Either there are some members of the Occupy movement who didn't get the memo about non-violence, or there are possibly agents provocateur in their midst. As we learned from the punking a year ago February of Governor Walker where he thought he was talking to one of the Koch brothers, putting people in place to act badly to discredit movements they don't like is something of which they approve.
I emphatically condemn any and all violence associated with May Day protests Regardless of who does it, for what justification, it is wrong. It appears to be condemned and repudiated by the Occupy Movement, categorically.
International Workers Day is the OTHER celebration. It's celebrated in more than 80 countries world wide, and primarily focuses on labor movements. In the case of the Occupy Movement, they seem to have taken this as their umbrella date to launch the spring 2012 protest cycles.
Like the Occupy Movement which took off world-wide after starting here in the U.S. in New York City, May Day ALSO started in this country, in Chicago, They even have their own Roman Catholic saint for the day.
Rather than try to write a comprehensive summary of International Worker's Day, I'll simply give you the appropriate U.S. section of the wikipeia entry, because this happens to be a very good one. Unfortunately, riots because of extreme repression and exactly the same kind of vast gaps in wealth due to the uber-rich creating an unequal and uneven playing field for competition has been the cause past and present.
International Workers' Day is the commemoration of the 1886 Haymarket Riot in Chicago, which occurred after an unknown person threw a dynamite bomb at police as they dispersed a public assembly during a general strike for the eight-hour workday. In response, the Chicago police fired on the workers killing dozens of demonstrators and several of their own officers.[1][2][3][4] In 1889, the first congress of the Second International, meeting in Paris for the centennial of the French Revolution and the Exposition Universelle, following a proposal by Raymond Lavigne, called for international demonstrations on the 1890 anniversary of the Chicago protests.[5] May Day was formally recognized as an annual event at the International's second congress in 1891.[citation needed]
Subsequently, the May Day Riots of 1894 occurred. In 1904, the International Socialist Conference meeting in Amsterdam called on "all Social Democratic Party organizations and trade unions of all countries to demonstrate energetically on May First for the legal establishment of the 8-hour day, for the class demands of the proletariat, and for universal peace." The congress made it "mandatory upon the proletarian organizations of all countries to stop work on May 1, wherever it is possible without injury to the workers."[6
In many countries, the working classes sought to make May Day an official holiday, and their efforts largely succeeded. May Day has long been a focal point for demonstrations by various socialist, communist and anarchist groups. In some circles, bonfires are lit in commemoration of the Haymarket martyrs, usually at dawn.[7] May Day has been an important official holiday in countries such as the People's Republic of China, North Korea, Cuba and the former Soviet Union. May Day celebrations typically feature elaborate popular and military parades in these countries.
In the United States and Canada, however, the official holiday for workers is Labor Day in September. This day was promoted by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor, who organized the first parade in New York City. After the Haymarket Massacre, US President Grover Cleveland feared that commemorating Labor Day on May 1 could become an opportunity to commemorate the riots. Thus he moved in 1887 to support the Labor Day that the Knights supported.[8]
In 1955, the Catholic Church dedicated May 1 to "Saint Joseph The Worker". The Catholic Church considers Saint Joseph the patron saint of (among others) workers and craftsmen,[9]. Right-wing governments have traditionally sought to repress the message behind International Workers' Day, with fascist governments in Portugal, Italy, Germany and Spain abolishing the workers' holiday, the official May 1st holiday in the US being Loyalty Day, and the Conservative party in the UK currently attempting to abolish the UK's annual May Day bank holiday.[10]Continuing from wikipedia, because first the Nazis and then the Communists in Russia hijacked the date for their own political purposes, May Day has never been similarly popular here. However in THIS century, especially in nations which have participated in the Arab Spring movements, May Day has been significantly rehabilitated from those earlier political associations.
In the United States, efforts to officially switch Labor Day to the international date of May 1 have not been successful. In 1921, following the Russian Revolution of 1917, May 1 was promoted as "Americanization Day" by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and other groups as a counter to communists. It became an annual event, sometimes featuring large rallies. In 1949, Americanization Day was renamed to Loyalty Day. In 1958, the U.S. Congress declared Loyalty Day, the U.S. recognition of May 1, a national holiday; that same year, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed May 1 Law Day as well.
Some unions and union locals in the United States — especially in urban areas with strong support for organized labor — have attempted to maintain a connection with more left-wing labor traditions through their own unofficial observances on May 1. Some of the largest examples of this occurred during the Great Depression of the 1930s, when thousands of workers marched in May Day parades in New York's Union Square. Smaller far left groups have also tried to keep the May Day tradition alive with more radical demonstrations in such cities as New York and Seattle, without major union backing.
In 2006, May 1 was chosen by mostly Latino immigrant groups in the United States as the day for the Great American Boycott, a general strike of undocumented immigrant workers and supporters to protest H.R. 4437, immigration reform legislation which they felt was draconian. From April 10 to May 1 of that year, millions of immigrant families in the U.S. called for immigrant rights, workers rights and amnesty for undocumented workers. They were joined by socialist and other leftist organizations on May 1.[13][14] On May 1, 2007, a mostly peaceful demonstration in Los Angeles in support of undocumented immigrant workers ended with a widely televised dispersal by police officers. In March 2008, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union announced that dockworkers will move no cargo at any West Coast ports on May 1, 2008, as a protest against the continuation of the Iraq War and the diversion of resources from domestic needs.[15] For May Day 2010, marches were being planned in many cities uniting immigrant and native workers including New York,[16][17] San Francisco,[18] Boston,[19] Albany [20] Chicago and Los Angeles most of whom protested against the Arizona Senate Bill 1070[21] Members of Occupy Wall Street plan to hold a General Strike in 2012. [22]And as the news is coming in for the various cities where there are May Day Occupy protests, you can watch the coverage here.
No comments:
Post a Comment