Portland Red and Black Bloc (May Day)

[Paulappaul]

I am from a Direct Action Network called PDX Solidarity Group. We are collective of Socialists, Communists and Anarchists whose principles are Direct Action through Class Solidarity and Left - Wing Solidarity. We've been active in Labor disputes, in Security for organisations against Portland's Large Fascist movement and in drawing out methods for Direct Action in all struggles. The Anarchist movement is infamous for its Black Bloc tactics. We feel this to be useful, but sectarian. So on May Day we made preparations for an anti - capitalist bloc for all leftists. We made 30 Metal, Solid Red and Solid Black Flags for our group to march in rank too. Our Bloc was effective in drawing in the ISO, the IWW and the Left Wing of Unions to our Bloc. We for the first time marched all together.

Here are some Pictures of the Bloc and Video from some leftists and our Tea - Party Stalker.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5150/5685911365_40b2f6d60b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5064/5686482910_01ffcf8358.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5310/5685909689_b71e869734.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5063/5686482550_9ca49bd243.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5251/5685912385_7686496a0f.jpg

This Tea Party dude has alot of Videos of us - Here is one of my favorite :
http://youtu.be/b_ij33jz900

I am glad he know we are Wobblies, Anarchists and Marxists :)

We caught alot of Media attention + Cops who only followed us (Roughly 12 on both sides of the bloc) who said quote "why do you have metal polls?" and "You scare the shit out of us" .

[Ele'ill]

The photos are great but don't quite illustrate how large the bloc was at times- there were a lot of people who chose not to march in the bloc the entire time. They were roaming around meeting up with people etc.. I'm waiting for the head-on photos to get posted with all the flags present.

[El Rojo]

nice to hear that leftist groups can cut through the sectarianism sometimes - keep it up!

[Ele'ill]

As you can see we rick rolled the ruling class on May Day. Surprised there's no comments on it thus far.

[Paulappaul]

I saw the sign lol, Did we sing Rick Roll too? I feel like we sang something also..

[Ele'ill]

I think there may have been a brief attempt.

[ducky]

Hey, thanks for linking to my photos. I'm glad you did - I may not have found the site otherwise. I wish I'd been able to get more shots - so many people and factions, so little time and marching. :/

[Paulappaul]

Whoa. Glad you found this too! If you want to link up with our organization, send me a PM!

[Le Socialiste]

Sounds like it was great. It's always nice to see people cutting through the sectarianism. :)



+ Cops who only followed us (Roughly 12 on both sides of the bloc) who said quote "why do you have metal polls?" and "You scare the shit out of us" .


Damn straight! :laugh:

[Tablo]

I really like to see stuff like this. Sure we can be at each others throats at times, but that doesn't mean we can't work together to give a big "fuck you!" to the man. :thumbup1:

[IndependentCitizen]

I saw the sign lol, Did we sing Rick Roll too? I feel like we sang something also..

Singing random songs like that are always a fun time. I remember during our student marches, we got kettled on a bridge for 3 hours and we sung a large range of songs. One being wonderwall by Oasis.

[smashcapital]

Good job comrades! Anti-capitalist bloc, I like it!

It's good to see more of a United Front type action. We should have more actions like this where we organise with multiple groups that have similiar interests.

[Paulappaul]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkKy_whP7Mw

7: 50 - 9:00!!!!!

It is epic. We knocked it out of the park with this one. Portland has never really seen such an army.


Sounds like it was great. It's always nice to see people cutting through the sectarianism. :)


Damn straight! :laugh:

I can't even explain to you how scared they were for us to turn it into a riot. Our links in security were telling us when they talked to the cops, they were just panicking.

[Ele'ill]

From 4:00 on through

http://youtu.be/FXwNEKWpbeo



Some good shots of the march

http://youtu.be/8hWlI0uplzQ

[bricolage]

Singing random songs like that are always a fun time. I remember during our student marches, we got kettled on a bridge for 3 hours and we sung a large range of songs. One being wonderwall by Oasis.
that probably would have encouraged me to jump off the bridge.

[IndependentCitizen]

that probably would have encouraged me to jump off the bridge.

Kept spirits high!

[Ocean Seal]

Some really inspirational stuff to see that happening in America.
xCroT4M2gAE
Oh also the Tea Party guy who made the video made this one too. Its almost like he has nothing better to do than stalk us.
And of course fascist means anyone who disagrees with you... to Glenn Beck.

[Paulappaul]

The Tea Party Guy is a loser, he tried to hang out with the ISO and get dirt on them. I think he realized they just... sell newspapers. Unfortunately he thinks they are the big kid on the block and anybody who is a Socialist is a member of what he calls the "InterNATIONAL SOCIALIST PARTY" blah blah blah.

[RedJanitor]

Yeah this year had by far the largest anti-capitalist bloc I've ever seen at a Portland Mayday march. I was expecting maybe a few dozen black blocers and maybe a dozen or so wobblies, but I was presently surprised.

Also I had never heard of the Portland Solidarity Group before this, it will be interesting to see what may come out of that.

[tachosomoza]

It's good to see some comrades who still take the direct action route and haven't sold their soul to the mainstream bourgeois "liberal" puppets! Good Work!

[Stand Your Ground]

Nice work. God damn I wish there were people like this in my area. :(

[Rakhmetov]

Close up pictures of the Black Bloc only convinces one that there are few in number. Whereas, a far away shot would reveal their true numerical standing. :laugh:

[Reznov]

One question, did you have any resistance from the "Portland Large Fascist Group"? I have never seen any kind of Fascist group in Portland.

[Reznov]

Close up pictures of the Black Bloc only convinces one that there are few in number. Whereas, a far away shot would reveal their true numerical standing. :laugh:

And, it would make me feel a little bit more popular to :laugh:

But great work nonetheless, one of these days I am going to head down to Portland!

How do we get involved?

[Robespierre Richard]

"Some of the people who flip off observers are members and/or pals of the InterNATIONAL SOCIALIST Organization of Portland State University."

Lol.

[x371322]

I love it! Keep up the good work. Wish I could've been a part of it.

[Ocean Seal]

Unfortunately he thinks they are the big kid on the block and anybody who is a Socialist is a member of what he calls the "InterNATIONAL SOCIALIST PARTY" blah blah blah.
Wait wait :blink: back it up one second. Is this the Tea Party guy's cheap attempt to link them to the Nazi's? That doesn't even make the slightest bit of sense.
International and national are mutually exclusive terms. In fact their almost contradictions.

Its like if they accused someone of being a fascist for calling themselves an anti-fascist.

[Paulappaul]

One question, did you have any resistance from the "Portland Large Fascist Group"? I have never seen any kind of Fascist group in Portland.

Portland has a National Socialist Party and a Volksfront. They did security at their last Tea Party rally.

@Reznov


How do we get involved?

Where are you from/what organization (if any) do you belong to? Send me a PM.


Its like if they accused someone of being a fascist for calling themselves an anti-fascist. __________________

He is stupid, really stupid.

[Mather]

I'm glad to see you had a good Mayday in Portland, keep up the good work.

Are there any ideas on expanding this kind of co-operation amongst Portland anarchists, communists and socialists into other struggles/issues?

[Dimmu]

Good job! Less sectarianism and more cooperation is needed!

[Paulappaul]

Are there any ideas on expanding this kind of co-operation amongst Portland anarchists, communists and socialists into other struggles/issues?

It's tough. Socialists are very dogmatic, it's their way or no way. They are particularly aganist Direct Action unless in extreme cases. Communists are hard to come by and when you do they are very theoretical. Anarchists are the best, but are arrogant and anti - organization. It's hard to get them to anything that isn't spontaneous or been called by some Anonymous Anti - Authoritarians. Regardless, they are the best, from a Direct Action perspective. The IWW, despite the talk of Class Solidarity is hard to get on the field for anything unless it's a Wobbly Struggle. The best organizations we have made ties with at this point, are the Socialist Party of Oregon and the International Socialist Organization and quite a number of cross trades unions. The later has been helping us with a local labor dispute with pickets, banner drops, etc.

[Mather]

It's tough. Socialists are very dogmatic, it's their way or no way. They are particularly aganist Direct Action unless in extreme cases.

What about other areas that don't necessarily involve direct action, such as labour organising, housing/resident struggles and community campaigns?


Anarchists are the best, but are arrogant and anti - organization. It's hard to get them to anything that isn't spontaneous or been called by some Anonymous Anti - Authoritarians.

Are the 'post-left', anti-organisational anarchists the ones that make up the anarchist movement in Portland, or do you have anarcho-communists, syndicalists and class struggle anarchists?


Socialist Party of Oregon

Are they the state branch of the SP-USA?

[Paulappaul]

What about other areas that don't necessarily involve direct action, such as labour organising, housing/resident struggles and community campaigns?

Sorry, I considered that Direct Action. Yes we do that though, or plan too. We are mostly labor organizing, but due to the shitty weather we can barely get to housing/resident struggles. We've just started teaming up with the Western Farm Workers Association, who does alot of Community organizing particularly oriented towards Latino's and casualized workers. Basically those workers who aren't represented.


Are the 'post-left', anti-organisational anarchists the ones that make up the anarchist movement in Portland, or do you have anarcho-communists, syndicalists and class struggle anarchists?

Yes. There are some good ones I am comrades with. But alot are your stereotypical Anarchists that everyone hates. Regardless, they do shit, and for that I respect them. We don't have many good Anarchists beyond them, the Wobblies are very exclusive.


Are they the state branch of the SP-USA?

Sort of. They broke off with the SP - USA recently, one of our members is trying to restablish a connection.

[Ele'ill]

I'd like to see a Cascadia anticapitalist bloc in either Seattle or Portland.

[bcbm]

y'all should rip off the seattle solidarity network, that shit looks kinda cool

[Paulappaul]

I'd like to see another anti-capitalist bloc for just about anything. This summer man, this summer :cool:

[Paulappaul]

y'all should rip off the seattle solidarity network, that shit looks kinda cool

We're cooler

[bcbm]

do you get crews to go intimidate landlords and bosses at their offices?

[Paulappaul]

We kill the slumlords and bosses :cool:

[bcbm]

security culture:sneaky:

[Tim Finnegan]

We're cooler
http://questionablecontent.net/comics/1919.png
Mentally replace "Northampton townie" with "RevLeft poster" and stitch a few commie patches onto their clothes, and it's this place come the summer, eh? ;)

[Paulappaul]

security culture

Yes haha

In all seriousness, I really like SEASOL. When we first got together I recommended this as a model for our organization. There had been previous attempts (there still may be) to get a group like them started here. We are similar, but not exactly the same. We outright Anti - Capitalist and we believe in uniting every anti - capitalist organization under that banner of Direct Action Anti - Capitalism. If you like SEASOL, and you like that concept, then we're kinda SEASOL+

Here is an example,

A local community college is planning to go on strike. We sent some folks up there to talk to the Union. Unions being what they are, weren't very sympathetic to what and who we are. We talked to the staff, a couple of whom are leftists. They feel very depressed over the state of some facility members and with the Union. They told us the students were unorganized and didn't really care. So we went to the students and their government and organized it for the strike. We got them to prepare for a walkout, for strike support. On the day of the adminstration's board meeting, we Banner dropped everywhere on the campus - "Student, Worker, Solidarity for education, aganist union busting", "No the 11th Hour Deal, all the way to strike", "Students for the Facility strike". The faculity who were outside the board meeting started clapping and cheering. We went the next morning and hooked banners some fences that border a highway and the college. We got lots of honks. The Union asked us to go pamphlet in front of some Capitalist Fucks office. He called the cops and tried to sue us. We've been going back ever since with more folks.

There are some picketers outside the college every day. Mostly with boring signs "no to strike, negotiation please" and all sorts of stuff. We got some local unions, based in things like plumbing and construction to come out and hold pickets and give them chants. We contacted the ISO, with student base to go and talk to the students there and assist us with radicalizing them. We are planning to speak in free speech zone on the campus with them.

[Paulappaul]

Mentally replace "Northampton townie" with "RevLeft poster" and stitch a few commie patches onto their clothes, and it's this place come the summer, eh? ;)

Fuck.. that looks exactly like me. With the Commie patches too.

[Tim Finnegan]

Fuck.. that looks exactly like me. With the Commie patches too.
Mind you don't fall into one of those grinders, then. ;)

[bcbm]

there are so many midwesterners in portland. possibly more than portlanders

[Paulappaul]

And Bourgeois Californians.

[bcbm]

the place i worked there was full of rich fucks so glad i was back of the house

[Ele'ill]

Hawthorne in the summer.

[bcbm]

i always liked mt tabor in the summer, lots of good walking/hiking in portland

[Ele'ill]

I prefer Powell Butte but it's a ways out there. The free wifi at the Belmont branch library sucks horrifically. It takes a minute and a half for the page to load- I'm using a thinkpad 600 but I don't have THESE kind of problems using it elsewhere. ffs

[Ele'ill]

I'm literally looking to connect to someone's WEP'd default BS while sitting in the library because the connection here is so bad. The good news is that they have big tables now.

[Eastside Revolt]

Snitch in the May Day Black Block?

http://anarchistnews.org/?q=node/14726

Details at Scribd (http://www.scribd.com/doc/55429191/New-Version-Easy-Read-Format-Handout)

There was a known and outed snitch and provocateur in our ranks during the May Day black block in Portland, OR.


Already understood to be a possibly paid snitch last year, Zaki Bucharest, a student government leader as PSU, and former IDF soldier, is attempting to get involved in radical circles, teach self-defense classes, and otherwise infiltrate the city's activist groups.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/55429191/New-Version-Easy-Read-Format-Handout


Check the link to read a pamphlet that can clue you in on what experiences have been had in regards to Bucharest with others, and distribute it widely if in the Portland area. Thanks.