Truth or myth? The severe curtailing of civil liberties in the US and simultaneous transition to models of domestic militarism took place after 9/11 when the country was in a panic about "the terrorists?" 

Author Kris Hermes details why that statement is historically inaccurate in his new book Crashing the Party: Legacies and Lessons from the RNC 2000 and explains why that oft-repeated chorus from the liberal left is detrimental to effective analysis and strategy.

Come to the A-Space in Philadelphia to discuss how the "Philadelphia Model" of policing that was developed during the RNC in 2000 -- and entails adopting military tactics for domestic policing -- shifted the national paradigm on police violence and the repression of dissent. Then learn the important movement history of the R2K Legal Collective and the inspirational solidarity of hundreds of arrestees as they went from the streets to the jails to the courts with a commitment to protect those targeted by police with serious felony charges and million dollar bails.

After a short reading, the discussion will focus around these two central themes:

* The position that engagement with the state through the courts tacitly reinforces state power and the best thing anti-authoritarians can do is not get arrested in the first place.

* Jail and court solidarity offer unique and powerful opportunities for the practice of mutual aide and allow engagement with the state from a position of collective defiance