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AU Disclaimers
These are some disclaimers that are maybe best read after The Protestor AU, just to clarify some issues. Especially if you want to send me angry email. I mean, you can if you want, but read these first. The basic upshot: I'm trying to tell a story, not preach a sermon, but if you're curious about the subcultures I represented here, here're some notes.
1) There are a wide range of reasons why people take part in anti-globalization protests, and a wide range of beliefs that they hold and tactics that they use. While property destruction does make the news, it is an uncommon and controversial tactic. Earth First!, for instance, is strongly anti-property destruction, though the debate is continuously reopened.
The U.S. antiglobalization movement as I know it is essentially universally opposed to physical violence against people, which means no throwing rocks at the riot cops. Some people throw marbles. This is frowned on, and I think it's dickish.
2) I'm not trying to convert anyone about anything; the opinions in this story and my opinions are not the same thing.
3) I deliberately under-researched this story, and I make no guarantees for accuracy.
Carhartts are, or at least were, a couple of years back, official anarchist pants in the U.S. They come in black. They have a lot of pockets. They are indestructible. A few years back, they were such a cultural touchstone that people would make jokes about them, i.e. "he's not worth his carhartts". Plenty of other people - socialists, truck drivers, me - wear them. They are handy for yard work.
Maalox cuts the burning from pepper spray in the eyes. Vinegar and other acids keep tear gas out of your lungs. That is why people wear bandannas at protests. That, and it's bad-ass, and, some will tell you, sort of hot-looking.
Sateda, West Virginia is about mountaintop removal. It's actually the only political opinion of my own that's really leaked into this story: mountaintop removal =/= good thing.
Short version: just a story. The opinions expressed in this broadcast are not the opinions of NPR or any of its member stations.
1) There are a wide range of reasons why people take part in anti-globalization protests, and a wide range of beliefs that they hold and tactics that they use. While property destruction does make the news, it is an uncommon and controversial tactic. Earth First!, for instance, is strongly anti-property destruction, though the debate is continuously reopened.
The U.S. antiglobalization movement as I know it is essentially universally opposed to physical violence against people, which means no throwing rocks at the riot cops. Some people throw marbles. This is frowned on, and I think it's dickish.
2) I'm not trying to convert anyone about anything; the opinions in this story and my opinions are not the same thing.
3) I deliberately under-researched this story, and I make no guarantees for accuracy.
Carhartts are, or at least were, a couple of years back, official anarchist pants in the U.S. They come in black. They have a lot of pockets. They are indestructible. A few years back, they were such a cultural touchstone that people would make jokes about them, i.e. "he's not worth his carhartts". Plenty of other people - socialists, truck drivers, me - wear them. They are handy for yard work.
Maalox cuts the burning from pepper spray in the eyes. Vinegar and other acids keep tear gas out of your lungs. That is why people wear bandannas at protests. That, and it's bad-ass, and, some will tell you, sort of hot-looking.
Sateda, West Virginia is about mountaintop removal. It's actually the only political opinion of my own that's really leaked into this story: mountaintop removal =/= good thing.
Short version: just a story. The opinions expressed in this broadcast are not the opinions of NPR or any of its member stations.