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actions & protests | human & civil rights | police / legal
16.Apr.2004 20:56
April 24 March against Police Brutality - I'll be there, but.........
author: Petros Evdokas
e-mail: petros@cyprus-org.net
e-mail: petros@cyprus-org.net
.....But here it is : I have terrible reservations about it.
April 24 March against Police Brutality
Evdokas gets bitch slapped by several IMC users:
April 24 March against Police Brutality - I'll be there, but.........
I'll be present at the protest for 2 reasons:
1. The people who have been working day and night to organize this protest are genuine, committed, anti- racist radical activists.
They have good hearts, and they really do care about our communities. They really honestly want to see the racist police disarmed, and want to see this event in the context of larger and deeper struggles for revolutionary social change in the country, one more thorn in the heel of the brutal Empire under which the planet lives and dies. They are genuinely pure in their motives for this work, and they are especially hostile to the hijacking of the police brutality issue by petty electoral and other corporate interests, or by personal careerist manipulations.
2. The demands of the protest are correct, and feasible.
.....But here it is : I have terrible reservations about it.
I've had the honor and pleasure to be close enough to the organizers of this event to respect them and I really do want to work with them on political projects. I repeatedly keep finding though, that there is no room for co-operation.
The campaign to put together this protest has at least two flaws, which the organizers either don't seem to understand (and there's nothing wrong with that, but we need to keep trying to cultivate understanding when our comrades are good people), or seem as if they "don't wanna to hear it" - even though they are wonderful people, they really do believe that the way in which they do this is a revolutionary style of work, and that all other approaches are "liberal" or "reformist". That's why they "don't wanna to hear it":
1. There are no structures for democratic imput in this campaign so that those of us who support it, or who want to work for it, may participate not only as mindless workers but also as political beings, with our questions, opinions, thoughts, suggestions, resources, experiences, insecurities, fears, etc. There's only a directive given, by sources unknown and unaccountable to anyone, and you are given the choice to either follow that directive, that particular job, stick to the arbitrary deadlines, do it, or risk being called "counter-revolutionary" or "liberal".
We all know that aiming for revolutionary change means that alongside those of our organizations which are built for struggle (our militias, affinity groups, underground structures, etc), we also need to build structures of direct democracy, political organizations in which we can be interactive and accountable to ourselves and to others within them, and to the wider community, for our politics and for our actions. These are the embryos of community self- government and self-administration, which we hope will one day replace the system of corporate control and authoritarian state power over our lives. We intend to see that these political structures and organizations for struggle, both, embracing a multiplicity of tactics in the service of the revolution, become more and more permanent features of the alternative and radical community as the liberation movement expands and deepens. But we can not have one without the other.
The group of activists working for this April 24 March against Police Brutality refuse to discuss the building of these structures, even as they invite people to work on the project. But what other way is there to ensure that all activists and supporters, radical coworkers on a project, can have equal imput in the direction and navigation of a campaign, if there is no forum for doing the work and the politics together?
2. The most glaring mistake of the campaign so far, is the total lack of initiatives to invite community organizations and community leaders from among those who are most affected by the recent racist murder by the police.
The recent mobilization of thousands of people against police brutality would not have been possible if it were not for the initiative of primarily faith-based community organizations, churches and congregations in the African- American community, and also initiatives from within other ethnic and cultural groups from among the communities which are most often the targets of racist killings and abuses. Without an alliance with this leadership, which is capable of bringing inspiration and the courage to keep on living day after day under the whip, what kind of anti-racist community mobilization do we hope to achieve?
The numbers and cultural identities of the people who attend the April 24 protest will illustrate this clearly. Even if there were a thousand phone calls from people in the North/ NE Portland neighborhoods to say thanks for the poster, it still does not change anything: the community was not invited to participate as a community, but only as individuals who saw a poster on a street.
Revolutionary- minded and radical activists whose origins are mostly in the European- American communities, need to ask themselves: "Do we value the community organizations - as they exist today - within the African- American community?" If yes, why not invite them to help put together the protest? And of course, this holds true for building alliances with community organizations within all of the communities which are oppressed because of ethnic, cultural, religious, or sexual identities. Why not invite them to help put together the protests? Would it be liberal to do that?
In fact, when members of the KKK -oops, of the...... police, wrongfully and criminally harassed the organizers of this protest, they lectured at them saying that "All the blacks are really mad at you for doing what you're doing. You're riding the coat-tails of their tragedy". Believe it or not, in saying this, the cops were voicing a part of the truth which as radicals we need to be aware of. The Empire knows so well how to divide and conquer: mistrust between all oppressed communities and especially between them and the mostly European- American dominant community, is very powerful. It is poison. Our first concern, always, before beginning to fight, is to build trust and solidarity - so we can fight together! Why did this protest go wrong in this direction?
Will it not be justified if on the day of the protest, community leaders explain their absence and the absence of large numbers from their communities if they say "we were not invited"?
The organizers of this protest really are good people, and I know for a fact that they are committed to all the values of good community organizing, genuine anti-racist work, coherent examination of goals, strategies and tactics. In fact, I know that if we had a chance for ongoing dialogue in the context of working together on projects like this, they would probably not only agree, but they might even come up with some of these concerns on their own.
I emphasize the above because I know that the blunders of this campaign are really well-intentioned mistakes, by good people. But they are mistakes, preventable, and ease to solve, but still mistakes.
Unfortunately, for now, they have adopted a policy of seing any effort at dialogue as undesirable. This is a symptom of a wider and generalized policy within a certain network of mostly European- American anarcho- autonomist, direct action oriented community of activists, some circles of indymedia included, to see dialogue among comrades as "unproductive", or "liberal". I know that the particular individuals involved in this campaign would be doing things differently - and be happily doing so - if they had opportunities for real ongoing exchanges together with radical comrades from all walks of life and from all the cultures which are trapped under the Imperial dominion.
So, I'll be there at the protest, but a little shy about it because of the blunders built into the process. I hope that our comrades will open themselves up to democratic co-operation and dialogue, so that the risks they are taking now, taking on the Beast armed only with courage, will result in better mobilizations in the future in which we can all work together, and be armed with politics, as well.
Petros Evdokas from within the Belly of the Beast
http://petros-evdokas.cyprus-org.net/
-----------------------------
Related Articles:
Portland Police Tear Down April 24 March Posters, Arrest Two More People
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/04/286067.shtml#114972
March for Justice and Police Accountability
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/04/285804.shtml
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Give it a rest, Petros 16.Apr.2004 22:00
Geez link
Sounds like just another excuse for not doing anything
16.Apr.2004 23:02
George Bender link
I haven't worked on this issue, but I have tried to organize around other issues. And found it enormously frustrating. You get 20 people together in a room and try to arrive at a consensus about what to do, and you can't. It's like herding cats. People often seem to be into the process at the expense of getting anything done. They just want to talk. When it comes time to DO anything they're not there.
Aside from mass marches, only a small percentage of "activists" are actually activists. People come to meetings to say no to whatever is proposed, because it's not their idea, and because they don't feel like doing anything. I don't have the patience for that anymore. I want to work with people who have a plan and are going ahead with it. I'm willing to go along if it makes sense to me, and contribute what I can. Usually I volunteer to do some supporting job.
I believe in:
Those who do the work make the rules.
Lead, follow or get out of the way.
Meetings just drain energy. Best to meet in action.
http://portlandwriters.com
An Arissa Organizer 16.Apr.2004 23:51
Craig Rosebraugh craig@arissa.org link
After reading the lengthy shit spouted by Petros, I am choosing to engage in the all-to-self-destructive pratice of Indymedia debate. Because I wish to remain brief, my comments will appear in short numbered statements.
1) As an organizer with the Arissa organization I can boldly state that yes we indeed have our own vision of the revolutionary process and the means to get us there. We believe in creating a revolutionary movement in the United States consisting of people who actually want to do whatever it takes to change the political structure of the country. This process falls outside the norms that are shared by most within the "activist" community, not only in Portland but across this country. We are not a "Leftist" or "liberal" organization and believe that social and political revolutionary change is greatly hindered in this country by people who are stuck in the single-issue, 100% consensus mindset. Everyone loves to believe in the utopian world, and even pretend to live their lives in a perfect utopian state, but we must realize that it is our privilege in this country that allows most of us to do that.
2) Owing to the fact that we have different political and social goals than liberal organizations, we do not practice the same organizing strategies. We believe that working with liberal individuals, whether white, black, red, brown, yellow, pink, etc. not only compromises our ultimate goal of revolutionary building, but continues us on a path of ultimate failure. It is a misconception to suggest that we do not want or value the input of the community. But we are as much a part of this community as anyone also (even you Petros who, after being here just a few months may be a bit premature in your local community analysis), and do not believe we have to ask permission from those in the community we disagree with before taking action in our organization.
3) It is also quite mythical to suggest that we refused to conduct any community outreach for this event prior to its organizing. Just because you Petros and other liberals in this community were not consulted first doesn't make our action wrong. In fact we made a conscience decision to initially contact those we wanted to work with, who shared our revolutionary message, and then to continue the outreach up until the March on April 24th.
4) We believe it is ridiculously racist to assume that we must contact the "Black Community" before planning and engaging in an action against the police - an arm of the government that plagues not only the Portland community with terror, but also other communities on a national level. As whites we have a responsibility to take care of our own people, our own racism, and not be foolish enough to believe we have to stand behind liberal black leaders in order to act.
5) We chose to organize this March after attending yet another liberal rally downtown, where politicians, religious leaders, and other liberals told a caring public that they should just remain calm, have faith in the system, and somehow justice would prevail. Someone needed to step up and begin speaking the truth to people. Believing in liberalism, believing that someone justice is just going to miraculously come by trusting the system, has historically prevented change from actually occurring in this country. Until people understand they have to stand up for themselves and defend themselves there will be no change. The liberals will still take on their pet causes for a week, a month, or year, and then move on to the next cause. The religious leaders will still tell people that faith in God will save the day, and the politicians - well they will continue to say anything to get your vote. But things will keep getting worse. No matter how much better token liberal events may make us feel about ourselves, ultimately things just keep getting worse. The Arissa organization seeks to break this self-defeating, suicidal path. I do not apologize for that.
6) If individuals or groups support the building of a revolutionary movement and our March pressuring the City of Portland to finally hold its police officers accountable, we encourage you to get involved. If not, then organize your own event and quit whining because we are choosing to do something you did not approve of or you cannot control.
7) Contrary to the rumours of our lack of organizing (or blunders as Petros put it) we are expecting quite a large turnout. With our outreach to selected individuals and organizations, our postering of the City, our very sizable bulk mailing to Metro area addresses, our large ad next week in Willamette Week, and our flyering of community events, we are very hopeful that our numbers will be sizable enough to kick off a successful campaign to pressure the City into police accountability.
8) And lastly, as Petros has speculated Arissa is not a completely open, utopian democratically-run liberal organization. Again, our goal is to actually build a revolutionary movement in this country using a methodology that we believe will be successful. If you do not agree with that, you are entitled to your opinion, but isn't there more you could be doing with your time than attempting to put us down for organizing an action in OUR community?
Maybe I'll see one or two of you on April 24th...
http://www.arissa.org
(503) 972-1140
Go Arissa 17.Apr.2004 07:35
gonna be there link
I've talked to many, many people about this march, including African American people in N pdx, and they're SO down with this event. I haven't heard one negative comment (other than this wallowing critique from Petros). There isn't just one "Black community," and it seems that radical people of color were as disenchanted by the liberal demostration at the justice center as radical white people. I think their voices are every bit as important as the elite pastors and politicians who spoke at the more liberal event.
I'm not dissing the people who put on their Sunday best for the justice ctr thing. I went to that too, and I support a multitude of approaches for dealing with this problem. But I was troubled by the repression of rage so evident there. I heard a woman give the most impassioned speech. In the midst of it she said with fire in her voice, "Oh, I'm angry." But then she pulled back and said, "But we not gonna do that. One should never deal in their anger." Why the fuck not? I heard an awe inspiring speech from a man from the Nation of Islam, followed by the MC laughing it all off with, "Damn. You're making me mad now. We knew how this would shake out, so we're gonna take it down a notch now."
Call me crazy, but I don't want to be taken down a notch. That rage is real, and it deserves expression. Those pigs are KILLING PEOPLE.
it's either democratic or it's totalitarian 18.Apr.2004 12:23
Buffy link
The Arissa model
seems to be Democratic Centralism.
This is where the core group (or leader) decides everything and individual members either agree or become the enemy. Lenin changed the revolution from democratic to the totalitarian "democratic centralism" that Stalin ruled with. (We've seen this occasionally in PPRC and CNPJ, too, over the very same issue of police behavior.) All it takes is a cult of personality to develop, or for the leaders to be unquestioned and membership passive, or for some to be quicker and more ruthlessly manipulative with the rules than those who disagree with them, and you get the tyrany of de facto or genuine democratic centralism.
The emphasis is on the "centralism" bit, and not the "democratic."
Democratic Centralism is always justified by necessity. Concensus takes too long, we have to respond immediately, unity is strength and we can't afford to be weak, petty bickering will destroy us, our cause is greater than the needs of any individual, etc. All of these things may be more or less true, but people of good will and persistence will lead through democratic processes, and not resort to tyrany. It always, always, always comes down to a means-ends issue. The means ARE the ends.
Those who enjoy fauning, ass-kissing, or being fauned upon or ass-kissed and other S & M roles will get off on being part of a democratic centralist or totalitarian organization. It's safe. You always know the real rules: don't fuck with the leaders; and the real agenda: whatever the leader wants.
Of course there are benificent tyrants, but you can't count on it. They must always test their power by being particularly procrustian, changing the rules arbitrarily to see who jumps and who questions, etc. Loyalty is everything, and absolute loyalty becomes the first law. After a while, the only way to test loyalty is to demand that members do things that are increasingly against their nature, just to demonstrate their loyalty.
Don't for a moment believe that such leadership behavior is based on insecurity, or assume that the schoolyard bully is really a coward. These people have very strong egos and a solid sense of entitlement. They really believe they have the right to be top dog. Only petty tyrants bother to justify their behavior with extensive rationalizations and theories of revolutionary necessity -- spouting this bullshit is what underlings do best. Real tyrants just do their thing and assume it's good and wonderful because they are doing it. (G.W.Bush is beautiful example of a tyrant who uses the flimsiest of democratic veils to justify his behavior. If he's re-elected, he may drop the veil entirely.)
love & hugs,
Buffy
Arissa's old webpage, http://www.arissa.org, listed two addresses: one in Oregon, another in New York:
PORTLAND CHAPTER
POST OFFICE BOX 5068
PORTLAND, OR 97228
TEL:(503)972-1140
BUFFALO CHAPTER
POST OFFICE BOX 232
SOUTH WALES, NY 14139
TEL:(716)698-2396
They were supposed to be the vangaurd of "the revolution":
The primary goal of Arissa is to create a social and political revolution in the United States. We believe that none of the single issue problems - whether in the human or environmental categories - can be resolved until a political structure is put in place to allow for an atmosphere of change. Arissa will have reached its initial goal when that revolution occurs.And:
Realizing that the citizens of the United States are nowhere near prepared for a revolution, we believe that public education is a priority. In order to build a revolutionary movement, we must first build a revolutionary consciousness. We believe there are sound reasons for fundamental political and social change in this country, and it is crucial to assist in allowing the people to understand this as well.
With this in mind, Arissa Media Group LLC was formed to concentrate on producing various forms of educational media designed to promote the necessity of revolution in the United States. This media will include books, documentary videos and film, audio cds, and a national magazine. The first of our book projects was released on May 30, 2003.
To see the full catalogue of Arissa Media Group releases go to www.arissamediagroup.com.
In addition to releasing media projects, Arissa also is engaging in another important aspect of the revolutionary pursuit - community organizing. We plan to develop a network of community based organizations throughout the United States that will create strong ties within localized areas, thereby building support for a revolutionary movement. Arissa plans on assisting local communities with important resources not provided by
governmental agencies. Whether it is providing food, shelter, clothing, education, physical fitness, self-defense, legal aid, or other sought after assistance, we plan to work with each location on an individualized basis while demonstrating the necessity of revolution. This network will be the beginning of the revolutionary movement in the United States.
We believe everyone has the responsibility to take action and assist in the effort to stop the U.S. government, an entity that has plagued the domestic and international arena throughout modern history with unprecedented murder, destruction, and injustice. We encourage you to become involved in our efforts to bring about the necessary political and social revolution in the United States of America.
For additional information, to host a speaker, or for media inquiries please contact:
Arissa,
PO Box 6058
Portland, Oregon 97228
(503) 972-1140
info@arissa.org
http://www.arissa.org/contact.html
Arissa Contact Information
Currently, the Arissa organization has a west coast chapter in Portland, Oregon
and an east coast chapter in Buffalo, New York. These are pilot chapters and
will be used as models to build a nation of chapters, a fundamental step in
building the necessary revolutionary movement in the United States of America.
For general information and questions please email: info@arissa.org
For our Portland Chapter, please contact:
Arissa - Portland Chapter
P.O. Box 6058
Portland, OR 97228
(503) 972-1140
For our Buffalo Chapter, please contact:
Arissa - Buffalo Chapter
P.O. Box 232
South Wales, NY 14139
(716) 698-2396
To reach Arissa Media Group, a company working to build a necessary
revolutionary consciousness in the United States, contact:
Arissa Media Group, LLC
P.O. Box 6058
Portland, OR 97228
(503) 972-1143
www.arissamediagroup.com
The arissa media group website seems to be dead, but whois is current:
Registration Service Provided By: Namecheap.comThe website owner's wiki page barely mentions Arissa. But it does mention him being an egotistical prick with his employees:
Contact: support@namecheap.com
Visit: http://namecheap.com
Domain name: arissamediagroup.com
Registrant Contact:
Rosebraugh, Craig
()
Fax:
P.O. Box 27991
Tempe, AZ 85285
US
Administrative Contact:
Craig Rosebraugh (craigrosebraugh@yahoo.com)
+1.5032210345
Fax:
P.O. Box 27991
Tempe, AZ 85285
US
Technical Contact:
LLC Network Solutions (customerservice@networksolutions.com)
+1.8886429675
Fax: 571-434-4620
13861 Sunrise Valley Drive
Herndon, VA 20171
US
Status: Locked
Name Servers:
NS51.1AND1.COM
NS52.1AND1.COM
Creation date: 11 Sep 2003 18:39:00
Expiration date: 11 Sep 2013 18:39:00
Restaurant owner
In January 2004, with the financial backing of his parents, Rosebraugh opened Calendula, then Portland's only all-vegan and organic restaurant. The restaurant was named one of the best vegetarian restaurants in North America in 2004 by Veg News Magazine. He was criticized in the local press for his treatment of his employees and for failing to adhere to principles he had espoused. Employees that he fired joined the Wobblies union which organized a boycott of the restaurant.[11][21] Rosebraugh spent $3,000 to defend himself in ads in the local alternative press.[21] Other employees came to Rosebraugh's defense, accusing the IWW union as misguided and "barking up the wrong tree."[22] He closed the restaurant in September 2004, and reopened it for a short time in December of that year.[21][23] The restaurant closed its doors for good late in 2005.
" He was criticized in the local press for his treatment of his employees and for failing to adhere to principles he had espoused." Making readers wonder how the dick planned to start a revolutionary movement is he had the charisma of a flea ridden rat with herpes. Was he starting another cult front? And was Evdokas' bs objections another "make your own competition" cult scam?
???
"I'm sorry folks, this one is a little too predictable. After the march, little things like verification of actually harassment and arson will not matter any more, because Arissa will be it's own cause."
This is the definition of a cult scam. Smart girl, that Buffy.
Did Evdokas know? Did he help set it up?
Final tongue in cheek word goes to IMC user "Buffy":
How to make more revolutionaries 22.Apr.2004 22:57
Buffy link
1. Pick a critical event and declare yourself the most extreme solution to the problem.
2. Name those who are not revolutionary enough by your standards. Criticize and denigrate accordingly.
3. If no one responds strongly enough, create an attack, like burning your dumpster. (Where is the fire dept report?)
4. Criticize the enemy in terms strong enough to require them to respond.
5. If the enemy does not respond strongly enough, fabricate an encounter (where are the police's incident and arrest reports?).
6. Arrange a mass confrontation between supporters and the enemy by calling for a public rally.
7. If the enemy cannot be made to attach the supporters, arrange for some supporters to attack the enemy. (The enemy is, of course, the police.)
8. Leverage the resulting publicity into a larger following.
9. Keep step one in mind, but now YOU are the critical event, and all who have been caught up in confrontations become your greened supporters.
10. and start again with step two.
I'm sorry folks, this one is a little too predictable. After the march, little things like verification of actually harassment and arson will not matter any more, because Arissa will be it's own cause. Remeber that Buffy told you about it here first.
love & hugs
Buffy
"I'm sorry folks, this one is a little too predictable. After the march, little things like verification of actually harassment and arson will not matter any more, because Arissa will be it's own cause."
This is the definition of a cult scam. Smart girl, that Buffy.
Did Evdokas know? Did he help set it up?
