Exclusive: G8/NATO protest spokesman says Adbusters not calling shots for May rallies

Occupy Chicago headquarters

On Friday Occupy Chicago held a press conference at their indoor headquarters in a loft inside an old factory on the city's South Side--and I was there.

And yes, leftist skeptics, not only did I RSVP for the presser, but I did so under my real name. Not all of my Occupy Wall Street reporting is covert.

This was a tedious self-assignment, I had to endure nearly 45 minutes of "99 percent this" and "1 percent" that. The latter bit of the conference did catch my interest--the "welcome" and "endorsement" statement from the Chicago Teachers Union that I reported on Saturday and the part about the G8/NATO Summit that will take place in mid-May about a mile away from the "OccuLoft."

A few moments before the
start of the press conference

Ahh...a mile away. What a coincidence. However, the city-authorized protest space will be at Daley Plaza in Chicago's Loop, which guarantees a traffic nightmare in downtown Chicago.

Speaking that day about the May protests was Eric Ruder, who I will return to in a couple of paragraphs.

Occupy Chicago, as with the rest of the Occupy movement, has roving targets for its rage. Protesting G8/NATO has been on its radar since at least late October. Liberal gadfly Andy Thayer, amidst cult-like chanting, barked out a demand for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to issue permits to the occupiers so they can "get within sight and sound of the G8 and NATO summits" at their Occupy City Hall rally two days before Halloween.

Last week the Canadian leftist magazine Adbusters, summoning the memory of the infamous 1968 Democratic convention riots, issued a call for 50,000 protesters to descend upon Chicago in May.

So when the press conference ended, I asked Ruder, "Is Adbusters calling the shots in regards to the G8/NATO protests?" His reply was a simple, "No."

Occupy Chicago wall poster

He said this movement is being led by the "Coalition Against NATO/G8 War & Poverty Agenda," (CANG8) which Ruder says is "an umbrella organization that was founded before Occupy Chicago." He added, "An introductory meeting was held in August." He's a spokesman for them.

This will be the first G8/NATO summit to be held concurrently in 30 years. Past G8 summits have attracted thousands of protesters for rallies that turned into riots. In his press conference statement, Ruder asserted the non-violent goal of CANG8, but when I asked him about the violence of the previous G8 protests, he intimated to me that one of his concerns is that the Chicago Police could go "bananas."

What?

Occupy Chicago wall poster

Ruder, who was quite pleasant with me--even after I identified myself as a conservative blogger, brought up a 2003 Chicago anti-war protest where hundreds of demonstrators were arrested and Lake Shore Drive was blocked. To this day there remains a lot of 'he said-she said' about this permit-less rally, but one stubborn fact jumps out. The protesters shut down the Drive. That road is a major Chicago thoroughfare--if you haven't been on it, think of it as a Chicago version of Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive in New York.

What if an ambulance needed to get through that night?

I just get the feeling--even though Ruder didn't say anything along these lines--that the G8/NATO protesters are looking for a confrontation. But he did say this, "We fear the aggressive police tactics we've seen in Chicago."

The Tea Party movement and the occupiers contrast in so many ways--I've written about those differences before and I don't see the need to repeat them in what is already a very long post. But here's another one: The Occupy movement has a big-time chip on its shoulder. For instance, look at that sign pictured above, it's on a wall inside the Occupy Chicago headquarters: "The government: Protecting and serving the shit out of you."

I've been to four Occupy Chicago rallies--although only one of those had mass arrests--and the cops were pussycats, in my opinion.

Adding to the suspicions of Ruder and other G8 protesters/occupiers is a post by Second City Cop, an anonymous Chicago Police blogger, which was completely misinterpreted by a WBBM-AM reporter who assumed he was advocating in favor of his fellow officers covering their name badges in electrical tape while on duty at G8/NATO. Odd thing: Second City Cop didn't write anything along those lines.

I expect riots in May, but not the Rodney King/Los Angeles variety, but more along the lines of what occurred in Oakland two days ago. Small, but horrible. The troublemakers could be anarchists who've never heard of CANG8, but hey, riots are part of the G8 experience.

As for the Occupy movement, one of their chants is "The people united will never be divided," but when what I call occtrocities happen, they are quick to point the finger and proclaim, "They're not with us." You can't have it both ways, folks.

But Ruder says he doesn't want violence--and I take him at his word. And if there is no violence, well, then he will receive my praise.

As for the loft, it's just an office. No one will be sleeping there, organizers say.

Related posts:

Video: Chicago Teachers Union organizer welcomes Occupy Chicago to new home

Exclusive Occupy Chicago video: Arrests on LaSalle Street

From RebelPundit:

Occupy Chicago eyes headquarters in striking distance of G8/NATO summits

It's official: #OccupyChicago feeble pawns of the NATO/G8 uprising

Technorati tags: Politics Chicago Illinois illinois politics occupychicago left wing extremists current events socialism occupywallstreet chicago politics Rahm Emanuel g8