Let's be clear. Antifa is NOT, I repeat, NOT the "newest incarnation of RESYST!". We're an anti-fascist group that has very strong feelings about this movement which uses gaybashing as a power grabbing tactic. We feel this nascent fascism must be confronted with more militant tactics than some singing and sign holding.

The condescending tone you take in both this and your earlier post ("the trespassers", "ill-advised") is proves to me that you are in fact, not an ally, but merely a "psuedo-ally". Our movements intersect, but they are not the same. I believe that this rally had no place in our city and community and that it was our responisbility to do our best to see that it was disrupted. You believe that this rally had no place in our city and community but can't seem to take that point to it's logical conclusion that we should do everything in our power to see that it doesn't.

--A member of Pittsburgh Antifa, not speaking for the group

Clear? I don't think so MaryLouise.

Anti-fascist is good. We agree that Dobson's rally should have no place in OUR community of Pittsburgh.

We also strongly believe that the mayor should have had the testicles to say "go away -- we do not tolerate those who preach hate in our city".

As to "militant tactics", your group didn't "disrupt" anything. The event went on as planned with the Dobson people laughing at you. If you HAD kept the idiot from speaking, or caused people to be so embarrassed by their ignorance and UNCHRISTIAN actions that they left without hearing the idiot THEN you disrupted something. If you had shot him dead so that his creator could bitch-smack him sooner rather than later -- THEN you would have disrupted someting and made a statement that would be heard around the world (i.e. your 15 minutes of fame). {Note: I am NOT recommending or suggesting that you should be shooting people.}

So please, Mary, don't try to lay claim to "militant" actions when you are too limp wristed to hold a peaceful sign or can't sing a song other than "poor misunderstood me".

If you are a proud gay person, be OUT, be intolerant of discrimination, and for mercy sake don't post stuff anonomously. Have some balls (or tits) and be proud enough to use your real name so that your true friends will be proud that you speak out about issues.

As another Antifa individual who was present last night, I'd like to call into question one sentence there:

As to "militant tactics", your group didn't "disrupt" anything. The event went on as planned with the Dobson people laughing at you. If you HAD kept the idiot from speaking, or caused people to be so embarrassed by their ignorance and UNCHRISTIAN actions that they left without hearing the idiot THEN you disrupted something.

To be perfectly honest, that is more of a critique of efficiency than actual tactics, and one that we accept readily. To be honest, the effort was a little discombobulated, and we didn't go nearly as far as we desired, but that's not for lack of trying, at least. While I agree that any broad movement not only has space for a variety of tactics, no, requires such a diversity, I don't think your marginalizing of groups that are essentially in agreement with you is exactly productive.

I do believe that the person you responded to initially was more than a little brash, aggressive, but it's a frustration cultivated of dealing with condescension the likes of which you've thrown out in this entry, this effort to disassociate yourself and take some phony moral highground.

Let's face it, friend, people who attended this rally aren't going to have their minds changed either way. Standing back and singing "We Shall Overcome" may make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, but if it's inefficient, it is such by design. Your necks are not on the line, it's a great, circular pity party.

So by all means, criticize the effectiveness of the tactics, but at least we're willing to stick our necks out to try and affect real change, not stand back and essentially engage in inoffensive, emotional masturbation.

For the record, I'm not even a homosexual, but the cause here is important enough to go beyond issues of sexual identity.

Love and solidarity,

Adam, Antifa participant.

And for the record, interestingly enough, I was the person who ended up holding the "FEED DOBSON TO THE LIONS" sign mentioned in the PG. I can't take credit for its creation, though.

Dear Adam:

My response WAS to the child you mentioned in your response.

However, when YOU have personally been discriminated against, imprisoned, lost your job, and experienced all the other reality lovelies of those who claim to be Christian but practice hate, then and only then can you claim that I marginalize or have a phony moral high ground. Until you have walked in my shoes, don't claim that I "stand back and essentially engage in (oh dear, I LIKE this one) emotional masturbation". You have NO CLUE what some of us "experienced" people have been through.

Bravo for you to be straight but supportive -- it shows intellect.

People want to sing, chant, hold signs... let them -- if that's what makes them feel good. Maybe a mental masterbation chant?

Getting yourself arrested or beaten up by the police doesn't bode well on a resume for any real job above entry level ESPECIALLY when you achieved NO RESULTS (boondoggle or not). Besides, battle scars can be pretty ugly.

You are right though -- you will rarely change the minds of the fools that listen to and support idiots like Dobson.

You need to attack where it hurts the most -- in the pocketbook. You need to find a way and avenue to eliminate their tax-exempt status and the main stream of their source of income.

Remember the words of Sinclair Lewis (for those youngsters or non-college grads out there, he's been dead awhile):

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."

Nice to hear from the aging, misogynist queen, straight out of central casting. It's good to know that there are walking stereotypes willing to come out of the antique store for an evening to sing showtunes.
Go walk your yorkie-poo.

How BUTCH of you Miss Anonymous. You ASS/U/ME my age to be a negative, stereotype me, ass/u/me that I can sing (I can't) and have such a queenie dog as a yorkie.

You are no better than the Dobsons of the world. You assume that you know something that you haven't ever experienced in your life. It's people like you that would make a GREAT sissy in prison -- even for us aging misogynist queens from central casting. So make sure that the police don't drag you downtown and throw you in a jail cell with a MAN.

You all want some SERIOUS advice?
Attend these religious freak meetings with a recorder then
USE the law to achieve your results: File an official complaint with the IRS and attack their tax-exempt status when they "support" a political candidate or ticket. (It is a serious violation which can get their tax-exempt status revoked.)

Cut off their supply of money in every way possible.

THAT is how you will win against these freaks that don't practice what they preach: Christianity -- the biggest insult to the creator.

I am the organizer for the STANDING WITH ALL FAMILIES presence and I would like to make a couple of points of clarification. I will begin by saying what I'm not going to do, I am not going to engage in a public argument and I am not going to engage in name-calling. This response is for clarification to the wider community. I have also put out an invitation to ANTIFA to sit down with me to talk and hope I will be met on that in the near future.

1) Our efforts require diversity. From the beginning, after reading in the City Paper that ANTIFA planned to use "angry, confrontational tactics" (their words) I began to try and be in touch with them so we could talk about my bottom line concern which was to keep children I knew would be down there with me and other parents safe. The police have been all over tactics like those used by ANITFA in past dissent actions in Pgh, bystanders have been bitten by police dogs, people have been whacked with nightsticks. I had a right to try to hold the line on keeping children safe and whatever tactics chosen by any diverse groups down there needed to keep this in mind also, I feel. Raising the aggression level beyond a certain point when kids are around is irresponsible. (believe me, my biggest fear was the protective mama-bear dykes calling me saying "are my kids gonna be safe?!" I'm afraid of you mama-bear dykes!)

2) Never, and if you read my info on the STANDING WITH ALL FAMILIES web site you will see this, did I try to dictate what ideology the event should have. The decisions made by my committee on tactics to use were made after an open call to a meeting to the wider glbtq and straight allies community and after consensus decision making at our planning meeting. I tried to decribe the tactics we chose as one of creating light rather than creating heat but also allowed that not all groups would agree with us. As many threads as possible were brought into the goals my committee chose and any threads left out were because those groups did not come to the planning table. The short time we had to work with was a part of that I am sure. This whole thing came together in two weeks.

3) SInce when did I ever use the word "passive?" I did, however, use words like relentless determination and creative. Alot of what I hoped to happen at the "Presence" didn't because people pulled out due to safety concerns and I could only do so much that day. For alot of people that did come down that day, it was their first ever dissent action and just showing up was "putting their necks on the line." I also, as a lesbian, put my neck on the line every frickin' day of my life so don't ever accuse me of not being willing to do that. I'm smart about how I do that, though.

4) This event was, I need to remind everyone, just one piece of a two week series of responses which were always part of a much larger agenda on my part. There's alot in the pipeline for glbtq equality in Pennsylvania, I was always keeping focused on my goal of bringing our allies into the efforts and bringing the media into the efforts to speak in solidarity that we and our families are valuable. I could not be happier with my feelings that that was accomplished. These efforts were only just a first step so never, ever, assume that a measured response on my part is passive. I'm pretty determined and have long-term goals in mind. This was just laying groundwork. I hope that a piece of groundwork that can now be laid in bringing ANITFA to the table as well. Safety is also a bottom line I will hold. Property destruction is always something I will not support. Other than that, differences in ideas can be really fun and valuable and allow for even more creativity and impact. But not if we don't talk or stay smart.

PS, at the end of the day, James Dobson got a clear message from his poor attendance and our strong media response and efforts that Pittsburgh won't sit idly by while glbtq people are demonized. This was the first ever rally they held in the North and they stated they were watching closley to see the response. I think they got the clear message....not gonna work here. NOw let's all turn our energies to these November elections and help LibertyPA out, shall we?

Well Dana,

I for one am not suprised that you don't want to have a public argument. There was too much indefensible manipulation and inappropriate behavior on the part of you and other members of the coalition for that to be a smart move. Great harm has been done to any possible solidarity between radical queers and more mainstream faith based lbqtq activists. And it is not the fault of youth involved in antifa. It's a real shame because radical queers have been able to work with more liberal groups in the past.

I've been involved in anti-war, global justice, queer, movements for 8 years and this was the worst example I've ever witnessed of liberal groups utter inability to work with anyone but themselves and to bully others to try and get thier way. I say this after having been involved in probably 120 protests and mobilizations that have involved a wide variety of groups and opinions.

You talk about keeping people safe? You were across the street behind police barricades! You couldn't have been more safe. Seperated from us by a street. The only people who have been impacted by the police at local protests have been those who choose to participate in unpermitted civil disobedience or direct action events.

I would challenge you to name an instance where people have been attacked who were not participating in an explicitly advertised direct action. The Aug 20th counter-recruitment event, the March 20th 2003 anti-war event? Both those were illegal actions that took the street and blockaded things. People participating knew there was a risk and they took it, note this doesn't justify the illegal brutality used against them. You won't be able to name anything like what you described because this was never about safety, it's about power and your desire to see this event happen the way you wanted it to so that your messaging wouldn't be compromised.

You also seem to have an inability to understand consensus process and organizing diversity. Just because you called a meeting doesn't mean anyone who doesn't participate loses the right to hold protests as they see fit. First, we started organizing before we knew anyone else was doing anything. I don't know what date you started getting ready for Dobson, but for us it was about a month before the event. When we found out about the coalition we passed on getting involved because we aren't primiarly christians and our main issue is not getting the state to sanction same sex marriage privilages. Forming a coalition doesn't give you any type of authority over others or any ability to form guidlines for anyone but yourself.

I am not wanting a public argument because those tend to be unproductive. You and I and hopefully others in Antifa can productively sit down, talk about what worked and didn't work, and then move forward I think. You raise alot of questions/concerns in your response that I would like to respond to but I need more clarification. I am not trying to dictate what you do, but do feel my need for safety was violated. Had I not tried to contact you at all prior, then you could easily accuse me of being manipulative. But I tried in as many ways as possible to talk with you beforehand to hear what your needs were and clarify my own but was met with only silence. I'm going to check your yahoo group where I have also out an invitation to a meeting out there to see if that is something that can happen. I hope it can. -Dana

If you didn't want a public disagreement you shouldn't post a piece that is such a clear distortion of what occured. Don't say I don't want to argue all the while you go out of your way on various websites to propogate a fundamentally untrue and distorted narrative of what occured. Such as the after event effort to reframe things as if your one and only issue was these legitimate safety concerns about children being injured and no one would address when in fact much of what you previously stated had to do with your/coalition fears that YOUR messaging would contaminated by our actions and untruths about our group. This radical queer doesn't have an interest in siting down. The important thing was how people handled things prior to this event and at the event. Damage has been done, fine. We all learn, we all move on, and hopefully we'll all do things better next time. All that needs to be said has been said. Lets all get back to work on our various organizing projects to fight the right.

We bash back: Pittsburgh Radicals Confront Christian Fundamentalist RallyReport from Anti-fascist bloc at "Focus on the Family"

On September 20 Pittsburghers saw first-hand the growing power of Christian fundamentalism as right-winger James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family Action, mobilized 3,000 for the local stop of his benign sounding "Stand for the Family" rallies. Billed as a mainstream event to talk about Christian values it was in fact an event meant to legitimize the ascendance of the hard right, aid Rick Santorum's re-election campaign, and mobilize Christian voters in general.

By seeking to merge nationalism, militarism, and Christian identity Dobson and his group are but one in a number of Christian groups working to incrementally seize state power. The ultimate goal they and other Christian Dominionists hold is of a Christian dominated government actively working to create their version of a purified society.

The event did not go unopposed. The following is a report back from Pittsburgh Antifa, a group of local antifascists who organized a pink-purple-black bloc to attempt to disrupt the event and directly confront attendees. Participants included anarchists, radical queers, and allies.

What Happened:
Led by a banner reading "Smash Christian Fascism", thirty activists marched on Mellon Arena, swarming the Gate 3 entrance. Signs included "feed Dodson to the lions", "Fuck Christian Fascists", "Anarchist Lions Against Christian Fascists", and "Resyst Hetero-Normativity, from Reparative Therapy to Assimilation". Security and three police officers' efforts to stop the group were futile as people pushed through to the doors. We eventually moved onwards towards the main entrance at Gate 1, at which point the bloc encountered around ten security guards and one Pittsburgh police officer. From its position around 35 feet from the entrance the bloc attempted to push through, meeting severe resistance. Security grabbed and violently assaulted one person trying to walk around them as they sought to stop forward movement. As an arrest was attempted two activists intervened and a violent confrontation ensued between the bloc and security. The activist was freed while a back and forth over the banner resulted in its destruction. Numerous security attempts to seize a red and black flag pole were successfully resisted. One particularly violent guard, Jim, kneed people in the stomach, punched people in the chest, violently assaulted at least six people, and threatened folks with banter such as "I'm going to fuck you up".

Although unprepared for the level of violence from security, participants did fight back with whatever means available. During the most severe of the fighting and un-arrests Pittsburgh police arrested two activists who'd been caught up behind the rest of the action. No one else realized what had happened until they were sitting down, with masks pulled down, being questioned.

Thanks to a recent decision by the state court system on how to deal with minor charges the two arrestees were released around 30 minutes later with a citation for disorderly conduct. Pepper spray in their possession was returned, a dildo brought as a prop suffered a different fate and was seized by the police- who hopefully made good use of it that night.

As more Pittsburgh police arrived on the scene it became clear the bloc could not reach the gate and participants moved to verbally confront attendees. Generally screaming at and getting in the faces of those attempting to walk in as the goal was to harass attendees as much as possible. This disturbed many attendees, with response including being defiant, embarrassed and avoiding eye contact, or engagement trying to tell the bloc "we're just loving Christians who want to support families" These responses indicated that at least some of the participants were naive or simply unaware of what they were getting into.

One soft-spoken woman approached one protester to say that she wasn't anti-gay, to which the protester responded by saying even if she wasn't; her attendance at this rally was legitimizing and endorsing the views and efforts of Dobson and company. After conversing about the violence used to protect the event she indicated she'd pray for the protesters' safety, and the protester of course indicated he'd pray for her to stop supporting Christian extremists.

Why we did what we did and what our perspective on resistance is:
Dobson and the rising power of right-wing Christian fundamentalism is a real threat to our personal and collective freedom and safety. These people have a great design for the future of this country and they are incrementally seizing power while the mainstream left neither recognizes the threat nor is preparing to face it. As queer and non-queer radicals of different persuasions the only message we were trying to send is that our years of meekly appealing to others for help is over. We will bash back, we will defend ourselves against those seeking to harm us, we will fight for our personal and collective freedom, and most importantly we are committed to organizing and growing our movements so that our destiny and safety is in our own hands rather than the governments or liberal organizations who claim to be our allies.

Our relationship to the "presence" organized primarily by liberal Christians (although they claimed they were secular):
There was not a uniformity of perspective within local movements on how to respond to this event. Predominantly mainstream liberal Christians, under the initiation of the SW chapter of the Marriage Equality project, formed a coalition which eventually settled on a variety of events from a candlelight vigil to a forum. The centerpiece of their mobilizing was a "presence" outside the Mellon Arena, which they explicitly stated was not a protest, as they felt presence had a more positive light. Despite their later statements we did in fact start organizing before we were aware of any other efforts.

When we found out about their plans we did not join the efforts because we disagreed with the group over its strategic choices and as a group including non-Christians and Atheists we felt uneasy about what we viewed as the religious connotations. Although they were not explicitly a Christian group the very Christian rhetoric that underscored their approach was alienating to many of us and the focus on state sanctioned marriage equality (rather than on liberation and rights for all) was something we were uncomfortable with.

Mainly though, from our perspective respectful responses were not appropriate given the nature of the event. We did not want our presence to legitimize the 'stand for the family' rally or its message. We did not want attendees to think our opposition was like that of a democrat candidate versus a republican, where it's just about some simple disagreement on policy. That rally was a threat to our freedom and our ability to exist.

Still, we absolutely respected their right to structure their events as they saw fit even if we found their guidelines restrictive of individual freedom, did not bash them in the media, and did not discourage people from participating in their actions. Such a large event left open the possibility of a diversity of tactics.

From the beginning the coalition adopted a fairly hostile attitude towards our organizing, which increased as the event drew nearer. Our main complaints with how we were treated were not about genuine disagreements over tactics and strategies but rather the actions and attitude members of the coalition adopted due to these differences. Basic issues of respect for other groups/efforts and for the movements we are part of were violated.

Entirely inappropriate actions and behavior by members of the coalition included, while not indicative of official coalition positions these actions set the tone for interaction:

- Manipulatively threatening to cancel their entire event if we went ahead with our plans
- Claiming we were putting other people in danger
- Spreading disinformation about us--questioning how many of us were really "gay"
- Manipulatively saying that the fact their coalition made decisions by consensus, and that their meetings were open to everyone, they somehow had a legitimate right to determine how any protest events were structured.
- Warning people about participating in our event


These things unfortunately very much engendered mistrust and have un-necessarily widened age, tactical, and other pre-existing divisions within our communities. Still the important lesson to take is that it is critically important that radicals do no give in to cynical and manipulative behavior by those who should be our allies. We already lack much of the privilege and resources others have, we need not also moderate ourselves to the detriment of achieving our objectives. We've come too far, waited too long, and fought too hard, often just to survive as who we are, to give in now.

Organizational Notes:
Organizationally there was a lot to learn from this event. As a new group made up primarily of individuals from other groups we didn't have the communication channels, organizational resources, or people connections which would have made our efforts (and the action itself) go a bit smoother. With about 1/3 of participants being generally new to radical protests we lacked the experience of some previous blocs in Pittsburgh on handling conflict. Much of our energy in the preceding weeks, hours of time that otherwise would have gone to planning, was also spent dealing the liberal coalition. Some of the things we hoped to see occur; a pre-event meeting, more brainstorming about chants, back-up plans in case of police violence, all fell by the wayside in the rush to take care of other needs. All in all we feel we did adequate with the resources we had. Hopefully with the connections made at this event, and the lessons we learned, next time can be even more effective.

In solidarity,
Pittsburgh Antifa

You can contact us at:
antifa_pgh@yahoo.com
http://antifa.activeresistance.org