The Try-Works

In case you haven’t noticed, I try to live by the words of dear Alice Roosevelt Longworth, daughter of my least favorite US president.  As she said, “if you haven’t got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me.”

But, as much as I do enjoy finding unkind things to say about T.A.R.D., there are groups working in Denver that manage to cut through the overwhelming contempt that washes over me whenever I contemplate that useless, bloated, ahistorical, drooling beast known euphemistically as the antiwar movement.

What I mean is that as long as there are groups like RAIMD and Unconventional Denver out there, all hope ain’t lost.

From the Denver Post.

In Denver this weekend, a group of anarchists who have pledged to disrupt the Democratic National Convention will hold a secret action camp to learn about medical training and legal rights and to practice nonviolent tactics.

“We don’t want history to remember the Democratic National Convention in Denver as something that went smoothly,” said Tim Simons with the self-described anarchist group, Unconventional Denver.

“We want people to know there was dissent and people spoke up,” he said.

In the meantime, local governments in the region are inking contracts to send hundreds of law enforcement officers into Denver during the last week of August to work the convention.

Aurora will send nearly half its force to Denver, Jefferson County will ship more than 100 deputies and Arapahoe County is expecting to add 100.

Dozens of other agencies are sending officers: Colorado State Patrol, Arvada, Wheat Ridge, Englewood, Littleton, Colorado Springs, El Paso County, Douglas County and many others.

“We want to make sure we are adequately staffed for the number of people who are going to be here,” said Sonny Jackson, a Denver police spokesman. He would not disclose what agencies will be participating or how many officers are expected.

“We respect everyone’s First Amendment rights,” Jackson said. “We hope that the citizens will come in and conduct themselves in a law-abiding and responsible manner.”

With the contingent of local officers and federal agents and the money being spent on security from a $50 million federal grant, protesters worry about possible outcomes.

“The police are gearing up for confrontation,” said Glenn Spagnuolo, organizer with the protest group Re-create 68. “Police are getting dressed up for a fight, and if there isn’t one, they will create one.”

He said he has not heard of any of the protest groups planning violence against the police or citizens.

Plan for disruption

Numerous anti-war groups have announced their intention to demonstrate in Denver during the Aug. 25-28 convention, but most have promised peaceful actions. The language of the anarchist groups is more confrontational. Unconventional Denver is part of a national group of anarchists planning to descend on Denver.

The group says it will engage in nonviolent direct action and has called for protesters “to engage in a broad variety of tactics to disrupt fundraising events and prevent Democratic delegates from putting on the spectacle they claim as democracy,” according to the group’s website.

Unconventional Denver wants to shut down, disrupt or delay the convention; storm events; and “ensure that the DNC is a thing of rowdy beauty.”

The website suggests activists “hold” intersections to strand delegates in buses and “swarm” streets to force police to retreat.

The group has posted a schedule of events for certain days:

Sunday, the group wants to reclaim public space in the city. Monday, there will be actions against parties or restaurant outings and a “black bloc” gathering against capitalism. Tuesday, the group wants to shut down access to the Pepsi Center. And Wednesday and Thursday, there will be “creative actions” to address specific issues such as global warming, racism and criminal injustice.

“The streets will be a wild and creative place,” said Simons, a 25-year-old graphic artist who grew up in Boulder and lives in San Francisco.

Simons is helping organize Denver’s group, which meets weekly at a Colfax Avenue coffee shop. He wouldn’t disclose the size of the group.

For six days starting Saturday, they will meet at an undisclosed location to discuss actions and learn how to tend to one another’s medical needs and how to legally monitor the police reactions.

Simons says there will be street theater, “guerrilla gardening” and ways for alternative forms of media to get out their message.

A group called the Colorado Street Medics will be on hand throughout the protests to provide immediate medical service, said Zoe Williams, who is coordinating the expected 120 volunteer street medics.

“We don’t want to see a dark, evil atmosphere descending on Denver,” Simons said. “We want a festive atmosphere that celebrates grassroots movements.”

History of violence

Yet, historically, law enforcement officials have blamed anarchists for violence in protests.

In 2003, Colorado Springs Police Chief Luis Velez said, officers used tear gas on war protesters after anarchists from Denver disrupted the peaceful rally with violent acts — blocking an intersection and banging on cars.

Anarchists took center stage in Seattle during the 1999 World Trade Organization meeting, when protesters smashed shop windows and police shot tear gas and rubber bullets. The National Guard and state patrol were called in to quell the chaos.

“I was there,” said Simons, who blamed police force for the trouble. “We were standing up for democracy.”

Simons said the real message of what people want will not be heard in the Pepsi Center or in the Democratic Party’s platform; it will come from what is being said in the streets.

“Politicians and the people in power should be afraid of the power of the people,” he said. “That is the sign of a healthy democracy.”

Well fucking said, Mr. Simons.  Tonight I’ll raise a glass to and yours.  In the eternal words of Herman Melville:

Gulp down your tears and hie aloft to the royal-mast with your hearts; for your friends who have gone before are clearing out the seven-storied heavens, and making refugees of long pampered Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael, against your coming. Here ye strike but splintered hearts together — there, ye shall strike unsplinterable glasses!