JJ, North Star (A) Collective, FRAC writes:

"Anarchist Review of the Million Worker March"


The Million Worker March is a new beginning for the anti-globalization, anti-war, anti-capitalist, anti-racist and anti-sexist, pro-union, pro-environment and anti-state commons in the US (here on out it will just be called anti-capitalist movement). In the past few years we as a movement have consistently been on the defense. This can be seen when we threw up our resistance to the WTO in Seattle in 99, to the IMF protests in D.C. in 2000, to the Philadelphia protests in 2000, FTAA in Miami in 2003, and many other battles. The momentum was building for a genuine resistance movement but the movement was dealt a backlash on 9/11 and the state buckled down and put our many movements into remission.In the last few years we were (and are still) putting out the questions: what is affecting us all and what is affecting specific communities (and why) and asking what is this thing or ideals that we are against? Why did the state act so violently against us and still is? Why is the state and capital so scared? Are they scared that we are gaining grounds and that their empire is looking weak and is starting to shake?

These questions and our resistance is part of a real radical conscious coming to fruit within the anti-capitalist movement. To reach beyond mere reforms and to destroy the systemic shackles that oppresses us. The Million Worker March was about our resistance getting organized.

Much has already been written about how the quantity of people didn’t represent. Yet with all that was against us (Internationals not endorsing, the state, election coming up, and working families not being able to travel, etc.) there were still 5,000-10,000 dedicated revolutionaries, class-conscious warriors, activists, unionists, and anarchists who convened to mobilize our communities. One should never play the number games as we can look at great historical moments that made up a whole lot less numbers of people than those who showed at the MWM. When the Zapatista’s came out from the mountains on January 1st 1994 they had only around 2000 warriors but it started a worldwide revolution. The first International was only made up of around 75 people. The “take back the factory” movement in Argentina is made up of only 15,000 people and yet it is the nucleus of a revolution in consciences. 5,000-10,000 people are the beginning of a true working class organized revolutionary resistance.

October 17th saw the uniting of FRAC, NEFAC, IWW, and WSA marching in step together. Also representing that day was the callout group, “Imaginary Anarchists.” Who to tell the truth I for one don’t think that I was introduced to these anarchists. The anarchists were excluded from the “Green Zone” but yet we represented well out in the open space. FRAC had a table that we shared with NEFAC, and ARA (Anti-Racist-Action). All day long we had a continuous flow of people who were genuinely interested in learning about what anarchism is. This is something that is sorrowfully missing at the major summit protests. Many unionist and environmentalist are normally left wondering what is the anarchists’ role and what are their demands?

Although the MWM was mostly about inner US politics we could see that this rally reached worldwide attention. Some of the speakers were:


Maria Marcela Maspero, National Coordinator, UNT, Venezuela
Julio Turra, Executive Director, General Federation of Workers, Brazil
Lybon Mabasa, Co-founder, Black Consciousness Movement, South Africa
Jeremy Corbin, M.P., Chair, Stop the War Now Committee, London
Spanish Trade Union Delegate, UMT Spanish Trade Union Delegate, Comisones Obreras
Jesus Montilla, Oil Worker, Venezuela
Jeanette, Haiti

Also representing at the rally were some revolutionary anarchist brothers from Japan who are part of a group called Anti-Capitalist-Action ( Anti-Capitalist-Actio ).

An interview with the ACA and FRAC was held and the interview will be published in the near future both in English and in Japanese. The interview highlighted the importance of international solidarity amongst class-conscious anarchists.

Well now that the rally is over the important part is for us in the anarchist community to bring our politics to the table unconditionally. To stop this from becoming a workers party and to make it the organized revolutionary change that it needs to be and has potential to be.

Cheers to all those anarcho’s who made it there.

Solidarity,
JJ
North Star Anarchist Collective,
Federation of Revolutionary Anarchist Collectives (FRAC)"