KC Activists Takeover Local Gas Stations
Congratulations to Kansas City SDS and Code Pink for a job well done. Via e-mail from Kansas City SDS:
On Friday July 21 activists participating in a CodePink-initiated action (including local SDS members) took over three local gas stations during rush hour traffic to highlight the connection between oil consumption and American imperial policy in waging the war on the Iraqi people. Participants “shut down” the stations, telling customers the stations were closed for the day.
Fifteen participants, half on bicycle, travelled along Westport Road, stopping at three major gas stations. At each gas station, those on bicycle circled around, eventually stopping in front of the gas pumps, and placing pink “out of order” signs on them. Others passed out flyers explaining the need for the action. The speed and mobility granted by bicycle transportationa allowed the activists to stop at each station for a brief time, then moving on to the next station.
The action was highly successful in terms of providing information and shutting down strategic targets related to the war machine.
There was one arrest made as a result of the action. At the first gas station the contingent visited, an angry witness was attempting to strip an activist’s megaphone away from her, assaulting her in the process. Another activist, who was quietly taking pictures of the attack. The person attacking the activist approached the camera-holder, in the process assaulting him as well and destroying his camera.
After the action was over, the person who had attacked two activists took the police to the first person he had attacked, having told them that she had assaulted him and not-as all parties present can attest-the other way around. She was placed in a police wagon and arrested on ironically-imposed assault charges. Hours later, she was released. It is important that we support this activist-attacked by an irate witness and then falsely-accused of having assaulted him-in her defense.
In addition, the police also briefly detained one activist who was urging others to leave once the police showed up at the third and final gas station, but allowed her to leave.
This energetic and innovative action was not only a success, it was exciting and unlike any action in Kansas City in recent history.
UPDATE: CodePinkKC’s site has blog entries and comment/trackback capability. Their posts on the gas station action are here and here.
Share This
This doesn’t seem like such great activism to me. It causes hassles to ordinary working stiffs (drivers and gas station attendants) but not much to the ruling class, and it seems more likely to leave those it inconveniences with their ire (rather than their consciousness) raised.
Valid criticism, but let me please explain why I regard it as not particularly bad activism either.
The three (corporate owned) gas stations in question were in a row within approximately a three to four block area. One at a time was targeted, at any time leaving the other two open. It would seem some sort of case could be made that any disruption was rather minimal.
At each station, flyers were handed out explaining what was going on and why.
Prior to the action, the level of activity for the groups in question were much lower. This qualifies as the beginning of a campaign of more frequent and higher profile activity — “signs of life” for local anti-war radicalism, so to speak.
The action was carried out non-violently, save for (reportedly) justifiable self-defense on one participants part.
Gas stations have been a common rhetorical target of working class ire in the area.
Clearly, these targets fall under the “grey area” in the middle of the spectrum explained in Agorist Class Theory, rather than being clear embodiments of one or the other of the polar opposites at each end of that spectrum. It is my personal, and admittedly subjective, assessment that the capacity of the particular shades of grey in question were not exceeded.
All in all, not bad for ordinary leftists without libertarian input (I had client matters to attend to that day and was out of the loop on the planning process for the action. I would agree that targets more closely aligned with the ruling class would make for much *better* activism, but I don’t see much worthy of vigorous condemnation either.
Hmm, Doesn’t Quiktripp use CITGO gas?
CITGO gas comes from Venezuela, and of course, we know Hugo Chavez is the president of Venezuela, and Cindy Sheehan is Hugo Chavez’s good friend. And Cindy Sheehan is also Code Pink’s CEO. And we all know Medea is down with the socialists.
How much sense does this protest make?
“New and energetic *action* ?”
When I am not voting Democrat, I am voting Green, and live in a Blue state. If this new-active-energy thing had happened while I was trying to get home during a rush-hour-KC-summer, my assault would not have been theoretical. And I’m a guy who *agrees* with you.
And “action”. Anti-abortion protesters “blockade” and “harass” when they block private property. How come this is an “action”?
What’s good for the goose, etc.
I fail to see how they can justify their actions. They criticize the US for invading and occupying Iraq yet they feel they have the right to invade and occupy any business they want at their whim? Affecting the lively hood of the employees? Keeping people from getting through their day? People just trying to get home to their kids after a hard days work?
Sorry, wrong targets. If they want to get that message across there are better ways than being the bullies they claim to hate so much.
@martinidreams
I fail to see how they can justify their actions.
Well, the stations are corporate owned to the best of my knowledge. Most large corporations in todays business climate are de facto appendages of the government to varying degrees, as a consequence of subsidies and assorterd other political privileges granted to those corporations by the government. As such, they’re just as illegitimate to me, as an anarchist and a defender of genuine property rights, as the government.
Note that I’m only speaking for myself and not Code Pink or SDS.
Corporately owned or not, it doesn’t change the hypocrisy of their actions. To use a tactic they openly condemn others of using they become the bullies they claim to hate.
I disagree with you that corporate owned businesses are legitimate “targets” when those affected are simply employees and general public.
Code Pink screwed up any rep they had over this.
Calling it “bullying” assumes an innocent party. The stations are corporate so-called “property”, yet it is the corporate-dominated state’s war that the action was a response to. Customers may have been inconvenienced, but nobody’s actual human rights were violated — not even anybody’s property rights in an ethical sense, because there’s no such thing as a genuine corporate property right due to the alliance of corporations with the state.
Now if they had gone around spiking gas tanks on people’s cars, for example, that would be different in ethical terms and something I would condemn. Furthermore, if you’ll read further up, you’ll note that I somewhat agree with you that the gas station action wasn’t the best possible choice. That’s a PR concern rather than an ethical one, though. Clearly the gas station action has been misinterpreted as a rebuke to gas buyers — which I would never intend, regardless of what the views of Code Pink members are.
Even so, I’m generally encouraged to see more radicalism generally. The mainstream hasn’t gotten off its ass to stop this war yet. How much longer will that be the case? We shall see.
Looking back over the above, I noticed that I phrased one part poorly and want to take the opportunity to correct myself. Rather than saying that there’s “no such thing as a genuine corporate property right”, it would have been more accurate of me to say that, in ethical terms, corporate property rights are illegitimate to the same degree that particular business is a recipient of subsidies or other government privileges.