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I often feel upset that in an activist scene that is about awareness of the problems in the world, I find that — while we may be accomplished at taking action regarding the problems we see — we can be quite unskilled at talking about the emotions and feelings that these issues bring up. I worry that in our frantic reactions to recent events, we will not recognize the need to be mindful of our emotional and psychological states. I fear that emotional or psychological work may be the first or “easiest” thing to give up or overlook in a crisis (ironically, when we need to pay attention the most).

Recent events have been personally unsettling to me: several FBI arrests of people

I know, the collective I work with got audited twice in one month (state, not federal – and this has never happened before in the 10 years I have been working with this group), now the raid at Long Haul and events/arrests at the RNC that seem to have barely made the news.

This all weighs heavy on the community and can take a toll on us individually and collectively. My question is, what might be the emotional or psychological fallout of state repression and what can we do to take care of ourselves and each other?

Emotional and psychological impacts of repression

Harvard ecopsychologist Sarah Conn notes “Much of the burnout that occurs…in social change organizations occurs because there is no acknowledgment of the powerful emotions involved in living as part of a threatened world and working to save it. Indeed, one of the central barriers to constructive initiatives for social change is the taboo on public expression or even acknowledgment of these emotions. Breaking through the taboo and harnessing the power of our emotional connections is essential work to be done…”

Activist, psychotherapist, and author Pattrice Jones confirms that in many forms of activist or social work “the cumulative impact of doing emotionally difficult work over a period of years can lead to the same difficulties in living caused by dramatically traumatic events.” I worry that the toll activist work (often draining) can exact coupled with the recent upsurge in (visible) repression may accumulate into increased occurrences of burnout and breakdown. Some emotional reactions to be aware of are: fear and intimidation, stress/anxiety, anger/rage, feelings of violation/helplessness, suspicion/feelings of betrayal, fragmentation/in-fighting, and feelings of disconnection or emotional numbness. Any combination of these (or others) may come up and, while understandable, if left unattended, they could turn in on us and cause personal or group problems.

Jones also talks about collective trauma: “Groups of people may experience trauma collectively, as when…an organization is subjected to police action. The collective reaction may be complicated since trauma tends to interfere with relationships, but people who experience the same trauma often feel a special kinship with one another.” Ultimately, the good news is that these kinds of events can bring us together. If we handle it well, and don’t forget to pay attention to our emotions then our groups can get stronger. The next question is how can we help each other through these situations?

Ideas for emotional/psychological work we can do:

On a personal level-

*Don’t forget the basics – eat well, get enough sleep, get enough physical activity. Also remember to drink enough water and resist the urge to drink too much alcohol (or whatever too much) which can be especially attractive when stress levels go up, but ultimately make it harder for your body and mind to cope.

*Do what you need to do to take care of yourself – this might include talk therapy, body work, yoga/exercise, medication, getting outside, meditation, etc – for me the right formula is running/biking, yoga, massage therapy, being outside/gardening, talk therapy, anti-depressants, meditation/dharma talks, and baths. Remember that you are important – take time for yourself so you can continue to do activism, political work, or whatever you do to be engaged in the world!

*Stay engaged with other people, don’t get isolated. Talk to folks about how you (and they) are feeling. Check in with yourself on a physical level too – emotions exist on both a physical and social level.

* Take time away when you need it – it is ok to take a break.

On a group level –

*At meetings start with check-ins to talk about how folks are feeling – while this might feel time consuming or petty it will ultimately make the group healthier. I recently attended a meeting where we did stretching/yoga together spontaneously before the meeting and it really helped to ground and focus folks (I realize this might be a little too woo-woo for some!).

*There will likely be issues and disagreements that come up in high intensity situations – as a group, think about how to do constructive conflict resolution. Make room for folks, stay open-minded, remember to have empathy and compassion – everyone deals with difficult situations differently.

*Acknowledge emotions – learn how to see them and sit with them – this can be powerful work that positively fuels activism – if we are aware of emotions such as fear then they won’t control us.

*Organizations and groups are collections of relationships – nurture those relationships by being present with each other and seeing what is happening with each other. Healthy interpersonal relationships create strong and stable projects.

*Celebrate successes – say thank you to each other for all the hard work! Why does this so often not happen? In all my group work, I feel I often hear criticism more than I hear praise. Celebration and praise will help us to continue to do the work and not let police repression distract us from it. Hell, folks deserve praise for just continuing to operate after repressive state actions!

This is just a short collection of ideas; I’m sure folks have many others, talking about these ideas is a good starting point to open up dialogue about how we are handling things on an emotional level. I’ve been told that after the raid at the Long Haul something like 20 computers were donated, tons of people have sent monetary support, and dozens of lawyers have offered their services. This is all amazing. Now imagine if talk therapists, massage therapists, yoga instructors, meditation instructors, and group dynamic/conflict resolution experts had shown up to offer their services!

So often crisis can bring out the best in us. We see our communities rallying to support each other and our visions for a better future are confirmed in the present. We are all in this together, and we know it. Let’s take it up a notch and bring discussions of our emotional lives and of the psychological impacts of repression to the table. Our communities and our continued political work will be healthier for it. For further information on this topic, I highly suggest Pattrice Jones’ book Aftershock: Confronting Trauma in a Violent World – A Guide for Activists and Their Allies as well as Laura van Dernoot Lipsky’s Trauma Stewardship: An everyday guide to caring for self while caring for others.

When police in Minneapolis/St. Paul raided numerous activist houses and the Convergence Center on the eve of the Republican National Convention (RNC) to pre-emptively arrest alleged key-organizers of the RNC Welcoming Committee (RNCWC) before protests had even begun, it marked a further escalation of police tactics against street protest. The Welcoming Committee was an umbrella organization created to organize protests against the RNC. Police charged eight activists with felony charges of “Conspiracy to Riot in Furtherance of Terrorism” for their involvement in the RNCWC — a heavy over-reaction to activities that amounted to organizing public street protests. Monica Biking, Eryn Trimmer, Luce Guillen Givins, Erik Oseland, Nathanael Secor, Robert Czernik, Garrett Fitzgerald, and Max Spector face up to 7 1/2 years in jail if convicted. They have been dubbed the RNC 8 which strangely rings the tone of the Chicago 8.

A search warrant affidavit demonstrates the police over-reaction and intent to go after the activist community as terrorists for daring to call for street protests. Cop language implies that the RNCWC are tantamount to the Mafia: “The RNCWC is an organized criminal enterprise who have conspired with affinity groups throughout the United States to come to St. Paul, MN during the RNC and utilize criminal activities to disrupt and stop the RNC.”

The heavy emphasis of the affidavit on conspiracy charges and the implication that these could attach to activist affinity groups across the US is particularly disturbing since one can be guilty of conspiracy even if you don’t actually commit a substantive crime. You can be convicted of conspiracy merely for agreeing with others to do something illegal — such as street blockades, etc. — even if you never step off the sidewalk.

The cop affidavit is full of wild exaggeration based on police infiltration and surveillance of the RNCWC for over a year prior to the RNC: “On 8/29/07, the Ramose County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO), Special Investigations Unit (SIU) initiated an investigation, along with other law enforcement agencies, into the RNC Welcoming committee (RNCWC).” The affidavit claims the Welcoming Committee sought to kidnap delegates, assault police officers with firebombs, and sabotage airports, none of which ever happened. It reads more like a police fantasy about comic book anarchist action figures than what real activists talk about at open meetings. But in the end, unlawful assembly seems to be the bottom line: “This conspiracy includes criminal damage to property, riot, civil disorder, use of incendiary devices and unlawful assembly.”

Perhaps most disturbingly, the police affidavit makes clear how thoroughly they infiltrated RNCWC activities. “This investigation has utilized regular surveillance of members of the RNCWC. Additionally, an Undercover Investigator (UI) and a Confidential Reliable Informant (CRI1) were utilized and posed as members of the RNCWC. CRI1 was utilized as a paid informant. . . . This investigation also had access to information provided by a Confidential Reliable Informant (CRI2) from another law enforcement agency. . . . This CRI was also posing as a member of the RNCWC.” The affidavit confirms that the police put the convergence center under surveillance from the moment it opened and kept track of who went in and out.

If you had anything to do with the RNCWC over the last year, you can’t help but feel paranoid — was the person I talked to a cop? Does the FBI have my name? Will they come after my affinity group next? The police had access to RNCWC email lists: “Through the use of UI, CRI1 and CRI2, this investigation had access to RNCWC group emails (also referred to as 3rd Coast list).”

Creating mass fear is precisely the point of these types of police operations. They seek to chill thousands of regular people from daring to engage in street protests by targeting a few individuals and letting us all know we’re being watched. The activist scene has two responses: refusing to be frightened off and supporting our comrades who the police seek to sacrifice as scapegoats.

The RNC 8 needs support during their trial and beyond. At the moment, they need to raise money for a vigorous legal defense. Many people are hosting benefits and spreading the word. You can write checks to “CUAPB” and put “RNC 8” in the memo. Send them to: RNC 8 Legal Defense Fund, c/o CUAPB, 3100 16th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55407 or check out RNC8.org.

As banks fall and the political-news cycle continues to obsess about staving off the impending global financial failure, it is important for those of us who claim to be against capitalism and the increased power of the state to understand what is happening and think about how we might interact with collapse (and the material and emotional ramifications of it) in a way that is sustainable.

It is difficult, at this point, to know how much of the latest crisis will translate into tangible effects for people who are not large stakeholders in the market system. The power of any successful state structure lies in its ability to make the vast majority of people feel that their own goals, inspiration, and identities are linked to the success of its power players, that each citizen’s well-being is tied to that of the system. Capitalist states do this by presenting the convincing illusion that each and every person or family is just a small scale model of a legal corporation, and that problems for the corporations always presage problems for actual persons, whose overriding motivation must necessarily be to acquire more economic power. Because of this, financial ups and downs that actually affect a relatively small subset of the population concretely are routinely presented as important for everyone to be either proud of or worried about.

The leadership of all political parties have the same task: to make the power structure that is in place work better by proposing minor adjustments. This government in particular claims to have an ideological, almost religious faith in what they see as the justice of market forces. Acts that challenge the supremacy of the ‘free market’ by restricting its growth are seen as heretical. The only alternative presented is an increase in the power and jurisdiction of the state, either replacing the one god for the other or finding some sort of equilibrium between the two. This is the discussion surrounding the recent financial meltdown and resulting government bailout.

The truth, however, is that neither the market, nor the state are omnipotent godheads but have, in fact, been created by people and survive, in large part, because people in the world choose, actively or passively, to believe in their power and reality. I am not saying that the effects of the market will cease to exist if you just stop believing in them. At this point the market, like the state, has become this very real thing that can and does easily destroy people. I am merely pointing out that today’s economic totality is not eternal and its laws are not absolute: there was a time when it did not exist and there will be a time when it will no longer exist.

The fact that the system seems so weak at this moment could lead one to wax optimistic about the opportunity it gives us to create communities of people that are autonomous and practice mutual aid, building new worlds out of the ashes of the old: indeed, it is always time to be doing that. It is also important to note however, that people have been heralding the end of capitalism on and off for the last hundred and sixty years and so far its moments of crisis have led to stronger states, and increased authoritarianism (including actual fascism) more often than they have led to beautiful alternatives.

If we are going to be people who are both critical of the world as it is and honest about our actual relationship to it, then we have to acknowledge that we, as individuals and communities, are not separate from or immune to the effects of an economic collapse. The collapse of capitalism, when it eventually comes, will not be pretty or easy. Most people, including anyone dependant on banks, supermarkets, or fossil fuels for their survival will face uncomfortable new realities. The 1929 stock market crash led to unemployment, starvation and homelessness on an unprecedented scale, in the US and around the world.

The rational fear generated by these realities can certainly lead people to be more conservative, less trusting, and more willing to submit to whichever authority promises some measure of stability. Yet there is also a way that pressure imposed on people during times of hardship can act as a catalyst for more positive emotions, forcing people to rely on themselves and each other and to live life more intentionally. The fact that this latest economic crisis comes at a time when we are also facing an ecological disaster means that the possibilities are particularly stark. Will people, by in large, jettison their environmental concerns because they are perceived as too expensive, or decide to change the way that they interact with the ecosystem because it is too costly not to? Questions like this exist on a multitude of overlapping levels. Choosing to let these be opportunities for positive transformation is something every body can do in the context of their own lives.

It is important not to minimize the very real fear that comes with economic crisis, but it is as important to engage with that fear constructively and not let it overpower us. Living on edge, in a place of anxiety and insecurity is not a sustainable practice. Fear that is denied, or unacknowledged, lurks forever in the background of our consciousness until we are not even able to trust ourselves with the responsibility of keeping it at bay. Recognizing our fears and understanding where they come from can transform them into tools that helps us better identify dangers, assess risks, and make decisions about how to proceed. The truth is there is no way to prepare completely for any catastrophic event, be it global climate change, a hurricane, great economic depression, or the death of a friend. We do not get to choose what the world throws at us, but our freedom lies in the ability to choose how we engage with it.

More concretely, it is possible to take steps and build networks that make us less dependent on the solvency of economic capital, and more able to depend on each other outside the protocol of economic relations. Investing in the relationships in our lives is crucial: so many of our connections to other people are mediated by money. The more that we can learn to know and trust one another, the more prepared we will be to both give and receive love and mutual aid when shit hits the fan and the less likely we are to feel isolated and afraid.

It is also important to invest in our own knowledge of how to take care of ourselves materially outside of the context of fossil driven trade and technology. During the depression of 1930’s most people still possessed the knowledge of how to preserve food without refrigeration, to bake their own bread, mend their own clothes and tend their own gardens. There may come a time when these skills will again become necessary and knowing how to be more self-sufficient is an empowering defense against worry and despair.

There is a way that these moments of instability, as difficult as they are, test our ability to transcend capitalist logic and dependency. By nurturing goals and following passions that are not expressed through the acquisition of economic power we can stop playing into the hand of the state. By developing relationships of mutual support that we can trust — and learning how to do things for ourselves — we can prevent the kind of overwhelming fear and insecurity that breeds reactionaries and begin to play with each other, for ourselves.

On May 8, 2008, the United States government sentenced Eric McDavid to 19 years and 7 months behind bars for a crime that was never committed. Eric was arrested in January of 2006 and charged with “conspiracy to destroy property by means of fire or explosives”. However, no actual property damage ever occurred. The government’s fear of “eco-terrorists” has made Eric just one defendant in a string of arrests known as the Green Scare. The undercover snitch “Anna” was paid $75,000 by the FBI to help frame Eric for conspiracy. Eric’s sentence was extended with the use of the government’s Terrorism Enhancement Measure. For more information on sending money for his appeal case please visit www.supporteric.org. Write to Eric at:

Eric McDavid 16209-097

FCI Victorville Medium II

PO Box 5700

Adelanto, CA 92301

United States Sentencing Guideline (USSG) 3A1.4 is a Terrorism Enhancement Measure that allows judges to increase a sentence if the offense “involved or was intended to promote a federal crime of terrorism. “This loosely worded measure means that any crime, committed or conspired, that is aimed at affecting the conduct of government or property used in interstate commerce would be defined as a terrorist activity. This means extra jail time, even 6 fold the sentence, as witnessed by the “Operation Backfire” arrests. Because of the terrorist label, prisoners are also housed in high security prisons, with more restrictions. However, judges are not obligated to follow this sentencing guideline.

Briana Waters, 14th victim of Operation Backfire was sentenced in Tacoma, Washington on July 19, 2008. Briana was sentenced to a 6 year prison term with 3 years of probation. She is accused of being involved in the bombing of the University of Washington’s Center for Urban Horticulture. She maintains her innocence and is currently in an appeal process. Briana is being held at a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut even though she requested a facility in Dublin, California to be closer to her family and 3-year-old daughter. Yet another victim of the terrorism enhancement sentencing measure.

www.supportbriana.org

On July 14, 2008, Daniel McGowan appeared in federal court in Madison, Wisconsin and was found in civil contempt for refusal to answer questions before a grand jury. McGowan was charged in 2007 with arson and is serving a 7 year sentence. Until the grand jury is dismissed or resolved, he will not receive time served. An appeal has been filed by his lawyer as well as a motion for bail. Please write to Daniel at:

Daniel McGowan

USP Marion

PO Box 1000

Marion, IL 62959*

Let’s make a better world without leaving out the mamas (and papas, partners, child-care providers) and children this time! Here are some concrete things you can do to support parents and children in your scene.

1- Give children attention. Say something to them: just be your true self, whatever you are thinking, they are open to that. Children act better when they get attention. In the beginning of a meeting if a group gives the children some attention, they are often happier and better behaved for the rest of the meeting.

2- Develop childcare as an ongoing relationship with a child – it takes some time to get to know a child before they are comfortable with doing stuff with you away from their parents.

3- Offer a slot of time, to spend time with a child on a weekly basis

4- Integrate children and adults: it’s more pleasant to watch children with other adults to talk to; it’s more pleasant for the children to see adults enjoying each other and not feel a burden to them.

5- Include children in the planning of any activity, like a sewing workshop for instance.

6- Doing something child-friendly? Ask a kid if they want to come along. (Lizxnn has been taking Siu Loong for critical mass rides for three years and she loves it.) Children can benefit from activities their parents don’t do and parents can benefit from the time to themselves.

7- If a baby is crying because it needs to be held and the parent has their hands busy and cannot hold it; offer to hold the baby.

8- If a child is making a disturbance in an area, offer to go outside with the kid so the parent doesn’t have to leave the event.

9- Meet parents at their level: come visit them at home or where ever their spaces are. Let parents talk about being parents: realize having a child is like having the most intense love affair you have ever known (says one parent. Another says – not.)

10- Acknowledge children: don’t treat them like they are invisible

11- To announce that we are OK with children making noise (at meetings we wish to make parent-w/small children-friendly), we can talk over them, and value mothers and children sticking around. The announcement can help put mothers at ease.

12- Give us a smile!

ALSO – When providing child care at political events (and every event should have child care!)

13- Visit the children and childcare providers in daycare – and say “Hi!” Childcare providers can feel isolated from others at the event. Have a cup of tea with them! (suggested by Siu Loong, age 5)

14- Parents with different aged children have different needs. Parents with younger children or children who aren’t comfortable leaving their side yet would benefit from childcare that was off to a side of the same room or more central to the main events. Parents with older and more independent children benefit from having them in a different room or floor. Either way, childcare must be assessable.

15- Parents need to give more input to the day-care providers, about their and their children’s needs during the planning of the event, in order for the childcare provider to better assist them. At least tell them you are coming and the age of your children.

16- It’s comforting for parents to know childcare is available, even if they don’t use it

AND – Contemplate

17- How much work/consuming being a parent is: 24/7; in the beginning years it’s hard to even think straight: one is still adjusting to being a parent and young children’s needs are very intensive

18- That radical parents don’t fit in at mainstream places, like their children’s schools – so when they go to an anarchist gathering and don’t feel supported by their own culture – how bad that feels.

These suggestions are from the “Don’t Leave Your Friends Behind: Anarcha-feminism & Supporting Mothers and Children” workshop at La Revolta! To get a copy of the 22 page workshop handout: you can download it from: http://bengal.missouri.edu/%7Emaxwellr/DontLeaveYourFriendsBehind.pdf or send a dollar to Vikki Law P.O. Box 20388 NY NY 10009 or China Martens P.O. Box 4803 Baltimore MD 21211 USA

Living without money is more fun! Work trade is where you work in exchange for room and board while you travel. In essence, it’s probably the cheapest way to travel the world, meet people, and eat real good local foods. Every situation is different and there are cool and not so cool people to work for, as in the alternate capitalist Babylon world. This is something that everyone should experience. I did receive some government assistance through food stamps, and knowledge from work-trading in the New Orleans area that, if the emergency ever arose, to go to the emergency room without identification (at least in America) and they will treat whatever your condition may be. You may just need to play the character role of a mean person from back home, or just an imaginary friends name you know.

I won’t say which Hawaiian island I was on when I got this dream position. I had previous knowledge of a local plant on the islands known as Kava, with the plants’ name known as Awa (pronounced ava). It is a stress relieving drink that you make by taking the root of the plant and drying it in the sun. You then grind it into small bits or cut it very small, (some stores sell it as a powder or extract) and then put it into a cheese cloth, sock, or old t-shirt; basically anything that will strain it. You take some good filtered water, and pour over the kava into a big bowl, portions vary, but you’re supposed to dip the kava into the water in the bowl and squeeze many times also. The water will turn a tan dirty color but obviously, the darker the color, the more strong the kava will be! Native Hawaiians, before Captain Cook screwed everything up, would have political meetings, where everyone of importance would drink a coconut cup filled with Kava before meeting. Nobody fought, but issues were heard and complaints addressed. Sounds like we could all use some more kava in our lives right?

I took care of between 200-300 awa plants on a plot of land of about 3-4 acres in the middle of this wild valley known as the Valley of the Kings (hint hint). I had a mountain view in front of the plot of land, where the sun would first hit around 6:16am. The valley floor we were situated in had about a mile wide mouth at the black sand beach at the ocean, and grew wider as you went further back into the valley.

My camp/situation was about a two-mile hike into the valley from the entrance, which was a long crazy super steep mile you needed four wheel drive for. I walked down many times, but only walked up a few. I went on many adventures just exploring the area, just as you should, explore your area.

I was dropped off on this amazing solo adventure with a shovel, an axe, a saw, a machete, a propane tank, stove hook-up, a box of dried food goods, two bags of my stuff (clothing, chess, soccer ball), also a bunch of matches, two lighters, a big straw hat, an army cot, and three blankets (one from the airlines). At the site, I found five five-gallon buckets and two spools of metal wire.

My mission that I chose to accept was three fold. 1) To work solo to keep the plants weeded and watered. 2) Plant keiki (baby) awa plants (80 in total) and 3) build tri-pod tee-pees to protect the awa plants from the wild horses trampling feet.

Sometimes I would wake up early in the morning, or late at night, to hear the horse breath through their mouths… if you’ve ever been around horses, you know what I mean. I’d slowly put on some shorts and slowly unzipped the tent and sneak outside. It’d be dark sometimes, dusk maybe, and I’d sneak up very slowly, as slowly as possible towards the horse(s). I’d move a bit faster than desired most of the time and the lead horse, or only one sometimes, would just stand and stare in my direction, or possibly right at me, for a long time, and I’d just stay perfectly still… and even more closer when they went to graze again. When I was close enough, or felt it was the right timing, I’d sprint towards them with a scream, flailing my arms around and they would bolt! There’s nothing like scaring a large wild animal that you know is not going to attack you. A wild boar on the other hand… well it’s another story.

We had no barbed wire fence around our plot to keep the horses and boars out, but we also had wild cats and mongoose in the valley. Mongooses were brought here the island to deal with the rat problem. The problem is rats are awake at night, and mongooses are awake in the daylight. So they both just live separate lives, and now there are two problems instead of one. There were a bunch of awa plants areas with rocks around them that needed weeding, as well as there were individual plants scattered around the forest, as a forest planting. This specific farmed land had started about three years ago as that’s how old the oldest awa plants were I was told.

There was an awesome section that had been planted by some kids I knew, one plot was in the shape of a peace sign, the other was two ovals in the shape of the moon two-thirds filled I guess; placed opposite each other, it became a vagina, their plan all along. It felt good to weed and water those plants. I had plans of building an earth oven as there had already been an existing L shaped rock wall I could have turned into a C shaped structure with a space in the back for exhaust. All these plans were great on paper, but not practical for the amount of time I spent there vs. exploring and basic living. I used the fire pit under the bamboo structure for most of my cooking needs. I actually prided myself for not turning on the propane stove for the first week I was there… and I only turned it on when I got the tea kettle as the propane didn’t burn the sides of the kettle as the fire had. Although I am an omnivore, the need for the kettle was there because all the water I boiled in the pot I brought tasted a bit like hot dogs… no good.

Another crazy thing that happened was the discovery of wild coffee trees in my back yard! It was tree dried (meaning raisin) in the month of May. And I just took these black dried berries off the trees from a bunch of neighbors places, in the understanding of course that it’s easier to ask for forgiveness sometimes than permission (same with the bananas, mangos and papayas). You had to break open the black berry and you’d have two pods, and in each pod was a green coffee bean! At first I picked what I thought was a dosage of coffee for a single coconut cup, and roasted it over the fire in a pan, constantly moving it. It popped and crackled, and I believe I burned the beans on two occasions that I made cowboy coffee. I ground the coffee in a plastic bag bashing it with a rock, and it was some of the best tasting coffee I feel I ever drank.

All these experiences, while suckling on the teat of federal assistance, made me a better person. If you’ve ever worked for a job for over a year, you’ve paid your dues and deserve this sort of work-trade situation while getting food stamp benefits. Living also on lots of bananas, papayas, granolas, and other healthy food, including going prawn (shrimp) hunting was a blessed experience of an adventure. Yes I dug holes in the ground to do my business, but now I find peeing in a bowl of water not only wasteful, but also highly impractical… GO WATER A TREE or some other plants, and if you’re stuck in a metropolis Babylon land someplace, until you break free… if it’s brown flush it down, if it’s yellow, keep it mellow!

In a massive police operation involving at least three Indiana law enforcement agencies, a tree-sit, blocking the construction of a superhighway was brought down in its fifth week on June 20th. Named Camp B-Rad in tribute to Brad Will, the tree-sit delayed the clearing of dead trees for the first leg of construction for several weeks and was declared a free state. Though the tree-sit was evicted, and eight activists were arrested, many on questionable charges, the fight to stop this road is far from over.

For seventeen years, opposition to the building of new terrain I-69 between Indianapolis and Evansville has been fought by citizens of Indiana, growing to overwhelming proportions. Even the Indiana Department of Transportation (InDOT) has admitted that 75% of Indiana opposes its construction, and 94% of the 22,000 public comments on their Environmental Impact Statements condemn it. Many of these people, including those working with Roadblock Earth First! and the I-69 Listening Project, have come to realize that there is no democratic process in the building of I-69 – those with money and power simply don’t care about the repercussions of their actions.

The I-69 will destroy 7,000 acres of land including the Patoka Wildlife Refuge and evict over 400 people including an Amish community. It is part of the NAFTA superhighway that will enable the most ugly visions of FREE TRADE. The road will go as far north as Ontario and is planned to run all the way south to Mexico. It will connect with superhighways of the controversial Plan Puebla Panama project in Mexico and Central America. The PPP will pave over previously untouched jungles and displace indigenous and rural communities, causing them to seek sustenance in new sweatshops brought to them by NAFTA or in the US where they would work for slave wages. All of this, just to feed American and Canadian consumer “needs.”

With this future in mind, anti-I69 activists constructed a tree-sit near Evansville, Indiana in protest of this completely undemocratic process, hoping to delay construction to allow local landowners time to take their cases to court and get a fair amount for having their lives ruined by this highway. The tree-sits erected on May 18 are known as “dunk’em sits,” meaning that the platforms were held up by support lines running through pulleys that were attached to the trees. While the two trees occupied were not set to be cut, their support lines were tied off to 50-foot tall trees already cut down and set to be cleared by May 31 in order to prepare the area for the on- and off-ramps in the first 1.77 miles of construction this summer. Therefore, if anyone tried to cut the lines in order to clear the logs away, the platforms would drop sitters over forty feet. Police and media visited the tree-sit numerous times and were informed about the potential for injury or death repeatedly.

At 5:30 AM on June 20th, the five activists at the tree-sit awoke to thirty police officers swarming around woods of the tree-sit. The two tree-sitters, Andrew Joyce and Emily Cross, and the three on ground support, Laura Barnett, Nick Steinke, and Banu Quadir, were informed that they were being evicted from the grove and had fifteen minutes to leave before they would be arrested. The police also stated they would have no regard for the safety of those being evicted. The ground support crew chose to follow the instructions of the police, left the property, and walked on State Road 68 toward a nearby gas station at the intersection with SR 57. At this time, the police sent a negotiator up one of the occupied trees in an attempt to convince the sitters to come down. The sitters refused and one attempted to lock down. The police then used a cherry picker to remove both of the sitters, disregarding their assertions that such actions endangered their safety.

Indiana State Police (ISP) arrested the three ground support crew for charges of obstructing traffic. tree-sit supporters in nearby Evansville were informed of the arrests and mobilized to observe the eviction. Two vehicles drove to the tree-sit which was an approximate 30 minute distance away.

. At 6:30 AM, the first vehicle, a truck driven by Chad Frazier with two passengers riding in the bed (Michelle Soto and Eric Magas) left Evansville and soon realized they were being followed. They were stopped by ISP and Chad was tackled by police officers and forcibly shoved to the ground. One of the officers accused Chad of spitting on him, which he denied, and threatened to charge him with battery. Simultaneously, the two completely cooperative passengers were arrested at gunpoint and Michelle was shoved onto the hood of the truck. The second vehicle was stopped as well with the passengers being briefly detained and were threatened with arrest if they proceeded to the tree-sit.

The eight arrestees were taken to the Warrick County jail.. The charges brought by the state prosecutor Todd Corne included many questionable charges all of which were misdemeanors, except for Chad’s two charges. All eight were bailed out for $2450. We would like to note the wide variety of undue force, intimidation attempts, and unconstitutional tactics used by the police on June 20.

On May 19 two residential neighborhoods were visited by protesters chanting “I-69 Stop It Now” and “Polluting the land, polluting the water. Profiting off the earth’s slaughter” in front of the homes of John and Michael Gohmann, contractors for Gohmann Asphalt. The company has been awarded the contract to construct the first 1.77 miles of I 69, and now have decided to start a legal battle with activists. Gohmann seems to be working in conjunction with the FBI, Indiana State Police and various other law enforcement agencies to cripple the movement. At the second Gohmann demo 15 people were arrested solely on misdemeanor charges and yet the collective bail was upwards of $40,000. Those arrested are facing between one and three charges, these being trespassing, resisting law enforcement, and conversion (exerting unauthorized use or control of someone else’s property.) Many of these charges are groundless and clearly an attempt to intimidate activists into refraining from future actions against the road. No plea agreements have been accepted and trials dates are expected to be ongoing throughout the fall and possibly continue into the winter.

Additionally, a lawsuit, which appears to be a SLAPP suit, has been filed against the 16 individuals arrested at actions at the Gohmann Yard in Haubstadt, Indiana. A SLAPP suit is a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, in which a corporation or developer sues an organization in an attempt to scare it into dropping protests against a corporate initiative. Gohmann is seeking restitution for alleged damages. It is clear that the supposed “damages” are completely fabricated or, at the very least, hugely inflated. Gohmann was initially seeking $16,000 from the one individual arrested at the first action, but has since added the other 15 people arrested at the second action and increased the sought restitution to over $27,000. Included in the lawsuit is a statute stating that the defendants are potentially liable for up to three times that amount. This exorbitant sum is being demanded, despite the fact that the first person arrested was offered a plea agreement for their criminal charges requiring only about $330 in restitution for these supposed “damages.” This incredibly exaggerated and inaccurate sum seems to be intended to crush the movement against the I-69 and anyone who dreams of trying to stop this road.

Gohmann is filing a restraining order against all 16 people in a final attempt to quell their first amendment rights. The restraining order contains many over the top stipulations. Should it remain in place it would require that defendants remain a minimum of 100 yards away from any site that Gohmann has proprietary or monetary interest in. This would include all 1.77 miles of the route. The restr
aining order extends to many situations out of the control of defendants such as proximity to Gohmann trucks or driving by Gohmann sites.

According to many lawyers who have been consulted, the restraining order contains a law used to protect workers from potential stalkers and violence. A law typically used in domestic abuse situations is also cited. Clearly, this is an abuse of these laws, as none of the actions by defendants were violent, or intended to cause or threaten violence. Included in the restraining order were inflammatory documents and statements attempting to link defendants with extremist groups such as the Earth Liberation Front (an underground group which engages in sabotage and direct action in defense of the Earth). They attempted to link defendants to various other environmental groups with which they have no connection. It seems like an attempt to portray defendants as being part of a much broader network of eco-radicalism.

The legal situation can appear somewhat bleak right now. However, as one lawyer commented, “these are their biggest guns and they are pulling them out now, at the beginning.” Often large companies or the state attempt to overwhelm smaller groups with a lot of legal bureaucracy, knowing that it is a greater burden for those with fewer resources. These are clearly scare tactics meant to consume our energy and time but legally appear to be fairly groundless. Despite these difficulties the defendants plan to continue fighting this on all levels and will not let these tactics of intimidation stop them.

Though the tree-sit only lasted for four and a half weeks, it was able to delay construction for over two weeks, given that Gohmann’s clearing contract was supposed to end by May 31. Some of us foresee an even stronger campaign in the spring of 2009, as restraining orders and SLAPP suits are the most commonly used legal tools against activists; once we beat them, Gohmann will have nothing left. The restraining order is being handled by an Indiana ACLU lawyer and the civil suit is being handled by a friendly Indiana lawyer at a discount rate. The campaign is currently in a transition, as many long-terms have left the campaign and others leaving in the spring, but organizing among students and the leftist community of Bloomington is still happening.

We now call for folks to act in solidarity to let everyone involved with I-69 know that their participation is unwelcome and sinister. We also put out a call for fundraising, and the formation of affinity groups to travel to Southern Indiana to get to know the area for resistance next spring.

Besides the glamour of being shoved into the dirt by cops, we still need to organize community meetings, garden, fix bikes, cook food for large groups, go door-to-door, make flyers, hold workshops, find more housing, gather supplies, and lots more. If you are unable to come to Indiana and money is tight in your community, check out our wish-list at stopi69.wordpress/how-to-help, and send the supplies our way. Make sure you check out stopi69.wordpress.com/forum for the ride and supply boards.

Legal funds or contacts are greatly appreciated and being sought. If you have any ideas or resources please contact roadblockef@yahoo.com

Left to make our way to the undisclosed location of our affinity group’s action on our own terms, Monday began as all others did since Frenzy and I arrived in St. Paul, MN to protest the Republican National Convention: late starts, unfocused meetings, and the untrustworthy gaze of someone I am supposed to be trusting to save my ass in a dire situation. Instead, I only feel my ass would be served on a plate to the cops. There was such a strong presence of cops on East 7th Street where we got off the bus, much further from our sector and downtown than we’d originally expected.

I walked with another person, S and met up with H on our way there. He came by bicycle and reported back to us about the plan. “We’re fucked.” We couldn’t think of what to do. A mustached older man rolled up on his red motorcycle. “Lookin’ fer a protest?” he inquired behind dark sunglasses. H mumbled no and the man revved off, perhaps in search of others “lookin’ fer” RNC-related mischief. We decided to split the scene, go to a cafe, and reconvene. S and I only got as far as the cafe, Frenzy would meet up with me later afterwards to do some legitimate scout work around Sector 2ish with the Communications group. On foot we headed toward downtown, toward the sirens, toward the helicopters. Toward the police. Toward the mayhem. Toward the battle against the state, the corruption, the hypocrisy and teargas, the fences and retaliation, the horses and the dumpster barricades, the apathetic and active native Minnesotans. Toward the beauty of fighting for what we stand for.

I want to preface what I did and saw next by saying I really miss my bicycle, Priscilla. I can ride smoothly and swiftly and cover a lot of ground on that vintage 5-speed. Today I felt lame, my feet hardly moving, my legs making the pedaling motion they’re so used to, but not succeeding in the way they’re used to. Either way they learned to book it once we saw three cop cars heading west, or south, or east. We were continually on the move, from West Kellogg Blvd. to East 6th Street.

We even had a chance to rub elbows (literally) with Republican delegates. After walking a few blocks from the grocery store we spotted charter bus after charter bus filled with what we knew to be delegates. We crossed the street with them, smiled at them, and almost made it to the first checkpoint across the street from the Excel Center. We were mesmerized at the giant FoxNews screen that projected a foxy blonde anchor in a red dress reporting Republican rhetoric spun more than a salad mixer. Along our detour into the “battlefield” of downtown St. Paul, we met up with a Democrat who was very active in following us around to each action, if not just to observe the sheer number of cops present.

So there was the peace march that we slipped into. And there was the Anarchist Anti-Capitalist bloc we marched alongside. It was glorious and I almost forgot how badly my feet hurt until the hill we had to climb up to the Capitol building. Turns out we both needed rest. Then . . .

Enter The Crazy Anarchists! Staking out the Crowne Plaza on Kellogg where delegates were being bused out. There was a sound system, a row of mobile riot cops, and, before long, horses. I felt sorry for the horses. Such a beautiful animal shouldn’t be used to make a menacing figure more menacing. It’s like associating butterflies with the plague.

So there were the horses. Then there were the full-on riot police, with shields. Whew! I did what I could to stay away from the frontline as I was not wearing black and had a very awkward tote bag to carry around. Nevertheless we remained with them as pepperspray shot through the air. A stream of Silly String quickly followed in pursuit. All the while I’m thinking, “So THAT’S what teargas feels like . . . ” Frenzy, though not directly tear-gassed, felt its stinging effects carried through the strong wind as we were alongside the Mississippi River. Still we followed not too far behind the black bloc, and the cops.

The final showdown that brought our day to a close was the closing in and execution of a mass arrest attempt by the police. I myself nearly panicked. First they moved west. Then the National Guard moved in, weapons drawn. I remember hearing three shots — there may have been more. I just wanted to run. I still only felt comfortable observing. I didn’t want to be arrested today.

There were two parking lots separated by a street. Frenzy and I were walking east, I’m planning an escape route so we can book it if need be. I’m still consciously in “Activist Mode.” Where the road curves to the south, a line of mini-vans stop as if at a traffic light, and out of each minion comes six to eight cops in full riot gear, bats drawn. The crowd disperses quickly. I begin to sprint. Frenzy screams, “STOP!” and I freeze. I watch as all the people with dental-floss applied patches are run down and thrown to the ground. Medics are not resisting arrest. I can’t say what I would have done if that had been me. You feel so brave until terror comes at you with zip-tie style handcuffs and a wooden bat. But I was still. I was silent. And I was dressed in pink and yellow. I think these three components made me invisible to the police force taking over St. Paul that day. There was a lady cop barking orders, stalking back and forth like an angry bull ready for the opportunity to charge a matador. She didn’t so much as glance my way except to view what was beyond me — protesters dressed the way protesters are supposed to be dressed. I wanted to punch her, she was attacking people I associated myself with and loved. When she looked in Frenzy’s direction, he mustered out in a cracked voice, “Thanks for all your hard work.” I wanted to punch him. Later he told me he said it out of fear, to make us appear as if we blended in more.

Once the crowd cleared except for those lying on the hot asphalt, Frenzy said with exhaustion, “I’m done for today. Let’s go.” I found myself speechless, both at the apparent failure illuminating Frenzy’s words and the leftover scenery of the raid. People were up against a wall, hands up, their backs to the police. A plain-clothed citizen stood by as a medic and a protester had their faces in the asphalt, a cop approached with a pair of those zip-tie handcuffs. I regretfully turned my head the other way and began to our next task of finding a bus that would stop for us and deliver us back to Minneapolis.

“Psychological First Aid for Activists: This training is designed to give people the tools they need to recognize the signs of emotional trauma immediately following a difficult experience, as well as the tools they need to provide immediate care and referrals. Some goals of the training are to provide practical help for immediate care, to legitimize the equal importance of psychological first aid to physical first aid, promote emotional resiliency in the activist community, and encourage peer support leading up to large events such as the RNC. The training covers defining stress and emotional trauma, signs and reactions to emotional trauma, how to address those reactions, active listening exercises, breathing exercises, & body awareness, red flags for more serious issues, and preventative care.”

Occurring shortly after my arrival, this workshop is a sort of introduction to RNC reality for me. I am not like the other people here because I do not know why I am here. Most people are attending because they plan to staff the Wellness Center, where presumably, protesters who are traumatized by police violence will go to obtain help. Two men are part of a group that will staff a hotline for people to call when sexual assaults happen between converging activists, and as with the Wellness Center staff, this workshop is a mandatory part of their training. I do not know what I will do when the protests happen. It’s like a rally where I won’t hold a sign because I want to keep my hands free; I remain non-committed so I will be ready if something really needs doing and everyone else is busy. That said, it seems likely that someone will freak out and I will try to help them. Doesn’t that happen a lot?

In most arenas of human struggle — business, politics and war come to mind, the psychological factors are thoroughly studied and analyzed. Why has activism been so much of an exception? Part of it is certainly our alienation from traditional systems of mental health and fitness. Many in our communities are survivors of psychiatric abuse. We see an academic mental health ideology being applied from the top down upon vulnerable people whose experiences are minimalized.

In response, people throughout activist culture have started to implement grass-roots personalist approaches to mental health. These include the global Icarus network, primarily for bipolar people, and many local collectives and informal self-help groups in a city near you. Participants in these projects were instrumental in developing the North Star Health Collective’s psychological response plan in the Twin Cities. The workshop was part of this endeavor.

But there have been other obstacles to activist mental and emotional self-care. A direct action culture has overemphasized heroism and daring exploits — fear, vulnerability to stress, and sometimes even second thoughts are perceived as embarrassing weaknesses. Also, in government and business, psychological programs are imposed upon reluctant peons in the name of productivity and effectiveness. In an anarchistic subculture this is obviously impossible.

I never do end up counseling anyone who is falling apart. But with my attention now drawn inward, my perception of the RNC protest situation is irrevocably altered. Is it Republican dark magic, or ingrained self-destruction in punk culture? Meeting any of my basic psychic needs is a hassle requiring persistence and assertiveness. The direct action plans publicly proposed are absurd. Are they all decoy actions or are the mysterious organizers in denial? In any case, I don’t focus on winning anything; I just want to play my part well and am determined to understand what is going on in new ways. I force myself to eat at least two real meals a day and drink water.

“September 1, 2008, we, the RNC Welcoming Committee, invite all anarchists and anti-authoritarians, all radicals and rabble-rousers, all those who are fed up with government lies and spectacles to show up ready for action and ensure that we leave no place for these expired politicians. What we create here will send the convention crashing off into insignificance.”

“To someone who has never experienced danger, the idea is attractive rather than alarming.” – Carl Von Clausewitz, On War

I meet some people who have come hundreds of miles to do an action together. They want to be a part of the big plan. They are exhausted from AG meetings, cluster meetings, and colossal, long, spokes-councils. For days they have little contact with anyone who is not an anti-authoritarian focused on some decisive activity, and this is their whole experience of Minnesota.

They are tense and cranky. I remember the psychological workshop; I think people who want to do something dangerous and stupid should be calm and grounded so they can do it as intelligently and safely as possible.

A grand variety of projects were under way, organized autonomously from the Welcoming Committee, which rented the Convergence Space. The Welcoming Committee’s bicycle project spun-off as a distinct entity of sorts, building literally hundreds of bicycles to keep out of town activists functional and mobile during their stay. The venerable Seeds of Peace provided food for the massive permitted peace march of 10-40 thousand people (yes, the variation of crowd estimates is unusual), as well as most events over the week of convention related activity.

The North Star Health Collective and Cold Snap Legal Collective were organized locally and independently of the Welcoming Committee. An unprecedented number of people underwent a three day intensive medical training. When the protests finally happened medical resources were constantly available even in the most intense situations.

Most radicals who live in the Twin Cities and most radicals from out of town are on different planets now. See, most people, even most freaks, don’t care about the RNC. So most people stay home, but the smaller number of people who do come here think the whole thing is a great idea and they wouldn’t miss it for the world The people who live here don’t have as much choice about being here and having to perhaps reluctantly deal with the whole thing, but also have options unavailable to outsiders (whether they come or not).

There seems to be a curious mood of harm reduction: militant protesting is like heroin or speed or something, and while we’re all going to be good anarchists and not tell people not to do things, we can also meet with the personal devastation one-on-one and let people know there might be better life-paths. Oh, but are we enabling?

Whatever, fuck that guilt trip. But what does seem to really be happening… is this polarity between anarchy as stereo-typical black bloc chaos, and ultralawfully marching in obedience to a permit (no dis on either intended), without inclusion of the universe of actions in between. Is it fueled by our withdrawal?

“I can’t help thinking of Grand Theft Auto IV ?you hear the copter, you know you’re doing well.” – Christopher Beam in Slate.com

Simultaneously with the huge peace march, there were breakaway marches and makeshift roadblocks scattered throughout downtown. Some people fucked shit up. The destruction was far from massive and not the focus of the actions: some windows, a couple cop cars, a delegate bus got pelted.

I would write an article about such a demo but there is already an article that I like better than the one I would write because the author is mainstream and tries to be non-judgmental (which is funny): www.slate.com/id/2199060/

Someone who is working on getting people out of jail tells me statistics. They say there were an enormous number of people arrested Monday who are from out of town and under 25. The first info-bit is not surprising Saint Paul civic leaders had called out far and wid
e that downtown Saint Paul was the happening place right now. But the youth aspect troubles many people.

While I might share this feeling later, as the protest unfolds I am inspired. The youth are swift and brave and an equal number of police cannot contain them at first. In the face of police attacks they grow bolder. They stay as long as they can, even when swelling police ranks make mass arrests inevitable.

The police presence is intense and severe throughout the convention. This had been telegraphed by the police attack on Critical Mass exactly one year before. And now they begun with preemptive raids on the Convergence space and homes or crash spots of alleged key people the weekend before the convention.

About 3500 police and 200 Minnesota National Guard were on convention duty Monday the first. While they get a B+ for their research and reconnaissance the police response on the street was clumsy and uninspired. And they made up for their shortcomings with arbitrary brutality. Over four days of the convention, police consistently attacked peaceful demonstrators with a variety of special weapons, even though there was sabotage and disruption only on the afternoon of the first. This culminated on Thursday as McCain rose to speak — a permitted march had its permit revoked by surprise and almost 400 were arrested for a now “unlawful” assembly, while corralled people were sprayed and gassed for no apparent reason.

Even away from from the protests the reality of mass police action dominated the cores of the Twin Cities this week. The daily newspapers reported the police brass boast that they “didn’t take the bait.” Like much in the corporate-imperialist press regarding sensitive matters, this is the precise opposite of the truth. Everywhere felt like occupied Baghdad. More so than either the militant or the obedient protesters, the police did an wonderful job of showing the Twin Cities that you really can’t keep the war over there.

A thousand police can be a thousand times as intense as one police. You try to go to sleep and they’re still parading around in your mind. Police, police, police everywhere. How many people were how injured by the police on what day? And they’re snatching people on quiet residential streets and in far flung exurbs in their pursuit of “rioters.”

Every house has a sign by the door explaining what to do if the police come, do they have a warrant? You have the right to remain silent (so shut up already, keep it to yourself). In RNC week everyone, especially if you look funny, has to expect and have the energy for a harsh encounter at any time, and keep the strength for refusal in reserve.

This is the world each police lives in, they wake up and go to work and there’s a zillion other police. Every second they have to know who to obey and who to command in a web of police culture that encompasses almost everyone on Earth in its grip. As they flood our minds every hour we get more like them. We get spiteful, aggressive, dismissive and indifferent. (We were already desperate.)

The National press ignored the protests, even the national “alternative” media. The local media depicted bands of psychopathic “anarchists” bent on mindless destruction. Hurling urine at people and kidnapping delegates are portrayed as standard “anarchist” tactics. The weekly artsy paper said the best defense against anarchists was “a healthy childhood.”

Even if the discontent was exaggerated and fanned by the corporate press, it was still very real that large numbers of people felt genuine disgust at the “anarchist” activities.

I ride in the back of the metro bus to Minneapolis. Everyone is talking about the protests unless they actually are protesters in which case they’re ready to change the subject. Men of color express annoyance with the police over the disruption of bus service, and opine that the police had provoked the young dissidents into recklessness, and at least some of the window breaking on Fox News was staged. I imagine that a less oppressed group of people might have a less charitable view of us.

The convention is over and the Republicans appear to be unscathed. McCain and Palin go off to rule the world in a real life Handmaid’s Tale with endless war in the biblical lands. But in Minnesota the police state is exhausted, and as confused about who was arrested as we are. The heat is off and people breath easy as the aftermath sets in.

In the secret Anarchist tavern in Eagan, I can’t peacefully sip my port while writing down strange dreams because there are so many college students and crusties excitedly telling thrilling protest stories. Despite the felony charges, the lasting burns of tasers or unusually concentrated pepper spray, and the mass adrenal exhaustion, hundreds of people are wiser and stronger, ready to come back into downtown America, do it better and stop all their wars.

I was outside the Democratic National Convention for the four days of its life in Denver, CO. The heavily armed, massive police presence in Denver was daunting even to convention delegates. Police on horseback, police on motorcycles, and SUVs rolling down the street with three or four helmeted police on both side running boards and on the rear bumper, squadrons of cops leaning against buildings, lurking in alleys, and poised on street corners suited in protective gear reminiscent of Star Wars, armed with gas guns, tasers, shotguns, semi-automatics, and who-knows-what gadgetry; Denver police and sheriffs, police from other jurisdictions (one afternoon I found my way blocked by mounted police from Cheyenne, Wyoming), dozens of federal police agencies and countless armed private security guards were ubiquitous.

One evening I was walking down the street past a federal courthouse talking into a cell phone when a guy pulled up and jumped out of his car to take a picture of a church across the street. Immediately, a couple of armed security guards ran out of the building and grabbed his camera. “Hey, that’s a nice church, make a nice picture,” I volunteered. “Just keep moving!” was the reply. “I’m not in your way,” I rejoined. “This is federal property, just keep moving!” I was on the city sidewalk.

Still conversing on the cell phone, describing to my friend what was happening, I moved to a bus bench at the end of the block and watched as more guards and police emerged from the courthouse. One of them (Federal Protective Police) came over to me and demanded ID. As I handed it to him I asked “What’s the problem?” “You were interfering with the officers.” “No, I wasn’t in their way at all.” “What have you been smoking?” “I don’t smoke.” “Put that cell phone down when i’m talking to you.” “I’ll just keep it on, thanks.” Wham! He grabbed the phone and shut it, and put me in handcuffs. “For your protection and mine.”

Ten minutes later, after ID checks had run their course, he let me go. This was not an uncommon experience — in the days following I heard countless similar tales.

Unlike Chicago ’68, where a peace plank had been introduced on the floor, and where Connecticut Senator Ribicoff in his nominating speech for George McGovern denounced the “Gestapo tactics” of Mayor Daley and the Chicago police, there was a great disconnect between the official Democratic Party convention agenda and protesters. Denver Mayor Hickenlooper, a Democrat, did everything he could to isolate demonstrations and make protesters invisible. Only as a result of the Iraq Veterans Against the War march was a bridge put in place between street demonstrations and the party inside.

Prior to the opening of the convention, a federal judge had ruled that security needs outweighed First Amendment considerations, and affirmed the city’s right to restrict protesters to a fenced-in area out of sight of convention attendees. The Free Speech Zone, which actually appears as such on official maps, consisted of a 50,000 square foot parking lot surrounded by a 10 foot high chain link fence and an inner rail iron fence, with no bathroom or porta-potties.

Addressing a rally Sunday prior to the convention, Ron Kovic pledged: “I gave three-fourths of my body in Vietnam and i’m not going to be put into a cage in silence.”

No demonstrations took place in the Free Speech Zone.

However, in a park far from downtown and the Pepsi (convention) Center, the mayor had permitted organizers to place tents and hold support activities but forbidden them to sleep. There a national group called Tent State University facilitated much of the organizing, including logistics for Wednesday’s IVAW-sponsored Rage Against the Machine concert at the Coliseum, and including Resurrection City Free University, a 4-day series of more than 40 colloquiums on the park lawn with presenters such as Vincent Harding, politician Cynthia McKinney, writer Vincent Bugliosi, and Professor Stephen Zunes.

Because they were forbidden to camp at Tent State, at the end of long, hot days 30 or 40 people trekked to what they called the Freedom Cage to sleep. No fires were permitted, amended to “no heat sources” after someone tried to cook breakfast on a battery-powered hot plate. Campers had to walk three or four blocks to bathrooms, harassed at police blockades coming and going. Stadium lights were kept on at all times and, as people started to retire, giant floodlights were turned on for the remainder of the night. Police in cherrypickers kept an all-night vigil over the 30 or 40 campers who woke each morning to find themselves surrounded on the ground by Secret Service among others.