues
caption: in custody.
"18th Dist. Police Hdqtrs"
----------------------------
cops dragging protestor They were arrested today after a
on ground, throwing him demonstration for world peace turned
& others into paddy into a near riot.
wagon. caption:
"Michigan and Oak"
----------------------------
(Eyewitness)
There was a lot of yelling and
male eyewitness carrying on, and people kinda acting
caption: "David Hall like they were out of control....and
Witness" the next thing you know some police officers were there, and
they were
yelling and screaming verses and
chants that I didn't really under-
stand.
----------------------------
shots of protest at (crowd)
IBM: protestor banging Murderers! Murderers!
drum; people kicking & (Indian(sic)-style war whoops)
hitting building,
----------------------------
(Diane)
protestors marching The self-proclaimed anarchists
along street were drawn to Chicago from all over
the world for a convention to mark
the 100th anniversary of the
Haymarket Square Riot, that erupted
from a labor dispute.
----------------------------
marching with banner: and led to the hanging of 4
"No Nations=No Nukes" participants.
(@ = peace sign)
----------------------------
police leading protestor Today's demonstration turned
to paddywagon rowdy as it moved from the loop north along Michigan
Avenue.
----------------------------
(cop)
policeman talking ...of the march was when they
caption: "Sgt. Jack started breaking the law and
Brown 18th Police damaging property. That's when they
District" started getting arrested.
----------------------------
(Diane)
same scene; cop graps Police converged after reports
& pushes speaker & that protestors had stormed several
another person stores and a hotel, shouting and
throwing paint.
----------------------------
Tonight police say some of the
Diane in front of protestors are refusing to give their
district station names and fingerprints, and that may
caption: "Diane Burns" delay their release at least until
tomorrow.
At 18th district police head-
quarters, Diane Burns, channel 7
Eyewitness News.
----------------------------
(John)
John Drury, in studio The Anarchist conventioneers say
there could be more demonstrations this
weekend. Mary Ann . . .
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Nobody knew the details of how the demonstrations would conclude. The
Chicago organizers didn't make any concrete plans on how to conclude the
demos. I see reasons for this. First, I wouldn't feel comfortable with
a strict agenda for something as an anti-capitalism demo in one of the
most intensely capitalistic parts of the city. Second, I realized the potential
spontaneity and I felt that the risks of spontaneity of any possible arrests,
far outweighed the certain criticism that would have been generated by
denouncing and/or discouraging spontaneity. I felt that the organizers
had very little, if any, right to dictate the nature of events.
As I see it the arrests resulted from a series of factors: loose planning,
loose organization, and the lack of consensus as to the nature of the demos.
It would have been difficult to reach this consensus prior to the demo,
but during the conference it would have been possible, when those involved
were there. Difficult, because of the short time span and the equally stalwart
differing opinions involved.
---Anonymous
The public demonstrations revealed how costly they can be. The justification
for a public demonstration is that it gets a message across to an uninformed
public. But the method of getting that message across has to be carefully
considered. If not carefully planned, both the demonstration and its message
can backfire.
Public demonstrations have an unfortunate capacity for attracting people
with strong exhibitionist impulses. They know how to use the demonstration
to exhibit themselves by smashing fixtures, spraying paint on store fronts,
burning flags or dollar bills and other immature antics illegal enough
to give the police their alibi for making mass arrests. And the exhibitionists
know how to disappear before the arrests are made--leaving the peaceful
and orderly to be arrested, imprisoned and charged, such as the peaceful
demonstrators from other countries who were arrested and may now always
have difficulty in trying to re-enter the United States. And those from
distant places who must now spend time and resources returning to stand
trial. And the gentle girl of 16 who the police handcuffed to a wall for
hours.
Nor is it always the exhibitionists who take over the demonstration.
The authorities and the power structure know how to plant persons in a
demonstration with instructions to commit a small crime against property
in order to give the police an excuse to arrest masses of peaceful demonstrators.
They know the bail bonds, the court costs and legal fees can be enough
to bankrupt the organization.
The lesson learned is clear: either plan your demonstration with care
or others will plan it for you.
---Bert
On friday, everyone met downtown in the financial district for another
demo. This time it was an anarchist "organized" event. Thru-out most of
it, we just went walking around to various financial and governmental landmarks,
chanting and waving black flags, doing some street theatre, etc... It was
fun for a while, because it was just so great to be out with so many like-minded
people, showing our feelings to this capitalist, imperialist world. After
a while, people started dispersing and getting lost. Then chaos broke out
(oh no, not anarchy!). My friends and I were at the front part of the demo
and our section sort of broke away from the rest, which got very scattered.
People ran in and out of a hotel and some rich stores (Gucci, Neiman-Marcus)
chanting. Total damage: 2 light bulbs smashed and a bit of spray painting.
But now the cops got fed up because we weren't following them around anymore
and were making a lot of noise and running around. People got even more
scattered, but a small group of us stayed together, trying to decide how
to get out of there!
Not knowing where to go, we asked directions of these two cops just
standing around. They gave us vague instructions and told us to wait a
minute, which we did and which was incredibly STUPID of us!! A WALL of
cops descended on us, told us we were all under arrest and proceeded to
drag, push and shove us into a waiting police wagon. They never read us
our rights or told us what we were charged with.
Well, I won't give you a detailed account of our ensuing 24 hours in
jail, but I will talk briefly about it. First, I was scared, as I'd never
been arrested before. 13 women and 25 men were nabbed in all. The women
were transferred (by some asshole, incredibly insulting goons) to a women's
jail for the night. We were treated roughly, but most of the abuse was
verbal. At one point the goons, trying to intimidate/frighten us, suggested
that we'd be raped in the women's prison. We were all getting sick of all
this shit, and Sue replied that we'd probably enjoy it as we were all lesbians!
This shut them up. Eventually we were told we'd be probably charged with
"disorderly conduct" and "mob action against the state" (the "mob action"
brought many smiles, chuckles and yahoos!). We were able to make our one
phone call each, so most of us called the church where a crew of people
were faithfully answering the phone, collecting bail money and rushing
down to the jails. We're very grateful to all who helped! We women gave
our real names from the start, not really seeing any point in delaying
the processing--sitting in prison is not accomplishing anything. But we
feared the men would not co-operate, and of course they didn't until the
middle of the night when they were freezing and couldn't stand the cold
anymore (the guards decided they needed some air and opened all the windows,
meanwhile Sue and I roasted in our cell!). During the night 3 women were
released on bail, and a fourth was put back in jail because she refused
to sign her release papers without reading them first! In the morning,
all the women were reunited; we exchanged news. We were also put with the
other women prisoners from the night, who were all black (don't any white
people get arrested besides anarchists?). We were brought to a county courthouse
for our arraignment hearing. An episode in the holding tank once again
reinforced the marked racism. One woman's money was stolen, and Sue, myself
and a handful of black women were suspect because we had all sat next to
this woman. Sue and I, being white, were simply asked to take our top sweaters
off and we were just pat searched. The black women, on the other hand,
were told to remove all their clothes and were strip searched. Fun. On
top of it all, those particular guards were black! Well, the money "mysteriously"
turned up, we went to court and we were released on our own recognizance,
with bond set at $1000 each. By noon, we were out. There was a small crowd
of fellow conference people waiting for us outside the courthouse, which
was really wonderful! We learned then that the men had decided to co-operate
and were gradually being released on bail.
---Nicole
We walked right into a bunch of cops. They were arresting a guy with
long brown hair and it looked like they were being rough with him. A woman
with cornrow braids (who I later found out was named Teresa) asked a police
officer where they were taking the people who were arrested. He told her
to get out of the road. It looked to me like she refused, and then she
was arrested. One of the cops said that the protestors were being arrested
for marching without a permit. Then cops said to us, "Disperse, or we'll
arrest you". One cop was really yelling at us, telling us to go away. I
had no desire to get arrested, so I started walking away.
I was about half a block away and a passerby, a foreign man, asked
me what was happening. I told him that people were getting arrested for
marching without a permit, and that we were doing it in commemoration of
the Haymarket riots. He seemed sympathetic and we looked back and about
half a dozen cops were coming in our direction, and he suggested I get
going. I asked him for directions and I started walking. The cops were
still coming up behind me. One of them said something like, "Hey, lady!"
I ignored them and continued walking. They came up behind me and one cop
grabbed me and said, "You're under arrest." I said, "Fuck you" and he said
"oh, yeah?" with a sneer on his face. I was really angry because I had
been obeying police orders when I was arrested. I didn't resist at all,
though. I complained to the officer for not reading me my rights, and he
said he didn't have to unless he was questioning me. The cops led me over
to the paddy wagon and put me in. There were already four other people
in the paddy wagon, one woman and three men. Everyone seemed kind of dazed.
We introduced ourselves; I only remember the woman's name, Jeannie. The
one guy ripped up his ID and shoved the pieces out a crack in the door
while we were being driven to the jail.
When we got there, the men and women were separated immediately. The
women were put in a holding cell--a "bull pen"--and more women joined us
shortly. There were 13 of us, but one woman was a minor and she was removed
pretty quickly. Some female officers came in to get everyone's name and
address. I gave my true name and address, cooperating fully. While we were
in the cell, men in business suits came in to look at us a couple of times.
One of the cops said they were detectives, but I heard someone else say
that they were store owners who were trying to identify us. This was the
first I heard that any windows were broken, and I didn't really believe
it. I still haven't talked to anyone that saw it.
We sang and talked and chanted to amuse ourselves. We were in the cell
a couple of hours, at least. At one point we heard a guy screaming downstairs,
and we assumed it was one of ours. We got in a circle and chanted and screamed,
and after a while we got an answering scream from the men. I was handcuffed
to Nicole at that point, I believe. We sat in a room with a bunch of cops
for a time, while they were waiting for the paddy wagons or something like
that. The cops were rude and one was a fat guy who said things like, "Do
your parents know you're doing this?" I got mad and said, "You don't have
to be such a patronizing bastard." That set off a lot of insults. One cop
called Christine "ugly" and made some crack about her not being a woman.
Another one of the cops asked a woman if she had ever had a job and paid
taxes, and she said no, and he said, "Then you have NO RIGHTS!" They made
fun of me because I said I had a college education. They treated us as
children.
---Karry
It was Fun
How Fast we Run
Pigs and pointlessness diverge
I came to And it was gone
But as before the dream lives on
---Anonymous
The recent anarchist gathering in Chicago held to commemorate the hundredth
anniversary of the Haymarket massacre was highlighted, appropriately enough,
by the arrests of 38 people on charges of "Mob Action" and "Disorderly
Conduct" after a "No Business As Usual" march through the streets of downtown
Chicago.
Eight of those arrested were from Toronto. We felt that we would like
to give our perspective on the events since there are important lessons
to be learned. It is not our intention to cast blame on anyone, though
all the way down the line decisions could have been made both on a group
and individual level that would have altered the outcome.
We would like to thank all those people who contributed generously
to the bail fund. We also appreciated the people who worked hard to ensure
that we were, in fact, released. Jail support in many ways can be even
more trying than incarceration itself.
It was clear, as we sat in jail that we were there for our ideas and
for what these ideas represent. Certainly, it wasn't a very pleasant experience,
but less than two days in jail is not the worst thing that has happened
to anarchists. We were nourished by good humor, interesting discussions
and renewed political clarity. The shared experience strengthened the community
and political bonds that we feel towards each other. If we had to go through
such an experience, it was easier in the presence of friends. Since all
of us from Toronto have been actively involved in prison support work,
our friends and comrades in prisons and jails throughout North America
were never far from our thoughts. Even under the relatively benign conditions
in which we were held, the experience of imprisonment was horrible. This
only strengthened our commitment to struggle against the continuation of
political and social imprisonment.
The people who were arrested were those who had become separated from
the main body of the demonstration for one reason or another. Many of us
did not know that the stakes of the demonstration had been raised by others
going into stores and the Marriot Hotel to create "scenes." Nor was everyone
aware that a meeting had been held the night before during which the question
of "spontaneous actions" had been debated. We, in no way, "blame" those
who did the spontaneous actions which might have precipitated the arrest.
We support such actions in general, and the ones which were done in particular.
The situation was classic for arrests given that the numbers had been
reduced and the demonstrators were spread out. We became more like tourists
than demonstrators by this point, looking for the transit, Haymarket Square,
the march, friends or even food. Various small groups of demonstrators
found themselves surrounded and outnumbered by the police. Most people
were arrested while dispersing on command from the police. Some were even
picked up while entering the transit stations. It was obvious that a decision
had been made to start arresting people so it was mainly a question of
luck which determined who was arrested and who wasn't. It seems as though
three distinct areas were swept by the police. It can also probably be
assumed that it was a conscious decision by the cops to avoid creating
a potentially more riotous situation by picking off those who were isolated
rather than confronting the larger and more cohesive mob.
When it became apparent that arrests were about to be made, some of
those eventually arrested made the decision to continue forward to see
what was happening. If people are being arrested, it is useful on a number
of levels to have sympathetic witnesses. This assumes that such arrests
are of specific people for specific actions, rather than being random arrests.
Witnesses can have the effect of lessening any explicit use of force in
the arrests, can take information, can begin jail support more quickly.
Such decisions are up to the individual and are made on the moment without
full information. At least one person was arrested when she went to verbally
intercede on behalf of another who was being roughly handcuffed with his
hands behind his back while pushed against the hood of a car. But the principle
remains, that in these circumstances people should not be totally abandoned
at the moment of arrest even if the potential witnesses themselves are
more likely to be arrested.
The ways to avoid such situations are clear, though their implementation
is more difficult. Everyone on the march should have known that "spontaneous
events" had been anticipated. Those who wished to avoid such situations
could then have left the march earlier, as some did with this knowledge,
or otherwise they could have taken more precautions. Maps of the area could
have been issued which would have enabled people to make decisions as to
how to get away from that location and people would have been freer to
dash off on their own. The problem is that this information would have
had to be distributed without revealing the plans or, even worse, could
even be used for more serious conspiracy charges.
If, as we would like to see, demonstrations become more common, and
more militant, then techniques need to be developed through which spontaneous
decisions can be made. In such cases, march routes should not be publicized.
This would make it more difficult for the police to mass their forces at
some known points along the route. Decisions could be made at different
points along the way as to where we would go next. As different tactical
possibilities became apparent, then they could be quickly discussed and
appropriate decisions could be made. Granted, this would not be easy, but
on the other hand, not only is it necessary to develop such techniques,
but our politics should allow for such development. We got off easy, and
we should learn some valuable lessons.
Too many of us have become a little complacent about demonstrations.
Mass arrests at demonstrations are quite rare these days unless they are
part of a civil disobedience strategy. Demonstrations have come to serve
as community events where experiences are shared and energies renewed;
this community purpose is as important as the expressed political intent
of the demonstration. The seemingly restrained response of the police at
the beginning of the demonstration fed this more celebratory approach to
the march. It is unclear if the police knew from the beginning that arrests
would come at the end, or whether that decision was triggered off by the
move into the stores. But when the boisterous display at the IBM building
precipitated no major response, it seemed that the demonstration would
be allowed to burn itself out.
The lack of pre-arranged legal support is also a function of too many
years of "peaceful demonstrations." Legal backup should be a matter of
course. It is ironic but true that an anarchist community needs lawyers.
Their function is simply one of serving as technicians dealing with the
mechanics of the legal system. There is also a pressing need for more legal
knowledge on our part. Once arrested, we had little accurate knowledge
of the workings of the Illinois legal system so we were handicapped in
making our decisions. This is particularly true for people from out-of-state
or from across the border. We had not even been legally informed as to
what charges we faced.
The strategy of the men to refuse to give their names was logical as
a form of solidarity and protest, especially since peace demonstrators
had been released on "John Doe" warrants in other areas. Ironically, we
could have saved a great deal of difficulty if we had realized that all
we had to do was give "a name," any name for that matter as well as our
fingerprints, in order to be released. (This is potentially problematic
for anyone whose fingerprints are on file). No ID was checked, but the
fingerprints were sent off for checking. The financial charge for such
checks, imposed by the jurisdiction asked to do the search, limit the extent
of the search. Theoretically, we could have all walked out without giving
them one correct name. It would be quite useful, if local laws and practices
were checked out. Such knowledge might come in useful some day.
The jail experience was quite informative since it encapsulated many
of the features of our repressive, sexist and racist society. Rape was
openly suggested as a possibility for one woman and a man was told that
he would be thrown into the local jail to be raped. Another woman was openly
called a "nigger-lover" because she had her hair in braids. When she asked
a black woman cop about how she felt about such terms, the cop said that
she didn't hear anything. The women arrested found themselves included
amongst the black hookers who had been arrested that same evening in the
cops "Business as Usual" arrests. The theft of money from one of the women
nearly precipitated a major incident and the theft was used by the police
to harass the hookers.
The men, on the other hand, were essentially spared any such threatening
scenes, and had little contact with regular prisoners. We were not fed
for nearly a full day, then it was baloney sandwiches and white bread.
One man suffering from diabetes spent eight days in hospital afterwards
as a direct result of their refusal to give him medical attention. The
windows were also opened on a cold night to cool us down. Since we were
crowded six or seven in a 10x10 cell, without blankets or mattresses, it
was a miserable evening. But, certainly, this was only the normal abuse
heaped upon most people coming into this mini-gulag. Similarly, the use
of lies, misinformation, threats and general piggishness is part of the
normal operating procedures.
The biggest failing of the day was that so many of us failed to take
into consideration the way in which the political climate had become increasingly
repressive. Militarism against third world peoples is once again being
matched by repression at home. The war against terrorism will be waged
at home as well as abroad. In the third world, a certain number of demonstrators
would have been killed to make a political point about protest. In Chicago,
a certain number were arrested and had their wrists slapped. In both a
legal and social sense, the realm within which opposition is tolerated,
is becoming narrower. And they don't like slow learners.
---The Toronto "86 38/8"
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Send comments to: kuniklon@elwha.evergreen.edu
Updated: 10 June 96