rob eshelman writes:

"Miami, Laboratory of Repression"
Writer’s Block

At Thursday’s direct action against the FTAA, we gathered in the ghost town of Miami city center. Some only partially awake at this early hour; sipped hot dark liquids while others danced to the sound of drums and protest chants. A group of steelworkers, not happy in only attending the ritualized AFL-CIO sponsored rally later in the day, were nervously grouped on the perimeter of the gathering. A smattering of public sector workers who hadn’t been given the day off in anticipation of violence and property damage looked on in curiosity, some popping off a few shots from their disposable cameras. This was the kick off to the day of direct action against the Free Trade Area of the Americas and it was shaping up to be a total disaster.“Globalization” activists have defended the continuing emphasis on crashing capitalist summits on the grounds that they are laboratories of resistance. Even if the movement cannot actually disrupt these meetings, the argument goes, the convergence of diverse social movements and peoples gathering together to reclaim public space and raise their voices is an end in itself.

But, if these convergences are laboratories of resistance, they are also laboratories of repression.

In the run up to the day of action, the Miami Police Department had been unrelenting in their propaganda. Predicting that the “organization called the Black Block” would wreck havoc on the local population, they took preventative action by busting a local squat. Widely covered by the local press corps, this raid, along with rumours that “anarchist types” had collected 15,000 pool balls to toss at police and store windows and that syringes where being filled with human feces to inject into civilians, had ramped up the terror campaign. The cops made sensational accusations that bomb-making ingredients, chains, and slingshots made from bike tubes where confiscated from the occupied house. We all new the reality of the situation – the punks had been fixing bikes for protesters (chains and bike tubes) and were using camping stoves to cook. The timing of the bust was perfect for legitimizing the urgency of heavy police repression.

Throughout Thursday morning, as we marched and rallied, “Strike Force” paramilitary units, masked, armed with automatic weapons, and transported by armored personnel carriers and Humvees, gassed, clubbed, and tazered protesters. Undercover provocateurs were also hard at work. The beefy agents, adorned with faux-tribal tattoos, Budweiser bandannas to conceal their identities, and circle-A and Che insignias, may have been comical if not for their savagery. The only upside of the morning’s melees – a few “embedded” reporters were beaten and gassed.

By 5:00 pm the direct action came to a horrendous culmination. Police again gassed, fired rubber bullets, and indiscriminately pummeled our dwindling numbers. That fatalities were avoided was luck. “Police Say Something Will Happen”, was the Miami Herald’s Wednesday headline. On Thursday, it was obvious that this had not been a warning to Miamians but a promise to protesters.

The evening press heaped praise upon the restraint of Timoney’s cops. A space had been created for increased police brutality – the beatings had only begun.

The next wave of terror came Friday at a rally to support those jailed the previous day. Told to disperse because the protest was not permitted, fleeing demonstrators were again viciously attacked.

As the jailed emerged from incarceration on Saturday the severity of repression began to be exposed. Guards had sexually harassed women and transgender arrestees. Refusing to identify themselves and their nationality, activists of color were separated from the general population and beaten. Tales of systemic police violence inside jail were widespread.

After two days of police target practice over 270 arrests had been made. Injuries were extensive. Over 30 from projectile weapons, 5 with head wounds. At least two protesters were hospitalized with serious head trauma due to police batons. One person had been shot in the eye; another lost a portion of their ear.

The movement was unimaginative and incapable of seeing the writing on the wall – the State is not fucking around. While we suspended development, the state advanced with its assessment of the movements’ past tools and how to survey and repress us. A single-minded focus on tactics loses sight of the necessity of communicating our ideas to others. Our movement must continue to connect its struggle to everyday life.

The demonstration which had the most impact in Miami was the 34-mile Root Cause march of workers and immigrants which passed through the dilapidated streets of this the poorest city in the nation. The clenched fists and smiles on the black and brown faces in the streets were evidence of the love that the movement is capable of generating if only it sets its sites outward. This has brought the streets alive in La Paz, Buenos Aires, and Quebec City and has captured the imagination of the world’s social majorities. Engaging in stale and predictable tactical maneuvers means containment and repression by our foes and the inability to get communicate with those who are not joining us in the street.

The State has escalated its level of repression. The neoliberal project is in disarray, however, they will not abandon it without continuing and escalating their repressive efforts – Capital and its proxy squads are not prepared for defeat. Our past victories have occurred because of tactical flexibility and celebration in the streets, solidarity with and participation from the local population, and the ability to get our message out.

Despite the most effective propaganda system in the overdeveloped world, the majority of Americans oppose “free trade”, the war in Iraq and the “Homeland Security” police state. It is for fear of these millions of people who could potentially join the global movement that the state has resorted to such desperate violence. This fact rings hallow, however, unless the movement at least tries to communicate with these millions.

[Writer’s Bloc is a collective of anti-capitalist dissidents penning missives from the many locales of resistance.]