Student Resistance Across The U.S. Today

Students across the country are taking to direct action this week, taking the streets in the face of global capitalism at the G20, and taking over their schools in the face of capitalist crises in California.




Here is a dispatch from our UND SDS friends at the G20 in Pittsburgh:

"A march, police escalation, local kindness, and musings. And a woman named Hope

I don’t know where to start. Right now the students of the University of Pittsburgh are being attacked. Students are being held in their dorms by lines of riot cops, and I’m sitting at our friends house, legs up, ankles crossed typing this. What does that mean to anything. I don’t know. I’ll try to touch on what I experienced, what I am thinking now.

It seems indecent to try to explain the day when it is still continuing. While I get messages of what’s happening. (#g20pgh:two more arrests, cops have blocked off student dorms, using weapons) But that was the point of this blog, and I’ll continue its goals. We started the day meeting up with a student feeder march. We left the park marched along sidewalks and chanted our chants. It was hotter than it should of been. Sweat and sore feet, hills and a collecting of people at Arsenal park. A line of riot cops boxed off one side of the park, and people gathered. Seeds of peace showed up again, feed people, and the march started. (#g20pgh police dispersing folks onto forbes against traffic) We met a line of police and ended up being rerouted in the other direction. I was dismayed at the small numbers of folks at first, but the march swelled at this point. With people appearing and joining in from all directions, from house, from apartment buildings and we marched. It was alot of energy and friendly faces. We moved towards downtown and were blocked by police who threatened to use force to disperse the march. It started to break apart. You know.

Let’s move past this.

The things that happened: Gas,LRAD(Long range acoustic device:it basically screams at you, fills your head with their noise)rubber bullets, batons and splintering marches. There was more cops than protesters, there was windows broken. There was a momentary break in a park. People eating and talking, then the LRAD swinging up and being aimmed at the folks sitting in the park.(#G20pgh:student dorms blocked by police with weapons)

Walking away from the first blocade. Local folks offered us water, and their places to sit and rest. They asked us if we needed to use the bathroom. If we were alright. As we walked the local folks clapped for us, and asked us why we were there. And people explained and we thanked them. This is what I think about now. I always asked, and am always asked, what people are fighting about. What are people doing going to places and making noise and getting beat, battoned. Maybe it’s that, maybe it’s for the kindness of a woman holding a child asking us if we need to use the bathroom. And her apologizing because they turned off her power. Maybe there is something there that is being missed. Maybe there is something everywhere that we can no longer see. (#g20pgh units are responding to hotmetal bridge for reports of protesters gathering) I wish I knew.

Right now, it goes on and I’m still on this couch. Thinking about Hope asking us if we needed help. Meeting her children and shaking their hands.

NDFB

I’m tired and need to sleep. Thank you all for reading. I’ll try to write again tomorrow morning to clear somethings up. (#g20pgh: 20-30 bike cops on 6th ave &6 police vehicles on 5th ave heading towards downtown)"