PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

A Thank You from Pittsburgh Organizing Group
by pog Thursday, Sep. 01, 2005 at 5:14 PM
pog@mutualaid.org

A Thank You from Pittsburgh Organizing Group (POG).

What happened on August 20th and the days that followed was a defining moment for Pittsburgh's peace and justice community. The police and the media teamed up to attack us in the streets and over the public airwaves. It could have resulted in a disaster that divided our community. Instead, we saw people of different ages, faiths and political persuasions come together and the local anti-war movement has grown stronger as a result. POG would like to extend its heartfelt gratitude to all those who stood behind us in our time of need.

To all those who joined us on Saturday, August 20th to throw a wrench into the system and who braved the onslaught of pepper-spray, police batons, K-9 units and Tasers--we thank you.

To all those who joined us at the County Jail or dropped off food and blankets on Saturday and Sunday as we waited for our friends to be arraigned and returned safely to us--we thank you.

To all those who coughed up their hard-earned $ to get our people out of jail--and to keep them out of jail--we thank you.

To all those who sent us messages of hope and concern, and who signed the Thomas Merton Center Anti-War Committee's solidarity statement--we thank you.

To all those who participated or attended our press conference on Monday, August 22nd--we thank you.

To all those who called the City Councillors and other politicians to complain about what happened on August 20th--we thank you.

To all those who wrote to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette with words of support--we thank you.

To all those who saw through the media's attempt to demonize us, to pit "good" protesters against "bad" ones--we thank you.

To all those who organized solidarity counter-recruitment actions in their home towns--we thank you.

To all those who joined us Sunday, August 27th at the Oakland recruiting station to say that police repression won't stop us from protesting--we thank you.

To all those who contributed to the closure of the main military recruiting center in Pittsburgh for several Saturdays this summer--thus proving that we can make a difference--we thank you, and we hope you will continue to support our campaign to shut down recruitment in our town.

Love and Solidarity,

POG

P.S. To date we have raised $2,000 for POG's Legal Defense Fund for the August 20th arrestees. We hope to raise an additional $8,000. While our goal is to get the charges dropped, we need to prepare for a protracted legal fight given the serious nature of the charges, the possibility of 5-10 years in prison for one arrestee if convicted, and our expectation that police repression our successful counter-recruitment campaign will continue apace. Please consider making a contribution to POG's Legal Defense Fund by visiting http://www.organizepittsburgh.org or mailing a check to POG c/o TMC, 5125 Penn Ave., PA, Pittsburgh, PA 15224. Please make checks payable to Toni Bartone.

www.organizepittsburgh.org