tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18282840888244751902024-03-13T09:32:44.523-07:00The Feral Space A vegan, straight edge/radically sober anarchist collective for revolutionary information, organizing, and community activism. Located in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago, IlAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-16715890610245001822016-06-26T09:06:00.002-07:002016-06-26T09:18:38.743-07:00A call for support for Kara Wild, arrested and currently held captive in France!<div class="moz-text-flowed" lang="x-western">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBRGgZ8PA9ZR-8mgJmEKRW_KkuvyqMDtGTm_OVMrXeVVR8GJ4NtH2UsVs2d0I2pMu6ocdufPM8I8mZJ5krTLG61YYT3FEvlOnFY3l1F3xTl8BznneBQiE-htTnM0TgikGixx4hUw_s0ifI/s1600/severy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBRGgZ8PA9ZR-8mgJmEKRW_KkuvyqMDtGTm_OVMrXeVVR8GJ4NtH2UsVs2d0I2pMu6ocdufPM8I8mZJ5krTLG61YYT3FEvlOnFY3l1F3xTl8BznneBQiE-htTnM0TgikGixx4hUw_s0ifI/s400/severy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Kara Wild is an artist, comrade and resilient force of nature,
currently being detained in France for her alleged participation in a
protest against draconian labor reforms and police repression. She is a
trans woman and is currently being held in a men’s jail without access
to hormones. She is also a U.S. citizen and has been denied bond because
French authorities consider her a flight risk.</div>
<br />
<br />
On May 18th, thousands of people converged in Paris to defy an
ongoing siege of police violence and to oppose a new neoliberal labor
reform. During one of these marches a police car was attacked and set on
fire. Kara was brutally arrested in connection to this incident more
than a full week later, on May 26th, at a separate event near La Place
de la Nation. Despite a distinct lack of evidence, she is being accused
of smashing a pole through a police car’s windshield moments before it
was set on fire. Her charges are, “attempted voluntary manslaughter of a
person holding public office, destruction of property, group violence
and participating in a masked armed group.”<br />
<br />
<br />
Kara is among 6 people currently facing charges in connection to this
incident. To make matters worse, France’s Prime Minister, Manuel Valls
is vowing to execute “unrelenting punishment,” in order to set an
example and de-mobilize protests.<br />
<br />
<br />
Despite attacks by the state, global movements against capitalism,
white supremacy, hetero-sexist patriarchy and austerity grow stronger
each day, from Paris to Oaxaca. As the flames of resistance multiply
this summer, let us make sure not to leave our friends behind! Please
help us support Kara Wild by writing to her, donating to her defense
fund, and spreading the word about her case.<br />
<br />
<br />
Freedom to all political prisoners! Freedom to all transwomen prisoners! Freedom to all prisoners!<br />
<br />
<b>For more info, updates and an option to donate please visit</b> <a href="https://freekarawild.org/">https://freekarawild.org/</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-32181037892325506832016-04-14T17:17:00.000-07:002016-04-14T17:17:29.684-07:00Radical Sobriety Montreal's response to the article 'The Revolution Will Not Be Sober'
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Radical Sobriety Montreal's response to the article 'The Revolution Will Not Be Sober'</h1>
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Submitted by <span class="username">Anonymous</span> on Sat, 04/09/2016 - 00:37
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<br />Shared from <a href="http://news.infoshop.org/opinion/radical-sobriety-montreals-response">http://news.infoshop.org/opinion/radical-sobriety-montreals-response</a><br /><br />From <a href="https://www.facebook.com/radicalsobrietymontreal">Radical Sobriety Montreal<br /></a><br />
Radical Sobriety Montreal welcomes the discussion initiated by Alexander McClelland and Zoe Dodd's article “<a href="http://hivhepcanarchist.tumblr.com/post/140862037962/the-revolution-will-not-be-sober-the-problem-with">The revolution will not be sober: the problem with notions of 'radical sobriety' & 'intoxication culture</a>'”.
However, we feel an obligation to clear up a number of misconceptions.
While we cannot speak for all groups using the term 'radical sobriety',
since the term does not refer to a unified discourse, we are able to
speak for our group and the positions it holds. Please note that below,
unless otherwise specified, we use the terms 'addict' and 'drug user' to
also include alcoholics and people who drink. So, in no particular
order:<br /><br /><br />
The article states that radical sobriety plays into the
criminalization of drug use. Radical Sobriety Montreal supports the
total decriminalization of drug use. We feel that prohibition is, first,
a primary vector of oppression for millions of people, and second, a
counter-productive policy which fuels violence, does nothing to help
active (or abstinent) drug users, and leads to the perpetuation of many
of the conditions that lead to dangerous forms of drug use in the first
place. We completely oppose prohibition, criminalization, and the savage
violence of the 'war on drugs'. And we fucking hate cops.<br /><br /><br />
The article states that radical sobriety uses moralizing tactics to
set up a dichotomy between “good” abstinent drug users and “bad” active
drug users. Perhaps this is based on a misconception about our name: we
don't think we're more radical than you because we're sober, we think
our sobriety is more radical than AA's and Minor Threat's. Radical
Sobriety Montreal completely rejects moral value judgements based on
one's status as an active or abstinent drug user. We do not promote
abstinence as the only way to engage with harmful drug use patterns. We
have criticisms of some forms of harm reduction but generally speaking
fully support harm reduction initiatives, particularly if they are
conceived of or operated by drug users or ex-drug users themselves.
<br />Members of Radical Sobriety Montreal volunteer with harm reduction
initiatives in this city. And we fucking hate people who hate drug
users.<br /><br /><br />
The article states that radical sobriety is opposed to all drug use,
including therapeutic, traditional, medicinal, and/or various indigenous
practices involving drugs, and that it considers experiences stemming
from these practices to be “hollow” and “inauthentic”. Radical Sobriety
Montreal is not categorically opposed to drug use, especially not in
traditional or medicinal contexts, nor do we deny the very positive and
authentic effects that drug use can have for people. (Believe us, we
know how awesome getting high can be.) We simply acknowledge that there
is very little, to put it mildly, that is traditional or therapeutic
about overdoses and delerium tremens in your early twenties. We are
organized on the basis that the casual, therapeutic, or recreational
self-administration of mind-altering drugs is no longer a viable option
for our members; this should not be understood to mean that we condemn
all such use categorically and in perpetuity. Incidentally, the article
also calls 12-step programs prohibitionist. Though we are not a 12-step
program, in the interest of accuracy we would like to point out that
this is not in fact true.<br /><br /><br />
The article states that radical sobriety subscribes to the
pathologizing medical approach to drug use, particularly through the use
of the term 'addict', and by extension implicitly supports and condones
violent state intervention which mobilizes such terminology. While we
are neither doctors nor addiction scholars, we at Radical Sobriety
Montreal consider ourselves experts when it comes to being addicted. We
consider addiction to be an objectively real phenomenon both socially
and physiologically; we believe that it is, medically speaking, a
pathology; and we consider it to have many of the properties of a mental
disorder or disability. However, we are immensely critical of coercive
interventionist approaches, both because they are obviously repressive
and ineffective and because, as drug users, we have experienced their
extremely negative effects ourselves. We believe that our use of
terminology like 'addiction' cannot be equated with the state's coercive
intervention. We believe that we should not be held responsible for the
grotesque misuse of this terminology by the state, anymore than a
person self-identifying as 'homeless' rather than 'unhoused' should be
held responsible for the state's violent repression of street people.<br /><br /><br />
The article states that communities of queers, punks and so forth
have used drugs for all kinds of reasons, some of them very positive,
and that radical sobriety misses this point. Radical Sobriety Montreal
would like to point out that we are in fact members of those communities
and understand this point very, very intimately.<br /><br /><br />
The article states that the emergence of radical sobriety should be
cause for “concern”, particularly because radical sobriety apparently
fails to engage with the “need to build our own ways”, create “circles
of care and new forms of harm reduction support”, and “create space for
people to come together to foster new forms of healing and social
connection”. Radical Sobriety Montreal would like to point out that that
is exactly and precisely what we aim to do. The article mentions the
extremely individualized approach of 12-Step programs and the extremely
medicalized approach of some rehabs; Radical Sobriety Montreal aims to
provide an alternative based on interdependence, autonomy and radical
social analysis. It is a circle of care. It supports people in their
attempts to reduce harm to themselves. It created a space for people to
come together to foster new forms of healing and social connection. We
exist to support drug users who cannot use anymore and aren't willing to
put all their faith in the medical system or a higher power. In short,
we are exactly what the article is attacking us for failing to be.<br /><br /><br />
The article states that blog posts made by random libertarians are
typical of radical sobriety. Radical Sobriety Montreal is not affiliated
with those libertarians, does not agree with them, and never heard of
them before seeing this article. Those libertarians apparently think
that “morality is central to sobriety”. Radical Sobriety Montreal
dismisses that stance as harmful, hurtful, self-righteous nonsense. They
apparently also think that sobriety is 'natural' and 'natural' is good;
we think they don't understand history or anthropology and have a shaky
grasp on ethics. They apparently think that authentic relationships can
only be had while sober; our own experiences completely disprove such a
simplistic notion. These people sound like straight-edge bros who
swallowed an Ayn Rand book, and it is a mistake to assume that they
accurately represent groups like ours.<br /><br /><br />
The article states that radical sobriety is obsessed with the word
'addict' as a “static political identity”. Though we'd appreciate
clarification on what they mean by this, we're pretty sure we don't do
that. We're aware that identities can change over time, we're wary of
relying too much on identity politics as form of activism, and we affirm
the right of people to autonomously understand, negotiate, and present
their own identities. Members of Radical Sobriety Montreal are not
forced to adopt 'addict' as an identity.<br /><br /><br />
The article states that radical sobriety, in its use of accessibility
discourse, attempts to assign privilege to active drug users, and that
this is basically a cynical ploy to claim more oppression points than
the next white genderqueer punk kid. Radical Sobriety Montreal does not
consider sobriety to be a source of oppression, because come on, no one
is oppressed for being sober. Rather, we use intoxication culture theory
to understand how oppression and privilege play out with regard to drug
use. People who align most closely with the norm can be said to
exercise privilege; in other words, people whose drug of choice is
legally purchased alcohol, which they consume in safe quantities in
socially sanctioned settings. Alcoholics living on shitty beer they
drink alone at home exercise less privilege; if it's shitty vodka and
it's on the street, even less. People injecting street drugs in public
are heavily oppressed. Addicts who are abstinent are not oppressed for
their abstinence; instead, they live under a form of deferred
oppression. It's like being on parole. The reason why we need people to
consider our needs as abstinent drug users is that if we are not
abstinent we are criminalized, marginalized, oppressed drug users with
patterns of use that are very dangerous for our health. The article
implies that creating safe spaces for sober people is to marginalize
drug users. Radical Sobriety Montreal believes that this is like saying
that making sure your buddy with heavy parole conditions doesn't have to
break any laws to hang out with you is to marginalize prisoners. We
just want people to be considerate of our needs when possible.<br /><br /><br />
The article implies that radical sobriety has not considered the
implications of safer spaces for sober people. Radical Sobriety Montreal
discusses this topic regularly. We are aware that making all spaces
safer for us would not make the world an inherently safer place. We
support drug users' access to safer spaces as well, in which they can
openly use drugs without being stigmatized or criminalized. We do not
equate accessibility for sober people with accessibility for disabled
people because there is no equivalent of the active addict in the
context of disability activism. We support initiatives that attempt to
make the world safer both for active and abstinent drug addicts. We
would however like to point out that in the scenes we're in, the open
use of drugs and alcohol is both very commonplace and regularly
promoted; we do not feel that people who casually drink and get high
have any particular lack of safer spaces in the context of these
communities.<br /><br /><br />
The article states that radical sobriety is basically the same as
other models which practice “recovery as oppression” because they
understand recovery to mean learning how to fit into society. Radical
Sobriety Montreal wonders if the authors of the article missed the part
where we think our sobriety is “radical”. We're not interested in
teaching members how to be productive consumers. Approaches like that
are exactly what we exist as an alternative to.<br /><br /><br />
In conclusion, we think that critical analysis is important,
including towards groups like ours. We are not immune to criticism nor
are we perfect. However, there can be harmful effects when this analysis
is performed while employing broad generalizations and cherry-picking
one's primary sources. The article makes a number of very problematic
assumptions about our group, particularly about our views on, and
involvement in, harm reduction; detox methods; drug users' resources;
and service accessibility, as well as about our political positions on
criminalization and intervention. The article treats a number of
unconnected actors as interchangeable, and assumes that we have not
thought about or critically engaged with the points the authors borrow
from drug users' advocacy groups. We believe that this is intellectually
irresponsible, potentially needlessly divisive, and, frankly, more than
a little insulting.<br /><br /><br />
The article makes a gesture toward civility with an admission that
“some” people involved in radical sobriety have more nuanced views, and
notes that the discussion can be an intensely emotional and personal one
for people involved. These gestures are noted and appreciated. It is
true that this is an emotional issue for us. To drive the point home, we
have this to say: the main thing the authors miss is that we all sought
sobriety in desperate need, literally in order to save our lives. Most
of us used substances to the brink of death and for our survival we need
to abstain. We are people in recovery from substance abuse, not
adherents of straight-edge, or church members in disguise. The point of
Radical Sobriety Montreal is to provide a support group where we can
discuss our experiences as drug users, alcoholics and addicts, and as
people who have radical, revolutionary or alternative political
worldviews and ideologies. We wanted to make a space where people who
didn't feel comfortable in AA, NA or a rehab could feel comfortable. The
point of Radical Sobriety Montreal isn't to accumulate oppression
points and talk shit about drug users. We ask that people please bear
this in mind in the future when critically engaging with radical
sobriety discourses.<br /><br />
In solidarity,<br />
Radical Sobriety Montreal<br /><br />
</div>
</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-29306764488537533452016-03-24T22:16:00.000-07:002016-03-24T22:16:57.739-07:00A Call For Actions in Solidarity with Alabama Prison Rebels!<blockquote>
"Things here are tense but festive. The C.O. and warden
was stabbed…It has nothing to do with overcrowding, but with the
practice of locking folks up for profit, control and subjugation. Fires
were set, we got control of two cubicles, bust windows. The riot team
came, shot gas, locked down, searched the dorms. Five have been shipped
and two put in lockup.”<br />
<div class="Standard" style="text-align: right;">
An inmate at Holman Correctional</div>
</blockquote>
<div class="Standard">
<br />This week, prison rebels at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama <a class="Internet_20_link" href="https://supportprisonerresistance.noblogs.org/post/2016/03/12/uprising-currently-underway-at-holman-prison-in-alabama/"><span class="Internet_20_link">staged two riots</span></a> in <a class="Internet_20_link" href="https://itsgoingdown.org/second-round-riots-erupt-holman-prisoners-issue-demands/"><span class="Internet_20_link">three days</span></a>—battling guards, <a class="Internet_20_link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gaICtjixMo"><span class="Internet_20_link">building barricades</span></a>,
stabbing the warden, taking over sections of the prison and setting a
guard station on fire. These actions come as no surprise to those who
have <a class="Internet_20_link" href="http://www.atlblackcross.org/index.php/2015/12/24/unrest-on-the-rise-in-alabama-prisons/"><span class="Internet_20_link">been paying attention</span></a> to the <a class="Internet_20_link" href="https://www.schr.org/action/resources/alabama_prison_guards_side_with_inmates_in_lawsuit"><span class="Internet_20_link">crumbling prison system</span></a> in Alabama and the increasing level <a class="Internet_20_link" href="https://freealabamamovement.wordpress.com/"><span class="Internet_20_link">of radicalization</span></a> of the <a class="Internet_20_link" href="https://anarchylive.noblogs.org/"><span class="Internet_20_link">prison population there</span></a>.<br /><br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
The uprising at Holman, and the conditions of
Alabama prisons in general, provide a unique situation in which
anarchist solidarity may prove strategic. Historically speaking,
successful prison uprisings have often been the result of a <a class="Internet_20_link" href="http://www.atlblackcross.org/index.php/2016/03/12/dispatch-from-holman-prison-from-january-25-2016/"><span class="Internet_20_link">degrading prison system</span></a>
(incompetence, understaffing, weak administration) in combination with a
high level of prisoner-unity and the development of a strong political
subculture within the prison that supports and encourages <a class="Internet_20_link" href="https://antistatestl.noblogs.org/post/2015/10/28/an-account-of-the-recent-rebellion-at-donaldson-correctional-facitlity-in-bessemer-alabama/"><span class="Internet_20_link">acts of resistance</span></a>.
These conditions shift the balance of power between prisoners and their
captors and allow prisoners more latitude to take bold action. Prison
rebels in Alabama report that guards often refuse to enter the cell
blocks for months at a time out of fear of attacks. The conditions for
rebellion are ripe in the Alabama prison system.<br /><br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
The connections that Alabama prison rebels and
anarchists outside of prisons have cultivated over years have created a
situation in which expressions of solidarity from anarchists may have an
impact. There is a great possibility that news of solidarity actions
will reach prisoners there and that those actions will make sense to
these rebels.<br /><br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
Another way in which anarchist solidarity may prove
uniquely valuable in this and other situations of prison rebellion is in
our capacity to relate to these uprisings outside the framework of
reform that the media, the state and the left will inevitably push them
toward. We are already hearing the rhetoric of those outside Holman
turning immediately toward reform, appeals to legitimacy in hopes of
reaching journalists and liberals, and framing the riots as a ‘last
resort’ after non-violent methods failed.<br /><br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
What we propose instead is direct affirmation,
through action, of prisoners’ own revolt. In this, our solidarity is
equally with those demanding better living conditions and those who say,
quite simply, <a class="Internet_20_link" href="http://videos.al.com/al/2016/03/fire_allegedly_set_in_holman_c.html"><span class="Internet_20_link">“they need to let us free up out this bitch”</span></a> and “there’s only one way to deal with it: tear the prison down.”</div>
<center>
<img alt="http://www.northescambia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/holman40-540x318.jpg" class="aligncenter" src="http://www.northescambia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/holman40-540x318.jpg" /></center>
<div class="Standard">
<br /><br />In the spirit of diversity of tactics we’ve compiled
a list of some ways to act in solidarity with prison rebels in Alabama.
The intention of this list is to find ways to act in solidarity with
the many, often contradictory, desires of the many different rebels
involved in the uprising.<br /><br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<strong>1.</strong> Publish and spread the <a class="Internet_20_link" href="https://medium.com/@aintacrow/list-of-demands-from-men-incarcerated-at-holman-prison-in-alabama-8707ef9d63aa#.pbhfyg1ek"><span class="Internet_20_link">list of demands</span></a>, provided by journalists who were able to get in touch with some of the rioting inmates:<br /></div>
<ol>
<li class="P2">We inmates, at Holman Prison, ask for immediate federal assistance.</li>
<li class="P2">We ask that the Alabama government release all inmates
who have spent excessive time in Holman Prison — due to the conditions
of the prison and the overcrowding of these prisons in Alabama.</li>
<li class="P2"><span class="T2">We ask that the </span><a class="Internet_20_link" href="http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2014/06/how_does_alabamas_habitual_off.html"><span class="Internet_20_link"><span class="T2">446 laws [Habitual Felony Offender laws] that Alabama holds as of 1975 be abolished</span></span></a><span class="T2">.</span></li>
<li class="P2">We ask that parole board release all inmates who fit the criteria to be back in society with their families.</li>
<li class="P2">We ask that these prisons in Alabama implement proper
classes that will prepare inmates to be released back into society with
21st century information that will prepare inmates to open and own their
own businesses instead of making them having to beg for a job.</li>
<li class="P2">We also ask for monetary damages for mental pain and physical abuse that inmates have already suffered.</li>
</ol>
<div class="Standard">
<strong>2.</strong> Call and write Alabama Department of Corrections officials:</div>
<div class="Standard">
General: http://www.doc.state.al.us/Contact.aspx</div>
<div class="Standard">
Holman: (251) 368-8173<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<strong>3.</strong> Contact inmates at various Albama prisons in order to form bonds and connections on which to build struggle. <a class="Internet_20_link" href="http://www.doc.state.al.us/InmateSearch.aspx"><span class="Internet_20_link">http://www.doc.state.al.us/InmateSearch.aspx<br /></span></a></div>
<div class="Standard">
Currently you can type a letter into the first or
last name section and get a whole giant list of inmates to choose from.
It’s up to you to discern who you’d like to write to. We avoid inmates
who are listed as having racist tattoos or sex crimes. However there are
also several pen pal sites where you can find Alabama inmates who are
already looking to maintain correspondence with someone.<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<strong>4.</strong> Harass and disrupt. The Alabama
Department of Corrections is falling apart. Their employees already
have a low morale. Why not kick them while they’re down. There’s quite a
few ways you could do this. For one, you can harass them on facebook.<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
Holman correctional <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Holman-Correctional-Facility/132851630086957">facebook</a>.</div>
<div class="Standard">
Alabama correctional officers <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Alabama-Correctional-Officers-169319183217830/?ref=py_c">facebook</a>.</div>
<div class="Standard">
From these pages you can find personal accounts of
corrections officers. If you’d like to make a fake Facebook account, you
can head over to <a class="Internet_20_link" href="http://laservoicemail.com/"><span class="Internet_20_link">laservoicemail.com</span></a>
and get a phone number that you can use to sign up. Don’t use Tor while
doing this and choose to receive a verification code by call rather
than text. Be careful.</div>
<div class="Standard">
It would most certainly be demoralizing and
disruptive if you were to flood their investigations unit with false
reports via their online snitch form <a class="Internet_20_link" href="http://www.doc.state.al.us/InvestigationRequest.aspx"><span class="Internet_20_link">here</span></a></div>
<div class="Standard">
Also, most prisons have fax lines and email
addresses which you could flood with various free online faxing services
and throwaway emails.</div>
<div class="P3">
Fax services:</div>
<div class="P3">
<a class="Internet_20_link" href="http://www.gotfreefax.com/"><span class="Internet_20_link">http://www.gotfreefax.com/</span></a></div>
<div class="P3">
<a class="Internet_20_link" href="http://faxzero.com/"><span class="Internet_20_link">http://faxzero.com/</span></a></div>
<div class="P3">
<a class="Internet_20_link" href="http://www.faxbetter.com/"><span class="Internet_20_link">http://www.faxbetter.com/</span></a></div>
<div class="P3">
and more…</div>
<div class="P3">
temporary or easy emails:</div>
<div class="P3">
<a class="Internet_20_link" href="https://www.guerrillamail.com/"><span class="Internet_20_link">https://www.guerrillamail.com</span></a></div>
<div class="P3">
<a class="Internet_20_link" href="https://mytemp.email/"><span class="Internet_20_link">https://mytemp.email/</span></a></div>
<div class="P3">
<a class="Internet_20_link" href="https://itsgoingdown.org/chappie/Documents/mail.com"><span class="Internet_20_link">mail.com</span></a></div>
<div class="P3">
and more… again, be careful.<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<strong>5.</strong> Stage a protest. Have a noise
demonstration at your local jail or prison in solidarity with Holman.
Better yet, go to Holman and have one there. Or maybe stage a protest at
your local police station or courthouse? They lock people up all day ya
know. <a href="https://itsgoingdown.org/minneapolis-banner-holman-prison-rebels/">Dropping banners</a> is nice too. <a href="https://tucsonabc.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/holmanposter.pdf">Wheat-paste</a>? Graffiti? Go all out!<br /></div>
<div class="P5">
<strong>6.</strong> Attack. Be creative. Be expensive.
There are many correctional officer and employee unions, associations,
and organizations. There may be one near you. The manifestations of
prison society are everywhere, so targets for solidarity and retaliation
are all around us.</div>
<center>
<img alt="http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.2562367.1457806473!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_400/prison13n-1-web.jpg" class="shrinkToFit aligncenter" height="350" src="http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.2562367.1457806473%21/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_400/prison13n-1-web.jpg" width="302" /></center>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-40417330607837407922016-03-18T10:31:00.002-07:002016-03-18T10:33:31.409-07:00Mexican activist fears for his life after whitnessing the assasination of Honduran environment defender Berta Caceres in her home<img class="irc_mut" height="168" src="data:image/jpeg;base64,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" style="margin-top: 113px;" width="300" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="A man holds up a photo of slain activist Berta Caceres over her coffin after the morgue released her body in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, March 3, 2016." src="http://www.telesurtv.net/__export/1457446374802/sites/telesur/img/news/2016/03/08/berta_caceres_gustavo_castro.jpg_1718483346.jpg" draggable="false" height="340" itemprop="contentURL" title="A man holds up a photo of slain activist Berta Caceres over her coffin after the morgue released her body in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, March 3, 2016. | Foto: Reuters" width="600" /><br />
<br />
<pre style="left: -99999px; position: absolute;">Castro also said he fears for his life in Honduras and that local authorities have barred him from returning to Mexico. He also implied he doesn't trust police by saying he feels safer with Caceres sympathizers than with a thousand Honduran police officers, whom he accused of forgetting he is a victim.
Castro was with Caceres at the time of the murder last Thursday morning and was wounded by gunshots. “The hitman know that I didn't die,” Castro wrote, “and surely they will be willing to complete their task.”
The Mexican sociologist added that while many people from Caceres’ Indigenous organization COPINH have been asked to testify, those long suspected of leveling death threats against Caceres and trying to kill her have not faced the same scrutiny.
This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address:
<a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Mexican-Activist-Who-Witnessed-Caceres-Death-Fears-for-His-Life-20160308-0014.html">"http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Mexican-Activist-Who-Witnessed-Caceres-Death-Fears-for-His-Life-20160308-0014.html"</a>. If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english
</pre>
Castro also said he fears for his life in Honduras and that local
authorities have barred him from returning to Mexico. He also implied he
doesn't trust police by saying he feels safer with Caceres sympathizers
than with a thousand Honduran police officers, whom he accused of
forgetting he is a victim.<br />
<br />
Castro was with
Caceres at the time of the murder last Thursday morning and was wounded
by gunshots. “The hitman know that I didn't die,” Castro wrote, “and
surely they will be willing to complete their task.”<br />
<br />
The Mexican
sociologist added that while many people from Caceres’ Indigenous
organization COPINH have been asked to testify, those long suspected of
leveling death threats against Caceres and trying to kill her have not
faced the same scrutiny.
<br />
<pre style="left: -99999px; position: absolute;">Castro also said he fears for his life in Honduras and that local authorities have barred him from returning to Mexico. He also implied he doesn't trust police by saying he feels safer with Caceres sympathizers than with a thousand Honduran police officers, whom he accused of forgetting he is a victim.
Castro was with Caceres at the time of the murder last Thursday morning and was wounded by gunshots. “The hitman know that I didn't die,” Castro wrote, “and surely they will be willing to complete their task.”
The Mexican sociologist added that while many people from Caceres’ Indigenous organization COPINH have been asked to testify, those long suspected of leveling death threats against Caceres and trying to kill her have not faced the same scrutiny.
This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address:
<a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Mexican-Activist-Who-Witnessed-Caceres-Death-Fears-for-His-Life-20160308-0014.html">"http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Mexican-Activist-Who-Witnessed-Caceres-Death-Fears-for-His-Life-20160308-0014.html"</a>. If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english“The hitmen who assassinated Berta and that attempted to assassinate
me remain unpunished while the government seeks to undermine Berta’s
memory, the honor and magnificent struggle that COPINH has waged for
many years in defense of life, territory, and human rights,” Castro
wrote.</pre>
<br />
Honduran authorities have barred Castro from returning to Mexico,
while human rights defenders and social justice organizations have <a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Honduras-Calls-Grow-to-Protect-Witness-in-Berta-Caceres-Murder-20160306-0040.html" target="_blank">widely called for his protection</a>.<br />
<br />
The Inter-American Commission for Human Rights has called for
precautionary measures to protect Castro, members of Caceres’ family,
and members of COPINH, saying their lives could be at risk.<br />
<br />
“They are in a
situation of gravity and urgency, since their life and personal
integrity would be threatened and at risk,” IACHR said in a statement.<br />
<br />
Caceres also had
precautionary measures from the IACHR leading up to her death that
mandated police protection in light of the repeated and credible death
threats and harassment she received.
<br />
<br />
Shared from <a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Mexican-Activist-Who-Witnessed-Caceres-Death-Fears-for-His-Life-20160308-0014.html">http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Mexican-Activist-Who-Witnessed-Caceres-Death-Fears-for-His-Life-20160308-0014.html</a><br />
<pre style="left: -99999px; position: absolute;">Mexican national Gustavo Castro, who was left for dead by Caceres murderers, says the crime scene at Berta's home has been tampered with.
Mexican activist Gustavo Castro Soto, key witness of the assassination of prominent Honduran environmental defender Berta Caceres because he was at her home when hitmen stormed in to kill her and left him for dead with wounds to his head and hand, has warned that the crime scene has been tampered with.
“I didn’t hear cars arrive or leave at the time of the assassination, the crime scene was modified and altered,” wrote Castro in a letter published in local media. “The blood and other tests left blank lines that later can be altered.”
While Castro did not expand on the details proving the scene of the murder has been tampered with, he did say that he feels authorities are uncomfortable with his testimony because, according to him, it "obstructs them from accusing who they want to put in jail."
And although Honduran authorities have vowed to find those responsible for the crime and launched an investigation, family members and supporters remain highly skeptical that they will handle the case in a thorough and impartial manner that ensures justice.
This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address:
<a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Mexican-Activist-Who-Witnessed-Caceres-Death-Fears-for-His-Life-20160308-0014.html">"http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Mexican-Activist-Who-Witnessed-Caceres-Death-Fears-for-His-Life-20160308-0014.html"</a>. If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english
</pre>
<pre style="left: -99999px; position: absolute;">Mexican national Gustavo Castro, who was left for dead by Caceres murderers, says the crime scene at Berta's home has been tampered with.
Mexican activist Gustavo Castro Soto, key witness of the assassination of prominent Honduran environmental defender Berta Caceres because he was at her home when hitmen stormed in to kill her and left him for dead with wounds to his head and hand, has warned that the crime scene has been tampered with.
“I didn’t hear cars arrive or leave at the time of the assassination, the crime scene was modified and altered,” wrote Castro in a letter published in local media. “The blood and other tests left blank lines that later can be altered.”
While Castro did not expand on the details proving the scene of the murder has been tampered with, he did say that he feels authorities are uncomfortable with his testimony because, according to him, it "obstructs them from accusing who they want to put in jail."
And although Honduran authorities have vowed to find those responsible for the crime and launched an investigation, family members and supporters remain highly skeptical that they will handle the case in a thorough and impartial manner that ensures justice.
This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address:
<a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Mexican-Activist-Who-Witnessed-Caceres-Death-Fears-for-His-Life-20160308-0014.html">"http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Mexican-Activist-Who-Witnessed-Caceres-Death-Fears-for-His-Life-20160308-0014.html"</a>. If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english
</pre>
<pre style="left: -99999px; position: absolute;">Mexican national Gustavo Castro, who was left for dead by Caceres murderers, says the crime scene at Berta's home has been tampered with.
Mexican activist Gustavo Castro Soto, key witness of the assassination of prominent Honduran environmental defender Berta Caceres because he was at her home when hitmen stormed in to kill her and left him for dead with wounds to his head and hand, has warned that the crime scene has been tampered with.
“I didn’t hear cars arrive or leave at the time of the assassination, the crime scene was modified and altered,” wrote Castro in a letter published in local media. “The blood and other tests left blank lines that later can be altered.”
While Castro did not expand on the details proving the scene of the murder has been tampered with, he did say that he feels authorities are uncomfortable with his testimony because, according to him, it "obstructs them from accusing who they want to put in jail."
And although Honduran authorities have vowed to find those responsible for the crime and launched an investigation, family members and supporters remain highly skeptical that they will handle the case in a thorough and impartial manner that ensures justice.
This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address:
<a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Mexican-Activist-Who-Witnessed-Caceres-Death-Fears-for-His-Life-20160308-0014.html">"http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Mexican-Activist-Who-Witnessed-Caceres-Death-Fears-for-His-Life-20160308-0014.html"</a>. If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english
</pre>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-17997938388239821872016-02-29T09:39:00.002-08:002016-02-29T09:40:15.819-08:00Vegan anarchist Eric King accepts non-cooperating plea agreement to 10 years in federal prison.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYO0svJ6uDp5No64XXf_GgnEsvAGUtbOOxgpkECECpabeCg3F5wbMNYm-7G6aBAW9nlQO8Tcmm8VhWTkpBXlleEicO-7nzWG_3JOenm-kxjDsL4aZwJiXFJe0nF9tB-nwpSgfc7lXi3ANB/s1600/cropped-sss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYO0svJ6uDp5No64XXf_GgnEsvAGUtbOOxgpkECECpabeCg3F5wbMNYm-7G6aBAW9nlQO8Tcmm8VhWTkpBXlleEicO-7nzWG_3JOenm-kxjDsL4aZwJiXFJe0nF9tB-nwpSgfc7lXi3ANB/s320/cropped-sss.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
Shared from <a href="https://supportericking.wordpress.com/2016/02/28/400/">https://supportericking.wordpress.com/2016/02/28/400/</a><br />
<br />
After almost a year and a half of pre-trial detention in shitty
conditions, court battles and other legal woes, and facing threats of
forty years in prison, Eric King has finally decided to accept a
non-cooperating plea agreement to ten years in federal prison.<br />
<br />
<br />
If you live nearby, please consider attending Eric’s hearing in Kansas City, MO next Thursday, March 3<sup>rd</sup>
at 1:30p.m. The media and cops are likely to be well-represented, and
it would be a meaningful moment to show Eric that he is not alone.
Having supporters there may also create some pressure for the court to
conduct itself better. It will also be useful to Eric and his support
crew to have more people in attendance taking notes and keeping an eye
on the proceedings.<br />
The hearing will be:<br />
<br />
<b>Thursday, March 3<sup>rd</sup> </b><br />
<b>1:30 p.m.</b><br />
<br />
<b>US District Court, Western District of Missouri</b><br />
<b>400 E. 9th Street, Room 7662</b><br />
<b>Courtroom 7E<br />
Kansas City, MO 64106</b><br />
<br />
Please note that valid photo identification is required to enter the
courthouse and all persons and belongings are subject to search. Also,
we’d like to encourage everyone who’s planning on attending the March 3<sup>rd</sup>
court appearance to dress nice, and conduct yourself appropriately in
the court room out of respect for EK, the person we are there to
support.<br />
<br />
<br />
Even if you cannot attend on this short notice, please consider
donating some money to Eric’s new support fund . He urgently needs funds
to prepare for his long prison term as well as immediate support needs.
You can also send him a book or a letter. Check out his <a href="http://www.amazon.com/registry/giftlist/OEWNQ9RMQGZR" target="_blank">Amazon Wish List</a> for ideas. Eric is currently in the hole and needs all the reading material he can get.<br />
<br />
You can write to Eric at:<br />
<br />
Eric King<br />
#27090045<br />
CCA Leavenworth<br />
100 Highway Terrace<br />
Leavenworth, KS 66048<br />
<br />
<br />
Link to Eric’s fundraiser page <a href="http://fnd.us/c/316cDf/sh/a4jVK6" target="_blank">http://fnd.us/c/316cDf/sh/a4jVK<br /></a><br />
Sometime in the next couple months, Eric will have a sentencing
hearing where the judge will officially determine his sentence, after
which he will be transferred to a federal prison . Please keep your eyes
open for another call out asking supporters to attend.<br />
<br />
<br />
Make no mistake, neither Eric nor his support crew take the decision
to accept this plea lightly. Despite being far better than the other
legal options available, ten years is way too long for our friend and
comrade to be stolen from us. Eric is being steamrolled by the state and
its functionaries, and there is very little we can do about it. Yet we
can and will remain in solidarity with him.<br />
<br />
<br />
From the beginning, Eric has been concerned about accepting a plea
that may establish a legal precedent that other anarchists may have to
deal with in the future when facing similar charges. Therefore, he has
seen this legal battle as impacting not only himself, but all of us.
Nonetheless, facing the possibility of a thirty or forty year sentence,
Eric has determined that this is the best possible outcome that is
available to him.<br />
<br />
<br />
We are proud of Eric for how bravely he has faced these charges. He
has refused to cooperate with the state, worked hard to maintain a vegan
diet, and stood up for himself and his friends in prison in the face of
violence and intimidation by the guards and administration. And he has
done it with contagious laughter, joy and poetry. We now face the long,
hard road of supporting our friend and comrade for the next ten years of
his life. Please take some time to donate and write Eric a letter.<br />
<br />
<br />
Until we are all free,<br />
<br />
EK Support CrewAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-15429104830802091552016-02-22T22:22:00.000-08:002016-02-22T22:22:15.627-08:00Support Chicago Vegan Co-op!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNdx3u0NCdAZcApQGk2mqkq5mutbJc0XfzDhLNPNu7foPQ35nBag2-lF8pRpBeo_-EPPcHcx1v40sakhTktm6yhk6hSlSlgAVbcHWWaJR193NFpBRpZDLbPm0sbMQXol5APaUrAgfkqtpA/s1600/61326_127673143948436_5495119_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNdx3u0NCdAZcApQGk2mqkq5mutbJc0XfzDhLNPNu7foPQ35nBag2-lF8pRpBeo_-EPPcHcx1v40sakhTktm6yhk6hSlSlgAVbcHWWaJR193NFpBRpZDLbPm0sbMQXol5APaUrAgfkqtpA/s320/61326_127673143948436_5495119_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><br />Description:</b> The Chicago Vegan Co-op is organized as a member-run bulk-buying club to purchase a wide variety of wholesale vegan items wi<span class="text_exposed_show">th
the aim of opening a storefront in the future. We are committed to
replacing mainstream agriculture & industry with egalitarian &
humane alternatives, and we engage in vegan advocacy as a necessary part
of social justice for all sentient beings. Beyond animal-free products,
our purchasing decisions will also prioritize fair trade,
sweatshop-free, local, and organic/veganic where possible. We are open
to everyone in the Chicago area.<br /><br />Visit their facebook page at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ChicagoVeganCoop">https://www.facebook.com/ChicagoVeganCoop</a></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com56tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-83650297951960639372016-02-15T19:27:00.001-08:002016-02-15T19:27:32.151-08:00Don't worry.......we are still here! Been busy working on a couple new projects. One includes selling anarchist patches and supporting prisoners. So stay tuned!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-73321843203669834922016-02-15T19:25:00.000-08:002016-02-15T19:25:24.853-08:00Warzone Distro zine catalog Fall 2015 PDF<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitPicu6_BrWN-YGOE_3t4KzFugX2JFoftAk2RiVUq0EDrgZVAlMU25UP4D8n93bCYvzBVkqO36CU1StSeqq74KIeLTZLys3X403N8G0ZEkH5XCQac046IYr74mccnj3hOzkyrqO-WfMOxo/s1600/WarzoneDistro_2015Catalog_0000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitPicu6_BrWN-YGOE_3t4KzFugX2JFoftAk2RiVUq0EDrgZVAlMU25UP4D8n93bCYvzBVkqO36CU1StSeqq74KIeLTZLys3X403N8G0ZEkH5XCQac046IYr74mccnj3hOzkyrqO-WfMOxo/s400/WarzoneDistro_2015Catalog_0000.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />This can be downloaded here! <a href="https://archive.org/details/WarzoneDistro2015Catalog">https://archive.org/details/WarzoneDistro2015Catalog</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-32518984185347790362016-01-16T14:09:00.000-08:002016-01-16T14:09:43.344-08:00January 15 1838 the Battle of Jupiter Inlet Seminole Indians - Seminole Negro and the United States Navy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihA24-XXvawZulxl5b4_v_EW_9gfYc7y69v2DOfAy5KDbR-S2XOyfuYXpo4a7m72mtqBrFV8jd0gEbHlmdD1vm4Ndt6-u_SA6V42RSgwBA19IAqZNqIpwfaIlMoMfd-Qn2lr76JwPvpu39/s1600/12360438_10153767535912976_6242733937224317641_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihA24-XXvawZulxl5b4_v_EW_9gfYc7y69v2DOfAy5KDbR-S2XOyfuYXpo4a7m72mtqBrFV8jd0gEbHlmdD1vm4Ndt6-u_SA6V42RSgwBA19IAqZNqIpwfaIlMoMfd-Qn2lr76JwPvpu39/s400/12360438_10153767535912976_6242733937224317641_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><br />On January 15th in 1838 the Battle of Jupiter Inlet took place in Florida. A
United States Navy led boat expedition to the Everglades encountered a
Seminole village and mounted an attack. The Seminole warriors, although
outnumbered and out-gunned, defeated the Navy. It began when the
expedition of 200 soldiers, sailors and marines under Lieutenant Levin
M. Powell discovered a trail along the side of <span class="text_exposed_show">Jupiter
Inlet. Fifty-five sailors and twenty-five marines and soldiers were
landed to attack the Seminoles who were encamped nearby under the
command of medicine man Ar-pi-uck-i. Five Americans were killed in
action and another twenty-two others were wounded, Seminole casualties
are unknown. The Navy troops left in defeat.</span></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-38834316204615760932016-01-16T08:28:00.004-08:002016-01-16T08:32:06.551-08:00Reject #OpIsis and the Co-Opting of Anonymous: Jeremy Hammond shares his views on Anonymous, #OpISIS, and the recent wave of anti-immigrant sentiment that has been sweeping the nation.Shared from <a href="https://freejeremy.net/2015/12/10/reject-opisis-and-the-co-opting-of-anonymous/">Reject #OpIsis and the Co-Opting of Anonymous | Courage Hammond</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Ubuntu, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">
<a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYEaHdMWkAQM0JP.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="irc_mi" height="320" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYEaHdMWkAQM0JP.png" style="background-color: transparent; margin-top: 0px;" width="304" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Ubuntu, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">
The attacks in France were a terrible but unfortunately predictable response by desperate people who, after a decade of war and occupation, want the west to taste what we have been regularly dishing out. But we cannot allow them to be used to justify more war.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Ubuntu, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Ubuntu, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">
In the wake of the Paris attacks, the Western governments are provoking Islamophobic hatred in order to escalate military operations in the Middle East and push police state powers. It’s a familiar script, and from prison, I’ve been following these developments, disturbed about the attacks on immigrant and Muslim communities and the resurgence of the fascist right.<br /><br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Ubuntu, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">
I remember in the wake of 9/11, the waves of blind patriotism and xenophobia that the war-mongering politicians used to push police-state laws, mass surveillance, and rampant militarization. It was never about fighting terrorism or weapons of mass destruction, but about US empire: control over land, oil, and drug production, like all wars. Hundreds of thousands of innocents were murdered by the US military over the longest war in our history while we escalated drone warfare elsewhere in Syria, Yemen, Pakistan, and Somalia, creating the conditions which gave rise to ISIS in the first place.<br /><br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Ubuntu, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">
That same post-9/11 hysteria is back and all the war-mongers are again frothing at the mouth with hate for immigrants and refugees, pushing for national Muslim registration databases, and for regime change in Syria. But I never thought Anonymous would join in on their frenzied call for war. Apparently, GhostSec and others purportedly associated with Anonymous have been DDoSing forums, taking down Twitter accounts, and reporting IP addresses to law enforcement in collaboration with shady military contractors like Kronos Advisory. The naïve fools behind the operation are being manipulated by intelligence agents taking advantage of the emotional reaction to the Paris attacks to harness our skills to fight their hypocritical “war on terrorism.”<br /><br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Ubuntu, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">
As someone who hacked with Anonymous and marched against the war in Iraq, I completely oppose #OpISIS and any attempts to co-opt our movement into supporting the government’s militaristic agenda. Escalated US military involvement is certainly going to result in more civilian deaths, as it already has. All deaths of innocent civilians are a tragedy, and we cannot value one life over another. (And you are still more likely to be shot down by police than in a terrorist attack.)<br /><br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Ubuntu, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">
The same intelligence industry that runs their own NSA hacker operations against ISIS uses the same counter-terrorism justification to spy on everyday civilians with no regards for rights to privacy, encryption, or anonymity. They have always targeted Anonymous and other dissident groups as terrorists, and when they aren’t trying to discredit or imprison us, they are attempting to co-opt us – sometimes openly by attending conference like DEFCON, seducing us with promises of money or calls for patriotic duty, other times covertly lurking around IRC channels attempting to steer us unwittingly into supporting their agenda. Remember, Sabu asked me to hack government websites of Syria and Turkey, among others, which I did, unaware he was an FBI informant. They didn’t want to talk about it at my sentencing hearing, but they did condemn my attacks against police and military contractors at length. The agents out there encouraging you to “hack the terrorists” will have no problem turning around and locking you up for years if you are not useful to their agenda.<br /><br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Ubuntu, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">
We won’t let Anonymous be unwittingly used to further the military industrial complex’s imperialistic operations around the world. We don’t work for the government – we are against all governments. We are on the side of the oppressed, not the oppressors. We support the victims of war, not the war-makers. If you want to report membership lists and IP addresses of suspected terrorists, go join the CIA or hang out with wannabes like Stratfor or the th3j35t3r. Call it state-sponsored hacking, patriotic hacktivism, whatever – just don’t you dare call yourselves Anonymous.<br /><br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Ubuntu, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">
I urge my comrades still out there in the trenches, sitting on some hot 0day, ready to loot databases and trash systems. If you want to stop war and terrorism, target who Martin Luther King Jr. called the “largest purveyor of violence in the word today” – the US government. So Anonymous, get to it – drone manufacturers, white hat infosec contractors, CIA directors, Donald Trump, and your local police department – they all have blood on their hands, they are all fair game.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-5441984885808256602016-01-12T10:47:00.004-08:002016-01-12T10:47:57.009-08:00In support of Vegan Hip Hop Movement and against Facebook CensorshipWe recently found out that our friend at Vegan Hip Hop Movement has been harassed repeatedly with censorship lately. This doesnt surprise us because when white supremacy is challenged by folks like Vegan Hip Hop Movement which such power and intensity, some white people are going to get a little afraid. So in solidarity with upsetting the settlement with Vegan Hip Hop Movement, us vegans of color and white vegans at The Feral Space would like to share a post from VHHM that caused them to be harassed and censored for a week. White supremacy is no over-exaggerated lie. It is real and there is no denying its existance anywhere. <br /><br />Original blog post and screen shots of Facebook harassment of VHHM.<br /><br /><a href="http://veganhiphopmovement.blogspot.com/2016/01/facebook-censored-and-blocked-me-for.html">http://veganhiphopmovement.blogspot.com/2016/01/facebook-censored-and-blocked-me-for.html</a><br /><br />
<h5 class="_5pbw" data-ft="{"tn":"C"}" id="js_u1" style="font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.38; margin: 0px 0px 2px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 22px 0px 0px;">
<b><span class="fwn fcg"><span class="fwb fcg" data-ft="{"tn":";"}"><a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=893100410&extragetparams=%7B%22fref%22%3A%22nf%22%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=893100410&fref=nf" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Dakota Bracciale</a> [author of the following letter]</span></span></b></h5>
<b>
</b><div class="">
<b>
</b><div class="_5pcp" style="color: #9197a3; position: relative;">
<span style="color: black;"><b>
<span class="fsm fwn fcg"><a class="_5pcq" href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10156014437875411&id=893100410" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="">October 1, 2015</a></span></b></span><span role="presentation"><span style="color: black;"><b> · </b></span></span></div>
</div>
<br />"An Open Letter to People of Color:<br />
<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="js_u3" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.38; overflow: hidden;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Please do not trust white people.</div>
<div style="display: inline; margin-top: 6px;">
Every single one of us is racist, it's something we were born and raised
into, we were and are consistently indoctrinated into white supremacy. Indifference and apathy towards systemic racism and it's horrific
results is not just more comfortable, it is incentivized; we are
actively rewarded by white supremacy in it's many forms for ignoring
people of color and their cries for injustice.<br /><br />
Our bones are riddled with it, it's everywhere. We were taught the the history of our nation through textbooks written
by white men with a vested interest in how the story was and is being
told. So we think that MLK Jr is the patron saint of polite black folks (to be
invoked against the angry ones), peanut butter is the extent of black
excellence, and according to the newest textbooks, slaves were just
unpaid interns.<br /><br />
We were brought up being given medicine designed for us by white men,
men who historically tortured black women and murdered black babies to
found gynecology, men who performed surgeries on black people without
any anesthesia and no precautions because it was believe that black
people can not feel pain.<br /><br />
And you wonder why we do not sympathize when black children are gunned down by police?<br />
Nothing stopped, the framework of systemic racism just keeps getting
dressed differently, yesterday's fire hoses and attack dogs are today's
cultural appropriation, tone policing and respectability politics.<br />
We are the ones who committed genocide, stole this land, and now,
generations later, think it's cool to dress up like the folks we
massacred.<br /><br />
We're the ones making fun of people who can't speak "perfect" English,
we're the ones who've come up with every single racial slur used in this
country. We're so much more concerned about you questioning us, telling us no or
calling us out than we are what you're actually experiencing at our
hands.<br /><br />
We will spent countless hours just poking at you, trolling you just to
prove you're this less intellectual, overly emotional animal, to get you
to fail a standard we set for you without ever clueing you in on it.<br />
We are the ones who built this country on the blood, the bodies and the
backs of people of color and then built Mt Rushmore, statues, monuments
to white men.<br /><br />
We rigged the economy, the government and the schools, created the
ghettos, set you up for failure and then we blame you for your not
pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.We are still making you defend yourselves, over and over ad infinitum.
We make you defend your personhood, your autonomy, your agency, your
decency, your humanity because when you keep minorities on the
defensive, when you keep them explaining who they are and justifying
their right to life - nothing real ever gets done.<br /><br />
Even though I'm queer, even though I'm trans, I still get to sit in the
"Whites Only" section and I have heard what gets said and I'm begging
you, please don't trust us."</div>
</div>
<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="js_u3" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.38; overflow: hidden;">
<div style="display: inline; margin-top: 6px;">
</div>
by</div>
<h5 class="_5pbw" data-ft="{"tn":"C"}" id="js_u1" style="color: #141823; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.38; margin: 0px 0px 2px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 22px 0px 0px;">
<span class="fwn fcg" style="color: #9197a3;"><span class="fwb fcg" data-ft="{"tn":";"}" style="font-weight: bold;"><a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=893100410&extragetparams=%7B%22fref%22%3A%22nf%22%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=893100410&fref=nf" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Dakota Bracciale</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></span></h5>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-44228396709781148082016-01-06T10:41:00.000-08:002016-01-06T10:41:13.896-08:00An Indigenous Anarchist Against Intoxication Culture by Sarambi<span style="font-size: large;"><b>An Indigenous Anarchist Against Intoxication Culture</b></span><br /><br /><b>by Sarambi</b><br /><br /> The process of refusing intoxication is one that is long and arduous as a queer indigenous POC. The intense interlinking and bound together issues of being indigenous to land known as South America, a land being ravaged by major crop production of moncrops, but also of tobacco, coca, marijuana, and other chemicals being taken at a large rate out of context and out of balance like how people from off that land treat ayahuasca and other plants. As a queer individual now in the gilded, imperial terminal capitalist monstrosity known as the US, I see for what reasons our lands are being destroyed: it's for temporary pleasure, to numb from our suffering, because we have been told that how we exert liberation, freedom, and our sexuality and gender fuckery is at the bottom of a glass or end of a rail. I have also had to bear witness to the history of alcoholism en mi campesinx, mixed indigenous but not mestizx, familia. I have watched too many people end up in the clutches of the state for abusing or pushing drugs only because they had nothing else to gain or lose in their eyes so they listened to what was given to us. I speak to folx about why them spending what energy, resources, and capital on substances is not liberation, it is continuing genocide, ecocide, extinction, capitalism, colonial imperialism, and is keeping them from moving beyond themselves to actually get free.<br /><br /><br /> This is a message for my indigenous relations and others: stop listening to the colonizer, stop trying to please our oppressors in every form they take. They feed off of our dead lives. We have resisted for 523 years, and often that has included abstaining from the intoxicants they push on us so we are easy and don't feel our destruction. We tell them to keep alcohol away from us, and though people die from saying no, we go on. We push governments, no matter how "leftist" or down they seem they are all gaming on maintenance of keeping nations/labor/trade for capital/systems that benefit them and must not be trusted, and narcos from lands, and even with armies against us we persist in the name of not having the substances destroy our land and people further. They have already written and foretold their demise. <br /><br /> <br /> To everyone else who is not yet on the same page: this is for you. You who seek to end the world and dance in the quick wild waters ready to erode the mutated fallowed earth. Why does your liberation cost the planet, other species and other humans far from you and your spectacle? Why are you seeking out making the spectacle yours instead of shedding it to embrace a real existence as an individual and collective instead of a walking dead existence? How do you justify your revolutionary revelry, subversions, or social revolt when you are still not embracing the agony and suffering of your own life let alone what your choices to consume do away from you? If you're not about capitalism, why are you acting as a consumer? If you are about decolonization, why are you promoting colonial land grabs, genocide against indigenous bodies, and destroying our connection to the environment we have always learned from? What is your cognitive dissonance with seeing suffering, extinction, and factual affects on things that you do see like the war on drugs and the incarceratory state, the military and medical industrial complexes, white supremacy, colonization of the land we are on in the US, etc.?<br /><br /><br /> This is real talk. This is the problem. There is no conscience consumerism, as we all know hopefully, because of the mechanisms that make capitalism flourish. You cannot promote use of substances without participating in the justification of capitalism, you cannot produce many ofthe recreational substances used in North America, Europe, and amongst those with the capital ability to use without the exploitation and genocide of an ecosystem. We as humans in this age have seen it in both the proxy colonial wars through the Fertile Crescent and colonially termed Latinoamérica within the last 30 years. Within the warfare against US defined "terrorism"and hunting for oil in Iraq, what gets left out is the US's want of the opium poppy fields in Afghanistan when they entered. It also happened to coincide with the increase of opiate painkiller prescriptions doled out to Americans by primarily pharmaceutical company backed doctors and the continued rise in popularity of opiates as a recreational drug. This market still exists, as does the continued occupation, where people of the land are growing and being "raided" by the US but the opium gets oveseas. Similar drug pushing and coerced production for the US was seen anecdotally in the Golden Triangle as the US was fighting in Vietnam, and committing secret operations in neighboring Laos and Cambodia. Drugs benefit the US as an empire, sorry. <br /><br /><br /> But if it wasn't clear enough, look just south of the US colonial line from Mexico to Argentina - the US controlled and backed War on Drugs is not only meant to create the conditions to justify genocide in the US against Black and Brown, Indigenous and arrivant bodies, it is also a strategy to continue the legacy of the Dirty Wars, juntas, and white supremacist/Casta driven, colonially based neofascism that not even Leftists in charge and adored by American and European socialists can be found not falling under. Many people are no longer able to access their generational homelands due to violence related to the purest capitalistic motives of those who have "moved up", forced to take work as runners, pushers, guards, etc since there is nothing else because the land is poisoned or monocropped, the water is poisoned from mining residue and pollutants or is stolen to produce alcohol or soda or to be bottled as is for resale, and all other avenues are limited due to racially backed classism and anti-indigenous sentiment, strict morality, gender and sexuality guidelines brought out by colonizers and neo-colonizing missionaries from the US (I see you Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Evangelicals), and purposefully underdeveloped status in the world. When we are given nothing, we turn to what we are granted, it seems. <br /><br /><br /> But we do fight back, Xyha people kick marijuana growers off their land before the paramilitary can come into their territory. The Emberá of Panamá, the P'urépecha of México, the Bribri of Costa Rica, the Nahua of Colombia all have fought back and have even kicked out other foreigners or outsiders as they are aware how they could be blindsided by cartel movement if they are interfered with. Autodefensas and Zapatista communities throughout Mexico not only abstain from intoxication but also fight off cartels and the paramilitary government forces who are hand-in-hand with the cartels and the US. This type of armed resistance and pushback has history in the Americas to even earlier colonial periods and to this day, even in North America, autonomous and/or sovereign indigenous lands fight and die over preventing more damage and death done by intoxication. Though this has not always been and does not need to be the case either in indigenous lands producing or in occupied lands where it is consumed.<br /><br /><br /> We can choose, and some of us do, to negate the existence of these intoxicants for political and decolonial reasons. By refusing to play into not only what pacifies but what comes up and promotes systems that are inherently based in imperialism and capitalism as well as used to bolster kyriarchy all around, one feels all the agony they should: for themselves to do what they chose or must for existence without being lulled into any false pleasure of this civilization, for other beings and the planet being destroyed near and far from them, and for the future as this continues. When you actually feel every painful aspect of living, you are more apt to resist at your fullest because you are able to sense how unyielding and sickening parasitic everything is. If you can feel that, and feel it always at the level as it is, then you have a stronger will built up to fight back as nothing is cushioning the blows any longer. Nothing is keeping your head above water, until you take the boat that civilization has given to some and smash it to bits, and float on a board. Nothing is numbing you, making you forget, making you feel pleasure when you, those around you, and other on the periphery are dying or are already dead as you are walking dead. In a framework that is against all oppression, against all control, against all passiveness, it continues that one should negate the interests of civilization and gilded pleasure at the cost of everything you think you fight for. You cannot destroy your masters without going all the way.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-10844917340451791212016-01-06T10:18:00.002-08:002016-01-06T10:18:30.142-08:00Back from a looooong break.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRvCOe1SFzNb8A3-p81o0UvaNnuCjEtuRHWmXkpmJsafjfr0cIbaX2Xniaf9caoiaLZLdBeBQ3Za8gG6Nl55v3LDfLao0iIAuCnFdJrIYh9UiSqTi667fJlr-hu5-uO-z0tUt74Nm7wnKI/s1600/10464407_10203799388926718_485680397071849995_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRvCOe1SFzNb8A3-p81o0UvaNnuCjEtuRHWmXkpmJsafjfr0cIbaX2Xniaf9caoiaLZLdBeBQ3Za8gG6Nl55v3LDfLao0iIAuCnFdJrIYh9UiSqTi667fJlr-hu5-uO-z0tUt74Nm7wnKI/s1600/10464407_10203799388926718_485680397071849995_n.jpg" /></a></div>
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We would like to apologize to everyone for a long break we had to take to stabilize our living situation in a way that continued to facilitate our projects and resources. It has been a long and stressful break and we want to thank everyone who supported us through it. We are back. And so will be some new posts!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-41882657659912252232015-11-18T09:41:00.000-08:002015-11-18T09:42:10.401-08:00Solidarity with SXE MADRID across the globe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkphSHs6yTXM9U1qGzT1neqp9QkQcht6izF4zd_ltITTU7KSTyiKmca8zClfzEL-Ye7fsy-PjHBYYDUBnuW_PvRecFNN5yOd3wtG6D-hlrma22l9nzyblczROhhYUlmsfqedB6YTyibmgW/s1600/officialsolidarity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkphSHs6yTXM9U1qGzT1neqp9QkQcht6izF4zd_ltITTU7KSTyiKmca8zClfzEL-Ye7fsy-PjHBYYDUBnuW_PvRecFNN5yOd3wtG6D-hlrma22l9nzyblczROhhYUlmsfqedB6YTyibmgW/s400/officialsolidarity.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Against the colonial-spanish state<br />
Against capitalism and cages of all sizes worldwide<br />
For total liberation and in solidarity with SXE MADRID<br />
XVX (A)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-68510955544730983762015-11-08T23:27:00.003-08:002015-11-11T17:06:22.644-08:005 members of Straight Edge Madrid have been arrested after a raid on their collective<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGmpVnE4asp6rc-rcWMlzKeJfJazvlFSHYTENQcLyHnms5m6GRVVHbS3a6iLZLgcVoChg8iRn0Yysqy_NobHvBpzDNxJppgTFJrAXqn3EGsEvaUHuioXaxOMtR9cma0LNepPWaeVP-ERm/s1600/0044-300x225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGmpVnE4asp6rc-rcWMlzKeJfJazvlFSHYTENQcLyHnms5m6GRVVHbS3a6iLZLgcVoChg8iRn0Yysqy_NobHvBpzDNxJppgTFJrAXqn3EGsEvaUHuioXaxOMtR9cma0LNepPWaeVP-ERm/s320/0044-300x225.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g" data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.0"><span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.0.$end/=1$text4/=010"><br /><b>UPDATE 11/11/2015: </b></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g" data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.0"><span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.0.$end/=1$text4/=010"><span data-reactid="65"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid="67"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid="68"><span data-reactid="69">Here is the writing address of a couple people in kidnapped by the state:</span><br data-reactid="70" /><br data-reactid="71" /><span data-reactid="72">Borja Marquerie Echave</span><br data-reactid="73" /><span data-reactid="74">Centro Penitenciario Madrid II</span><br data-reactid="75" /><span data-reactid="76">Carretera Meco, 5</span><br data-reactid="77" /><span data-reactid="78">28805</span><br data-reactid="79" /><span data-reactid="80">Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, España.</span><br data-reactid="81" /><br data-reactid="82" /><span data-reactid="83">Juan Manuel Bustamante Vergara (Nahuel)</span><br data-reactid="84" /><span data-reactid="85">Centro Penitenciario Madrid V</span><br data-reactid="86" /><span data-reactid="87">Carretera M-609, km. 3,5.</span><br data-reactid="88" /><span data-reactid="89">28791</span><br data-reactid="90" /><span data-reactid="91">Soto del Real, Madrid, España.</span><span data-reactid="94"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<b><span class="UFITranslatedTextLegacy"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" dir="ltr"><span class="UFICommentBody"><span>Spread the adress and show solidarity!</span></span></span></span></b></div>
<span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g" data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.0"><span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.0.$end/=1$text4/=010"><br /><br />English translation:<br /><br /><b>RAID: 5 Straight Edge Madrid Collective members detained this early morning.</b></span></span><span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3"><span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0"><br data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text1/=010" /><br data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text3/=010" /><span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text4/=010">The
repressed collective defines itself as drug-free, promoting human, Animal and Earth liberation.</span><br data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text5/=010" /><span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text8/=010"><b><br />This update was posted on their FB wall:</b></span><br data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text9/=010" /><b><span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text12/=010">5 STRAIGHT EDGE MADRID COMRADES JAILED THIS MORNING<br /><br />November 4th 2015</span></b><br data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text13/=010" /><br data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text15/=010" /><span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text16/=010">This
early morning, Information Brigade has broken into the houses of 5 of
our comrades, searching around and taking the collective's material, ending
with our comrades detentions.</span><br data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text17/=010" /><span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text18/=010">Right
now they're at Moratalaz Commisary and they are not allowed to see
their lawyer until tomorrow. They're expected to be facing trial this
Friday.</span><br data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text19/=010" /><span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text20/=010"><b>SOLIDARITY AND DIFFUSION</b>.</span><br data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text21/=010" /><b><br data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text23/=010" /></b><span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text24/=010"><b>YOUR REPRESSION DOES NOT FRIGHTEN US.</b></span><br data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text25/=010" /><span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text28/=010">On the other hand, we have had access to people close to some members of
Straight Edge Madrid, who have informed us that the cops have
also broken into the house of a member of the Collective who wasn't in
Madrid, taking with them an anarchist flag, the family computer and
possibly some other material. This individual must now return to Madrid
to face trial.</span><br data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text29/=010" /><br data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text31/=010" /><span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text32/=010">So far, the reasons of prosecution are being withheld, as well as what "felony" they are being charged with.</span><span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text34/=010"><br /><br />Social movements call to demonstrate tomorrow, Thursday Nov 5th at 20 hs at Moratalaz Boulevard, Madrid.</span><br data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text35/=010" /><br data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text37/=010" /><span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text38/=010">Official
version of P.D, published at the official website of Interior Ministry
is this: <br /><br /><i>"Information Brigade Agents of Madrid National Police have
detained five people, members of the anarchist Straight Edge group, who
are charged with belonging to a criminal organization with terrorist goals,
damages to property and terrorism. During the raids we have found materials
to create explosive artifacts, diverse amounts of gun powder and
manuals to create home-made bombs."</i></span><br data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text39/=010" /><br data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text41/=010" /><span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text42/=010">Several
organizations and social activists have expressed their discontent via social media,
demanding for their innocence presumption and raising doubts about the
accuracy of the police statements. In summary, skepticism, disbelief and
rejection towards these detentions and accusations which are not
convincing to several groups.</span><br data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text43/=010" /><br data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text45/=010" /><span data-reactid=".ad.1:5.1:$comment10153813945312249_10153820307932249.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.2.$comment-body.0.3.0.$end/=1$text46/=010">The
most dangerous part of this is that even in case of verifying the detained people
innocence, no one will erase the damages suffered at any level. This is,
animical, falsely accusatory, mistreating and disrupts/loss of their usual
life (work, study, family life). Innocence presumption is a basic of
every democratic society. It appears that facts are raising all possible
doubts, especially about the authority and many are unclear of the actions of security
forces and their communications policies. In the video of the raid,
detention and exhibition of seized material, instead of the mentioned
bombing elements, we can only see sportswear, banners, screws and a
laptop, as proof to justify the raids and detentions this morning.<br /><br />Stay tuned as this situation updates...<br /><br /><b>What is STRAIGHT EDGE MADRID?</b><br /><br />"We are a drug free collective, anti-speciesist, anti-fascist in promotion of freedom.With conviction and commitment we are looking to change this mediocre life of capitalist misery. We also know that is not only in our hands but in the hands of all who are able to achieve this challenge in one way or another. We will not submit under any form of oppression, as did many in the course of this history. The struggle for freedom is daily and not as a hobby but as the only way to change.<br /><br />In response to this we are faced with the system firmly in place without bowing the head. We are not part of the mechanisms of struggle that the system caters to nor will we submit ourselves to this mechanism of repression. We are at war against the state and capital, but the war is not only in the street, but against the system that we have internalized. We say "Enough is Enough!" We swallow anger and we yell rebellion. Do not expect anyone fix the problems for us, we take the reins of our own lives.<br /><br />For us the STRAIGHT EDGE converges in an ideological development that goes hand in hand with the positioning of revolutionary ideas as something more specific and serious, as a policy of self-determination to be validating as theoretical underpinning and not as a cultural representation alternative within capitalism, but as a legitimization of anarchic ideas. There is in this convergence in the discourse and practices with ideas of freedom, thus building an anarchic reference within STRAIGHT EDGE.<br /><br />More than fine words and emotional speeches. Daily action against the power and the capital in all its forms. For autonomy and total liberation.<br /><br /><a href="https://straightedgemadrid.wordpress.com/que-es-straight-edge-madrid/">https://straightedgemadrid.wordpress.com/que-es-straight-edge-madrid/</a></span></span></span></span></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-65499108016603793092015-10-09T09:12:00.001-07:002015-10-11T09:09:56.746-07:00"Ayotzinapa Cronica de un crimen de Estate" documentary film screening at The Feral Space Saturday Oct. 10th 7pm<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span class="_5yl5" data-reactid=".4e.1:$mid=11443560847002=29d64664fba0a664287.2:0.0.0.0.0"><span data-reactid=".4e.1:$mid=11443560847002=29d64664fba0a664287.2:0.0.0.0.0.0"><br /><b>Ayotzinapa Cronica de un crimen de Estate<br />In
Spanish with English subtitles
Director: Xavier Robles</b>
<br /><br />The night of September 26, 2014, in the city of Iguala, Guerrero, in
Mexico, more the 100 young students of the Escuela Normal Rural of
Ayotzinapa, were attacked by police forces, resulting in 3 students
dying, more then 20 injured, and 43 kidnapped by the police. The Mexican
military is also implicated in this crime.
Within a few days tens of thousands of voices, especially young voices,
echoed through streets and avenues of cities of Mexico and the world,
demanding the safe return of the "disappeared" students, and denouncing
this act as a Crime of State - although it remains to this day
unpunished.
In their testimony and the commentary of other witnesses and experts,two
student survivors of the Iguala massacre reconstruct the climate of
impunity, corruption, and criminality that exists, not only in the state
of Guerrero but in the entire country.
<br /><br />Donation are welcome (half of the proceeds will go to Escuela Normal
Rural of Ayotzinapa, with the other half going to the filmmaker to cover
production costs)</span></span><b>Translation</b><br />
<br />
La noche del 26 de Septiembre de 2014, en la Ciudad de Iguala, Guerrero, en México,
más de cien jóvenes estudiantes de la Normal Rural de Ayotzinapa, que habían salido de su
escuela a realizar una colecta pública, para poder viajar a la Ciudad de México, fueron
atacados por fuerzas policíacas, resultando muertos 3 normalistas, más de 20 heridos y
43 secuestrados por la policía, con la complicidad del ejército mexicano.
<br />
<br />
Las voces de los entrevistados, entre ellos dos estudiantes sobrevivientes de la masacre de
Iguala, reconstruyen el clima de impunidad, corrupción y criminalidad que hay, no sólo en
el estado de Guerrero, sino en todo el país. A través de un relato entretejido, los
entrevistados cuentan la historia de la descomposición actual de México, a partir del
crimen de Iguala, denunciándolo no como una acción aislada, sino como un suceso con
antecedentes históricos criminales y que son parte de la política del narcoestado
mexicano.
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="cita">
"Nos querían callar, pero a Ayotzinapa no lo callan nunca",
<br />
dice uno de los jóvenes sobrevivientes.
</div>
<br />
<br />
A unos días de haberse perpetrado el crimen, decenas de miles de voces, sobre todo voces
jóvenes, resonaron en calles y avenidas de ciudades y poblados de México y del mundo,
exigiendo la aparición con vida de los 43 estudiantes víctimas de desaparición forzada y
denunciando este acto como un crimen de Estado, que hasta la fecha sigue impune. !
“Ayotzinapa: Crónica de un Crimen de Estado" es un documental realizado por cineastas
mexicanos comprometidos con su realidad.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-17001567617830848202015-09-21T07:48:00.001-07:002015-09-21T07:52:06.382-07:00We are now selling "Support Eric King" T-Shirts! All proceeds go to vegan anarchist Eric King!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcxEHcWnUL95pBsOJrZ6wRtjHbhnPtyGO9oQvKHZ9q-fSRttYVZjo4HT_iAGm-Ea2IKN3ibePZxQ0pW9_cZHlKpJMS-vO3pKtna8OLnrvKZn8WL3pmbrFnV_VV24TIJglBpRmn03R-Cc-8/s1600/shirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcxEHcWnUL95pBsOJrZ6wRtjHbhnPtyGO9oQvKHZ9q-fSRttYVZjo4HT_iAGm-Ea2IKN3ibePZxQ0pW9_cZHlKpJMS-vO3pKtna8OLnrvKZn8WL3pmbrFnV_VV24TIJglBpRmn03R-Cc-8/s320/shirt.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The title pretty much says it all! The Feral Space collective never charges for film screening events, zines or anything else we do-except for when it comes to supporting prisoners! We just got an order of shirts in and we are selling them for 20 bucks. Ths money will go towards Eric's stamps, paper, pens, vegan food and anything else he needs.<br />
<br />
Yes we can ship you a shirt but we would have to charge for shipping. We will have these shirts at any events our zine distro tables at now so you can always pick them up there as well. Much love and solidarity with Eric King, fire to the prisons and the settler-colonial courts! (A) XVX<br /><br />For more info on Eric G. King visit <a href="https://supportericking.wordpress.com/about-eric-2/">https://supportericking.wordpress.com/about-eric-2/</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-20889539092870066472015-09-18T15:52:00.000-07:002015-09-23T15:37:21.655-07:00Ex-Members of Direct Action Everywhere unite and speak outUPDATE 9/23/2015:<br />
<br />
After receiving more information related to this shit show of a situation, we wanted to make it clear to <b>BOTH</b> sides that while we stand behind the victims/survivors of this situation, we whole-heartedly stand against predators, abusers, manipulators, deceivers and anyone else who is not a victim/survivor in this who merely seeks to compromise and sabotage for whatever selfish reason. We want to make it clear that when sharing the original victims/survivors statement we stand behind them as well as any other victim/survivor involved here that we are unaware of. It is important for those from both sides reading this to know that we do not know enough about every single accusation, wrongdoing and so on to take sides. We only heard about victims/survivors who were being silenced and we expressed support by giving their statement a voice on our blog. Were not even part of the network. It seems since then the shit has gotten thicker. It is important for DxE members reading this to understand our position as vegans anarchists is not to get involved with slinging balls of shit from either side to the other, but to merely express and act upon support and solidarity with the victims/survivors. We would also like to remind everyone involved that there are in fact DxE chapters and individual members who have been on top of keeping a secured safe space and are currently working hard to address this issues from others, including taking direction from other victim/survivors. The Feral Space collective does not need DxE chapters or members to remind us of their hard efforts to maintain safe spaces. We already know. But try to understand this is not about your hard work and consistency. It's about the victims/survivors and it's about others, including main organizers, being called out, in a network that you are part of. Every DxE chapter that takes itself and its safe space policies seriously should be contacting the victims/survivors and taking direction from them, or at the very least having meetings that involve all chapters addressing these issues directly. In a movement like this, yes, a few folks affects ALL. Yes, if one is involved, ALL are involved, it is the responsibility of ALL to address these issues.<br />
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Last but not least, we have noticed a rather scary trend developing as well in light of all this. To ex-dxe or soon to be ex-dxe, movements come and go. Not to say this one will go, because that is up to the dxe movement, but PLEASE try to realize that DxE does <b>NOT</b> represent the AR community or movement in whole. You leaving DxE for whatever reason you may have does <b>NOT</b> mean you no longer have a voice. It does <b>NOT</b> mean non-human animals will receive less support. Please remember that you have a voice that carries your veganism as a weapon of war. Not only are there many other groups and organizations to still to be part of, there are <b>COMMUNITIES</b> of people to work with <b>DIRECTLY</b>, strategies and methods of organizing and mobilizing against speciesism, non-human animal oppression and capitalist exploitation. YOU have the ability to be as strong as you were while in a group, maybe even stronger alone. With or without organizations the fight for non-human animal liberation continues and ALWAYS will. We at The Feral Space collective do our own vegan outreach, film screenings and community work related to veganism, anti-speciesism and eco-defense. There are many other collectives and local groups like us. We are not an organization and we have no leaders. Our policies will not bend on ANY issue related to anti-oppression. And this is why our original statement of disassociation with DxE will remain. Take care of each other. Listen to each other. Stop slinging shit at each other and put the words "solidarity", "Mutual aid" and "accountability" to action. This is the last and final update we will make regarding this situation because this is <b>NOT</b> about us. This is about the victims/survivors (on either side) and those who violated them.<br />
<br />Original statement.<br /><br />
We were notified by fellow activists that something sinister was happening behind the curtains of Direct Action Everywhere. A movement that prides itself as intersectional and accountable, for non-human and human animals alike. We at The Feral Space feel it is important for us to stand behind this statement not only in solidarity and support with the victims, but in maintaining our own dedication and commitment to intersectionality, accountability and total liberation.<br />
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When a group, organization or movement has chapters or individual members that violate the very principles foundational to the movement, it is the responsibility of that group, organization or movement as a <i><b>whole</b></i> to take action against these violations starting with the most basic and important task of showing support; <b>listening to those who have been violated and harmed</b>. This very basic act of support is evidently lacking in the Direct Action Everywhere movement as these voices were silenced and disregarded, and the movement as a whole carried on. When voices are silenced, oppression carries on in an anti-oppression movement, making a mockery of all of our commitment and collective struggles for intersectional total liberation.<br />
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While The Feral Space collective continues to fight speciesism, anthropocentrism and the settler-colonial capitalist state, we do not, and can not find affinity with the Direct Action Everywhere movement as long as these issues remain. We can not, and will not support and work with those who support and work with a movement that continues to place public image above the well-being of its own members. We feel that every current member of DxE reading this will now have an opportunity to take another kind of action; solidarity with the victims of this movement, or further perpetuate the silencing of their voices. We feel there are too many voices already silenced by global oppression-we will not participate in being silent, nor will we allow a statement by the oppressed to be silenced. Here is their statement and these are there voices.<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br />It’s Not Intersectional, It’s DxE: An Exposé Written By DxE’s Victims</span></b><br />
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Shared from <a href="https://dismantledxe.wordpress.com/2015/09/16/10/">https://dismantledxe.wordpress.com/2015/09/16/10/</a><br />
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Dear Animal Rights Community,<br />
<br />
The misery, torture, and sheer suffering animals endure at the hands of our capitalist economy has outraged us. We have all seen gruesome footage of what it means to be an animal in the modern day factory farm and have chosen to side with compassion. We have made a decision to work towards creating a world where animal oppression is no longer a reality. We, as animal rights activists, do our best to ensure that animals’ voices are represented, that animals are given the dignity they deserve, and that our fellow humans are awakened to the unfathomable violence embedded in their everyday choices.<br />
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As activists in the animal rights community, we also recognize that the suffering of humans, based on systems of power and privilege rooted in colonialism, is very much connected to animal oppression. Therefore, we acknowledge the necessary social justice activism baseline of intersectionality. We simultaneously work to undermine all systems of oppression, race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, and species, because we see them as fundamentally intertwined.<br />
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Given our anti-oppressive stance, it has become morally impossible for us to keep silent about the various violences we see in the animal rights community. An infamous animal rights group, Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), has wholeheartedly violated fundamental social justice activism principles and continues to do so. As their group begins branching out, we find it imperative to publicize how they completely lack intersectionality, abuse those who disagree, and manipulate or derail their way out of conflict situations. DxE claims to be an intersectional group working towards Total Animal Liberation, the idea that “every sentient being deserves the same safety, freedom, and happiness.” However, this group has a horrendous history of racist, sexist, and homophobic behavior, in addition to harboring sexual predators and tokenizing People of Color. Not to mention, the group has a flawed and inept accountability process which leaves victims feeling manipulated, dismissed, or attacked. Direct Action Everywhere is not intersectional, not a safe space, and certainly not revolutionary.<br />
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This letter is being issued by the growing number of DxE’s victims. We are here. We are many. We are no longer afraid. We are making our voices heard. And we will no longer allow our movement to be co-opted by corporate pseudo-activists disinterested in genuine change. Our intent is not to share individual stories, for valid fear of reactionary attack by the DxE core, but to make these grievances public. Too many people have been personally attacked and/or sexually assaulted by DxE leadership and it is essential that we make this a public conversation in the animal rights community. Our central goal is to make you question DxE and rethink joining a group known to host abusers, manipulate activists, and undermine and attack oppressed peoples.<br />
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A direct message to DxE’s current followers: please consider if this is a group you want to identify and work with. DxE’s dirty secrets are starting to become public knowledge. These scandals are no longer instances which the core can quietly shove under the rug. Victims are speaking out to prevent future victimization. Listen.<br />
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DxE is racist.<br />
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DxE is homophobic.<br />
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DxE is sexist.<br />
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DxE is zionist.<br />
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DxE is abusive.<br />
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If these sentences shock you, good. They should. If you identify with DxE, think DxE is magical, intersectional, and perfect at what they do ‒ this letter is for you. Stop and think. Don’t get immediately defensive, just stop. Stop. Think. We’ve all been there. We believed in DxE too. Now that we’ve come out the other side, been manipulated, attacked, publicly humiliated, and shunned, we have seen the reality. There is nothing intersectional or safe about DxE. Reconsider your allegiance. Question DxE.<br />
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This entire project has been orchestrated and organized by Womxn of Color victims of DxE, and all contributors are Womxn victims of DxE, save one male of Color. Take into account our identities and how DxE continues to reproduce hierarchal power structures, by attacking, undermining, and invalidating womxn, People of Color, queer, gender-nonconforming, and other marginalized communities. Also, take into account what it means for you to undermine or further invalidate our experiences, if you choose to do so.<br />
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Here are the voices of DxE’s victims. Each and every single one of these people has been attacked by DxE. Each and every single one of these people was deeply involved in DxE. Some contributors are former core members. Some contributors have been with DxE since the beginning. Some have been dedicated members for years. Some decided to speak out and all hell broke loose. Please take a moment to listen to our stories.<br />
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I am devastated by the way Direct Action Everywhere have treated my friends and I, former long-time members since the group’s inception. We dedicated ourselves entirely to seeing DxE succeed as we truly believed that not only was DxE working to help animals, but also looking out for us as womxn and people of color.<br />
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Despite the leader being a person of color; DxE is set up with the leader’s favorite friends (read: heterosexual cis-gender white men) at the top of the hierarchy. The “leadership” roles he gives to some womxn and people of color are facades. DxE’s leader and his core completely used my friends and I to do all of the non-glamorous jobs in DxE, objectified us as sexual conquests, and tokenized us as womxn and people of color to pretend they are “intersectional…” even long after many of us have left the group. When we tried to express our concerns we were gaslit and lovebombed by their “Conflict Resolution Team.” It was either going to be complete submission to the DxE leader OR face a smear campaign and ex-communication from the community we grew to love and care for.<br />
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When we decided to stop being guilt-tripped by them (“for the animals/intersectionality”) into doing things that were hurting us; they subjected us to further sexism and racism, victim-blamed us, and turned the DxE community against us with their half-truths, outright lies, and attacks to our character. And why? Because we stood up for each other and ourselves when DxE’s leader and core were bullying us into silence.<br />
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Knowing that DxE continues to grow and victimize more people; I cannot be silent anymore. Direct Action Everywhere is NOT a safe space for womxn or people of color. And for everyone else, please know Direct Action Everywhere is NOT an organization to support if you consider yourself an ally.<br />
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I was thrilled to begin working with DxE. I loved the idea of their grassroots, open network model, that appeared to have no hierarchical structure and was intersectional in approach. It wasn’t long before I noticed there is indeed a hierarchy, with Wayne and Priya, two controlling and calculating narcissists, at the top.<br />
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I had a wake up call as to the leaders true characters when one of their activists admitted to committing sex crimes. I discovered that there were many womxn activists who were victims of rape, revenge porn and sexual harassment by men in DxE’s core who were gaslighted or shamed into silence by the leaders.<br />
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Before knowing better, I confided in Priya something serious that was happening to me. Not only was she cold and uncaring, a few days later I was removed as a DxE organizer for telling another activist in private that I thought they handled things terribly. I was told Priya was in charge of this decision. Already feeling robbed of my dignity and autonomy, I was devastated.<br />
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This network had meant everything to me. Wayne also dismissed my concerns and said that I and others were threatening DxE’s reputation. They showed absolutely no concern as to the injustice we had faced and witnessed. The more I questioned, the longer the list of offences I had allegedly committed, grew. This is the famous DxE ‘Conflict Resolution Process’.<br />
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In other words, forget everything that has happened to you, accept that you are in the wrong, act remorseful, and make the brand look as good as possible or we’ll make things worse for you. When a friend publicly said their decision making did not feel like a victim-oriented approach, they immediately began a smear campaign against him. Anyone who vocalized disagreement was punished by either being removed from the group, or slandered.<br />
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I worry about current and future activists, particularly youths, joining DxE. Fighting for animals in what appears to be a warm loving community of activists with a shared dream of animal and human liberation in a harsh nonvegan world is an attractive picture. I fear this group will get worse as Wayne’s lust for power grows and DxE becomes a major player in the movement.<br />
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They routinely silence womxn and people of color and commit character assassinations against those who dare to speak out against injustice within their ranks. I now see that they are standing in the way of any real grassroots intersectional movement.<br />
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I was shattered by DxE’s behavior. I was a member of the group for over a year and considered myself very involved and respected. However, when I pointed out some fundamental flaws in DxE’s politics (specifically how they support groups which condone military occupation and colonization) and power structure (a rigid hierarchy which disallows non-core activists from decision making processes), the core berated me. Honestly, the things DxE’s core said to me are some of the most racist things anyone has ever said to me. I was more horrified, not by Kelly or Kitty’s racist attacks or Wayne’s absurd derailing attempts, but by how every single individual in the group remained silent. Not one individual was willing to stand up to their bigotry. The degree of obedience and loyalty to the DxE setup became very clear to me in that moment. DxE is ultimately nothing more than a loyalty contest (to Waye), not an activist space. Not even close.<br />
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DxE has normalized hypermasculinity, hierarchal power structures, rape culture, racism, sexism, tokenization, and zionism in the animal rights movement. If you try to point this out to them, they simply destroy you.<br />
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At the time, it was unfathomable to me that a supposedly intersectional and socially-conscious group was facilitating this dehumanization, delegitimation, and outright attack on a Womxn of Color. It was a very difficult, abrupt, and vicious process by which I was forced to realize that DxE is in the business of producing and protecting a brand, while simultaneously doing everything in its power to discredit, undermine, and eliminate threats to its structure, by any means necessary. Now I understand why they did what they did. They don’t care about doing the hard work necessary for radical change. They are only interested in viral videos and new chapters.<br />
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Nonetheless, the extent to which they hurl offensive vitriol at oppressed peoples continues to baffle me. They are doing absolutely nothing intersectional as far as I am concerned. In fact, in my personal experience, they have been the most racist and tokenizing group I have ever encountered. I am speaking up now, to prevent further victims to DxE violence.<br />
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As a former member of dxe’s core I have seen and participated in the abuse of others. Getting involved with the group was my first experience with any kind of activism and I remember feeling exhilarated and enthralled to be working alongside Wayne. In the beginning it felt as if we were all equals, and that we truly operated on a consensus-based decision making model, but later on as we started to have disagreements it was always that Wayne would veto whomever and the rest of the group would follow his lead.<br />
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I was not the first person in the group to bring up issues of sexism and women’s safety. That person was met with silence and then dismissal, and afterward we reassured each other that this person’s claims were ultimately vague and that we didn’t know how to address or resolve any of them. That became a pattern in dxe. It became a problem as more instances of sexual predation and harassment cropped up over time. The group’s “accountability process” early on was that Wayne would have a private conversation with the accused (that nobody else was ever privy to)… But it was always that the ones held accountable and whatever accountability meant was clearly based upon Wayne’s own personal opinion and affection for the attacker.<br />
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As I began to voice my own criticisms within the group I slowly became the pariah. Being core and having some meaningful ties within dxe they afforded me some sort of protection from vicious attack, but there came a time that whenever I began to speak that Priya and Kelly would look at each other and roll their eyes. It began to feel more like I was fighting for justice within the group than fighting for animal liberation and it was draining. I kept going to demos but stopped attending weekly meetings. My communication with the group remained steady through emails.<br />
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Everything came to a head over the decision to publicly endorse a recorded 269 demo with depictions of extreme violence against women. I got into a very heated argument with Wayne in some private emails and he derailed the conversation by telling me that I was more concerned with women’s issues within the group instead of racial issues. That was the point where I severed ties with them.<br />
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About a year after leaving I have had multiple people approach me to confirm as to whether or not I was physically violent toward another member of the group. It was insinuated that I had assaulted my former partner and I have only found out recently certain members of the group have been telling this to other activists, and also warning others to keep away from me. On a public comment thread on Facebook, Priya stated that my behavior within the group was racist and physically violent. I reached out to her privately more than once to clarify and have only been met with silence.<br />
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I am only speaking to my own experience, but I do personally know others who have been victimized by dxe in very similar and dissimilar ways. Some are far worse than what I’ve been through and I count myself lucky to have left the group with barely a scratch, but my hope is that others will listen and learn from what those who have been so negatively affected have to say.<br />
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I am a victim of relentless bullying and character assassination based on outright lies by DxE’s core. This became my reality for daring to speak out publicly about DxE concerning their non-intersectional politics and total disregard for creating safe spaces for activists. Over time, I have seen a pattern of this exact type of fraudulent character assassination happening to almost everyone who dare challenge DxE and I find this manipulative behavior inexcusable and disgusting. I am speaking out because I cannot sit back and watch more and more victims come forward with personal accounts of the abuses they have experienced at the hands of DxE, experiences far worse than mine. DxE, the skeletons in your closet are being exposed, the bullying, sexism, manipulating, victim blaming and predator insulating behavior running rampant within your community has gone unchecked far too long.<br />
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I worked with DxE for a year, initially ecstatic that I had found what I thought to be an amazing model and network of activists who actually cared about intersectional issues. I believed that DxE cared about its members and cared about being an anti-oppressive group. Was I ever wrong. Over the course of the year I discovered things that they were engaged in that shocked me. I was devastated when things began coming to light showing their true nature.<br />
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When I tried to “call in” DxE for oppressive behavior against women, a lack of true intersectionality, and affiliation with problematic and violently offensive groups, I was gaslighted and slandered within the group. I witnessed firsthand what happens when someone challenges DxE on their oppressive and hypocritical behaviors and practices. I discovered what happens when someone attempts to hold them accountable to their own principles of “intersectionality.” I was called “crazy” and “divisive” for daring to bring up oppressive behaviors that were occurring. I was silenced, dismissed, and gaslighted for merely trying to hold DxE accountable to its own principles. The “core” manipulated the situation so as to appear that I was the problem.<br />
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I was betrayed by people who I thought were close friends, who stayed silent and allowed me to be treated this way. People who I thought were my friends cared more about staying on Wayne, Priya, and Kelly’s good side than actually standing up against injustice. Since distancing myself from them I have met far too many people who have had similar awful experiences of being silenced and shunned for daring to question DxE’s oppressive behavior. I have seen a horrible pattern of silencing, gaslighting, and cutting off anyone who dares to question their oppressive behaviors or hierarchical structure. They claim to have a space for criticism, but this is false. They claim to be a safe space for marginalized groups, but as I have experienced and witnessed, this could not be further from the truth. This experience was so hurtful that I have not participated in animal rights work for over a year. I hope that by speaking up we can prevent other activists from being mistreated and falling victim to DxE’s manipulation and lies.<br />
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<br />
As an activist who had been seeking an animal rights group strong on community-building and activism, I was infinitely thrilled to have found such a dynamic and seemingly altruistic support in Direct Action Everywhere, who touted vital principles and notions of intersectionality spanning across all realms of social injustices. The pace was fast, frenetic and uplifting and and the group enjoyed fast-rising growth. The friendships formed were many and made one feel supported and protected. What I did not expect, was to witness some of those solid bonds unravel in the most hurtful of ways by those who had helped form them. When members of a group become prey and mere toys to more experienced, older members it’s hurtful. When long-time members are maligned, vilified and ostracized for agenda gains and to protect male organizers who have become notorious for engaging in predatory behavior, it breaches all of the trust and credibility that was focal and crucial to the group and it’s a painful experience for those who believed in those friendships. This is not ethical, just or intersectional in the least. Particularly disturbing are the cases of male members coming on to very young female members, especially when those male members are from the organizing core. There is an obvious power-play in effect within the core of the group that is very subtly played and used to keep people in control, and not just in a sexual way, but in emotionally charged and guilt-imposing ways. What’s worse is the way these issues are dismissed when they are brought up by those who speak up. In most cases insinuations of racism and sexism are dished out liberally against those who question, along with a healthy dosage of victim-blaming. In other words, for DxE to continue to claim that they care about women’s safety and womens’ rights as well as other issues is nothing short of offensive. Too many people have dropped out of the community feeling betrayed and abandoned. Too many people have been hurt. Smart, insightful, good people. This is no coincidence. And to continue to ignore or to make excuses for these serious infractions is a mistake, because there should be no more cases of people being manipulated and hurt by an organization who is supposed to care about all beings.<br />
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<br />
I was an early member of DxE when it first started. I came to DxE believing they were a new wave of activists creating incremental change. DxE claims to fight for true intersectionality with various people from all races, sexes, and heritages working together to abolish oppression that is all connected.<br />
<br />
Then I noticed some red flags slowly creeping up. I started working with one of the most well respected, to this day, activists in DxE. He uses activism as a platform to pick up women at actions. I was doing countless hours of work for DxE, and his behavior often made me feel weird. However, since Wayne and the core approved of his behavior; I felt forced to accept that kind of environment for women.<br />
<br />
This one golden and respected DxE activist, Assaf, made inappropriate comments, rape jokes, sexual advances, and racial slurs to women and people of color in and outside of the group. Racist jokes were aimed at my family and I. Sexist comments were aimed at one of my partners. I felt uneasy as I realized this is the culture of DxE. Many women and people of color left DxE, because of this harassment.<br />
<br />
I confronted Wayne about various issues, including this one, but instead of solving the issue he responded with “well, he is still a great activist.” Wayne also shared with me and a few other men his own personal history of sexual harassment of women when he was in graduate school. I suspect he shared this little known fact about him to help normalize the mistreatment of women in DxE among DxE men. Wayne’s response made me understand that fighting oppression isn’t important to DxE. They are only interested in getting a bigger (activist) body count and publicity for Wayne.<br />
<br />
The final straw came when Assaf proudly told me some things he did at Burning Man which constitutes as date rape of multiple women. It left me feeling disgusted and physically ill. So, I distanced myself from Assaf after months of constant abuse from him. That abuse was never addressed by Wayne and the core. In fact, Wayne and Priya, once my close friends, turned on me.<br />
<br />
Chris and Priya sent out a statement about me full of slanderous lies. They aimed the statement at vulnerable activists who Wayne emotionally and mentally manipulates, including one of my partners. I received death threats from people Wayne is allied with now. I was torn and suicidal. I suffered from anxiety and panic attacks for weeks. During that time, Wayne had the nerve to contact me inviting me to a men’s only group meeting about creating safe spaces for women (no women were allowed at this meeting). So long as I sought out Wayne’s guidance and did everything Wayne said; Wayne would “help” me rejoin DxE and become a “better” person/DxE activist. I, in good consciousness, didn’t accept Wayne’s bargain.<br />
<br />
All of my friends and extraordinary activists from the DxE community who spoke out against Wayne, Chris, Priya, and the DxE core’s smear campaign of me were labeled as sexist, racist, and overall just bullies. Just like everyone else who left DxE in the past; DxE gaslit them as abandoning animals and intersectional progress.<br />
<br />
So, beware that DxE is not safe for anyone unless you’re into racism, sexual assault, and pseudo-activism.<br />
<br />
◇◇◇<br />
<br />
I used to organize off and on for DxE last year. I became increasingly frustrated by certain DxE posts and organizers, and what I thought was grandstanding. I felt like the group wasn’t as inclusive or welcoming as they say they are especially with so many snarky posts and comments.<br />
<br />
After the posting of a meme appropriating DxE to Civil Rights protesters, another red flag emerged when core members confronted someone who expressed that she did not want to further engage with them. By then I was already cautious of the group but hoping they were willing to correct any wrongs when confronted. After confronting them on the inconsistencies of public statements vs. actual actions, I was cut from the group pages and communications.<br />
<br />
I have seen the core members twist words, lie and manipulate to protect their personal agendas under the guise of another agenda (e.g. protecting women of revenge porn). I am aware of them protecting and ignoring victim blamers. I was reminded that DxE is a “grassroots org,” there is no leadership and I can participate in many ways, but I know that’s not true. I clearly see a leadership structure. In good conscience I could not participate and knew I needed to cut ties.<br />
<br />
I saw good friends carelessly labeled as dangerous and hurtful to victims because they dared to speak out about their truth and experiences. Everyone who spoke out against their actions was later met with smear campaigns, threatening their reputations. I saw people wrongly and unfairly characterized in their mass email communications for the purpose of garnering sympathy and a call to action on behalf of DxE. This group is not safe for anyone. I am speaking up to further prevent good people from being harmed.<br />
<br />
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<br />
So when I found DxE 2 years ago, it was something I needed to help me find my voice for the animals and also gain more confidence. I did just that. I made some amazing friends and met so many people to help me make some big things a reality. I really thought the SF Bay DxE core and supporters were my friends and that I could really count on them. I really thought that they were doing something for the AR movement that seemed to be missing.<br />
<br />
So, I started questioning things more when I started seeing the core and other supporters calling out and targeting vegans or activists for various things they said negatively towards DxE. I expressed my concerns to the core that I felt this wasn’t cool because we should all be working together and they told me things to shut me up and move along. Then the Hugo incident happened and I was even more upset. Many people started saying they didn’t want DxE to be at events because they simply didn’t agree with the way they do things and some don’t feel safe around DxE members. There are so many other incidents after this that were all upsetting, especially how they handled them publicly or how they chose not to handle them at all. They tried to discredit 3 of my friends who had never been in DxE and targeted 3 of my friends who used to also be in DxE, for things that were lies and uncalled for. Not to mention there were several “favorites” within the core members who did things that should have been made public, but they weren’t because of their privilege in DxE. I remembered all the negative things that I had heard people say about them over the years, which come to find out most were true. I discovered that when the core calls its criticisms “all a fabrication” while derailing it to be about how people dislike their tactics, it is to get you to think everything is all good on their end.<br />
<br />
When I confronted them again about how they were still handling things so badly, I was asked by a core member “Who’s side are you on?” I should not have to pick a side. I want everyone to work peacefully together but they don’t see what they’re doing is bad. That was when I realized I have had enough. They really hurt me because I thought they were my friends. I caught 4 core members in lies, to make themselves look better and throw other people under the bus. They only care about how they are perceived by their followers, so they look like angels and I say followers because I’m starting to realize they have cult-like qualities. It just hurts to see how messed up things have gotten when we are supposed to be fighting for animals and not against each other! So in short, if you have anything negative to say about DxE, they will let everyone know and try to get all their followers to make you think there is nothing wrong with anything they do.<br />
<br />
◇◇◇<br />
<br />
When I joined DxE, I was so excited for the chance to work with a passionate group of people who proclaimed the ideal of liberation for all, humans and non-humans. I truly believed we valued the necessity for ending all oppressive power structures, the ones that plague many of our own lives included.<br />
<br />
This could not be farther from reality within DxE. Contrary to how they advertise, there is a hierarchy within the organization, where those at the top (the core) are primarily invested in building the image/brand of DxE, at the expense of committed and well-intentioned activists, and DxE’s own integrity. Following my long-term involvement in the DxE community, my trust in the core members who had led me to believe that they valued intersectional principles, my friendship, and contributions to DxE, was completely shattered.<br />
<br />
I was heartbroken to learn of situations where men in positions of power in DxE were preying upon and taking advantage of vulnerable, and much younger women. I was disgusted by the victim-blaming, smear-campaigning, and dismissive responses I received from Priya (and silence from male leaders) when I expressed my concerns about this, all while DxE were publicly claiming to support victims. I realized I could not continue to support DxE, with this deep hypocrisy built into the fabric of the organization.<br />
<br />
I soon became aware of even more defamatory smear campaigns against current (at the time) and former DxE activists. The extent of dishonesty and hurt the core members are willing to inflict on those they once called friends and claimed to love, is devastating. DxE touts their “family” vibe and strong loving community but any member of that community is totally disposable if they don’t participate unquestioningly in what DxE has become.<br />
<br />
The core members of DxE routinely engage in manipulation, both of people, and of accounts of events, in efforts to control and manage information, then throw around words like “integrity” and “transparency.” This is no way to treat people who call each other friends and allies for justice. It’s toxic for a community of activists and kills the trust in the honesty, integrity, and open communication that is purported to be central to DxE.<br />
<br />
Safer spaces for activists both in real life and online, are things that DxE has no respect for. I endured baseless personal attacks from Wayne and Priya in retaliation for removing members (who happened to be affiliated with DxE) from a Facebook group I moderate for repeatedly violating the safer space policy of the group. Many activists have been similarly targeted over the course of DxE’s activity.<br />
<br />
I continue to have concerns for the safety and well-being of current and potential future members. Especially those who are younger and vulnerable, who are being given a false sense of safety and care in the DxE community; and those who are marginalized by oppressive power structures around race, gender, class and ability that are reinforced interpersonally in DxE spaces while they label the group “intersectional” in name only.<br />
<br />
If your motivation for animal rights activism is based in a sense of empathy and compassion for the rights and well-being of others, please make an informed decision about supporting or becoming involved with DxE.<br />
<br />
◇◇◇<br />
<br />
If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please send them to <a href="mailto:questiondxe@gmail.com">questiondxe@gmail.com</a>.<br />
<br />
Also visit the FB support page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SupportDxEVictims">https://www.facebook.com/SupportDxEVictims</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-76959011603014663162015-08-09T15:10:00.000-07:002015-08-09T15:10:49.866-07:00SUPPORT FOR MATHEW ERICKSON NEEDED!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQhy2Gb4TYia1tSMsO0eQ51AHQCkCQmdGRPOmuTRf18RMDy6Q7QneKiotf8Cl4nYVLykUgCj7Tpitwr06PN8moL2YJTJbEHdF-3iAQ4ajip13VW5FcObs8nta6iTpq-XOEuOTcQZ_FQTgh/s1600/bypolar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQhy2Gb4TYia1tSMsO0eQ51AHQCkCQmdGRPOmuTRf18RMDy6Q7QneKiotf8Cl4nYVLykUgCj7Tpitwr06PN8moL2YJTJbEHdF-3iAQ4ajip13VW5FcObs8nta6iTpq-XOEuOTcQZ_FQTgh/s320/bypolar.jpg" width="304" /></a></div>
<br /><br />Matthew Erickson grew up in South Seattle and has been a vocal critic of
police brutality, especially as it effects Black communities,
communities of color, and working class/poor communities in the city. He
is one of the founders of Seattle Copwatch (a group that films the
police to ensure they do not harass or brutalize people). He was also a
prominent member of the Decolonize/ Occupy Seattle movement.<br /><br /><br />Last year, Mr.
Erickson was filming officers Chase and Clay at Westlake park as they
were harassing a young man of color. While he was filming, the officers
called over a crowd of youth, telling them it would be “dangerous for
them” to have Mr. Erickson around. The youth began to threaten Mr.
Erickson with weapons, demanding that he stop filming the police. It
appears that the two officers incited the crowd; at the very least, they
<span class="text_exposed_show">allowed the crowd to attack Mr. Erickson.<br /><br /></span><br />
Fearing for his life, Mr. Erickson defended himself by holding a knife
in front of him as he backed away from the crowd. He did not actually
hurt anyone with the knife. The two officers arrested him at gunpoint;
they did not arrest any of his attackers. He dropped the knife, and as
he was arrested he covered his face and upper torso out of fear the cops
might allow the crowd to attack him further. Indeed, video footage from
the Pacific Place mall security cameras shows the officers rolling him
toward the crowd, and at least one individual in the crowd stomps or
kicks him as he is held down by the officers.<br /><br /><br />
Because of this
situation, Mr. Erickson was recently tried and convicted of resisting
arrest and use of an illegal weapon, in a trial presided over by Judge
Rosen. His public defender failed to argue the fact that his knife was
indeed legal. There was not a single Black person on the jury, so it was
not a jury of his peers. And Judge Rosen instructed the jury not to consider Mr. Erickson’s
actions self-defense, claiming he should have relied on the police
officers for safety instead of using his knife, even though there is
evidence they incited the crowd and/ or granted them impunity to attack
him.
<br /><br /><br />Because Mr. Erickson is a well-respected member of multiple, diverse
communities, dozens of people came out to his trial to support him. When
people expressed spontaneous verbal reactions to the clearly unjust
verdict, Judge Rosen had them arrested and slapped them with maximum
contempt charges (30 days each for two people, and eight for the third).
He also set a ridiculously high $50,000 bail for Mr. Erickson; his
friends and supporters raised the bond for this on short notice.<br /><br /><br />
To many of us, this is an unsurprising situation; it is a
continuation of what Michelle Alexander calls the New Jim Crow regime,
where Black people are disproportionally criminalized due to lack of
adequate defense representation, and court procedures that favor the
prosecution. To some, this may seem to be a bizarre incident; it might
seem unbelievable until one watches the footage and hears the court
testimony (which is available at <a href="https://stoplegallynching.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow">https://stoplegallynching.wordpress.com</a>).
<br /><br />In either respect, this situation calls into question the city of
Seattle’s claims to be a diverse and racially equitable city. It also
calls into question the Seattle Police Department’s community policing
initiatives, which officers Chase and Clay mentioned they were a part of
during their trial testimonies.<br /><br />FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING A VIDEO OF THE INCIDENT PLEASE VISIT <a href="https://stoplegallynching.wordpress.com/">https://stoplegallynching.wordpress.com</a><br /><br />OR CONTACT <br />
stoplegallynching@<span class="skimlinks-unlinked">gmail.com</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-70911756278698173852015-08-07T06:07:00.002-07:002015-08-07T06:34:23.822-07:00 Essential Questions on Ecology & Decolonization<br />
<h2 class="entry-title">
Essential Questions on Ecology & Decolonization</h2>
<div class="date">
<a href="https://hastenthedownfall.wordpress.com/2015/03/12/essential-questions-on-ecology-decolonization/#comments"><span class="commentcount"><br /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://hastenthedownfall.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/3fa3a779b328eb47d2299662fc68957d.jpg"><img alt="3fa3a779b328eb47d2299662fc68957d" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-154" src="https://hastenthedownfall.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/3fa3a779b328eb47d2299662fc68957d.jpg?w=480" /></a><br />
<br /><span style="color: white;">Shared from <a href="https://hastenthedownfall.wordpress.com/2015/03/12/essential-questions-on-ecology-decolonization/">https://hastenthedownfall.wordpress.com/2015/03/12/essential-questions-on-ecology-decolonization/</a></span></span></span></span><span style="color: white;">
</span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div align="left">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Personal Questions, Part I</b><br />
Where does your water come from? Where does your food come from? Who
makes the things you use? Under what conditions? Where does your poop go
when you dispose of it? Where do your other wastes end up? Who lives
within 200 feet of you when you sleep? How well do you know them? Do you
interact more with creatures, or plastic?</span></span></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Ecology Questions, Part I</b><br />
Does the moon currently wax or wane? What wild flora, fauna, and fungi
live around you? Which local native species do you know? What watershed
do you live in? Which ones border it? What do you know about your local
bioregion? Polar, temperate, or tropical climate? Do you know your
latitude, humidity, and elevation? Your hardiness zone? The direction
and source of your winds and rains? What terrestrial biomes predominate
locally? This can include tropical rainforest, tropical savanna, desert,
chaparral, grassland, temperate deciduous forest, temperate boreal
forest, arctic and alpine tundra. What terrestrial and freshwater
ecoregion types do you live within?</span></span></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Indigenous Questions</b><br />
Which various indigenous peoples inhabit(ed) your region? What do you
know of their subsistence methods (e.g. scavenging, hunting, trapping,
fishing, gathering, collecting, horticulture, herding, husbandry,
intensive agriculture, raiding)? What significance do or did specific
species of local flora, fauna, and fungi hold for the natives? What do
you know of their settlement patterns (i.e. nomadic, semi-nomadic,
sedentary)? What do you know of their social organization (i.e. bands,
tribes, chiefdoms, States)? Consider how different native cultures
related to one another as well. What do you know of colonization
history, and the current conditions or fate of local indigenous peoples?</span></span></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Ecology Questions, Part II</b><br />
What did your landbase (wildlife, watershed, biomes, bioregion) look
like across various geological phases, before modification by agrarian,
pastoral, urban, and industrial cultures? How have agrarian, pastoral,
urban, and industrial cultures affected your landbase? Which ecological
issues does your landbase face? This could include such issues as
habitat destruction, disruption, and volatility; keystone species die
offs; mass species die offs; pollution & toxification; drawdown
& overshoot.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Personal Questions, Part II</b><br />
How did your ancestors define and practice their ethnicity and
spirituality? Look as far back as you can, tracing each change you can
locate. What values do you hold, and how do you live them out? What
provides obstacles and opportunities? How does all this relate back to
your landbase: do your values foster regenerative, sustainable, or
extractive relations? How about your behaviors? What dies so that you
may live? How do you give back?<br />
</span></span></span></div>
<hr />
<div align="left">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>[1] 14 Major Terrestrial Ecoregion Types:</b><br />
1. Tropical & subtropical moist broadleaf forests (tropical & subtropical, humid)<br />
2. Tropical & subtropical dry broadleaf forests (tropical & subtropical, semihumid)<br />
3. Tropical & subtropical coniferous forests (tropical & subtropical, semihumid)<br />
4. Temperate broadleaf & mixed forests (temperate, humid)<br />
5. Temperate coniferous forests (temperate, humid to semihumid)<br />
6. Boreal forests/taiga (subarctic, humid)<br />
7. Tropical & subtropical grasslands, savannas, & shrublands (tropical & subtropical, semiarid)<br />
8. Temperate grasslands, savannas, & shrublands (temperate, semiarid)<br />
9. Flooded grasslands & savannas (temperate to tropical, fresh or brackish water inundated)<br />
10. Montane grasslands & shrublands (alpine or montane climate)<br />
11. Tundra (Arctic)<br />
12. Mediterranean forests, woodlands, & scrub or sclerophyll forests
(temperate warm, semihumid to semiarid with winter rainfall)<br />
13. Deserts & xeric shrublands (temperate to tropical, arid)<br />
14. Mangrove (subtropical & tropical, salt water inundated)</span></span></span></div>
<div align="left">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>[2] 12 Major Freshwater Ecoregion Types:</b><br />
1. Large lakes<br />
2. Large river deltas<br />
3. Polar freshwaters<br />
4. Montane freshwaters<br />
5. Temperate coastal rivers<br />
6. Temperate floodplain rivers & wetlands<br />
7. Temperate upland rivers<br />
8. Tropical & subtropical coastal rivers<br />
9. Tropical & subtropical floodplain rivers & wetlands<br />
10. Tropical & subtropical upland rivers<br />
11. Xeric freshwaters & endorheic basins<br />
12. Oceanic islands</span></span></span></div>
<h3 class="sd-title">
</h3>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-13998750136074231222015-07-17T08:11:00.002-07:002015-07-17T08:44:51.812-07:00The Feral Space/Warzone Distro tabling at Fed Up Fest Chicago Queercore Fest 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuq4pf5n-kEZ-6T4w6GU-zPHxKAKco9AowM9R2mOiKn_FFXTcDwf7wnW0XbF3UOasi8eOZ5kvtw-i0tX5-g8LvSt5Qu-SEaqVcbJmxIiFf5nGH3w7a3rw2ITdi0vIfgGBBMW8kcNcTKpZB/s1600/11037572_661232977321888_7012046045034827399_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuq4pf5n-kEZ-6T4w6GU-zPHxKAKco9AowM9R2mOiKn_FFXTcDwf7wnW0XbF3UOasi8eOZ5kvtw-i0tX5-g8LvSt5Qu-SEaqVcbJmxIiFf5nGH3w7a3rw2ITdi0vIfgGBBMW8kcNcTKpZB/s400/11037572_661232977321888_7012046045034827399_o.jpg" width="315" /></a></div>
<br />
We are a collective of queer and trans punks here at the feral space and we are SO happy to announce we will be tabling Fed Up Fest Chicago for the second time. We will have FREE zines on various topics including radical veganism, gender anarchy, straight edge/radical sobriety, critical race theory, anti-colonialism, anti-civ/green anarchy and so on. Come visit us and enjoy this AMAZING fest!<br />
<br />
About Fed Up Fest Chicago:<br />
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JULY 24th - 26th, 2015<br />
CHICAGO, IL<br />
▼ Ⓐ ⚧<br />
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FED UP FEST is a three day, all ages, DIY music and workshop festival showcasing and celebrating queer and transgender voic<span class="text_exposed_show">es
in punk communities. We are a collectively run group that actively
opposes racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, ableism,
capitalism, and all other fucked up “isms” and “phobias” at macro and
micro levels. FED UP FEST is inspired from the short lived direct action
coalition FED UP QUEERS (FUQ) that existed in New York city from
1989-1990 that grew out of the Aids Coalition to Unleash Power.<br /> <br />
By organizing FED UP FEST we hope to engage our communities in a
dialogue that will work to confront and challenge the perpetuation of
oppression and abuse in our scenes, and to help create stronger and more
sustainable bonds between and across radical queer and punk
communities. Due to underlying homophobic and transphobic tendencies,
the presence of queer and trans people in punk scenes is so frequently a
site of volatility. By solidifying our presence and voices through
solidarity and with consistent radical frameworks, that center
marginalized voices, we can help confront the oppressive attitudes that
pervade our scenes on structural and personal levels. As a collective,
we firmly believe that punk should be a site of resistance to shitty
mainstream values. We hope that FED UP FEST creates a space of defiance,
empowerment, pogoing and change.<br /> <br /> -----------<br /> <br /> ***we
understand that queer is a very complicated ambiguous term that people
don’t always align with. for the purposes for this fest,though, it makes
the most practical sense to use this phrase as an umbrella term. <br /> <br />
***though the collective and the fest are organized specifically around
queer and trans issues, we want to prioritize the voices and safety of
those who face intersectional oppressions, specifically queer people of
color, trans women, and differently abled queers. <br /> <br /> CONTACT US AT:<br /> chicagoqueercore@gmail.com<br /> <br /> PERPETRATOR ACCOUNTABILITY STATEMENT/STATEMENT ON CREATING A SAFE(R) SPACE FOR SURVIVORS:<br /> <br />
The Fed Up Fest collective prioritizes the boundaries and needs of
survivors of sexual assault and other forms of interpersonal violence.
If we are informed of a perpetrator in attendance, we will take whatever
action we can to support the survivor and respect their wishes. This
includes asking folks to leave the space or having other conversations
with those who have caused harm in a way that will make the survivor
feel supported and as safe as they possibly can. While we understand
that interpersonal violence is often a complex and multifaceted issue,
we are not interested in investigating situations of
abuse/rape/violence/etc. Rather, we will unquestionably believe the
survivor. We strongly feel that it is our responsibility to do
everything in our power to create and maintain the safest space
possible.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</li>
<li><div class="clearfix _2pi4">
<div class="_4bl9">
<div class="_50f4">
<a href="http://fedupfestchicago.com/" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://fedupfestchicago.com/</a></div>
</div>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
Facebook event: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1578948069016330/">https://www.facebook.com/events/1578948069016330/</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-37598402517075427582015-07-07T17:57:00.000-07:002015-07-07T17:59:25.431-07:00July 31st Global Day of Action Against Fascism and Racism 2015! Community Film Screening and Discussion Event Hosted at The Feral Space. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUOMTqqfwIFWkkXI5g0GRxvexpcxrfAc2BTJMAJhwfNKEkadtrezoECbuVko6tysxukOPqB8dgWapophDme_qkQZXJy9ZIzfICNL4cOJ3O7pUSYCg4JDGBXULWa6BsfHPMRwL4uA7s2hlK/s1600/ANTIFA2015-page-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUOMTqqfwIFWkkXI5g0GRxvexpcxrfAc2BTJMAJhwfNKEkadtrezoECbuVko6tysxukOPqB8dgWapophDme_qkQZXJy9ZIzfICNL4cOJ3O7pUSYCg4JDGBXULWa6BsfHPMRwL4uA7s2hlK/s400/ANTIFA2015-page-001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Every year on July 31, militants and organizers across the U.S., Canada,
and Europe participate in the International Day of Action Against
Fascism and Racism. Please join us on July 31, 2015, as we collaborate
again to struggle against white supremacists organizing in our
communities and abroad!<br />
<b><br />Who: Revolutionaries everywhere!</b><br />
<b>What: Organizing events and actions against fascism and white supremacy!</b><br />
<b>When: July 31, 2015!</b><br />
<b>Where: Wherever you are!</b><br />
<b>Why: To smash oppression of ALL forms!</b><br />
<br />
We as The Feral Space collective have chosen to put out a call to action again this year as a means
of coordinating anti-fascist struggles. In 2014, we saw a variety of
actions and efforts that reflected the diversity of the participating
organizations, which included benefit shows, public events, protests,
and public outings of white supremacists. Only by organizing against
white supremacists and fascists can we protect ourselves from their
violent attacks, and not by putting faith in the police and legal
systems that enforce borders and criminalize People of Color.<br />
<br />
Last year we had a great turn out of people who attended from our community. We had discussions, ate delicious vegan food and enjoyed a sober environment of people learning more about colonialism, white supremacy and fascism. This year we hope to have MORE people at this event coming together to build community resistance and individual empowerment. <br />
<br />
On July 31, 2015, join together with radical anti-fascists to take it
to the streets and oppose racism and fascism in YOUR communities. Fight where you stand!<br />
<br />
-Straight Edge Vegan ANTIFAAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-90548551858705198192015-06-22T04:42:00.000-07:002015-06-22T04:46:45.747-07:00New Federal Trial Date (10/26) and Update For Vegan Anarchist Eric King<div class="entry-content">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://supportericking.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/capture.jpg"><img alt="Capture" class="wp-image-183 size-full aligncenter" src="https://supportericking.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/capture.jpg?w=640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="im"><br />From<a href="https://supportericking.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"> https://supportericking.wordpress.com/</a></span><span class="im"><br /><br />A quick update for supporters around the world. A continuance has been </span>filed for Eric King’s federal trial, pushing the trial date back from <span class="im">July13th
to October 26th. We will keep you updated on the progress of his case
and reach out when<span style="color: #0000ee;"><u> </u></span>we’re starting to prepare to pack the court for his
trial.<br /><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In the mean time, Eric remains housed in segregation at CCA Leavenworth.<br />
We ask for all your love and solidarity while he continues to fight
for medical care, including outside testing for an increasingly
serious medical situation. We will update everyone as we get more
information about his health.<br /><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Right now, Eric’s nutrition is of the
utmost importance and we want to be able to help him achieve proper
nutrition to keep his body as healthy as possible. We need help sending
him commissary each month so he can buy adequate amounts of vegan food
and vitamins in addition to other necessities. Any donation helps! <br />
<br />
The
link to the fundraiser is here! <a href="https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/0yoZc/sh/a4jVK6" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/0yoZc/sh/a4jVK6<br /><br /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The above photo is a mock-up for support t-shirts that should be available very soon! Keep an eye out.<br /><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="im">Until all are free!<br /><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Solidarity (A)</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-38484109567285903262015-06-19T01:48:00.000-07:002015-06-19T01:52:44.937-07:00The Feral Space collective and Warzone Distro tabling at "BENEFICIO PARA VIDEO CLUB EN RESISTENCIA" punk showWe will be tabling at this event with tons of free zines in English and Spanish. If you are in the Chicago area come check out some amazing bands and pick up some zines on anti-colonization, radical sobriety, anti-speciesism and <br />
eco-defense! <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS7CH8MBDcLr4EYvxjsDjXqa6_qkpocd3Waj_qQRzs6VlOgwr1dPeBqBXAPy_aJh25YTU2hR-Th6zhmRKR0mJK20EKfrBjXpz_RPFDSKs2Gr292SPxaX98nDemR2XRTtU4A9g4CXYChzEM/s1600/11537811_1011686648843358_6709472279460108407_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS7CH8MBDcLr4EYvxjsDjXqa6_qkpocd3Waj_qQRzs6VlOgwr1dPeBqBXAPy_aJh25YTU2hR-Th6zhmRKR0mJK20EKfrBjXpz_RPFDSKs2Gr292SPxaX98nDemR2XRTtU4A9g4CXYChzEM/s640/11537811_1011686648843358_6709472279460108407_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1828284088824475190.post-14097371933326136402015-05-14T10:27:00.000-07:002015-05-14T14:08:02.433-07:00A Short Anarchist Essay on the Domesticating and Colonizing Effects of Addiction and Intoxication Culture<div id="page-content">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFKimJHeaertHSevOam2jz4-WUKweafbyDkXwYL8fUxANoR4vebnlD-p7a8ARut-vlXaIymMLie-EOVom6w206mPJZxRUVoPB3zw_TVVgE07H9Tq6zCjMPg08ptOjdsNOEAge8mO9GZQ1g/s1600/mount.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFKimJHeaertHSevOam2jz4-WUKweafbyDkXwYL8fUxANoR4vebnlD-p7a8ARut-vlXaIymMLie-EOVom6w206mPJZxRUVoPB3zw_TVVgE07H9Tq6zCjMPg08ptOjdsNOEAge8mO9GZQ1g/s400/mount.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />"There is no more profound way of understanding the course of history
than in terms of this effort to escape from one's own 'sweating self'
and to experience even temporary states of euphoria or relief of
discomfort regardless of the cost."<br />
- Nathan S. Kline<br />
<br />
<br />
From its earliest inceptions, sedentary life brought with it a
drudging misery for its inhabitants, and with such misery quickly arose
the need to placate the unruly and desensitize the weary. As social
beings, the disassociated conventions of civilized life have never come
naturally, and these impositions into and upon our lives have induced
massive, collective trauma. The infrastructure of civilization
surrounds, envelops, and teaches us to embody its qualities. It's modern
totality is the magnum opus of the domestication set out upon less than
a dozen millennia ago, and we are it’s equally insane offspring, each
generation's pathology more dysfunctional than the last. What began over
ten thousand years ago when we began domesticating plants and animals
to meet food demands, and from there led to the deforestation of the
lands of Mesopotamia and beyond in order to meet the needs of
agriculture, what meant the forcing of other peoples off the land
wanted, has continued into the present today. We bind ourselves to its
unreasonable and unsustainable demands, suffering a commitment to a
lifestyle that demands constant production and expansion through
ever-increasing and deepening levels of exploitation and an unwavering
devotion to this culture as not only beneficial and enlightening, but
the only way in which our species can survive. As demands increase and
complicate, so do our techniques and our technologies. Exploitation is
no longer enough, for we are no longer just consuming. We need
hyper-exploitation for hyper-consumption. Our concept of Progress only
serves to reinforce the process of
converting the living to the dead.<br />
<br />
<br />
Our every relationship is framed by through coercion. In the absence
of wildness, our desire for direct experience is left unfulfilled. In
its place, the hollowness of modernity: a psychically and ecologically
barren monoculture of hyper-consumption makes a pathetic attempt, if
any, to replace the engagement our species demands. Lacking the balance
of a sustainable and natural experience, civilization deals with
extremes, such as the bounce between over and under-stimulation, neither
one satisfying or healthy for us in any way. In place of the forager's
quest, we stand slack-jawed in the aisles of supermarkets (how many
times have you heard someone say in those aisles, “there's just too much
to choose from, I wish this were easier?”), a place where even the
"original" hits of pop radio are replaced with tamed, detail-less
muzak®, as is the warmth and light of the sun with the eerie glow of
fluorescents. The conversation around the campfire is relegated to rare
and novelty occurrences, if ever, as we take to replacing emotion with
"emoticons," and even the voices of our friends and families over
telephone lines are becoming more and more often replaced with the
beeping and buzzing of text message notifications. It was once written
that "our generation will go to its grave shouting its last words into a
cell phone,"3 but this dying world may not hear our screams. It has
become frighteningly more realistic that we will go to our deaths
silently, pressing keys and holding the "send" button.<br />
<br />
<br />
We are truly surrounded/alone. Our social networking profiles boas
legions of online friends, but the reality is we are isolated as we
click our way through pseudo-relationships - it's not just quantity over
quality, it is, like all of domestication, the abolition of quality
itself. We surround ourselves with techno-comforts whilst prisoners
within our increasingly standardized and dehumanized, our experiences
overwhelmingly clustered yet simultaneously crushingly separated by
walls physical and emotional. Fredy Perlman passed away before the
permeation of the internet, cell phones, and so much of what shapes the
technological ghost limb of many in this culture today, but the writing
had been on the wall long before these "advances," and his words ring
truer today than ever before when he wrote that "civilization is a
humanly meaningless web of unnatural constraints."4 It is in our ever
widening disconnect from reality and its pervasiveness of boredom and
teeter-totter of over and under-stimulation that the misery of this
culture expands into every facet of our existence.<br />
<br />
<br />
Whether bombarded or deprived, the terror has started to blend into a
painful dullness, and we search desperately for comfort, for euphoria,
for anything that tells us we are actually alive. At every turn, our
quest for connection finds itself funneled into ever-isolating and
unfulfilling activities - escapes that replace outlets for the type of
ecstatic energy life should create, diverting our desires and replacing
them with false engagement, framing our relationship to such experiences
originally through the habitual use of intoxicants and now through
nearly every mediated aspect of civilization.<br />
<br />
<br />
This undercurrent developed with the rise of domestication, deepening
and strengthening with the onset of the enveloping hopelessness of the
first cities. As David T. Courtwright so keenly observed in Forces of
Habit: Drugs and the Making of the Modern World:<br />
<br />
“After the
Neolithic Revolution, most humans lived as peasants in crowded,
oppressive, and disease-ridden societies. The misery and grinding
poverty that were the lot of 90 percent of humanity in the early modern
would go far toward explaining why tobacco and other novel drugs became
objects of mass consumption. They were unexpected weapons against the
human condition, newfound tools of escape from the mean prison of
everyday existence."<br />
<br />
The once-free were no longer so. Trapped inside, the now-broken were
under a constant barrage of fear – the fierce coercion of the Big Man,
the uncertainty of early agricultural food production, even the water
that was once trusted to sustain was poisoned, diseased. It was no mere
accident that the use of intoxicants grew rapidly into regular
inoculations. In fact, inoculation is often what one intoxicant
provided, as Bert L. Vallee discussed in Alcohol in the Western World: A
History, his June 1998 Scientific American article:<br />
<br />
“In the context of contaminated water supply, ethyl alcohol may
indeed have been mother’s milk to a nascent Western civilization. Beer
and wine were free of pathogens. And the antiseptic power of alcohol, as
well as the natural acidity of wine and beer, killed many pathogens
when the alcoholic drinks were diluted with the sullied water supply.”<br />
<br />
<br />
As civilization expanded and complicated, so too did its connection
to intoxicants and our dependency upon them. The coming of the
industrial age only served to increase demands of precision and
timeliness that weighed down those laborers chained (sometimes
literally) to the engines of production. Concerning the constantly
rising levels of alcoholism amongst workers in the early 19th century,
Zerzan notes that this addiction “[wa]s an obvious register of strain
and alienation, of the inability to cope with the burden of daily
life.”6 Be it social control or survival, the relationship was there.
Domestication and intoxication became inseparable, one augmenting the
other - a vicious cycle that so suitably illustrates the functions of
both.<br />
<br />
<br />
“Alcohol has been around since the beginning of civilization. In
fact, people loved alcohol so much that they forgot their nomadic ways
and decided to settle down, just so they could grow the grains necessary
to make beer. Just think: if it weren’t for alcohol, we’d still be
wandering around pitching tents every night.”<br />
<br />
<br />
- Drinkfocus.com, a website whose “aim is to empower consumers
through providing information that may help in the development of
informed decisions.”<br />
<br />
<br />
Intoxication Culture is defined as a “set of institutions, behaviors,
and mindsets around consumption of drugs and alcohol” by the author of
Towards a Less Fucked Up World: Sobriety and Anarchist Struggle.7 To be
clear, Intoxication Culture is not the same as intoxication itself. As
mentioned earlier, many prehistoric (or is it pre-hysteric?) foraging
people have, and their modern descendants continue to carry, knowledge
of intoxicating plants and substances. The difference between an
individual experience and our habitude is just that: what for the primal
person is an individualized, conditional moment is for the civilized a
compulsion. I have chosen to use the term Addiction Culture to expand
and extend this concept to include other psychoactive substances, the
pharmaceuticals that are pushed by mental and other conventional health
industries, the aforementioned dependence upon technological mediation,
and in fact the whole of domesticated existence.<br />
<br />
<br />
In My Name is Chellis and I’m in Recovery From Western Civilization,
Chellis Glendinning writes, “As an outgrowth of trauma, addiction is an
attempt to confront the pain that lies at the heart of the traumatic
experience.” Elsewhere, she cites Morris Berman when he delved even
deeper into the core of the matter:<br />
<br />
"Addiction, in one form or another, characterizes every aspect of
industrial society… Dependence on alcohol (food, drugs, tobacco…) is not
formally different from dependence on prestige, career achievement,
world influence, wealth, the need to build more ingenious bombs, or the
need to exercise control over everything."<br />
<br />
Glendinning was one of the first to recognize not only the trauma of
civilization and its relationship to literal addiction, but the
similarities between how addictive behavior and civilization are
rationalized. She identified the major characteristics of addiction as
“an out-of-control, often aimless, compulsion to fill the lost sense of
belonging, integrity, and communion” which is “shielded from awareness
by denial: pretending everything is normal, not admitting pain or
vulnerability,” followed by “an attraction to repeated trauma.” Let
us explore theses concepts now.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>An out-of control, often aimless, compulsion:</b><br />
The entire natural world shudders beneath the load that our culture
has created. Our entire lifeway - from our food acquisition to our
social structures - has asked more from the natural world than it has
ever been able to provide. At every rejection of our demands, we have
thus forced our will upon the planet. We have desertified once-beautiful
wild lands for our food staples: wheat, rice, soy, corn, and so on. We
have thrust our drills deep within the earth to extract its black blood,
and we have nearly bled her dry so that our daily activities continue.
We have dredged the oceans, nearly wiping out all large sea mammals. We
have blown the tops off mountains. We kill billions upon billions of
land animals in factory farms and slaughterhouses. We've dammed (or is
it damned? the answer is most likely both) the mightiest rivers for even
more power. More food, more power… we constantly extract at insanely
exploitative levels so that our culture, one of what we perceive as
convenience, might survive. In turn, we have spread famine, poverty,
disease, and every facet of destruction thinkable – and some
unthinkable. We've even created weapons that in moments can undo
billions of years of planetary development, leaving a scorched wasteland
as our only legacy: a vicious cycle of rapacious consumption and
incomprehensible desecration.<br />
<br />
<b>Denial:</b><br />
“We cannot go back.”<br />
“It was here way before us.”<br />
“We can’t take something this big down.”<br />
“It’s too late. There is nothing we can do about it now.”<br />
“We can change the bad things about this and keep the good things.”<br />
“Were would we even begin if we did want to stop?”<br />
“We’ll find a new way to make things work without it falling apart”<br />
“You are being pessimistic.”<br />
“You are the one who lives in a fantasy world.”<br />
“It’s not my problem. It’s not OUR problem.”<br />
“I don’t even want to think about this.”<br />
… Is there any doubt about the depths of our refusal to accept the reality of our situation?<br />
<br />
<b>Attraction to repeated trauma:</b><br />
Easter Island. Mesopotamia. Maya. Rome. Anasazi.<br />
Waterloo Creek. Wounded Knee. The Great Purge. The Holocaust. My Lai. Darfur.<br />
American Bison. Northern Spotted Owl. Bali Tiger. Mexican Grizzly Bear. Passenger Pigeon.<br />
Time after time. Failure after failure. Over and over again. Forever and ever into oblivion.<br />
<br />
<br />
Civilization is the culture of unrelenting trauma, its inhabitants helpless addicts seeking refuge from excruciating distress.<br />
<br />
<br />
Not that our search for reprieve, however artificial, is condemnable,
as the temperance and prohibition ideologies would have us believe
(their intoxication being moral absolutism). Rather, such a search is
only expected of a creature deprived and cut off. Erich Fromm wrote in
Escape From Freedom that, “to feel completely alone and isolated leads
to mental disintegration just as physical starvation leads to death.”13
All animals need engagement and without it the need for tranquilization
quickly follow in hopes of survival. Courtwright again points to the
confinement of domesticated life when he writes, “species seek and
consume intoxicants in the wild, but they do so more often and more
compulsively under conditions of captivity.” One can reflect upon the
terrifying experiences of those confined in cages, from vivisection labs
to psych wards to schools to Super Max prisons. Many of the more
literal hostages of this culture die, whether physically, mentally, or
emotionally, before their captors can administer all the appropriate
tests/diagnosis/degrees/sentences - often from their implacable misery.
Put simply, life is impossible without stimuli. Biologically, humans
(and again, many other beings) just don't survive under such denied
circumstances – in other words, even within its own scientific
reasoning, we are at odds with civilization.<br />
<br />
<br />
Our participation within this culture is driving us absolutely
insane. We see the pathology playing out all around us – the news
stories of people “snapping” have gone from freakish occurrences to
freakishly often occurrences. Rates of autism and schizophrenia, among
other mental illnesses, rise at what should be alarming rates – people
turning within themselves, people tearing themselves into pieces, people
unable to cope with the barrage of daily life. Perhaps these persons
aren’t so much ill as more rooted in reality than the rest of us;
perhaps it is the rest of us who have somehow managed to disassociate
ourselves. Perhaps the real sickness is not automatically reacting with
confusion or panic or dejectedness when faced with civilization.<br />
<br />
<br />
Addiction Culture provides the context necessary for placation and
pacification, to further disempower us, to more easily break us. Under
its enchantment, we perpetuate a cycle of docility and destruction. That
is why it is called addiction.<br />
And that is why we must resist Addiction Culture’s promises of a lull
in the torrent of civilized misery. Some may argue, as Courtwright has,
that “the use of drugs to cope with fatigue and obliterate misery is in
many ways a byproduct of civilization itself,” but it increasingly
seems more feasible that Addiction Culture is not an unintended
consequence, but rather an integral and vital part of the domesticating
process. Without civilization addiction culture would not exist, but
just as importantly without addiction culture, civilization could not
exist. Relief from domestication through civilization has always been
the mythology handed to those who would otherwise resist. The fix,
whatever it may be, has always been just around the corner, requiring
just another act of subservience from us.<br />
<br />
<br />
Just as the environmental movement will never save any ecosystem,
just as the worker’s movement will never abolish work, a culture of
false and/or detached pleasure will never bring about a participatory
experience. There never was and never will be balm in Gilead, to borrow
from the western mythical tradition. Sadly, the stranglehold of
addiction was in place long before our struggle to undo it, and it is to
no surprise that anarchist communities suffer as much as any other from
the pitfalls of Addiction Culture, amongst the many other undesirable
aspects of civilization. What is surprising, however, has been the
absence (and in some cases removal) of dialogue around the subject,
particularly within the context of resistance to civilization and the
unlearning of domestication. As Glendinning showed, denial is a central
part of the addict pathology. Until we acknowledge the major deficiency
of praxis our resistance suffers from by perpetuating Addiction Culture,
our opposition will continue to falter, stumbling drunkenly towards
abject failure, towards the realization of domestication and
civilization: extinction.<br />
<br />
<br />
As with so many of the problems facing those hoping to overcome and
outlive civilization, this undertaking will not be easy, and I make no
claim to have all or even any answers to this problem. I can only say
that the damage wrought by this culture is deep and manifests itself
widely, and the rewilding of our planet and our selves must go as deep
as civilization’s despoliation. Our hopes for a life engaged and
enmeshed within actual experiences lay within an attack on the totality
of civilization and nothing less. The only way we will achieve total
liberation from this culture is by tearing out every last vestige of the
malicious roots of domestication from within our communities and
ourselves. Anarchists purport to be fighting against the world that
creates such wretchedness while seeking, building, and sustaining
communities free of the stifling woe that is necessary for civilization
to continue and that Addiction Culture numbs us to. To end oppression of
all kinds, we must confront it by any means necessary and must also be
willing to look critically at, speak openly about, and fight vigorously
against such an omnipresent component of oppression, simultaneously
seeking to heal, working to support on another in our recovery.<br />
<br />
<br />
An anarchist world is a world of liberatory reality, of daily
engagement and constant stimulation, with rewarding experiences and real
relations – a world without domestication or civilization, without this
web of boredom, depression, docility and misery.<br />
<br />
<i>This essay was shared from <a href="http://green-anarchy.wikidot.com/intoxication-culture">http://green-anarchy.wikidot.com/intoxication-culture</a></i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00158778152413389826noreply@blogger.com0