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Category: Austin

What You Need To Know To Protest Donald Trump’s Inauguration
An activist holds a "Fuck Trump" sign at a protest in Pittsburgh. (Flickr / David Kent, CC NC ND)
January 20, 2017
Kit
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What You Need To Know To Protest Donald Trump’s Inauguration

Posted in Austin, Journalism, and Lee Camp

Thousands of people are preparing to protest the inauguration around the country on Friday, or planning to participate in one of the many women’s marches that take place nationwide on Saturday. And for many of you, it will be your first time to take action.

Welcome! Taking the streets for justice can be exhilarating, and a well-directed protest can help change the world. At the same time, marching is hard work, and the potential for police violence is worse than ever. That shouldn’t scare you away — but you should take steps to be prepared.

If you can, you should form an “affinity group” with a few of your friends or close allies. An affinity group is a small team that agrees to work together and watch each other’s backs.

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Protests & Events In Austin For Donald Trump’s Inauguration
A Black Lives Matter protest gathers at the Texas State Capitol, December 13, 2014. (Kit O'Connell, CC)
January 18, 2017
Kit
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Protests & Events In Austin For Donald Trump’s Inauguration

Posted in Archive, Austin, and Creative Commons

You don’t have to go to Washington, D.C. to resist Donald Trump. Here in Austin, we’ve got a full weekend of protest — and some fun events to round it out.

Heres’s a list of every protest, rally, or inauguration-related event I know of in Austin. You can jump in the comments with links if you know about anything else I’ve missed.

I’m not endorsing any of these events, but I’ll be covering them when I can. Keep an eye on my Twitter for updates and my Facebook for live coverage.

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Don’t Let Unity Erase Your Struggle (Gonzo Notes 04)
Masked protesters march down a Chicago street during the NATO summit, May 19, 2012. (Flickr / Michael Kappel, CC NC)
January 17, 2017
Kit
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Don’t Let Unity Erase Your Struggle (Gonzo Notes 04)

Posted in Austin, Creative Commons, Gonzo Notes, and Journalism

A vital part of preparing for the next 4 years is building broad coalitions, but lately I’ve been reminded that coalition building has a dark side too.

This is work we need to do, without a doubt. A coalition can mobilize thousands of people from diverse backgrounds, and illuminate the intersection between our struggles.

The trouble is that with every group you bring to the table, you have to accommodate not just another political agenda but differing tactics for achieving those goals.

Questions quickly arise: How far are you willing to go to resist the government? Will your coalition collaborate with the police and in what ways? Are all organizations committed to nonviolence and, if so, do they have compatible definitions of what nonviolence means?

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4Chan’s War On Alternative & LGBTQIA Culture
A concert at 1919 Hemphill, a DIY arts and music space in Fort Worth, Texas. March 7, 2015. (Flickr / Madison Gostkowski, CC)
December 26, 2016
Kit
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4Chan’s War On Alternative & LGBTQIA Culture

Posted in Austin, Burning Man, Journalism, and MintPress News

After Donald Trump’s election, 4chan declared war on queer people and the American counterculture.

4chan is a lawless, unmoderated and completely anonymous online forum that frequently serves as a hub of internet troll culture. 4chan helped to spawn the Anonymous movement when some of 4chan’s users launched an organized trolling campaign against the Church of Scientology in 2008. That movement later became known for its hacktivism against the wealthy and powerful during the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in fall of 2011.

In recent years, however, the board, especially a subsection called /pol/ have come to be dominated by a hyper-conservative, white nationalist movement. The users believe, with an almost religious fervor, that their “meme magic” helped to elect Trump. More sober analysts are worried that 4chan and Reddit are helping to radicalize a generation by turning disaffected young white men into dangerous neo-Nazis.

Since November 8, 4chan has been linked to two seemingly disparate, but ultimately interconnected stories.

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December 15, 2016
Kit
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A Brief Primer On Texas’ F*CKED Up Politics & Why It Matters To You

Posted in Act Out!, Austin, Creative Commons, Journalism, and Video

Whenever you talk about terrible things happening in Texas, people start to tune out. You’re thinking, of course it’s fucking awful, it’s Texas. Why don’t we let them secede already?

It’s true, Texas politics seem like what happens when you apply dystopian novel “The Handmaid’s Tale” as an instruction manual BUT everything that happens there is a test balloon. The University of Texas at Austin motto is “what starts here changes the world.” And with most states and the U.S. Congress united behind that shit stain Trump, you can bet we’ll all be eating the same shit-filled Texas chili soon enough.

Now, the Texas government is full of low-life scum, but due to the peculiar whims of Texas politics, the Lt. Governor is a scumbag who stands above all the rest. The Lt. Governor is not just president of the state senate, but also sets the agenda for the entire legislative session. The senators and reps have a lot of politics to get through in a short amount of time, because the Texas State legislature only meets for 140 days every other year. Lemme say that again but slower: A hundred and 40 days EVERY OTHER year. The rest of the time, that massive building is just a big pink tourist trap.

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Austin Anarchist Black Cross: Solidarity With National Prison Strike (Audio Interview)
Activists hold a banner that reads "End Prison Slavery" while protesting at Texas Correctional Industries' showroom in south Austin, Texas in solidarity with the National Prison Strike. September 9, 2016. (Kit O'Connell)
September 13, 2016
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Austin Anarchist Black Cross: Solidarity With National Prison Strike (Audio Interview)

Posted in Austin, Journalism, and MintPress News

On Friday, I attended a small Austin protest held in solidarity with the national prison strike. This historic event was expected to take place at dozens of facilities around the country and potentially involve hundreds of inmates, and was scheduled to coincide with the 45th anniversary of the Attica Prison riots.

About 15 people protested in South Austin at the showroom of Texas Correctional Industries, a private corporation that sells products made through unpaid prison labor. Although prisoners are not paid for their work, which is mandatory, TCI brought in over $88 million in fiscal year 2014.

I interviewed an anonymous member of the Austin Anarchist Black Cross for my article in The Texas Observer on the protest but, as so often happens in journalism, great quotes get cut because you run out of space. Fortunately, I obtained permission to share the interview on SoundCloud.

Read moreAustin Anarchist Black Cross: Solidarity With National Prison Strike (Audio Interview)