Banner Drop in Solidarity With M19 Actions and Arrested

Here Come the End Days, 27.03.2007 11:35

“We talk constantly about violence; it is our element our daily destiny. Violence is first of all the conditions imposed on us, the police defense of them and unfortunately more rarely, that which we throw back in their faces.”

Os Cangaceiros

Tuesday March 27th at about 9 am a banner was dropped reading “650,000 dead and they cry about windows.”

Recently much has been said in various channels about the demonstration on March 19th that ended with the vandalism of an Army Recruiting Center. Many have been quick to condemn these actions and the 21 youths (most of whom were arrested for merely fitting a profile and being on the east side) arrested that evening dismissing their actions as poorly thought-out and criminal. The debate has remained framed around this instance of protest violence, ignoring the larger context of the action.

In short: this country has been at war for nearly six years and has brought destruction and near civil war to two countries, with hundreds of thousands dead, many more wounded physically or emotionally, and millions of dollars of infrastructure, homes, etc destroyed. That this state of war can become so normalized that it is met with little more than a whimper of discontent, while a few broken windows bring everyone to arms, is the height of absurdity and speaks to the real disconnect United States citizens have from the rest of the world.

Throughout the globe, from the epicenter of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to American imperial allies in Europe and South America, resistance to this war has taken many varied forms, including destruction of property. Indeed, those who wage wars of empire understand little better than violence and as they use it with scant concern, we should not be so hesitant to throw it back in their faces when we can. The largest protest movement in decades, perhaps ever, could not stop the war in Iraq and even smaller, completely ignored peaceful events have no chance of impacting those in power now. If we want to get their attention and truly resist empire, we must not exempt any of the tools at our disposal. Even if we cannot agree on tactics entirely, we must recognize our allies where we see them and support our comrades in struggle when they find themselves threatened by the state. The banner drop today is a small show of solidarity with those arrested and an attempt to reframe the context of this debate around the extreme damage this war has wrought, instead of the mild damage enacted by some few who are sick of being ignored; sick of not striking back against the cloud of death that surrounds us in the heart of the empire.

Ya Basta! 27.03.2007 - 12:10 It is absolutely vital that the message of solidarity be spread far and wide across the lands that have come under the path of imperialist butchers. "“Every time a police agency pepper-sprays or uses pain-compliance holds against our people, their cars should burn.”"-Rodney Coronado emma goldschlager> keep it up 28.03.2007 - 20:21 now that the energy and determination is there, keep the action coming. hell.yeah> Yes! 29.03.2007 - 06:46 Great action and awesome message! Its good that people are able to put these actions in context... parade critic> <3 29.03.2007 - 09:46 Thank you Arrestee > ! 30.03.2007 - 10:47 someone in milwaukee's heart will not fit in their chest. your work and words are more than inspiring. keep it up! elizabeth> Other Actions 05.04.2007 - 13:24 I'm disappointed that there has been nothing posted about the 7 hours of protesting that was held on 4/4 since this is all about how the media only covered the illegal activities... Friend> go ahead 05.04.2007 - 14:01 the idea of indy media is to take the passivity out of journalism. with this set up we are all the media and if you believe something needs to be reported on don't wait for someone else to do it. i would love to see a report on what happened yesterday so please go ahead and post one. ARA kid> done 05.04.2007 - 16:11 report has been written and posted. pictures up soon! sorry for the delay! SDSer sds> Yeah! 16.04.2007 - 12:23 Yes! Keep up the good work!! Some poeple do appreciate it! Amy> e-mail:: mammer12s@yahoo.com