THREAD
On pointless marches and recuperation:
Given the public infighting in the various BLM/police reform groups in #Eugene, we feel there are points that are important to bring up re: marches/recuperation/ activists,that may help bring some clarity to the moment
#eugeneprotest
On pointless marches and recuperation:
Given the public infighting in the various BLM/police reform groups in #Eugene, we feel there are points that are important to bring up re: marches/recuperation/ activists,that may help bring some clarity to the moment
#eugeneprotest
Though larger in scale, and messaging, this is not the first time in recent history the USA has seen a large wave of people of all walks of life hit the streets. Occupy '11, Ferguson/BLM '14-'16, and '16-'17 around Trump/fascism/Standing Rock are good examples of this.
These things follow roughly a similar trajectory: Large "unorganized" wave of people hits the streets with eclectic positions and tactics, the wave either burns itself out through attrition, repression, or both, and the NGO's/activist groups/party opportunists take the initiative
to claim the torch of the movement (that they probably helped repress through their divisive rhetoric and denunciations) and they begin channeling any remaining street energy into dead ends. The favorite tactic of these groups is usually "The march to nowhere."
The "march to nowhere" is a cosplay of the original unruly mob which forces issues such as police abolition into the national discourse through tactics such as rioting and general disruption. Sometimes these protests will borrow the language of the original rebellion and make
calls like "abolish the police" (which has become watered down into a call to "defund the police") but will not allow space for a combative mechanism to develop which would force mere demands into something that could manifest into reality.
These activist groups will often appoint their own leadership, usually people who claim they have been championing this issue from day one, and impose many constraints upon what is allowed and acceptable at "their" protests, of which they claim is the entirety of "the movement."
A favorite tactic of leadership and their professional activist formations is to engage in identity opportunism when criticized, claiming to speak for all oppressed people in a particular identity category, and dismissing all criticism as simply being racist/sexist/etc.
These activist groups will then usually take it a step further and claim that anyone who is not a member of a specific oppressed category does not have the right or ability to act in solidarity with another group, and therefore should just fuck off and "listen to leadership",
which they mean themselves usually. This usually comes cloaked in language around "being a good ally" to oppressed peoples.
This 1-2 punch of toothless daily marches, and demobilizing ally politics rhetoric makes sure that any of those who identify with the class combat that
This 1-2 punch of toothless daily marches, and demobilizing ally politics rhetoric makes sure that any of those who identify with the class combat that
brought them to the streets to begin with will instead be steered away from that, and into useless avenues that will burn them out, if they dont immediately alienate them.
Beneath all the cosplay and rhetoric, the activist left seeks to conceal a combative class politics that has
Beneath all the cosplay and rhetoric, the activist left seeks to conceal a combative class politics that has
emerged from coast to coast in the wake of endless police terror, fascism, climate change, capitalism, and many other issues.
It should go without saying but marching is only 1 tactic in a large arsenal that can be deployed to achieve our goals. It is very easy for newcomers
It should go without saying but marching is only 1 tactic in a large arsenal that can be deployed to achieve our goals. It is very easy for newcomers
to get caught up in the highly spectacularized images of street revolt and think that is the only tactic that exists. Though we have no particular suggestions to make otherwise, we would say that in this moment, a definite need is out there to not allow opportunists to take over
the national discourse around things like police abolition, and counter information and propaganda is a necessary part of that strategy. Disallowing them from rewriting history will open up space for an organic conversation around continuity of the moment to happen.
