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Tactical Briefing #25

Showdown in Chicago.
Tactical Briefing #25: Showdown in Chicago

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Hey you redeemers, rebels and radicals out there,

Against the backdrop of a global uprising that is simmering in dozens of countries and thousands of cities and towns, the G8 and NATO will hold a rare simultaneous summit in Chicago this May. The world’s military and political elites, heads of state, 7,500 officials from 80 nations, and more than 2,500 journalists will be there.

And so will we.

On May 1, 50,000 people from all over the world will flock to Chicago, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and #OCCUPYCHICAGO for a month. With a bit of luck, we’ll pull off the biggest multinational occupation of a summit meeting the world has ever seen.

And this time around we’re not going to put up with the kind of police repression that happened during the Democratic National Convention protests in Chicago, 1968 … nor will we abide by any phony restrictions the City of Chicago may want to impose on our first amendment rights. We’ll go there with our heads held high and assemble for a month-long people’s summit … we’ll march and chant and sing and shout and exercise our right to tell our elected representatives what we want … the constitution will be our guide.

And when the G8 and NATO meet behind closed doors on May 19, we’ll be ready with our demands: a Robin Hood Tax … a ban on high frequency ‘flash’ trading … a binding climate change accord … a three strikes and you’re out law for corporate criminals … an all out initiative for a nuclear-free Middle East … whatever we decide in our general assemblies and in our global internet brainstorm – we the people will set the agenda for the next few years and demand our leaders carry it out.

And if they don’t listen … if they ignore us and put our demands on the back burner like they’ve done so many times before … then, with Gandhian ferocity, we’ll flashmob the streets, shut down stock exchanges, campuses, corporate headquarters and cities across the globe … we’ll make the price of doing business as usual too much to bear.

Jammers, pack your tents, muster up your courage and prepare for a big bang in Chicago this Spring. If we don’t stand up now and fight now for a different kind of future we may not have much of a future … so let’s live without dead time for a month in May and see what happens …

for the wild,
Culture Jammers HQ

CANG8.org / ChicagoMassAction.org / Occupy Chicago
Adbusters / Facebook / Twitter / Reddit

388 comments on the article “Tactical Briefing #25”

Displaying 41 - 50 of 388

Page 5 of 39

israeltucker

Please post on Adbusters Front Page when you have secured a location to camp. There is zero camping in the city of Chicago. I hope you are in touch with the Occupy Chicago Movement already there.

Mista.Sparkles

When it all comes down to it in may... I think that's all a matter of opinion.... When the tents go up, there obviously IS camping.... Even if it is in disapproval of the city

Anonymous

They have not yet contacted Occupy Chicago, but individuals are reaching out to them. They are NOT representing the Occupy Chicago movement in doing so.

Just for the record, Jerry Rubin said, "Anyone who calls us the Chicago Seven is a racist. Because you're discrediting Bobby Seale. You can call us the Chicago Eight, but really we're the Chicago Ten, because our two lawyers went down with us."

Anonymous

I would say Occupy Chicago is getting pretty excited about this call . . . meetings are being planned, committees are forming. Thanks Adbusters :)

Anonymous

It's really annoying that they barely bothered to contact, let alone consult, Occupy Chicago before sending out this pot-stirring post.

Hey Adbusters YOU DON'T OWN THIS MOVEMENT. STOP PRETENDING TO SPEAK FOR US. STOP TRYING TO TELL EVERYONE ELSE WHAT TO DO.

This announcement is too violent, uses imagery without understanding it fully and is frankly the sort of elitist crap which the Occupy movement has been pushing against.

Anonymous

If enough people come willing to stand their ground and set up a camp, Mayor 1% and his goons won't be able to stop us. That's the whole idea of people power - you get over your fear, you stand together, and you win.

Anonymous

Numbers need to be huge. Thousands marched this fall and hundreds occupied Grant Park and set up tents. The police arrested 150 people that first night. The city underestimated the number of people willing to be arrested, so people had to wait for hours while the police got a Chicago Transit Authority bus to handle the overflow.

We showed up again the next week and the police were much more well prepared and much less patient. They arrested about another 150 that night. There were hundreds of police, horses, lighting trucks, prison busses, emergency command vehicles etc. I'm sure the CPD considered these arrests practice for what they see coming in May.

The Chi city council approved the mayor's request to allow the city to bring in outside police forces and security organizations to help with "security." I assume some CPD staff member is reading this blog is is on Adbusters' e-mail list... they will be very prepared to prevent or disrupt any mass protest or occupation.

This is not to say that it isn't worth doing or that it's not possible to outsmart the authoritarians, but we can't play checkers while they play chess. Occupy the chessboard!

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