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Category: Creative Commons

Nonviolent Activism And Police: Nonviolent Activism Means Never Working With The Cops
A helmeted and armored riot cop from the California Highway Patrol grimaces menacingly as he brandishes his nightstick. Oakland protest for Freddie Gray, May 1, 2015. (Flickr / Thomas Hawk, CC-BY-NC license)
January 25, 2018
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Nonviolent Activism And Police: Nonviolent Activism Means Never Working With The Cops

Posted in Creative Commons, Journalism, and Occupy Wall Street

The recent first anniversary of Donald Trump’s inauguration got me thinking about nonviolent activism and police.

My thoughts brought me back to 2011. Occupy Wall Street was a nonviolent movement, but when we started collaborating with other movements and activist groups, we quickly learned that one definition of nonviolence rarely matched another.

It seems simple on the surface: nonviolence means not physically attacking another person. Beyond that, things quickly break down. Is swearing at another person a form of verbal violence? Does a nonviolent person run from the police or does “nonviolent civil disobedience” mean staying to face the charges for whatever laws you might have broken? Is destruction of property also a form of violence, or is it another type of action which should be evaluated separately?

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Beyond The Dumpster Fire: Political Predictions For 2018
A worn analog alarm clock with a water-stained face sits atop a cracked wooden surface. (Pixabay / Monoar, public domain)
January 6, 2018
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Beyond The Dumpster Fire: Political Predictions For 2018

Posted in Creative Commons, Gonzo Notes, and Journalism

2017 was a challenging year, but one that was actually rewarding on a personal level.

I began the year by losing my job at MintPress News, but by the end of the 2017 I’d accepted a position as editor of Ministry of Hemp, a niche media site that’s still in its early stages but rapidly growing into a respected voice.

I started Gonzo Notes in late 2016, and during 2017 it reached many new people and became an important part of my monthly output. One issue, “What Are The Antifa Doing After Harvey?” was quoted internationally.  My writing career continues to grow more rewarding in all kinds of ways, especially in the feedback and support I get from my readers.

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scott crow On The Media In An Age Of Antifascist Conflict
A journalist films on a video camera while a row of riot cops advances on and sprays pepper spray at a crowd of protesters. (Pixabay / Stocksnap, public domain)
January 1, 2018
Kit
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scott crow On The Media In An Age Of Antifascist Conflict

Posted in Creative Commons, and Journalism

I sat down with anarchist organizer and author scott crow last month at my house in Austin when he delivered some copies of his book, “Emergency Hearts, Molotov Dreams: a scott crow reader” to use in my Gonzo Giveaway.

While our paths cross frequently in the Austin activist community, I don’t get a chance to formally interview him often. “Emergency Hearts” features another, a three-part interview I originally published when I edited for Firedoglake (now known as Shadowproof).

2017 was a historic year in so many ways, many of them disturbing ones, and I wanted his perspective on what often seems like the collapse of democracy as we’ve known it.

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Don’t Wait To Take The Streets, Don’t Wait To Organize (Gonzo Notes)
An armored and helmeted riot cop menacingly holds a shield as he movs down a street blocked by police vehicles. Washington, D.C. January 20, 2017. (Flickr / Joe Catron, CC NC license)
November 24, 2017
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Don’t Wait To Take The Streets, Don’t Wait To Organize (Gonzo Notes)

Posted in Creative Commons, Gonzo Notes, and Journalism

A year after Donald Trump’s election and, despite everything that’s happened, some on the left want the “resistance” to stay home.

No one expected all of the thousands upon thousands who came out for the Women’s March and other inaugural protests to stay engaged, but many have remained, protesting outside lawmakers offices against brutal cuts to health care or inhumane tax plans. Others have organized around radical, anarchist, socialist, and antifascist movements and issues of all kinds.

Overall though, the picture is grim despite some recent electoral victories (for those who put stock in voting). Each day brings some new atrocity or takes us a step closer to a pointless, brutal new war with whomever President Skidmark offends on Twitter.

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The Street Is An Art Gallery: Behind The Scenes With Sleep Is Famous
A cluster of differently colored "Sleep" stickers on utility poles. The stickers depict an old-fashioned television with rabbit-ear antennas and cartoon feet, labelled "Sleep." (Sleep is Famous, used with permission)
November 15, 2017
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The Street Is An Art Gallery: Behind The Scenes With Sleep Is Famous

Posted in Austin, Creative Commons, and Journalism

Austin has many street artists, but few of them are as ubiquitous as “Sleep.”

Sleep, also known as Sleep is Famous, appears everywhere you look on our streets. His iconic image, an old-fashioned TV with rabbit-ear antenna and tiny stick figure feet, clings onto road signs, subverts fossil fuel advertising, and escapes from fires on Walmart emergency exits.

The artist behind Sleep is Famous remains mysterious and anonymous by choice, but he was willing to answer a few questions by email after I approached him about my Gonzo Giveaway. Sleep moved a few years ago from Seattle, where the very first Sleep TVs were doodles he created while he struggled in an artistic rut.

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Masked Up For Your Protection: In Praise Of Black Bloc Heroes (#GonzoNotes)
A black bloc activist turns to look at the camera, in a group of others dressed in similar black hoodies and face masks. Tahrir Square, Egypt, February 6, 2013. (Flickr / Ella, CC NC license)
October 30, 2017
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Masked Up For Your Protection: In Praise Of Black Bloc Heroes (#GonzoNotes)

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

What do you feel when you see the black bloc?

I feel pride, solidarity, and hope.

Though their faces are masked, I see a group of beautiful humans willing to get injured or imprisoned in order to keep all of us safer.

What the mainstream media wants you to feel is fear. Strangely, they want you to feel the opposite around the police, who come out to the protest dressed for war, driving military vehicles and with a sniper team ready on the roof tops. In addition to bullets, they’ve got bean bag guns, pepper bombs, noise cannons, the whole array of nightmarish “less lethal” weaponry that late stage capitalism can bring to bear.

Meanwhile, the black bloc have just their bare hands and their bodies, or if they’re lucky, a handful of flags on sticks and some homemade shields.

Read moreMasked Up For Your Protection: In Praise Of Black Bloc Heroes (#GonzoNotes)