|
Comment on this article |
Email this Article
|
|
Announcement :: Miscellaneous |
|
well, hmmm, the bush regime |
Current rating: 0 |
by beatrix apricotz
Email: beatrixapricotz (nospam) yahoo.com (verified) |
24 Aug 2004
|
|
the amazing disappearing activists |
|
i usually stay away from topics such as these, but since i've been personally bothered by it, i felt like sharing my experience.
for the last few days, we attended a conference in iowa. we camped at a little campground about 40 minutes south of des moines. the conference was called the des moines convergence. it was a convergence loosely affiliated with a subculture called crimethinc. i call it a subculture because i don't really know how else to describe it (for more info than you probably care to know, there's a site called www.crimethinc.com and a book called days of war, nights of love). we were supposed to be shooting the shit about anarchy & community, listening to bands, watching an alternative film fest, and playing together out in the country. after the convergence, many of the attendees were heading to new york city, to demonstrate at the republican national convention. we were not heading to new york, because that feels like suicide to me, but as for hanging out with like minds for a few days in iowa, that sounded kick ass.
in stepped the bush regime. when we arrived sunday, there was a rumor/report going around that a kid had been picked up in des moines for walking around with a slingshot in his pocket. there were no reports of windows broken, but he was still arrested & detained. earlier sunday, the fbi came to the campground and picked up some items they considered evidence of terrorism: pvc piping & lamp oil. these so-called terrorist items were actually to be used in a skill share, where people sit around & explain what they know to people who are interested in knowing it. this particular subculture has an odd sense of humor. most of the kids i have met personally are very smart, very creative and a whole lot of fun. the pvc pipes can be melted and slightly bent at odd angles in order to make american didgeridoos. the lamp oil is used for a circus trick of fire breathing. two years ago, these items were brought to des moines for a convergence. this is what they were used for then, not making bombs, as the fbi claimed when they nabbed several other people that were attending the conference i attended.
apparently, our domestic police force is using a lot of money from the war on terrorism to follow, disrupt, intimidate, and arrest many people who plan on attending the republican convergence on new york. i have read a report here, http://nyc.indymedia.org/feature/display/101702/index.php, that indicates many people who oppose bush and his policies of foreign and domestic terrorism are being targeted. i can't imagine that anyone attending our conference was on this list, but still, several people were arrested or detained. this is a report as given by the organizer of the des moines convergence http://www.crimethinc.info/shop/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1844.
so, according to police in des moines, several anarchists were arrested with bomb materials, planning on who knows what, possibly travelling to the republican national conglomerate to blow shit up. that's some pretty damn big news, wouldn't you think? what's odd is, i never saw it in a newspaper. the only way i know of it was that i was there. if the police are seriously concerned that a bunch of crusty punks are hanging out in the woods making bombs, shouldn't that be a public concern? i happen to think that it's pretty much a sham, a politically motivated action designed to quash any dissent of our not-exactly-elected president.
i brought my child to this convergence. we are fortunate that we were not nabbed, because i imagine we would not be reading stories to our child right now if we had been. i am sure there was something in our possession that could be construed as a danger to society, be it incendiary literature (including the "life in hell" series by matt groening) or a pocket knife. the arrests had their effect on our convergence. communication in our group was nonexistent, no one was trusted & the group's cohesion was shattered. the first thing that happened was that many people split. some left as soon as they heard that people were nabbed (it is really like police kidnapping activists), and people left throughout the day. next, the people not going to the rnc were told (politely) to go away. that included us & another group of tight friends from minnesota. we went back to the campsite, although we knew the police had physically been there at some point & had (in their minds at least) reason to suspect that the people there were terrorists. we had a great time hanging out, although we were all kind of jumpy & didn't know if we'd be roused by bright lights and shotguns in the middle of the night. about an hour after we got back, while we were cooking supper, a sheriff's car went through the park. i guess they figured such a small group, with a kid, was nothing to worry about. after all, we were not going to the rnc & i hoped we were not being targeted any more. my kid freaked out when she saw the police car, but they kept driving slowly by. we waved & smiled. we left the next morning.
and here i am at home now, hoping the kids going to the rnc are all right, wondering how many other people were arrested, and how many groups were dispersed by intimidation. i wonder what the spirit of opposition will be like at the rnc & what kinds of legal oppression and violence will be used on what protesters still have the guts to go (certainly NOT me). i wonder how much of it will make it onto the news that y'all might be watching or reading.
i don't know what, if anything can be done. i don't have a lot of faith in voting, because america is a corporate machine & i don't think it makes any difference which rich white man is the president & ceo. i don't think writing letters to the editor does much either, although i guess i have some hope that writing to you will.
i don't know if my phone is tapped, although i can't imagine why it would be. i don't know how paranoid to be, because after all, this is america. martin luther king had a thick fbi file, as did albert einstein. we may well have them too. still today, i enjoyed the blue sky and rain, the gold fields and the pink clouds at sunset. i don't know what else is next.
b |
This work is in the public domain |
