The Weather Underground Organization's use of violence in the anti-war movement

¶ … Weather Underground

Background and evolution of the organization

The Weather Underground Organization also referred to as 'the Weathermen' were a radical group in the United States who used violent tactics in their desire to overthrow the government and change society. The organization was responsible for various terrorist attacks against the United States. The membership of the organization was drawn from members of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). The Weather Underground collapsed after the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam in 1975, which saw the general decline of the New Left.

In 1969 a split occurred in the Students for a Democratic Society. The Weather Underground resulted from this split and grew mainly on the basis of its radical opposition to the Vietnam War and as part of the growing anti-war movement of the time. The SDS was founded in 1962, and grew rapidly as the organizational manifestation of the radical anti-Vietnam war movement. At its peak, in November 1968, the membership of the organization was estimated 80,000-100,000. However many experts are of the opinion that its membership was much higher (Hewitt, 2002, p. 32)

The emergence of the Weather Underground was marked by a distinct and radical view of the role of violence as a means changing society - which they saw as corrupt and decadent. They claimed that, there was no time to build a vanguard party and that the revolutionary war against the United States government and the system of capitalism should begin right away. To that end, Weatherman subsequently carried out a campaign of bombings, jailbreaks, and riots.

Weathermen)

Interestingly the name of the organization was derived from the lyrics from a song by Bob Dylan entitled " Subterranean Homesick Blues." The words "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows," was used as a motivation and inspiration for social justice and revolt against the status quo.

As stated, the initial impetus for the creation of the organization was the strong reaction within the United States to America's involvement in the politics of Southeast Asia. However the roots of the organization lay in the campus-based civil rights, antiracist and anti-war movements.

What distinguished this organization from many other civil rights movements was its decision to use violence as a means of social and political coercion.

Weatherman's organizers had concluded that the campus-based anti-war demonstrations needed to be supplemented with more dramatic, violent statements, with the possibility of actually interfering with the country's war and internal security apparatus, in order to start revolution.

Weathermen)

In order to understand the development of the organization, especially in terms of their declared predilection for violence instead of peaceful protest, one has to understand something of the mood and tenor of the times and the rise of the New left in America and the world.

There was a strong feeling among particularly the young intellectuals in America at the time that the governance of the United States was morally and ethically corrupt. This included a conviction that a revolution in society was needed to rectify the situation. This was the underlying motivation behind what was to be known as the New Left.

In the 1960s, young, gifted thinkers, confessing a profound unease with the world they had inherited and calling themselves a New Left, judged their society by measuring it against its promise. America, in their view, had failed to live up to its democratic and egalitarian ideals.

Varon, 2004, p. 21/22)

They were reacting against the many injustices in the society and the world and felt that the time had arrived for radical change. For example they reacted against the fact that in the United States "...racism barred a segment of the population from participating fully in American civic life, while poverty riddled the "affluent society" with pockets of misery." (Varon, 2004, p. 22)

There was also the belief that the American government was using the threat of communism as a means of justifying global war and the possible annihilation of the entire planet.. One of the most important factors was that the members of the New Left, and later the Weathermen, felt that the country was being run by an elite sector primarily interested in capital and profit and who were essentially uninterested in a democratic and equal society. Furthermore, the radical reaction against the established authorities was due to the belief that these elites preferred a docile public to an engaged one. And the middle-class culture in which young dissidents were socialized appeared politically and spiritually debilitating, because it encouraged unquestioning obedience to authority, the narrow pursuit of self-interest, and superficial comfort through ever-expanding consumption. (Varon, 2004, p. 22)

The New Left therefore was determined to change this situation, not only in America but throughout the world. However it must also be noted that the New Left "... rejected as inflexible the "strong" ideologies of the socialist groups that made up the "Old Left" of the 1930s and 1940s." (Varon, 2004, p. 22) In this regard they rejected older radical views such as the centrality of the working class in the process of radical change. They also differed from the past in that they favored a much more practical and "hands-on" approach rather than an over emphasis on theory. This was to lead to the violence and criminal activities of the Weather Underground.

It was from these assumptions and views that the radical and violent politics of the Weathermen were to arise. Essentially their ideology was based on a desire for social equality and an end to prejudice and profiteering, and especially a desire to end to politically instigated wars. They believed intensely in the need for and the possibility of transforming society for the better. These positive beliefs were however offset by their violent methods. The belief in the necessity for armed conflict was expressed in the Weather Underground's Prairie Fire statement.

We believe that carrying out armed struggle will affect the people's consciousness of the nature of the struggle against the state. By beginning the armed struggle, the awareness of its necessity will be furthered. This is no less true in the U.S. than in other countries throughout the world. Revolutionary action generates revolutionary consciousness; growing consciousness develops revolutionary action. Action teaches the lessons of fighting and demonstrates that armed struggle is possible. (Townshend, 2002, p. 66)

The founding members of the Weather Underground were sons and daughters of many prominent Americans. These included Bill Ayers, son of the chairman of the board of Commonwealth Edison; David Gilbert, son of the mayor of New Rochelle; Kathy Boudin, daughter of National Lawyers Guild attorney Leonard Boudin; Diana Oughton, daughter of an Illinois Republican state legislator and great-granddaughter of the founder of the Boy Scouts of America; Cathy Wilkerson, daughter of a radio station owner; and Bernardine Dohrn, a National Lawyers Guild activist and daughter of an appliance dealership owner. (George & Wilcox, 1996, p. 134)

3. The aftermath

With the end of America's involvement in the Vietnam there was a reduction in motivational impetus of the movement. There were also a number of incidents which contributed to the decline of the organization. For example on October 20, 1981 a Brinks armored truck was robbed outside New York and a number of policemen killed. This resulted in the arrests of members of the organization and the discovery of a cache of arms and explosives. (George & Wilcox, 1996, p. 135) These arrests opened up various leads which led to further arrests and to the discovery of the Weather Underground's involvement in other acts of violence and terrorism.

However only a very few of the Weathermen were captured and many of the members actually turned themselves over to the police. The most notable members who surfaced were Bernardine Dohrn, and Bill Ayers. They were married in 1982.

Many commentators state that "The members and even the leaders of the Weather Underground were treated with remarkable leniency. "(Hewitt, 2002, p. 96) Bernardine Dohrn only received a probationary sentence and was fined $1,500. The judge even refused a nominal jail sentence and stated that "...she had suffered enough through her years in hiding separated from her family and friends." (Hewitt, 2002, p. 96) Another of the leaders Cathlyn Platt Wilkerson, served less than a year of her sentence. This was in spite of the fact that she had been convicted of involvement in an explosion in which three people died. Furthermore, "A group of Weathermen who sniped at a police station in Cambridge MA were fined a total of $700." (Hewitt, 2002, p. 96)

However, other members of the organization who were involved in the Brinks robbery received much harsher sentences. Some members such as Judith Clark and David Gilbert received terms of seventy five years to life. (Hewitt, 2002, p. 96) Many of the members of the organization went on to achieve a respected standing in the society. Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn are respected academics: Ayers is a Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of Illinois-Chicago, and Dohrn teaches law at Northwestern University. (Grigg, 2001, p. 14)

While the Weather Underground no longer exists, the influence of this movement and the mood of dissatisfaction and rebellion that it engendered still continues to a certain degree today. Many successful academics who were active members of the SDS and the Weather Underground are still publicly critical of the government and the status quo. Some commentators state that although the Weathermen practically ceased to exist more than two decades ago, yet "The legacy lives on." This is also evidenced by the fact that previous leaders of the movement such as Ayers and Dohrn have, unlike many other members, have not admitted that their goal of revolution has failed.