[WSMDiscuss] Seattle Protesters Declare Autonomous Zone Around Police Precinct After Heated Standoff with Police (Democracy Now !) / Free Food, Free Speech, and Free of Police : Inside Seattle’s ‘Autonomous Zone’ (Mike Baker, New York Times)

[Jai Sen]

Thursday, June 11, 2020

Viruses in movement…, The US in movement…, Resistance in movement…

[The US is aflame, its people are REALLY afire… !

In a neighborhood that is the heart of the city’s art and culture — threatened these days as rising tech wealth brings in gentrification — protesters seized the moment. They reversed the barricades to shield the liberated streets and laid claim to several city blocks, now known as the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.”

“This space is now property of the Seattle people,” read a banner on the front entrance of the now-empty police station. The entire area was now a homeland for racial justice — and, depending on the protester one talked to, perhaps something more.

[I’m doing this update right now, so soon after my first post on this news, simply of course because this is historic; this is history – and herstory – , here now and today, in the making !  Because after all, Seattle was not only where the Battle of Seattle took place in 1999, but was there the Seattle General Strike took place in 1919 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_General_Strike <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_General_Strike>) and when communes and cooperatives were set up, and the city was briefly liberated :

Free Food, Free Speech, and Free of Police : Inside Seattle’s ‘Autonomous Zone’

President Trump challenged Seattle’s mayor to “take back your city” after police vacated a precinct and protesters laid claim to the neighborhood around it

Mike Baker <https://www.nytimes.com/by/mike-baker>, New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/11/us/seattle-autonomous-zone.html?referringSource=articleShare <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/11/us/seattle-autonomous-zone.html?referringSource=articleShare>    


A gathering on Wednesday in the Seattle neighborhood of Capitol Hill, where protesters have established an “autonomous zone.” Credit...Ruth Fremson/The New York Times


SEATTLE — On the streets next to a police precinct in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, protesters and officers spent a week locked in a nightly cycle of standoffs, at times ending with clouds of tear gas.

But facing a growing backlash over its dispersal tactics in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/11/us/george-floyd-protests.html>, the Seattle Police Department this week offered a concession: Officers would abandon their precinct, board up the windows and let the protesters have free rein outside.

In a neighborhood that is the heart of the city’s art and culture — threatened these days as rising tech wealth brings in gentrification — protesters seized the moment. They reversed the barricades to shield the liberated streets and laid claim to several city blocks, now known as the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.”

“This space is now property of the Seattle people,” read a banner on the front entrance of the now-empty police station. The entire area was now a homeland for racial justice — and, depending on the protester one talked to, perhaps something more.

What has emerged is an experiment in life without the police — part street festival, part commune. Hundreds have gathered to hear speeches, poetry and music. On Tuesday night, dozens of people sat in the middle of an intersection to watch “13th,” the Ava DuVernay film <https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/movies/ava-duvernay-13th-on-modern-slavery-in-america.html> about the criminal justice system’s impact on African-Americans. On Wednesday, children made chalk drawings in the middle of the street.


A barricade in the “autonomous zone.”  Credit...Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

One block had a designated smoking area. Another had a medic station. At the “No Cop Co-op,” people could pick up a free LaCroix sparkling water or a snack. No currency was accepted, but across the street, in a nod to capitalism, a bustling stand was selling $6 hot dogs. It was dealing in U.S. dollars.

On Wednesday night, President Trump tried to portray the scenes in the city as something more sinister. He called for government leaders to crack down on the protesters, declaring on Twitter <https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1270923257844301836> that “Domestic Terrorists have taken over Seattle.”

Antifa Claims
Despite claims by President Trump and Attorney General William P. Barr, there is little evidence that loosely organized anti-fascists are a significant player in protests. <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/11/us/antifa-protests-george-floyd.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article>
“Take back your city NOW,” Mr. Trump wrote <https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1270914092295950337?s=20> in a tweet directed at Mayor Jenny Durkan and Gov. Jay Inslee. “If you don’t do it, I will. This is not a game.”

Ms. Durkan responded with a tweet of her own <https://twitter.com/MayorJenny/status/1270928501164568576>: “Make us all safe. Go back to your bunker.”

The protest zone has increasingly functioned with the tacit blessing of the city. Harold Scoggins, the fire chief, was there on Wednesday, chatting with protesters, helping set up a call with the police department and making sure the area had portable toilets and sanitation services.

“I have no idea where we’re headed,” Mr. Scoggins said in an interview. “We’ve been working step by step on how to build a relationship, build trust in small things, so we can figure this out together.”


People listening to speakers on Wednesday.Credit...Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

The demonstrators have also been trying to figure it out, with various factions voicing different priorities. A list of three demands was posted prominently on a wall: One, defund the police department; two, fund community health; and three, drop all criminal charges against protesters.

But on a nearby fence, there was a list of five demands. Online was a list of 30.

While Mr. Floyd’s death in Minneapolis drove most of the energy in the streets toward ending police violence and racial injustice, some of those here in recent days have pushed for a wider focus. Some of the messages mirror the 2011 Occupy movement and seemed aimed at targeting corporate America for its role in social inequities.

“The more we encourage and focus on the race thing, the greater our attention is not focusing on the fact that this is class warfare,” said a 28-year-old protester and self-described anarchist who identified himself only by his first name, Fredrix.

On Tuesday night, Kshama Sawant, a City Council member affiliated with the Socialist Alternative Party, led protesters down to City Hall, holding a gathering inside the building in which she promoted her plan to tax Amazon, which is headquartered in the city.

But some of those who mobilized here over race and policing have begun to worry that these broader priorities could cloud the agenda at a time when vital progress for African-Americans seemed within reach.

“We should focus on just this one thing first,” said Moe’Neyah Dene Holland, 19, a Black Lives Matter activist. “The other things can follow suit. Because honestly, black men are dying and this is the thing we should be focusing on.”

The city prepared for the possibility that the street demonstrations could linger. On Wednesday, a team from the Seattle Department of Transportation came through and hoped to remove some of the orange barriers — including one marked with the message “People’s Republic of Capitol Hill” — and replace them with planter boxes filled with coral bells and other plants to give the new pedestrian zone an air of permanence.


Volunteers packing supply bags for the homeless.  Credit...Ruth Fremson/The New York Times



But when the crews went to remove the barriers, some of the protesters objected. The crew stood down, and Rodney Maxie, a deputy director at the transportation department, told his team they might return later, after further talks with the demonstrators.

“This is good practice for the 9.0 earthquake,” he told his team.

The protesters also had differing opinions about how long the autonomous zone would last. Some wondered if the police department would try to reclaim the territory. Others said they expected the barriers to be up for weeks, until state and city leaders had done enough to meet their demands.

John Moore, 23, said he hoped to see the autonomous zone become legally recognized. Mr. Moore wore a stethoscope and paramedic apparel in a makeshift health center set up on the patio of a taco restaurant. The medic team was looking for a more permanent space to provide health services, and Mr. Moore said they had dozens of people with a range of qualifications, from C.P.R. certifications to experience in a Level 1 trauma center.

Mr. Moore said the experiment in a place without police could work.

“We are trying to prove through action and practice that we don’t need them and we can fulfill the community’s needs without them,” he said.



Putting up a sign on the boarded-up police precinct building.  Credit...Ruth Fremson/The New York Times



> On Jun 11, 2020, at 3:18 PM, Jai Sen <jai.sen at cacim.net> wrote:
> 
> Thursday, June 11, 2020
> 
> Viruses in movement…, The US in movement…, Resistance in movement…
> 
> [The US is aflame, its people are afire…:
> 
> Seattle Protesters Declare Autonomous Zone Around Police Precinct After Heated Standoff with Police
> 
> Democracy Now !
> 
> https://www.democracynow.org/2020/6/11/seattle_capitol_hill_autonomous_zone?utm_source=Democracy+Now%21&utm_campaign=a7a0b2232c-Daily_Digest_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fa2346a853-a7a0b2232c-191570137 <https://www.democracynow.org/2020/6/11/seattle_capitol_hill_autonomous_zone?utm_source=Democracy+Now%21&utm_campaign=a7a0b2232c-Daily_Digest_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fa2346a853-a7a0b2232c-191570137>    
> 
> In Seattle, protesters have barricaded a six-block autonomous zone, after protests were met with a violent police response. Amid a days-long standoff, police removed barricades and abandoned their East Precinct building, and protesters moved into the area, declaring it “Free Capitol Hill.” We go to Seattle to speak with Omari Salisbury, a citizen journalist who has been live-streaming the uprising and police crackdown.
> 
> Transcript
> 
> This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
> AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh. Protesters in Seattle, Washington, have taken over several city blocks after a protracted standoff with the police force there, shutting down a police precinct, declaring part of the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood an autonomous zone. Citizen journalist Omari Salisbury live-streamed Seattle police using pepper spray, tear gas, flashbang grenades on demonstrators and reporters, like himself. Facing mounting criticism for its militarized response, the Seattle Police Department abandoned its Capitol Hill precinct this week.
> 
> Last night, President Trump tweeted, quote, “Radical Left Governor @JayInslee and the Mayor of Seattle are being taunted and played at a level that our great Country has never seen before. Take back your city NOW. If you don’t do it, I will. This is not a game. These ugly Anarchists must be stooped IMMEDIATELY. MOVE FAST!” President Trump tweeted. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan responded by tweeting, “Make us all safe. Go back to your bunker. #BlackLivesMatter.”
> 
> For more, we go to Seattle for our last few minutes to speak with Omari Salisbury, who’s been covering the protests in Seattle since they started, on Twitter and for his website, Converge Media <https://www.whereweconverge.com/>.
> 
> Welcome, Omari, to Democracy Now! You yourself have been hit by what the police call the less-than-lethal ammunition, that has hurt so many, injured you and many others around the country. Talk about what’s happening in Seattle.
> 
> OMARI SALISBURY: Well, right now I’m actually sitting right here in the middle of this new autonomous zone, the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. And yeah, I mean, quickly, it was several days of just heated standoffs here, man, where it was a lot of tear gas, a lot of other types of weapons. And one thing you didn’t mention is rubber bullets or the rubber projectiles, which I  also got hit quite a few times with that, as well. And the protesters just kept protesting, until the city of Seattle decided to abandon the police precinct, and which now is literally the town square here in the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.
> 
> AMY GOODMAN: So, talk about what happened to you personally and what it means to be hit by this, and what’s happening in Seattle right now.
> 
> OMARI SALISBURY: Well, you know, for me, every May Day there’s something that goes on, and there’s kind of a police reaction. I didn’t come there to cover the reaction; I was just covering, you know, the protest, because they were happening nationwide. And, I mean, I found myself continuously on the frontline trying to cover it, because almost every day there was a clash there with the protesters and the police. And the issue I don’t think was really that the police responded; it was the proportionality of the response — I mean, an incredible amount of tear gas, an incredible amount of force against protesters, that I would say the majority of, you know, in the high 90 percentile, were just peaceful people that actually live in this neighborhood. And those are the people who are now occupying or created this CHAZ zone.
> 
> AMY GOODMAN: And we’re going to talk about this new zone, this imagine a new world is possible, in Part 2 <https://www.democracynow.org/2020/6/11/seattle_activists_create_autonomous_zone_near> of our discussion. Omari, thanks so much for being with us. Please stay with us, and we’re going to post it at democracynow.org <http://democracynow.org/>. Omari Salisbury, citizen journalist in Seattle with Converge Media.
> 
> That does it for our show. Democracy Now! is produced with Renée Feltz, Mike Burke, Deena Guzder, Libby Rainey, Nermeen Shaikh, Carla Wills, Tami Woronoff, Charina Nadura, Sam Alcoff, Tey-Marie Astudillo, John Hamilton, Robby Karran, Hany Massoud, Adriano Contreras and María Taracena. Special thanks to our general manager, Julie Crosby. Special thanks to Becca Staley, Miriam Barnard, Paul Powell, Mike DiFilippo, Miguel Nogueira, Hugh Gran, Denis Moynihan, David Prude and Dennis McCormick. I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh. Stay safe.
> 
> 
> The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/>. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org <http://democracynow.org/>. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.
> 
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> ____________________________
> 
> Jai Sen
> 
> Independent researcher, editor; Senior Fellow at the School of International Development and Globalisation Studies at the University of Ottawa
> 
> jai.sen at cacim.net <mailto:jai.sen at cacim.net>
> Now based in New Delhi, India (+91-98189 11325) and in Ottawa, Canada, on unceded and unsurrendered Anishinaabe territory (+1-613-282 2900) 
> 
> CURRENT / RECENT publications :
> 
> Jai Sen, ed, 2018a – The Movements of Movements, Part 2 : Rethinking Our Dance. Ebook and hard copy available at PM Press <http://www.pmpress.org/>
> Jai Sen, ed, 2018b – The Movements of Movements, Part 1 : What Makes Us Move ? (Indian edition). New Delhi : AuthorsUpfront, in collaboration with OpenWord and PM Press.  Hard copy available at MOM1AmazonIN <https://www.amazon.in/dp/9387280101/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1522884070&sr=8-2&keywords=movements+of+movements+jai+sen>, MOM1Flipkart <https://www.flipkart.com/the-movements-of-movements/p/itmf3zg7h79ecpgj?pid=9789387280106&lid=LSTBOK9789387280106NBA1CH&marketplace=FLIPKART&srno=s_1_1&otracker=search&fm=SEARCH&iid=ff35b702-e6a8-4423-b014-16c84f6f0092.9789387280106.SEARCH&ppt=Search%20Page>, and MOM1AUpFront <http://www.authorsupfront.com/movements.htm>
> Jai Sen, ed, 2017 – The Movements of Movements, Part 1 : What Makes Us Move ?.  New Delhi : OpenWord and Oakland, CA : PM Press.  Ebook and hard copy available at PM Press <http://www.pmpress.org/>
> 
> SUBSCRIBE TO World Social Movement Discuss, an open, unmoderated, and self-organising forum on social and political movement at any level (local, national, regional, and global).  To subscribe, simply send an empty email to wsm-discuss-subscribe at lists.openspaceforum.net <mailto:wsm-discuss-subscribe at lists.openspaceforum.net>

____________________________

Jai Sen

Independent researcher, editor; Senior Fellow at the School of International Development and Globalisation Studies at the University of Ottawa

jai.sen at cacim.net <mailto:jai.sen at cacim.net>
Now based in New Delhi, India (+91-98189 11325) and in Ottawa, Canada, on unceded and unsurrendered Anishinaabe territory (+1-613-282 2900) 

CURRENT / RECENT publications :

Jai Sen, ed, 2018a – The Movements of Movements, Part 2 : Rethinking Our Dance. Ebook and hard copy available at PM Press <http://www.pmpress.org/>
Jai Sen, ed, 2018b – The Movements of Movements, Part 1 : What Makes Us Move ? (Indian edition). New Delhi : AuthorsUpfront, in collaboration with OpenWord and PM Press.  Hard copy available at MOM1AmazonIN <https://www.amazon.in/dp/9387280101/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1522884070&sr=8-2&keywords=movements+of+movements+jai+sen>, MOM1Flipkart <https://www.flipkart.com/the-movements-of-movements/p/itmf3zg7h79ecpgj?pid=9789387280106&lid=LSTBOK9789387280106NBA1CH&marketplace=FLIPKART&srno=s_1_1&otracker=search&fm=SEARCH&iid=ff35b702-e6a8-4423-b014-16c84f6f0092.9789387280106.SEARCH&ppt=Search%20Page>, and MOM1AUpFront <http://www.authorsupfront.com/movements.htm>
Jai Sen, ed, 2017 – The Movements of Movements, Part 1 : What Makes Us Move ?.  New Delhi : OpenWord and Oakland, CA : PM Press.  Ebook and hard copy available at PM Press <http://www.pmpress.org/>
SUBSCRIBE TO World Social Movement Discuss, an open, unmoderated, and self-organising forum on social and political movement at any level (local, national, regional, and global).  To subscribe, simply send an empty email to wsm-discuss-subscribe at lists.openspaceforum.net <mailto:wsm-discuss-subscribe at lists.openspaceforum.net>
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