Indy Media Watch

Pittsburgh Indymedia is promoting :

a non-violent day of direct action on August 20th to shutdown military recruitment in Pittsburgh. We support a diversity of tactics for this day of action. By this we mean we encourage and support any and all non-violent actions (whether symbolic, direct, passive, confrontational, etc.) taken to expose, confront, and disrupt the war machine and military recruitment in Pittsburgh.

Huh? Non-violent in shades of symbolic, direct, passive, confrontational? Are these all euphemisms for the word "but"? Or are you going to confrontationally and disruptively be non-violent? Of course you are.

Recruitment is the specific focus of our protest but there are many other war-related institutions around. We are planning the framework for this day of action in the hopes that other groups will add their creativity and unique potential to the success of these broad goals.

Which are what exactly? Apparently, by disrupting Army recruitment, and potentially affecting the country's defensive capability, they are protesting the war(?)

Whether you are committed to taking part in direct action against the war or are able to support those who are by being a supportive bystander, watching and monitoring the action of the police, videotaping and photographing the events, spreading the word, putting up flyers, contributing to bail funds or legal support, making signs or flags, bringing instruments or noise makers, you will determine to what extent this action succeeds.

Excuse me, but if it is non-violent as you insist, and a legally (which I presume it is) organized gathering, why exactly do the police need to be monitored and why will you need to gather funds ahead of time to bail people out?

Excuse my cyncism... I must look back through some of my archives for other examples of the various versions of non-violence... Let's see what happens this time.