[Peace-discuss] Last night's meeting

[Jeff Machota]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Last night's meeting
Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 12:33:53 -0700 (PDT)
From: Ricky Baldwin <baldwinricky at yahoo.com>
To: peace-discuss at chambana.net


On the issue of AWARE's name/image/publications-
I have always been an advocate of more flexibility
rather than less.  That’s why AWARE exists, in fact:
because a group of folks didn’t want to have their
hands tied by what they perceived as the PRC’s slowed
down approval processes for everything.  Linda makes
an excellent point about this.  Anarchist principles
are hard to get used to, but they have served us very
well.  We can act without going through painstaking
discussions ad infinitum, with the default always
being that nothing gets done unless folks can agree.

==================================================

Ricky and all AWARE folks,

The above statement is inaccurate and doesn't reflect the history of 
AWARE as I understand it. When Laura Haber, Peter Miller and others 
first started AWARE soon after 9/11, the PRC was invited to be a part of 
this COALITION effort. It was stressed to us over and over again by the 
initial organizers that AWARE was meant to coordinate the activities of 
other groups and only initiate activities with those groups' input.

PRC members attended those first meetings along with representatives 
from many other groups. It didn't take long for the PRC to realize that 
AWARE at that point was more a coalition of individuals than a coaltion 
of member organizations and we ceased our active participation, as did 
apparently many other groups.

If AWARE was set up as an anarchist anti-structure alternative to PRC, 
that is news to me. If it was, I'm not sure why we were invited to 
participate.

PRC is proud that our democratic, structured, disciplined approach to 
organizing and collective action has helped us to lead successful 
actions and campaigns for over 16 years. From street marches of over 
1200 people from downtown to campus, to rallies in the heart of 
homecoming, to actions at Board of Trustee's meetings, our structure has 
insured that folks can participate without fear of reprisal from those 
ideologically opposed to us and our actions,while advancing the struggle 
for social justice collectively.

Through the ebbs and flows of the movement and our organization, we 
still persist and continue to be a part of the political scene in 
Champaign-Urbana and beyond.

While working out your internal issues and while pledging your 
allegiance to anarchist priciples, please keep in mind that there is no 
need to malign other groups in the process. You are already doing a good 
enough job of self-destructing on your own.

Jeff Machota
PRC member