Thread by @rjmarr

Saturday's #RVAprotests action has raised lots of questions about who was in charge. No easy answers, show why movement politics is so hard - for observers AND participants
#Thread
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richmond.com/news/local/upd…

Saturday's action did not seem to be organized by folks that have been involved in RVA #BLM protests. Mostly promoted by a flyer here: (Yup - that's GOP's Todd Gilbert circulating it; apparently he is #Antifa now.)
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https://twitter.com/cToddGilbert/status/1286812101726674946

Police chief said flyer had "tone of intimidation and fear" - meant to incite. Definitely provocative; little concern over where to draw the line of acceptable behavior. "Fuck shit up" can mean lots of things: Noise? Prop damage? Threats? Assault?
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https://twitter.com/Jaaavis/status/1287471936579211264?s=20

Some have blamed #BoogalooBoys and out-of-town activists. #RVACouncil 's Stephanie Lynch, who has been supportive of protestors in general, said the same
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https://twitter.com/Stephanie4RVA/status/1287487393721921536?s=20

Boogs were there, which is concerning. Murky motivations, overlap with white supremacists; Looking to take advantage to start a civil war, and seem pretty toxic. loose alliance with #BLM seems entirely predatory
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usatoday.com/story/news/nat…

But boogs, #BLM757, other outsiders - who was in charge? Why did people go if it was all bad guys? Why can't RVA movement get its shit together? Well, maybe YOU should try running a movement
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Remember: movements have some order, but not strict hierarchy. Leaders lead through charisma, skills, even background politicking. Folks disagree about tactics, but sometimes show petty jealousies you find in any group of people
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https://twitter.com/rjmarr/status/1273962707285348352?s=20

Rival group leaders. Clout-chasers vs. honest disagreements about tactics. Skilled with white allies vs. captured enemy collaborator. Going too far vs. not going far enough. Sometimes insiders know truth, but well-meaning activists can still get it wrong
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This weekend's fires and disruptive action may continue to advance movement goals. But there are costs, particularly support from "normie" Richmonders still prone to misunderstand. It's not just RTD commenters who think it's all "thugs" and "rioters"
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richmond.com/news/local/upd…

Meanwhile police again blame "outside agitators," a dangerous turn of thinking that allows authorities to demonize opponents ([whispers] #Antifa is the new communism)
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https://twitter.com/rjmarr/status/1268164479033933824?s=20

Local organizers face dilemma: (1) avoid helping authorities by blaming poor tactical decisions or provocative actions on "agitators;" BUT (2) still need maintain some unity in the movement and avoid being hijacked by bad actors
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That's movement politics: Single person or group cannot "own" a movement. Allows for a diversity of tactics, voices, energies; when it all works, transformative for participants & society. But same freedom and informality allows for fragmentation, diversion and bad faith
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It’s a hard road to navigate. And it again shows the tremendous power of the moment we're in right now, and how much had to go wrong to bring us here. Movements don’t happen because they are easy. Movements happen because there's no other choice
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More here: rvapol.com/blog/2020/7/27…