A-Infos (en) US, Boston, anarchist journal - BAAM* #16 - Boston Stands with Greece by Bruce P. and Jake Carman

In support of the anarchists and antiauthoritarians, students, immigrants, workers and others 
involved in a broad social uprising in Greece, BAAM and the 4th New England Assembly of the 
North-east Anarchist Network held two demonstrations in Boston last week. The Greek Insurrection 
began with riots on December 6th in response to the police shooting of a 15-year-old anarchist. The 
insurgence continued for over two weeks, evolving into a popular struggle for revolutionary change. 
The Greek people have already occupied around 800 schools and universities, dozens of mainstream 
media stations (from whence they broadcast their calls, messages and ideas), at least 2 
bureaucratic union headquarters, town and city halls and government buildings in every major city.
In the spaces they have taken and opened to the public, the Greek people in rebellion hold popular 
assemblies, where they discuss the future of their movement and plan direct actions, 
demonstrations, occupations and marches.

    Their outrage and resistance to the global
economic depression--which they blame on
the capitalist system--has inspired workers
and the downtrodden in hundreds of coun-
tries across the world to get together, orga-
nize, stand up and fight back. In the United
States, demonstrators have targeted Greek
consulates, banks and government build-
ings. In New York City, students occupied
the New School, winning a number of de-
mands from the administration. Protests oc-
cured in places like Syracuse, Albany, New
York City, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Eugene
and Portland, Oregon, San Francisco, At-
lanta, Milwaukee, and, of course, Boston.
    Boston's Greek consulate on Beacon
  ...Greece continued from previous page...
more meaningful, to give a drop of courage
to the millions of shy but progressive souls,
by showing them the road to civil disobedi-
ence. To take on our side even one cell of
the reactionary minds who encircle us more
and more. Unfortunately, in Greece, most
people still believe that "one injustice is
better than one unrest" (Paul Elyar).
     At the time these words are being typed,
a lot of hopeful things have happened, such
as occupations of universities and schools,
but the big "overstepping" has not occurred.
The next months will show if something
materializes for us to win something more
than just the expression of rage. The politi-
cal stage starts when workplaces are occu-
pied and neighborhood assemblies sprout
up in every neighborhood. Russia in `17,
Spain in `36 and May `68 did not occur like
a thunder in the blue sky, they were a result
of many years of cultivation, which Greece
unfortunately has not had. Until the few
recent years, (specifically the year 2003
when the organization "Anti-Authoritar-
ian Movement" was born) "Anarchism has
not produced any organized ability. Only a
few loose struggling groups scattered over
this vast country (sic), that come together
in conferences occasionally, talk to each
other, then go home"(Lucy Parsons).
     At some point, we have to take the
same bet with Albert Kamus of 1945, that
"words are more powerful than guns". We
need to control our impatience and "teach
ourselves that, under certain circumstanc-
es, nonviolent actions are more effective"
(Gene Sharp). With such focused actions
and publications, we need to cultivate the
real idea of anarchism to the masses - the
abolition of violence and of the oppression
of people by people - we need to engraft
the consciences with the antiauthoritarian
Word. The key for our future is the creation
of a strong organizational web which, pre-
pared in advance, will be able to channel
the next uncontrollable expression of rage
into a formed political proposition.
     Note on Author: Dimitris Konstanti-
nou is a well-known Greek anarchist, who
works on the well-circulated Anarchist
Newspaper, "Babylonia," www.babylonia.
gr/ which is distributed in news boxes in
many Greek cities. Konstantinou has been
described by one of his comrades as "the
heart of the newspaper and the antiauthori-
tarian movement" in Athens. Konstantinou
wrote this article specifically for BAAM.
    Street got the red paint treatment at mid-
night on Sunday the 14th. "Now, just like
in Greece, they have blood on their hands,"
read a posting online. As the Greek insur-
rection entered its second week, the num-
ber of solidarity actions across the world
increased. On Tuesday the 16th, the tenth
day of the Greek social insurrection, Bos-
ton joined hundreds of cities around the
world, holding its first solidarity action.
    BAAM sent the call to action to email
lists and the media and put up posters
around Boston. A group of 30 anarchists as-
sembled at the Arlington T station dressed
to impress in their blackest of black cloth-
ing. Soon after 12, the group left and be-
gan marching towards the Greek consulate,
picking up comrades along the way. Hand-
ing out literature and chanting against the
police and the state, the march was tailed,
as ever, by the Boston Police Department.
Participants arrived at the consulate on
Beacon Street waving black flags and hold-
ing banners, including one that read, "You
can kill us, but you can't kill the idea."
Some passersby stopped and asked ques-
tions, taking literature about Greece; others
wanted nothing to do with it and contin-
ued on with their Christmas shopping. The
people in the consulate cracked open their
windows, nervously listening to the rage
that had spread across the ocean.
    Saffo from Providence's What Queer?
Collective, with strong personal and famil-
ial ties to Greece, read a statement through
a megaphone: "To many of us, the violence
of the Greek police is something that rings
true to our own lives and experiences...It
           Photo: Greek Insurgents
   March Against Government
is, in part, this commonality that brings us
here today...Whether it be working against
US Empire, defending the rights of im-
migrants, working to abolish prisons, or
demanding the right to walk safely down
the street, we all fight every day in our own
ways. It is only when we begin to see the
connections between our various struggles,
and recognize the ways in which we are
privileged, that real change will come." The
speech was interrupted at various intervals
by the cheers of the demonstrators.
    The preliminary demonstration lasted a
little more than an hour as all of the fliers
had been handed out. It seemed as though
nothing else was going to happen. The an-
archists left and the police drove off. As it
turns out, though, those sneaky little anar-
chists left only to regroup and decide what to
do next. Seeing that the police were no lon-
ger in the area, people decided to return and
charged the consulate. The locked steel gate
was smashed open and the people inside re-
treated into a back room. After a few more
chants, the anarchists officially dispersed.
    Afterwards, two comrades who weren't
there for the attack on the consulate were
biking around the area and were forc-
ibly stopped by the police and detained,
although they were eventually let go.
    Detective Creed, permanently assigned
to monitor and repress anarchists in the
Boston area, later posted on a forum: "The
only suck [sic] thing was, after the demon-
strators and us [sic] `left', a few anarchists
came back and smashed the gate to the con-
sulate. That sort of adds a new dimension
  to [sic] situation for us."
    Saturday, December 20th was Interna-
tional Day of Action Against State Vio-
lence, called a week prior by the Assembly
of the Occupation of the Athens Polytech-
nic School--the center of much of Athens'
anarchist activity during the insurrection.
Around 20 anarchists braved the freezing
cold and snow for a 2-hour tour of institu-
tions of state violence in Boston. "It was
small, but energized. I wish more had come
to brave the snow," said Anarchist Black
Cross member, Clara Hendricks.
    Hendricks' disappointment in the turn-
out was echoed by other participants; with
four to six police on foot and several po-
lice vehicles following, there were almost
as many police as protesters. The streets
were as close to barren as it gets in Boston,
though onlookers raised their fists in sup-
port and took literature from the marchers,
who chanted "People's Jobs/Homes/Strug-
gles are under attack, what do we do? Stand
up fight back!" The anarchists carried flags
and signs, like "The Govt. Bails out Banks,
the People Burn Out Banks: Support the
Greek Uprising," from Faneuil Hall up
Beacon Hill to the A-1 Police Headquar-
ters, then to a Courthouse, a Bank of Amer-
ica, the State House, the Fox News Station,
an Armed Forces Recruitment Center and
then ending at Emerson College. At each
location, someone grabbed the bullhorn
and spoke about the institutions, tying their
repressive nature in with the Greek Upris-
ing, while keeping their words relevant
to the observers, mostly working people
shoveling snow.
    "I hope these marches showing govern-
ment violence against the people will con-
tinue and grow to include all of the com-
munities of Boston," said Paul McCarrier,
a member of the Northeast Anarchist Net-
work from Portland, Maine, "to unite them
in the fight against police brutality and eco-
nomic violence." The anarchists gathered
vowed to continue their struggle in solidar-
ity with the Greek Insurrection, and even
spoke about making the "Tour of Govern-
ment Violence" into a regular occurrence.
    With International Solidarity spreading
rapidly, it seems that the Greek Insurrec-
tion can only grow while the Government
struggles to stay afloat. This uprising is the
first proper response to the present global
economic turmoil, caused by the failure
of capitalism and the mismanagement of
governments. Workers and revolutionaries
across the world are taking their cue, start-
ing with solidarity demos at Greek consul-
ates and spreading to the institutions of
their own oppression. On December 20th,
revolutionaries responded to the call from
the Polytechnic School of Athens, protest-
ing in over 50 countries. The shot fired on
December 6th has truly echoed across the
globe. In some places there are ripples of
discontent, while in others, vast seas of re-
bellion. One thing is for sure: a brand-new
revolutionary left was born this month, the
power is swinging back to the people, and
the world will never be the same. Capital
beware, we are coming for you.
-----------------------------------------

With pictures: http://boston.indymedia.org/usermedia/application/1/206465_Baam16_Complete.pdf
=======================================================
* A General Anarchist Union in the Boston Area
_________________________________________
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