at the '99 WTO protests in seattle i experienced "anarchists" for the first time. faceless window smashers with a deep political philosophy. almost ten years later oscar grant was killed under strange circumstances by a BART police officer. the anarchists step in and smash the windows of the fruitvale BART station, site of the shooting. a discourse about non-violent protest and the overall madness of responding in "solidarity" to a shooting by smashing windows deserves a few paragraphs. someday that effort may come, but for the time being here is the anarchists statement posted on indybay.org:
In memory of Oscar Grant and all who are murdered at the cold hands of the police.
In the early hours of Thursday morning, all the windows of the North Berkeley BART station were smashed in and the name of Oscar Grant was scrawled across the walls. This action was taken out in response to the murder of Oscar Grant by BART police and in solidarity with the riots that have been taking place in Oakland. Our hope is that this action will inspire others to rise up against this atrocious police state in which we live.
This action was very easy to carry out and took no more than a few minutes to get done. We approached the BART station fully masked and carried stones, bricks, and spray paint in our gloved hands. We painted first as to not make much noise, and did so in block letters to not reveal any personal handwriting. We spent no more than 20 seconds smashing in the glass windows and then vanished into the night.
In action you see not only our obvious rage, but our chance to begin life and liberation. This is not just revenge for the death of Oscar Grant, but for all of us who suffer at the brutal hands of the cops everyday. This is revenge for every morning we are forced to wake up to this oppressive system.
Solidarity means attack. Don't get caught.
From the East Bay to Greece - WE ARE EVERYWHERE!
