Archive for March, 2009
Urgent Campaign for Robert Seth Hayes
Posted by APOC-Philly in General on March 31, 2009
From Seth’s daughter:
Dear Friends of Robert Seth Hayes:
As you may know, this past winter, my father lost another parole hearing. He has now served twelve years above his twenty-five year sentence for a total of thirty-seven years. This is unacceptable. For this reason, we are making an urgent request for financial support in an effort to prepare for his next parole board hearing. We hope to raise somewhere near $2,500. If you decide to donate, you can write off your contribution next tax season.
To donate, please write IFCO/NYCJERICHO. They will collect the funds and send them to Cheryl Kates, his new parole attorney. If you need more information call Paulette at 718-853-0893 or cell 646-271-4677. All money should be mailed to Paulette at:
NYC JERICHO, P.O.Box 1272, NY, NY 10013
Make your check payable to IFCO/NYC Jericho and in the memo of your check be sure to include “Robert Seth Hayes.”
We really appreciate your help!
For more info on Robert Seth Hayes, click here!
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The San Francisco 8 need our help! – Let’s do our part in freeing them!
Posted by APOC-Philly in General on March 31, 2009
Everyone is out on bail except for political prisoners Jalil Muntaqim and Herman Bell, two of the NY3. The third member, Albert Nuh Washington, died in prison.
March 27, 2009 Court Update
Today in a San Francisco courtroom with two to three times more security officers than ‘normal,’ members of the San Francisco 8 and their attorneys continued to press for the release of federal wiretap surveillance of the Black Panther Party offices. More written arguments are now to be filed by mid April with oral arguments scheduled for Friday, April 24th at 9 am.
Prosecutors are reluctant to make these documents public since they would undoubtedly tie the FBI’s COINTELPRO program to this prosecution. COINTELPRO illegally targeted the Black Panther Party, its members and associates in precisely the time period covered by the prosecution’s conspiracy allegations (1968-1973).
The increased courtroom security included the handcuffing and shackling of Herman Bell and Jalil Muntaqim. This issue had been argued and resolved twice before, resulting in a court ordered agreement with the San Francisco County Sheriff to allow the two jailed defendants full use of their hands in court and the dignity of not being fully restrained. Their attorneys refused to move forward unless directly ordered by the court, and eventually the defendants were freed of handcuffs for this pro forma hearing. This issue is likely to arise again before the next court hearing.
The next hearing will be Friday, April 24th at 9:00 am.
Committee for the Defense of Human Rights
P.O. Box 90221 Pasadena, CA 91109 (415) 226-1120
E-mail: freethesf8 [at] riseup [dot] net
Write to the San Francisco 8!
To write to the two who are now being held in the San Francisco County Jail, address letters with each man’s name and number and this address: 850 Bryant St., San Francisco CA 94103. Their names and numbers follow:Jalil Muntaqim (Anthony Bottom), 2311826;
Herman Bell, 2318931
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Indonesian sisters jailed for fighting against precarious employment
Posted by APOC-Philly in General on March 30, 2009
Two sisters face up to six years imprisonment after their company targeted them for trying to organize precarious workers.
March 19, 2009
INDONESIA: FSPMI is
calling for the Indonesian President to intervene to ensure the release
of shop stewards Evi Risiasari and Yuli Setianingsih, who are in prison
as a result of their union activities.
The sisters have been
fighting to secure ongoing employment for all 152 employees at PT
Takita Manufacturing, where less than half of the workers have
permanent jobs.
PT. Takita Manufacturing has seriously violated
both Indonesian Labour Laws, and ILO Conventions 87 and 98 by
attempting to prevent the women from organizing precarious workers,
targeting them with false charges and forcing them to sign fake
declarations which have been used to imprison them.
The FSPMI is holding daily protests with other workers in front of the factory in Cikarang, Bekasi, around 50 kms from Jakarta.
Management of the Japanese company targeted the sisters for their union activities and accused them of falsifying medical leave.
When
the sisters denied the accusation, they were threatened with immediate
dismissal and forced to sign written statements agreeing to the charges.
They
were then arrested after management took the forced statements to the
police and despite representations to the Public Prosecutors office by
FSPMI, both sisters were remanded in prison on March 3.
Mother of
a six year old son, 34 year old Evi was in tears when visited by the
IMF and FSPMI Secretary Iqbal Said, FSPMI President Eduard Marpaung and
other shop stewards.
27 year old Yuli fears she will have to cancel her wedding which is planned for July if they are not released soon.
Both are determined to continue fighting for their rights and are angry they were tricked by management.
As is common practice in the region, corrupt Human Resource management at the company take bribes from labour suppliers to continue hiring contract workers.
FSPMI Secretary Iqbal Said
said corruption within the judiciary also made long prison terms for
the sisters a very real possibility.
FSPMI are asking IMF
affiliates to write to the President of Indonesia to request he ensures
the immediate release of Evi and Yuli and Freedom of Association for
trade unions in Indonesia.
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A Critique of the Anti-War Movement in Vancouver, 2003
Posted by illvox collective in Organizing on March 30, 2009
A poster who wished to remain anonymous recently forwarded the following reflections on anti-Gulf War actions in Vancouver in 2003. Similarities noted…
I hope to add to the critique of racism in the anti-war movement, (and the peace movement in general) with the following reports of small events that occurred during initial anti-Gulf War protests in Vancouver B.C.
In 2003, protests against the war in Iraq came right at the tail end of a province wide resistance against the election of the ‘Liberal’ Party to the provincial government, who promised sweeping conservative changes and cuts to government social programmes. Anarchists in B.C. had been deeply engaged in intervening in this popular movement for the previous year (from 2002).
In Vancouver, during the initial big waves of protest against the Gulf War all of the activist groups banded together to form “Stopwar.ca” At first, it seemed exciting to have every group in the whole city working together. But the organization quickly devolved and degenerated. It was very much a repeat of the failure of the Anti-Liberal movement in that it became dominated by union groups and their pre-existing systems of racism, sexism and ageism that made them not only irrelevant to the people most effected by the issues they were protesting, but they also became an actual hazard to building real resistance movements.
There were two fronts of systemic racism in anti-war organizing in Vancouver. The first, is the actual organization itself, which will need a much more in depth report that may get written in the near future. The second is what happened on the streets during the marches, which is what I will address here.
Stopwar.ca primarily organized mass legal permitted rallies and marches and some educational events. The marches and rallies themselves were boring and useless. This in and of itself would alienate people, particularly youth of colour who would come out to these things, and just find themselves bored to death. And then when anyone tried to do anything of even minor consequence, they were stifled, attacked, or abandoned by the Stopwar.ca coalition. This ensured that any direct action oriented organization would stay marginalized and rely on spontaneous outbursts.
While most of the anarchists were euro-americans, all of the following incidents significantly involved people of colour and native people being ill-treated by euro-american ‘peace police.
Some context:
The Vancouver Art Gallery is in the Centre of downtown. It used to be the Provincial Courthouse (Leonard Peltier was extradited from there). It is the rallying place for almost every protest in the city, due more to its huge lawn than any historical or political relevance.
The U.S. consulate in Vancouver is downtown about six floors up in a big glass office building. There is a small courtyard across the street known as the Peace Flame Park” During initial protests against the Gulf war, there was a peace camp’ there for a number of months.
‘Peace Police’
Stopwar.ca had its own marshals, but also there were always plenty of volunteers who would harass, physically attack, fink out, surround or otherwise try to impede anyone wearing masks or wearing black, or attempting any kind of direct action.
Some moments of conflict …
All day flag burning:
In the morning, folks tried to burn a flag in front of the U.S. consulate. A bunch of student protesters attacked the flag burners, yelling, “no violence” as they were beating the flag out of people’s hands and wrestling them to the ground. The flag burners escaped with the flag.
Behind the consulate, a guy drove by in a big fancy car with an American flag attached to his trunk. A person ripped the flag off the trunk and then the police stepped in to save the flag and there was a tugging match over it. The cop got the flag.
At the camp in the peace park, some people again pulled out flags to burn –Canadian and U.S. After being attacked and heckled by the crowd, they climbed up on a big pillar about 15 feet off the ground and finally were able to burn them. (note, flag burning is not even illegal in Canada)
At the end of one rally there was an open mic speak out. One woman got on the mic and started talking about how marching in the streets is not enough. If you are choosing non-violent resistance, you must understand it’s not about doing nothing, its about making serious self sacrifice to stop violence and injustice. She started talking about Quakers smashing up military jets and was booed off the stage.
Later, the nightly news showed the surreal scene with the news caster saying One person seemed to be advocating violence” as they showed footage of the woman saying, “They’re Quakers for Christ’s sake!”
Salad Days at the Consulate:
There had been a big rally and march that ended at the peace park behind the U.S. consulate. The big crowd had left and there was a handful of anarchists and Palestinians hanging around. People started throwing vegetables at the consulate building. Everyone was having a good time and joking about how something more than vegetables should be thrown. Suddenly, one of the huge windows in the building smashed. Everyone dispersed, except the peace camp people, one of whom was talking to police trying to identify the window breaker. One person was arrested attempting to inform the ‘peace police’ of his right to shut the fuck up.
One token Indian too many:
One day there was a huge rally at the Art Gallery. Rose Henry (Snuneymuxw), a well known community activist living in Victoria wanted to speak at the rally. She had been tasked by some elders to speak about a project they were working on. She had approached the organizers but they told her no, they already had Splitting the Sky (Mohawk), so there was no time for her. A woman from NYM and Rose were standing by the stage, when one speaker finished, the NYMer walked up to the mic. And introduced Rose and she was able to say her piece.
Later, at the next Stopwar.ca meeting, the woman was berated and yelled at by the whole group because her actions were un-democratic and had cost Stopwar so much money in overtime because they had to pay for the equipment longer then they’d booked it for! The griping and lecturing was cut short because someone came into the room and informed everyone that the first bombs were being dropped on Iraq right then.
Families in the streets:
There was yet another big pointless stroll through the city against the war. The rally ended, as per usual, at the Art Gallery. A big group of people didn’t want to just stand on the lawn, so they were standing on the road blocking traffic. Cops started to try to move people, but they would not move and some people started sitting down. The Stopwar ‘peace police’ told everyone to get off the streets and they announced over the mic for people to get off the streets. The cops arrested one person. People kept sitting and standing in the street and then eventually decided to march to the police station were this guy was taken.
There was about 30-40 people on this march, including this family of about 6 and a few other people with kids. The family were very concerned about the war, the dad had a placard of a bomb dropping on Iraq and he said, “We have to do this because our people are being killed.” The break-off marched went around downtown for awhile then across this big viaduct that connects the east and west sides of downtown. Its about one mile long. Some people stayed on the side walks, while others blocked the street. The cops were trying to be intimidating but kept their distance behind the march. The whole viaduct was empty except for these kids running and laughing ahead of the march.
The march arrived at the police station and the guy was released. His friends had joined the break-off march. They were young students who had never been arrested and were quite intimidated by the whole thing, but were in good spirits. No one from Stopwar ever did any kind of support or follow-up.
Sexist, Racist, Middleclass People Against War:
While most of the antagonists in these incidents were not organizers, or even members of Stopwar.ca, the explicit anti-direct action attitudes of Stopwar created an atmosphere that gave these people license to behave in such an obtrusive manner.
In a sensible world, a huge, broad based coalition with tons of money and resources would use that as an opportunity to push the envelope even a tiny bit. But Stopwar.ca did just the opposite. The rationale for taking such a milquetoast approach to ‘ending the war in Iraq’ was that it wanted to engage as many people as possible, thus not alienate the mainstream. They created a ‘safe’ family oriented space. Similar to the ‘Smack A White Boy’ critique of ANSWER, this space was so safe, it protected its participants from being confronted with their own place in the social and economic conditions that perpetuate global capitalism. And further, actively prevented them from moving towards making even the most minimal of personal challenge or sacrifice to mount effective resistance against the war.
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Smack A White Boy- DC APOC Reports Back!
Posted by APOC-DC in Anarchist People of Color, General on March 27, 2009
SMACK A WHITE BOY: REPORT BACK
Oh YES we did!
|
B |
lame it on hypocrisy and a failure to understand that Americans are getting exactly what they asked for when they elected Barack Obama as the new president. Act Now to Stop War & End Racism Coalition (ANSWER) will probably blame it on the low turn out. I can hear them saying to each other right now “… if only more people came out to protest the war, someone would have to listen”. Only in your wet dreams could fucking the war machine be that easy.
On Saturday March 21, 2009 Autonomous People of Color (APOC) blocked the ANSWER coalition march as they aimed to launch the beginning of the post-Obama anti-war movement. You must say their dramatic direct action totally failed unless they completely misunderstood those tactics. What occurred was nothing more than a laughable continuation of the pageantry that is a result of lazy, “American-style” activism. You know the scenario; it’s the same old crazies, middle aged white men with long hair and beer bellies singing “peace is what the world needs”, code pink theatrics, crusties and your faithful Negro tokens fronting a group run by white authoritarian socialists. Have you heard about the new direct action that stands in front of the war-profiteers place of business while nobody’s home with no intention other than to shout into a crowd full of angry people, take pictures and peacefully walk away? Yes, and it’s called “wasted opportunity”. There were chocks full of rocks on the way to visit the war profiteers. I know that I can’t expect them to be that creative, but haven’t they learned anything from the people they claim to be in so much solidarity with? Hezbollah flag waved high! How bad do they want this war to end? I think its as bad as they want to end racism without confronting their own white privilege.
Then there were the Pictures. A ton of press waited for them as they did their victory speeches, just waiting to capture the moment when they reached their climax. Understand that the pictures are very important because without the pictures, nobody would have believed that they had ever even been there. What did they change? They left no permanent mark, just empty threats within empty parking lots. It was the kind of march that follows the leader, without missing a beat or falling out of line. Tell me I’m still sleeping on them, but this CANNOT be what they had in mind.
Yet they pat themselves on the back for getting people ‘in the streets’. It’s this pacifist, debilitating, and self-serving state of activism that promotes holding signs, chants and permitted marches for a good time on a Saturday afternoon. It must be fun to be against the wars when you’re not the target. This is the activism that starts at the rally and ends at the closest McDonalds or Subway. You really know the anti-war movement is dead or at least in its death throes when the same people holding anti-imperialist and anti-corporate signs are the same people standing in lines that stretch out the door of two of the most well known and exploitative fast food chains in the world. The march over the memorial bridge must have really left them too pooped to put their generic signs away first before replenishing their bellies and collapsing back into their typical, complacent, monotonous lives. This is the reason why I personally took direct action to confront the self-important, smug, liberal activists that think that their “kind” of direct action stops wars. APOC had to educate them that an organization that has “END RACISM” in its name can still perpetuate white supremacy. APOC had to reclaim our space and show the movement exactly what direct action looks like. We wanted to confront racism so we blockaded their march and did it.
To all of the naysayers that are worried about what APOC does with it’s time: This was not a public anti-war action. This was an anti-ANSWER distraction. We did not march with them, we infiltrated their ranks unnoticed and surprised them with a blockade once the puppets had walked away. If even for a moment, we broke the fringe-left spell. The ‘leaders’ had no clue what happened, all they heard was that some ‘minorities’ were causing trouble. Minorities? Black, Yellow and Brown people make up the majority in Washington, DC and we won’t leave until we are forced out. As far as APOC is concerned “Smack A White Boy” served its purpose as it was self-determined and we have nothing to prove to you. APOC is building power and plans on even more ambitious direct action in the future. For everyone of every color that stood in solidarity with us: Thank you. For all the people that said we were ruining their march: Your welcome.
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Okinawa, Japan: Statement From the Occupied University of Ryukyu
Posted by APOC-Philly in General on March 26, 2009
The Statement of Occupation
March 13, 2009
University of Ryukyu, Okinawa, Japan
The authorities at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, Japan, have decided to lay off its adjunct language faculty members and massively reduce the number of foreign language courses without fully disclosing why such policies were necessary. Alarmed by the situation, we, the students, have demanded direct negotiations with the university officials twice in the past. But the university dismissed our first demand through writing, and decided to ignore our second request. The university officials thus deliberately failed to create a democratic forum where the students and they could openly discuss the issues and seek possible solutions.
We, the students of the university, will start occupying our campus. As the students who have studied justice, freedom, human rights, and resistance and have been trying to apply them to real life conditions, we question and resist the anti-democratic actions taken by the university authorities.
The aim of this sit-in is to create a situation in which the university authorities must genuinely acknowledge the flawed and problematic nature of its so-called “new language curriculum.” If the university still exists for us, the students (as stipulated in its Mission Statement), then the current situation in which it refuses to consider our concerns not only needs to be rigorously critiqued but must be radically changed.
This situation is not the sole concern of the students and adjunct faculty members at the University of the Ryukyus. While the occupation of campus began as a critical response to the neoliberalization of our university and the attendant impoverishment of our educational program, it also aims to shed light upon other related issues such as the breakdown of our “autonomous” university system, crisis of educational system within the Okinawa Prefecture at large, and the issue of unemployment among the residents of Okinawa.
Based upon these conditions and reasons, we demand the officials at the University of the Ryukyus to:
1) Repeal the so-called “new language curriculum.”
2) Hold a public meeting about the “new curriculum” that is open to all members of the society.
3) Dismiss president TERUO IWAMASA, and vice presidents KEISUKE TAIRA and RISHUN SHINZATO.
4) Allow the student representatives to participate, speak, and vote at the Board of Trustees’ meetings.
5) Establish the democratic election system to appoint president and all board members.
6) Ensure all the rights of the students involved in the occupation and not impose any punitive measure on them.
This occupation is a protest against the university authorities’ irresponsible decision to neoliberalize our university that has rather foolishly foregone its commitment to public education and caused the impoverishment of curriculum. This occupation is also a protest against the university officials who, with their authoritarian mindset, never even thought about offering adequate explanations to the students or inviting them into the decision-making process. We, the students, strongly condemn the university’s dismissal of the students’ voices and will work to reclaim the student autonomy on our own campus.
Finally, we declare our solidarity with all the others who have been actively working and sincerely hoping to abolish the new curriculum. We act with a hope that the University of the Ryukyus, along with all other universities, will reclaim its status as a “university” in the true sense of the word.
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South Africa: NOPE! our dreams don’t fit on your ballots
Posted by APOC-Philly in General on March 26, 2009
General elections will be taking place in South Africa in April, but not everyone is happy to continue with politics-as-usual. NOPE!, a collection of lefties of various persuasion – autonomists, anarchists, socialists, queers, followers of black-consciousness, radical feminisms, even a Trot or two, has put out the following call:
Some of us have jobs. Others don’t. Some are students. Others are not. Vagabonds, basement philosophers, dreamers and nerds. Insurgents, artists and would be superheros. All of us… fellow travellers. We come together under the bond of friendship with the strange idea of doing politics during an election. We invite you to do the same…
for the world needs to change.
Ask anyone. The seemingly irreparable gulf of global inequality, the wars that wreck community and the scourge of poverty that is now everywhere in between and beyond, is not how the world ought to be. Even the men with guns, the pirates of the modern corporation and the career politicians, who in every way work to ‘insure’ this world claim to agree.
As the 2009 election approaches, change is again something of a theme. Across the electoral spectrum, from the DA and COPE to the ANC, change is the promise of the party. Their promises are however well worn; we have heard them before, and no doubt, we will hear them again…but this world, riven by crisis, injustice and the singular pursuit of profit, goes on…
change, real change, always comes from below.
So, we don’t care what you do with your vote. We care about what you do beyond voting, what you do in giving public expression to your dreams and desires, and in re-making the world in their image. For whatever these dreams are, they can never be expressed in a single, secret, anonymous mark – two intersecting lines, a cross. Nope! is our experiment to give space to other ways of doing politics. Other ways of expressing who we are politically.
We have no manifesto, no banner for all to march behind, nor any grand plan that will guarantee the future. Instead we seek to give space and voice to a collective manifesting, and the dream of the world that we will have to make together…
Our call is simple: say something, write something, show something, jam something, break something, spray something, mobilise something, mock something, paint something, fight for something… The theme is your dreams and what we will do together in giving a place in the world for them. Take our name, or make up your own. Embrace our manifesting, or write your own.
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Autonomous Syndicalism In Algeria: The Example of the CLA
Posted by APOC-Philly in General on March 26, 2009
Achour Idir is an organizer with the autonomous Algerian trade union, the Conseil des Lycées d’Algérie (CLA, Council of Secondary Schools of Algeria). He is 30 years old and lives in Algiers. In a country where there remain the stigmata of a Party-State, maintaining one’s autonomy is not an easy thing. This is an interview with a class-struggle militant, who identifies with the red and black ideals of disobedience and resistance.
Autonomous Syndicalism In Algeria: The Example of the CLA
by JH
Achour, can you tell us about your organization?
The CLA is a trade union operating in the education sector and basically groups together secondary-school teachers, though in principle it takes part in the struggles of all sectors. The CLA was founded in 2003 and bases itself on three principle demands:
* 100% pay rises for teachers
* the creation of a statute for teachers
* a decent pension after 25 years service.
Today, the CLA represents over 15,000 teachers. The world of Algerian syndicalism in the education sector is bureacratized and corrupt, so the CLA is indeed a credible reference point as far as our positions and involvement in the class struggle are concerned.
What struggles have the CLA been involved in so far?
When the CLA was formed in 2003, it led a strike based on the three points I mentioned earlier. The strike lasted 3 months and met with some success, managing to obtain a pay rise of 5,000 dinars [tr. note: around €50 at today's rates] for all education workers.
Another movement of a similar sort was an initiative of the CLA in 2005 within the “Intersyndicale de l’éducation”, a coalition of the more combative unions in the education sector. The movement gathered pace again in 2006, in 2007 and in 2008, but this time spread to the “Intersyndicale de la fonction publique”, grouping not only the education unions (such as SATEF) but also those of the civil service (like SNAPAP).
In the summer of 2008, we led a very difficult strike of teachers on temporary contracts, and the strikers did not hesitate to go on hunger strike for 45 days. But without result. They are thinking of renewing the hunger strike during the spring holidays, beginning on 19th March.
Can you tell us something about the trade union scene in Algeria?
For a long time the trade union setup in Algeria revolved around a single Central – the UGTA. The Union Générale des Travailleurs algériens (UGTA – General Union of Algerian Workers) was founded on 24th February 1956 and was the first Algerian trade union. It arose out of the national liberation movement, though it was not dominated by the revolutionary politicians. Its founding members were basically Algerian syndicalists from the CGT (Confédération Générale du Travail) and the CFT (Confédération Française des Travailleurs). It is important to underline that the UGTA evolved on the fringe of the political movement. This autonomy would last only up to the country’s independence. Following that, it became part of the State apparatus in Algeria, controlled by those in power. It is the only legal body that the government recognizes.
In contrast to this integrated syndicalism, there is also what is called autonomous syndicalism, of which the CLA is a part. But this other type of syndicalism does not have an easy life, as freedom to operate is very limited in Algeria. All strikes initiatied by labour organizations which are not part of the authorities’ plans are systematically declared to be illegal. Syndicalists are arrested by the armed forces and imprisoned. We cannot find premises for our unions, nor is our union recognized for the purposes of representation.
The powers are under no illusions about this. The Intersyndicale de la fonction publique represents the combative line of Algerian syndicalism. This leads the Algerian powers to use original strategems to discredit us. It is not unknown for them to create their own “autonomous” unions, copies of the truly autonomous ones. In fact, there is a CLA clone, a SNAPAP clone. They hope to create confusion in this way.
Is there an anarcho-syndicalist or libertarian tradition in Algeria?
There is no trade union that openly describes itself as anarcho-syndicalist. However, there are many anarcho-syndicalist militants who are members of the various unions. Maybe we are not so many, but we do exist.
Can you sum up for us the social situation in Algeria?
The social situation is marked by extreme levels of poverty. As a general rule, most families have an income that covers their expenses for only 15-20 days a month. FOr the last ten days or so they have to scrape by as best they can. Many workers are in serious debt.
The unemployment rate is approaching 17% and is even higher among young people.
In the public sector (a sector which is still dominant in “socialist” Algeria), many employees are on temporary contracts. Corruption is legalized at all levels of the State.
Although most of the Algerian economy is under State control, there does exist a private sector. What is the situation with unions in this area?
Syndicalism in the private sector is non-existant. This is due basically to the fact that private sector workers are on short contracts. Indeed, they often work illicitly, without any contract, undeclared. These workers are thus in a very fragile position. They are afraid of losing their jobs if they were to get involved in setting up a union.
Any closing words, Achour?
The CLA gives its solidarity to all union struggles on a national and international level. We support all those causes which aim to create greater social justice. We also strongly believe that only struggle pays. On with the class struggle!
Interview by Jérémie Berthuin of the International Secretariat of the CNT. Translation to English by FdCA International Relations.
Related Link: www.cnt-f.org/international/
www.ainfos.ca/en/ainfos22361.html
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Why Would Anyone Cheer OPD Killings?
Posted by APOC-Philly in General on March 26, 2009
Oakland cops, citizens have long history of tension
In the wake of the weekend shooting incident in Oakland, in which four police officers were killed, tough questions are being asked about the relationship between the community and the police department.
The history of antipathy between many Oaklanders and law enforcement authorities is a long one, and currently tensions are once again high.
About 20 bystanders taunted police at the scene of the first shooting that left two motorcycle officers dead Saturday, and Craig’s List had postings asking people to celebrate in the streets if indeed it was announced that the officers had died.
People on cell phones jumped behind a reporter doing a live report at 5 p.m. Saturday night yelling “F–k the police!”
Then, two women attempted to walk under the police line Saturday night at the hospital where all of the officers were taken and where a large crowd of uniformed police and family had gathered. Their chant?
“This is pay back for [BART shooting victim] Oscar Grant.” Police quickly moved them back.
Now, many across the country are scratching their heads. But many current and former Oakland residents can understand the sentiment, even if they don’t approve.
The Black Panther Party was formed back in 1966 specifically to stem violence against the African-American population by the Oakland Police Department.
Unfortunately, many of the demographic and cultural trends that sparked that movement have persisted.
For instance, none of the four officers shot actually lived in Oakland, with starting pay among the highest in California starting at more than $70,000 a year.
They patrol a wildly diverse city that is also beset by rampant poverty, with nearly 20 percent under the federal poverty line.
It lends the impression to many that their neighborhoods are patrolled by authorities with no investment in the community beyond crime and punishment.
Of the 45 officer-involved shootings from 2004 to 2008, 44 were African-American or Hispanic. However, African-Americans and Hispanics account for only 56 percent of the city’s population according to the 2000 census.
More troubling is that in only 60 percent of the police shootings was a weapon found on the suspect.
And in none of those shootings were any officers reprimanded.
That the incident started with a routine traffic stop may point to another trend that fuels resentment.
In an effort to reduce violent crime, the OPD began going after minor traffic infractions in 2003 in the hope of turning up outstanding warrants, drugs, guns or other more serious crimes.
But neighborhood residents saw it as a way to harass and intimidate a largely black and latino community, arresting many for mostly minor offenses and seizing hundreds of automobiles used to get to work and care for families.
It all adds up to the sense that parts of Oakland have become a permanent war zone pitting the cops against the citizens, regardless of the fact that it pits working people against each other in the struggle to make sense out of senseless violence.
Jackson West lived in Oakland for three years, and still loves to visit.
Copyright NBC Local Media
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Smack A White Boy, Tell your Enemies from your Friends
Turns out the the “Smack A White Boy” action blockcaded the ANSWER march. This is the first time I can recall someone so publicly challenging an authoritarian group like ANSWER in the United States, does anyone know if it’s happened before?
In the days up to and after the action, it seems people on two prominent anarchist identified websites were up in arms about it. The worst offender were the comments on anarchistnews.org. If I were a little more naive I’d hope that most of the ignorant, racist comments on this forum came from right-wing and pro-imperialist elements who were taking advantage of the fully anonymous comments to sow conflict amongst groups on the left: sadly, I don’t think this could explain all of it.
There were slightly more cooler heads over on infoshop.org’s coverage, but still many people acted a fool, to put it bluntly.
I don’t think there’s any excusing people who asked if they could wear blackface to attend an APOC event. There’s also a disturbing trend to equate those of us who identify as APOC and seek to organize around our common experience and oppression with the Klan. Have so many white people in the US- in radical circles, to boot- really forgotten the nature of the KKK, one of the most feared terrorist groups in the 20th century? Or did they never really understand it?
I also cannot stand people who think that APOC tries to guilt white people with talk of privilege, etc. I’ve never known anyone who thought that white people feeling guilty could bring about lasting change. Don’t get me wrong, white guilt has the power to put whole foods, and toyota priuses on the ground, and maybe white guilt can prop up a bunch of NGOs, but that’s about it.
So my question is this: when there’s a bunch of crazy white people saying racist things (and many of them are probably young and worthless, given how easy it is to post on the internet) in a supposedly left or anarchist space, when do you think it makes sense to say something about it? How do we stand up for ourselves without arguing with irrelevant people? How do we make our positions clear without wasting time “feeding the trolls?”
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Smack A White Boy: March 21 Radical People of Color Anti-War (distr)Action
Posted by APOC-Philly in Anarchist People of Color on March 11, 2009
For over 500 years, the white colonizers of this hemisphere (and most of the world) have subjected people of color to lifetimes of enslavement, torture, occupation, internment, police brutality, poverty, drug abuse and so on.
Even after being beaten, raped, segregated, and silenced people of color the world over have risen up to their oppressors and oppressive institutions only to have their messages and rage co-opted by so-called “allies” within the mostly white progressive, anti-war movement – righteous anger channeled into more “acceptable” avenues whose purpose is not active engagement with that which oppresses us but in the creation of photo opportunities and press releases. In effect, we as people of color are not only further marginalized but tokenized as well.
In addition, we argue that the current anti-war movement is rendered irrelevant by its refusal to address the critical component of white supremacy. The racist anti-war movement is devoid of any self-critical process to acknowledge or address how white supremacy contributes to the oppression of people of color within the movement, so how could it possibly have an analysis of how white supremacy oppresses people of color around the world? Essentially, how can one speak of ending oppression while engaging in the same or similar (in principle) oppressive behavior one claims to oppose?
Aside from providing one the opportunity to pat oneself on the back, what purpose is served, or more explicitly, how are activists supporting the people of occupied Iraq and occupied Palestine by marching on the offices of warmongering corporations on a Saturday when no one is there?
Given this reality, if we as people of color maintain our continued involvement in their spectacle of “resistance,” outside of our disruption of this spectacle, it will further empower their smug entitlement and white supremacy.
Rather, we encourage unity between people of color in order to create nodes of actual resistance led by people of color.
Therefore, on Saturday, March 21, 2009 in Washington, D.C., radical people of color will stand in solidarity with the people of Iraq and Palestine in our common struggle against white supremacy, colonialism, imperialism, and oppression in all its forms and make our presence felt outside of what is conventionally allowed by the racist anti-war movement.
This will be a space of unity, empowerment, and self-determination wherein it will be made explicitly clear that we will no longer be marginalized, tokenized, and ultimately silenced by those who claim to speak in our names or in the names of our family and friends fighting for liberation around the world.
Meet us at 12 noon at 23rd St. & Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.. Look for the brown and black f(l)ags.
Bring your voice! Bring your rage! Bring da noise!
A Brownie A Day Keeps Whitey Away,
D.C. Anarchist People Of Color
Philadelphia Anarchist People Of Color
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Some Thoughts on Choosing Sides or The Ongoing Betrayal of Black Women by Black Men
Via Celie’s Revenge: Radical Feminist Jurisprudence!
This morning I started wondering if Black men and women have ever really been on the same side.
Were we on the same side when they stole us from Africa?
Were we on the same side on the slave ships?
Were we on same side on the auction block?
Were we on same side on the plantation?
Were we on the same side in the Jim Crow south?
Were we on the same side in the Black Power Movement?
Are we on the same side now?
I want to believe there was a time when we saw in each other our own reflection; when we saw one another as more than just male and female, but more deeply as partners, comrades, and allies in a struggle against an enslavement and imperialism that tore us apart. Weren’t we once more than just broken “traditional patriarchal families”? Why can’t we see one another’s broken Black souls, beyond gender, without roles? Seeing and being our own reflection is not about possession. Possession is the white man’s goal. Our struggle should be fighting for one another and imagining a world in which we are all free: free from white domination, and male domination in all its degrading forms.
Being on the same side means looking at one another as equals, with respect, looking at one another as a reflection of ourselves and everything we want for ourselves. It means we fight for others to have what we strive to have, mutually.
I don’t know if we’ve ever been on the same side. But my experiences with Black men have led me to conclude that most of them are not on our (Black women’s) side. They do not want for us what they want for themselves, because one of the things they want for themselves is us, to define themselves against. And so our success is seen as “threatening.” Our strength is called “emasculating.”
While they are entitled to their anger as victims of racism, we are not entitled to our own anger as victims of sexism and racism. While they are entitled to their demands for an end to a system which makes them victims of white supremacy, we are not entitled to our own demands for an end to systems which make us victims of patriarchy and white supremacy.
I’ve concluded that Black men have chosen to side with their erections over Black women, literally and figuratively speaking. They’ve decided that getting off and feeling like a man who believes himself superior to women is way more important than revolution. Although we’ve always been Black and in this thing together they’ve never hesitated to cash in on their male privilege when it was afforded to them. And when they couldn’t be men in the eyes of the white world they took it out on us at home and conditioned us to believe that fighting for their penis power would free us to be the women we were destined to be: mamas and hoes. This is Black male vision for Black women. Their imagination for liberation is stunted by their ultimate thirst for control over what is misperceived to be another group, Black women, whom they can oppress without fear of reprisal by white patriarchal society.
Black women are only women when it is convenient. We are women for roles that serve men, not for our own liberation. Being wives and mothers, or providers of sexual satisfaction, for Black men does not carry with it a ticket to our liberation. We are told we exist only to empower Black men. We are also supposed to be available to white men who have taught Black men how to effectively wield patriarchal power as pimps, players, fathers, and husbands. We are not women who need liberation like all women. Like white women.
Enough is enough. I have no patience for or interest in Black men who actively resist racism but not sexism. It’s not asking much for a man to consider why a woman being called a bitch should be any different than him being called a nigger. (And I, like most Black women, have been called both.) We must remember that the same men who love to call Black women gold diggers probably grew up with absent fathers who contributed nothing but one squiggly sperm to single mothers who never received child support, or any other kind of support, from Black men. And yet the gold digger stereotype of black women never ceases to inspire hit after hit in our community!
When Black men imagine freedom for their community, it always means reinforcing gender roles that allows men to be men and women to be women in ways that benefit men, in ways that allow Black men to use Black women to ease their woes, while also blaming Black women for those woes. Because their rage can’t be expressed directly to the white man, they’ll make due laying it on us, the very women who nurture Black men and boys every day, at our own expense and peril.
The legacy of racism is never considered alongside the legacy of patriarchy. Why? Because ending patriarchy would mean that Black men could no longer be men. And that’s all they’ve ever wanted out of this struggle: to be men, as brutal and callous to Black women as white men are to all women, and all non-white peoples.
If we are on same side then your liberation as a Black male should be inexorably linked to my struggles as a Black female, struggles I experience not only due to my race. Even while my liberation requires you to give up the entitlements you’ve grown accustomed to possessing as a man, you should still fight for my liberation with me because we are reflections of each other, after all. If your liberation can only come at the expense of my right to be free from your sexism, then we are not on the same side. When you struggle for your liberation while ignoring mine, you target white people and Black women as your enemy while it is only Black women who continue to take care of you. And yes, I’m pissed off about the inequity of that arrangement.
The black man’s vision is just a taste of his power; a chance at bat; the master’s tools! And it disgusts me as a black woman that black men have become so deeply mesmerized by white male power that they’ve sold us out just for some pathetic crumbs of manhood that will be the downfall of us both. They’ve betrayed us so thoroughly that we can hardly imagine ourselves out of this mess!
Black men who feel deeply threatened by Black women’s anger have chosen sides, and it’s an allegiance to their erections and those of their white brothers. When I say erections I mean the physical manifestation of heterosexual Black man’s fantasy of their sense of self, including their sexuality, being predicated on our submission in the home and in the street. I mean the physical evidence of the idea that Black women everywhere are expected to behave according to men’s heterosexist demands. The kind of manhood Black men envision is always heterosexual, and always hateful of women and gays. The roles they want from us maintain the oppression of us. Their desire for us as women in those roles does not reflect what they want for themselves: liberation from any form of oppression that harms Black men.
It seems like a dated concept, us being I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T women and all, but if hip hop and Black pop cultural representations of Black men and women are any indication, it appears that Black men feel a rampant need to restore some lost sense of manhood and control. But whatever Black men have lost, it was lost because of white supremacy, not because of Black women’s strength: our strength kept and keeps Black men alive.
If our strength and success as Black women is not the strength and success of Black people, what is it? The answer is always the same, and our own cultural entertainment and media reflects that answer: Black women’s empowerment emasculates Black men. There is no possibility that self-respecting, non-homophobic, and woman-respecting role models will emerge for Black men when the media and other cultural products are more concerned with demonizing and dethroning Black women (now where did I put that crown?) than it is with wrestling down white male power. The proliferation and consumption of pornographic images of Black women by Black men, the ongoing sexual harassment we experience in public spaces, and the multitude of other misogynistic indignities we face daily as women are just some of the conditions that speak to a Black male project to put Black women in their place–in the place white men put Black men, with hatred of women folded in. Their vision for our freedom really means their freedom. That vision is nothing more visionary than them as strong fathers and us as sexy mamas. And I have no interest in being anybody’s sexy mama!
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New APOC Radio Shows in LA
Posted by elliott in Uncategorized on March 7, 2009
APOC formations in Los Angeles have begun producing two new radio shows, broadcast online through KillRadio.org!
Ecos De Libertad transmits “radical & anarchist thoughts and feelings through music, discussion and information.” You can listen to Ecos De Libertad online every Friday, 6-8pm Pacific Time, or subscribe to the show’s podcast at http://ecosdelibertad.podomatic.com/
Radio RAC LA is a project of Revolutionary Autonomous Communities, “a horizontal organization building self-sustainability and creating the structure, strategy and program for change through direct participatory forms of organizing and a decision-making process based on consensus.” Radio RAC LA is broadcast online every Tuesday, 9pm-12am.
About KillRadio.org: Killradio.org is a collective organization committed to using media production and distribution as a tool for promoting social and economic justice. We intend to promote the proliferation of radio in whatever form is necessary in order to challenge the corporate domination of our airwaves. It is our goal to further the self-determination of people under-represented in media production and content, and to illuminate and analyse local and global issues that impact ecosystems, communities and individuals. We seek to generate alternatives to the biases inherent in the corporate media controlled by profit, and to identify and create positive models for a sustainable and equitable society.
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Kill Radio is short for Kill Corporate Radio, or Kill Monopoly Radio, or K-ILL Radio, whatever you prefer. Kill Radio is a Los Angeles based internet radio station run by the Kill Radio Collective, a group of 50+ activists, journalists, and DJ’s. We are a strictly not-for-profit, non-commercial organization.
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Kill Radio is a spin-off of the LA Independent Media Center radio affinity group which covered the D2K protests during the Democratic National Convention in August of 2000. Kill Radio is also a part of MicroRadio.net; a network of community based radio stations that are challenging the corporate hegemeny of our publicly owned airwaves.
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APOC Philly invites YOU to join the APOC movement
Posted by APOC-Philly in Anarchist People of Color, General, Organizing on March 5, 2009
Autonomous People of Color living on the stolen land and colonized area known as Philadelphia collective has scheduled two open meetings for March 2009. These meetings are open to all radical and conscious people of color* everywhere. Discussion topics will include: APOC anti-war action on the anniversary of the current occupation of Iraq; APOC Philly’s program Radical Education Autonomous Determination (READ); APOC support and love for Mumia Abu-Jamal’s upcoming birthday and new book release in late April; APOC Philly potentially hosting a Northeast and/or General APOC conference(s) in 2009; and discussions that YOU bring! These meetings are for you/us and all can come ready to participate, share and express whatever you want in an APOC setting.
The meetings are:
Wednesday, March 11, 6 PM – 8 PM
Thursday, March 26, 6 PM – 8 PM
@ Kaffa Crossing Cafe, 4423 Chestnut St, Philadelphia PA 19104
For more information email: APOC-Philly [at] riseup [dot] net
All Power Through the People,
APOC Philly
* People of Color refers to folks who self-identify as a persyn of color, whether it be yellow, red, brown, black or mixed skinned race(s). People of Color can include, but is not limited to African, South American, Central American, American Indian, Caribbean, Southeastern Asian, Arab, Mediterranean, Indigenous Turtle Island and Indigenous Australian descent.
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