That PL, which never endorsed the M-19 protest, or participated in the M-19 Organzing Coalition decided to capitulate and bolt from the feeder march stalled at Dearborn and Oak to march down Clark St - the proferred police route - is not surprising. They weren't part of the process - as usual - or bound by any decisions - including the bottomline consensus within the M-19 Coaltion to refuse police demands to march down Clark St. this year.

That the ISO, which did endorse and participate in the M-19 coalition also decided to march down Clark is another matter. This was their organizational decision, and it was an appalling and public capitulation to police demands...with little justification. They were not trapped in Bughouse Square with no exit out except Clark, but on Dearborn with the other feeder marchers.

There were also alternatives for those worried about arrest. Indeed, the M-19 Coalition distributed 7000 flyers urging folks who wished to avoid arrest if the attempt to rally or hold a press conference at Oak and Michigan met with a dispersal order, to take stacks of informational anti-war flyers, avoid Clark St, make their way down to the rally anyway that seemed doable and hand out flyers wherever possible. And many who arrived independently of the feeder march at Dearborn did just that, seeing this as a safe alternative which did not require surrendering to the CPD's dictates for a heavily escorted march through the dead zone on Clark.

As it turned out, the ISO's gratuitous concession was meaningless, since the majority of those remaining in the combined feeder marches who still wanted to march were able to negotiate a return down Dearborn, once it became clear that State was unfeasible without mass arrests. While most were understandably unhappy with this outcome, it was as the Sun-Times noted, a 'small victory' over the police efforts to enforce their demands.