An-Archos; No Ruler

Since I've used the word anarchy here, specifically Christian Anarchist, something needs to be said concerning the demonstrations outside the RNC convention in St. Paul, Minnesota and the so-called anarchists there and how I view them.

First, what exactly IS happening there? I direct your attention to a few links.

This reporter claims to have been embedded with the trouble making "group" all day. Most were an assortment of pacifists, anti-war protesters and left-wing activists who were peacefully protesting and demonstrating which is well within their right to do. When a handful of "kids" began to knock over newspaper stands and sidewalk garbage cans (That's showing the MAN!), most in the main group stopped to pick up the mess and tell them to knock it off. Predictably, they didn't.

"On one street, a few people threw down caltrops to block traffic. One kid who looked under 20 years old jumped on top of a cop car that broke through the pedestrian barrier. Another two smashed windows of a Macy’s, First National Bank, and unoccupied cop car. However, this was the work of maybe five or so people in the breakaway protest group." - MOLLY PRIESMEYER, Minnesota Independent.

Fine, says you, but this media outlet has an agenda. Ok...

WKBT is reporting that an Associated Press photographer as well as Amy Goodman of Democracy Now fame were swept up in the police crackdown that netted over 250 arrests. They and many others were subsequently released. "St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman says the vast majority of people who marched did so peacefully. He says it's unfortunate that, quote, "those voices were somewhat muted by the criminal activities of a handful of folks." (emphasis mine)

Apparently the Connecticut Delegation came under "attack" as only Fox news could put it, while exiting a bus.

Of the groups listed as being present, only the "Funk the War" group and the "Food Not Bombs" group seems to have been the troublesome ones, and this is exactly the group the reporter above was embedded in. They were also allegedly connected to the "RNC welcoming committee" which was the focus of the police raids prior to the convention. She claims there were about 60 or so of them (compared to FOX News's 200), and of them, only a handful that were unaffiliated and claiming to be anarchists.

So, we are talking of 5-10 people along one route in a crowd of 10,000. There actions however seemed to have caused the large police force to react, and some would say overreact, and begin to forcefully clear the streets which netted many peaceful and innocent people. Many of these people are being released albeit on a case-by-case basis. They threw the net and decided to catch what they could and sort later. Lets face it, lots of people attend these things to see just what might happen, myself included. I'll refrain from commenting on the police presence, perimeter and response for now.

My concern at the moment are these anarchist/anti-authoritarian "welcoming committee" people and who are they since they have the label of anarchist?

Well, according to their website they have 6 points of unity. This is the cached version of the page in case someone pulls the site down. Here they are...
1. A rejection of Capitalism, Imperialism, and the State;
2. Resist the commodification of our shared and living Earth;
3. Organize on the principles of decentralization, autonomy, sustainability, and mutual aid;
4. Work to end all relationships of domination and subjugation, including but not limited to those rooted in patriarchy, race, class, and homophobia;
5. Oppose the police and prison-industrial complex, and maintain solidarity with all targets of state repression;
6. Directly confront systems of oppression, and respect the need for a diversity of tactics.

Having established some (by no means all encompassing) sense of the on the ground situation, I'll next take on those 6 points and more importantly what isn't in any of them.