the g20 debacle in Toronto has made the question of tactics imperative.
first, some terms.
the g20 debacle: hundreds of Canadian citizens arrested and detained in the heart of our commonwealth's largest city and Ontario's capital, the overwhelming majority of whom had committed no crime. the justification of this rights violation was stated as the actions of isolated criminals, provocateurs, voyeurs, and drunks.
the question of tactics: to discuss tactics, we must understand the strategy. To understand the strategy, we must understand the goal. the goal, of course, is an open Canada where our nation's staggering wealth is equitably distributed for the benefit of all who contribute to her life. the strategy is to resist a system which focuses on short-term profits, capital agglomeration, deteriorating social conditions, and monoculture by engaging individuals.
imperative: it must be done. in other words, il faut que ça change; it's not a request, but a statement of fact. if we do not act to build our canada now, it will be too late. mainstream rhetoric, not only in Canada, but across the globe, is becoming alarming to any student of history. i will confess to being a student of history- and as a student of meteorology predicts a tornado strike, i feel i can tell a war a long way off. it must be stopped.
so A Thought Experiment. I will present a series of suppositions. if you agree with a supposition when you read it, skip to the next one (they are numbered). if you don't agree, read the text below. if after reading, you are still not willing to consider this idea (even in a hypothetical thought experiment!), please feel free to hit the 'home' button on your browser and return to safety.
1. suppose we accept that there is a 'global capitalist system'.
i accept that it's a lot to suppose- of the g20 countries, however, almost all are free-market* capitalist, and therefore tend towards inequality, profit-orientation of social services, and bubbles. certain citizens of g20 countries control most of the world's financial institutions, most international organizations, and most large militaries. living in a g20 country, it's easy to underestimate the importance and injustice of the following fact: a small, select group of countries to a large degree control the human system.
2. suppose we accept that all human actions are interrelated.
'the human system' describes the sum ensemble of humanity's interactions within itself and with its environment. as grand as it seems, though, it is merely the variously processed, amplified, distorted, and tangled output of myriad individual inputs. there is ample evidence of this in areas such as global climate change, the 'world financial crisis' of 2008, ocean pollution, transnational revolutions, martyrs, singers, and singular bombs- everything is connected from the individual level right up to the very higher workings of the system.
3. suppose we accept that the 'global capitalist system' is harmful to sustainable development of peaceful communities.
the capitalist model depends on eternal growth and acquisition, and thus is necessarily unsustainable and violent. the capitalist model concentrates wealth in the hands of the few, which others go hungry. the capitalist model rewards the lone wolf bending the rules, avaricious and hungry. the human system depends on the common wealth, the sharing of the fruits of our labour so we can improve our lives. the human model rewards the wolf pack hunting together, dividing their labour while remaining united.
4. suppose we accept that the 'global capitalist system' should be opposed, and its influence reconsidered.
if not, the rich will get richer forever, as capital agglomerates (see also: Marx, Keynes), and the poor (that's probably you!) will get poorer. exploitation of natural resources, and therefore habitat destruction and climate disruption, will accelerate. your community will be deprived of free, quality schooling, free public healthcare, affordable reliable transit, community centres, pools, libraries, and parks, all in order to further cut taxes for non-human entities and children of magnates. must magnates have their own special parks, own special squares and terraces and fields, or can we not just make nice ones for everyone, magnates included?
5. suppose any eventual resistance to the global capitalist system is limited in the variables it can control towards its ends
the mechanisms defining the scope of human interaction have been set by biological imperative long ago, and changing them is hard work. people are largely tribalist, xenophobic, short-sighted, violent, and close-minded. people tend to ignore long-term consequences of their decisions. people tend to tar others with the same brush. any resistance can not be violent (violence begets violence). any resistance can not make decrees (the stricter they are the more they'll be opposed). any resistance can not change everything all at once, and cannot force anyone to change (because a totally new system collapsing would be the end of our prosperity)
6. suppose the easiest variable to control is the relation of individuals to the system and how they perceive their place within it.
reaching an individual, and changing their view of the world and their place within it is difficult, but evidently not impossible. We have all been reached by moments- plays, paintings, symphonies; a lunch, a picnic, a dance; we are reached by a kind, or a harsh, or a remembered word. we are reached by others, by emotions, and by contact. we are animated by contact- solitary confinement is a recognized form of torture. if society is the output of a system, for which the inputs are provided entirely by individuals, changing the nature of the input must be easier than changing the nature of the system. if you don't like the outcome of a game, do you change the game or change your moves? what does a winner do?
7. suppose there are few opportunities to reach the individuals implicated in the 'global capitalist system', and that global summits like the Toronto g20 are one
let's be real. you can't dial up Stephen Harper (though you can try Rob Ford), you can't skype Obama (though you can try representative John Boener), and you can't even get a meeting with most big company CEOs (though you can try lower-middle management). you generally can't control which movies they see, or which newspapers they read. how are you meant to explain your situation to them and ask them to keep you in mind the next time they make a decision that concerns you (you will not have long to wait).
8. suppose that trying to meet the movers and shakers directly is unfeasible
next time you see Barack Obama, run up to shake his hand!
9. suppose that police and law enforcement officials, by maintaining the gap between people and power, and by virtue of their vital humanity, are therefore the easiest targets to reach at such an event.
unless you're a cop, at an event like this, everyone around you will have just skipped straight to point 9.
so the Thought Experiment- "the conversationalists":
in this thought world where the above statements are true, a large group of protestors (hopefully wearing simple pants and t-shirts, carrying no objects (including signs), very calmly walk up to police lines and engage law enforcement officers in simple conversation. a group of very nice, friendly, talkative people, at most two per nearby officer, engage the formation. these people simply engage in small talk- ask names, where they're from from, the sports you like, what you did on the weekend and the million other normal things that people chat about. record every interaction from every available angle, with audio, streaming where possible, and engage law enforcement on a human level.
at every instance where an officer engages a protestor as a protestor, and not an individual, respond with commonalities between the officer and the individual. respond with kindness, courtesy and respect. meet any violence with solidarity and serenity. be human and engage. from this meeting of matter and anti-matter: this meeting of basic, common, human interaction, and the alienating facade of a destructive impersonal system, the shockwave spreads, and we rub our eyes, blink, and see each other as simple, ordinary, regular humans, searching for peace, prosperity, and security.
Thank you for participating.
