How to Escape This Purgatory?
- Stuck on I-5 in the traffic jam of performative protest -
Guest Post from: a-slingshot-and-a-rock
This past winter, an action in solidarity with the people of Gaza and against Israel’s unfolding genocide took place in the city called Seattle. A number of the larger Palestine solidarity organizations in the city collaborated on the action, and it involved a high degree of planning and cooperation. In the immediate aftermath, the event garnered a lot of attention in the media, as well as from the cops and courts. Today’s guest post, from a-slingshot-and-a-rock, was written shortly after the action but was never publicly published. It is offered here now, both as a record of the strategies and tactics employed during this particular stage of the solidarity movement, and as a critical reflection months after the event, in the hopes of adding a useful contribution to the ongoing evaluation of movement strategy.
This is not a call out or indictment. It is intended as a strategic evaluation of where the movement is, and how it can push beyond its current limits. What was abundantly clear was that many people put a lot of time, energy, and effort into this highly-coordinated action in opposition to Israel’s apartheid system and its ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people. That should be appreciated and acknowledged. Worth noting is that the logistics of care at protests have evolved well beyond where they were only 5-10 years ago. This action featured designated caring roles that distributed many helpful items for the participants: tissues, cough drops, rain ponchos, snacks, water, ear plugs. Additionally, in the sphere of contemporary protests, this one was much more jarring to the status quo than most. For that, it should be commended.
Another positive aspect was that the blockade of I-5 was organized within the context of a larger, popular, symbolic action that was sure to draw larger numbers of people. But, the blockade itself was not announced online. So, word of the action and participation in it was spread through informal networks, proving to be more secure than activities organized through social media platforms. This afforded the participants the element of surprise.
Strategic Questions
While highly effective in gaining significant public attention, this action also allows the opportunity to pose questions of deeper strategy. If one is to interrupt the normalcy of daily life under capitalism, what are the most effective targets: thousands of drivers on a freeway who have an ambiguous connection to Israeli apartheid and the U.S. Government, or companies and institutions that are directly invested in the regimes that have produced and are continuing to carry forth this genocide?
One of the tactics in the blockade involved a row of people chaining themselves inside lock tubes, sometimes called a “sleeping dragon”, making it very difficult for the cops to remove these individuals from I-5. The intention was to prolong the blockade and maximize the use of police time and resources. But, this tactic is also based on the belief that it can be useful for protestors to purposefully get arrested. Thus, the “sleeping dragon” method falls within the category known as Non-Violent Direct Action (NVDA) and is heavily informed by the Civil Rights movement, which utilized purposeful mass arrest in order to draw public attention to the cause, and in some cases, to fill the local jails beyond their capacity. This tactical logic has persisted since that time and one can see it employed in many mass actions and movements in the decades since the lunch counter sit-ins.
However, given the immense amount of resources and energy needed to support those arrested: jail support, bail funds, legal support, court support, and emotional-psychological support, the benefits of intentional political arrest now seem outweighed by the demobilizing effect it has on both individuals and the groups, formal or informal, that arrestees are tied to. The question must be asked: is intentionally getting arrested an effective tactic? Are there ways to break laws, thus risking arrest but without passively allowing oneself to be taken into the hands of the state? In other words, why not employ tactics that are more flexible, mobile, and more reminiscent of a skilled boxer, who attacks quickly and then moves out of harms way before the opponent can get ahold of them?
Form and Structure
Besides the questions of strategy and tactics laid out above, an assessment of how this freeway blockade was organized is also merited. Based on observation, it seems a core group of organizers from several active and publicly-known organizations came together to form the details of the plan. Once an outline of the plan was formed, larger networks were called upon to recruit participants willing to engage in a freeway action. Individuals were asked to “register”, and then there were multiple mandatory trainings required in order to become a participant. This included several hours of rehearsal prior to the day of the actual blockade.
On the day of, while everyone was crammed in a crowded room, there was again a review of the details. Even if the planning and attention to detail may have been reassuring for some, it also functionally created a limited set of allowed activities during the protest. As the details were reviewed again and again, there seemed to be an increase in anxiety for some people. With the action itself approaching, folks wanted assurance that nothing unpredictable would happen. This put a tremendous amount of pressure on those who would be inclined to engage in more spontaneous, creative, and destructive acts. Even artistic efforts, such as spray-painting and chalking were very limited while blockading the freeway– most likely due to the repeated warnings from leadership “not to do anything that may endanger the group”. In the end, the repetition of the plan, along with the formal expectations and agreements, created a pacifying energy, in which all were reliant on the identified leaders to direct each and every activity of the day.
While there were hundreds protesting on the bridges above the freeway, the number of people engaging in the blockade itself was actually quite small. Undoubtedly, the numerous requirements for participation: registration, legal rights training, NVDA training, action rehearsal, and day-of meeting review, served as a significant barrier to larger numbers of people participating. Certainly, there would have been many more who would have shown up to block I-5 if they had not been required to attend so many meetings beforehand. In fact, de-escalation team members were stationed at the freeway entrance offering “warnings” to protestors amassed on the bridges above the freeway; telling them of the high-degree of risk on I-5 and that all those down on the freeway had been trained in the plan and had consented to the risks involved. Effectively, these warnings discouraged others from joining the blockade.
Despite this, a sizable number of people spontaneously scampered down the freeway on-ramp and joined the blockade in some form or another. While no arrests were made during the action, there was a constant sense of anxiety that arrests were imminent. Because of this, many of those blockading nervously anticipated a dispersal order, at which point, many planned to leave the freeway. Imagine if participation of the hundreds on the bridges had been encouraged! With those numbers, the cops would have been unlikely to ever amass the amount of officers needed to start arresting or to force the protestors off of I-5. The collective anxiety and nervousness, as well as the reliance on the leadership, could have been alleviated by more spontaneous participation. That was a missed opportunity.
There were several small suggestive gestures towards creating non-human, non-vehicle barriers in the freeway, both to aid the blocking of traffic, and in an effort to slow down a potential future advance from the police. A large traffic cone was thrown onto the freeway from above, as well as an old mattress found in the dirt. But, nobody took up these suggestions, and so the action ultimately remained contained within the parameters and direction of the leadership. All in all, it had the feeling of being over-planned and over-directed.
Police Response
Even without utilizing all the numbers that could have been mobilized, the action did shut down a major west coast corridor for an estimated six hours. Given this level of disruption, arrests were expected. When no arrests were made, participants and organizers wondered the reason for the hands-off approach. Was this purposefully directed by department heads, in the hopes of deescalating and avoiding greater numbers of protestors at future actions? According to a statement issued by the Washington State Patrol, it seems the delayed response and absence of arrests may have been due to officers being caught in the traffic jam caused by the blockade! Ha!
It was also unusual that this major action seemed to catch the cops by surprise. Despite the planning meeting being open to large numbers of people and phones being present in those meetings, the authorities’ knowledge of what was to occur was extremely minimal. Does the cops' apparent lack of intelligence beforehand indicate that our phones are not as closely surveilled as some may think? Even if that is the case, this isn’t something that can be counted on in the future. On that note, why weren’t phones banned during the planning meetings? Collecting phones is an easy step that can go a long way towards maintaining the element of surprise that is so desirable for effective street actions. As mentioned, there were other security measures taken, such as keeping announcement of the action off of social media, so the decision to allow phones inside planning meetings indicated inconsistencies in the security protocol.
Moving Forward
In addition to keeping phones out of sensitive meetings, there are a couple other simple security measures that organizers and participants would be wise to adopt for future activity. First, keep faces covered at all times, and make your appearance as anonymous as possible. Second, stop live streaming at protest events, stop taking photos of participants, and stop posting photos and videos to social media accounts. Likely embarrassed by being caught off guard by the blockade, and facing vocal public criticism after the action, the Washington State Patrol quickly launched an investigation with the intent of leveling criminal charges at those they could identify. Putting videos and photos online has only aided the investigation, unnecessarily increasing the chance of prosecution for all those who participated.
Along those lines, it is time to abandon the need to be seen and known. Though the I-5 blockade required a high degree of planning, coordination, and risk, all of which resulted in a great deal of public attention on the action, materially, it did little more than generate buzz. Performative protest has run its course. It is a strategy of past eras. The struggle against the U.S. and the Israeli states; the struggle against capitalist life, is not one of popularity. To engage in the social war against these imposing enemies means putting our lives in danger. We should act accordingly. This means that, as much as possible, strive to remain unknown, anonymous, and inconspicuous. Strike at empire in unexpected times and places, remaining agile and flexible, and able to disappear quickly back into the shadows.
For those wanting to organize or initiate actions, be strategic in selecting what to attack. Use direct action against direct targets, rather than using it in an indirect way simply to gain publicity. Create space, within larger actions, for more autonomy to act in risky ways. A basic action call is sufficient beforehand. Then, a short huddle at the beginning of the action clarifying that there is an inherent risk in this and any action, and that no one is going to dictate or police what others want to do. This will suffice in terms of direction. A good saying, which can be practiced and utilized when something illegal happens, is: "i didn't see shit!"
There have been a number of inspiring direct actions that gesture towards the suggestions offered above. The “blockade the genocide” action at an Amazon distribution center in Lacey, WA is one such example. These sorts of actions, with larger numbers of people, and as part of longer term campaigns against specific targets are the future of the international Palestine solidarity movement. Similarly, there was a direct action targeting BNY Mellon's "Wealth Management HQ" in downtown Seattle. This sort of autonomous, anonymous, and targeted action is inspiring.
Indeed, many militant campaigns are already underway. Onward!
For a free and borderless Levant!
Destroy Israel and the United States!
Globalize the Intifada!
For those interested, this page features a less critical report from the I-5 action.