
Activists seize control of Seattle neighborhood, declare “autonomous zone.” - aazaa
https://www.city-journal.org/antifa-seattle-capitol-hill-autonomous-zone
======
Barrin92
_" On the new rebel state’s first night, the atmosphere was festive and
triumphant. Hooded men spray-painted the police station with slogans and
anarchist symbols, renaming it the “Seattle People’s Department East
Precinct.” Raz Simone, a local rapper with an AK-47 slung from his shoulder
and a pistol attached to his hip, screamed, “This is war!” into a white-and-
red megaphone and instructed armed paramilitaries to guard the barricades in
shifts. Later in the night, Simone was filmed allegedly assaulting multiple
protestors who disobeyed his orders, informing them that he was the "police"
now, sparking fears that he was becoming the de facto warlord of the
autonomous zone. A homeless man with a baseball bat wandered along the
borderline and two unofficial medics in medieval-style chain mail stood ready
for action."_

This sounds like the real world version of a Shadowrun game lol. Honestly the
city's response was probably appropriate, let them LARP for a while until they
run out of bottled water or whatever.

~~~
0max
Maybe if they LARP hard enough, the PNW will get their own version of Freetown
Christiania
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freetown_Christiania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freetown_Christiania)

------
themodelplumber
That's quite an uh, emotive take. IMO this article gives a more informational
view of the situation: [https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-
for-racia...](https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-
justice/2020/06/11/874690470/go-back-to-your-bunker-seattle-mayor-tells-trump-
in-spat-over-protests)

------
conroy
A friend lives in Seattle and texted me today about his visit last night:

> I was there last night and it's such a cool pseudo utopian place

> The media coverage of it is WILD

> People on the internet are convinced it's protected by armed guards and
> people are dying of hunger and instead its...like a music festival
> campground

> There are speakers, musicians, art walls. I took a group pic for a bunch of
> black guys last night and they were so proud of what was built because they
> felt like they fought for it, which in a sense, they did.

~~~
tronbabylove
I was also there last night and agree with your friend. I didn't personally
see anyone with a gun, no one asked me for ID, and no one tried to charge me
an entrance fee. The vibe is a cross between a summer block-party and a music
festival: lots of street art, music, barbecues, canvassers collecting
signatures for petitions, people planting a community garden. I saw several
people I know from around the neighborhood who, if they have secret
connections to Antifa, have done a remarkable job of hiding them.

The disparity between my firsthand experience and the way that this is
reported in the media has been eye-opening.

~~~
ardy42
> The disparity between my firsthand experience and the way that this is
> reported in the media has been eye-opening.

I haven't read much about this zone, but I don't think I'd trust "City
Journal" to describe it accurately. The HTML title of their front page is:

> City Journal | Urban Affairs Magazine | Conservative Magazine Online

Their front page is full of articles pushing back against the current protest
movement, from pretty much every angle possible:

> Racism Is An Empty Thesis

> False Prophets: If you really want to help black America, don’t look to
> Black Lives Matter.

> Repudiate the Anti-Police Narrative

> The Cost of Bad Intentions: Progressive policies threaten a new era of urban
> dysfunction.

> Why We Need the Police

> Behavior Matters: Why some people spend their lives in poverty and social
> dysfunction

------
adv2
This article is a complete misrepresentation:

\- There is no "battle" between SPD and protesters. SPD was trying to quash
protests, which resulted in a public backlash. SPD then decided to stop trying
to control protesters and left the east precinct. the "autonomous zone" is
simply what the protests are calling the new police void.

\- There is no actual evidence of material being thrown at SPD. With all the
footage recorded, it would be on video, but all we see is flashbangs and tear
gas. The "IED" was a photo of a smashed votive candle, presumably found on the
ground.

\- The article seeks to find and name "leaders". There are no leaders, the
autonomous zone is just a bunch of people doing stuff, where there is no
police presence.

\- There is no sign that Anitfa is involved at all. This is just a boogyman.

------
TrevorFSmith
Hey, I live in Seattle and my (not WeWork) coworking space is in the CHAZ.
Pretty much all of the press coverage feels like a broadcast from another
dimension when I compare it to the place itself: mellow and kind of boring.
The only real risk is that some wing of the government will send in uniforms
or agitators. If that doesn't happen, I think they'll just do stuff like grow
vegetables in Cal Anderson Park. Capitol Hill is usually a pretty fun and
mellow place, so if outside forces don't change that it'll just keep on
keeping on.

------
jadell
I'd be very interested to see how long this actually lasts. It's easy to keep
what is essentially an ungoverned commune going for a "long music festival"
length of time. Let's see how well it works over the course of months/years
once tragedy of the commons kicks in and whatever "governing council" emerges
suddenly realizes the only way to actually enforce rules on everybody...is
with force.

Plus, something like this seems ripe for "mob justice" when someone with
contrary opinions decides they'd like to live in the "freedom zone". Wasn't
there just a video circulating of a guy being run out of town because they
crowd didn't like what he was saying? Who in this utopia decides which
opinions are/aren't allowed and how do they enforce that? What happens when an
innocent person gets accused of a crime, but since there's no legal system
(without the threat of force to back it) the majority decides to take their
own justice?

------
advisedwang
Where are all the "antifa" labels coming from? I've not seen any actual
evidence that there is any antifa involvement at all.

There's more than one activist group in the USA guys.

~~~
ardy42
> Where are all the "antifa" labels coming from?

An organized effort to undermine public support for the Black Lives Matter
protests, and to create an enemy to justify over-the-top police actions.

For example: [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/09/nyregion/who-is-martin-
gu...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/09/nyregion/who-is-martin-gugino-
buffalo-police.html): "The president and his allies have often tried to place
anti-fascists and other “outside agitators” at the center of the protests as a
way to delegitimize them and to deflect from the fact that the vast majority
of the demonstrations have been peaceful."

> I've not seen any actual evidence that there is any antifa involvement at
> all.

There isn't any.

------
Apreche
That's just how Seattle rolls. They've done it before, and they'll do it
again. More power to them.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_General_Strike](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_General_Strike)

------
fwip
Some people associated with it have recently put up their own website:
[https://caphillauto.zone/](https://caphillauto.zone/)

You can watch live footage of the zone, read their demands, and see the
answers to some FAQs.

There is a lot of purposeful misinformation going around - rumors of food
shortages, extortion, and "paramilitary death squads." These aren't true, to
say the least.

~~~
ttwinder
How do you know that the local shops aren't being extorted? You think the shop
owners consented to this takeover?

Is it really far-fetched to believe that these shop owners expect violence to
their property and possibly their person if they do not participate?

~~~
ajkjk
> How do you know that the local shops aren't being extorted?

of course it is, like, physically possible that that's happening. There's just
no evidence of it happening, so there's no reason to believe it.

