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THE PEOPLES STRIKE: A DAY OF NON-COMPLIANCE AND RESISTANCE
OCTOBER 1ST, 2002

Convergence on DC - Skillshares, Spokescouncils and Orientation – September
27 – 30

SHUT DOWN THE CITY! TAKE BACK THE FREEDOM TO CONTROL OUR LIVES!

In the city where George Bush rules from the lap of luxury...where over
12,000 people sleep on the streets just outside the White House doors while
29,000 units of housing remain abandoned yet are still private
property...where 40% of children live in poverty while a dinner with the
elite can cost over a thousand dollars a head...where immigrants have few
rights and resources ... where the powerful launch wars, bombings and
sanctions ...where more people per capita have HIV than any other US
city... where the World Bank and IMF dictate policies to developing
countries forcing millions to live and die in poverty…in the city where
citizens do not have voting rights and live under taxation without
representation…in the city hailed as the capital of the free world we call
for a People's Strike to shut down this machine and take back our freedom
on October 1st 2002!

In direct opposition to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and
all they represent we will shut down Washington DC on the first day of
their Fall Meetings. These institutions exemplify how global capitalism
promotes poverty, racism, sexism, environmental destruction, and the
concentration of power and wealth in the hands of a few. We are calling for
creative, confrontational opposition to capitalism and the crippling
effects it has here in DC and around the world. This time around we are not
just shutting down the meetings but extending our protests to disrupt all
of the institutions headquartered in DC that play a part in this system.

The US Treasury with the backing of the White House, Congress and other
bodies of government are the primary decision-makers in the World Bank and
International Monetary Fund. In turn, the government is influenced by
multinational corporations with powerful lobbies, many headquartered on K
St in downtown DC. To exploited people around the world the capital of the
US is a symbol of global domination, and all that is wrong in the world.
Taking back this city for one day in a spirit of resistance, defiance and
love will be an act of self-determination to bring hope to ourselves and
express solidarity to those struggling for freedom across the world – from
Afghanistan to Argentina, South Africa to Iraq, Palestine to the
Philippines.

We are calling for NON-COMPLIANCE with the system in the tradition of
strikes –a stoppage of normal activity to protest objectionable conditions,
a halting of our participation in the system. We are calling for RESISTANCE
to force the system to shut down. Refuse to go to work or school on October
1st, or stay on the job and give everything out for free, slow down
production, stick a wrench in the gears! Be in the streets, reclaim public
space, discuss your ideas! Businesses, governmental institutions, schools
and streets, will be shut down, and in many senses reopened to new uses.
Through these actions we will take back and express our freedom, creativity
and autonomy! The ideas and possibilities are virtually endless if we
refuse to live in fear. What does Shut Down mean to you? What will you take
back?

We demand a change in the miserable conditions and exploitation enforced by
these institutions and demand a world based on freedom and compassion. We
demand:
- That the World Bank and IMF be abolished! We don't want a seat at the
table to discuss reform; they are not reformable.
- An end to privatization and structural adjustment everywhere.
- An end to all debt! From debt owed by developing countries to personal
debt.
- Housing and food for everyone.
- Freedom for everyone – Immigrant Rights, Civil Liberties, Women's
liberation.
- An end to the racist prison industrial system.
- An end to imperialism and terrorism by the US government and all states.
- An end to the colonial status of DC and developing countries.
We are striving toward the abolition of capitalism! No longer should ones
survival and access to human needs be determined by ones economic means.

Our resistance must be visible and confrontational to the powers that we
oppose. The last two mass demonstrations in Washington DC have been almost
completely void of direct action. We cannot allow the state to dictate our
protests against them or simply use our legitimate resistance as a P.R.
building tool. The state allows a place for "protest as usual"
within "business as usual" and we must move outside the box, do the
unexpected and truly challenge the system. Believe in what you can create
and the strength of your actions…

We hope to organize an action that is accessible to everyone who wants to
participate, at many risk and experience levels. We will help however we
can to provide information and a framework for actions to affect the
overall plan of shutting down the city. But we will depend on individuals
and affinity groups preparation and encourage everyone to come with their
own ideas, supplies, and plans. This will not be a standard march and
rally! Don’t wait till the last minute to prepare.

In order to pull this off it will take a massive organizing effort from
every city, town and person who believes in a better world free from
capitalism. Almost all of the organizing that can be done in Washington, DC
can be done from anywhere so we are encouraging and depending on broad
involvement in the organizing.

Here are some of the many things you can do NOW to prepare for The People’s
Strike:
- Form a group in your area to be the local contact for organizing The
People's Strike or take on this task as a project of your existing group or
collective.
- Organize an affinity group and be prepared for a large decentralized
direct action in DC.
- Organize road shows, teach ins, or workshops in your region.
- Bring outreach materials to bookstores, colleges, community spaces, local
organizations or anywhere else.
- Organize buses, caravans or other transportation to DC from your area.
- Find housing in DC for people from your area.
- Fundraise for materials, travel and logistics. Donate to the DC ACC.
- Do artwork - make posters, and do public art for the protest.
- Do direct action, legal, medical and other trainings in your area.
- Incorporate into your local organizing for The People's Strike how the
problems created by capitalism and institutions like the IMF and World Bank
manifest themselves in your town.
- Contact us for more ideas and information.

Washington, DC Anti-Capitalist Convergence

www.abolishthebank.org - 703-276-9768
thepeoplesstrike-AT-mutualaid.org

To read the full list of demands, go to:
www.abolishthebank.org/en/october2002.html