CHAZ (the capitol hill autonomous zone here in seattle) is an incomprehensible contradiction whose existence seems to have been willed into being through gumption and determination alone, and the result is something beautiful, fragile, and potentially world-changing. 
yesterday, CHAZ was a ghost town whose existence seemed memetic at *best*. but even in the few hours we were there, we witnessed in real time protesters negotiating with city employees, forming committees, making plans to transform this into something real.
SPD's retreat from the precinct building seemed largely to be a trap, like they expected protesters to burn it down so they could manufacture their own private reichstag fire. instead folks seized the territory and invented CHAZ out of whole cloth.
there are reasons to be skeptical of this project, but there are a lot more reasons to be optimistic than you might expect. CHAZ has allies in representatives like kshama sawant and the city council, not to mention city sanitation and construction services.
in point of fact, it seems the only people openly *against* CHAZ are cops, cop sympathizers, and a wide swathe of long-distance skeptics whose opinions aren't particularly relevant because they aren't *here.*
what i think we are all anticipating is a police crackdown, and i don't doubt that SPD are considering it. but this is a no-win scenario for them, especially now that CHAZ representatives want to formally evict them from the precinct building and turn it into a community center.
i suspect that, should SPD attempt a militarized coup of CHAZ, the backlash would inspire exponentially larger protests that would only further fuel the city council's consideration of disbanding the SPD altogether.
i imagine local businesses who were yesterday skeptical of the project have largely changed their tune as folks from across the region have flocked to CHAZ to see if it's real. there are gardens being planted, and there is systemic support.
y'all, i think CHAZ is real.
y'all, i think CHAZ is real.
i've been in this city all of four days and already my entire metaphysical understanding of what's possible has utterly transformed. but please take my commentary in that context. i'm not an expert, i wasn't there for the protests. this is just one person's perception of CHAZ.
the other thing i want to say is that this is not a young white people's endeavor. most everyone heading up committees and handling the organization of events has been black and/or queer. it's a rich neighborhood, but folks there seem to desire equity.
(i talked briefly with sarah tornai yesterday as she helped to encourage folks to take things beyond "here's what i think we should do" to actually making them happen. she's insists she's not a leader, but she is a good representation of the energy i've seen on the ground)
here also is a list of demands they've put together. it's rough, but it is a good starting point. and that, i think, is a great way to describe CHAZ as a whole.
medium.com/@seattleblmano…
medium.com/@seattleblmano…
THE CHAZ
some free resources i acquired at CHAZ. there was also ample food and water as well as numerous accessible bathrooms that seemed more sanitary than most public bathrooms i've used.
for the record, if you were to shake the tree of my ideology an anarchist would probably fall out, but ultimately i am less interested in such categories than i am in the material reality of building a society that provides for all its people.
anarchist flags, communist flags, and antifa flags can be seen in equal measure on the ground. CHAZ is not a project of any particular ideological persuasion but rather the manifestation of a much larger collective desire to build something better than what we have.
which is to say that if anyone tells you this is some kind of anarchist guerrilla coup or whatever, they're full of shit and shouldn't be given a second glance. remember:
muting this thread because the trolls have come out to play and there's only so many times i can be unambiguously correct before it gets boring. i will surely report back if or when i have more to share.
