"From Oakland to Atlanta: Fuck the Police" reigns in a new era of organization for Atlanta Protesters

Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 01/29/2012 - 4:52pm

        In the past 4 months, police in the metro Atlanta area have been responsible for the deaths of at least 7 people. On January 28th 2012 around 8pm members of the Atlanta activist community, clad in black, wearing gloves, masks and hoods, began to converge on Troy Davis Park. They were gathering to march in opposition to policing. A call out had been made for a "Fuck the Police march", in solidarity with Oakland, upon the reinstatement of Luther "Machine Gun" Lewis, the Union City police officer who killed 19 year old father, son, brother Arriston Waiters. The call out was basically a mimicking of the Oakland call out and shared the same guidelines which allowed for the destruction of bank and state property. 

        Upon arriving at the park, to the surprise of many, news cameras were already present and pointed at the massing group. Around 8:30pm the group, of about 40 people, began to march, in a box formation, with banners around the perimeter of the block, to create a shell in which protesters would be safe from police repression. Chanting "Hate Hate Hate/ The Hate inside of me/ All cops are bastards/ A.C.A.B." the group marched north up peachtree, after receiving information that there was already a police barricade set up to the south of the park. Immediately, park property was painted with the circle A. As the march continued north up peachtree, the dynamic of this march became obvious, and it was one new to Atlanta. 
        Marching in formation, with the support roles of medics and copwatch following on the sidewalk, as well as some legal observers, it would soon become clear these protesters were more prepared than their police opposition. The police, however, were mobilized, as was evident by the fact that at the convergence of peachtree street and forsyth street, the begining of Atlanta's downtown financial district, there was a police car blocking the way of the march. Out maneuvering their opposition for the first of many times that night, the protest took a quick left. The police headlights illuminated the protective banners reading "Fuck the Pigs" and "A.C.A.B." 
This turn took the march in an unexpected direction, past a Marta station. A few ne'er-do-wells left the protection of the block and raided this station. When they were back in the protection of the block the station had been painted and had lost a window to a hammer; an inadequate, tardy expression of the anger felt at Marta Police for shooting 19 year old Joetavius Stafford in the back. 
The rowdy block of radicals continued down the road and eventually came upon the police precinct at the corner of Spring street and Andrew Young International Boulevard. After a vandal left another circle A on the precinct window the dynamic of the march was irreparably changed. 
Immediately, seemingly out of nowhere, a large number of police appeared around the march, at least one white shirt was present. Grabbing at the vandals, the police narrowly missed them before they were back within the march's protective shell. The police were obviously shocked at the new level of organization they had not yet encountered here in Atlanta. The march quickly became what would later be described by one of those in the block as a "game of cat and mouse", but never have I seen a cat so afraid of a mouse. A more appropriate analogy may be that it was a game of mongoose and snake, and as the march slithered through downtown it was followed on all sides by cops. 
At times barricades and even a mattress were thrown in the street to slow down the police. One hooligan was seen spray painting the helmets of motorcycle cops as they rode by. The battle's deciding point however, was when, now farther from downtown and her ever-present cameras a scout found a route, through a parking lot, that lead to a back road. Once in the parking lot some people put up barricades that had been sitting by it's entrance to try to prevent the police tail. A cop on bicycle eventually moved this barricade (along with most of the other ones) but not before it had allowed the march to make it most of the way through the parking lot. At the other end of the parking lot were two police cars, blocking the exit. 
Tensions were high and many in the block expected the be captured, but at the last minuet, a call was made for a right turn that brought the group through the woods. Yet not free of police tails, though their presence had been much depleted, the block took a quick turn up a residential one way. However, for all the block's advanced organization it was clear that an exit strategy was missing. Some affinity groups started to break away from the mass, to subtly disperse, but when others saw the block shrinking someone yelled to disperse and everyone, dropping banners and flags, ran. First big mistake. 
Not only did everyone run, but everyone ran in the same direction. Strike two. Although some people were able to break away from the group, the large majority of people ran through a parking lot and ended up enclosed in an apartment complex's back yard. Had someone not found the exit gate, there could have been mass arrests made. Eventually people began to break away from the mass of people, cutting through yards and wooded areas, shedding masks and jackets as they did, and ended up on the sidewalk. 
However, despite the large scale success of the group, because of poor planning for dispersal, three comrades were arrested. Luckily though, thanks to the anonymity of the black block, they were only able to be charged with "obstructing the roadway" and "darting into traffic" both of which are only municipal offenses, and all three were out the next morning. Obviously, some work needs to be done to develop an exit strategy that can save all our comrades from arrest and not just those who are fit, savvy and above all lucky. Despite this failing, had the group not dispersed when it did, there was a large number of cops just up the road who would have been likely able to arrest the entire group. 
After an almost 2 hour long game of 'mongoose and snake' the cops came out on bottom. Though it is clear that some work must still be done, protesters in Atlanta have entered a new stage in their development, and the cops can tell and the cops aren't ready.

Comments

Re: "From Oakland to Atlanta: Fuck the Police" reigns in a new era of organization for Atlanta Protesters

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 02/03/2012 - 2:47pm

 I agree with the previous comment. 

I don't understand why anyone thought that parameters from Oakland would make any sense in Atlanta.

I feel that the parameters almost welcomed if not invited what went down on the 28th.  I don't fault the individuals who decided to take certain actions but I do think people are right in saying that we need to communicate our intent and boundaries better and folks need to listen when that's being communicated.  

Re: "From Oakland to Atlanta: Fuck the Police" reigns in a new era of organization for Atlanta Protesters

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 7:59pm

The problem isn't that a window got broken, or that paint went up on a wall. The problem is that some people decided to escalate the action when it was already apparent that the bloc was hugely outnumbered and in no position to defend itself against a determined police assault.

The black bloc provides a space where individual inhibition is suppressed, but this needs to be countered with concern and responsibility to the rest of the group. Individuals are not just free to act in whatever way their adrenaline drives them to, but they are responsible to and for everyone else who donns the mask.

When individual identities are erased all that is left is a collective identity. What one black clad protester does reflects on everyone in the bloc, and everyone in the bloc potentially shares the same consequences.

The parameters of the action were vague and emerged from a completely different context than Atlanta. They were not the result of dialogue aimed at providing understanding among participants, or for providing a strategy to acheive a shared goal. They were the result of daydreams of Oakland.

Some people's goal that night was to break shit. Other people's goal was to tell the cops to go fuck themselves. These goals do not necessarily intersect all in one action.

Re: "From Oakland to Atlanta: Fuck the Police" reigns in a new era of organization for Atlanta Protesters

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 4:39pm

A response of, "well, people should have known better" or "they should have read such and such" may at first seem reasonable. But it presupposes an equal access of knowledge and information that isn't present. 

When a critique is given that highlights the danger that the march was in as a result of property destruction, it is logically lazy and individualistic to defend the action with the above responses instead of accepting the critique.

There was no preliminary leadership at the beginning of the march to declare the context and parameters for the march. Instead, there was pressupposition of an access to information through affinities that didn't fully exist. In effect, it was 'every person for themselves'. This is hardly the kind of relationships that radicals should promote. Some people were there to practice formation, others were there for a FTP march. 

With no tactical support from the masses, and with a highly visable and vulnerable Black Block in action, it doesn't make sense to enact property destruction on a police station. There was no defense on the Block beyond themselves, which was not at all enough. A mass arrest or worse could have happened to the participants. What if shit went down and somebody got a prison sentence of 20 years? Would the proper response be "they should have known better. It was THEIR decision"? 

Individualized spectacular actions should not be promoted over collective unity and safety. Perform ninja work like a ninja, not in a highly visable black block cut off from the masses, with participants present for multiple reasons, with little or no effective planning beforehand, with little or no exit strategy, etc. 

Re: "From Oakland to Atlanta: Fuck the Police" reigns in a new era of organization for Atlanta Protesters

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 3:03pm

 This is a good write-up and a good enough analysis.

 

My only advice to the radicals in Atlanta is to remember than we are not in a literal war.

Insurrection or whatever is social, not military.

Smashing a window is not just velocity plus impact. It was a gesture and the important part of that gesture is how it effects the people who saw it or heard about it. 

The "war" we are in is a war against the parts of us that would rather do nothing, that would rather keep going with our head ducked down (that would rather sit at home on the computer then meet our next-door neighbor.)

It's a war over the way we relate to each other  (with the relationship of production being the primary relationship between us) and the way we relate to the world. We should be trying to create ruptures in those relationships where people can expirement with something new.

 

Whether that is a march "gone wrong" with some shattered glass and overturned newspaper boxes, a building seized and transformed, or a party that gets a little out of control, these are fundamentally good things.

Now that you have found each other, the next step is to become human.

Re: "From Oakland to Atlanta: Fuck the Police" reigns in a new era of organization for Atlanta Protesters

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 1:12pm

It should be called out that the person who put up the original and pretty harsh comment obviously didn't read the parameters for this march otherwise they wouldn't have gone or wouldn't be complaining now about "militant actions"

Re: "From Oakland to Atlanta: Fuck the Police" reigns in a new era of organization for Atlanta Protesters

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 1:06pm

I think this is a great write up and a positive note on everything that went down that night.  Everyone involved should be proud of themselves and I'm sure they're still learning to navigate the social terrain under their new shell.  I do however also have to caution the author and agree with the previous comment.  This article might be motivating and a moral boost but exageration also won't help anyone. There aren't very many points in the article where the author let their hopes, immagination, and day dreaming get the best of them, but here are few points:

I don't agree with the author that the police were less prepared than the block was.  The police had more than one opportunity to kettle and mass arrest the entire block and they could have easily attacked the march with less than leathal weapons. (which, if they were affraid for their own physical safety due to the block, this would have been the outcome)  

The block really had only it's solidarity and passion for freedom along with a new but still developping tactical experience on the streets to work with.  Don't get me wrong, that gives those participating in the block a lot to work with and sustain themselves on.  Also it should be noted that the fact that support for the arrestees was almost instantanious after word of the arrests got out proves that the atlanta commune exists as a network of relationships and affinities that the state won't easily shake.  That is a major streingth but that's not the same thing as saying that the block or the community as a whole got away with all that much in spite of the police on the 28th and it definitly shouldn't come off sounding as though militant anti-authoritarians in Atlanta can do and get away with whatever.  The fact that even three comrades were subject to police brutality for a night is bad enough and I think those participating in the block have to realize that it could have easily been any of them.

After the attack on the precienct the block was surrounded and followd by more cops than I think anybody could have counted, unmarked cars with cameras, a hellicopter, and at least a few dozzen motorcycle cops.  At any point they could have kettled and mass arrested the entire block.  I'm saying this because I don't think it's a good idea for people to feel that what the block got away with on the 28th was simply due to the fack that the block is full of bad asses.  Now, It absolutely fucking was full of bad asses and it takes loads of courage and open defiance and there's not even an ounce of doubt that most activists in atlanta will never have the spine to walk right up to the police precienct downtown and effectively take a public shit on their door step but I do hope that people understand that there will be waves of reprecussions as a result of this.

With all of the actions being taken lately, the cat is out of the bag.  The A-Team is out of the closset so to speak.

They probably want nothing more than to know who is who, when, where, and how to disrupt further organizing.

Something that should be considered.  Yes, the police are incompitant idiots who don't really know an anarchist militant from their own ass holes but the behavior of the police on the 28th was tactical.  It was organized.  It was deliberate.  

Militants:

Don't get comfortable and start running your mouths. (alot of folks already have and that's an honest mistake for people new at exploring different manifestations of temporary autonimy but folks need to wise up and do it quick.)

The police aren't as dumb as people think.  Part of the percieved success of the march may very well have been due to the restraint of the APD. Not that I commend the pigs for their restraint but right about now, they are probably using this opportunity to gather up intel while many of the participants are comfrotable.

Re: "From Oakland to Atlanta: Fuck the Police" reigns in a new era of organization for Atlanta Protesters

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 12:32pm

Obviously it sounds like this march had some shortcomings--above all, a lack of planning--but this also seems like a new development. Marching in formation with banners around the edges, basically taking a shit on the downtown doorstep of the Atlanta police, and for the most part getting away with it sounds very unusual for Atlanta. Next time, there should be more planning, more strategy, and more support roles, but this really isn't a bad start, in my opinion. The previous commentator sounds a bit harsh, considering that the author(s) clearly describe what went wrong with the march.

Re: "From Oakland to Atlanta: Fuck the Police" reigns in a new era of organization for Atlanta Protesters

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 01/30/2012 - 11:05am

it doesn't do anyone a service to exaggerate numbers or organizational capacity. If people pretend that failures are successes then how are they supposed to avoid repeating the same mistakes over again? The only way in which this march was a success was that it could have been worse.

Friends and comrades are not props for the enactment of anyone's arrogant fantasies of spectacular militant action. So maybe next time people want to pull some shit, they should at least communicate and listen to them to formulate a plan and clear expectations before the action instead of just copypasta'ing a callout from the other side of the continent.