Couple of points.

First, the buses were provided by the groups organizing the protest, so that elderly people, tired people, small children, and those wanting a break from standing or walking for eleven hours straight could get a break.

Second, while I know it's popular to dis the speakers at these rallies, people might have learned a bit from people like Akua Njeri, who was in the apartment when cops raided it and assassinated her companion Fred Hampton and Mark Clark of the Black Panther Party. She has some interesting ideas about what it will take to truly smash this state. Suzanne Adely of the Arab American Action Network gave a powerful speech about racism and repression that perfectly blended personal experience and the larger prevailing political dynamic in this country. Juan Torres spoke with the passion of an immigrant who is trying to use his activism as a way to make some sense and some good of his soldier son's death in Iraq. Etc.

Third, while I can certainly appreciate that some people are extremely frustrated at the robocop escort that inevitably materializes at these things, it seems a bit hypocritical to trash all those pathetic sheep people on Michigan Ave. when by your own admission -- when you "vastly outnumbered the cops" you were ... er ... compliant little sheep yourselves when you chose to surrender the street for the sidewalk on the walk from Union Park to Michigan Ave. What's up with that?

Fourth, the stage was not set up at Boul Mich by "The World Can't Wait." No. Nope. Sorry. Had people who believe they are anarchists who understand that anarchism is about organizing instead of being bossy little individualists actually attended a few of the ghastly coalition meetings that a number of the rest of us stomached for the last three months, they would know how the stages and speakers were organized. Hey, you could have had a speaker for your affinity group too if you'd bothered to ask. But why speak to people or with them or whatever when it's easier to snipe from the margins and shit down the workers' necks.

Fifth, if you were outraged at the strategy of the 'Festival of Rights' theme, floats and all, why did you come? It's not like the tone and tenor of this action wasn't widely revealed prior to the action. Why didn't you take tactical advantage of the fact that so many donut eaters were tied up darth vadering soccer moms and raging grannies downtown by making your more militant and revolutionary stand somewhere else, or by at least taking advantage of the concentration of coppers by robbing a bank the better to reappropriate the man's resources or something? Saturday's action was, is now, and will be forever 'splained exactly for what it is -- a strategic battle to win back the right to 'legally' exercise free speech in the form of anti-war sentiments on the city's richest street. Most of the people who marched are simply not ready to fling their children over the barricades and charge the police lines with their rakes and hoes. Sadly, many of these nice people do not own firearms and would not now consider actually using same on people, no matter how mean and facistic they may be. Perhaps you could start a study circle with them to bring them around. It was good that you were there serving as the vanguard of the truly revolutionary, because it reminds straight folks that you-all are nice people, too, or at least on the same page in a very very very broad and general sort of way. Or maybe instead of attacking the police (did you bring YOUR pistols?) you could just attack those stupid, lameass old folks and insipid middle-aged types who had the audacity to want to attend what they perceive to be a child-friendly peace action.

They're certainly soft targets compared to the coppers, and they're the ones you're really irritated at, no? Those soft liberal fuckers.

Sixth, please explain how marching anywhere in the city we want is a tactical advance of the antiwar movement, or the effort to smash capitalism generally? Sometimes direct action is both necessary and practical. Sometimes even when it is not practical it is necessary. Given the strategic aims of the action -- to bring anti-war speech back to Boul Mich for the bulk of people who are not yet willing to engage in direct action or risk arrest, and that is so what this action was about -- how would busting these particular police lines have strategically advanced the tactical goals on the line? This action was not Paris yesterday, which happens to be burning, thanks to a million militant students and workers who are causing the government major mischief in order to advance a strategic goal -- the deraillment of a hated work rule. Sectors often move in steps. This particular crew is at the place where they want to protest, but they do not want to have to mask up, put on body armor and bum rush the police lines. They're just not there. You are. Great. Organize that action. Don't pimp an action specifically not designed to do that. Know that you are certainly welcome -- and I speak to you as an individual here, because it's not like you've put this forward as a polemic for an organized vanguard or affinity group or anything, but just as your own personal crimethinkish opinion -- you are absolutely and most certainly welcome at events like this. You should be there with your banners, your militancy, your chalk, your street theater, your seditious chants, and your attitude. It's just not the place to pick a fight with the police. Did you bring your automatic weapons? No? Then settle down, stop throwing wolf tickets, and ask yourself what can be done to build a bigger, broader anarchist movement that is not constantly fracturing at the corners.

Seventh, I found your discussion of practical direct action strategies to be interesting. Those tactics have been used to no small effect from Seattle and Quebec to Prague and even Washington DC. Bear in mind that those engaging in direct action in those cities -- whether that direct action was explicitly 'non-violent' or involved mechanisms of structured physical resistance to police force -- tactical plans on the ground went to great pains to avoid entwining those actions with parallel actions like marches, rallies, pickets et al in which participants had NOT signed up for direct action. I just fucking hate it when soldiers use civilians as cannon fodder. We would do well as radicals not to do the same ourselves. And guess what? In well executed direct action, civilians will rally to support you. My favorite is the old woman pulling a wagon in Quebec City full of bricks and beer bottles of gasoline for the anarchists at the highway barrier battling the police. Old girl just got fed up and decided to back up the kids. Three days of teargas will do that to you.

Eighth, another poster pointed out that direct action organizing efforts have been undertaken here and elsewhere, and then appear to fizzle. Why? I submit the organizing piece needs work. Say what you will about the lack of militancy of the Saturday project, people did organize. They just didn't organize the kind of action you would have liked to have seen. Largely a series of interlocking core groups did the thankless, miserable terminally unacknowledged work that made it possible for thousands of people to march down a previously no-free-speech zone, which is what the vast majority of those folks wanted to do. Some groups that said they'd do stuff didn't, and that's extremely unfortunate because it undercut the diversity and likely also the militancy of the action. I would also point out that you'd be surprised how much positive influence you can have on everything from chants to structural organizing if you just show up and do some work. Really. I kid you not. Try it. You might find that you don't necessarily get your way simply because you want it, but you'll get heard, respected, and your ideas will be embraced if you're willing to back your shit up. Get to it.