As the streets of Tehran sizzle and people come to my neighborhood to assert their rights and bonfires rage in observance of the summer Solstice, I am reminded of Carlo Giuliani. June 20th marked the 8 year anniversary of his death. On that day he was in Genoa, Italy demonstrating against a meeting of the Group of 8, the most industrial and influential countries in the world today. Carlo was shot in the face by the ruthless Carabinieri who then ran over his body with their land rover vehicle. He would have been 30 years old today.
Carlo Giuliani, casualty of the war waged by the wealthy to consolidate their power, even at the expense of human life. It is a war in which mere survival is a form of resistance that not everyone can afford. The United Nations estimates that 6 million children die every year because of policies imposed by the IMF and World Bank, institutions that are primarily controlled by G8 countries.
To fight back is a privilege that Carlo chose to exercise. His death tempered the movement to stop corporate globalization, but direct actions continued past Genoa. Street protests continued to shift the balance between corporate power and people power, some more successfully than others. We went on to learn from our mistakes and do more sophisticated preparation before engaging in mass direct action.
Last year I was at a training to get ready for an action at the Republican National Convention. Our highly experienced trainer was showing slides from the Genoa action and she mentioned Carlo Giuliani.
“Sometimes,” she said, “people get killed.”
Her statement seemed to gloss over something I could not put my finger on until she mentioned the importance of facing yourself. That’s crucial, because when we step into the chrysalis of nonviolent mass action we emerge as different people. Attending a mss action is like riding in a car or stepping onto an airplane. You could wind up dead, as Carlo Giuliani wound up dead. However the greater danger is much more common. Step into the world of street protest, and you run the risk of being reborn.
