The RNC Welcoming Committee is an anarchist / anti-authoritarian organizing body preparing for the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.
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Announcements List
Stay in touch! Add yourself to our email list and get announcements and updates on the 2008 RNC by sending an email:
rnc08-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
Legal Support
If you want to get involved in legal/jail support efforts, check out Cold Snap Legal Collective. If you need jail/legal support, call the Cold Snap Hotline, (651) 356-8635. These people are amazing.
TC Indymedia
Media created by everyone can be found at tc.indymedia.org along with an Event Calendar with all local happenings tagged RNC.
—-all listed spokesouncils are slotted to happen at the Convergence Center, 627 Smith Ave., St. Paul—-
General antiRNC spokescouncil #1: Wednesday, 8/27, 7:00 pm
General Spokes #2: Saturday, 8/30, 7:30 pm (preceded by a day of sector spokes- contact convergencecenter@riseup.net to reserve space if your sector hasn’t already set something up)
On April 1, 2008, anarchists broke into the RNC Host Committee office and stole a video tour guide meant for RNC delegates. It was handed over to the RNC Welcoming Committee. In August 2008, they released it. This is that video.
Over the course of two pReNCs and many conversations surrounding plans to crash the RNC, members of the Welcoming Committee have heard a lot of interest in the possibility of creating “green space.” It is clear that there will be people arriving to protest the convention who, for a variety of reasons, need to minimize their risk of arrest as much as possible. The WC is committed to a world-altering process that allows everyone to have a voice in envisioning that which we are collectively trying to create. It is important that individuals who cannot risk imprisonment have the opportunity to participate in a meaningful way in anti-convention activities.
We recognize that on the one hand it is impossible to create a space completely outside of police threat: the very nature of the police state and the lack of respect by State authorities for ‘safe spaces’ means that no space will be completely safe. Moreover, we recognize that oppression comes from within as well as from outside and that all of us participate to some degree in systems of oppression. So no space is completely ‘green.’ However, we also recognize that it is possible to create spaces that minimize the threat of arrest and that such spaces are essential in maximizing opportunities to participate in crashing the convention.
Unfortunately, while the WC acknowledges the importance of such a space, it is beyond our current logistical capacity to organize it ourselves. We are writing to encourage individuals who are interested in the development of radical ‘green’ or ‘safe’ spaces to speak out about their visions and begin taking steps to establish them. The WC is willing to assist in networking individuals and groups working to create such spaces, in publicizing their work, and in any other way possible. Further, we have set up a discussion board, for folks interesting in this organizing to engage with each other. Anyone looking to get started is encouraged to check it out, to check out our site, and to contact us, rnc08@riseup.net.
Lastly, we want to encourage folks coming to the Twin Cities to be involved in various lower-risk public demonstrations and marches already in the works, including the anti-war march on Day One and the Poor People’s March on Day Two. These activities provide a way for all types of folks to be involved, with plenty of room for creative radical presence. Participating in or supporting any one activity- including the blockading strategy- does not rule out the possibility of participating in any other.
2008 Republican National Convention "officials" have announced that they reserved "more than 16,000 hotel rooms in 101 area hotels" for convention delegates, media, and other glitterati. The biggest, best, and most expensive of these accommodations will go to John McCain and George Bush, who will relax in their private jacuzzis all night with their business cronies. Far more importantly though, there will also be tens of thousands of protesters in the Twin Cities expressing both their dissent and their personal commitment to real grassroots change. These protesters can’t depend on the GOP machine to house them and provide 24 hour room service; instead they will look to something far more powerful, less susceptible to corporate interests, and feared by the Department of Homeland Security: an elusive quality known only as "Minnesota Nice". [Read more →]
Need something to play at the infoshop? Trying to convince a friend that anarchists are friendly folk? Wondering about Johnny Cash’s take on the black question?
Now you can download our hour-long radio show that aired live on KFAI in the Twin Cities last Sunday. We talked about what the RNC is from an anti-authoritarian perspective, discussed why and how we want to crash it, and threw in a skit involving our favorite fair and balanced news channel addressing some common misconceptions about anarchist organizing. And of course, we played plenty of convention-crashing music.
You’re free to use the show according to your dreams and desires; we simply ask that if you’re rebroadcasting it, you be sure to credit the AMAZING all-volunteer team at KFAI community radio in Minneapolis, www.kfai.org, who not only engineered a mighty fine show, but also dealt swiftly with a little bit of last-minute excitement!
Either the show was so thrilling or it was such a slow news day - likely, a combination of both - that it made Fox News nationwide the next morning. (All the traffic from recent media attention was the major cause of this week’s website problems - it’s getting fixed and we’re sorry.)
You can download the show as an mp3 or stream it by going here. Tell your friends!
The RNC Welcoming Committee is calling for a meeting of all Twin Cities radicals interested in working to combat rape culture and deal with sexual assault within the context of the 2008 Republican National Convention.
Sexual assault happens every day. It happens within our own ‘radical’ community and will happen during the RNC whether we are aware of it or not. With the large influx of people into the twin cities around the RNC it would be irresponsible not to plan for them as our cities play ‘host’. It is our hope that this meeting will be a space for folks of varying levels of experience in dealing with these issues to converge and, together, develop ways to address them as a community over the next weeks, during the RNC, and beyond.
The RNC-WC is committed to the long-term work of dismantling rape culture, but this is not something that can be accomplished by any single group of people. While recognizing the need to do this work in our own group, we seek to participate in a broader community struggle and our hope is that this meeting will be a meaningful step in that process. (This discussion will not be facilitated by the Welcoming Committee.) We are asking for this meeting as members of the radical community and do not seek to direct the conversation, only to start it.
The pReNC 5.3 is the second national gathering for planning radical resistance to the 2008 Republican National Convention. It will take place on May 3rd in the Twin Cities. [Read more →]
RNC WELCOMING COMMITTEE ORDERS TASERS FOR EVERY PROTESTOR
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL - The RNC Welcoming Committee (RNC-WC), an anarchist and anti-authoritarian organizing body based in the Twin Cities, announced today that it has ordered tasers for each of its members and friends. The announcement comes on the heels of last month’s St. Paul City Council approval of a St. Paul Police Department (SPPD) request for 234 tasers. Due to a unique corporate-anarchist confidentiality agreement, the exact number of tasers or documentable evidence of this new order will not be disclosed. [Read more →]
