In response to the May 25th killing of an unarmed man named George Floyd there have been hundreds of uprisings throughout Cascadia, the United States, and the rest of the world. Amid volleys of rubber bullets and tear gas, demonstrators have adopted the slogan “Defund The Police”: an immediate attack on the plague of US law enforcement militarization and the rerouting of funds from working class communities to police department budgets.
In Seattle, Washington we have seen weeks of uprisings with thousands of people filling the streets to face off against an over-armed police force. We have seen the Seattle Police Department (SPD) show their true face – a face of brutality and political repression – when confronted by the masses and called out on their gross violations of basic rights. We have seen the Seattle Police Department announce the end of their use of tear gas against unarmed civilians, then proceed to violate their promise to the people in less than 24 hours.
The culmination of these marches, rallies, and street clashes has resulted in the June 8th establishment of the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” otherwise known as the CHAZ. This 6 block territory of the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Seattle was born following the announced withdrawal of all SPD personnel from their East Precinct, noteworthy because control of the East Precinct had been a major objective of the demonstrations in the days leading up to the establishment of the CHAZ.
The CHAZ is a decentralized grouping of demonstrators with the broadly stated goals of rent control, de-gentrification, police abolition or defunding, funding for community healthcare, and the dropping of all charges against protesters.
Barricades have been erected at major intersections bordering the CHAZ and we have seen security teams working in an attempt to ensure the safety and security of the people inside. We have seen field hospitals set up, and even a functioning ambulance to assist occupants in need. People in the CHAZ feel a sense of power that is so rarely felt in America that they can’t help but try and preserve it.
A question that emerges among this unbridled freedom is what will become of the CHAZ? Is this a genuine working class uprising that has longevity or is this a liberal charade allowed by city administrators and the SPD?
The victory of establishing the CHAZ is questionable in and of itself, the reality is that the East Precinct was not “captured” in a similar fashion to the Minneapolis Police Departments’ 3rd Precinct. The Seattle Police announced their departure from the building well in advance of their actual exit, informing the public that they would be securing the building to prevent damage, removing any items of value, and would not tolerate any damage being done to the East Precinct. The police were permitted to make an orderly exit from the building, after which protesters rallied in the area without conflict and adhered to the SPD’s order to not damage the East Precinct. The harsh reality of the CHAZ is that its establishment was permitted by SPD and although the expiration date of the CHAZ is not known, it isn’t a stretch to assume it will be decided by when the SPD decides to move back into the East Precinct.
In the CHAZ there seems to have emerged a joint leadership between an aggressively anti-organization anarchist element and the same liberal element who has been responsible for the dismantling of working class neighborhoods in Seattle for years. Although the birth of the CHAZ is questionable, it could possibly survive and thrive into the future if we saw working class people assume declared leadership roles and if the currently chaotic scene of the CHAZ was organized so that resources were kept track of, tasks that needed to be done were delegated, and intelligence could be given to decision makers to help shape both the logistic and defense strategy there.
The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone is the kind of revolutionary project the Cascadian working class needs. We need to show workers that there is a future beyond American capitalism, that the systemic mismanagement of resources isn’t the only option and that ending the dictatorship of capital will increase the potential for liberty within our communities as a whole. The lives of working class people matter and we must fight to show them that a better world is possible, unfortunately the CHAZ must pump the breaks immediately and change course if it hopes to be that. Otherwise the CHAZ will face an even worse historical fate than the anarchic communes that have come before it. Organizing for defense and self preservation when encircled by an enemy is not an ultra-authoritarian concept, it is the reality of our world in the age of imperialism and one all people who want to see a change in the world must accept.
