Meeting information for Unconventional Action - Rochester

Meetings are now the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month, 5PM, at the Anti-war Storefront located at 658 Monroe Ave.

Join our mailing list:
lists.rocus.org/listinfo/unconventional-action-rochester
More Information: UnconventionalAction.org or
www.myspace.com/UpstateUnconventional

Want to go to the conventions? Want to know what other national organizations are going to the conventions? Have logistical or travel questions? Come to a meeting and let's talk! :)

What is unconventional action?

Unconventional Action is an emerging network aiming to
complement the work of local organizers in Denver and
the Twin Cities with regional organizing throughout
the rest of the country. Our goal is to build a
horizontal, inclusive framework for protests that will
disrupt the upcoming Democratic and Republican
National Conventions.

Why Protest the Conventions?

The Democratic and Republican National Conventions
present a tremendous opportunity for anarchists and
other opponents of war and oppression. If the
increasingly unpopular occupation of Iraq is still in
effect by summer of 2008, it will be obvious that
neither docile street marches nor electoral campaigns
are effective means of opposing it; it will likewise
be clear that the Democratic opposition is either not
capable of or not interested in following through on
their promises of ending the war, let alone solving
all the additional problems capitalism poses.

Why Organize in Advance?

Everyone need not fall in line behind a single
strategy, but there must be an easy way for people to
plug into and contribute to something larger than
themselves. Even explicitly autonomous actions are
more effective in the context of broadly coordinated
activity. A strategy is not the same as a unified plan
of action; it is simply a framework within which
different plans and approaches can complement one
another. A good strategy works whether or not the
authorities are aware of it: it enables individual
groups to retain their privacy in planning how to play
their part, and takes into account the responses that
can be expected from the police. The past years of
experience have shown that not having a plan
ourselves, simply so the police will not catch wind of
our plan, is not effective.

The strategies for these demonstrations will have to
take into account the local context of the host cities
and the current political situation. It will also be
useful to draw on the lessons of more recent mass
actions such as the previous RNC in New York, the G8
summits in Scotland and Germany, and the anti-war
protests of 2003.

Points of Unity:

The name Unconventional Action is available to all
whom:

* Reject all forms of hierarchy including
capitalism, party communism, patriarchy, white
supremacy, colonialism, and so-called representational
politics
* Organize on a non-hierarchical, consensus-based
basis that promotes autonomy, solidarity, grass-roots
involvement, and the agency of those most affected by
each decision
* Embrace a diversity of tactics
* Do not condemn any action on the grounds that it
is illegal alone

Why Diversity of Tactics?

Accepting a diversity of tactics provides for the
broad diversity of real human beings. A movement that
employs a diversity of tactics is able to adapt to
changing contexts. Different tactics, applied in
conjunction, can complement one another. Honoring a
diversity of tactics means refraining from attacking
those whose chosen approaches seem to you to be
ineffective, and instead focusing on what missing
elements you can add to make their efforts effective.
The importance of a diversity of tactics doesn't apply
only when it is convenient for you. Accepting the
legitimacy of a diversity of tactics means moving from
a competitive mindset in which there is only one right
way of doing things to a more inclusive and nuanced
way of thinking. This contests hierarchies of value as
well as of power, and undermines rigid abstractions
such as 'violence' and 'morality'. Respect for diverse
tactics enables disparate groups to build durable
solidarity. Such solidarity must be founded on a
commitment to coexisting and collaborating in harmony,
rather than on limiting demands for unity.