A heavily edited video has emerged showing selected scenes of the weekend’s vandalism in Pike/Pine and on Broadway.
A comment from poster “some bitch” on our report identifying the one person arrested in the weekend melee linked to the video subtitled “A queer riot against assimilation, capitalism, and police violence. June 25th 2011.”
The video shows a crowd gathering near the 12th/Union/Madison confluence, some attempts at dancing and then the start of the march before cutting to scenes of the broken window at the Maserati and Ferrari of Seattle dealership on 12th Ave. There are also scenes showing lit objects being thrown that appear to be smoke bombs plus attacks on police cars and still-photo aftermath shots of the damage. Near the 3-1/2 minute mark, an SPD officer can be seen bolting toward two people who appear to be dragging a barrier into the middle of Broadway.
While it is mostly an edited selection of highlights, you’ll be able to watch many scenes and draw your own conclusions. For one, the crowd remained robust well onto the Broadway portion of the march despite the violence and damage that had already occurred as the group made its way through Pike/Pine. You can also get a sense of how large the crowd was at its peak as it squeezed down E Pike. On the other hand, it’s clear the video’s producer sought to maximize the damage the incident can take credit for with exaggerated counts of SPD cruiser damage and a boast that “countless” ATMs were destroyed.
We have also posted the front and back of a flyer some in the crowd were distributing. It’s been posted about recently around the Web including here in Seattle via Slog but we hadn’t yet included it in our coverage. “They tell us to celebrate Pride because of how much progress we’ve made towards equality,” the flyer’s flipside reads. “We reject the idea that marriage equality or military service is progress, and we reject the goal of equality. We want an end to the system that keeps so many of us in poverty, facing violence every day. We will not fight for them; we will not fuck like them. And we certainly won’t buy into a sanitized, corporate version of Pride.”
It will be interesting to see how many people show up the next time Queers Fucking Queers organizes a dance party.
You just hurt the cause. Aside from terrorizing us, that’s all you have accomplished, all you are accomplishing, and all you ever will accomplish. Please, GO AWAY. You are disgusting. You’re not welcome here.
Signed,
One of 99.999999999% of the rest of the Hill.
Honestly hooligans, I think you paint an incredibly over-reactive over-dramatization of the way things are, especially in this neighborhood. Most people at this point are indifferent to people’s sexual orientation, and it will only become more so in the future.
Just because the conservative “squeaky wheel” is railing against progress doesn’t mean that they’re the majority. Quite the opposite, it’s an indication that they know their bigoted “values” are not popular and are in decline. It’s an act of panic and desperation for them to show up and protest. They are scared shitless that “liberals” have taken over the world, that people (including their kids) are evolving and progressing and that the place of power they once held over minorities has slipped away. Every time you see that one asshole on tv or protesting an event, think of the 10,000 others with the opposite viewpoint who are on your side.
I am going to dare to say that I think this riot had nothing to do with gender and sexuality. It’s about capitalism, war, and how the conservative few are fucking over the liberal masses. We’re ALL tired of paying corporate America’s taxes for them and funding wars we don’t agree with. Maybe there are some more positive ways you can express that though, rather than giving the media fodder to demonize the LGBT community and alienating people that would otherwise be on your side.
Sign me up, how do I join?
When a Predator drone launches a missile at a Pakistani village, it doesn’t check the sexual orientation of the targets first. It’s an equal opportunity killing machine.
Furthermore, “the system that keeps so many of us in poverty facing violence every day” is comprised of gays just like any other institution. Perhaps you’ve noticed that gays are very well represented in the Republican Party, particularly in Congress.
A person’s sexual orientation has no bearing on their political views. But this is already quite obvious to anyone with a brain.
So far, everything I’ve read from this group is completely full of shit.
Totally agree.
How are they not considered a terrorist organization??? They organize…to cause terror. Seems pretty cut and dry to me. Maybe it’s because they’re not brown enough?
If there is one thing that I have learned in my lifetime, it is that fighting violence with violence never works. The tactic that is being used to approach the topic of police violence, and this supposed assimilation, homonationalism, and homomilitarism is the incorrect tactic for anyone with any connection to the LGBT community. I for one identify with the LGBT community and I was accepted with open arms and a feeling of love, that is what the community should spread to everyone, not a doctrine of violence and hatred.
Thanks guys, you did absolutely nothing but perpetuate the myth that the gay community is full of idiots looking for special treatment.
I’m betting not one of your stupid fucking asses does something you have the great privilege of doing in this country…….voting or being involved in creating real change.
If you vote, you can make real change, but no, let’s get loaded, and beat up a car dealeship and an American Apparel…wooo aren’t you bad asses, you showed that ATM whose boss.
Brilliant, go back to Wenatchee where you are considered something special, because you sure aren’t here and I do not appreciate you destroying parts of MY neighborhood.
I feel so excited for the coming day when one of these lil pussies gets completely owned and mauled when taunting a cop like that at the end of the video. Looks like the intellegence and acts of pre-schoolers running around their teacher on the rug. SO laughable that these people think they are tough and cool?! This is BY FAR the weakest scene on the Hill currently….and yes I’m including the yuppy new eateries and the gangsters.
Can’t wait till one of you are jailed. It will be a lesson just being in that environment with the rapers and killers and REAL tough guys that will change your life forever living with and give you the reality check you need if you want to be a “bad ass” punching cars and windows.
Yeah, someone notify me, I’d love to be there to kick some anarchist ass when they start pulling out bricks.
also agreed.
Keep up the good work, guys! I’m too old to get out there anymore, but I miss my days of smashing windows and setting cop cars on fire. It sickened me to see the so-called “Pride” parade being led by the likes of Microsoft, Amazon, and their little puppets.
It’s a beautiful thing to see the kids today carrying on the tradition. Kick the pigs out of our neighborhood!
That was so painful to watch. They seem to really think that breaking some windows means they’re BA. /facepalm
There are pigs on Capitol Hill? I haven’t seen any as of late. Usually one finds pigs on farms in rural areas, so I am not sure if anyone can really kick a pig here on the hill, unless someone has on in there backyard? Huh, thanks for giving me something to ponder, I actually haven’t seen a pig on the hill for 18 years, I guess I need to be more observant.
anarchist-bashing tourism…the next big thing. :)
I’m so glad to see your Anarchist movement has accomplished so much here in Seattle and that the Anarchist movement is alive and kicking and doing away with the government. OH WAIT.
Your movement will die away. In 50 years, Cooperation with corporations and government will be in place, and the citizens who want to contribute and not destroy what we’ve built and earned through work and education can live in peace with Police officers who keep the peace.
Your movement will die, and when I’m old like you, I’ll be smiling. And you’ll be dead.
Seriously, some people just need to get a life. Although I think this little manifesto is a little self-complimentary, only one person was arrested, and what, a window got broken?
Yes…the massive queer hooligan movement is spreading…better watch your mailbox, and check your porch for flaming bags of poo. These guys mean business.
so the vast majority of you really think that its a big deal that a couple criminal enterprises, ie corporate banks and a Ferrari shop got smashed? and thats “trashing” your neighborhood? fucking pathetic.
Its fucking pathetic that the unemployment rate is as high as it is yet Ferrari can still sell 100,000 dollar cars. It fucking pathetic that Chase bank, which has done so much indirectly and in pursuit of profit to ruin the lives of Americans everywhere, pays little to no consequences. Their shit deserves to get smashed.
Also, I would hardly consider this “trashing” a neighborhood.. obviously small businesses never get targeted by these folks. and obviously no one is setting fire to things.. If anything, the fact that these fucked up and essentially evil corporations can exist in your “neighborhood” should be questioned far more than a few broken windows.
-a 9 year capital hill resident
Really appreciate not just the amount of detail you’ve presented but the care you’ve taken in all these posts. You’ve owned the story – thank you.
…laugh and cry. Thanks for demonstrating the direct correlation of breaking windows and providing full employment. Burn a few blocks and it’ll be days of wine and roses.
no correlation obviously. I am just saying, a few broken windows from some shitty corps shouldn’t solicit this kind of over-reaction, “its the freakin’ end of the world!!” and “hang them all!!” stupid..
How does voting change anything, “older and wiser”? Obama is essentially the same as his Republican equivalent. Lipstick on a pig. I am older and wiser after having voted for Blair in ’97 in the UK – in my naive youth I thought voting could change something, but Tony Blair was identical, if not worse, than his Conservative predecessor.
Getting back to the main point, only the direct action of vast numbers of people can actually change anything more than superficially.
If the action restrained itself from childishly indulging in some immediate smashing it could have become more of a fun, extended unauthorized street party that would have actually involved a lot more people, perhaps many people in the beer gardens would have joined us. Instead, it mostly scared and separated them. I don’t condemn the people who smashed police cars on saturday night, but I don’t think it achieved much either. But at least in many ways those kids have a much clearer understanding of how the world really works than most of the commentators on this blog complaining about how “our” property was ruined (how is it “ours”? unless you are a business owner, it makes a lot more sense to say it belongs to the sinister “Them”.)
http://www.washingtonblade.com/2011/06/29/hrc-store-vandaliz
Interesting that something so similar happened in another city on the same event weekend.
The only way you tools get along with the police and corporations is by kissing their asses. Keep trying to rationalize your servitude – I enjoy life without masters.
Capitol Hill, not capital hill. Nine years of not paying attention. I guess you were too busy raging against the machine to care about your neighborhood.
Good to see someone around here still has some guts, lcrtr. These people are crying because a million-dollar company lost a couple of hundred-dollar windows. They know who owns them. They’re all too scared to do anything but kiss up to their corporate masters and pray that their lives don’t get any more pathetic. It’s the kind of sycophantism I appreciate when it comes from my dog, but which I despise in human beings.
@lcrtr: Once again COMPLETELY missing the point. The public makes no correlation between the smashed windows and your stance against corporations. The public sees people bringing violence to their neighborhood, they see a party that got out of control, and they’ll ask the police to work harder to keep it in check. THAT’S ALL. THAT’S REALLY ALL. You seriously fail harder than any activist has ever failed.
Nobody gives a shit whose windows you smashed, just that they were in a place we care about.
@duh – That’s because the public are retarded. Look for the correlation – it’s there. You’ve admitted to it yourself. Refusal to acknowledge it is simple ignorance.
The correlation is only there because I’ve been reading the comments on this blog. You can’t call the public retarded because you’ve made an insignificant effort to get your actual message out there.
Like I said. You utterly fail at activism. You’re great at breaking windows, though! Maybe you’ve just identified your strengths, I should probably praise you for that.
You mean you enjoy life answering to a different master, ding dong.
Always a mask, never a signed name so you can never tell who the message is really coming from. Very, very sad and pathetic indeed. The bulk of people who are part of the Seattle queer community and supporters do not support this.
Your name fits you, “duh.” Duh, indeed.
I’m not an activist. I never said I was. You fail miserably at reading comprehension, and succeed at nothing but being another whining “Liberal” on a blog.
Because the best thing to do when performing illegal activities is to tell the cops exactly who you are and what you look like.
You’re not very bright, are you?
…they were attacking backwards.
Apparently, “standing in conflict” involves a lot of hightailing from the heat.
Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better, Dd. If your statement had any merit, you’d have backed it up.
L.O.L.
Out of arguments? That’s cool. We can start doing the name calling thing now. (I saw that coming about a mile away)
This is seriously entertaining. There needs to be a reality TV show about you people (I said it again!) – it might be better than Whale Wars.
As a 15+ year resident living in the center of Capitol Hill. I want to know what the rest of us living on Capitol Hill can do to stop these groups from continue to cause property damage on the Hill.
We need more upscale businesses if we’re going to draw local businesses as well.
The other residents of Capitol Hill need to get organized with our Precint, who can be very helpful and responsive, in order to get these people off of the streets and to stop them endangering the rest of us.
We need to take back our streets from the vandalism and the unrest these people cause because of their disenfranchisement. I feel sorry for them, I do, but we can no longer tolerate this kind of conduct.
“Because the best thing to do when performing illegal activities is to tell the cops exactly who you are and what you look like.”
Because the best thing to do when taking a stand against something you feel unjust is to never tell everyone else what you’re standing against. Smash some windows, they’ll figure it out! If they don’t they’re just “fucking retarded” right?
IN FACT it’s best if you unwittingly dupe a bunch of convenient drunks in to supporting you. That’s how change happens, my friends!
which cause?
Please feel free to bring your ideas and concerns to the Capitol Hill Community Council. We are a group of neighbors who organize projects. We’ve been very active in many positive projects including park spaces, affordable housing, transportation and development. Learn more at: http://capitolhillcommunitycouncil.org/
Oh no! There were broken windows! What will all the white privileged middle-class liberals do now? None of them know how to pick up a broom and clean up the mess.
As a Seattle native and Capitol Hill resident, I commend the actions of the activists who instigated this action. Capitol Hill has long been the social justice conscience of Seattle. It is the perhaps the last vestige of a fierce community unwilling to stand for increasing mono-culturalism. While some may disagree for various reasons, how can you not appreciate that young people are fed up with corporations and banks and willing to engage in direct action as symbolic acts of resistance. These actions were not ‘violent’, they did not cause physical harm to persons. These actions are/were similar in context to the ‘indignant’ protests going on in Spain and Greece, and yes, Tunisia. The economic disparity in the U.S. is greater than it was/is in Tunisia, yet the brave citizens of that country rose up and declared ‘enough is enough!’. Any folks professing liberal or progressive views must understand that the struggles which achieved equality, social justice, civil rights, etc… was on the courageous acts of the few who were willing to put themselves at risk. At the very least, while you may not agree with the tactics, the grievances are not without merit and should be tolerated. It’s been over 10 years since the WTO protests, and yet the influence of multinational corporations have not waned, but increased including with the blessing of SCOTUS. Thank you activists for trying to make a better world for my children.
Step 1: Break windows
Step 2: ??????
Step 3: ANARCHY!
It’s just so precious how you attack me, thinking you’re attacking someone else. Feel better now?
Maybe I’m just not a raging pussy, but I hardly consider broken glass to be “terrorism.” Maybe you’re afraid of it, but I’ve had a few cuts on my feet and they all healed, so I don’t go screaming and crying over a few smashed windows.
That poor, poor Maserati dealership! Now they’ll have to replace those windows. I Hope they can afford it – money is tight on the Hill.
Marriage equality doesn’t force anybody to actually get married. You are free to love who you want in the manner you want and have whatever relationships you’d like without the state’s involvement. Nobody is stopping you. Quit the pointless rioting and breaking shit and forcing violence upon us, your neighbors.
If you don’t want to get married, DON’T. If you don’t want to join the military, DON’T. The fight for equality is not about assimilation, it’s about recognition.
Speak for yourself. I’m not “terrorized” by broken windows. I don’t even find them the least bit scary.
It’s funny, I DO feel better! I’ve been working for eighteen of the past twenty-four hours and this is a welcome (and hilarious) distraction!
(FYI: When someone on a message board says “you” it doesn’t always mean “you” specifically – it could mean “you” as in “you the group supporting that side of the discussion” – what ever way you wish to take it though!)
Hey, could you (yes, you, Scrote) indulge my curiosity? How old are you?
When your children are bloodied to pulps by this mob you advocate for, and the Police can’t protect them because they’ve been overrun, I hope your tears don’t go to waste.
Stop protecting this mob. Stop tolerating this kind of ‘courage’ that feels the need to hide behind a mask. Stop advocating for the kind of protest that apparently can only happen under the cover of night.
If their intolerance of the state of things drives them to this, our intolerance of their actions should move us to drive them back and out of our streets.
Capitol Hill – take back your streets from the rabble.
Also – as a non-white, gay citizen of Capitol Hill who remembers the having to run through the smoke, and feared what the mob would do during WTO, these “queer community activists” speak only for themselves and their perceived injustice.
Grow up, children.
the million man march was non-violent.
ghandi was non-violent.
those people and those events caused revolutions seen around the world. do you childish “anarchists” expect the same by busting up some windows? grow up.
in the neighborhood most likely to support your cause, you are driving away people who come to capitol hill and support our local businesses. local stores, restaurants, bars, etc rely on people coming from around the city to thrive. now, people will be afraid to visit and our reputation will only be tarnished.
your short-sighted actions harm your neighbors, not just the corporate symbols.
fine, you don’t want to be a part of the super-structure upon which your daily meals rely.
to live up to your ideals, i recommend you find a forest and move in. it’s really the best way for you to fulfill your mission.
or, why not actually organize something that gets attention? something that can actually bring about the change you want to see?
unfortunately, i have very little confidence in your ability to understand what it means to hold a rally similar to martin luther king, or to ghandi – people who actually helped their cause rather than hurt it.
Man up everyone! Riots aren’t scary or dangerous! Bring your kids next time! Scrote’s not scared!
Hear, Hear.
Somedude has fucking nailed it. Excellent post.
If you haven’t noticed, the definition of “terrorism” is pretty free-form nowadays.
Personally, I think calling you (sorry YOU ALL) terrorists is an insult to actual terrorists, because some of them have actually been able to achieve something, whereas you basically exist to drum up sales for All Star Auto Glass.
Speaking of achieving something, what would it take to get YOU ALL to rally against the TSA? There’s a cause I could get behind!
capitolhillmom, you are confused when you equate this group with others that have struggled for social justice.
Because beneath the “anarchist” and progressive trappings there lies a fascist mentality. You can tell by their appeal to the mob and to violence. By portraying themselves as quasi leftist, they are borrowing a tactic employed by the Nazis, who referred to themselves as “socialists” to co-opt support for genuine socialists.
There’s really nothing progressive about anarchism, where it’s dog eat dog and only the strong survive. If you like the way the US is going now, with right wingers killing government services and worker protections as quickly as they can, then you will love anarchy.
Wait, who said you couldn’t do it like the ‘big names’? I may have missed the part where you attempted that. Fill me in?
Oh right, that’s too boring. Got it.
Absolutley. Good work, CHS.
I made conclusions? Oh Oh! Tell me what they are! I’m way too dumb to figure it out on my own.
The only conclusion I’ve made is that you’re super easy to troll. I was right, too – just up until you didn’t tell me your age. Smart move, chum. :)
Absolutely. Good work, CHS.
etaoin shrdlu –
I think you’re interpretation of ‘anarchy’ is misinformed… and I call Godwin’s Law on you. Please take a breath, it’s ok.
uh lots of anarchists have been to jail
this seems to have gotten some attention…
and gandhi may have been “nonviolent” (didn’t he support the nazis? oops) but the indian independence movement certainly wasn’t.
Attention, sure – but no sympathy. In fact you’ve been more successful at turning people AWAY from your cause.
capitolhillmom, I think your use of “you’re” when you actually meant “your” is misinformed.
As far as “Godwin’s Law” is concerned, Wikipedia has an interesting entry about it, which includes this line:
“Godwin’s law itself can be abused, as a distraction, diversion or even censorship, that fallaciously miscasts an opponent’s argument as hyperbole, especially if the comparisons made by the argument are actually appropriate.”
And that is the situation here. The argument that the anarchists possess a fascist mindset actually IS appropriate. Consider the anarchists’ cartoon-like oversimplification of problems and solutions. Their black and white world view that demonizes their opponents. Their aforementioned glorification of violence and the mob. Except this time, the brownshirts are dressed in black.
Don’t you think? Or don’t you.
Anyway, it’s not an interpretation of anarchy that I’m talking about. It’s the way anarchy is IN PRACTICE. You can see for yourself, right now, if you want to. Go someplace stateless, where the state has failed completely, say Somalia. That IS anarchy. Is that your idea of utopia?
Didn’t think so.
P.S.
Don’t get me wrong, capitolhillmom: I don’t think the handful of anarchists in question are even remotely as dangerous as the fascists of the 30’s and 40’s. For proof, watch the end of the video where the anarchist is running away from the cop as fast as their little legs could carry them.
No, these clowns are more of a danger to themselves than they are to the other boys and girls.
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable.” – MLK quoting JFK. And the civil rights movement also probably wouldn’t have made the gains it had if it hadn’t also been accompanied by the Black Panthers and militant black nationalism. MLK and Ghandi are used as symbols, of “responsible” dissent, by those who want to shut dissent down, ignoring throughout history all of the examples of militant resistance that have forced concessions from those in power. Talk about short sighted.
So far you’ve got 2 broken windows, some flyers and tough words.
We are all so impressed with your work. You’re doing a great job. Can’t wait to see how you’re written in the history books. I’m sure we’ll see you in some mundane footnote somewhere.
@scrote goat
buy a dictionary.
ter•ror•ism –noun
1. the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.
2. the state of fear and submission produced by terrorism or terrorization.
3. a terroristic method of governing or of resisting a government.
an•ar•chy -noun
1. a: absence of government b: a state of lawlessness or political disorder due to the absence of governmental authority
2. a: absence or denial of any authority or established order
“anarchists” are using “terrorism” to further their political agenda. breaking glass, pick-axing an atm and bashing a cop car are acts of violence intended to intimidate. maybe you’re not a “raging pussy” but you are a dumb ass.
@scrote goat
so should we shoot cops too? isn’t chris monfort, the guy who killed officer brenton in 2009, an anarchist who believes the cops should be done away with? how far should we go to get the “pigs” off the hill?
once the cops are gone, does that mean the laws are done away with too? what if someone wanted to go out and start looting businesses on broadway; would that be okay? if a person wanted to come rob you of all your worldly possessions, they could right? because taking things that don’t belong to you is okay under the rule of anarchy? i mean, we’re doing away with government and the laws they produce and getting rid of the police that enforce those laws. so then, it would be okay to commit crimes because, well, who’d stop someone from doing them?
oh, and “I’m too old to get out there anymore”? isn’t that just a cop-out (pun intended)? can you not walk? can you not throw a brick? or are you just too much of a puss-cake to stand up for your political ideals? some anarchist. hiding behind a computer screen.
@scrote goat
“I’m not an activist. I never said I was.”
but just 5 hours earlier you posted this…
“I’m too old to get out there anymore, but I miss my days of smashing windows and setting cop cars on fire.”
so what are you?
@capitolhillmom
“While some may disagree for various reasons, how can you not appreciate that young people are fed up with corporations and banks and willing to engage in direct action…”
nobody’s disagreeing that young people should be fed up. but we don’t want them tearing shit up and destroying property because they are. write your congressman. start a petition. stop patronizing businesses you don’t agree with and get everybody you know and everyone they know (and so forth) to do the same. if enough people stop buying from or patronizing a business, then they cease to exist.
“These actions were not ‘violent’, they did not cause physical harm to persons.”
you need to buy a dictionary too.
vi·o·lence –noun
1. swift and intense force.
2. rough or injurious physical force, action, or treatment.
3. an unjust or unwarranted exertion of force or power, as against rights or laws.
violence that causes physical harm is not the only kind of violence that there is.
“At the very least, while you may not agree with the tactics, the grievances are not without merit and should be tolerated.”
nobody’s disagreeing with the grievances just their tactics (see above). so i don’t understand the point you’re making here.
“It’s been over 10 years since the WTO protests, and yet the influence of multinational corporations have not waned, but increased including with the blessing of SCOTUS.”
yes, because this is a perfect example of how violent tactics can change policy. oh, wait. no, i mean the other thing. the violence at wto protests basically has done nothing to promote change. by your own admission the wto influence has not waned but actually grown. next argument for violent activism?
also…
“Any folks professing liberal or progressive views must understand that the struggles which achieved equality, social justice, civil rights, etc…”
how many bricks did martin luther king, jr need to throw to get his point across? how many windows of “whitey” did he need to smash? i always forget.
i know! they’ll probably have to close up shop forever now. thanks to all the anarchists and the great societal change they made with their glass breaking activities this past weekend. they really are changing the world!
He’s an “anarchist”…not an “activist”. See, activists have a message to spread. Anarchists just like to destroy shit as a way to release anger. The anger, I would assume, is a method of exerting power that they never had before in their pathetic lives. Kinda sad, really.
Yes, well…apparently cowardice is a must have for wannabe “hooligans”.
Anarchy = social justice? Wait…you must be from the mid-west somewhere.
Right right, I get it. It’s way more fun to skip all that boring peaceful talkey-changey stuff and get straight to smashing windows.
Your little outbursts are not going to “force concessions of those in power” without a hell of a lot of support – which you’re totally going to achieve with your whole “the public is a bunch of fucking retards” campaign. Turning the people you say you’re standing up for against you: activism fail.
I see three kids and a minivan in your future.
Umm…it was a Ferrari dealership, you tool.
Oh Alfonso dear, you see we do know how to pick up brooms, we are used to cleaning up messes, especially messes made from the masked heroes.
Calling somebody a tool when you don’t know what you are talking about makes you an even bigger tool. It is both a Ferrari and Maserati dealership.
Actually it is a lot more fund to skip straight to the action! Liberal groups use endless meetings and formal processes to kill spontaneous action. They use it as a tool to define the terms of debate and make sure that energy gets channeled into voting for some piece of shit politician or standing on a corner with signs. We’ve all seen how that goes.
It’s got to start somewhere, why not here? It’s got to start sometime, why not now? All of you supposed progressives and liberals who sit by and watch as imperialist wars continue, as the poor and working class get fucked, as our planet is destroyed, telling us to just wait, just vote, blah blah blah – you are the ones I have contempt for. Luckily you represent a minority – most people are apolitical because they see through that bullshit.
These kinds of actions help to build a culture of resistance which is desperately needed. Your misrepresentation of those involved and their motivations may be convincing in your own head, but nowhere else.
cool story, bro.
Anon Anok,
Likewise, you use misrepresentation to justify your actions. You represent the minority but are so caught up in your own distorted view of reality that you can’t see it.
These little brats, who smashed the apparel line hand that feeds them, are lucky they weren’t black. Could you imagine how the SPD would have responded? Yeah, have a fun giggle while you run from the police, but the reality is you ignorant freedom fighters took advantage of a system that already favors white people. You got away with a lot of shit that night and everyone is lucky no one was hurt. But don’t for one second believe that you were mistreated, ruffed up or treated with out an incredible amount of sympathy and ease. Stupid.
“These kinds of actions help to build a culture of resistance which is desperately needed.”
Are you kidding me? First – completely agreed. Today’s political climate becomes more absurd by the day. The problem is that you fail to understand that your actions don’t “build” anything. You’ve made no statement, you’ve represented nothing other than appearing like a bunch of drunks at a party that got out of hand. The ONLY lasting result of this shit is the public will ask for MORE police presence in the future.
“Your misrepresentation of those involved and their motivations may be convincing in your own head, but nowhere else.”
Well shit! You’re being misrepresented in a lot of heads considering the only place you’ve made your motives clear are in the comments of this blog!
You’ve made NO SIGNIFICANT EFFORT to represent anything. You purposely try to blend in to large groups of people and assume the the public (“fucking retarded” as we are) will somehow divine your motives and support you. Intentionally trying to look like drunk assholes to incite change. Wow. There’s a brilliant plan!
It’s been said before, you’ll find no community in Seattle more welcoming to “fuck the police” and “fuck big business” than Capitol Hill – and yet you’ve still manage to alienate your most likely audience.
Worst. Activists. Ever.
Who is this public that you so often refer to? You ascribe a lot of opinions and power onto them, but who are you actually referring to? You pretend to understand some monolithic opinion, and then invoke it to invalidate people who feel differently. I’d venture to guess that there’s quite a few people who were glad this happened, myself among them. To those people, hopefully this action serves as a positive example of what’s possible. People can reclaim public space from the cops and capitalists who have claimed it as their own.
I have a hunch, judging by your tone, that your feigned concern about the effectiveness of this action isn’t sincere. I have a feeling that you don’t have any ideas to offer, or you would have by now. I have a feeling that your hysterical tone has more to do with a fear that these actions will have some effect rather than the opposite.
I’ve mentioned it on another thread, but it bears repeating. It is to be expected that the media, liberals, business owners, and yuppies will all bemoan these kinds of actions. Good. That means it’s getting to them. For everyone else, hopefully it serves as inspiration.
No war but class war!
“No war but class war!”
Yeah, look out you clothing store proprietors! The masses you crush beneath your feet today will rise against you tomorrow!
So I’m your enemy?
I’m done. Thanks for the laughs. Leaving with 2 thoughts:
1. Too much talk. All you did was break two whole windows. “We’re here, we’re queer, we’ve throw rocks and we run from cops!” viva la revolucion!!
2. Sounds like all 200 of you are planning to run this revolution yourself since you’ve alienated your base. More power to you if you can.
Let us know when you’ve read your sophomore year textbooks, cause you clearly just finished your intro classes and are all riled up.
Smashing up our neighborhood does not make you an anarchist, it makes you an asshole.
“Who is this public” Oh god, I don’t know – possibly the people you’re trying to impress by smashing windows and running from cops? I’ve seen coverage of this event in multiple places (local news, friends, coworkers) all of them knew nothing more than “that pride party got out of control, eh?”
“You pretend to understand some monolithic opinion”
Well you certainly don’t have much of a grasp on it. Explain to me how a person, any person, should be able to make the logical connection between “some drunks smashed windows at a store” and “Those righteous little freedom fighters are standing against our assimilation by corporate America! Rock on!” Come the fuck on. Step 2 shouldn’t be “????”
So if you’re not trying to open the eyes of the general public, then what the fuck is the point? Pent up aggression? Yeah. I’ll go with that. You’re SO MAD the the world doesn’t respect you when you don’t respect others. That’s just a shocking situation. SHOCKING.
“It is to be expected that the media, liberals, business owners, and yuppies will all bemoan these kinds of actions. Good. That means it’s getting to them.”
LOL I’m going to refer to my pseudonym on that one… You really had to spell that out?
I’m not bemoaning your actions (for the record I don’t think any of your targets really seemed to give a shit either) – it sucks that your turning this neighborhood into your own doofy warzone but eh. You’re harmless. What I don’t like is that the actual effect of your shortsighted little temper tantrum is justification for police payroll and tighter restrictions on public events. If you can’t see how you’re shooting your own goals in the foot by now, I just can’t help you.
It is AWFULLY fun to mock you though! Definitely going to keep doing that. Here’s a fun one: Anarchists are the new Westboro Baptist Church. Lots of noise, can’t do anything but push their own cause backwards.
aaaaand.. GO!
I would hope that the SPD is making a concerted, behind-the-scenes effort to infiltrate and disband this group of loser punks. Admittedly, this is not an easy task for the SPD, but it needs to be done asap, because only then will the violent episodes stop. Arrests need to happen, because so far the anarchists have mostly escaped any legal accountability for their criminal acts.
The more I read these various posts, the more I think it’s useless to try and have a rational discussion with an anarchist..their thinking is so distorted that it’s like talking to a brick wall.
I feel sorry for your children…they are probably the violent anarchists of the future. Proud?