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Virtual Gonzo Zine Library, Spring 2020: Resistance Under A PandemicA portrait of Kit posed against a stone wall, his brown hair blowing in his face as he reads "Our Grief Is A Starting Point In The Fight Against Fascism," a zine by Cindy Milstein (part of the Virtual Gonzo Zine Library Spring Edition). He's wearing sunglasses and a colorful 70s flower print face mask covering his mouth and nose.
Kit reads "Our Grief Is A Starting Point In The Fight Against Fascism," a zine by Cindy Milstein, and part of the Virtual Gonzo Zine Library Spring Edition. (Mask by JM Stallings. Photo by Kit O'Connell, all rights reserved.)
April 20, 2020
Kit
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Virtual Gonzo Zine Library, Spring 2020: Resistance Under A Pandemic

Posted in Creative Commons, and Zines

Welcome to the Virtual Gonzo Zine Library. The VGZL is a quarterly zine reading list and miniature zine distro. A few times per year, I curate some of my favorite zines — zines that I think everyone should be reading, including myself.

This is the very first edition. I tried to pick zines which felt topical to this moment of pandemic, and could help inspire, comfort, and give us new perspectives. I selected a mixture of the very practical and the theoretical, but I tried to focus on zines written in an accessible way that wasn’t overly academic.

I’m dividing this edition of the Zine Library into a main selection and bonus content. The main selection is my reading list for the quarter, while the rest are other zines I think you might find interesting.

Read moreVirtual Gonzo Zine Library, Spring 2020: Resistance Under A Pandemic
Using A Cane With An Invisible DisabilityA fashionably-dressed person seated in a chair holds an antique cane in one hand while a men's hat rests on their other knee. I use a cane to help me get around and also to help signal that I'm a person with an invisible disability.
I use a cane to help me get around and also to help signal that I'm a person with an invisible disability. (Photo: Pixabay / Life-of-Pix, public domain)
February 15, 2019
Kit
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Using A Cane With An Invisible Disability

Posted in Creative Commons, and Life

I thought I’d write for a moment about what it means to use a cane as a person with an invisible disability (fibromyalgia).

Invisible disabilities are life-altering health conditions which are nonetheless not always visible to a normal observer. Even a trained medical professional might miss them under casual observation. Fibromyalgia is a debilitating, and poorly understood condition. It combines chronic pain with other symptoms like sleep disturbance and severe fatigue.

I don’t use a cane every day, which can contribute to confusion from people who don’t understand how disabilities can work. I might seem “able bodied” one day, but the next (or even later the same day) be hobbling around in pain.

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Drexel University Abandons Professor After Attacks Over Satirical ‘White Genocide’ Tweets
An ornate archway at Drexel University. June 5, 2005. (Flickr / Connery, CC NC ND)
December 30, 2016
Kit
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Drexel University Abandons Professor After Attacks Over Satirical ‘White Genocide’ Tweets

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

George Ciccariello-Maher, a professor at Drexel University, is facing death threats after a series of satirical tweets about “white genocide,” a concept invented by white supremacists.

The university is also facing criticism for its refusal to wholeheartedly support the free speech rights of its employee in the midst of an onslaught of complaints driven, in part, by far-right news outlets like Breitbart.

“All I Want for Christmas is White Genocide,” Ciccariello-Maher tweeted on Saturday, according to a report published Monday by The Philadelphia Inquirer. A second tweet created on Sunday read: “To clarify: when the whites were massacred during the Haitian revolution, that was a good thing indeed.”

Ciccariello-Maher teaches in Drexel’s Department of History and Politics. According to his university bio, he often appears in the media to comment on “social movements, particularly in Latin America” and also frequently writes about “race, racism, prisons and policing in the U.S. and internationally.”

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Oaxaca Protests Swell Over Police Killings And Neoliberal Education Reforms
In this June 23, 2016 photograph, dancers and drummers at the Texas Capitol honor activists killed by police in Oaxaca, Mexico while protesting neoliberal education reforms. (Kit O'Connell)
June 27, 2016
Kit
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Oaxaca Protests Swell Over Police Killings And Neoliberal Education Reforms

Posted in Austin, Journalism, and MintPress News

A brutal attack on protesters in Mexico has drawn expressions of solidarity from around the world, including a vigil held on Thursday at the Texas State Capitol.

At least eight civilians were killed and dozens injured on June 20, when police opened fire on a group of teachers, students and their allies blocking a section of highway connecting the state of Oaxaca to Mexico City. A journalist was also killed during the protests.

“They’re killing our people,” Magdalena Maria Gutierrez, a resident of Austin, Texas, who was born in Oaxaca, said in an interview with MintPress News before she spoke to the crowd gathered at the Texas State Capitol on Thursday for a vigil organized by the Committee in Solidarity with Teachers in Mexico.

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PCBs Poison America’s Teachers & Students, But EPA & Monsanto Won’t Take Responsibility
File: A elementary school classroom. November 29, 2007. (Flickr / Kari Bluff)
June 21, 2016
Kit
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PCBs Poison America’s Teachers & Students, But EPA & Monsanto Won’t Take Responsibility

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

A toxic chemical that used to be prevalent in construction materials may still be hiding in the walls of thousands of American schools, and experts believe the EPA is doing too little to prevent it from poisoning a new generation of children.

Polychlorinated biphenyls, a family of chemicals better known as PCBs, were commonly used in building materials until 1979, when they were finally banned due to the threat they pose to human health.

But the damage had already been done, according to Al Letson, the host of the Reveal podcast.

Read morePCBs Poison America’s Teachers & Students, But EPA & Monsanto Won’t Take Responsibility
From ABCs To CBD: New Jersey, Colorado Allow Students Medical Marijuana At School
File: Young children swing on a swing set in Wisconsin. (Flickr / Bethlehem Lutheran / Pam Carlson-Gugel)
June 15, 2016
Kit
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From ABCs To CBD: New Jersey, Colorado Allow Students Medical Marijuana At School

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

As more families press for their children to be allowed to consume medical cannabis at school, more states are moving toward allowing students access to the substance that remains banned at the federal level.

Last week, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed “Jack’s Law,” which will allow students with a prescription to receive non-inhaled medical marijuana during the school day. The law is named for a young student who couldn’t access his prescribed medical cannabis at school. CBS Denver reported on June 7.

“We absolutely need to allow children to have access to medicine in schools. Why wouldn’t we?” said Kyle Sherman, the founder and CEO of Flowhub, in an interview with MintPress News. Flowhub is a Denver-based software company that helps growers and dispensaries maintain their supply chains and follow local laws.

Read moreFrom ABCs To CBD: New Jersey, Colorado Allow Students Medical Marijuana At School