whatnotery

26th May 2012

Link reblogged from American Indignants with 17 notes

In Defense of Black Bloc and Anarchists: An Open Letter to Carl Gibson →

Dear Mr. Gibson,

While it is unfortunate that you feel negatively towards those who choose to participate in black bloc, you should do more research before you start writing articles about that subject. Black bloc is a tactic (not a group) that is meant to insure anonymity and to symbolize solidarity. Not all anarchists, and not even all people who participate in black bloc are violent, in fact many of them are pacifists. They are attempting to take direct action because that is the only way to catalyze grassroots political change.

I find it strange that you identify with Occupy Wall Street, because the ideology you demonstrated in this article leads me to believe that you are sympathetic to reformism. The term “Occupy Wall Street”, is suggesting that one take a direct action in order to catalyze political change. That is why Occupy Wall Street worked. Occupy Wall Street is not meant to be a campaign for the election of Barack Obama, it is a rejection of all authority and attempt to build communities upon mutual solidarity.

At one point in your article you said this:

“The thing is, Black Bloc tactics actually serve the cause of the 0.1 percent. By making the dominant message about protesters vs. police instead of 99 percent vs. 0.1 percent, your tactics divide public opinion and turn it against the majority of those in the movement who don’t believe in violence of any kind, including property destruction.”

If we are going to start thinking of terms of class (99% versus the 1%) we have to look at the society and capital around us and realize why these structural hierarchies exist. Nope it isn’t because the Democrats need more seats in Congress, instead it stems from the foundation of capitalism: the institution of private property. Private property is unique and relatively new in the history of man because it guarantees property owners the right to access a monopoly on the means of destruction (the use of violence) through state apparatuses (such as the police, prisons, courts, and the military.) Because private property owners can use the state to control the means of destruction, they can also subsequently control the means of production (and thus the flow of labor power.) Capitalism exists because state apparatuses such as the police exist to maintain structural hierarchy. By challenging those monopolies of power, you illegitimate their authority over property, and therefore allow for societal progression.

Occupy Wall Street was revolutionary when they had Zuccotti Park, because that was literally an example of how people can use solidarity to transform private property into collective and individual property. By challenging the state’s monopoly on the means of destruction and the private property owner’s monopoly on the means of production, they created a community based on solidarity. And that is the whole concept behind the ideology of occupying spaces.

Anarchist do not want to “join the movement” because we have been the movement since the very beginning. At the same time we are still autonomous individuals and thus will always work to challenge reformists to radicalize their ideology by agitating. Frederick Douglass once said:

“Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are people who want crops without ploughing the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning; they want the ocean without the roar of its many waters. The struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, or it may be both. But it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”

Sincerely,

David Salay

Here Here

Source: americanindignants

25th May 2012

Photoset reblogged from Path of the Nihilist with 118 notes

thepeoplesrecord:

Victory at NATO Summit demonstrations

Chicago protesters held impressive ground this past weekend at the NATO Summit demonstrations. Despite militaristic intimidation tactics used by the Chicago Police Department, demonstrators’ voices were heard loud and strong: fuck the NATO war machine.

Arrests totaled up to 60, including the “NATO 3” - Brian Church, Jared Chase and Brent Betterly – who are facing terrorist charges and being held on a $1.5 million bond. They are currently in solitary confinement in Chicago and could face up to 85 years in prison.

While arrest numbers stayed relatively low, especially compared to the 300 arrested over the weekend in Quebec student protests, brutality incidents were much larger. Ruthless CPD officers swung their bikes and batons at protesters and beat several journalists bloody. Reports of protesters being admitted to the hospital for stitches and possible concussions painted the picture of the war zone against free speech in the streets of Chicago.

But the protesters’ voices rang louder than the blood running down their foreheads. Veterans hurling their medals of honor in disgust and in apology for their participation in corrupt wars spoke volumes higher than the imperialistic ongoings inside of the Summit.

The weekend events in Chicago sent a vibrant message of unity to the world, proving to the ruling class that the people are awake and ready for a radical change. Activists must be aware of the experiences of the NATO Summit demonstrations, and use them to rally forward.

Building a necessary solidarity

From the nurses unions and the Free Bradley Manning Contingent to Occupy groups and veteran organizations, activists swarmed Chicago to condemn the NATO warmongers and their deathly exploitation of people across the world. These resistance groups linked together to become a force more potent than the police. Not only does this massive display of solidarity boast numbers in the tens of thousands, it also churns out ideas that will change the status quo.

This unrest is only making the capitalist ruling class more and more nervous. We can see the counterattacks taking on different forms: a militarized police force, laws condemning whistleblowers, online surveillance and a backlash against unions. But this is only the beginning. Resistance groups must bind together to build a strong solidarity and cooperation with one another to continue to shake the grip the corrupt American government.

Our enemy is one in the same and must be recognized as so. The United States is no longer run by the people, but by profit-gorging capitalists. But in a united fight, the system can be toppled by the might of these working class groups.

Ditching ineffective media

As mainstream media coverage has proven these past few days, it no longer belongs to the people and only acts in the interests of its capitalist ownership. Headlines splashed across front pages read that protesters “clashed” with police, instead of showing the true police violence. News articles focused on the police officer who was stabbed, while giving only brief mentions to protesters who were beaten until their blood splattered on the asphalt. Comparisons were made between police in riot gear standing off against protesters who wore black and ski masks, when there was no comparison to be made.

The mainstream corporate-owned media has continued to uphold the capitalist agenda by perpetually stripping validity away from demonstrators. Protest stories are tarnished with an underlining sense of violence – not by the police forces who spent millions on weapons and armed officers, but by protesters merely exercising their right to march.

However, a strong media system is not dead, but evolving. Democracy Now, Truth-out, Socialist Worker, AlterNet and livestream channels are just a few alternative media sources that gave true coverage of the NATO protests this weekend. These democratic outlets continue to expose the government threat to First Amendment liberties and to give spotlight to the working class uprisings transforming their world.

The NATO Summit demonstrations injected energy into the American and global spring. Even though government repression continues to strengthen, this vitality cannot fizzle. NATO represents a foundation of capitalist oppression, suffocating the life out of the international working class. But a much larger system has strangled the world for long enough, and it is the time to fight back.

- G. Razo

I was there

Source: thepeoplesrecord

25th May 2012

Photo reblogged from jjjjpeg with 117 notes

ffffffound:

nonclickableitem

Source: ffffffound

25th May 2012

Photo reblogged from this isn't happiness. with 1,127 notes

nevver:

Nothing.

Source: magnificentruin

25th May 2012

Photo reblogged from SICK, SAD WORLD with 2,022 notes

franco-ontarienne:

danspeerin:

So as part of a ridiculous law known as Bill 78, citizens involved with the Quebec Student Strike must provide police with all protest routes for the cops approval. Here’s the first one they handed in.

hahahahaha

Source: danspeerin

14th May 2012

Quote with 7 notes