Events surrounding PDX police march

[Ele'ill]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jVDijL44gg


http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2010/06/400458.shtml



I'm critical of some of the tactics. I'm critical of the lack of planning which seemed to bring the relatively same group of people as usual.


Let's get conversation rolling on this- especially if you live in the Portland area.



We can do better than this and get our communities involved.

[Ele'ill]

"There has been an ongoing debate in the progressive/left communities about the impact of the strategies and actions of the anarchists and Black Bloc, most notably after the smashing of windows at n30 WTO protests. Whatever views other activists hold about the anarchists' tactics, I think they deserve a shout out for their persistence, willingness and determination to inform our communities about police violence and repression, demand justice, and hold the police accountable for their actions and criminal behavior."

They don't deserve a shout out for anything if they aren't trying as hard as they can to organize. Some of the tactics used at the march were counterproductive as hell and dangerous to the people with low arrestability- The flyers I saw handed out well in advance of the march- on the indymedia portland website state 'All are welcome'.

The idea of every march isn't 'fun time'- sometimes you need to organize for an extended period of time and THEN march.

Masks and Black are a thing of the past.



The shout out needs to go to those unmasked who were actually helping bystanders understand what the issues and point of the march was. I observed on several occasions people doing this and from what I could tell it was sucessful. There just weren't enough of these people.


No drums? No band? Not enough literature being handed out? No megaphone repeating what the march was about?

Enough is enough. A disorganized and weak march hurts more than no march at all.