Unfortunately, I am unable to make it out to Liberty Plaza tonight, but since I have no intention of sleeping tonight I will be staying up all night following/ tracking the latest developments from Liberty Plaza as the occupiers organize their defense and prepare for eviction. Alternet columnist Sarah Jaffe, who is tweeting from Liberty Plaza, recently posted, "Feel like we're going to war in the morning. Tense. Fierce." Indeed, others have framed the impending eviction in this rhetoric, calling tomorrow morning's showdown "The Siege of Zuccotti". And let's not forget Willie Osterwell's excellent account of the Brooklyn Bridge Takeover, "The Battle of the Brooklyn Bridge". If we understand OWS's most radical and promising moments as a sequence of roving, unpredictable confrontations with the cops then it is clear that in most of these battles between anti-capitalists and cops, cops were on the defensive. As blogger Malcolm Harris tweeted, "the police didn't lead us on to the bridge. They were backing the fuck up." Harris's observation is indicative: In the war between OWS and the NYPD, the NYPD has largely been confined to a defensive strategy of containment. And more importantly, we have been in control. Despite the tactical limitations of the Brooklyn Bridge Takeover, protesters were still in a position in which the only choice left to Commanders was one of containment. Even in moments when cops have brutally attacked protesters or attempted to stop an action, they were eventually forced to withdraw and retreat knowing full well that more protesters could be mobilized quickly and in greater numbers.
So what does all of this say about the impending eviction? What shape can resistance take outside of the usual non-violent arrest tactics (going limp)-- tactics that already foreclose the possibility of real resistance in the first place? In other words, how can the defense of the encampment at Liberty Plaza transcend or disrupt its overtly passive dimensions? How can we transform "the siege of Zuccotti" into the Battle of Zuccotti? What and where are the possibilities for attack? How can we fight back?
Obviously a lot of these questions are contingent upon the forces that show up between now and 6 A.M. During the Battle of Seattle, rank and file steelworkers defended anti-capitalist youth in the streets when they came under attack from riot squads and tear gas. And there have been reports on twitter that Big labor, including the AFl-CIO, is putting out the call to mobilize its rank and file. Yet, we have no idea what that call says or how likely it is that rank and file will show up to defend protesters against the cops on Friday morning (between the hours of 4 and 6 a.m. no less!). It is after all a work day. Additionally, we have to remember that rank and file TWU local 100 workers are still pissed off about being kidnapped by the NYPD during the mass arrest on the Brooklyn Bridge. And after a failed injunction attempt against the NYPD we can only assume that anger remains. As another mass arrest appears imminent we will have to wait see if that anger among the rank and file translates into action. One thing, however, is perfectly clear: there is no way the NYPD has enough vehicles to transport the entire population of Liberty Plaza. We can only hope that this time the TWU will refuse to transport protesters to jail. Or as Willie Osterwell suggested, we can only hope that the bus drivers take all the protesters home. Right now we have no idea how many people will show up and in what capacity, but we do know that the official plan coming from the GA involves circles of occupiers linking arms. Here are few tactical suggestions for ways to expand the level of resistance and confrontation in this strategy:
1. If the GA has already resigned itself to the notion that eviction is inevitable and are now preparing for "evacuation:, why not set up barricades and other obstacles to prevent easy entrance to the park? If the cops are going to trash the park anyway why are we spending so much fucking time trying to clean it up? A clean, orderly park is an open-air police pen not an obstacle to arrest. If there ever was a time to trash Liberty Plaza now is the time. Anything that will get in the cops way will work.
2. Why not take these passive circles of protesters and have them circle paddy wagons instead of merely wait to be arrested? If and when people get arrested the goal should be to truly make those arrests as difficult as possible. If we've learned anything about the NYPD over the last month it's that there's nothing more a fat white police commander enjoys than beating the shit out of a bunch of passive protesters.
3. There are two actions planned for tomorrow morning-- "#operationwallstcleanup" and a "Emergency defense" action. While #Operationwallstcleanup sounds like more of the usual boring marches around Wall Street (with the addition of brooms) it is, at the very least, an open-ended action. This leaves the potential for snake marches and street-lockdowns. Right now this open-endedness is our only hope. That is, unless we intend to go quietly...
** Labor Update:
Greg Mitchell of The Nation reported earlier on "Total solidarity....Training for arrests being taken seriously.... "Looks like SEIU, CWA, and UAW all promising to show up at Zuccotti Park in the morning, according SEIU announcement." In addition, Josh Harkin over at Mother Jones tweeted, "unions are bringing in big show of support @ 4 a.m., including @ 100 who will get arrested." Finally, there is an unconfirmed rumor circulating on twitter that the AFl-CIO released an email entitled, "Go To Wall St. Now". Apparently the email asks, "members to show up at #OWS at midnight in anticipation of this move by the police very early tom. morning.'"
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