Approximately one year ago, at an anti-war protest in San Francisco, a friend and I, reacting to what we saw as the disgusting authoritarian behavior of the ANSWER coalition, formed a new organization (well, sorta - at the time it was merely a joke) called International QUESTION, or, Quickly Uniting Extreme Statist Tyrants In Our Name.Recently, I've been thinking it would be fun (and beneficial) to create a real International QUESTION. Of course, we'd have to rework the acronym, as I have no intention of quickly uniting extreme statist tyrants in our name. I envision the new, real QUESTION as an anti-authoritarian alternative to ANSWER.
Within the anarchist/anti-authoritarian community of today, one can find a considerable amount of disdain for mass, non-violent protest demonstrations. Things were not always so. During the late-1800s, in Chicago and other places, anarchists were at the forefront of the struggle for the 8-hour day, and were among the most prominent organizers of large strikes and protests. I suspect that a lot of today's negative opinions toward anti-war protest rallies are based more on what they have become (tabling orgies for authoritarian, leftist "vangaurd" groups) rather than on what they could be: authentic gatherings for the majority against war to express their grief and outrage.
What protest rallies need is a change in organizers. If anarchists/anti-authoritarians were willing to organize major, inclusive, ANSWER-size rallies, we could revitalize them as part of a strategy of genuine resistance to war and empire. We could radicalize them, making them more effective and direct action-oriented. And I'm totally convinced we could make them a hell of a lot more fun.
I had an interesting experience organizing the "March Through Main Street" action in Burlingame on April 30th of this year. We only started advertising the event about a week before it occurred, so only 20-30 people showed up. The group was about 50-50 anarchists and liberals. At the outset, I was worried what kind of results this mix might produce; I was even apprehensive about employing any "radical" or "anarchist" chants because of fear of alienating the liberal protestors. But a funny thing happened as we marched up Burlingame Avenue: the anarchists started chanting "No war but the class war!" and the liberals joined in! I had the pleasure of witnessing a 40-something, liberal, suburban single-mom with two kids yelling at the top of her lungs, "NO WAR BUT THE CLASS WAR!" It warmed my heart.
My experience with the last big breakaway march was similar. Not everyone in that crowd was an anarchist or even a socialist/communist. There were numerous greens, liberals, Kucinichistas, etc. Seeing these people yell anti-capitalist chants while while marching and dancing through the streets, I couldn't help but notice that they seemed to be really enjoying a chance to break free from authoritarian paradigms. The breakaway march was organized (as far as it was organized) by anarchists. The non-anarchists in the crowd knew this, and respected the anarchists for their commitment and their radicalism.
I believe that, if we take the time and effort to organize them, we anarchists/anti-authoritarians can bring meaning and purpose back to mass protest demonstrations. No, we cannot limit the anti-war movement to such demonstrations, but neither can we deny that there is a place for them.
Isn't anybody else sick of complaining about ANSWER? We should replace it! If we are the ones printing the signs, we won't have to complain about them anymore. If we are the ones carrying the huge banners, we won't have to laugh at them anymore. If we are the ones yelling the chants over loudspeakers, we won't have to mock them anymore. A new International QUESTION organization, by usurping ANSWER's role as the organizer-in-chief of mass protest rallies, could (hopefully) lead to ANSWER's demise and its replacement with a more authentic, powerful, visible, and appealing anti-war movement based upon anti-authoritarian principles.