Webs of Power – Notes from the Global Uprising
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A DVANCE P RAISE FOR W EBS OF P OWER The grave danger we are in — of enslavement, worldwide, by the insatiably greedy — is so complex only a witch could fully comprehend, analyze, and write a spell to get us out of it. I am serious. Enter Starhawk (thank goddess!) and Webs of Power: Notes from the Global Uprising. This book tells us all we need to know about the chasm gaping at our feet. Visionary ropes are thrown in the hope that we will have sense and soul enough to swing ourselves across. — A must and soonest read. — Alice Walker, author of Anything We Love Can Be Saved and The Color Purple Webs of Power is must reading for all who would take part in the essential revolution of our time: the transition from a suicide economy to a life-sustaining civilization. Here Starhawk provides on-the-scene reports from the opening years of the global justice movement; then in a set of outstanding essays, reflects on key strategic and philosophic issues. The voice of this visionary teacher, writer, activist is unfailingly fresh in its wisdom and relevance. While refusing all dogmas, she inspires and guides with wholesome, wry authority. — Joanna Macy, author of Widening Circles Since the anti-WTO protests in Seattle, a dispersed and diverse global movement has better understood itself in the mirror of Starhawk's writings. Her essays consistently, and miraculously, combine how-to practicality with poetry and inspiration. She presents the best face of social justice and dares us to live up to it. — Naomi Klein, author of No Logo What an important book to read right now! Always on the cutting edge, Starhawk guides us this time through the labyrinthine pathways of the global justice movement. These powerful chronicles of her experiences ‘out on the streets’ — beginning with Seattle in 1999 — are an exciting read in themselves. Her observations, and her razor-sharp analysis of the converging elements involved in the protests provide a framework to see this rising, world wide movement. Starhawk's vision comes from a lifetime of service to the Earth and all living things. Clearly she understands the dynamics needed to make another world possible. — Donna Read, documentary film-maker, Women & Spirituality Trilogy: Full Circle, The Burning Times and Goddess Remembered Starhawk has done it again: merging the personal, the political, and the planetary in a seamless web of words that resemble the web of life. Do yourself a favor and read every sentence of this book; then let it guide you into being an active participant in the global values revolution that is replacing money values and violence with life values and nonviolence. — Kevin Danaher, Co-Founder, Global Exchange Starhawk is a profound example of spiritual activation — the place where mind, heart, and spirit join in sacred, conscious action. Her message on the importance of diversity in the global justice movement is timely and vitally important. This vision for a healthy world manifests into reality when we recognize that peace ON the Earth must happen as one with peace WITH the Earth. — Julia Butterfly Hill, author of One Makes the Difference and The Legacy of Luna NEW SOCIETY PUBLISHERS Cataloguing in Publication Data: A catalog record for this publication is available from the National Library of Canada. Copyright © 2002 by Starhawk. All rights reserved. Cover design by Diane McIntosh; barbed wire image © Christoph Burki/Stone; Earth image © Photodisc. Printed in Canada by Transcontinental/Best Book Manufacturers. Paperback ISBN: 0-86571-456-8 The following pieces were first published in Reclaiming Quarterly: “Cultural Appropriation,” Reclaiming Quarterly, Vol. 76, Autumn 1999; “Making It Real: Initiation Instructions, Seattle ’99,” Reclaiming Quarterly, Vol. 77, Winter 1999; “Hermana Cristina’s Well,”Reclaiming Quarterly, Vol. 78, Spring 2000; “Spirals: How to Conjure Justice,” Reclaiming Quarterly, Vol. 79, Summer 2000; “Courage and Faith in Hard Times,” Reclaiming Quarterly, Vol. 84, Autumn 2001. Inquiries regarding requests to reprint all or part of Webs of Power should be addressed to New Society Publishers at the address below. To order directly from the publishers, please add $4.50 shipping to the price of the first copy, and $1.00 for each additional copy (plus GST in Canada). Send check or money order to: New Society Publishers P.O. Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC V0R 1X0, Canada 1-800-567-6772 New Society Publishers’ mission is to publish books that contribute in funda- mental ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society, and to do so with the least possible impact on the environment, in a manner that models this vision. We are committed to doing this not just through education, but through action. We are acting on our commitment to the world’s remaining ancient forests by phasing out our paper supply from ancient forests worldwide. This book is one step towards ending global deforestation and climate change. It is printed on acid-free paper that is 100% old growth forest-free (100% post- consumer recycled), processed chlorine free, and printed with vegetable based, low VOC inks. For further information, or to browse our full list of books and purchase securely, visit our website at: www.newsociety.com NEW SOCIETY PUBLISHERS www.newsociety.com Dedicated to insurrectionists, troublemakers, peacemakers, gardeners, and volunteer firefighters everywhere. C ONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . x INTRODUCTION: THE WEB . 1 ALPHABET SOUP: THE INSTITUTIONS OF GLOBALIZATION . 9 PART ONE: ACTIONS . 13 SEATTLE . 15 How We Really Shut down the WTO . 16 What’s Wrong with the WTO . 21 Making It Real: Initiation Instructions, Seattle ’99 . 25 Hermana Cristina’s Well . 29 A16 . 35 Cutting down the Pines: Why We’re Taking Action against the World Bank and the IMF . 36 Sunday A16 . 39 Spirals: How to Conjure Justice . 45 PRAGUE . 49 Letter to the Third Element . 52 Reply to Molly Mayhem . 56 Organizing in the Face of Increased Repression . 60 BRAZIL . 63 What I Learned from the World Social Forum . 66 Brazil: The First Training . 71 QUEBEC CITY . 77 Quebec: Letter to the Pagan Listserve . 79 Weaving a Web of Solidarity: A Feminist Action against Globalization . 80 Living River Action — Quebec City . 82 The Bridge at Midnight Trembles: My Story of Quebec City . 84 Quebec City: Beyond Violence and Nonviolence . 93 GENOA . 101 Genova — Friday, 7/20 . 103 From the IMC — Saturday, 7/21 . 107 Fascism in Genoa . 110 A Woman Is Dead in Padua . 115 Why We Need to Stay in the Streets . 117 After Genoa: Asking the Right Questions . 121 Courage and Faith in Hard Times . 128 WASHINGTON, D.C., AND 9-11 . 133 Strategy for the Next Phase . 134 Hold the Vision . 137 Only Poetry Can Address Grief: Moving forward after 9-11 . 142 Spells and Counterspells: Why Act Now? . 155 PART TWO: VISIONS . 159 OUR PLACE IN NATURE . 160 THE PRACTICE OF DIRECT DEMOCRACY . 169 BUILDING A DIVERSE MOVEMENT . 179 CULTURAL APPROPRIATION . 201 “MANY ROADS TO MORNING:” RETHINKING NONVIOLENCE . 206 WHAT WE WANT: ECONOMY AND STRATEGY FOR THE END TIMES . 237 SPIRIT AND ACTION . 261 ENDNOTES . 266 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 269 INDEX . 271 ABOUT THE AUTHOR . 277 A CKNOWLEDGMENTS AS THIS BOOK CHRONICLES the growth of a movement, it is in many ways a collective story. I want to thank and acknowledge all those amazing companeras I’ve marched with and met with, laughed and cried and struggled with over the course of these last two years, especially those in the Living River and Pagan Cluster, the women’s actions, and the pink bloc of Genoa. My two training partners in RANT, the Root Activist Network of Trainers, Hilary McQuie and Lisa Fithian, have shared many of these adventures with me, and their insights and experience as organ- izers have been invaluable. Penny Livingston-Stark, my permaculture teaching partner, has brought many of the concepts in this book alive for me. Charles Williams is the best scout in the world. Oak and Revel Alliance got us all to Seattle. My partner, David Miller, is an inspiration as a true nonviolent activist and a great support. I also thank those who have taken time to read and critique parts of this book: Katrina Hopkins, Culebra, Pamela Harris, Chris Crass, Margo Adair, and Bill Aal. As well, I’m indebted to those on all sides of the nonviolence debate: George Lakey, Jaggi Singh, Bill Moyer, The black bloc, and all the rest whom I’ve learned from and argued with. My comrades in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, El Salvador, Europe, Mexico, and Quebec have broadened my perspective and allowed me to envision the possibility of a true global web of support and solidarity. My housemates and partners in crime Rose May Dance, Wilow Zacubi, and Bill Simpich are true examples of a lifelong commitment to both spirit and action. Along with Jeanne, Anna, and Seretha, they cre- ate a warm and supportive home base. Madrone, Ariel, and Mary de Danan have attempted to keep me organized. And Kore Margaret Simpich is a daily reminder of why we do this work. May she grow to womanhood in a world that can celebrate every aspect of her being and offer her abundance, liberty, and peace. Starhawk San Francisco and Cazadero, June 2002 x I NTRODUCTION: THE W EB I’M SITTING IN A COLORFUL collective flat in Montreal, on a cold January night, surrounded by women helping to plan a women’s action for the protests next April against the Summit of the Americas. “I’m tired of talking,” one woman complains. “Can’t we do some- thing different?” I pull out my drum and begin a simple beat, and a soft, wordless chant above it. We all begin to sing.