Save the Redwoods/Boycott the Gap
Boycott the Gap: DC Report-Back!!! May Day!!!
Posted by Mary Bull (chalicenew@earthlink.net)
Saturday, April 29, 2000
Greetings, Forest Defenders and Social Justice Activists Across the Land!
We have barely shaken the dust off from DC as we barrel into the next Mass Demonstration Against Corporate Rule: MAY DAY, the International Workers Day!!! But that's what this New Millennium is about: Relentlessly building the Critical Mass to transform Corporate Power into People Power! We are doing it--and generating MUCH LOVE, COMMUNITY, and GOOD CHEER all along the way!!! In this newsletter:
-MAY DAY: Celebrate!!! Demonstrate!!!
-SRBG DC Report-Back!!!
---A15 - Gap Demo!
---A16 - Shut 'Em Down!
---A17 - Mass Arrests!
---A22 - Jail Solidarity & Release!
-Some special actions/events on Sat, Apr 29 in SF:
---SF Families Against Gap! 11AM Baby Gap, Laurel & California.
---A16 Videos at Cell Space, SF. 8 PM. 2050 Bryant, btw 18 & 19.
***FIRST & FOREMOST: THREE MIGHTY CHEERS FOR THE ACTIVISTS
WHO MADE THE TREK TO OUR NATION'S CAPITOL FOR GLOBAL JUSTICE!!!***
***HEARTFELT THANKS TO THE SUPPORTERS AT HOME WHO DONATED
TO OUR EFFORTS, WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE RIGHTEOUS A17 SOLIDARITY
ACTIONS IN SF AND ELSEWHERE, & WHO MADE CALLS ON BEHALF OF THOSE
ARRESTED IN DC!!!***
MAY DAY: CELEBRATE! DEMONSTRATE!
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12 Noon, Justin Herman Plaza, SF (or check out www.MayDay2K.org for the celebration nearest you!!!). DANCIN' round a MAY POLE! Fabulous Free FEAST! Entertainment by SF MIME TROUPE, CASEY NEILL, and many others!!! NO SPEECHES-- Just FUN & ACTION! GRAND PARADE starts at 2:30, during which we'll be stopping at the shops and headquarters of Corporate Exploiters for STREET THEATER!!! To volunteer or for more info, contact: 415-339-7801 SFMayDay2000@yahoo.com.
SRBG DC Report Back!!!
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The Save the Redwoods-Boycott the Gap (SRBG) affinity group (AG) included 20
terrific activists from CA, Bennington, VT, & DC--and gained three more in
DC! On Friday, April 14, we had an excellent visit with one of Dianne
Feinstein's legislative assistants specializing in trade and international
finance, Alan Reger, who was receptive, shared many of our views, and was
obviously not yet jaded by the political system! On the same day, we
attended the incredibly inspiring and informative IFG teach-in, where, among
other presenters, Kevin Danaher of Global Exchange announced his wonderful
idea for the Global Citizen Party!
We participated in the spokescouncil sessions--the self-empowering,
non-hierarchical meetings (which at times included ~800 people!) at which we
democratically made our group plans and decisions for protesting the
IMF/World Bank meetings scheduled for A16 and 17. Finally, we performed
actions on A15, A16, and A17, as described below...
A15 - GAP DEMO!
On April 15, we put on a demo at the Georgetown Gap that created a HUGE
MEDIA STIR: National, DC, and Bay Area mainstream and independent TV, radio,
and print were on top of it, en masse!!! The demo, which included our Cube
Dance, our "We'd Rather Wear Nothing Than Wear Gap!" strip action, and
several speeches, including a terrific one by Chie Abad, the former Saipan
sweatshop worker who's been campaigning against Gap, Inc. with Global
Exchange, and one by SRBG DC activist Bernardo Issel who has been engaged in
investigative reporting with Non-Profit Watch (exposing corporate floozies
such as the NRDC, on whose Board forest-liquidator Bob Fisher sits).
The rally attracted a couple of hundred onlookers and participants.
Afterwards, we leafletted the shoppers in this upscale DC shopping district
and found them very receptive.
A16 - SHUT 'EM DOWN!
Inspired by the Anarchist Marching Band in Seattle, the SRBG AG decided to
take on the role of a FLYING SQUAD--morale boosters, tension diffusers, and
reinforcements--dispatched as needed by the Tactical Team to the front
lines, where activists were convincing delegates not to attend the IMF/World
Bank meetings.
We were an incredible, encouraging sight in our FOAM REDWOOD TREES (JOAN,
73, and MARGO, 69, the GRANDES DAMES of the SRBG AG, were surely the most
photographed demonstrators on A16!) and green and black, sequin-laced DRUM
CORP GEAR. We created a joyful cacophony on cowbells, tambourine, and Korean
bass drum (thank you, Schafer, wherever you are!) as we marched with our
BANNER, FLAGS ("Spank the Bank!" "Dump the Debt!"), COHO, and MURRELETS
raised high--trailed by media--from site to site!
Once we reached a destination, we led the frontliners in songs, chants, and
even a SPIRAL DANCE! At several major intersections, our stand-up comic
JONATHAN donned his SILVER LAME JACKET, and sang and cheer-led the crowds in
Gospel-Meets-Night-Club fashion that people just loved! Even the COPS BROKE
INTO GRINS as we told them repeatedly in sing-song, hand-clapping
incantations how much we loved them!
HIGHLIGHTS of the DAY included a surprise visit by JULIA BUTTERFLY to one of
the lines where we were entertaining (she said she was attracted by the
trees). Though she chose to remain incognito, she infused the scene with her
love and light. At another line, we successfully deterred WTO President
MICHAEL MOORE from joining the meetings. On another occasion, as we were
leaving for our next destination, the front-line activists chanted: "WE LOVE
THE TREES!" After A16, many frontliners came up to me to thank us for our
efforts, which they said had headed off violent confrontations with the
police by creating an atmosphere of fun, love, and good cheer!
We did not succeed in shutting down the meeting. This was due to a number of
factors: 1.) Our Intelligence lacked: Many delegates had been bussed to the
meeting at 5 AM. 2.) The strategy to neutralize egress for one half of the
"pie," i.e., half the roads leading to the meeting place, had to be aborted
early on, and there was no backup plan. 3.) No one was quite prepared for
the immensity of the boulevards: Unlike Seattle, DC is SPREAD OUT--the
Watergate Hotel alone takes up about eight city blocks! And we simply did
not have the numbers to fill them.
HOWEVER, we must not forget that the SHUT DOWN was SYMBOLIC anyway.
Our TRUE MISSION was SUCCESSFUL: To bring these despicable institutions
under the scrutiny of a much larger public, and to let Global Corporate
Interests and the Government that serves them know that a significant and
growing number of people will not tolerate their agendum of Profits Before
Planet & People ANYMORE! The mass protests of A16 & 17 mark significant
progress toward our goal of truly shutting down these institutions forever
and stopping the Corporate Global Exploitation Machine in its tracks. Last
but not least, the greatest success of all:
THE COMMUNITY WE CREATED AND CONTINUALLY
CREATE IN OUR QUEST FOR GLOBAL JUSTICE!!!
A17 - RETRENCH!
At the end of a long, hot (especially in those tree get-ups! 85 degrees!),
and exhausting day (A16), ~800 of us occupied a sweltering gym for about
five hours (literally the walls were dripping and the floor was covered with
pools of our condensed sweat) trying to determine what to do next: With our
numbers reduced by one quarter to one-third, shut-down no longer appeared to
be even a remote option.
Suggestions included everything from CASTING A SPELL on the IMF & World Bank
(thank you, STARHAWK!) to surprising everyone by shutting down the PENTAGON
instead (two of my favorites)! Finally, we agreed on a loose gameplan of
AUTONOMOUS unspecified ACTIONS in the very early morning by whomever (these
ended up being aimed at successfully creating major traffic snarls in DC),
followed by a mass rally and march celebrating life and culminating in some
unspecified DIRECT ACTION aimed at the IMF and World Bank.
It was cold and rainy--and our MARCH WAS SIMPLY MAGNIFICENT!!!! GIDDILY
EMPOWERING, like the marches in Seattle. We started at the Ellipse at
Constitution and 18th. We stopped when we reached the UNCONSTITUTIONAL
POLICE BARRICADE at 20th and Pennsylvania Avenue. There, everyone who was
willing to risk arrest--many hundreds of people--gathered at the front of
the line and sat down.
We immediately called a spokescouncil meeting among the potential arrestees
to determine the shape of our action, our statement, and to assign roles. I
was assigned the role of POLICE LIAISON (and consequently have had to suffer
all those incredibly unflattering photos--the media getting even with me
for making them move to the sidelines, no doubt!--that have popped up on the
web and in newspapers). Our statement was along the lines of "We, the
People, declare ourselves to be the Delegation for Democracy... for the
Environment... for Human Rights... for Labor... for Indigenous Peoples...
for Animal Rights. Our intention is to enter the IMF/World Bank meeting and
ensure that these interests are represented!" We powerfully stated this
message as a group using the "repeat after me" method.
I then made several attempts to talk with the officer in charge, Assistant
Chief Terry Gainer. Though his officers informed him of my desire to
negotiate on behalf of the protestors, Gainer refused to talk with me--or to
even acknowledge me, though we made eye-contact several times. Meanwhile, in
high spirits, many people rose up and started moving in waves toward the
barricade. In retaliation to the crowding at the barricade, police started
BILLY-CLUBBING and PEPPER-SPRAYING, which dispersed protestors.
It was at this point that we formed a tactical team of 9 spokes (a spoke, as
in the spoke of a wheel, is an activist who has been empowered by her or his
affinity group to represent the group) to stop a free-for-all and determine
the shape of the action. There was a strong contingent of activists among
the members of the Tactical Team who promoted using the force of the crowd
to break through the barricade. The police violence (beatings, sprayings,
and so on) that would most likely result from this strategy did not deter
these activists--and perhaps it was their desire to have this happen (though
I was the most vocal opponent of this strategy, I myself see a
justification: resisters' blood is shed routinely on foreign soil at the
hands of police working for corporate interests--why not demonstrate this
reality on American soil...). I proposed to the team that we negotiate to
peacefully cross the barricade and walk to the meeting place--and if the
police chose to illegally arrest us in the course of exercising our First
Amendment right to protest in the public street, we could peacefully resist
(I made a statement to this effect to Terry Gainer and the media before we
crossed the line).
There was a great deal of pressure from the crowd, who were soaked and
freezing, to come quickly to a decision. But the spokescouncil method is not
known for its expediency--though we tried very, very hard. After much back
and forth, and a moment when it looked like the "violent" solution would
rule the day, we finally settled on the "peaceful" solution with many
qualifications. This solution was announced to the rest of the protestors,
who seemed pleased for the most part (though two spokes who had not heard
the call for spokes felt their views had not been adequately represented),
and the protestors promised en masse not to rush the barricade.
(Though I know this course of action did not please everyone, afterwards,
literally dozens of people, arrested and not, thanked me for facilitating
the negotiations and said that they were grateful for the solution we had
chosen.)
The police removed their gas masks and riot helmets and put on their badges;
then removed three of the barricades (promising that the rest would be
removed if peace were maintained--this never happened due to the crowding of
the media). Row after row, people peacefully passed through the barricade
from ten to 15 at a time, linking arms. Once one row had crossed, the next
stood up. The media interviewed people from each row while they waited their
turn. Each row had its own courageous song or chant as they marched through
the barricade. Most people were shivering from the cold, but were smiling
and in high spirits none the less. About ten feet into the other side of the
barricade, the police arrested the protestors, many of whom went limp and
had to be carried to the waiting busses.
JAIL SOLIDARITY!
The next chapter of this incredible saga occurred in custody. I'll be happy
to give a blow-by-blow for those who want it. But for the newsletter, I'm
going to keep it brief. We were first taken to the Police Academy, where we
were fingerprinted and dispossessed of some of our belongings. We were then
taken to the courthouse or the DC Central Block, where we were held for
hours in cramped holding tanks under the supervision of sick and sadistic US
Marshalls (heads were bashed and people--especially the young and
inexperienced--were continuously intimidated), who need to be taught a few
things about basic human rights and how to respect them, until we were
arraigned at about 5 AM. By this time, most of us had not slept or eaten in
24 hours and had been sitting in soaked clothes in cold, drafty cells for
10--16 hours.
Many of us were "no-papered" out during this preliminary process: Since
there was not enough room in the DC jail for all of us, the judge simply
dismissed the charges and the prisoners were forced out of the system,
whether they wanted to participate in jail solidarity or not.
At our bleary-eyed arraignments, we got to hear the Honorable Rona Beck lie
to us about how many people had cited out (we're looking into impeachment
charges). We ended up being a band of about 160 who were finally interred at
the DC jail. We were kept isolated from the "general population"--
prisoners--mostly poor people of color--who were serving time for
non-protest-related convictions. However, news of our presence quickly
spread, and whenever we chanced to see them, members of the "general
population" would typically smile and shout "Solidarity!" (Almost without
exception, every prisoner and officer I met at the DC jail was sympathetic
and respectful.)
I had the honor of being part of an incredible, wonderful group of women,
representing every color, sexual orientation, and age (from 18 to over 70).
I was just blown away by the high-spirits, intelligence and articulateness
(everyone, but especially Subsahara, Stooge, Lisa, Bo Beep, Bangs, Red, and
others), expressiveness, talent (we sang and wrote WONDERFUL songs--Have you
ever gone to the DC jail at the very, very bottom of the justice system?--
and radical cheers, and were entertained non-stop by delightful natural
comics like Sassy, JJ, and Idol), humor, heart (many solidarity gestures
toward our fellow inmates in the general population, whom to us were also
political prisoners), and solidarity of this sublime company.
Highlights included an UPLIFTING Pass Over SEDER on Wednesday the 19th,
where a local group brought in unleavened bread and grape juice, and we went
through the ritual and sang inspiring songs. Another highlight was a mass
strip action the next day to avoid being taken to the courthouse, where we
risked being thrown out of the system on bail, due to illegal actions on the
part of bogus, court-assigned attorneys. THIS ACTION WAS POWERFUL &
SUCCESSFUL! It was clear that the corrections officers had never dealt with
anything like it before! The few of us who were taken forcibly to jail,
fired our attorneys on the spot, enlisted Midnight Special attorneys, and
asked to be returned to jail immediately. Following this action, the judge
demanded that the attorneys get together and come up with a plea bargain
immediately. We were finally released on Saturday, starting at about 1 in
the morning. We retained our anonymity to the end, and were charged with
jay-walking infractions and a $5 fine (reduced from $20 on the
recommendation of the Mayor of DC).
We exited the jail into a CHEERING GAUNTLET of SUPPORTERS--this group that numbered ~500 people at its height had camped outside the DC jail for the entire duration!!! They hugged us, fed us, wrapped us in blankets, and drove us home in waiting vans!!! WE LOVE YOU AND THANK YOU!!!!
AND CHEERS UPON CHEERS FOR OUR INDEFATIGABLE LEGAL TEAM!!! When it was all over, and I finally saw KATYA, the head of our legal team, again, she was weeping for joy: She said she had never seen a more perfect jail solidarity action!
****FINALLY, HATS OFF TO THESE SRBG ACTIVISTS WHO SPENT 4.5 DAYS IN THE DC JAIL FOR GLOBAL JUSTICE: DEFENDER, GRANMA, PILAR, & DRAGONSLAYER!!!!****
_______________________________
I'll try to get a comprehensive calendar out to the net soon!
SEE YOU ON MAY DAY!!!!
Cheers and hugs!
Mary
Mary Bull
Save the Redwoods/Boycott the Gap Campaign, SF
_________________________________________
Other Contacts/Information Sources:
www.elksoft.com/gwa
----------------------------
Mary Pjerrou, Redwood Coast Watersheds Alliance
707-877-3405 pirohuck@mcn.org
----------------------------
Mark Hilovsky, Builders Action Network
415-550-6850 mhilo@aol.com
----------------------------
Mary Bull,
Save the Redwoods/Boycott the Gap Campaign
415-731-7924 chalicenew@earthlink.net
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Gap Labor Exploitation URLs:
http://sweatshops@globalexchange.org
http://www.globalexchange.org
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/01/14
/MN19190.DTL
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/01/20
/MN49132.DTL
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/01/22
/MN49806.DTL
http://www.house.gov/resources/105cong/democrat/cnmifin.html#contractlabor
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