argument with the middle class muni people
little something I wrote yesterday.Kevin Keating had told me that these people are bougie assholes, and even though I've been on their email list for a while, I hadn't thought they were so bad.
Until I saw their lack of understanding of anarchism, tactics, and strategy.
That's how it is in these top-down groups- people don't get to think for themselves! They don't read about other people's thoughts or anything like that. They don't think beyond their own little yahoogroup, where the person who runs Rescue Muni tells them what's up- what meetings they should go to, what form of protest to take, etc.
People have responded to my email, so maybe I will try to compile some of them...nah, at the bottom is the url of their yahoogroup. Read for yourself.
To: rescuemuni@yahoogroups.com
From: "La Mahtin"
Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2005 13:10:42 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [rescuemuni] what the social strike is about- not smashing windows, but working together
Technically, the social strike people and anarchist
action (the organizers of the anti-g8 action this
month) are not the same group.
I think it is really gross to see how much you people
condemn the actions of a few people at this protest
without considering the fact that the social strike
group just has different views than yours. I have
never been to a meeting of the social strike group, so
I can't say for sure that they are all anarchists.
Since they are working with some of the MUNI drivers,
I would have to guess that they are not. This means
that you cannot correctly equate the social strike
group and the anarchist action group. They are not
the same group, and they do not use the same tactics
(or strategy).
The social strike group has different ideas of what
the problems are in Muni and how to solve them.
Anarchists are not violent street gangs (did you know
that many people who do "property destruction," ie,
window smashing or spraypainting, don't see these
actions as violent, because people and animals are not
hurt? Really, when you think about it, these actions
contribute to the GDP, as the windows have to be
manufactured and installed in the replacement process.
Also, not all people who engage in property
"enhancement" are anarchists. In Europe, a lot of
them are socialists and communists. In the US, a lot
of them have no defined political beliefs).
The social strike people don't go around beating
people up (yes, one cop was hurt at the anti-G8
protest, but noone knows the full story of what
happened, and again, that was not a social strike
action)- instead they go around giving out flyers and
talking about the politics of what they see is wrong
with MUNI. They are trying to organize the riders and
the drivers to come together to take action to demand
changes and to stop a fare increase.
Is this true or false?: The cost of living is going
up and up and up and wages are not. It's true, and
the increase of MUNI fares is just one aspect that is
easier to identify before it happens, and to organize
around. My guess is that this is why this issue was
chosen. One of the organizers in particular (whom I
know personally) has also been inspired by past
movements to fight fare increases.
Bear in mind that it took thousands of people, a
period of years, and the deaths of some protesters in
the 1800's to win the 8-hour day (google Haymarket
martyrs for more info). These people, whether you
might think their philosophy is anachronistic, or
idealistic, or wrong, are trying to organize along
those lines. Yeah, we don't all have an 8-hour day or
enough wages compared to expenses (or maybe 99% of the
people on this list do, but bear in mind that you are
in the minority), so maybe it's time to start
organizing again.
If you disagree, then avoid the social strike protests
and meetings. But don't talk shit about groups and
movements that you don't know anything about.
You may be wondering who I am: I am a jaded anarchist
queer female, 30 years old, who gardens, rides her
bike everywhere, owns a small business, and is an
editor at http://www.indybay.org. I don't currently
work with any explicitly anarchist organizations
(indymedia is not an anarchist organization).
--- Aleksandr Prodan
> Ignoring them is the best way to deal with this. If
> you reply to them,
> they will only feel powerful. It's just like dealing
> with a kid who's
> wanting attention. If you give it to him/her,
> s/he'll continue to act
> up. If you ignore him/her, s/he'll calm down,
> eventually. I personally
> feel that this is how they should be dealt with.
>
> Alex
>
> On 7/23/05, gerstle@mindspring.com
>
> > These people are true believers. Those who
> disagree with them are racists of
> > the bourgeois class who want to gentrify the
> neighborhoods' of people of
> > color and are tools of the capitalist oppressors.
> They are going to cause as
> > much chaos, disruption and damage to local transit
> as possible on September
> > 1st. Those who oppose them will be "autonomously
> targeted." Their behavior
> > is fairly easy to predict. They are basically a
> violent street gang that
> > uses big words.
> > steve
> >
> >
> > " The police, themselves servants to the ruling
> class-initiated the night's
> > violence as they physically pushed marchers,
> brutally hit dozens with
> > batons, and made arrests using unreasonable and
> excessive force. Police
> > repression was met with resistance; multiple cop
> car windows were smashed
> > and there were reports of smoke bombs being thrown
> at cops. Although the
> > bourgeois media sensationalized the report of an
> injured officer, they
> > failed to note that every day in the Mission
> district and all over this
> > white supremacist society, poor people of color
> are brutalized by the
> > police. Both the police and prison-industrial
> complex exist to uphold this
> > system of white supremacy and social control. "
> >
> > " Corporations which were autonomously targeted
> for economic sabotage via
> > property destruction and spray painted messages
> explaining the actions, by
> > militant protestors included:
> >
> > Two Wells Fargo Banks and a Bank of America ATM:
> Banks are operated by the
> > rich to coordinate the imposed wage system and are
> another method of
> > exploiting the working class and making the rich
> richer. Furthermore, these
> > two banks are direct investors in the Iraq War,
> which has led to the death
> > of over 100,000 Iraqi civilians and around 2,000
> U.S. soldiers.
> >
> > Kentucky Fried Chicken: This fast food corporation
> makes enormous profits
> > off of the daily speciesist enslavement, torture,
> and extermination of
> > thousands of animals. Its workers are forced to do
> high stress tasks for
> > poverty-wages.
> >
> > PG&E: The racist, environmentally destructive
> electric company which
> > operates a power plant that has, for years, been
> poisoning the poor,
> > predominantly African-American community of
> Bayview-Hunter's Point. PG&E
> > also continues to tighten its monopoly of the
> City's power through
> > sweetheart deals with the cities elite."
> >
>
http://www.sbindymedia.org/newswire/display/2497/index.php
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Tys Sniffen"
> > To:
> > Sent: Saturday, July 23, 2005 10:22 AM
> > Subject: [rescuemuni] tell them that
> >
> >
> > > Steve, and others,
> > >
> > >
> > > I think you make really good points. You should
> send them to these people.
> > > See what they say.
> > >
> > > 1. Email: info@socialstrike.net
> > >
> > > 2. Phone (Voicemail): 415.267.4801
> > >
> > > 3. Email List (for Organizing):
> > > http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/socialstrike
> > > socialstrike@lists.riseup.net
> > >
> > > 3. Email List (for Announcements/Events):
> > > socialstrike-announce@lists.riseup.net
> > >
> > > --------------------------------------------
> > > Tys Sniffen
> > > 415.606.7746
> > > Efficiency Consultant:
>
> > > www.ideamountain.com
Post or read news at http://www.indybay.org and reach a lot more people than by using your listservs
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rescuemuni/
posted by mahtin @ 10:52 PM
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