Letter to the Editor
the Washington DC Neighborhood publication:
The In Towner

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I was a witness to the events described in the feature article of your November issue ("Police Chase and Club Revelers at Impromptu Block Party on P Street" - In Towner). On Saturday, October 27, a large contingent of anarchists, under the banner of an organization calling itself Reclaim the Streets, temporarily took over the street in front of my apartment building at P and 22nd Streets. The "spontaneous carnival" that ensued included music, dancing, and some pretty nifty Halloween costumes—in addition to illegally blocking off the street to traffic, overturning and destroying a car, and covering the streets and sidewalks with chalk and spray-painted graffiti. The revelry lasted for about two hours before the riot police had amassed, at which point the crowd was very clearly asked to disperse. When the crowd very clearly refused, the police chased them away and a few people were clubbed in the process, some of whom just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The entire sophomoric event was a study in contradiction. The flyers circulated by Reclaim the Streets announced a utopian vision of the world, but their actions amounted to a dystopian scene of chaos and confusion. Among other things, their graffiti told the neighborhood that "THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE.". To me it looked like occupation. They exhorted us to "FOR- GET LAW" and "CELEBRATE LIFE," precisely as they were doing everything in their power to provoke the law. They held a party that wasn't really a party, but rather an invitation to a confrontation. And when the police finally stepped in, they responded by chanting their cries of outrage. Apparently they were shocked— shocked—that staging a riot could prompt a visit from the local riot police. This is even more unfortunate because their belligerent actions led to a melee that affected other people besides themselves. A simple permit could have prevented all of this.

Of course, I had seen a lot of these same folks at the anti-globalization demonstrations, which seem to be increasingly characterized by this anarchistic element, the so-called "Black Bloc," which is primarily comprised of adolescent boys interested in starting fights with the police. What these confrontations have to do with globalization is anyone's guess. My personal feeling is that some of the current trends in globalization do pose legitimate challenges in regards to human rights, labor rights, and the environment. These challenges could best be addressed by progressive, forward-thinking governance and legislation, which is the opposite of anarchy. It seems to me that if the movement for global justice wants to be taken seriously, then it desperately needs to clear up this confusion.

Today, many weeks after Reclaim the Streets claimed our street, their mess still remains. Every time I look outside, their spray-painted graffiti reminds me to "RISE UP," to "CELEBRATE ANARCHY," and advocates "NO WAR BUT CLASS WAR" (which sounds an awful lot like "NO WAR BUT WAR"). The local custodians have tried to remove this blight from the side-walks, but with limited success. I had originally planned on ending this letter by appealing to DC officials to send out the city services in charge of graffiti removal. However, since the perpetrators of this act are ideologically opposed to such oppressive, hierarchical forms of government, then perhaps they should take responsibility for their own actions and come back sometime to clean up after themselves.

J Becon
Dupont West

Editor's Note: We concur. If the Adams Morgan Day Festival organizers are required to clean up, why not the Reclaim the Streets people? By the way, odd as it may seem, the car referred to by the writer that was overturned and destroyed had been donated to the demonstrators to use for that purpose.

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