Thumb Jig: To all the March 19th demonstrators -- Be Careful

Friday, March 14, 2008

To all the March 19th demonstrators -- Be Careful

Historically the government has never needed more than a dime-thin excuse to arrest, harass, imprison, marginalize and execute those on the political fringe. From what I'm hearing the demonstrations planned in D.C. on March 19th might fall victim to a "Haymarket" style crackdown. For those who are unfamiliar with the Haymarket Massacre of 1886, it was when police officers attempted to scatter a throng of workers peacefully gathering in Haymarket Square in Chicago. A bomb was lobbed at the attacking officers from the crowd (who threw it is still unknown) which lead to widespread arrests of eight anarchists, some of who were not even at the march. Four anarchists were put to death, and one killed himself in prison.

Which brings me to the recent explosion in Times Square. The media has already linked the bomb thrower to the "anti-war movement" and within the same report Fox News mentioned "chatter" (a term associated with communications between terrorists) on the internet of massive protests planned for the 19th of this month. Given the government's aversion to radical viewpoints, it isn't difficult to guess what could happen next. One of the great anti-Iraq Genocide voices, Cindy Sheehan, has been successfully demonized along with the entire popular movement. The true debate among the right and left wings of the government of this country is whether or not we're still in Iraq for strategic or humanitarian purposes. What a joke. A "premature" pull-out would cost oil companies billions of dollars which provides for a perfect storm of broad repression.

This is definitely not meant to discourage but to encourage everyone who can afford to show their solidarity with everyone who abhors this militaristic bullshit to demonstrate on March 19th. Together our power is beyond their control.