Berkeley Solidarity Protest with G8

You don't have to be anti-capitalist to be against a kid being shot twice in the head and being run over.

You might get more people at solidarity rallies if you acknowledge the fact that most activists, myself included, are not anti-capitalist. I am against unfair trade, exploitation, sham democracy, and flat taxes.

yeah green whatever. and where are the "greens" when people are killed everyday in the name of profit and greed? where are the "greens" when anarchists and other radicals have been getting shit on for years? the reason this was called for anti-capitalists and anarchists is because thats who is out there doing this work. just because the green party came along in the last few years and ran a presidential candidate you think you run the show?? we're all waiting for you to flock back to the democratic party

The Greens and Labor started the ball rolling at Seattle.

The fact is that there are over a thousand groups protesting at Genoa. Only a small minority are "anti-capitalist."

Why would anarchists want to align themselves with the authoritarian left such as Trotskyites, etc., anyway? Anarchism has done many good things.

So why not align with me rather than the authoritarians? Unless you want to be completely isolated and irrelevant.

The Green-Labor-social activist coalitions get results. Trots are ignored.

I've been to many protests around the world and I have to agree with Green. A lot of Greens do much more of the less glamorous and more time-consuming work (ie not just chanting in the street for a couple of hours and giving police the finger). The protest in Berkeley tonight seemed more like the latter to me. All talk and not much action and getting the wider community involved. Very juvenile, much of it. Not much explanation for passers-by about what was going on - if gaining a groundswell of public sympathy was the motive, this was NOT the way to do it. It was the kind of protest that I've seen too many of - a way to further marginalize a worthy cause by turning it into something that has less to do with the issue and more to do with the clashing egos of some of the participants. A damn shame. And yes, I was there.

I've nothing at all against anarchists. However, there is a certain type of 'special occasion anarchist' who only seems to come out when there is shouting to be done. Of course, these people exist in all parts of the political spectrum, but I think in Berkeley the anarchists/ suburban gutter punks are overrepresented.

Yours in anticipation of knee-jerk rebuttals,

idlehand (berkeley)

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The Green Party person above stated:
"You might get more people at solidarity rallies if you acknowledge the fact that most activists, myself included, are not anti-capitalist. I am against unfair trade, exploitation, sham democracy, and flat taxes."
The problems of unfair trade, exploitation, sham democracy and flat taxes ARE CAPITALISM. Since you support capitalism, you have nothing to complain about because that is what you have.

For those who capitalism, I strongly urge that you join Peace & Freedom Party on the California ballot. We are a socialist party that is for labor, peace, the environment, gay rights and women's rights. We understand that the class struggle is primary; that capitalism is the problem and socialism is the solution. Just check "Other" on your voter registration form and write in Peace & Freedom Party. For more information, see http://www.peaceandfreedom.org

medea please have your personal assistant check your posts before you hit the add my comment button. they are only divisive. it's an interesting phenomenon how greens send out these divisive comments everytime something tragic happens to an anti-capitalist. thank you for once again showing us the greens true colors- yellow.

yes the demo last night had its problems and some of it may have been a bit underdeveloped in some ways...but how the hell do you respond in a couple of hours to something like this...and should we have all just sat aside and did nothing, just waiting for the greens to show up and those people who have such high organizing skills such as you Idlehand...Yes I will admit greens do a lot, or some of them do anyway...Some of you may construe their work as great stuff, but some of us are a bit more critical, even if we are out there throwing the fucking bird at a cop and yelling Fuck the police state...It was all worth it for what it was and I wouldn't trade it for a protest organized by anyone else i know in the bay area...Besides no one else I know in the Bay Area organized an immediate solidarity action with the folks in Genoa, and in rememberance on Carlos

oh, yeah and i am a registered Peace and Freedom Party person, even though I am an anarchist(of sorts)...go figure

thanks for all the criticisms Idlehand...maybe next time you will turn out all the flyers to hand out to folks throughout the protest as well as lead us in chanting and getting the word out genereally.

dear greens, your stereotypical view of anarchists isn't winning you any supporters. in fact, anarchists are generally very concerned with organizing and community work, and most anarchists do not participate in black bloc types activities. on the other hand, most black bloc'ers are probably anarchists. either way, in my experience anarchists are usually involved in housing issues, police brutality issues, environmental *racism* issues, in other words, issues that are most threatening within their own communities. many times i see greens ignoring these vital issues as people get shot to death in their own city by corrupt and disgusting cops, as greens make deals with local government. i am not saying that greens are all bad but let's cut through the bullshit a little bit here. fact is, the green party is more middle-class and generally more resourceful than the strained daily struggles being waged in our urban (and rural) poor communities, so let's build solidarity in a way that greens do not talk shit on people, calling them juvenile, presuming what they do and do not do, etc. you know what i mean?

My main point was that larger rallies can be had by acknowledging that not all people protesting someone being shot twice in the head and run over are anti-capitalist.

As I said. anarchists have done many, many good things. Just as have Greens. Both Greens and anarchists come from all socio-economic classes. So cut the Trot crap about some of us having experienced more poverty than others.

We agree on nearly all the problems.

Some (not all) anarchists believe the solution to many of the problems is to eliminate capitalism. That is where we disagree.

infoshop.org - Criticizing the authoritarian Left.
http://www.infoshop.org/texts/iso.html

"This page provides information on the ISO (International Socialist Organization), as well as some critical analysis of Trotskyism, Trotskyist organizations, and other authoritarian Left tendencies. The following articles are for those of you who want to know more about authoritarian leftist organizations around the world."

the question was posed: why do anarchists want to ally ourselves with leftists such as trots,etc? many of us don't. they just latch onto to our demos now that we're somewhat popular and in the news, the way they leeched onto the anti-globalization movement now that it's growing and fierce. they're basically just opportunists out to recruit and toe the party line. but their papers make for good bonfires.