Adventures of a Gonzo Journalist
Don’t just vote, get angry and fuck shit up.
The midterm election is quickly approaching and it promises to be a pivotal one. Understandably, many liberals are pouring their efforts into voter registration and voter drives with a fervor that hasn’t been seen in years. They’re hoping to channel all the popular anger at the state of things here in this hell nation back into the voting booth.
I want to tell you: don’t let them.
Posted in Creative Commons, and Journalism
OccupyICE San Antonio continues despite a failed attempt at intimidation by Patriot Front, a notorious group of Texas nazis.
For almost two weeks, activists have occupied the Immigrations & Customs Enforcement offices at 3523 Crosspoint Drive in San Antonio with tents and shade structures. Using noise demonstrations and direct actions, they’ve been disrupting business at the facility. Busloads of detained immigrant prisoners are a near daily sight. This ongoing protest is part of the national OccupyICE movement, which seeks to abolish ICE and put an end to the detention of immigrants and their families.
About 20 nazis from the Texas-based Patriot Front targeted OccupyICE San Antonio on the morning on Saturday, July 28. They arrived at about 8 am while most of the campers were asleep. After lighting a road flare, the nazis shouted racist slogans while committing petty attacks on the encampment.
Posted in Creative Commons, and Journalism
This is the third and final part of my interview with scott crow.
We discuss what comes after antifa finish driving neo-nazis and white supremacists from our streets. In the second part of my interview, crow commented that the left is great at building “fire brigades” but less effective at building power.
I asked crow what building power looks like to him.
“I think that it starts with asking the question, ‘What does it take to build power?'”
Posted in Gonzo Notes, and Journalism
In the face of tyranny and environmental apocalypse, does our activism still matter?
I felt my heart sink recently when I saw an old comrade, largely retired from activism, questioning the value of his work. As a passionate advocate for LGBTQIA rights, he was one of the most radical and outspoken, never willing to settle down and wait for the human rights he deserved. I don’t in any way judge my friend for stepping back from activism, which is often a valid and eminently sensible decision. I’ve done it myself, lately, for various reasons including a legal battle I just won.
The stakes are higher now, to be sure. While Trump’s administration constantly seems on the verge of collapse, his election seems to signify a new era in which old standards of political behavior are abandoned in favor of accelerated, unchecked avarice and unmasked bigotry. Simultaneously, even the most pessimistic of climate scientists seems shocked at the rate at which things are getting worse for our planet.
Posted in Creative Commons, Journalism, and Radical Media
Black Rose Book Distro, a network of radical “pop up” bookstores in St. Louis, was attacked by white supremacists in January.
I first heard about the incident via Twitter as the distro’s volunteers spread the word about the damage to their books, zines, and safer sex supplies.
Authors, publishers, and activists of all kinds quickly stepped up to replace almost everything, and all of the Black Rose Book Distro locations are open again. But I still think it’s important to spread word about what happened, because American nazis pose a growing risk to not just the physical safety of marginalized groups in the U.S., from LGBTQIA folks to immigrants and people of color, but also our culture and knowledge too. The members of Black Rose agreed when I approached them for an interview.
Posted in Creative Commons, and Journalism
“I’m not into the politics of reaction,” scott crow said.
“You need dual power. You must resist on one hand, but you have to build and create on the other hand.”
In December, I caught up with anarchist organizer and author scott crow when he stopped by my house to drop off some copies of his book “Emergency Hearts, Molotov Dreams,” which I gave away to my Patreon patrons. I took the opportunity to talk with crow about American politics and antifa after a year of the Trump regime. In the previous part of this interview, I got crow’s thoughts on the media, so in this part I’ll focus on our conversation about everyday antifascism and the limitations of antifascist tactics.
