Dare to dream beyond the G8: the Resistance doesn’t end June
Some Committee - 29.01.2007 19:15
What if we look at the G8 protest not as an end, but as a beginning? If we believe in the success of our plans and activities, it could inspire people to take action long afterwards. We could develop new tactics and new ways of working together. And with this knowledge and inspiration, we don’t go back to our old life, but let resistance bloom all over Europe and whole world next summer and afterwards. United in our belief that we really are “more powerful than they can imagine”.
The war of capitalism against the people of the world and the environment itself is a daily aggression, happening everywhere, all the time. These summits are only a manifestation of their power. Focusing on the manifestation can bring people together, but does not really challenge the capitalist system. So we should not just disturb the global elite, but start a fire of rebellion.
Effective resistance must be everywhere and continuous. So, how can we organize ourselves into an effective international movement(s) that can act anywhere, yet can support and inspire each other from across the globe? One way is to view these mobilizations not as independent actions, but as elements of larger campaigns. And campaigns that are not merely against the G8-summits (or the WTO, IMF, EU, FTAA, etc.), but set in a larger context of resistance to corporate globalization and police states. There are local struggles everyday against the manifestations of the G8, such as privatization, GMOs, attacks on social services, precaritized workers, criminalization of migration, etc. As a campaign, different groups can focus on one target, striking in many locations with many tactics. Each action in one city supports all the other groups in other locations.
People already fight hard on a local level in everyday life, but they are too separated from each other and on a small scale. Envisioning ourselves as a global campaign, we must learn to support each other better. One way of concrete cooperation could be international skill shares and trainings – passing knowledge and tactics from one side of the world to the other.
But we are grassroots movements and we must first build our strength at the grassroots… only from there can we mount an effective global resistance. When one local struggle does get effective, the police states are often able to bring all their resources to focus on it and crush it somehow. In order to support these struggles, we must be present at many places at the same time. When the police focus their repression in one area, other people start actions on the other side of the country/globe. To remain everywhere and nowhere. To create a new form of resistance.
The anti-g8 newsletters have highlighted a number of actions taking place across the globe targeting different aspects of global capitalism, from deportation prisons, to nuclear weapons, to speculation and evictions. Imagine if every deportation prison in Europe was attacked the same day, in a real attempt to release the detainees. If the offices of development companies were occupied in an attempt to make it impossible for them to carry on business as usual.
They look so indestructible – especially when they mass much of their forces at a large protest – that many people don’t believe resistance can be effective. But throughout history, seemingly indestructible governments have fallen when many people really believe they can make a change and risk their liberty and their lives to do so. What we need now is new tactics, new forms of coordination, and most importantly, we must believe we can succeed. Be realistic – demand the impossible!
Towards a vibrant resistance, reclaiming our lives, and liberating the globe.
Some committee
To be continued!
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