Callout for the Toronto G20

From S.O.A.R. (Southern Ontario Anarchist Resistance)

The G20 is meeting in Toronto this June! But, if that’s interesting to you, then you probably already knew that, and perhaps you’ve moved on to asking yourselves — What is to be done?

We are calling ourselves Southern Ontario Anarchist Resistance (SOAR), and this June, we want you to hop to Toronto. In the last decade, our movements have spent a lot of time arguing about summit hopping. This conversation has often been interesting and productive, but we feel that the time has come to stop talking, and to start causing some shit! SOAR is calling for three actions, between the afternoon of Saturday, June 26th and the evening of the 27th.

Here’s a short rundown of the actions we’re calling so far.

Get off the Fence! — On Saturday, June 26th, we will form an anti-colonial, anti-capitalist presence to walk in solidarity with the big People First march, before continuing on towards the fence to confront the police state and Toronto’s corporate culture. This action will be militant and confrontational, seeking to humiliate the security apparatus and make Toronto’s elites regret letting the dang G20 in here. Meet by 1pm at the Northeast corner of College and university.

Saturday Night Fever Later, from late on the 26th ‘till dawn on the 27th, come join us for a roaming street party! We will dance through the streets of Toronto to the music of guerilla DJ’s and renegade bands, taking back space from the corporate spectacle that this city has become.

Autonomous Direct Action All day Sunday, we are calling for diverse and creative actions aimed to disrupt business-as-usual. As the leaders of the G20 nations make their final deliberations, let’s demonstrate the diversity of our discontent.

These actions are being organized around an affinity group structure. By coming to Toronto as part of an affinity group, you will be best able to plug into that structure, thereby making sure that your party is as awesome as possible. We encourage you to form affinity groups with your trusted friends, lovers, comrades, etc. An affinity group is a small group of people, about 3-10 or so, who are interested in similar tactics and have similar levels of comfort. They can be thought of as the basic building block of the larger, decentralized group that we will form during these actions. In a demonstration, affinity groups are able to communicate and make decisions quickly and autonomously, and can act with greater efficiency and safety.

We’ve got a month and a half to get ready for this! Let’s gather in the secret, quiet places, and discuss with our trusted buddies what would excite and inspire us. Then, once we share a vision, let us scheme how to create it. Here are some things to think about when preparing as an affinity group:

-Comfort level – what sort of things are you willing or not willing to do?

-Legal preparations – How will you deal with arrests?

-Getting used to working as a group – In the coming weeks, make some time to go adventuring together.

-Have a plan – What sort of roles will your affinity group take on during the events? What are you good at? How will you apply those skills?

-Material preparations – What will you need to bring to do what you need to do? Don’t forget water!

Once you have an affinity group, SOAR wants you to get involved with the planning of these actions! In the coming weeks, we will be organizing spokes councils, where representatives from affinity groups can come help plan the details of the actions, and to plug in by committing to taking on certain roles as a group. If you are interested in attending such a meeting, drop a line to torontospokes @ ecologyfund.net. And of course, the internet is not a safe place to discuss any specifics of these actions.

All SOAR events celebrate a diversity of tactics, meaning that we support all the many different ways that people choose to resist our common enemies. We will not condemn or attempt to prevent or control actions being taken by others, and will vigorously resist state repression against anyone. That said, respect for diversity of tactics also means not smashing things while we’re part of the labour child-friendly march, and remembering that although we might think certain tactics are pointless/annoying, we should not needlessly antagonize those people. Not that y’all would ever do that.

It’s gonna be a great summer folks.

Be the riot you wish to see,

Southern Ontario Anarchist Resistance

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