Go ahead and smash shit. It doesn't matter, it's all shit and everyone gets paid in the end.

Better in some ways, shittier and more ridiculous in others, just like always.

"I was all excited until they smashed MY sandwich board!"

Sarah, you're a terrible reporter. Not hard to discern the motivation for this march with the slightest bit of research - http://nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com/. Free Leah, Free Matt, Free KteeO. What do we do when under attack? Stand up, fight back. Welcome to the winter of our discontent.

"As an anarchist, I've always thought breaking windows is a relatively pointless activity. I advocate instead for political assassination."

I thought I told you to grow the fuck up, moron.

"just look around you and try to prove me wrong."

Better yet, prove yourself right, you dumb shitheel.

Another viewpoint: http://www.facebook.com/notes/jess-e-hadden/the-story-last-night-wasnt-the-broken-windows/238518342940296

Last night on 10/11, a march convened in the streets of SE Portland, just a day after a third PNW comrade has been imprisoned by Federal scum for resisting their Grand Jury subpoenas.

The Judge, the Feds, and the State know all too well that Matt, KteeO, and Leah will continue to resist their coercion. These ignorant state officials somehow live in a fantasy land where radical solidarity doesn't exist...

Four banks along the path of our march were smashed, including rocks through multiple windows at an Umpqua Bank, a large metal chair through a Wells Fargo window, and rocks through a Chase and finally a U.S. Bank.

Banks both invest in and profit from the Prison Industry that is being used to suppress our activities against the state by imprisoning our comrades.

A Walgreens window was also hit. Our local media devour false police rumors, such as what seems to be fabricated reports that bottles were thrown at pedestrians. It was quit the contrary, with pedestrians and bar-goers cheering us on and joining in on chants, with some even joining the march as we encouraged them to do so! Despite some marchers not understanding the purpose of blockades, no one was arrested when the thick-headed cops finally broke it up, though a few marchers were briefly detained and released, apparently.

SMASH ALL PRISONS & BANKS, TOPPLE THE STATE! Solidarity to all in prison and especially those queers, because we queers DESTROY with the fierceness!

FREE LEAH, MATT & KteeO!

This meant as a short overview of the events that transpired during the Oct. 11th solidarity march with grand jury resisters and is not meant to be some in-depth analysis. This is written from my individual perspective and in no way does this represent the totality of what went down.
On Oct. 11 a group of around 75 people gathered in a small park in S.E. Portland in response to a call of solidarity with Leah, Matt, and KateeO who were all swept up by the state in the most recent wave of repression targeting anarchists in the Pacific N.W. The crowd was made up of many folks who I had not seen in a long time as well as new faces of folks whom I had never met. The sight of so many new faces and old friends was refreshing.

A banner was unfurled that read: "BURN THE PRISONS, HUG CATS. YOLO (A) ACAB" and as a voice rang out from the crowd "the state kidnapped Leah, KateeO, and Matt, let's show the state what happens when they imprison our friends!" The crowd cheered and began to pour into the street.


As the march got underway construction signs were pulled into the street and the chant "OUR PASSION FOR FREEDOM IS STRONGER THEN THEIR PRISONS!" could be heard echoing though the quiet SE neighborhood. As the crowd made it on to Hawthorne Blvd newspaper boxes were pulled out into the street as well as more construction signs. As the crowd passed an Umpqua Bank several large windows were bashed out. This was met by cheers from the crowd. More newspaper boxes were pulled into the streets as the crowd yelled "GIVE NO FUCKS TAKE NO ORDERS, SMASH THE PRISONS AND THE BORDER!" As the march passed a Wells Fargo Bank, a chair, which had been expropriated from a nearby posh cafe, made its way through one of the banks windows and another march participant began kicking the banks glass door in an unsuccessful attempt to break it, this was also met with cheers of approval. Nearby bar patrons began to yell in support and confusion and a group of youth at the bus stop joined the march albeit temporarily. As the crowd began to turn north on Cesar Chavez Blvd a rock was thrown through the window of a Chase Bank. As the march continued forward a US Bank had several windows smashed-out and a Walgreens had a brick slab thrown through a glass door. At this point the march began to dissipate.

In the end there were no arrests and at no point did the march encounter police, however the corporate media reported that several people were temporarily detained after the march, but I cannot confirm that. The corporate media also claimed in their coverage of this event that the march attacked pedestrians with bottles. This like most corporate media claims is completely false and borders on the ridiculous. In fact at no time did I witness any "citizen heroes" from within or outside the march attempt to disrupt militant tactics, nor were there any negative exchanges with bystanders that I saw. Since the initial FBI raids on the homes of anarchists in Portland back in July and the subsequent grand jury subpoenas and imprisonments this was the first public militant response in Portland to state repression. While I think we need to aware of the limitations of our actions and always strive to broaden and deepen the struggle against capital and the state, it's reassuring to see militant activity in response to repression as opposed to making the mistake hiding away in fear and isolation.

I urge people to continue to support the grand jury resisters in whatever capacity they can. Write a letter and throw some money their way cause that shits important too.

For updates on the Grand Jury and the resistance to it check out
http://saynothing.noblogs.org/

In complicity and solidarity,

-a RIP City anarchist

Yesterday afternoon, via Facebook, I heard about a solidarity march, being organized by an autonomous group. The reason: Leah from the Red & Black Cafe was being imprisoned for refusing to testify before a Grand Jury. I didn't personally know Leah, but philosophically I supported the stand she was taking against the Federal government's witch-hunt, targeting activists.

So, I hit "share," passing the invitation along.

I observed the march as it approached SE Hawthorne Blvd, via 35th Ave. Since I did not recognize the people in the march (it's hard to recognize a black bloc, especially at night, without my glasses) -- and since I myself wear very bright colors -- I decided to watch while maintaining a distance. Technical difficulties prevented me from livestreaming, but I still wanted to be able to report the real story.

As the marchers took the east-bound lanes of Hawthorne, I watched a growing crowd of curious people, in regular attire, following the march along the sidewalk, and inquiring about this unexpected sight.

Then, I heard, rather than saw, the sound of glass shattering. Immediately, the disastrous anti-police brutality march of last February 6th came to mind, when Occupy Portland and an autonomous group mixed like oil & water. I expected to see marchers, locals, and lookie-loos arguing and fighting with one another over tactics, and the definition of "violence."

But that's not what I saw. I saw the windows of Umpqua Bank -- a bank that tries to present a local image, but really isn't -- smashed. And to my astonishment, I saw regular people, watching from sidewalks & bars, cheering. I found myself no longer observing the march, so much as I was observing the people observing the march.

Smash. Wells Fargo. Smash. Chase Bank. Smash. US Bank. Cheers, each time, from regular people, watching. As I passed the tables outside of the Hawthorne Theater, across the street from the Chase Bank at SE Caesar Chavez & Hawthorne, I heard people laughing and talking about how much they hated that bank. One man stood up and yelled, "Yeah! Smash that up!"

The Walgreens, at Caesar Chavez Blvd. & Belmont, appeared to be the last target, before I lost sight of the march. I heard sirens in the distance, but as far as I could tell, the march had already dispersed, almost as quickly as it had begun.

Contrasted with the march from last February 6th, there was a noticeable lack of contention about the targets of this black bloc. The only contention that appeared to exist was in regard to some marchers dragging items like recycling bins & newspaper dispensers into the streets -- ostensibly, to block traffic and slow a police response. Other people, not necessarily marchers themselves, quickly removed the items from the streets. The point ultimately was moot; police vehicles came from multiple directions, and were remarkably slow to arrive.

Local corporate media and Portland Police later reported that the marchers were also attacking passers-by with glass bottles. This is, in fact, not true.

To me, the story really wasn't about the smashed windows. I headed back to Hawthorne, to put my ear to the ground.

People were still buzzing about what had just happened. Absent, was a sense of anger regarding the vandalism. It is curious, how astonishing the absence of something can be. Inner SE Portland is, after all, a sleepy urban community.

I stopped in at Nick's Coney Island for a drink. Police arrived, and questioned the bartender. I asked her what that was all about, to which she replied, "Some protesters took one of our chairs and threw it through the Wells Fargo window."

Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, "That's awesome."

She leaned in, smiling, and replied, "I know! Fuck Wells Fargo."

@wcs,true. Anarchists are funny.

Well, they Anarchist playground known as the Red and Black is late with its mortgage payments, and is having trouble keeping up with repairs. They were put into crisis by a broken window at their cafe. I wonder how they would like another smashed window at the Red and Black, or super glue in their locks. Please. someone in Buckman at least leave a "log" on their doorstep. The anarchist cafe is one 2000 repair from being shut down. Wrecking plumbing is easy. If the cops won't protect us from the Black Block, let's just turn their tactics against them. Let teh Red and Black cry to the police taht they have been vandalized!

Hey Agit, just because my earlier attempt to wreck the Red and Black toilet last weekend was unsuccessful doesn't mean that someone else won't succeed in blocking the plumbing. You will be sabotaged, you coward.
Hope you enjoyed mopping the shit up. Say buh-bye to your crappy ass cafe. The building is in terrible shape, and you have no money.

By the way, I just heard that the FBI flipped the fat anarchist chick- all it took was half a gallon of rocky road and a bag of Fritos.

fidelity - You need to either prove yourself by standing up to your rhetoric by murdering someone, or shut the fuck up. Your internet tough guy I-don't-go-to-protests-because-I-will-kill-someone act is not fooling anyone. Prove yourself, or admit to being a spineless voice on the internet.