1 Re: Spitting in the Face of U.S. Troops -- Chris Lowe
2 An Evening with Cornel West and Randy Weston
3 Two labor programs at the Murphy Institute

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From: Christopher Lowe <[log in to unmask]>
Re: Spitting in the Face of U.S. Troops

There is at least one well-documented protest against
ordinary soldiers and veterans of which I know in the
anti-Iraq war movement, although it may be the
exception that proves the rule.

On March 18th 2007 a group of Black Bloc anarchist
demonstrators burned an effigy of a U.S. soldier during
a demonstration against the war tied to the fourth
anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.  They represented
perhaps 40 and certainly no more than 100 of a crowd of
15,000 (the last really large anti-war demo in
Portland), but garnered the largest share of media
attention to the protest.

The event was widely commented upon in the right-wing
blogosphere, where it almost universally was treated as
representing the true essence of the anti-war movement
(google "burning soldier in effigy Portland" to find
numerous links, including at least four posts by
Michelle Malkin, one on Little Green Footballs, and at
least a couple on Free Republic, often repeated
elsewhere).  It lives on in local right-wing collective
memory, so, for instance, this past May an anti-
immigrant rant in comments on a blog at the website for
our local daily The Oregonian linked flag-burning,
spitting on veterans and the burning in effigy in 2007
as signs of moral and patriotic degradation to the
evils of having to punch 1 for English and the
impending takeover of the country by illegal
immigrants.

Video of the burning can be seen at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecp8ZCC3tB8

The chants in video:

Bye-bye G.I.
in Iraq you're gonna die

It's not just Bush it's the soldiers too
Fascist war is nothing new

(sung to tune of "My Darling Clementine")
Build a bonfire, build a bonfire
put the soldiers on the top
put the fascists in the middle
and we'll burn the fucking lot

Notes on the video:  One of the observers is holding an
Iraq Veterans Against the War sign, not clear what his
attitude towards the burning is.  At the very end of
the clip a woman off-screen can be heard challenging
the action in terms of soldiers who "have been
brainwashed," and rejecting violent methods of
resistance.  This is followed by cheering but it isn't
clear whether cheers are for the challenger or for a
rejoinder by one of the effigy-burners.

Not shown on the video is reaction by some members of
Veterans for Peace.  At minimum one of them was quoted
in the local press criticizing and rejecting the
action.  My memory is uncertain, but I think I remember
accusations that someone had tried to get the police to
intervene as well.

The episode caused a rift in the Portland anti-war
movement (already fragmented by personality and style
of work conflicts) during the organization of the Iraq
anniversary protest for 2008.  Ultimate Military
Families Speak Out and a number of VFP activists
withdrew from the organizing, as did the one anarchist
/ autonomist group that was participating (evidently
taking criticism from others for doing so) in conflict
over whether to adopt a proposal to adopt "diversity of
tactics" or to specify non-violence in a way that would
reject such effigy burning.  In retrospect that rift
combined with other dynamics seen around the country
during 2008 led to the narrowing of one anti-war
coalition and ultimately to its effective demise.

From my perspective the incident raised issues of
accountability of participants in demonstrations to one
another in the sense of refraining from actions that
aren't commonly accepted, a certain parasitism of
"radicals" seeking cover in mass demonstrations not
organized by them and organized according to
perspectives that they disdained, and questions of
vulnerability of anonymous tactics to provocateurs; on
the other side the issue was portrayed as one of
insufficient solidarity with radicals and their
critiques of the murderousness of the war, insufficient
criticism of that murderousness, and wrong-headed
deferral to private property ideals in defining
violence as involving anything except harm to persons
-- i.e. physical object destruction not being violent.

In terms of Mark Engler's article, perhaps the key
point is the media and right-wing magnification of a
small incident within a huge demonstration to
characterize the whole.

Chris Lowe
Portland, Oregon

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From: Walk Tall Girl Productions
Subject: An Evening with Cornel West and Randy Weston

Walk Tall Girl Productions
Contact: 
http://walktallgirl.pmailus.com/

The NEXT New York Conversation
Tuesday, October 26 7PM
Cornel West and Randy Weston
JAZZMEN IN A WORLD OF IDEAS 

Join Princeton University professor Dr. Cornel West and
jazz piano legend Randy Weston for a conversation on
politics, culture and jazz, and Weston performs. WQXR-s
Terance McKnight hosts.

BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center
199 Chambers Street #S110c
(between Greenwich Street and West Street)

Tickets $40 at wnyc.org/thegreenespace

All tickets include an autographed copy of Dr. West's
memoir Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud

The NEXT New York Conversation is sponsored by the
MetLife Foundation

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From: Pamela Whitefield

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

We are writing to ask for your help in publicizing two
programs here at the Murphy Institute:

The *M.A. in Labor Studies* is a new degree program
that attracts trade unionists, activists interested in
doing labor movement and community organizing, non-
profit or social justice work, as well as graduate
students with a research interest in labor.

*Union Semester* is a program for both undergraduates
and graduate students who intern with a labor
organization here in New York City while taking college
or Masters’ level courses in Labor Studies.  They
receive a stipend, in-state tuition,  and a partial
scholarship to help cover their expenses. Many of these
students go on to enroll in the M.A. in Labor Studies.

We would be grateful for your assistance in getting
the word out to your students and others in your
networks who might be interested in these programs.
Here’s how you can help:

-  Announce the programs in your classes. We can
   provide flyers and/or posters if you wish.

-  Forward this email to your contacts, and to list
   serves that reach other faculty and students.

-  Refer interested students directly to
   [log in to unmask]

For more details on both programs, contact us or visit
the Murphy Institute website at:
http://www.workered.org/

Sincerely,

Josh Freeman
Penny Lewis
Stephanie Luce
Ruth Milkman

_____________________________________________

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