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They weren’t rich kids playing revolutionaries. They were/are the real deal.

I was in Lincoln Park that first night. It was to be a war protest march, maybe 100 or so of the usual suspects(myself at that time included, AKA useful idiots), street freaks, college kids. Then arrived about 50 of the RYM-1 Weather contingent, all with helmets, face-wrapped scarves and either a pipe, bat or chain. They got the crowd moving down the street and started destroying everything in sight. I remember one of the crazies standing on the roof of a ‘Vette just wailing away with a chain. What I haven’t seen mentioned were the high rise resident throwing bottles down on the crowd (no, that wasn’t a bad thing). The Weatherwomen were the more agressive ones, I remember one jumping on the back of an officer in full riot gear. The crowd was broken up by a sedan that suddenly appeared disgorging really big guys in helmets and fatigues swinging really big sticks. I ran.

Several days later I attended a 6 hour tactical session in Evanston, north of Chicago. All the well-known members were there: Ayers, Dohrn, Rudd. These were the people I had been reading about in the underground papers, Ramparts, etc. I was in awe when it started.

It was the first meeting I’d ever attended with armed guards at the door preventing egress. I didn’t know at the time that a bunch of them had just returned from Cuba for revolution training, but it makes sense. The discussion was on tactics for overthrowing the government. Quotes galore from the Communist pantheon. I felt lucky to get out of there intact.

Those from that meeting who are still around have joined the dreaded system with the same strategic goals in minds. Although they’re far above the role of “direct action” in the current world revolution, they’re even more dangerous now.