Balloons and Shields: The Story of the Aug 18th Seattle Anti-Fascist Action

Balloons and Shields: The Story of the Aug. 18th Seattle Anti-Fascist Action

Disclaimer: None of this is true.

I: Action

We unloaded in the park by Westlake Center. Wait, let me go back. We drove from Portland, Tacoma, Olympia up to Seattle. Wait, let me go back. We all sat around, letting our plans orbit around us, gathering more and more layers of complexity. No, no, no. I know where to start.

Weeks before the first water balloon flew, fliers could be seen in Tacoma, Olympia and Seattle. A red and black flag sat in the background. Above it was a crossed-out swastika. On the sides of the swastika was a group and stick-figure anarchists throwing rocks at some clocks with legs which were running away. Below all this were the words ORGANIZE YOURSELVES TO COME FIGHT THE FASCIST GROUPS GAINING POWER. Above the swastika were the words STOP THE MINUTEMEN. No one really knew who put these fliers up or what group was behind the calls going out over the internet. A group calling itself the International Anarchist Conspiracy was urging people to come out and oppose the fascists with whatever means were available to them. Did the IAC make the flier? Was the flier made by the communists? Was it all a trick?

I ended up hooking up with a few people who knew a certain something. I ended up in a car heading North on I-5 to Seattle. I ended up getting out of that car at Westlake. The same old buildings from 1999 still hovered over the red brick square. These were the streets the police pushed down, clearing us all away years ago. A began to smile as me and the others milled around in the square, looking normal. This was not going to anything like 1999 but the thought of doing something in Seattle again pleased me very much.

We knew the Minutemen, the John Birch Society and Washingtonian's for Immigration Reform were meeting a dozen blocks up at the base of the Space Needle. We did not know what street they were going to march down. A few scouts went up there and reported back: a bunch of fascists waving American flags, chanting "USA, USA, USA" and a mild police presence. The communists were next to the fascists, chanting back at them. And then they started marching. The scouts waited, waited, waited and then then the fascists turned to the left. On 1st.

The information made its way back to Westlake. The car with the supplies arrived, blocking traffic behind it. Back doors opened, shields and balloons taken out. The group blocked up, quickly, and then began to assemble the shields. Four black shields, held together by a PVC pipe. There were three groups of four. Each group could become twelve separate shields if necessary. Banners were draped over the shields The doors of the vehicle closed. Everyone was ready. All around us people had open mouths and anxious expressions. What were these black-clad crazies going to do? One person said to his friend, "Oh, man, we gotta watch this." They knew what was coming. And so they followed us as we left Westlake for 1st.

The thirty of us went as fast as we could, attempting to intercept the fascists before they reached the Federal Building, their first destination. But it appeared we were too late when we ran into the communists marching on the sidewalk. A few friends were there and had been expecting us. A large cheer rang out in the march. But along with the communists were the pigs. We merged with the march and realized we had missed the fascists. What were we going to do? We tried to get out on the street but that didn't work. And then, up ahead, we saw the Amerikan flags at the Federal Building. The group of anarchists and communists arrived across the street from the fascists. The communists began marching in circles. We got ready.

The shield groups positioned themselves. Information was spread. And then the sound of a whistle, signaling the start of the action. The balloons, filled with water and glitter, began to fly. But they were not heavy enough. They went over the heads of the police, across the street, and broke just short of the fascists. Seeing that the police were not doing anything, the shield groups got together and we all went out on the street.

This image sticks with me: dozens of anarchists, holding large black shields, alone out on a street, advancing on the fascists. Alone, seemingly vulnerable. But moving forward nonetheless, moving with determination and purpose, unafraid of the pigs.

This image also sticks with me: dozens of anarchists, in such a seemingly vulnerable position, yelling for the communists and socialists to come and help, pleading, in fact, because with their numerical support the fascists could have been confronted more directly. But the communists just stood their, blank, nervous expressions on their faces.

Behind the cover of the shields, we threw balloon after balloon. I threw one, watched the arc, and saw it explode on a fat man's chest. Now we knew we were close enough. We got nearly all of them off when the police attacked. They charged our shields and let loose the pepper spray. But all they could do was push and spray. Nothing else. We protected each other as we were forced back onto the sidewalk. A few cops were directly hit with the shields and knocked onto the ground. A few cops were sprayed by other cops. We waited, prepared to stop another advance. But the police had not expected any of what had just happened and in their idiocy had blindly attacked anyone they could. A woman who was doing NOTHING was sprayed directly in the face (the communists are blaming us for this, but I will get to that later). Several of our people were blasted by the pepper spray. But we were ready. We had medics who scrambled all over for the next half an hour, taking care of those who needed help. The people who needed it were evacuated. But the rest of us stayed.

Suddenly everyone was ready. And another series of balloons were thrown. Another scuffle began. The police pushed against us, we pushed back, stopping them cold. Without these shields we would have all been toast. But we had them and we used them well. After the second advance it was clear to most of us that nothing more was to be expected from the action. The communists were yelling at us for some reason. They were not helping us stay safe from the pigs. Every time we attempted to hide behind them they moved. Not all of them, mind you, but a lot of them. It was all our fault, we were ruining everything. They were not going to help us stay safe. No way. Our common enemy is not the fascists and the police. Sorry.

Eventually we left, having nothing else to do, having carried out our plan perfectly. We went up Marion, away from the Federal Building, followed by the pigs. And then it came. They arbitrarily singled out someone who had done nothing that day and assaulted him. The stupid pig who attacked our friend injured himself on one of the shields and is now claiming that our friend attempted to hit him with the shield. In reality all that happened was a bloodthirsty pig could not keep his balance, fell on one of the shields and ripped two holes into his leg. That is not assault on our friends part. That is ineptness on the pigs part.

Everyone else got away. Our friend got taken to jail. The pigs in the jail told us his bail was 1,000,000 dollars which later turned out to be a lie. 3 days later he was PR'd and was able to see his son. He is being charged with assault 3. But the pigs have no case. They attacked him for reason.

The group got together after our friend was arrested, made some decisions, and left

That was our day in Seattle.

II: Reflection

We did not get clobbered on the 18th in Seattle. With a little planning and energy we actively kept the pigs away long enough the toss some balloons at the fascists. The shields, as mentioned above, made it all possible. Because planning was involed in this action (an extremelly minimal amount, let me assure you) the group was able to act relatively cohesively. The disorginization, however, allowed for our plans to shift without a problem (when we were unable to intercept the march). Some of us blocked, some of us threw balloons. If the cops went one way, the shield groups blocked them. Simple. The shields were thick enough to stop rubber bullets and deflect pepper spray enough so that it was not disabling. There were a few instances of police getting knocked on their asses. Even after that they did not do anything. It was fucking great to be there, taking a pro-active stance, keeping the cops away and humiliating the fascists. For once we were not running in fear for the entirety of an action. For once we WON!

The fascists in this country (just as I saw them doing in Germany) are trying to claim they are the real anti-state resistence. They are claiming that by assaulting them on the 18th us anarchists were supporting the SPP and neoliberalism. We need to make sure that everyone understands that these people are fascists in the true sense of the word. We need to make sure that the fascists do not get legitimized in the public eye (like in Germany where they have seats in Parliament). Their assertion that by attacking them we were FOR the SPP is ridiculous, but it shows what they are trying to do. This must be stopped.

The communists are mad at us for what we did. No surprise there. We do not do things in the way they like to see things get done (slowly, ineffectively, pointlessly, etc.) and so naturally we are employed by the government. It must be nice to accuse anyone who disagrees with you as an agent. Communism has FAILED! This is hard for them to internalize and so they put up barriers to the past and present reality of what their beloved system has done. Every innocent person killed by any of the communist parties in the world should be enough to reveal the true nature of their system. But apparently it is not. And so we go in circles. These circles will continue endlessly unless some of us realize these people will not listen. We should NEVER attack them, EVER. We should just never worry about them. As long as we do, we will do nothing. Just as they do.

Thank you, Seattle, for another amazing experience. This one was fully satisfying. Thanks to everyone who came up from all over for this. Thanks to everyone who made the shields and the balloons. Thanks to everyone who did stand with us out there. Thanks to the International Anarchist Conspiracy for bringing their magic to the streets. I know none of you IAC people will admit you are a part of the IAC, but I know I worked with you and I hope I can work with you again. Send me a message through the ether when you get a chance.

In Love and Anarchy,

Annie Nimmity