I read this honest report back written by Julian Ichim about a G20 defendant’s court appearance and was struck by many of the points he raised.
Sure, as the personal and political often share a bed, Ichim’s bias in this case needs to be stated — he writes of the court experience of his fiancée Kelly Pflug Back — the troubling questions he raises about the “luxury” of pick and choose solidarity are real.
In this blog hosted by the Toronto Media Co-op, he writes: “Sitting in court today, watching my fiancée Kelly Pflug Back, a community activist of many years, who is facing charges stemming from the g20, i was surprised to look around the court room and see that other than myself there was only one other person there for support. Being part of the activist community for about 15 years, i am used to seeing packed court rooms and all sorts of solidarity for people facing political charges.
During a smoke break with Kelly and her surety, i brought up this fact and she stated that she wasn’t surprised at all. Since her house arrest most of her ‘allies’ have not visited, phoned or even emailed her. A group that she helped create, Sense of Security (SOS), split along class lines around the issue of supporting her and the issue of militancy. Many of her former comrades who have known her for a long time are now denouncing her and many of those who do ‘support’ her don’t even have time to send her an email.”
You can view the rest of the blog here.
I know I was writing about this topic myself last year (closer to the summit) and expressing my fears of drop-off solidarity through my Communiqués.
In my G8/G20 Communiqué: The importance of jail solidarity, I wrote: “There were 1,090 arrests at the G20 Summit protests, making these protests the largest example of mass arrest in Canadian history. More than 700 of those taken to the Eastern Avenue Detention Centre were later released without charges, but that still leaves the activist community to deal with hundreds who are facing single or multiple charges. People who badly need support.
Of course the risk here is to declare the Summits over and have everyone return to their daily lives, forgetting that just a few days ago this city was a police state.
Or the risk is that activists will wipe their hands clean of the arrests as if they can morally claim that everyone charged with a crime had to be a member of the Black Bloc (it’s the whole ‘Good Protester / Bad Protester’ argument).“
Above all else, this Communiqué is meant to provoke thought, not feelings of guilt. I also feel Ichim wants to provoke thought and debate among activists, not as a shaming mechanism (directed towards Kelly or us allies) but a help facilitate a truer understanding of what it means when we take to the streets and shout: So-So-So-Solidarity and yet shut that echo out of the rest of our lives.
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