A Pre-RNC Dispatch from the Twin Cities

Got into the TC this past Monday and have been moving ever since. As a wobbly and an affiliate of the Northeastern Federation of Anarchist-Communists, I’m working with the Anti-Capitalist Bloc, a project of various Left libertarian organizations spearheaded by the Twin Cities IWW. NEFAC, the Class Action Alliance (northwest) Solidarity & Defense (midwest), MaCalaster SDS and others have signed onto it, but as far as I know, I’m the only NEFACer in the area for the RNC. But despite that I am in good company and feel welcome and safe with my hosts. The first order of business was to fix up a junk bike for my personal transportation, which we accomplished reasonably well with our limited mechanical abilities and the help of a local community bicycle collective The Grease Pit. Since then I feel like my stay here has been one long meeting, mostly informal.

Everywhere there are hints of the violence that we expect the state will use against us. The clashes in Denver, the detentions and seizures of personal property by St. Paul police, and the general feeling that when we hit the streets we will be marching into the lion’s den. For myself, I have generally proven effective in avoiding arrest and have a strong sense of being able to understand the behavior of the police, insomuch as anyone can.

The first action in the series will be tomorrow for the traditional Critical Mass kick-off bike ride, which is widely speculated as an event which will set the tone for the week. One year ago the cops here arrested many CM participants, with one of the few who was charged having recently had them dropped cuz (surprise-surprise) the cops lied openly and blatantly. People expect that this will be an opportunity for the cops to get people off the street and keep them locked up until after the big day of action on Monday—something that I find unlikely for them to accomplish. While I will be very selective about what I write about here, I am adamant in stating that under no circumstances will I be scared away from a simple bike ride by a bunch of childish pigs. If they want to continue to make themselves look like morons in the media, they’re more than welcome. I survived the 2004 RNC in NYC on my bike, despite cyclists being targeted by scooter cops with vehicular assault, mass arrests and attempted raids on the Times Up! bike space. Bring it.

This Labor Day weekend will likely be one big blur, a flurry of events that will be difficult to interpret, and more difficult to draw lessons from, but that is my purpose here. After Monday we will be in the clear, and the Bloc will be holding various workshops at MaCalaster for local students and out-of-towners. I am basically doing my best to fill in where I am needed and support the amazing crew of organizers I am rolling with.

Tension is high, but so are spirits. Will this be the year that we won’t forget?