From LBC Books Anarchists in the Occupation Movement 2009-2011
Since the first day that Zuccotti Park was occupied there has been a shadowy figure haunting Occupy Wall Street. The anarchist. Who is this anarchist? What role has she played in the Occupy Movement? What would Occupy be without him?
This is a book where anarchists, in their own words, express how and why they engaged in Occupy, what methods they used, and evaluates the success of Occupy on anarchist terms. It also expresses the flexibilty, energy, and experience that anarchists brought to The Occupy Movement as it moved beyond lower Manhattan onto the docks and streets of Oakland, the town square of Philadelphia, and abandoned buildings around the country.
The anarchists’ way of operating was changing our very idea of what politics could be in the first place. This was exhilarating. Some occupiers told me they wanted to take it home with them, to organize assemblies in their own communities. It’s no accident, therefore, that when occupations spread around the country, the horizontal assemblies spread too.
-From Nathan Schneider in The Nation
Contributors: Antistate STL, Anon, Ben Webster, Cindy Milstein, Crescencia Desafio, Crimethinc, David Graeber, Denver ABC, Dot Matrix, Ignite! Collective, ingirum, John Jacobsen, Phoenix Insurgent, R.R, Serf City Revolt, TEOAN, Tides of Flame, TriAnarchy
”Occupy Everything! Call-Out to Occupy Buildings on January 28th, 2012 January 12, 2012 at 9:53 pm
We call on people to reclaim space in their areas on January 28th in the spirit of the occupy movement, but first and foremost to move past the idea of private property and build communities of resistance.
Groups in multiple cities have already announced plans for building takeovers on this date. We urge people to partake in actions that match their capacity. Momentum is on our side; resistance is building.
The natural next step of the occupy movement is to create a political squatting movement that will be a base of power for the continued struggle against the state and capitalism.”
In Spain also squatting is a criminal offence. Yet in Catalunya alone there are dozens of thriving ‘ Occupied Self managed Social Centers of every description.’ How is this possible? any movement to grab a bit of free space in the US could learnlots from our ideas and tactics.
Occupied self managed social center.. barcelona 2012
Here ae some tips from an ancient squatter.
1. Pick a building that’s long disused or forgotten or that it’s a disgrace to be abandoned.
2.Invite the neighbours to open house type participation from the start.
3. Immediately start all kinds of daily activities, from yoga to dance to ‘freegan’ cafes etc
4. Decide things by assembly, seeking consensus, this short circuits the ‘politicos’ and power obsessed men
5. People living there have first choice, maybe we can ‘adopt’ one person with problems, but we
can’t invite in all the drug and mental casualties of the brutal capitalism-
6.Good Squat Centers are often begun by an already strong group of friends.
7. The local economy is often based on recycling and benefit parties.
8. A great tactic is to have a backup place in case you don’t survive the first crucial days
9. A theme is a good idea, from Circus Squats, Womens centers, Prisoners Aid, rural permaculture, etc.
10. Above all look out for each other, beyond personal irritations, and enjoy the adventure!
(en) The world of environmental direct action has remained a secretive one, until now. Emily James spent over a year embedded in activist groups such as Climate Camp and Plane Stupid to document their clandestine activities. With unprecedented access, Just do It takes you on an astonishing journey behind the scenes of a community of people who refuse to sit back and allow the destruction of their world. Torpedoing the tired clichés of the environmental movement, Just Do It introduces you to a powerful cast of mischievous and inspiring characters who put their bodies in the way; they super-glue themselves to bank trading floors, blockade factories and attack coal power stations en-masse, despite the very real threat of arrest. Their adventures will entertain, illuminate and inspire.
On the morning of January 10, about twenty members of the assembly of solidarity with the case of Revolutionary Struggle (Epanastatikos Agonas, whose trial is currently underway), joined the corporation flash.gr radio station in the Kifisias Avenue and stopped the program from the station to transmit a message of solidarity with the accused.
Although neither the direction of the station or its staff formally requested the intervention of the police, dozens of them (DIAS motorcycle units, such as MAT squads, plainclothes police officers, among others) soon arrived at the scene and surrounded the building. At about 14.00 hours, after hours of being locked in the offices of the radio, the anarchists who participated in the intervention of solidarity were arrested en masse and taken to police headquarters on Alexandras Avenue: two prosecutors , along with squads of police, stormed the radio station, forcing the partners to leave the premises, all were handcuffed and held in police buses, while their mobile phones were confiscated.
As soon as the news spread, anarchists gathered outside the police headquarters (GADA), where a solidarity protest of about 100 people was conducted.
Here is part of a text published by the same 20 detainees’ s:
Today, January 10, 2012, the companions of esapcio anarchist / anti-authoritarian we conducted an intervention in the company’s FM radio station Flash 96 in the context of a series of solidarity actions in the case of Revolutionary Struggle, trial was conducted from October 5, 2011, in the special court Koridallos prison.
We have taken this action in an effort to break the wall of silence and the political order of muzzling the judicial and political discourse of the defendants in the case of Revolutionary Struggle.
It appears that all comrades l @ s @ s s are accused of a misdemeanor of “inciting violence”. ‘S are now threatened to be arrested and should be tomorrow at the hearing, 11 / 1, in the courts Evelpidon in Athens, around the 12:00 BHRS. We call for unconditional absolution!
End the persecution s @ s comrades who participated in Flash 96 FM!
Freedom now to everyone!
Solidarity with the three members of the revolutionary struggle, Nikos Maziotis, Pola roupa, Kostas Gournas, otr l @ s @ s @ s Plead in the same case, Vaggelis Stathopoulos, Nikitopoulos Sarantos, Christoforos Kortesis, Beraha Katsenos Marie and Kostas. We demand the immediate release of K. Katsenos hostage remains in custody.
new graphic to go with ch 32 ‘Smash the Prison Gates’ from the novel The Free..(available as a free download here https://thefreeonline.wordpress.com )
denverabc We hope these words find our comrades around the world in the best of health and spirit, during this time of massive social upheavel and revolt. The world has definitely seen a spread of anarchist influenced and revolutionary praxis throughout the last half of 2012, and we’ve definitely been feeling the massive change in current here in Denver.2011 saw the busiest time yet for our collective, as we worked to support social movements active in Denver, and across the world.
GENERAL/INTERNAL:
The most recent formation of the Denver Anarchist Black Cross has now been active in the Denver metro area for 2 1/2 years. During that time our collective has seen a lot of ebb and flow with our membership and our work. However, the last 6 months of 2011 saw our collective solidify to a consistent membership base. At the close of 2011, we had 11 dues paying members, with three more people expected to complete their membership process sometime in January 2012……..
LONG TERM POLITICAL PRISONER/POW SUPPORT:
One of the mainstays of Anarchist Black Cross work will always be support for long-term imprisoned comrades, classified as political prisoners and prisoners of war. Denver ABC has continued our dedication to supporting our kidnapped warriors through a variety of ways.
Since our inception, Denver ABC has worked to maintain a comprehensive listing of political prisoners and social movement prisoners held captive within the U.S. An electronic version of our listing is continuously updated and available at our blog at denverabc.wordpress.com. An 11th edition of a print version of that listing was made available in November, with a new edition to be made available sometime in January 2012…….
For the second year, Denver ABC maintained a $30 a month stipend for long held Black Liberation prisoner, Mutulu Shakur.support website: http://mutulushakur.com
In July, DABC held our 3rd annual Running Down the Walls 5k benefit for U.S. held political prisoners. The run was held in solidarity with the chapters of the Anarchist Black Cross Federation and other ABC chapters across North America. This year’s run was the most successful by far. 40 participants helped us raise over $1,100. $800 was sent to MOVE prisoner Michael Davis Africa. More information: http://denverabc.wordpress.com/political-prisoners-database/michael-davis-africa/ Our efforts at supporting individual political prisoners also included sending $300 each to the last two members of the United Freedom Front held captive within the United States, Tom Manning and Jaan Laaman. More information on Tom, Jaan, and the United Freedom Front can be found here: http://denverabc.wordpress.com/political-prisoners-database/jaan-karl-laaman/
Our work to support our long held comrades has included a myriad of other programs and initiatives, including participating in a night of action for long term anarchist prisoners which took place on June 11th. DABC members helped plant dozens of flowers throughout Northwest Denver, accompanied by vibrant full color posters explaining the cases of two comrades, Eric McDavid and Marie Mason………
FORMER POLITICAL PRISONER SUPPORT:
The struggle a political prisoner faces does not end once they are released from prison, no matter how long they have been outside of the prison gates. It is with this contention in mind that DABC also believes it is important to support our previously imprisoned comrades. They have lost years of their lives to our social movements, and they deserve our continued support……..
PRISON ABOLITION/MIGRANT DEFENSE:
Throughout 2011, Denver ABC continued our commitment to supporting local movements resisting mass imprisonment throughout Colorado. Our work focused on two fronts: the Colorado state prison system and the ICE detention system.
Our work within the Colorado state prison has been multi-pronged. We still maintain a free literature program for prisoners; sending radical, revolutionary, and anarchist titles into prisons across Colorado. 2011 finally saw the release of a new catalog of titles, as well as the solidification of the project, which had stalled last year for various reasons.
DABC held several solidarity rallies with women prisoners actively struggling against violence and sexual assault at the hands of guards at the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility in northeast Denver.
Twice in the spring, a group of 20-30 people held banners proclaiming solidarity with the women struggling inside. The reactions from the women inside were supportive and excited, as women banged on the windows of prison cells and raised fists in solidarity. Our efforts to create a solid working relationship with these women has stalled out, after some correspondence with women who got our address off of a large banner held outside the prison, encouraging them to write us. We hope to work more on this in 2012 and correct our mistakes.
Our solidarity with prisoner struggles was not just limited to the geographic confines of Colorado. During both rounds of hunger strikes that spread across the California prison system, Denver ABC took a role in organizing local solidarity. In July, we helped organize local movement members to call and write the prison system, and to write and develop relationships with the prisoners active within the hunger strike. In October, we organized a march and rally, where we handed out hundreds of fliers with information about the strike. We continued our phone call and letter writing campaigns, and also held a teach-in and strategy session where we were able to get Bo Brown, a former member of the George Jackson Brigade and a member of the Pelican Bay Hunger Strike Support Committee, to video chat with the participants about the strike and the efforts to offer support.
Our work supporting the efforts of local migrant and Chican@ liberation movements was not as active as it was last year, but still took up a considerable amount of our organizing efforts, particularly in early 2011….DABC maintained our presence at monthly vigils against the ICE Detention Center in nearby Aurora. …..For the second year, DABC has maintained our involvement with Colorado AID (Abolish Inhumane Detention)…..
LEGAL SUPPORT:
DABC has been providing legal support to local social movements since our inception. 2011, however, pushed this work to a whole new level, as we worked to support participants in the local anti-police movement, including an attempted murder case.
the case of Amelia Nicol
The most serious case we have ever offered our support for was the case of Amelia Nicol, a woman arrested during the “March Against Police Terror” that took place in May. Amelia was accused of throwing a molotov cocktail (or a bomb, depending on which capitalist media source you choose to read) at police officers. She was charged with two counts of attempted murder of a police officer, arson, use of explosives, possessing explosives, and a host of other felonies and misdemeanors. In all, Amelia faced over 100 years in prison for these charges. Denver ABC took the initiative to offer the support necessary to win this court case. Our support took on a myriad of roles; starting with providing correspondence, speaking to Amelia on the phone everyday, and working to develop a pressure campaign against the District Attorney. DABC organized a letter and phone call campaign, where hundreds of postcards, letters, faxes, and emails were sent to the District Attorney from all over the world, demanding that the charges against Amelia be dropped. We organized a press conference outside the DA’s office, and a half dozen supporters went inside to drop off hundreds more postcards directly to the DA. This was the first time DABC had organized anything like this. Video of the press conference can be found here:http://denverabc.wordpress.com/2011/06/09/amelia-nicol-press-conference-rally-and-da-confrontation-6911/
On June 9, after being imprisoned for over a month, Amelia had her most serious charges dropped in court. She was bonded out by DABC members on June 13, facing one felony count for possession of explosives, and 3 misdemeanor charges for assault and resisting arrest. DABC provided Amelia with a place to live, a job, clothing, and other physical resources that she needed upon release. By September, the remainder of Amelia’s charges were dropped in court. Amelia went from facing over 100 years in jail to being completely free and clear in a matter of months. This was the first time DABC has ever performed a support role of this magnitude and with these dire of consequences. It was
version of graphic titled ‘Re-Creating’ used for Act 2 of the novel ‘The Free’ ( available as a free download here https://thefreeonline.wordpress.com )
definitely a learning experience, and one that will continue to inform our legal support work. It also was a major victory for our collective and for local revolutionary movements.
OCCUPY DENVER:
A lot can be said about our participation in Occupy Denver. The comments, history, analysis, and insights we have gained could fill an entire periodical at this point. However, we’ll just offer a brief overview of our involvement. Denver ABC was present from the first General Assembly ever held at Occupy Denver. In fact, members of our organization facilitated the first five general assemblies. We were also a part of helping to adopt guidelines that would ensure an acceptance of a diversity of tactics, embodied by the St. Paul’s Principles, four guiding points drafted and adopted by organizers of a diverse array of political and tactical persuasions during the 2008 protests against the Republican National Convention in Minnesota…..much more……
The Denver ABC Mutual Aid Fund provides emergency financial relief to social movement members in dire economic need. Since its inception, the fund has provided thousands of dollars to local movement members………The Denver Armed Resistance Committee is a working group of Denver ABC that works on providing tactical and self defense skills and resources to members of local social movements…
CHILD AND FAMILY SUPPORT:
DABC continued our work to build a multi-generational movement and support parents and families throughout 2011. In the early part of the year, DABC members helped construct a new room at the 27 Social Centre that would act as a childcare room and a base for our Nurturing Liberation program. . DABC also provided childcare at several events for outside organizations.
NORTH AMERICAN ANARCHIST BLACK CROSS CONFERENCE:
In August, Denver ABC hosted a conference for North American Anarchist Black Cross chapters and other anarchist based prisoner support formations. Around fifty participants representing at least 14 different organizations and defense committees active in the United States and Canada participated in the weekend long conference……….
P&L PRINTING/27 SOCIAL CENTRE:Members of Denver ABC have been running a collectively owned commercial print shop for nearly 3 years. P&L Printing is a union, worker owned shop, affiliated with the Industrial Workers of the World, and the Communications Workers of America Local 7777………..
OTHER SUPPORT/ANTI-REPRESSION WORK:In April, DABC organized to support one of our members and close comrades, Stefan Martinez, in response to mounting FBI pressure against him. Stefan had been contacted and harassed by the FBI for years, demanding information on Earth and Animal Liberation activities and groups, and other radicals. Stefan always refused to answer their questions or to talk to them, and after months of harassment, they stopped contacting him……..
SUPPORTING DENVER ABC:In 2011, the workload of Denver ABC increased exponentially from the previous year. We were able to support dozens of legal cases, provide thousands of dollars worth of financial support to movement members inside and outside of prison, and ensure that many people would no longer sit in jail cells, and would not spend their lives inside of them. We’ve only been able to accomplish what we have because of financial and physical support and solidarity from hundreds of supporters in Denver and across the world………….
-Donate to the DABC Mutual Aid Fund or our Prisoner Warchest! Just contact us to find out how to make a donation!
Support your local ABC or other anti-authoritarian projects!
To inquire about purchasing posters, t-shirts, or making a donation, drop us a line at denverabc@rocketmail.com or visit http://plpress.bigcartel.com
In love and solidarity! Your comrades at Denver Anarchist Black Cross
Cardinal compares gay pride to KKK. Isn’t Catholic hierarchy more Klan-like?
When Catholic Cardinal Francis George of Chicago compared the city’s gay pride parade to a Ku Klux Klan rally intentionally disrupting church services, he obviously pissed off more than a few people. Some are demanding his resignation.
But what concerns me more than the comparison is that George fails to see the obvious similarities between Catholicism and the Klan. Indeed, the Catholic Church’s legacy is one of genocide and mass murder.
The church was instrumental in the violent colonization of Native Nations in the Americas. The church’s complicit silence and lack of political perspective aided the Nazi party. Indeed, the current pope was a Nazi.
The church’s ongoing denial of the value of condoms promotes the widespread death and sickness of people whose sexual proclivities fall outside of the narrow scope of what the church deems moral.
Ultimately, which is more disruptive—genocide in the Americas, tacitly supporting the holocaust, appointing a former Nazi as your leader and directly aiding the AIDS epidemic for nearly 20 years; or a bunch of singing gays, passing a church and by their presence, somehow disrupting the service?
The hypocrisy the Cardinal demonstrates, to compare a hate mongering group that wills genocide–not unlike the historical Catholic Church—with the LGBTQ community, a fundamentally oppressed group (indeed oppressed by the church itself), demonstrates the ongoing commitment Catholic leadership has to denying their roots, their privilege and the power they secured through mass murder.
Until the Catholic Church atones for its sins and quits committing political violence against oppressed communities, the biggest disruption to its spiritual practice comes from within the church hierarchy.
George’s careless comment pales in comparison to the horror of the church casting a former Nazi in the role of most infallible living person on earth. The institution is rotten.
An open microphone assembly was held within the giant Moscow demonstrations
Almost all the speakers at a makeshift assembly were unanimous that the opposition status, consider themselves the ideologues of the protest movement, just want to get into power and do not intend to defend the interests of ordinary people. It is unlikely that peace, even thousands, meetings will lead to some radical changes. Defend the rights people can only do by fighting against the state and capital, and building around libertarian attitude.
When podium held by the free “opposition” oligarch Prokhorov, in black and red series he shouted, “Get in your Courchevel” and “The Power of millions, not the millionaires.” Anarchists and other participants in the meeting tried to block billionaire. Unfortunately, its passage further provided personal protection, but after Prokhorov flying snowballs.
After 16 hours, when some protesters began to disperse, and on the prospect of Sakharov became freer, and the column of anarchists and anti-fascists have joined together with her group of feminists, LGBT activists and individual representatives of the organized left-wing organizations has moved closer to the stage. The anarchists chanted “Freedom, equality, anarcho-communism,” “Higher, higher, black flag, the state chief enemy,” “Fascism shall not pass!”, “Our country – all of humanity!”(During a speech to the main podium speakers Nazi views), “All politics – crooks and thieves,” “Our candidate – self-government”, “Come on out, bring us a city,” “Down with fascism and capitalism,” “Path to Freedom – a revolution! “And other slogans.
After the meeting a column of anarchists, along with other protesters managed to arrange a procession from the expanded attributes and lit fireworks in the alley and Orlikova Kalanchevskaia street. Standing in a cordon police decided not to detain demonstrators.
About 18 hours, even at the metro station “Red Gate”, the ultra-right attacked a group of anarchists, who were returning from the rally. Police arrested along with neo-Nazis three anarchists, but they were soon released.
This is a book where anarchists, in their own words, express how and why they engaged in Occupy, what methods they used, and evaluates the success of Occupy on anarchist terms. It also expresses the flexibilty, energy, and experience that anarchists brought to The Occupy Movement as it moved beyond lower Manhattan onto the docks and streets of Oakland, the town square of Philadelphia, and abandoned buildings around the country.
THEY’LL NEVETR EVICT OUR DREAMS”
The Free 