March 20 -- Thousands of anti-war activists took to the streets of San Francisco starting at 7am this morning, staging civil disobedience throughout the downtown area to shut down streets and prevent business as usual. Organized by the anarchist Direct Action to Stop the War, the protest focused on 20 key intersections from which organizers encouraged people to pick and put together their own groups for a protest. Over 1,000 arrests are estimated by 7pm and some demonstrators are still in the streets. This followed a demonstration attended by thousands who marched through pouring rain the night before deploring Bush's 48 hour deadline to Iraq. Most of these protesters were still in the streets on the 19th when we got word from passers-by that the bombs had started falling. Activists in San Francisco are showing the world that they understand the seriousness of the imperialist war on Iraq and they are willing to make sacrifices, get arrested, and stay out all day and night, to stand up against the Amerikan empire.

Throughout the day groups of people, ranging from groups of 20 to several thousand, picked intersections and sat down. These protests gathered strength as others joined in. The police then moved in to the intersections, surrounded and arrested those who refused to move from the street. Some intersections were held by protesters for hours as police were unable to get from one location to another or gather together enough troops to take on the crowds. Some protesters chained themselves to cement blocks to make it harder for police to move them. Others locked down (linking arms in in locked metal tubes). To remove them the fire department used circular saws to cut the protestors apart. This sent sparks through the air and protestors screamed as others poured water in attempt to prevent them from being burned.

After several attempts protesters finally were able to get past police in the evening to blockade the ramps to the bridge across the bay, a key source of after work traffic.Protests also shut down key businesses including Bechtel Corporation which is presently developing earth penetrating nuclear weapons specifically designed for use in Iraq to destroy the very weapons Bechtel had supplied to the country. The Federal Building was also surrounded for most of the day with all four entrances blocked by protesters. At these locations, and in many intersections, police arrested groups of protesters only to have waves of others replace them.

Many of the arrestees were taken to a local pier (a holding area rented by the police earlier in the month in preparation for this demo) cited and then released so that they were back in the streets within a few hours of their arrest. There are reports that those identified as leaders were singled out and taken to other locations after arrest, possibly being charged with felony conspiracy, but this has not been confirmed. The Black Block, an anarchist group that was marching through the streets in the afternoon, was targeted for mass arrest without even a warning to disperse, unlike most of the other protesters who were first warned to get on the sidewalks before arrests began. The Black Block has been leading anarchist civil disobedience and property destruction in recent months.

Several incidents of police brutality were documented including one attack on a man videotaping a protest. His arrest received national media attention after cops dragged his young son off his shoulders and proceeded to beat him with billy clubs.

Demonstrators were almost entirely peaceful with most people only committing the crime of failing to obey traffic laws (walking in the streets). There were minor acts of property destruction or just street obstruction with demonstrators moving trashcans and newspaper boxes into the streets. In several of the marches through streets MIM witnessed demonstrators removing the trashcans and newspaper boxes back to the sidewalk. In response to our questions asking why they did this two people said they wanted the protests to be non-violent. A MIM activist pointed out that putting newspaper boxes in the streets is no more violent than blocking the streets with people. One young womyn responded that she feared the mainstream media would focus on the boxes in the streets and people would get the wrong message. To this MIM responded that she should work to build independent media because that is the only solution to mainstream media misinformation and misrepresentation of protesters.

Police were left guessing which street or intersection would be shut down next as bands of people roamed the streets in downtown San Francisco randomly turning or stopping to block traffic. Major streets were shut down for the entire day and traffic was backed up throughout the city for most of the day. City busses were seen idle, unable to turn around or move forward and many bus drivers were outside cheering the marchers on.

The anarchist lack of organization made it harder for the police to follow the demonstrations but it also led to confusion among protesters and sometimes less-than-effective actions. At intersections groups of hundreds of people were sitting or standing around arguing about where to go next. Leadership coordinating the protests and telling the people where they were needed would have been welcomed by most participants. MIM does agree with the organizers statements prior to the protest that people planning civil disobedience should not publicize their plans on the internet, by phone or to non-participants because the police would then find out and shut them down before they started. However, these security measures do not preclude leadership. The lack of literature at the protest was also a problem of the anarchist absence of leadership. Both participants and bystanders were without information on the purpose of the protests or analysis of the war. The few people carrying signs provided the only propaganda for those greeted by these demonstrations when they showed up for work today.

Likely because of this lack of literature, MIM found those attending the protest were eager for any analysis and quickly accepted copies of MIM Notes. Even after MIM activists ran out of current issues and started handing out old copies they were taken as quickly as we could hand them out at the intersections being blockaded. The issue from 1999 with a cover story on Amerikan humyn rights abuses was popular and recipients agreed it was still very relevant today. MIM spoke with many activists who stated their disgust with the war and criticized Bush for his actions. We pointed out that Bush would not be able to act without the support of the government. The 1999 MIM Notes provided evidence that Clinton was just as much an imperialist with its story about his invasion of Kosovo.

Many of those participating in the protests walked out of colleges, high schools and even middle schools today. Most of those in the streets conducting civil disobedience were young but a they were joined by a number of outraged older people including a group in wheelchairs helping with the barricade of the Federal Building. At a noon rally at the Civic Center a group of 11 and 12 year-olds spoke eloquently about the reasons for their walk out in spite of threats from their school. One young girl questioned why she is able to understand that the war is wrong but President Bush can not. MIM is very happy to see young people understanding the nature of the war, but we caution against calling Bush stupid. He is acting in the interests of imperialism. It is against the interests of the majority of the worlds people, but not stupid.

Throughout the day civil disobedience protests were conducted in other parts of the Bay Area as well. One student at the downtown protests reported that 50 students were arrested at Stanford University. Thousands of students at University of California, Berkeley held a demonstration and took over a building. Protesters marched and blocked streets in Oakland, Richmond, Santa Rosa, Sonoma and other surrounding cities.

MIM applauds the devotion and enthusiasm of those who have taken the streets of San Francisco over the past week and we will work to turn this energy into sustainable anti-imperialist organizing as the U.$. moves from this imperialist war on Iraq to others throughout the world. Not all imperialist wars are as sensational or involve overt bombing, ground troops and such a publicity campaign, but make no mistake that Amerika carries out similar operations every year. From CIA operations to overthrow leaders unfriendly to Amerika, to training and financing of friendly militias, to funding military dictatorships, to active military involvement, Amerikan imperialism is responsible for millions of deaths around the world.