Dissadents In Love

Just to add a bit to the history of the weathermen/WU.

At a convention for the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), a few more insurgent, direct action-oriented folks split off of the wholly weak and bloated SDS. Although it had strong revolutionary roots, SDS was also anchored down by many deep flaws- the obvious strong ties to university life (and the privilege involved), the banal tactics of protest which robbed the movement of any hopes of results, the lack of desire to embrace feminism (especially in the hierarchies of influence and power in the group) to name a few.

The weathermen had central leadership including Mark Rudd, Bill Ayers, and the legendary Bernadine Dorhn, and countless local chapters all across the country. They comitted actions ranging from handing out flyers to taking over ROTC buildings on college campuses. The 'Days of Rage' in Chicago could be considered a huge victory for the weathermen.

The police cracked down on the weathermen (and affiliated groups like the motherfuckers, the international werewold conspiracy[similar to the motherfuckers], and a crusty gang in seattle of action oriented youth who called themselves the anarchists.) with COINTELPRO tactics used against the American Indian Movement and the Black Panthers. This caused many revolutionaries, Dorhn included, to go 'underground' or live seemingly normal lives all while planning serious acts of sabotage.

Most memorably, (government) buildings went down at the hands of the weather underground's bombs. Although a misfire in a WU townhouse took the lives of a few weatherfolk, the movement was surprisingly effective at tactically striking damaging blows on both a structural and cultural level.

Ugh. I feel like wikipedia or something.