Skip to content

Tag: Antifa

Taking Space Feels Like A Drug: Reflections On A Coup AttemptSoftgel capsules full of glitter and sparkly confetti.
Will the buzz of participating in a coup attempt be worth the hangover after? (Flickr / Rawpixel Ltd, CC license)
January 11, 2021
Kit
Leave a Comment

Taking Space Feels Like A Drug: Reflections On A Coup Attempt

Posted in Creative Commons, Journalism, and Occupy Wall Street

After watching the coup, I keep imagining the feeling of breaking through. The rush. The giddy high of taking space.

Like so many antifascists, I saw something like this coming. I wasn’t surprised, but I was still shocked at the sight of a war-helmeted christofascist raising his fist in the air as he stood atop the heart of American political power.

And I keep coming back to how good they must feel. These nasty fucking fascists, white supremacists, and Qsuckers are riding one of the biggest highs of their lives. And that makes them even more dangerous.

Read moreTaking Space Feels Like A Drug: Reflections On A Coup Attempt
Virtual Gonzo Zine Library, Winter 2020: Surviving Dark TimesA set of protective goggles and a cloth mask with roses and skulls sit on a yellow surface near 4 zines, the main selections from this edition of the virtual zine library, which are fanned out in an arc.
Zine life in 2020 ... (Mask by JaneMichael.com. Photo by Kit O'Connell.)
December 1, 2020
Kit
Leave a Comment

Virtual Gonzo Zine Library, Winter 2020: Surviving Dark Times

Posted in Creative Commons, and Zines

This is the Winter 2020 edition of the Virtual Gonzo Zine Library.

The VGZL is a zine reading list and miniature zine distro. From time to time, I curate some of my favorite zines — zines that I think everyone should be reading, including myself.

These are the main selections from this edition of my reading list. I’ve selected a few bonus zines as well as some other resources to consider, too.

Read moreVirtual Gonzo Zine Library, Winter 2020: Surviving Dark Times
Disaster Plans For Surviving 2020: A Few More ResourcesA chaotic protest scene cloudy with tear gas. In the foreground a woman wears a gas mask and looks distresed. In the background, two protesters confront a row of riot cops with an abolish police sign.
Creating a plan with your friends, loved ones and comrades can help us get through times of unrest. (Unsplash / Koshu Kunii, public domain)
November 1, 2020
Kit
Leave a Comment

Disaster Plans For Surviving 2020: A Few More Resources

Posted in Creative Commons, and Journalism

There’s a lot of tension and anxiety about what could happen in the coming days, including the possibility of serious civil unrest of a type…

Read moreDisaster Plans For Surviving 2020: A Few More Resources
Zines For Surviving Under Rising FascismA queer couple embrace in front of an antifa flag at a protest, as police look on. Vienna, Italy 2013.
We're all going to have to work together to help each other survive these emergencies. (Couple embraces in front of antifa flag, Verona, Italy, September 2013 by CitizenPost / Flickr, Creative Commons NonCommercial NoDerivatives license)
October 1, 2020
Kit
Leave a Comment

Zines For Surviving Under Rising Fascism

Posted in Journalism

It’s becoming very obvious that we face a dangerous fight against fascism in the U.S. (and elsewhere).

Even though I’ve been sounding the alarm for a while, I’m still alarmed at the speed with which things are progressing towards a full blown authoritarian state, the rate of escalating fascist political violence, and the general feeling that we’re all less prepared than we should be.

This is just a brief post to say that what you are seeing happen in front of you is real and scary to me too. Don’t believe anybody who tries to tell you that you’re over-reacting.

Read moreZines For Surviving Under Rising Fascism
Any Journalist Can Become A Media Troll, Even ‘Neutral’ JournalistsA citizen journalist hangs on a light pole to get a better view of a protest as he films on a smartphone.
Journalists can't endanger movements then expect to be welcomed by protesters. (Photo: Seattle Women's March 2018, Cindy Shebley / Flickr, Creative Commons license)
September 25, 2020
Kit
Leave a Comment

Any Journalist Can Become A Media Troll, Even ‘Neutral’ Journalists

Posted in Creative Commons, and Journalism

The First Amendment doesn’t grant you the right to film people’s faces or put protesters at risk without facing social consequences.

Recently, I’ve watched protesters turn increasingly hostile against some media, especially livestreamers. Even though I’m a journalist, I find myself agreeing with protesters that streamers can put them at risk.

Any journalist, even well meaning ones, can become a media troll if they endanger movements. And right now, as we face off with ascendant fascism, the potential risks to activists are very high.

Read moreAny Journalist Can Become A Media Troll, Even ‘Neutral’ Journalists
Beyond The Concrete Milkshake: Tactics For Defeating Media Trolls & Grifters (Zine)Photo: A Black person with long curly hair shouts into a bullhorn at a counter-protest to a fascist event in Washington, D.C.
Noise can be a powerful tactic for shutting down media trolls. But it's not foolproof. (Photo: Protest against Unite the Right 2 in Washington, D.C. 2018, Melany Rochester, Public Domain, Unsplash)
June 22, 2020
Kit
Leave a Comment

Beyond The Concrete Milkshake: Tactics For Defeating Media Trolls & Grifters (Zine)

Posted in Creative Commons, Journalism, and Zines

A free zine by Kit O’Connell with nonviolent tactics for protecting your movement from media trolls and grifters that seek to harm activists.

During the Occupy movement, the smartphone allowed anyone to broadcast live or instantly report on protests or police action using social media. Some of these citizen journalists started to bring in donations from their viewers, usually just enough to keep them supplied with Megabus tickets to the next protest. Most of them either broadly supported the movement, or subscribed to “journalistic neutrality.”

Then, some of them figured out you can make way more money working for the dark side. So they tucked their beanie caps down a little lower and got to work making the Left look bad. A trickle of donations turned into a flood of money.

Dishonestly edit a video, and you could land a job with Infowars. Get roughed up while harassing antifascists, and you earn a 6-figure paycheck. All you have to do is give up a piece of your soul.

Read moreBeyond The Concrete Milkshake: Tactics For Defeating Media Trolls & Grifters (Zine)