BLAST FROM YER PAST: Happy Birthday, “Sweet A16″

This Was What Democracy Looked Like!

Time once again to fire up the old TARDIS, and dive into this action-packed day of gleeful antiglob frenzy at the IMF, World Bank, and all over downtown DC on April 16, 2000 — and, unlike the ’60s, if you can remember it, you were there!

In the Spring of 2000, Ralph Nader and the Green Party were calling bullshit on the Democrats and challenging their stranglehold on the US Left, the Democratic Party was pissing in its shoes, and the US Left couldn’t have been happier — as opposed to today, when the US Left is sitting on its hands, and the “progressives” couldn’t be happier to be marching over a cliff behind Barack Obama and his cult of personality.

This was a time when The Movement™ was riding high on a wave of energy and solidarity after its victory in the Seattle Rebellion, and was full of hope for bringing about change in our future — before the Democratic Party got its hooks into us. (D’oh, sorry; I just said “hope” and “change” there, didn’t I?)

While the Anticapitalathon’s scraggly gaggle is ignored by global capital and its fawning media, now would be a good time to remember more inspiring times — times when The Movement™ wasn’t afraid to protest against a Democratic Administration, times when The Movement™ wasn’t cowed and intimidated by the Democratic Party and the AFL-CIO.

Episode 1, 09:13:

Episode 2, 06:45:

Download mpeg4 files: Episode 1, 33.8mb; Episode 2, 27.6mb

A16 Poster Series, from January 2000