At the Crossroads: Come to New York to Oppose the Republican National Convention

At the Crossroads: Come to New York to Oppose the Republican National Convention
By Starhawk

This is a letter for anyone who is swearing at your TV every night, sickened
by the images of torture in the newspaper, disgusted by the lies, fuming
after viewing Fahrenheit 911, and waking up in a cold sweat in the middle of
the night feeling helpless and wondering what the hell you can do about it
all:

Come to New York. Come at the end of August to join the marches,
demonstrations, and nonviolent direct actions protesting the Republican
National Convention.

There are strong moral and strategic reasons to come, to mount a powerful
and big opposition to the policies of the Bush administration. And although
one progressive magazine recently suggested we confine ourselves to
candlelight vigils, there are important reasons for taking stronger actions,
that directly, nonviolently, confront the institutions and architects of
that power, including the corporations that fund and direct it, the agencies
that enforce it¹s policies, and the media that colludes in the lies.

Our country stands at a crossroads. Democracy in the United States has
always been an imperfect experiment, leaving out many, many groups,
conducted on stolen land. It¹s never lived up to the ideals we pledged
allegiance to as kids in school, of liberty and justice for all. But those
ideals are still worth striving for. Now we must decide whether we will
continue the struggle to broaden and extend democracy, or whether we will
abandon it entirely to the rule of lies, brute force and fear.

Democracy has never been extended through timidity. It has been carried
forward only when individuals and movements have risked themselves to
actively confront abusive power, withdraw consent from its functioning, and
challenge the legitimacy of abusive institutions.

The Bush forces have maintained power because the legitimacy of their
policies has been tacitly accepted even by those who disagree with them.
They have set the framework of discussion, and the Democrats, the media, the
groups who are supposed to function as counterforces have accepted their
frame.

We must form a counterforce on the streets, the only place where social
movements that challenge power have ever been carried forward. We will act
nonviolently, to embody the values we stand for of compassion and
liberation, and to make clear where the violence in society stems from:
those same policies of lies, brute force and fear and their enforcement on
those unwilling to collude with them.

In taking action in New York, we join that tradition of nonviolent direct
action and civil disobedience, that has carried forward every social
movement in this country that has sought to broaden the base of democracy,
from the abolition of slavery to suffrage for women to the rights of labor
to the civil rights movement.
We set a new frame. We make clear that Bush¹s power does not rest on the
consent of the governed. He was not elected legitimately. His pre-emptive
war, are justified by lies, and his assaults on civil liberties are not
legitimate.

Our actions will send a strong message out to five key groups:

The Republicans
We need to make it clear that the current policies do not have popular
support, and that the people of this country will not stand by passively and
let another coup take place.

The Other Politicians, Democrats, Miscellaneous Media, etc.
We need to make it clear that we want more than a choice between Republicans
and the republican elite, that if Kerry and the Democrats will not challenge
Bush¹s framework, we will. We are a force to be reckoned with, and they
need to start tuning their policies to us.

The World
We need to show all those international allies that Bush has offended or
jettisoned, all those former friends he has alienated, all the threatened
nations on his enemy list and all the victims of his policies that vast
numbers of us oppose his actions and everything he stands for.

Ourselves.
You¹ll feel good about yourself if you come. You¹ll have done something.
You¹ll have refused to be merely a passive victim, and asserted your right
to be an active shaper of the future. You¹ll be able to look at yourself in
the mirror with pride.

Each other.
We need to know we¹re not alone in this. We need to see each other, to see
the masses and crowds of us who say that this country and the world deserve
something better. We need to look each other in the face and hear our
voices joined in thunderous chants and feel the linked rhythm of our
marching feet shake the fortresses of power.

If we don¹t take action, if we limit ourselves to mild expressions of
discontent, we will undoubtedly be safer in the moment. But we will have
moved further into a huge, longterm danger, of continuing the slide into
tacit acceptance that we are not the people we thought we were, not the
liberators of the world but its jailors, not the defenders of human rights
but the torturers of Abu Ghraib.

If we do take action, we can win three key vitally important strategic
goals:

We can set a new frame, taking the media focus away from the coronation
ceremonies inside the convention and out onto the streets, to our opposition
and our demands and our alternative vision.

We can delegitimize Bush and his policies by showing the breadth and depth
of our opposition.

We can offer an alternative: embodying in our organizing and our actions the
values we stand for: compassion, diversity, nonviolence, freedom, creativity
and love, embodying a vision of a society based on real democracy, on
liberty and justice, not for a privileged few, but for all.

In short, we can turn away from the road to Abu Ghraib and set our country
on a new direction. I think that¹s worth the risk, and I invite you to join
the joyful and courageous company of those who will march, demonstrate, and
take nonviolent direct action in New York City during the Republican
National Convention this August.


A Very Rough Schedule of Events;

August 29 United for Peace and Justice March
August 30 Poor Peoples¹ March
August 31 Day of Nonviolent Direct Action!
September 1 Labor March

For a full schedule of events and links to all the groups organizing, see:

http://www.counterconvention.org <http://www.counterconvention.org/>

What the Day of Action Will Look Like:

4 PM: Coordinated nonviolent direct actions focused on oppressive aspects
of Bush¹s policies, both interfering and making visible our alternatives.
Specifics are being decided by clusters and spokescouncils.

7 PM Converge on the Republican National Convention to reclaim our public
spaces and take back democracry.

How to Get Involved in Direct Action:

Nonviolent direct action needs people who will stand on the front lines and
take risks‹but for every person who does, five to ten others are needed to
take on safe and legal support roles: helping to staff the convergence
center, staying by the phone to relay messages, helping provide food, water,
childcare, medical care, legal support, emotional support and healing.
Whatever your age, physical condition, level of experience or ability to
take risks, you can make a contribution.

To participate in nonviolent direct action, you can:
Forman affinity group: a small group of friends who can come to the action
together, provide support at home (feed the cat, calm down the relatives,
etc.), comfort and nurturing when you come back, and support each other at
the action.

Attend a nonviolent direct action training. Trainings will be offered in New
York city regularly leading up to the action, many are scheduled in other
communities. If you would like to organize one in your own community,
contact: For trainings in your community contact Ruby at
rubyruth [at] surfglobal.net
Or contact the NY Trainers Collective at 206 333-6448 or
trainings-nornc [at] riseup.net

Spokescouncils take place every Tuesday night in New York City. You can
attend or send a representative from your group. For schedules and
information, see: http://www.shoutheardroundtheworld.org
<http://www.shoutheardroundtheworld.org/>

If you can¹t come with a group, affinity groups will be formed at trainings
and at spokescouncils leading up to the action. Try to at least bring a
buddy, or plan to make a new friend. Or join up with one of the clusters
already forming.

And if you really can¹t come, please donate to help others get there. Check
the websites below, or find a young activist in your community and help her
or him get there! And be prepared to support the actions with calls,
emails, faxes, letters to the editor, etc.

To get Starhawk¹s daily updates, check
http://www.starhawk.org <http://www.starhawk.org/> or get on the mailing list by
emailing
Starhawk-subscribe [at] lists.riseup.net and putting Œsubscribe¹ in the subject
line.

For an overview of all groups and events, see:
http://www.counterconvention.org <http://www.counterconvention.org/>

For the August 31 Day of Action, see:
http://www.shoutheardroundtheworld.com/ <http://www.shoutheardroundtheworld.com/>

Some clusters organizing actions:

West Coast Cluster
http://www.actagainstwar.org

Pagan Cluster
http://www.pagancluster.org <http://www.pagancluster.org/>

School of the Americas
http://www.soa.org

War Resisters League
http://www.warresisters.org/ <http://www.warresisters.org/>


For August 29 march and rally, housing board, and much general info, see:
http://www.unitedforpeace.org <http://www.unitedforpeace.org/>

For information on training for direct action, see:
http://www.rantcollective.org <http://www.rantcollective.org/>

Other related websites:

http://www.rncnotwelcome.org
http://www.rncwatch.org
http://www/norc.org