Take the Power Back: Burning the banks down
Recently, a few people decided to set
fire to an Ottawa branch of the Royal
Bank of Canada, completely gutting it.
Nobody was injured, and they posted a
video of this action online, stating their
reasons for taking such a bold action; primarily
RBC's financing of the Tar Sands
and sponsorship of the 2010 Olympics.
Since then there have been various responses. Some politicians and police officers are calling this destruction of property “terrorism.” The corporate media is hyping up the threat of violent protesters while ignoring the ongoing violence and devastation being caused by their advertisers. Some high-profile activists are trying to distance themselves from this action, and are even going so far as to publicly denounce it, fearing it alienated the average citizen from their causes, and that their privileged positions in society might be threatened.
But the average citizen doesn't feel much pain for corporate property, especially banks. Banks are being burned all over the world at an ever-increasing rate as the poor are forced to pay for the global financial crisis created by the greed of the rich. Only the rich mourn the loss of banks, the rest of us know banks are the biggest thieves of all. They lend us madeup money at high interest rates, and then evict us from our homes when the corporations they bankroll outsource our jobs. They invest in anything financially profitable no matter how much environmental damage or human suffering it causes.
That said, this particular act of sabotage is the first of its kind in the current struggle against the tar sands' and definitely an escalation in the tactics activists have used against Royal Bank. For the past several years Royal Bank branches from coast to coast have had dozens of windows smashed in, their locks glued, and multiple ATMs sabotaged, all while a public above-ground movement organized all types of protests, disruptions, direct actions and awareness campaigns to draw attention to Royal Bank's investments.
Royal Bank of Canada continues to be the largest financier of the tar sands, even though it is causing death and disease to the indigenous communities downstream, and is the most environmentally destructive industrial project in the world. Obviously they don't mind enriching their stockholders, but the moment someone sabotages one of their banks in response it is condemned as terrorism and labeled extreme. The double standard is blatant.
Unlike the day-to-day dealings of RBC, burning an empty building is not terrorism. The arson in Ottawa was simply a signal of frustration and genuine anger against the violence and injustice caused by RBC. Affected communities have been pleading for years with Royal Bank to stop funding the ecocidal tar sands to no avail. RBC shareholders have been confronted on the issue multiple times as well, and have continued with their business- as-usual. They cannot plead ignorance any longer; they are now deliberately desecrating this planet in the name of profit.
An RBC going up in flames blew away any chances that RBC could continue hiding its acts. Thousands of people who might not otherwise have cared are now interested in the motives of this attack. They want to know the “what and where” and naturally need to know the “why and who.” This is a classic example of propaganda by the deed. All it took the vigilantes was a camera, a computer, a getaway car, and some homemade incendiaries to send their message out to millions, and explain why RBC deserved it.
Now millions of people not only know some truth about the tar sands, but understand that there is militant resistance to this ecocidal project. Even though no actual violence has occurred yet, aboveground activists who've been organizing against RBC can use the famous civil rights line “those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable.” Activists engaged against the tar sands may now take more radical action because nothing less than firebombing a bank is considered the extreme element of the movement. These types of actions open up space for others to escalate their tactics while still remaining ‘moderate.'
However, we must all still be very wary of outright military conflict with the state and corporations. After all, they are the ones with actual militaries, nuclear arsenals, and super-prisons. During times of social unrest, there is a concentrated effort to push pro-revolutionaries underground towards clandestine militancy in order to isolate them and cut them off from aboveground support networks.
Divide and conquer is still their tactic. Their goal is to have an isolated underground that atrophies as it becomes more clandestine, and an easily managed above-ground that is non-confrontational, ineffective, and disempowering for participants. They want nothing more than aboveground and underground activists to attack each other over tactics than actually developing diverse strategies in which all types of actions reinforce and support each other's efforts.
My words are not enough to create change, but neither is their fire. Militant clandestine actions are a dead end without support from a broader social movement. The most effective social movements are decentralized and diverse, offering the widest range of activity, and points of entry to participants. If our movements are ever to succeed we must use every tool in the toolbelt. The forces we are struggling against sure are, and they have a much bigger belt.
For a world without banks, for diversity in struggle.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
Since then there have been various responses. Some politicians and police officers are calling this destruction of property “terrorism.” The corporate media is hyping up the threat of violent protesters while ignoring the ongoing violence and devastation being caused by their advertisers. Some high-profile activists are trying to distance themselves from this action, and are even going so far as to publicly denounce it, fearing it alienated the average citizen from their causes, and that their privileged positions in society might be threatened.
But the average citizen doesn't feel much pain for corporate property, especially banks. Banks are being burned all over the world at an ever-increasing rate as the poor are forced to pay for the global financial crisis created by the greed of the rich. Only the rich mourn the loss of banks, the rest of us know banks are the biggest thieves of all. They lend us madeup money at high interest rates, and then evict us from our homes when the corporations they bankroll outsource our jobs. They invest in anything financially profitable no matter how much environmental damage or human suffering it causes.
That said, this particular act of sabotage is the first of its kind in the current struggle against the tar sands' and definitely an escalation in the tactics activists have used against Royal Bank. For the past several years Royal Bank branches from coast to coast have had dozens of windows smashed in, their locks glued, and multiple ATMs sabotaged, all while a public above-ground movement organized all types of protests, disruptions, direct actions and awareness campaigns to draw attention to Royal Bank's investments.
Royal Bank of Canada continues to be the largest financier of the tar sands, even though it is causing death and disease to the indigenous communities downstream, and is the most environmentally destructive industrial project in the world. Obviously they don't mind enriching their stockholders, but the moment someone sabotages one of their banks in response it is condemned as terrorism and labeled extreme. The double standard is blatant.
Unlike the day-to-day dealings of RBC, burning an empty building is not terrorism. The arson in Ottawa was simply a signal of frustration and genuine anger against the violence and injustice caused by RBC. Affected communities have been pleading for years with Royal Bank to stop funding the ecocidal tar sands to no avail. RBC shareholders have been confronted on the issue multiple times as well, and have continued with their business- as-usual. They cannot plead ignorance any longer; they are now deliberately desecrating this planet in the name of profit.
An RBC going up in flames blew away any chances that RBC could continue hiding its acts. Thousands of people who might not otherwise have cared are now interested in the motives of this attack. They want to know the “what and where” and naturally need to know the “why and who.” This is a classic example of propaganda by the deed. All it took the vigilantes was a camera, a computer, a getaway car, and some homemade incendiaries to send their message out to millions, and explain why RBC deserved it.
Now millions of people not only know some truth about the tar sands, but understand that there is militant resistance to this ecocidal project. Even though no actual violence has occurred yet, aboveground activists who've been organizing against RBC can use the famous civil rights line “those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable.” Activists engaged against the tar sands may now take more radical action because nothing less than firebombing a bank is considered the extreme element of the movement. These types of actions open up space for others to escalate their tactics while still remaining ‘moderate.'
However, we must all still be very wary of outright military conflict with the state and corporations. After all, they are the ones with actual militaries, nuclear arsenals, and super-prisons. During times of social unrest, there is a concentrated effort to push pro-revolutionaries underground towards clandestine militancy in order to isolate them and cut them off from aboveground support networks.
Divide and conquer is still their tactic. Their goal is to have an isolated underground that atrophies as it becomes more clandestine, and an easily managed above-ground that is non-confrontational, ineffective, and disempowering for participants. They want nothing more than aboveground and underground activists to attack each other over tactics than actually developing diverse strategies in which all types of actions reinforce and support each other's efforts.
My words are not enough to create change, but neither is their fire. Militant clandestine actions are a dead end without support from a broader social movement. The most effective social movements are decentralized and diverse, offering the widest range of activity, and points of entry to participants. If our movements are ever to succeed we must use every tool in the toolbelt. The forces we are struggling against sure are, and they have a much bigger belt.
For a world without banks, for diversity in struggle.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
