Friday, July 11, 2008

Unconventional Denver

Well, there's a new group in town aiming to disrupt the Democratic Convention. If you liked ReCreate '68, you'll love Unconventional Denver. Here's what one of their leaders, Tim Simons, had to say:
We don't want history to remember the Democratic National Convention in Denver as something that went smoothly.
Okay. From the Post story, it's hard to tell what UD stands for, other than making things difficult at the convention. According to their website, they're a local affiliate of Unconventional Action. Their platform?
*Reject all forms of hierarchy including capitalism, party communism, patriarchy, white supremacy, colonialism, and so-called representational politics
*Organize on a non-hierarchical, consensus-based basis that promotes autonomy, solidarity, grass-roots involvement, and the agency of those most affected by each decision
*Embrace a diversity of tactics
*Do not condemn any action on the grounds that it is illegal alone
Okay! So it doesn't sound like they have any particular set of issues they're fighting for. It's more like a world view that opposes hierarchy and capitalism, which probably describes 99% of the organizations in the United States today. So I'm not sure what the Democratic Party could do that would satisfy them, since the party is, by its nature, hierarchical (although probably less so than the Republican Party), and since the convention is a meeting of its elected leadership.

What kind of turnout will they get at their protests? I am very curious.

UPDATE: OMG, Unconventional Denver has a poster out that lists their agenda for the convention week. The schedule for Thursday, August 28th?
Media Savvy Actions: End White Supremacy!
They're going to end white supremacy by protesting the nomination of an African American for president. This is friggin' great.

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