Anarchists turn SF peace rally into riot

These actions by anarchists that give the peaces rallies a bad name are actually a conspiracy organized by the right-wing power elite in your out of control government!!

Can't you see that George Bush and Jeb are behind these dastardly deeds?? The whole thing has been orchestrated from the White House, and the Anarchists are really republicans in disguise.

Fight the power!!!!

They wear masks because it looks cool.

dumbass anarchist are just a bunch of young punks spoiling for a fight against anyone. Would you fucking anarchists just have your own demonstrations and stop disrupting real protest actions. man, some hippie is going to kick your ass (I hate hippies, but they are more likely to do it).
And be a little more respectful to your older protesters. They've been around. Be nice or I will show you anarchy motherfuckers.

I'm a 36-year-old anarchist who participates in black blocs. The anti-anarchist and ageist comments in this thread are pretty stupid. The anarchists who mask up aren't as young as you think!

Anarchists wear masks for many reasons: to promote anonymity and egalitarianism, to protect our identities from the police, and as Subcommadante Marcos would say, "to become more visible."

Really, do you guys think that the Zapatistas are a bunch of young assholes?

Why post an article with a headline like "Anarchists turn SF peace rally into riot" and then give no further information?

You know, little things like what peace rally? Where? When?
What riot? Which anarchists? Wha' happen?

If you can't take the time to type it out, you could provide a link to some other story about the incident, assuming that there really was one.

We've got a spammer using female first names to post the most far-fetched rumors all over Indymedia in much the same style as this article, so some skepticism about another assertion given without support is called for.

The only thing this "story" does is to invite uninformed ranting, as in the previous comments. Nice work.

It wasn't a total loss. We got an interesting ethnological view of the fashion mores of a deviant sub-culture. And I still maintain that the primary reason for the mask is that it indeed "looks cool." Just admit it. Vanity thy name is "influential militant."

Your Raven Maven of Anarcho-fashionism,

Black Whale

Masked anarchists like ChuckO, (see his entry) want all the fun but none of the resposibility. If you truly believe in something then you should be willing to die for it or go to prison for it. I respect the willing far more than the cowards who hide behind the masks!

I talked to several people who were at last nights protest and no one said anything about a riot. As for wearing masks (i believe) should only happen if some crazy shit breaks out otherwise for the most part its just miltant posturing.

it is to anarchists and anarchopunks credit that in the last 20 years, crucial issues such as housing, police brutality, the environment in your own city, pollution, and any kind of real down-n-dirty grassroots activism ... you will find anarchists there. try doing copwatch in your city for a few months. you will find how bizarre it is when cops recognize you, call out to you, harrass you, follow you etc. my point is that people have different motivations but it is bullshit for you to belittle it. not everyone engages in 100% safe consumer activism.

anarchists wear masks because they value privacy, they are showing solidarity with zapatistas and other revolutionary groups worldwide including the korean labor movement, and because they arent so stupid as to be videotaped at every protest. and what i mentioned above, which is that some people in our society have a real reason to be paranoid. do i need to remind ANYONE that it was in this city that the FBI or some other right-wing cadre BLEW UP two activists?

if anything, i think more people should wear masks to show solidarity with those amongst us who feel that they have to.

you wear masks so the police/fbi dont come and harass you like they do to anyone who questions the system.

Well, pist, I do my unsafe spontaneous activism AWAY from the video cameras. Remember...the Spectacle is a Tentacle.

As for the masks....I just give up on that . You won't admit that you're fashion conscious. Obviously remnants of puritan ideology.

But I do like your idea about EVERYONE wearing masks. I'm starting a new line of designer masks called----BARRICADE BANDANAS. Hand-crafted, sweat shop labor, but with anti-perspirant

So keep your browsers tuned for BARRICADE BANDANAS. Who says the Dot Coms are dead?

Oh, and don't take yourself so seriously. You'll either end up in the booby-hatch, or a five hour consensus meeting.

yea, since there are at least a couple of jerk-offs sending posts, it's especially important, if the point is to be taken seriously, to substantiate what you're saying. it's irresponsible, really, under any conditions, to do otherwise.

But since we're on the topic i'll say this: covering up has it's purposes but a lot of the time it's just an uber-militant aesthetic that actually makes a person more conspicuous, not less. as such, it's pretty juvenile and silly. i know at the convergence center last summer in LA during the Democratic Convention there were people going around completely covered, and all you could see was their eyes. my opinion is that that shouldn't be tolerated because it is an invite to cops. if you're so in need of anonymity (on the run from the cops say) then you shouldn't be hanging out in an open arena like a convergence center.

This may be off topic of your steamy rhetoric but Judi Bari wasnt bombed by the FBI. The evidence points at her ex-husband. The Anderson Valley Advertiser has been covering this for awhile now and it was also recently in an article in the East Bay Express. Steve Talbott of KQED made the same conclusion 10 years ago. Several of friends also concur.

aaron, so anyone who feels threatened by the police shouldnt protest? that excludes a hell of a lot of the most oppressed people in this country. i dont see your point. i also wonder what you feel about solidarity with zapatistas, palestinians, etc who also wear these masks.

not only do they show solidarity, look cute, promote anonymity and security culture, they also come in handy when the tear gas starts flying. and, as an added bonus, they may prevent anthrax during a biochemical warfare attack!

really, let's be a little more open-minded and accepting of how people view themselves and their role in activism, whatever it is.

Thank you, anarchee. Someone finally admitted the obvious--looks count. I don't mean "good" looks, I mean wild, distinctive looks.

Who wants to smash the state with some naybob wearing faded Levis, when you can storm the barricades with a anarcho-ninja boy or girl looking rad-sheik.

And why stop a one "look." Feathered cloaks and robes are perfect for the neo-tribal types. Its about time we had some nasty shamanic curses hurled at lines of pot-bellied fashion-fascists. And you really have to look the part. It attracts the mojo. This is our forest, Great White Hunter, and the spirits here don't like you.

Whale,

You don't seem to mind remaining anonymous over the internet. Why don't you post your name, address and home telephone number so everyone can see? That's if you have the balls. You criticize others for taking steps to ensure their anonimity, while hiding behind a mask yourself. What a joke!

Keep your snide, pompous remarks to your conceited self. There is already enough shit in the world without you opening your mouth to release more.

Whale: can't you just accept that people wear them for different reasons? judging from the posts here, some people think it looks good, others have political reasons, others have paranoia reasons, etc. why is this bothering you so much? is it cuz you want to wear a mask at a protest but you are too chickenshit?

Oh boys, you have got me so frightened! Do I really have defend my manhood? I guess not--I don't have any! Spare your street fightin' verbiage for your real enemies kiddies, your going to need it.

yo anarchee: i raised the issue of the convergence center because that wasn't itself a protest action but instead a place where people were strategizing and discussing the situation etc etc. simply put, i think if you know the cops are on your tail a convergence center isn't the place to be. the fact is it's very difficult to weed out cops completely, but allowing people to enter into a forum like that totally covered up seems to me like an invite. and the truth is, genoa showed, as i understand it, that the black bloc can be manipulated quite effectively within the context of a demonstration. my problem with certain anarchists is that they elevate a tactic or tool to a high principle detached from its effectiveness. in this sense, the uber-militant anarchos fall for the same moralistic trap as the absolutist "no-violence" crowd. like i said, covering up is sometimes absolutely necessary; other times it's alienating and silly. sometimes militancy builds and strengthens an action; sometimes it doesn't. we need to see that at this stage the movement is largely dealing on the level of symbolism; propery damage, for instance, is more symbolism than i think some anarchists realize. i say this as someone who is disgusted by those who denounce property destruction as "violence". to sum up, i think anarchists should be making themselves more accessible, more politically coherent, and spend less energy on establishing themselves as the most militant clique.

bari was a maoist - she was blown uo by her exhusband, a former maoist --Stanford Venceremos she was the victim of domestic violence NOT police repression!

I cant imagine the "anarchists" arent in cahoots with the peace rally organizers. It would be far to easy to stop the anarchist from being effective. There are way to many operational possibilities to impact the a's. Easy.
I would love that payed organizational position. I would love to see the faces of the wacked out peacers when the canarchists didnt show. And no laws were broken. Eeeeps.