At the Freedom Walk

(September 11, 2005)

While attending the Freedom Walk in Washington DC on September 11, 2005, the little disruption the walkers encountered was staged by anarchists. A few registered, then “revealed” themselves in the course of the walk. I personally saw two – one of whom proudly revealed (after throwing down his “Support the Troops” tag, which I picked up and kept) his t-shirt, on which he had written the disgusting phrase, “I support the troops when they shoot their officers.”

What precisely this sentiment was supposed to inspire, I am uncertain. The phrase provoked some anger, but no violence; not even much in the way of verbal insult. I think most of us walking have become weary of these sentiments. They no longer shock, or outrage, or even move us very much. When someone called one of these young persons “communists”, or urged them to (not very sensibly) “go back to Russia”, the young man replied, “I’m an anarchist.”

I can only sigh.

For the sake of argument, I will stipulate black bloc anarchists are – quite contrary to my observation – honorable, just, temperate, prudent, wise, hardworking, kind and honest. They need no governance, any more than I do. Fine, for a few minutes I can believe this. They detest capitalism, on rather outdated grounds, but, for the sake of the argument again, I will accept that they believe people would, generally, take whatever job is needed to facilitate the movement of goods and services, for the reward their neighbors consent to award to them for their service.

My question, after many an encounter with the Black Bloc, is this: What skill do you possess, and what actions will you take, that will induce your neighbors to support you? Not one of the Black Blocers I’ve seen appeared to be much of a worker – I make a point of noting their hands, forearms, amount of body fat, muscularity and so on. I note many piercings, some tattoos, but few calluses, or grease in the lines of their hands. What do they do for a living, in our current society? What do they propose to do in their future, non-capitalistic society?

I ask because, should things ever go to hell, I have a series of non-standard skills. Quite aside from being literate and numerate, hand me a raw fleece, and I can (given time) create finished cloth; I know how to string a loom (though any professional would laugh at me), and I can construct a simple jacquard series. I can take the finished cloth and make clothing. I can make soap, candles and paper – not well, but I can do it. I can trade these skills for my living. What do the Black Bloc offer?

The differences between the September 11, 2005 Freedom Walk and every leftist action I’ve counter-protested are fairly striking. First, we walked in support not only of the troops, but of the mission of bringing freedom to people who have been most horribly oppressed. This was not a protest, it was an affirmation. Many of us, I am sure, have questions and fears regarding current policy in Afghanistan and Iraq, but what we came to say is that we believe in the mission of the troops, and want them to feel our support. I know the Washington Post and New York Times, the alphabet channels and all too many other sources chose to ignore us, but we were there, in substantial numbers, and we most certainly acted in affirmation.

Over the years, I have witnessed and counter-protested many leftist actions. Each of them are called “marches”, and the participants march together in their groups, and they chant slogans as they troop along in their cadres. The Freedom Walkers simply walked, chatting with neighbors and strangers. Perhaps a certain idea of uniformity was imparted by the fact that most of us wore the t-shirts the walk sponsors handed out; personally, I wore a skirt and a long-sleeved blouse (and a really ugly hat).

 So, who are the militarists and conformists?

Posted by Squishy, 9/22/2005 8:37 p.m.