MEDIA ROOTS – The upcoming G8 and NATO Summits to be held in tandem in Chicago this year between May 19 – 21, will greatly influence the direction the United States is headed in, as well as determine Americans’ democratic fortunes for generations to come.  Chicago will be the first city other than Washington D.C. to host a NATO summit, and it will be the first time in 30 years that any city has hosted the events together.

As socioeconomic pressure mounts and political ineptitude grows, the fate of America hangs in the balance.  The Occupy Wall Street Movement (OWSM) may be at a lull, but its state of hibernation shouldn’t be mistaken for an end to populist activism.  Economic conditions have not improved and U.S. citizens are becoming increasingly fearful, anxious, and desperate.   Come spring, protesters will likely start pouring into cities once again to demonstrate their dissatisfaction.  

The phrase “The Global Crossroads” stands prominently atop the Chicago G8/NATO homepage.   Are the global elite aware of just how significant this theme is for the “99%”?   The world has yet to see the conclusion of last year’s fierce spurt of democratic action when civil unrest and political activism engulfed wide swaths of the globe, and the temporary quiet could be compared as simply a two minute break in between rounds during a champion title fight.  Instead of countries in the Arab Spring having the light shed on their revolutionary processes, the United States could very well find itself on the world’s center stage this year. 

Throughout the Arab Spring phenomenon, President Obama admonished countries like Egypt, Syria, Tunisia and Libya for not protecting the civil rights of their respective citizenry and denounced every foreign leader for unleashing iron fisted tactics of repression on their own people that frequently resulted in bloodshed.  Although the United States purports to uphold these very lofty democratic protections and ideals that legitimate the moral superiority to forcefully export democracy abroad, the world began to see through this façade while observing the heavy handed police state repression against OWS protesters.  

Lt. John Pike, a.k.a. ‘The Pepper Spray Cop,’ became a notorious global icon of excessive police force against dissent in the U.S.  Unfortunately, last year’s events at UC Davis, NYC, and Oakland may have only been pre-game warm ups.  The G8/NATO Summit will put the Americas to the test, as the showdown sets up between the people’s desire to preserve and exercise their Constitutional rights versus the elites’ desire to squash them.  Just as in 1968, the whole world will be watching.

Mayor Richard J. Daley of Chicago, who branded the 1968 Democratic National Convention a day in infamy for the American psyche, is also responsible for bringing phrases like “storm troopers” and “Gestapo tactics” into the popular vernacular when referencing the police response to large rallies.  Up until 1968, the Chicago DNC riots held the distinction of being arguably the worst acts of police brutality during the 20th century.   For its time, the show of police force that Daley summoned was akin to a tyrannical regime. The book Battleground Chicago details the assembled forces of the Chicago police:

“The usual police contingent of 6,000 officers on the streets grew to 11,900 on twelve-hour shifts, up from the usual eight. The city requested the mobilization of 5,649 Illinois National Guardsmen, with an additional 5,000 on alert, bolstered by up to 1,000 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officers and military intelligence officers. Waiting for signs of trouble in the suburbs would be 6,000 army troops, including members of the elite 101st Airborne Division. The men were to be equipped with bazookas and flamethrowers.”

Although some of the protesters did antagonize the police by swearing and throwing small projectiles at them, the heavy handed police response and irresponsible conduct that resulted was completely unprecedented. Police indiscriminately beat protesters with nightsticks, sprayed them with tear gas, and trampled on people’s civil rights.

On the night of August 28, 1968, the hysteria exploded into a culmination of the infamous Hilton Hotel riots. On orders from Mayor Daley, the police were told “to shoot to kill any arsonist or anyone with a Molotov cocktail in his hand.” They rushed the crowds of protesters and unleashed a brutal onslaught of epic proportions, crushing skulls and leaving pools of blood in their wake. The mayhem unfolded in front of TV cameras as the whole world watched. Curiously, in the wake of the violent standstill, public opinion polls showed that a majority of Americans supported Daley’s tactics.

USA vs. DEMOCRACY – Chicago, Illinois 1968

Despite it being a global beacon of free speech, the United States doesn’t encourage a culture of dissent and protest, and it has a long history of quelling its political activism with violence.  Look no further than the union busting efforts of the Pinkertons in the 19th century.  From the first day we can say the word “flag,” we’re ingrained with nationalistic propaganda that the United States is an infallible and just entity, and the only option given to us as children is to toe the establishment line.

Furthermore, differences exist between the mindsets of populations in the U.S. and Europe.  Europe has a much more mature history of political unrest and revolution.  They have learned the difficult lessons we have yet to learn and as a result, European governments fear their people, whereas in the United States, people fear their government.  How much will the people fear Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago police force come May? 

For years, observers, such as economist Richard Wolff, have pointed out the stark contrast between the political diversity in European parliaments, with socialist, democratic-socialist, Greens, and other third-parties.  So, when economic meltdown occurs and austerity measures start to kick in to ‘bail out’ the banks, or siphon the people’s resources away, Europeans are more astute and well-informed to mount their resistance.  Whereas, in the US, prior to Wisconsin and Occupy, the two-party system kept everybody praying for the next election or the next saviour candidate.  Perhaps, this election year will be different with the Occupy Movement largely shunning the Wall Street Democrat Party’s overtures.

The anti-consumerist magazine Adbusters, one of the coordinators of OWS, put out a call to action to gather 50,000 protesters to descend on Chicago the weekend of the G8/NATO summit. According to their website:

“This time around we’re not going to put up with the kind of police repression that happened during the Democratic National Convention protests in Chicago, 1968 … nor will we abide by any phony restrictions the City of Chicago may want to impose on our first amendment rights.”

Unfortunately, Emanuel appears to be fervently following the lineage of Richard J. Daley by ‘rahmming through,’ if you will, a slew of draconian measures that will severely put the brakes on First Amendment rights.  Approved by the Chicago City Council in January, the new measures have affectionately come to be known as the “Sit Down and Shut Up” ordinances, already an ominous sign that points to tensions ratcheting up.  Evidently, Emanuel and other Chicago politicians have not learned history’s valuable lessons.

Some of the new “Sit Down and Shut Up” ordinances are: increased fines for civil disobedience (now $200-$1000 up from $25-$500), inclusion of passive resistance as a form of resisting arrest, the power to “deputize officers,” and requirement of $1 million in liability insurance for any large parade or protest, with each contingent needing to register one week in advance with the City.  Perhaps, the City of Chicago hopes that the increased fines will offset the enormous security costs of the event.

The total costs of the summit won’t be known until weeks after its completion.  However, the security cost is coming into focus.  To begin with, the Department of Homeland Security awarded a $54 million grant to Chicago.  The grant might only cover the basics, as there is an expectation that the host committee must additionally raise “between $45 million and $60 million in outside funds for supplemental security costs, delegation social events and related matters.”  The urgency for further financial backing may be fraying Emanuel’s nerves.  He will need sufficient funding to not only cover potential property damage but also to feed and house out-of-town cops.  Emanuel might look to corporate pockets for the extra millions needed, but is there a risk of the tab eventually being picked up by taxpayers?  He would be well-served to not drop the bill on the back of the “99%.”

Perhaps, Emanuel’s moniker of “Mayor 1%,” will be the new historical mark he’ll leave in the wake of the summit.  He’s well on his way, after receiving $4.9 million from the financial services industry for his mayoral campaign war chest.  This financial windfall continues his history as a beneficiary of the FIRE (financial, insurance, real estate) sector.  During his tenure as a member of the House of Representatives he received hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions from UBS, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Bank of America, among others.  There will clearly be a conflict of interest between his “99%” constituency and his “1%” vested interests come May, if it’s not already evident.

On the homepage of the G8/NATO summit, Mayor Emanuel states:

“Chicago is a magnet for those that think big.  There’s no better place for leaders to find solutions to the world’s biggest challenges than right here in the President’s hometown.”

Ironically, the real leaders, the ones who aren’t ideologically bankrupt or suffer from a lack of imagination, will be out in the streets and not in convention halls, fancy hotels or behind velvet ropes.  Come spring, the protesters will endeavor to water the seeds of democracy and grow organic ideals of freedom. The powers that be will try to stop this new generation of leaders with their battalions of paramilitary storm troopers, their LRADs, ADSs, and armored vehicles.

Chicago’s broad shoulders will be burdened, not only in terms of the city’s legacy, but in relation to the “global crossroads.”  How can America’s ‘Windy City’ still blow hot air about being exceptional, democratic, and free if those in power are viciously cracking down on its citizens who dare to exercise their Constitutionally-protected rights to free speech?

Democracy is not a right, it’s a privilege, and in order to maintain our rights healthy and strong, to prevent them from atrophying, they must be exercised.  The simultaneous G8 and NATO summits in Chicago will set the stage for what could be a very rambunctious summer and a scalding hot Republican National Convention in Tampa.  Despite whatever ordinances are passed, the people on the streets will not sit down and shut up.  The smallest indignity, like the one that occurred to Mohamed Bouazizi, has proven capable of catalyzing massive, widespread tilling of moribund lands, yearning for democratic change.  On December 17, 2010, Tunisian authorities confiscated Bouazizi’s fruits and vegetables and reportedly slapped him, leading him to commit self-immolation outside the governor’s office.  The first domino of the Arab Spring had fallen.  The American domino wavers, the disgruntled and angry masses will continue to fight for America, as their rights become eradicated, as their unions become busted and their public services privatized.

But will U.S. liberals and progressives line up to rationalise another four years of Obama-style US imperialism and domestic repression?  Without a radical and critical electoral analysis, protest movements render themselves supplicant, enabling an unresponsive Democrat Party to continue to handily take its constituency for granted and leave them organising another four years of protests to bemoan business as usual.

Polish activist Rosa Luxemburg once wisely said “those who do not move do not notice their chains.” So, will the chains come off or will Chicago succumb to the second pity? The stakes are high. So high that Chicago, and the fabled “city on a hill” might just come tumbling down.

Written by Adam Miezio

Photo by flickr user cikaga jamie