Friday, December 31, 2021

New video by Unicorn Riot on YouTube - go check it out ;-)


Watch on YouTube here: The Disappearance of Cieha Taylor
Via Christian Gasper
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The Eviction of the Squatted “Biology Steki” Will Not Go Unanswered

Translation of a call posted on Athens Indymedia

Early in the morning of New Year’s Eve, police raided an anarchist community center (“steki”) on the ground floor of a science building in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. This had been a steki for 34 years, the longest-standing occupation on any Greek university campus. Anarchist and leftist occupations of university buildings is a longstanding tradition in Greece; the 1973 national uprising against the Junta government was launched from an occupied university.

The following is a translation of the steki’s call for solidarity, which prompted the march seen here.

Today, New Year’s Eve (31-12-2021), the state and the police proceeded to evict the occupied space “Biology Steki,” encircling the space around the campus, with a parallel increased presence inside the university. The invasion and eviction of the occupation was chosen to take place at dawn (6:00 am) as that time would not face any form of resistance. We do not consider that the eviction of the Biology Steki is an exception, since part of the political methods of the state, in the form of control and repression, is to silence any method of expression and action that deviates from the rulers.

The repressive framework against the buildings which had been occupied over the years has until now come mainly from inter-university authorities and deans. Today’s eviction– of the longest-running occupation of university territory– is considered to be of greater political significance at the moment.

For the state, it marks the end of ‘lawlessness’ on campus and the ‘sterilization’ of educational institutions, promoting, as necessary, a regime of surveillance and control, locking up schools and intensifying university policing. A necessary condition for the achievement of these plans is the silencing of every radical, self-organized voice that moves in the university space, such as stekis, squats and autonomous groups.

For us, these spaces are spaces of freedom which reject the concepts of hierarchy, property and economic exploitation. In them, we create our own structures, based on self-organization, equality, anti-commodity and solidarity, from our political status and action to our entertainment.

As in the past we have defended the areas that were attacked, in Greece and abroad, so now they will find us arrayed against them in their attempt to make us disappear. You will find before you our answer to your repression, as it has been for so many years.

In November 1987, the “Biology Steki” was occupied by students to reflect the need for a new social space of expression. The steki that was once intended for a university library functioned as a self-managed café, counter-information community center and a base for social and student struggles.

From the beginning, its composition and action were multifaceted since the space has been shared by groups with different characteristics and different modes of action.

During this period of 34 years, the steki has housed student, concert, theatrical, radio and political projects. Cafes, collective kitchens, screenings, Greek lessons for immigrants, self-defense lessons, etc. have been held there. There has been support for many struggles such as those against military conscription, support of political prisoners, and student squatting, and efforts have been made to provide financial support for court costs, the needs of four-legged companions, and medical expenses in solidarity. The steki to this day continues to be a meeting place and source of political ferment with the main axis of self-organization being anti-commodity, solidarity with incarcerated comrades and the daily claim of our lives.

The attack on our premises will not only not go unanswered but also acts as a driving force for a counterattack, as it reminds us once again that we are in a constant war. The narrative of order and security that takes place through the repression by all forms of cops and thugs rekindles our need to continue fighting in solidarity with one other.

If you think that by invading our spaces, you are going to destroy us, you live with delusions.

We will make sure to bring you back from them

OUR IDEAS ARE NOT SUPPRESSED

OUR STRUGGLES ARE NOT EVICTED

SOLIDARITY IN SQUATS

Biology Steki


by IGD Worldwide via It's Going Down
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Antifascists Call for Mobilization in Chicago Against Neo-Nazi Group Behind Racist Attacks and Charlottesville Violence

Antifascists in Chicago have issued a call for a community mobilization against the neo-Nazi group, Patriot Front, who has stated that they plan to rally alongside the March for Life anti-choice demonstration on January 8th.

Patriot Front is the same group that is behind a wave of racist and anti-Semitic attacks and vandalism across the US, but is perhaps best known for its role in the murder of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville in 2017, when the group was called Vanguard America.

In leaked audio from a recorded meeting in December filled with racial slurs and screams of “White Power!,” Patriot Front leader Thomas Rousseau claimed to have a good working relationship with March for Life organizers, and that the group planned on joining them at their next rally in 2022.

As Claire Goforth wrote in The Daily Dot:

Audio reportedly leaked from a recent Patriot Front meeting reveals the white nationalist group’s inner workings. During the meeting, Patriot Front’s purported founder also claimed that they’ve garnered support from people who attend events by the anti-choice group March for Life.

During another portion of the meeting, he claimed that the group’s visibility is on the rise. He said hundreds have recently applied to join. One of the first items on its 2022 agenda, according to the meeting, is the annual March for Life on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade next month. Patriot Front has purportedly been participating in these anti-choice events for several years. Its Odysee platform includes a video from one such event. The individual who’s presumably Rousseau indicated that they’re welcome at the March for Life.

“These people at the March for Life events have really come to support us over the years and because of the last year’s cancellations of these events, we are expecting even larger crowds of supportive individuals,” he said.

 

According to an antifascist website calling for protests against the neo-Nazis entitled, Stand Against the White Nationalists:

Grab your friends, and some masks, and make a plan to confront the losers who think that people of color and Jews are the reason their lives are miserable and they don’t have a girlfriend. Patriot Front, an American Fascist organization, will be attending and recruiting new white nationalist members at the March for Life Chicago rally on January 8, 2022, from 1-3pm at Federal Plaza in Chicago. 

Whether the organizers of March for Life wish to allow Patriot Front to march with them and continue to organize in their midst or not, Chicago as a community and the surrounding areas will respond to their planned presence. Goals include disrupting their spectacle and organizing as well as showing them they are not welcome in our city. Bring a friend, bring a mask, bring your yelling voice. On Saturday, January 8 at 12:30pm at Fedaral Plaza in Chicago, IL stand with us all to face them, frustrating their ability to continue to increase their membership, making clear to their current membership that they will not have a friendly reception anywhere they go, and denying them the appearance of public acceptance, we can make sure that they are only seen as a Patriot Fail.

Patriot Front is a re-brand of Vanguard America, one of the groups which marched in Charlottesville at the Unite the Right rally and who’s supporter, James Alex Fields, Jr, murdered Heather Heyer after driving his car into a crowd of counter-protesters. Chat logs of the group were leaked by Unicorn Riot, showcasing a organization obsessed with racial and sexual violence:

Recorded conversations between members show an obsession with firearms, a non-stop tirade of racist, sexist and otherwise abusive language, and a desire to take action in the real world. Patriot Front members are also told that raping women is acceptable, “as long as you’re raping, like, people in your own race” and describe how in their ideal society, “ethnostate rape gangs” would be allowed to freely target unmarried white women who did not adhere to “traditional values.” Discord users in the server repeatedly share pictures of themselves, wrestling, boxing, sparring, and shooting, which they casually refer to as “violence training.”

For more information on the counter-mobilization, go here.


by It's Going Down via It's Going Down
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Thursday, December 30, 2021

New video by Unicorn Riot on YouTube - go check it out ;-)


Watch on YouTube here: Abandoned School Reclaimed to Make 'The Evolve Education Center'
Via Christian Gasper
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“We are ready for the revolt” – An interview with the defenders of Osterholz Forest

Syndicated from Enough14

The Osterholz forest, a forest area on the city border of Wuppertal and Haan in Germany, has been occupied since August 15, 2019.

From the beginning, insurrectionary texts appeared from the occupied Osterholz. Some were translated into many languages. Since May 2021, the situation in the forest has been coming to a head. The forest has been cleared in piecemeal for decades. This time, 5.5 hectares are to be cleared. In addition, a compensation measure [a group of trees left standing] from an earlier clearing is to be bulldozed. All this, for a waste dump of a limestone pit.

The company Oetelshofen has a clearing permit, and even if various lawsuits by local residents are ongoing, they threaten to evicted and clear the forest at the beginning of January 2022.

Activists are calling on people to come to Osterholz to defend the forest.

We spoke with zeros and other digits who are actively campaigning for the forest. The result is this conversation about the state of affairs in the Osterholz forest, insurrectionalism and the climate movement by Sunzi Bingfa.

Additional updates including actions are available at Enough14.

 

Originally published by Sunzi Bingfa. Translated by Riot Turtle.

Sunzi Bingfa: The forest has been threatened with eviction and clearing from the very beginning. In recent days, the Oetelshofen lime works have made it clear that they want to push through their plan at the beginning of January 2022. What is the state of affairs?

One: The current state of affairs is that the people from the Oetelshofen company are allowed to evict and clear-cut. So far they have held back, but it looks like they want to get at us in the first week of January. The citizens initiative is still in the process of legal action, but the clearing will begin before the verdict.

Zerozeroseven: There is also an appeal against the immediate enforcement at the Higher Administrative Court in Münster. However, the chance that the Higher Administrative Court will still stop the clearing is not that high and the lime works will then immediately try to set things in motion. However, we are not concerned with all the legal stuff. We think what local residents and citizens’ initiatives are doing are great, but we’ve never had anything to do with the legal side of things. The company Oetelshofen has already announced that they want to start clearing the land after their moratorium expires. Since it expires on December 31 and the first and second of January are weekend days, they want to start clearing on January 3, according to their logic.

We call all to come to the forest before the 3rd of January to defend it together. On the 2nd of January there will also be a major demonstration.

The demo will start at the station forecourt, Wuppertal-Vohwinkel train station. 02 January, 2022, 02:00 p. m. (14:00)

Sunzi Bingfa: The Oetelshofen lime works may not be a mom-and-pop store, but it’s not a huge corporation either. But their biggest customers include Thyssen/Krupp, RWE and road construction companies. You have repeatedly pointed out the connections between the lime works and other struggles. Can you tell us more about the Oetelshofen company?

Three: The Oetelshofen company, owned by the Iseke family, is not only a major player in burning coal, building roads and arms manufacturing, but also owns vast amounts of agricultural land for ages that they lease and they are also landlords of some houses, which is aggravating as well. In addition, they sat for a long time in city councils and are members of several local associations, which is why almost all decisions concerning this company are linked to nepotism.

Zerozeroseven: Sometimes I think I’m in a Monty Python movie. Only there is little to laugh about here. Until the last election period, one of the managing directors, Moritz Iseke, was the parliamentary group leader of the CDU in the Wuppertal-Vohwinkel district council. The CDU even helped the fox to keep the geese by securing him a seat on the environmental committee of the city council of Wuppertal. It is thanks to a campaign by the citizens’ initiative that he did not stand for election last year. This was probably too sensitive for the CDU and the Oetelshofen company after the connections were repeatedly discussed in local media. But it goes much further, they sit in various associations and Jörg Iskeke, one of the other managing directors, said quite proudly that he smokes pipes together with the district administrator of the county of Mettmann. It all smells of nepotism and feudal relations. However, their time is running out. These clowns have nothing to offer people except the destruction of our basic living conditions.

Image above: Head of Department of the City of Wuppertal, Matthias Nocke (CDU), during a pro-clearing forest walk organized by the CDU on August 22, 2019.

Sunzi Bingfa: The forest was threatened with eviction and clearing from the beginning. In recent days, the Oetelshofen lime works have made it clear that they want to push through their plan at the beginning of January 2022. In January 2021, you wrote about the threat of eviction, among other things, “You sit at your desk and write your script. However, we decide the size of the playing field.” What did you mean with this sentence?

One: It’s relatively simple. Our starting position is strategically better than during the last evictions. Because the forest is located right next to a big city, our playground and city politics have influenced the clearing and that the forest will be destroyed. We will paralyze important infrastructure points to push the costs through the roof; the Invisible Committee sends its regards.

The police are a little in the dark and do not know yet into what they’ve gotten involved in; their ridiculous exercises at the elevated railway show this. As if we’d stop an important public transport line which only drives people from A to B… or perhaps we do that anyway? But we promise one thing, it will be exciting.

However, it remains to be seen how much support we will get from outside, since the solidarity will be concentrated on the spectacle in Rhineland, which can also be cleared from the first week of January. In addition, there will be the new protest prevention law that will pass state parliament in the next few weeks. In the end, everything remains open and we are prepared to work with what we have at our disposal.

Zerozeroseven: The cops are probably writing scripts for their eviction operation at the moment. But if they think that it is enough to seal off the access roads to the forest and then evict and clear the forest in silence, they have misjudged the situation. Due to the connections of the Oetelshofen company with RWE, Thyssen-Krupp and the fact that they deliver the most of their lime to road construction companies, there are targets everywhere.

The city council has voted with a large majority for a recommendation to the district government of Düsseldorf to clear the forest. This means that the city of Wuppertal is also jointly responsible for any possible clearing. So the city must also expect all sorts of things. The nice PR show of the mayor of Wuppertal, Uwe Schneidewind, with his roundtable does not change anything. What remains is that the city council has made a recommendation for to clear the forest… and all this in Wuppertal, a city where the German weather service says the temperature has already risen by 1.4 degrees and that no more green spaces should disappear. Instead, the German weather service says in the report that green spaces must be added to slow down the temperature increase on a local level. In a sense, the resistance against the planned clearings in Osterholz is a kind of self-defense. And not everyone defends themselves with only a cardboard sign and a whistle. It should be clear to the responsible persons in the city, by voting for clearing two years ago with their recommendation, they have also voted for an escalation. With eviction and clearing their desire will be fulfilled.

The citizens’ initiative has proposed some alternative solutions for the excavation material of the Oetelshofen company. There were some well elaborated proposals. The clearing is not about lime mining, it is only about the waste of the Oetelshofen company. If in 2022 still forest areas are destroyed, because it is cheaper for a private company to store their waste there, then this shows that nothing was learned and if a city recommends to the district government to issue a permission for such a clearing, then this is like a declaration of war to younger generations. The responsible persons of Oetelshofen and the city of Wuppertal, but also the district administrator in the county of Mettmann, should not fool themselves. They have declared war on the younger generation.

 

Video above: Lützerath Stays! Osterholz Stays! – Projection on the Pina Bausch Center on December 10, 2021, in Wuppertal (Germany).

 

Sunzi Bingfa: A few weeks ago, COP 26 took place. In December 2019, after Cop 25, you wrote: “After Cop 25 and the stimulus package: stop appealing to those in charge! What we need is a revolt!” The climate movement often gets stuck in left-liberal demands to politicians and captains of industry. Why do people believe that those who are responsible for the climate crisis are the same ones who will fight the climate crisis?

Two: I think many people in the climate movement have not been in a resistance movement for very long and still have at least one leg in the bourgeois middle. Therefore, there is still a residual trust in the state and politicians. However, I have the feeling that the climate movement in particular is undergoing one of the fastest radicalizations I have ever witnessed.

January 3: Many people are radicalizing at the moment. They see both at the local level and at the federal level that even the Greens will not fix it. We are not surprised, but many new activists thought that the Green Party would change a lot. Here in Wuppertal, everyone now sees that apart from livestreams on Instagram and a permanent PR machine, not much has changed. A nice neologism here, a bit of cosmetics there, but the bottom line is that not much is happening. The new German government have already shown that not much can be expected from their climate policies. That was already clear to us before the election, but more and more people are becoming aware of it. It is no surprise: the Greens stand for capitalism with a green touch. The capitalist laws of never-ending growth are at odds with a consistent environmental policy. The Greens are part of the problem and not part of the solution. Although we demand that the deforestation in Osterholz must be stopped, we do not expect anything from any politicians or companies. A consistent environmental policy has to be forced, not begged for.

Sunzi Bingfa: On November 26, 2019, a text appeared from the forest with the title: “They want to escalate, but they don’t know that the coming revolt will change everything!” In the text it is made clear that you consider the struggle for the Osterholz forest as a phase in the struggle against the current dominant conditions. Can you be more specific about this?

May: It is easier said than done, because in the last two years many have come and gone, so I’ll try to express what it means to me. I would say that the confrontation is inevitable. The time will come when it will be clear to everyone who is responsible for the whole mess. The struggles are already spreading all over the world and those being struggled against are almost the same everywhere. In the end it is clear that the rulers will lose. We have nothing to lose and the attempts of the rulers to intimidate us are ridiculous. They are so aimless that they have not understood that we as radical leftists and other subversive subjects of the left have become almost irrelevant, and that they really should be scared of the youth and the proletarian kids. That’s who will take what is rightfully theirs, whether anyone likes it or not; the question is only how we relate to it. In the past two years I saw things that made me pessimistic for the left and its positioning. You will see me with the proletarian kids. I no longer believe in the left and their moral compass.

We never assumed that we would win the struggle here in the forest, but no one can take the experience away from us anymore and it is important to spread it further. Just like the network of accomplices, it is unbeatable. Let’s see what the future brings.

Zerozeroseven: Of course, the struggle for the forest is only one step. If we manage to win this battle, the climate crisis will not be solved. The extinction of species will also continue, even if this forest remains untouched. But even if the forest is cleared, this struggle is still important. We have gained a lot of experience and learned how to work together with many local residents. We came out of our bubble, so to speak, and that alone was very important and instructive for us. The larger, dominant conditions are responsible for the climate crisis and in order to do something about the climate crisis we will have to overcome the whole thing, both economically and politically. No matter if we talk about jobs, or environmental destruction because of economic “necessities,” it always becomes clear that this is a systemic issue and this issue cannot be solved within this system.

The climate crisis is only one of the problems. At the external borders of the EU you can see the inhuman grimace of the Empire. When it comes down to it, human rights are shat upon. This is not an exception, but a daily routine. It is just more visible at the external borders of the EU. Within the EU, procedures such as racial profiling are a daily practice. This may not be visible to many people from the so-called middle of society, but the rage of those affected will eventually be unleashed on the streets. If you have a nice house, for example, a lockdown is perhaps bearable, I can’t judge that, but if you are locked up with many people in a too-cramped apartment by lockdowns and curfews, and again and again you are confronted with racial profiling checks outside, then the whole thing will explode at a certain point. At some point, we’re going to see that in this country too. We are ready for the revolt.

Image above: Speech by Every Tree Counts at a demonstration for the preservation of the Osterholz forest on June 12, 2021.

Sunzi Bingfa: One of the lines of Desert is “the world will not be saved.” This realization hurts people. They don’t want to believe it! However, it is probably true. How do you understand this widely discussed text?

Zero: Desert is a heavy thing, it destroys dreams and hits you in the face first. It tells you that mankind has driven the whole thing against the wall. We cannot be saved, and above all: by whom? By the rulers? By the people who are afraid of not being able to drive a car anymore? The question is what you make of it. Of course I can bemoan the state and say… please save me. It will not, that’s a fact. It will tell us, “pull yourself together and go to work, you piece of dirt, you are no more than a pawn for our economy.” I can wait for a beach at Dortmund [a deep interior region of Germany] before they act like they want to do something. They build up a cop apparatus like in Greece, only here it is also heavily armed like an army. Many imagine the shit as if we will get an Armageddon. No, it won’t be like that, no Mad Max or anything, though it would be cool if it was. Desert disillusions and thereby frees, because above all it builds new perspectives.

Image above: Banners of local residents at the edge of the Osterholz forest.

 

Sunzi Bingfa: At the beginning of January 2022, the Oetelshofen lime works in Osterholz are keen to evict and clear. How can people get involved in the struggle for the forest?

One: Come over, sabotage & disrupt the process of eviction whether in the forest or in the city. Otherwise, make it a big issue, draw attention and block everything. By everything we mean no less than EVERYTHING. Highways, rail roads, traffic circles, schools, universities, businesses…everything.

Thank you for allowing us to use you as a mouthpiece, see you at the barricades.

 

SMS ALARM CHAIN

Send your cell phone number to jeder-baum-zaehlt@riseup.net if you would like to receive an alert SMS in case of eviction or clearing.

You can find the Every Tree Counts (Jeder Baum Zählt) occupation in the Osterholz Forest in Wuppertal-Vohwinkel / Haan-Gruiten here: Größere Karte anzeigen


by IGD Worldwide via It's Going Down
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This Is America #155: Philly and Spokane Heater Bloc; Discussion on Coup Power Point

Welcome, to This Is America, December 30th, 2021.

On today’s episode, we are joined with members of Heater Bloc Spokane and Philly, as we discuss how they are responding to attacks on houseless and displaced people in their communities and working on a new mutual aid initiative that involves creating DIY “heaters” that are designed to be (more) fire safe in tents and encampments. For a guide on how to build your own heaters, go here. Check the links above for ways to donate.

Joined by a special guest from Feel the News, we then switch gears and talk about the recent leak of a power point presentation outlining the January 6th attempted coup and how a series of text messages from Fox News anchors directly to Trump officials during the storming of the capitol shines a light on the relationship between the State and the corporate press.

It’s Going Down

If you value IGD as a revolutionary autonomous media resource in times of crisis and have the means, please sign up to support us monthly! Help autonomous revolutionary media grow into 2021!


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Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Silicon Valley Should Not Restrict Public Discourse About Covid Measures Which Affect Everyone

Listen to a reading of this article:

❖

Twitter has banned the account of controversial virologist Dr Robert Malone, who reportedly had half a million followers at the time of his removal. Malone is credited even by mainstream critics as having played a significant role in the development of the mRNA technology being used for Covid-19 vaccines today, but has recently come under fire for comments about the safety of those vaccines’ use on children which the Authorized Fact Checkers have labeled “dangerously and flagrantly incorrect.”

Everyone should oppose the removal of Malone and commentators who share his views, regardless of whether they agree with them or vehemently despise them. The reason for this is very simple: only a fool would support government-tied monopolistic billionaire corporations regulating public discourse about Covid responses which affect us all. This is true regardless of what you personally happen to believe about mRNA vaccines.

Arguments that Malone and his ilk are peddling “misinformation” have no bearing on the question of whether they should be removed from the platforms everyone uses to debate ideas and discuss information. It is entirely legitimate to make arguments that their claims are inaccurate, but it is not at all legitimate to claim that platforms which large sectors of humanity have come to rely on for public discourse should interfere with or obstruct those conversations.

Even if we were to accept unconditionally the position that people should be banned from such platforms if they are posting “misinformation”, who exactly do we imagine would be determining whether something is misinformation or not? Will we be consulting some impartial, agendaless, omniscient demigod through some sort of crystal ball or magical rune portal? Or would we in fact be relying on flawed human beings looking at the information through the lens of their own cognitive biases, agendas, perceptual distortions and knowledge limitations?

I ask because historically what these giant Silicon Valley corporations have been doing to determine who gets to have a voice and who doesn’t is working in consultation with think tanks funded by governments and the military-industrial complex like the Atlantic Council and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, as well as working with the US government directly to an increasingly intimate degree. This fact is devastating to the popular argument that these are merely private corporations enforcing their Terms of Service, since they are becoming inseparably interwoven with government power. In a corporatist system of government, corporate censorship is state censorship.

Public discourse is consolidated on these gigantic platforms to such an extent that getting your ideas heard by a large number of people requires participation in them, and now they are determining how issues of such immense political importance as government pandemic responses may be discussed, and doing so in increasingly intimate collaboration with the most powerful governments on earth.

These restrictions on public discourse about the way human civilization responds to Covid-19 were first normalized in 2020 by the deplatforming of weirdos like David Icke for conspiracy theories linking coronavirus symptoms to 5G, and that normalization has continued to metastasize so far over the last year and a half that it’s now considered perfectly acceptable for these platforms to ban a popular scientific researcher whose work helped develop mRNA vaccines for expressing his scientific opinion about them.

Humanity is a mess. We’re dealing with so many deep, deep problems and facing so many existential hurdles in our immediate future, and it’s clear that the people in charge aren’t going to navigate us through them with any degree of skill. This means we’re going to have to figure things out as a collective, and we’re not going to be able to do that if we’re forbidden from communicating with each other in ways the powerful don’t approve.

Certainly allowing human speech to flourish unrestricted would mean a lot of people saying things that we disagree with, and even saying things that are objectively and demonstrably wrong. But the alternative is allowing speech to be controlled by the same power structure which saw fit to invade Iraq, which is currently committing genocide in Yemen and pushing us toward direct military confrontation with Russia and China. Government-tied oligarchic megacorporations are among the very last institutions who should be in charge of worldwide political discourse.

The future of humanity depends on our ability to bring light to the darkness, to bring awareness to that of which we are not aware. As with individual awakening, a collective awakening will necessarily be sloppy, clumsy, and full of confrontation and awkward conversations. But it’s the only way we can begin working our way toward becoming a species whose actions are based on truth rather than untruth, on consciousness rather than unconsciousness. Until that happens, we will necessarily continue along our self-destructive trajectory.

________________________________

My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, following me on Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud or YouTube, or throwing some money into my tip jar on Ko-fi, Patreon or Paypal. If you want to read more you can buy my books. The best way to make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list for at my website or on Substack, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. Everyone, racist platforms excluded, has my permission to republish, use or translate any part of this work (or anything else I’ve written) in any way they like free of charge. For more info on who I am, where I stand, and what I’m trying to do with this platform, click here. 

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source https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2021/12/30/silicon-valley-should-not-restrict-public-discourse-about-covid-measures-which-affect-everyone/
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Still Fierce Against the Odds: An End of the Year Anarchist Update from Greece

The last time we wrote about the situation here in Athens, we were sweating beside our laundry drying that was covered with soot from raging wild fires. It is hard to know where to invest all our energy, as so much has happened, and times remain precarious here as they do everywhere.

Since that last update the state has attacked striking fire fighters demonstrating for more support outside the ministry of the climate crisis in Athens, leading to an individual losing a finger as police threw flash grenades indiscriminately and (ironically) sprayed the firefighters with a water cannon. Apparently the firefighters’ “hero status” no longer mattered since the fires had been extinguished and the state has unconditional support only for its police and military dogs that comfort its base and secure the status quo.

Covid deaths have been staggering as well, proportionately some of the highest in the world, but police and military budget expansion continues at the expense of the country’s medical infrastructure. Judicial opportunism for criminal prosecution has also been expanded: new laws for punishment due to possession of Molotov cocktails conveniently came into effect shortly before the 17th of November. As cited in our prior report, a group of 14 anarchists are also being made an example of as the state demands their DNA based on absurd grounds and a fishing expedition. This modernization of the state apparatus of repression is something we’ve anticipated throughout our years of reporting.

Fleeing immigrants and refugees are attempting new routes and drowning en masse; it is a tragic daily occurrence the state has calculated through its border measures in the Aegean sea. Soap-opera-level corruption in the state apparatus continues at comedic levels while average income remains stagnant relative to unprecedented inflation.

However what is most remarkable is how, as a movement, we are coming out of the previous lockdown swinging!

We quote ourselves once again in this introduction; “any lockdown that divests from hospitals in order to expand the police and military is not an attempt to manage a pandemic, but an experiment in authoritarianism.” Despite the endless absurdity, inconsistencies, and contradictions of the state’s management of covid here in Greece and the lockdown last year being used strategically against our movements, one thing that is certain is that despite the silence we all felt in the surreal (and in many cases traumatic) lockdown, the movement against the state and capitalism in Greece remains intact.

The Murder of Nikos Sabanis

On October 23rd, Greek police chased and murdered a 20-year-old man named Nikos Sabanis in Athens. Nikos and two other Roma youth allegedly stole a car and took it for a joy ride, refusing to stop at a police checkpoint. Several officers decided to engage in a high-speed pursuit, specifically announcing over the radio that their targets were Roma youth.

The Roma are a historically marginalized community across Europe. In Greece they live in slums outside Athens and other similar encampments. They are constantly under police harassment, and systematically marginalized in Greek society.

Despite officers being ordered to discontinue pursuing the car due to potential danger to traffic, the racist grandiose cops chased the three youth down, eventually shooting into the car 38 times and killing Nikos. Video footage emerged of the shooting as well as all the cops whom claim to have been rammed and injured admitting no injuries at all.

The murder sparked demonstrations by anarchists across Greece as well as an intense mobilization by Roma communities across the country. Roma youth attacked cops with stones and created huge burning barricades on major highways to demonstrate their rage. The cops likely will face no repercussions and were applauded for the murder by fascists at their initial prosecutorial hearing over the use of deadly force:

What is important here is that while in the USA police kill on average more than 3 people per day, it is not as common in Greece. However in New Democracy’s new “law and order” Greece, the state and its police are looking to emulate the states more and more. The numbers of bullets shot and the likely full dismissal of charges against the 7 officers involved are setting an intense precedent for the ability of police to freely commit murder in Greece at the rate they do in countries such as USA and Brazil without concern for punishment. While we don’t believe justice is ever possible in any state court, the absence of “qualified immunity” for officers in Greece has previously been somewhat of a deterrent for police to kill as they wish.

Unfortunately, due to Nikos being Roma, the case only appeared in headlines for a short time in the racist media outlets of the country, and when it came to responding to the murder in the streets the response was almost exclusively anarchist groups and Roma communities.

17th of November and 6th of December as they Concern Anarchists

While it was still certainly a punishable crime, the prosecution of Molotov cocktails used by anarchists was not nearly as extreme as in such places as the United States, where you see unbelievable instances of imprisonment due to the use of them, such as the case of Eric King. In the lead up to the 17th of November, the new law set a minimum sentence of 3 years for any individual caught possessing a molotov cocktail; depending on circumstances the penalty can reach up to 10 years.

Regardless, the 17th of November and 6th of December took place after being smothered by covid lockdowns the year before.

The 17th of November commemorates the day in 1973 when the military junta invaded the grounds of the Polytechnio (the architectural school) in Exarchia, killing at least 23 people who were occupying the grounds or otherwise resisting the dictatorship. The day is the basis of the previous asylum laws that applied to universities in Greece. Similar to Chile, where asylum laws came into place due to the mass torture and murder of students by Pinochet, Greece (up until New Democracy came to power in 2019) had been a place where police were unable to enter campuses due to the inherent conflict and violence they would incite.

Demonstrations took place across the country for the 17th. Police forces were scattered across universities everywhere anticipating occupations. Despite this, in the days building up to the 17th, the GINI building of the original Polytechnic in Exarchia, which for years had been a meeting ground for anarchist organizing and assembly, was re-occupied. The combination of covid lockdown and the lifting of asylum had allowed the university and the state to seize this space from the movement, but the building was re-occupied and used as a revolutionary event space and anarchist occupation in the lead-up to the 17th.

On the day of the 17th huge demonstrations took place, with Athens’ demonstration, the largest, drawing many thousands of people. However the police made it clear who concerned them: they surrounded the anarchist bloc of the march with hundreds upon hundreds of riot police, marching on both sides of the gigantic bloc in a kettling strategy.

Clashes in the night took place as well across Greece. Amazingly, small groups attempted to fight police near to the historic Polytechnic university in Exarchia despite the state deploying over six thousand police to the center of the city. Ten arrests at least were made in Athens.

The night brought strong clashes in Greece’s second largest city, Thessaloniki. As the main march in Thessaloniki finished, a strong force of molotov cocktails, stones, and general resistance was maintained in the streets by those commemorating this historical day. Small clashes also took place in smaller cities in the country such as Patras.

The 6th of December commemorates the day that 15-year-old anarchist Alexandros Grigoropoulos was murdered by police in the neighborhood of Exarchia. The event sparked a historical insurrection.

The 6th of December this year was waking up from the slumber of the state’s use of the virus last year to smother any assembly of any kind. A gigantic march took place in Athens, with similar marches taking place across the country.

Amazingly, despite a huge police operation the main march in Athens was able to enter Exarchia and proceed in building barricades and taking on police with stones and anything that could be thrown at the bastards. Police eventually overwhelmed the neighborhood, breaking into apartment buildings and snatching individuals at random.

Thessaloniki also had strong resistance against police forces. Volos, Patras, and various towns and cities across the country held marches with small clashes taking place as well.

In the build-up to the 6th of December a courageous action took place against the Acropolis Police station in Athens: on November 27th, the police station was attacked with a flurry of molotov cocktails; the communique also claims another attack against an accused rapist and human trafficker cop known as Dimitris Bougioukos (he’s mentioned in our prior reports). This clandestine action was not only a courageous statement to inspire strength for the 6th of December, it was against a police station that is in the tourist capital of the city of Athens, and just weeks after the new law regarding molotov cocktails.

What is important to understand is that the police force in Athens is dramatically bigger and more equipped than in Thessaloniki and/or Patras, where strong clashes have also taken place on these days. As a result of this it should be understandable why stronger clashes were able to take place in these cities, and equally important to take a moment to show respect and appreciation for those who still continued to try and escalate resistance in Athens despite facing a Goliath of a police operation. The will, courage, and passion demonstrated across the country on these days shows the resilience of our movements. These days both very much help to form the historical foundations of the contemporary anarchist movement in Greece. Despite the state’s authoritarian opportunism around the pandemic and the “law and order” policies of New Democracy, these dates were still recognized in properly stoic and defiant fashion.

Immigrants and Refugees

With the consequences of climate change, the pandemic, and war the refugee crisis tragically continues. World headlines were directed at the nasty proxy war between Poland and Belarus that used refugees as pawns on the border of Belarus and the EU, but refugees continue their desperate journeys whether by land or sea. We have repeatedly reported on the pogroms and procedures of border control and immigrant detention in Greece, both before and since New Democracy has come into power. Whether shooting at or pushing back boats of refugees crossing from Turkey, or setting up floating border walls, these efforts have done nothing but push refugees into attempting new, even more dangerous routes to cross the Aegean sea from Turkey.

Over 1600 people have drowned this year alone attempting to reach Europe from abroad, with 30 people drowning and many more missing just this week of Christmas 2021. Europe remains a racist fortress rejecting those fleeing the crisis the continent’s historical colonialism is responsible for, the colonialism at the roots of its supposed “superiority”.

In Conclusion

There is so much we want to touch on but do not want to overwhelm the reader. Omicron (Known simply as ‘O’ in Greece) is just arriving here as we write this, but we can’t imagine how much worse the pandemic could get in this country.

Demonstrations against femicide and patriarchy continue as well. The pandemic exacerbated domestic violence and femicide, highlighting the longstanding pandemic of gendered violence in this country, entwined with the heinous traditions of the Orthodox church.

What is most important though is that we recognize that despite how hard this last year has been, between the overwhelming lockdown, the apocalyptic wild fires, and a state that continues to double down on its efforts to repress of the anarchist movements– despite all this, we are still in the streets, we are still very much here. Squats face imminent eviction, but new squats are being opened. Cases of state repression we previously reported on continue, but solidarity is showing a fierce resilience here.

Another report was made recently by the Prosfygika squat we suggest reading as well: https://enoughisenough14.org/2021/11/23/last-news-from-struggles-in-the-greek-territory/.

We hope all to go to the prisons this New Years Eve and for 2022 to be another year of resilience despite the intense hardships we all face under capitalism. Things feel bleak, and they honestly are, but after last year’s lockdown, seeing how the movement will never cease to exist here brings hope before the endless hopelessness that the state and capital wants us all to feel. Revolutionary solidarity to all struggling against the state and capital!

-Athens, December 27th, 2021

This update is part of a long-term effort to foster international awareness of and solidarity with the anarchist movement in Greece. The authors have provided consistent updates here over the past few years. While we are not formally affiliated with them, we recommend the Bad News Report and Radio Fragmata Greece for updates on movements in Greece and abroad. We also recommend Athens IndyMedia. The twitter @exiledarizona and Enough 14 also consistently post in English about events in Greece.


by IGD Worldwide via It's Going Down
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In the Wake of Rebellion: An Analysis of Abolitionist and Antifascist Currents in Modesto in 2021

A look at autonomous abolitionist and antifascist organizing in the Modesto area of California over the course of 2021. Originally posted to Off the 99.

The police murder of George Floyd in 2020 and the subsequent rebellion that followed saw a new wave of working-class self-activity hit the so-called Central Valley, which was met in turn by a tide of far-Right reaction and State attempts at containment.

In the days after George Floyd was murdered, over 1,000 took to the streets of Modesto, riots and looting broke out in Sacramento, and protests soon spread into even smaller conservative towns such as Lodi, Turlock, and Oakdale, the “Cowboy Capitol of the World” and home base of ‘Unite the Right’ organizer, Nathan Damigo, as self-organized demonstrations and marches, called almost entirely by local youth of color, rocked the establishment.

The fires which swept across Minneapolis and brought down the third precinct, had found resonance with thousands of youth and beyond across the Central Valley of California.

The Embers of the George Floyd Rebellion Spread to the Central Valley

In response to growing protests, militia groups in Oakdale mobilized against the ‘threat’ of Black Lives Matter and to ‘defend’ local stores from imaginary hoards of looters, as police deployed flash bang grenades after drunken Trump supporters, screaming racial slurs and jumping around like monkeys, attacked counter-protesters on June 3rd. The next day, county officials declared a state of emergency – citing the threat of Black Lives Matter protests, not far-Right violence. Meanwhile, only 30 minutes away, hundreds of far-Right Free State of Jefferson supporters mobilized in the foothills east of the valley, against a small, youth led Black Lives Matter demonstration.

Over the next few months in the Modesto area, the demonstrations lost their steam and frequency, dwindling from hundreds to several dozen marching down empty streets or rallying in front of local police stations. In July, members of the far-Right group, the Central Valley Patriots, attacked Black Lives Matter protesters in nearby Gustine. Soon after, “Back the Blue” protests began to pop-up, bringing together Trump supporters and segments of the far-Right under one umbrella. By late August of 2020, over 100 far-Right Proud Boys, Boogaloo Boys, militia members, and Christian Nationalists rallied outside of an empty Planned Parenthood for the second annual “Straight Pride Parade,” facing off against only 30 or so counter-protesters, a far-cry from the 250 or so who had mobilized the year before; quickly shutting down the far-Right.

While the George Floyd rebellion spawned a new generation of street militants sprinkled throughout the small towns across the Central Valley, these partisans quickly found themselves with fewer and fewer numbers in the streets. By 2021, the same forces that had been calling for arming themselves to “prevent looting” as the county declared a state of emergency, were now decrying the “communist” government for COVID lockdowns and school vaccine mandates.

The Central Valley experience is the same of many small towns and cities across the US, where protests are met by gangs of Proud Boys and police forces are quick to give the far-Right a clear pass to engage in violence and intimidation. Where manufactured fear of ‘ANTIFA’ and black rebellion spreads over social media, only to be weaponized by the far-Right, the police, and the State.

It’s also in these rural places, largely forgotten about or not reported on, that the difficult task of building autonomous, grassroots movements is being carried out.

The Growing Abolitionist Current and the Fight for Trevor Seever

In late December of 2020, Trevor Seever, a 29 year-old unarmed white man, was shot and killed by Joseph Lamantia in West Modesto while he was sitting behind a church. Police were called to the scene by his family who asked them to do a wellness check after Seever had a breakdown at their home. In a police video of the killing, Lamantia can be seen exiting his car and then quickly opening fire on Seever. Lamantia then tells him to put his hands up and then fires again. Minutes later, other police arrive on the scene, as Seever can be heard saying, “I’m dying,” to which Modesto police replied, “Sorry bro.”

From a report on It’s Going Down:

Since joining the Modesto Police Department back in 2008, Lamantia has also been involved in five other incidents that have resulted in four deaths, all of which have been cleared.

After the killing, Modesto policed rushed to construct a narrative of Trevor as a dangerous individual, citing anti-police sentiments posted to his personal Instagram page. According to the Modesto Police, these postings led them to issue a bulletin to the wider department in an attempt to construct their argument that this supposed danger made Lamantia afraid for his life during his encounter with Seever.

As word of the shooting and its horrific footage spread, helped in large part due to being reported on in the New York Times, opposition to the killing grew quickly, and weekly demonstrations began to be organized in front of the police station in Downtown Modesto, which in the middle of the pandemic, was largely a ghost town. Crowds grew to over 100 and people began to also march through the downtown following various rallies, which also mobilized outside of the DA’s office, as police not so inconspicuously flew drones overhead.

The friends and family of Trevor Seever were also joined by various clusters of socialists and anarchists along with newly radicalized Black Lives Matter activists, and more importantly, local (largely Black and brown) families who had also lost loved ones at the hands of local police. This included seasoned organizers such as Dionne Smith, who’s 16 year-old son, James Rivera Jr., had been killed by police in 2005, in nearby Stockton.

Justice for Trevor Seever rally in Modesto

The protests then moved to various neighborhoods and key intersections throughout the city, after it was noted that during COVID, the downtown area was mostly dead. When the group rallied in South Modesto, a prominently working-class Latino neighborhood, they were also joined by the family of Alonso Nunez, who had recently been savagely beaten by the police. In this way, the rallies served as a vehicle for families to keep pressure on the police, outreach to the larger community, and also network and build relationships with other families doing the same. In a city where working-class neighborhoods are deeply divided along lines of race, this was crucial in building wider community support.

In this context, local anarchists were involved in attending and supporting rallies, bringing banners and zines out and also participating in a successful disruption of a “Coffee with the Cops” event, which was quickly shut down. Such events are held by police departments in many cities and towns and we encourage others to consider organizing similar disruptions, which are both confrontational and are a low-risk action, easy to pull off. The day after the disruption, it was announced that the Modesto police were firing Lamantia.

Soon after, a BBQ in a Modesto park was organized and attended by over 100 people and featured speakers from around 10 different families, a four directions ceremony, zine tables, lots of food, and participants from across Northern and Southern California. The event was even attended by two City Council members, who half-heartedly spoke in front of the crowd; wincing at the fact that they had to be performative in front of organized proletarians and begrudgingly made the point that it was the continued protest actions of the Seever family that forced Lamantia to be fired, not anything that the city or police did internally.

BBQ in Modesto in Support of Justice for Trevor Campaign

Although thousands of miles away from Minneapolis, everyone in attendance grasp the historic importance of the George Floyd rebellion and the Black Lives Matter movement, with many speaking about the need to keep the goal of abolition on the horizon. The fact that so many involved in bread and butter struggles have made this leap in their thinking is telling and shows the degree in which the George Floyd uprising had expanded the popular consciousness.

The Far-Right Moves Against the Trevor Seever Campaign

In the wake of the firing of Lamantia from the Modesto Police Department, local law enforcement was keen to rehabilitate its image within the community. In the summer of 2021, MPD brass backed the creation of the ‘Forward Together Work Group,’ made up of police officers, the ACLU, the NAACP, and others. The committee was tasked with hosting “listening sessions” within the local community and developing policy proposals for the City Council.

In response, members of the Modesto Proud Boys, the white nationalist group American Guard, and the Qanon supporting Christian Nationalist group, the California Straight Pride Coalition, began rallying and speaking in front of the Modesto City Council. In a series of incoherent statements, Modesto Proud Boy leader Sean Adam Kuykendall, the owner of Andrew’s Appliance Repair, put council leaders “on notice” for the creation of the working group, claiming it represented a “Communist” takeover of the City Council and was proof that local officials had gone back on their “oaths” to uphold the Constitution. Ironically, some of the same people repeating this line had taken part in the attempted storming of the capitol in DC, in an attempt to stop the counting of electoral votes.

Sean Adam Kuykendall throws up a fascist salute in 2020 at the “Straight Pride” Rally in Modesto

The appearance of the Proud Boys at the local council meetings, which coincided with similar attempts at intervention across the US by multiple Proud Boy chapters, came to a head on June 22nd, when the Proud Boys announced that they would rally outside of the local police department, in support of Lamantia and in protest of MPD for his firing.

This rally drew less than a dozen Proud Boy members and supporters; largely folks from outside of the county, and ended with the group calling someone a “faggot” and throwing a water bottle at them. They then rallied outside of the Modesto City Council chambers along with Mylinda Mason, a local GOP organizer and fund-raiser, and about a dozen supporters of Lamantia. During the City Council meeting, the Proud Boys attempted to verbally attack the Seever family and label them as “Communists,” but by the end of the night, the Proud Boys were vastly drown out by the comments of locals who supported the family and denounced the far-Right group.

As Raw Story reported:

“The PD here has always been fantastic,” chapter president Sean Kuykendall, who owns an appliance, air-conditioning and heating repair business in Modesto, told council on June 8. “And I’ll say that they are underfunded, not overfunded. And I’ve had multiple officers tell me — because I have a lot of police officer friends — that they can’t do their job, and they worry that they’re going to be defunded, okay?”

“We know what Sean is, and we know the violence that his group engages in has a clear goal: to get everyday working-class people to shut up and stop organizing for change,” said one speaker, who called in to city council remotely under then moniker “Jail Killer Cops.” “The fact that he can stand here and claim to have direct contact and support from local law enforcement should trouble everyone, and it’s exactly this violent fascist-to-police crossover that is causing so many people to assert their rights to police the police in the first place.”

The event ended in a near brawl outside the City Council chambers, as Proud Boys clashed with a dozen antifascists. Over the next few weeks, antifascists also organized several call-in campaigns to local restaurants where the Proud Boys and other far-Right groups liked to gather and hold meetings, including one event which featured guest speaker Jeff Dirkse, the local Sheriff, in an effort to shut these meetings down. Throughout July, Proud Boy events were also cancelled through community pressure in Modesto and Manteca, as the Proud Boys and their supporters attempted to hold events in support of a far-Right Republican who was running for Governor in the failed recall election. The group did manage to hold a pop-up picnic in nearby Turlock, drawing about two dozen people.

In late August, the Proud Boys alongside the California Straight Pride Coalition, held the third annual, “Straight Pride Parade,” which was neither a parade nor centered around “Straight Pride,” but was instead a rally in front of a closed Planned Parenthood building. Like the year before, the rally brought together Proud Boys from across California, Boogaloo Boys, white nationalists, local militia members, Trump and Qanon supporters, and Christian Nationalists. The event represented a continued coming together between local GOP organizers like Mylinda Mason and groups like the Proud Boys and showed how deep the intersections between the Republican party and far-Right groups had grown in recent years.

The local police also showed their hand, and for the second year in a row, pushed the City Council to ban from protests largely defensive items such as umbrellas and helmets, in a move designed to target antifascist protesters. This made it clear what side the police were on and provided law enforcement with an excuse to push through new draconian rules designed to clamp down on future unrest.

Despite this, locals realized that a repeat of 2020 could not be allowed – both in ignoring the rally and allowing local non-profits to head the organizing, which combined with the outset of the pandemic and smoke from climate change fueled wildfires, led to a small counter-mobilization on the streets.

Instead, local antifascists worked to build a coalition of local groups and organize a community rally up the street from the “Straight Pride” protest, looking to hold a much larger community event that built relationships and defended the park from any possible attacks or incursions from the Proud Boys. While many wanted to hold a counter-demonstration and drown out the Proud Boys at their own rally, organizers realized that since they couldn’t guarantee mass numbers, they should focus on holding space in the most powerful way possible that also sent a clear message against the far-Right. Similar community mobilizations by antifascist groups in Portland that opted to not directly confront the Proud Boys and instead presented a mass showing of solidarity and defense were looked to as direct inspiration.

The event ended up bringing out over 100 people and involving a wide variety of mutual aid programs, non-profits, collectives, and the family of Trevor Seever. The event featured music, food, speakers, and tables from various groups. The turnout was an interesting mix of the local queer community, young antifascists wearing all black, and older activists, progressives, and community members. At one point, Sean Adam Kuykendall and a Proud Boy supporter, Jeyna Marie Griffin, showed up with a banner and stood across the park and various crews of antifascists surrounded them. Eventually their banner was taken and they left the park.

While the counter-rally was wrapping up in the park however, on social media people discovered a small group of LGBTQ youth were protesting across the street from where about 75 militia members, Proud Boys, and Straight Pride Coalition supporters were rallying in front of Planned Parenthood. Several crews of people wearing black and in masks decided to go and stand in solidarity with this group of young people, however as soon as they exited their cars and stepped foot on the pavement, they were attacked by the Proud Boys, leading the police to declare an unlawful assembly, arrest two Proud Boys, fire projectiles, and shut the rally down.

Small groups of antifascists were attacked by a larger group of Proud Boys and in the chaos of people attempting to run back to their vehicles, one person was left behind and was further attacked by the far-Right. This violence, which mirrored in many ways similar events in Portland the week before, provided fresh click-bait for the Right-wing media eco-system.

Vaxx to the Future

While autonomous anti-capitalist groups and antifascists in other parts of the Central Valley engaged in mutual aid projects and disaster relief in the wake of massive wildfires, in Modesto, once again the far-Right was on the move.

In the wake of the Straight Pride Rally and the dramatic failure of the California recall election, local Proud Boys focused their energy on growing anger around vaccine and mask mandates. Proud Boys and militia members were seen at various anti-vaccine and anti-mandate rallies, one pathetic attempt at a walk-out at a local high school which never really materialized, a rally in Ceres that brought out Samuel Bosshardt, a member of the county’s Republican central committee, various anti-vaxx ‘holistic’ fairs organized by Proud Boy adjacent groups, and finally a mass rally outside of the Stanislaus Office of Education in Downtown Modesto.

In response to this shift in focus, antifascists began a flyering campaign, in an attempt to expose leading Proud Boys and their supporters within the larger anti-vaxx and anti-mask current. Ironically, despite anger on the Right, schools were already in the process of re-opening, Biden rejected mandates across the board outside of public officials and health-care workers, and as Omicron surged, the CDC rushed to lower standards in an effort to push people back to work and re-open supply chains.

Outreach Flyer on Local Proud Boys

It’s unclear how the Right will respond to this, especially as working-class anger rises at growing infection rates and lack of access to COVID tests. If we can be sure of anything, it’s that the far-Right will attempt to co-opt this anger and channel it away from anything that resembles an anti-capitalist analysis which calls for direct action and solidarity and attempt to channel back into conspiratorial/culture war nonsense in support of Republican politicians.

In Closing

The events of 2021 bring up a lot of hard questions for organizers in the current terrain. While 2020 saw the high of the initial rebellion, the responding fallout from the far-Right and the State in rural areas of California offers a window into what we can expect in the future. This includes the State enacting a state of emergency and clearing people off the streets with the same toys we’ve seen being used in much larger cities – against much smaller crowds with less tactical experience. Moreover, we can expect that groups like the Proud Boys will be allowed free reign to attack their enemies.

We should keep in mind as well that our enemies aren’t all powerful. Over the course of the year, autonomous groups were able to not only get a police officer fired, but also pushed back heavily against the far-Right. Even small actions like call-in campaigns were successful in shutting down events, while larger sections of the community spoke out against far-Right groups. What’s needed is to expand these actions, make them stronger, and continue to develop a presence on the street which can push back.

It’s up to us to foster real relationships with each other in the post-rebellion landscape and find the activities, discussions, and projects that will allow us to do so. Overcoming the generational divides will be difficult; it takes real effort to get younger folks to listen to those who are older and to get older folks, often well versed in the realities of repression, to open up and be patient with those who are newer. We also have to be realistic and draw hard lines against those who just functionally can’t work – or shouldn’t – with others.

Lastly, we need to be open to the organizational forms which allow us to build power and networks of action, solidarity, and strength. This can mean mass street demos and blockades and it can also mean mutual aid networks and block parties.


by Off the 99 via It's Going Down
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