Organized Anarchy?

KMSP did a report last night on a favorite topic for some of us here at True North.....the RNC Welcoming Committee and their plans for the RNC Convention in August.

An anarchist group threatening to crash the Republican National Convention has taken to the airwaves. Ironically calling themselves the “RNC Welcoming Committee,” members of the group shared plans to wreak havoc during the RNC. Their plans include blocking bridges into St. Paul.

Those plans, called “Swarm, Seize and Stay,” call for members to try and cut off convention-goers and delegates from the arena.

"We're not trying to influence the Republicans. They already know that people are against the war, people are against pollution, global warming and racism. The Republicans just don't seem to care," said a member of the anarchists group on-air. The group was broadcasting from the independent radio station KFAI during community access hour Sunday night.

The three broadcasters, known only as Harold, Emma and Tony explained their plans to crash the convention, calling themselves agents of change. Last week, the group obtained shuttle routes and other transportation information as part of their strategy to set up blockades.

Of course this is a gross misrepresentation of what Republicans believe, but these folks have never let a little thing like the truth get in the way of a good meme.

This morning they posted a follow up report.

www.rncwelcomingcommittee.org, a website for an anarchist group preparing for the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, crashed Sunday night and remained down Monday.

A visit to the website Monday displayed the following message:

“This account has been suspended. Either the domain has been overused, or the reseller ran out of resources.”

As I am writing this post, the error message has not changed.

However,they do have a My Space page and that gives you an idea behind their thought processes.

Those who work with the RNC Welcoming Committee must agree to:

1. A rejection of Capitalism, Imperialism, and the State;

2. Resist the commodification of our shared and living Earth;

3. Organize on the principles of decentralization, autonomy, sustainability, and mutual aid.

4. Work to end all relationships of domination and subjugation, including but not limited to those rooted in patriarchy, race, class, and homophobia;

5. Oppose the police and prison-industrial complex, and maintain solidarity with all targets of state repression;

6. Directly confront systems of oppression, and respect the need for a diversity of tactics.

As Lassie has posted in the past - the "anarkids" are bent on stifling the rights of free speech and free assembly of the RNC Convention. While that is indeed their right, I do recognize the irony of the fact that they demand their ability to exercise their free speech rights at the expense of someone elses rights.

All I can say is I hope that the good people of Minnesota take note of the anarkids and their plans and act accordingly. Wouldn't it be fitting if the RNC Welcoming Committee were shut down by the people of Minnesota, in the same way that they are trying to shut down the RNC Convention?

Oh and has anyone heard about any CONSERVATIVE groups that are planning the same thing for the Denver DNC Convention? Somehow I think not......