susan greene
Self-doubts paralyze activists
By Susan Greene
Denver Post Columnist
Article Launched: 09/21/2008 12:30:00 AM MDT


Mark Cohen is in a funk.

It was the Sunday before the Democratic National Convention during an anti-war rally the veteran activist had spent 18 months organizing. From the steps of the state Capitol, he was discouraged to see only a few hundred protesters.

Cohen — co-founder of the group Recreate 68 — had cut his teeth decrying the Vietnam War and always believed in the power of taking to the streets.

Now he's not so sure.

"Because we're the home-field activists, we felt we had to organize a march for the DNC or else people would say Denver doesn't care about the war," he said. "But mass marches don't work any more. Politicians don't perceive any kind of threat from our actions."

Glenn Spagnuolo, Recreate 68's louder-mouthed co-founder, voiced his own angst in his post-mortem:

"In the end, what did we accomplish? Not much. Do I feel like we influenced the Democratic Party at all? No. . . . I'm done with that type of protest."

The self-doubts of two of Denver's best-known protesters may be met with smugness by city officials, Barack Obama supporters and law-and-order ideologues irked by lefty dissent — however anemic — in August.

Even activists are pointing fingers.

Many blame the less militant among them for cowering in the face of police overpresence or wimping out for fear of eroding support for Obama.

Some blame a sense of powerlessness about a war that most Americans oppose. Some point to apathy in a town that got more worked up over a Rockies playoff game last fall than the deaths of 4,100 soldiers.

Others cite infighting in the activist community, faulting Cohen and Spagnuolo for harkening back to protests in Chicago in 1968 rather than pushing a more current agenda. After all, some note, the immigrant-rights movement managed to turn out 75,000 Denverites on a workday in 2006.

But all that misses the point.

In a time of war and economic tumult, when gas prices, foreclosures and joblessness are rising, it seems an odd time for so many in Denver's activist left to be paralyzed by self-doubt. Frustrated peaceniks, anarchists and other liberals who have given up on the Democrats and failed to build up a viable third party are struggling with where to take their activism.

"Since the DNC I keep wondering why wasn't it better, what did we do wrong, what do we do next?" said Cohen, 62.

Even young activists are questioning their future on the streets.

"At the end of the day, the only people who heard us were the riot cops. We need to figure out a different formula, something that's more inspiring to people," said 22-year-old Recreate 68 leader Carlo Garcia, one of roughly 150 protesters arrested in August.

This week marks the midway between the convention and the perennial uprising against Italian-Americans' Columbus Day parade in Denver.

While the American Indian Movement meets today to set its plans for October, some core activists who back the group say enthusiasm for a mass protest is lower than ever. There are rumblings about a small, direct action blocking the parade, or even skipping a protest.

"The question is whether it's worth our time, energy and resources to scream at a blind and deaf infrastructure," said AIM leader Glenn Morris.

"But let me be clear," he added. "Surrender is not one of our options."

Susan Greene writes Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Reach her at 303-954-1989 or greene@denverpost.com




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Perhaps Cohen, Morris, Spagnuolo and their not-so-silent partner, Ward Churchill, need to consider whether their arrogant and thuggish leadership style drove would-be participants away. That is not leadership. To use the word activist to describe them also is a misnomer. They never clearly articulated what it was they were protesting and so came off looking like what they are, a creepy group with few followers who wanted to protest for no apparent reason. Compare that to the march of the veterans against the war.

To represent themselves as "activists" is a gift to the right wing who can hold up these parodies and say, See? This is what an activist looks like. They may as well be working for the Republicans or the FBI.

Carol Kreck
Joined: Apr 6
Points: 260 Permanent link to this commentCarol Kreck (aka Carol Kreck) | 12:54 PM on Sunday Sep 21
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Carol Kreck you have no idea what you're talking about. The only reason your The Alliance for Real Democracy (aka TARD) had a march was because people came to a Rage Against the Machine concert. R68 had many committed activists who articulated radical and progressive ideas and goals, not just some pop music fans. And not some non-profit employees who get symbolically arrested because it doesn't cost them anything and makes the participants feel good. You might as well be working for the cops in directing people to your pathetic acts that continue business as usual.

Vassili S
Joined: Sep 21
Points: 110 Permanent link to this commentVassili S (aka vasily) | 9:08 PM on Sunday Sep 21
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Carol Kreck wrote:...They never clearly articulated what it was they were protesting and so came off looking like what they are, a creepy group with few followers who wanted to protest for no apparent reason. ...

Amen.
People are motivated either by logic or personality. In this case, there were no personality issues so there had to be some kind of logic behind the protests.

It's possible that some people don't like Obama or Clinton for personal reasons but there just wasn't anything that they had done to justify any passion against them. No need to protest.

Since the Democratic party didn't start any wars, didn't oversee any economic crises (recently) and had not actually been in charge of much for years and years, there was no LOGICAL reason to take part in any protests.

william
Joined: Jun 11
Points: 8725 Permanent link to this commentwilliam (aka doh) | 9:07 AM on Monday Sep 22
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D. Vassili S, Recreate 68 tried to get Public Enemy to do a free show for them. They failed. So now you say a crowd drawing free concert is a bad tactic? Sounds like a classic case of "sour grapes".

Music is a viable way to influence groups of people. These lines from the Beatles were for people like Glenn Spagnuolo, Ben Whitmer, Ward Churchill, et al:

You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it's evolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know that you can count me out

You say you got a real solution
Well, you know
We'd all love to see the plan
You ask me for a contribution
Well, you know
We're doing what we can
But when you want money
for people with minds that hate
All I can tell is brother you have to wait

You say you'll change the constitution
Well, you know
We all want to change your head
You tell me it's the institution
Well, you know
You better free you mind instead
But if you go carrying pictures of chairman Mao
You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
all right, all right
all right, all right, all right

How can you say R68 had many committed activists when their meetings attracted only about 30 people? Only R68 knows the Alliance for Real Democracy as "TARD". Their inability to work with other groups put R68 on display as a group of arrogant, name-calling kids "with minds that hate". Even true believers wouldn't want to be associated with that nonsense. R68 encouraged their ranks to beg money from their parents! They know their membership and they are nothing but priviledged kids who haven't found a way to cut the apron strings.

How many R68 activists also work for non-profits? Who will pay for legal assistance and fines for Carlos Garcia?

Laurie M
Joined: Sep 22

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