The April 10 mass meeting of students and young people is fast approaching and we have been letting as many people know about this as we can. So far we have:
-Handed out over 1,000 flyers
-Invited approximately 1700 people through Facebook and sent out hundreds of emails
-Talked to several college and high school classrooms
-Got press coverage in Napa, Vallejo, and Santa Rosa
-gathered hundreds of contacts from dozens of campus clubs and organizations around the north bay
-Set up a facebook event for inviting people. Visit it here to invite your friends: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=106123422750271&ref=ts
But we are not done yet. If you can help us with outreach, or know any one that would like to help, please contact us! Schools we are either continuing outreach to, or looking to contact, include: Casa Grande, Petaluma High, SSU, SRJC, Napa Valley, Analy, Ursuline, SR High, R.U.P., Rancho Cotati, Windsor, Healdsburg high, Maria Carrillo.
Also, if you know of any additional schools or youth organizations that we, or you, could contact, please let us know! We have fliers available for distribution, email srnocuts@gmail.com for PDF's.
IMPORTANT!- We need to organize carpools and rides for a lot of people! Please email us if you have room in your vehicle for people from Santa Rosa or Petaluma!
As this meeting is for all of us young people and students, we are gathering as much information as we can on what each of us individually want so we can address that collectively at the meeting. The meeting agenda is going look something like this:
Agenda:
Introductions: Meet the rest of the youth around the North Bay and here about what other clubs and organizations are up to.
Proposal: We are proposing that all young people and students of the North Bay come together in a coalition that will organize to defend public education and fight for social justice.
Small Group discussion: We will break up into small groups and discuss this proposal. This is where everyone will get a chance to share their thoughts and include their ideas into this proposal.
Future Actions: We will come back together as a big group, report on what we talked about in the small group, discuss future actions, the next meeting, and what we are going to do with this massive coalition!
Closing: Party?
Clubs/Groups/Organizations: You are encouraged to bring pamphlets and information on your organization as well as information on your upcoming events for everyone.
Coalition Questions:
If you have time, the more feedback we get from people the smoother we can make this meeting run. Fill out and email this questionnaire to srnocuts@gmail.com today!
What would you like this coalition to focus on? If you could choose 2 or 3 issues for a youth coalition to focus on, what would they be?
What should the goal of the coalition be?
What should the responsibilities be for those who want to join the coalition?
What are some possible names for the coalition?
Thank you all for coming out!
-The as of yet unnamed North Bay Coalition of Youth and Students
-------------------------------
Current list of clubs, groups and organizations endorsing the meeting and coalition:
IMPACT! (Petaluma), MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan) (National network with several North Bay chapters), Free Mind Media (Santa Rosa), Zero Campaign (Petaluma), Students for a Democratic Society (National network with Napa Valley College chapter), The Northbay Uprising Radio Show (http://northbayuprising.blogspot.com), Students for Quality Education (National network with Sonoma State University chapter).
-If your club, group or organization endorses this meeting and coalition and would like to be on the list, email srnocuts@gmail.com.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Sheriff cracks down on immigrants
This is an opinion piece written by Davin, from the Committee for Immigrants' Rights. please spread this around.
Sonoma County sheriff scorns immigrants with new program
By DAVIN CARDENAS
Last week, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department stepped up its immigration enforcement, announcing its implementation of “Secure Communities,” a program directed by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. This new program sends the fingerprints taken electronically by jail staff at booking to the ICE databases.
Implementing Secure Communities raises the question of what our sheriff has been doing before this program was initiated? One would suppose that our jail was already reporting undocumented felons to ICE, felons being the bad guys this type of program is supposed to weed out.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Secure Communities was able to identify 111,000 criminal aliens nationally in its first year, 100,000 of them charged or convicted for level 2 and 3 crimes — level 1 being the most serious. Unfortunately, what the numbers tell us is vague because “traffic offenses” also constitute level 2 crimes and the majority of police work takes place around traffic stops (a special thanks to the new Santa Rosa police chief for pointing this out).
Locally, 90 percent of those whom the sheriff hands over to ICE fall under the realm of these lesser crimes, so to think that one could be deported for driving home without a license after picking the lettuce that is in our hamburger seems a little absurd.
Many law enforcement agencies, including the retired chief of police from Los Angeles, William Bratton, have pointed to the fact that when local and federal agencies collaborate in this fashion, the ability to get immigrants to cooperate in investigations or even report basic crimes is greatly hindered. And that isn’t good for any of us.
Due process in deportation hearings is extremely limited, with mandatory (no-bond) detention for persons with minor offenses, virtually no discovery of the government’s case, no right to confront the accuser and highly restricted right to challenge evidence obtained by violation of constitutional rights. With the broad use of biometric databases of immigrants, our government has created what conservatives fear: an overbearing state that takes away the most basic freedoms.
The Department of Homeland Security wants the Secure Communities program to be the national norm by 2013. But deportation is a cruel and harsh punishment for these minor violations of law, punishments of whole families and not merely the person who committed the misdemeanor.
The legal immigration system is broken. The vast majority of people who are present illegally are workers, contributing by their labor and their purchasing, and their contributions should not be scorned by subjecting them to these disproportionate punishments for small violations.
Too many of our neighbors, students, ball players, prom queens, loved ones, friends, workers and leaders run the risk of losing it all, and we as a whole run the risk of failing our future by creating a permanent second class of people. What the sheriff is doing is an indignity to the community of hard-working immigrants, people of faith and all who believe that love, life and the pursuit of happiness should be a goal attainable for all.
Davin Cardenas is on the Coordinating Council of the Committee for Immigrant Rights, Sonoma County, which will be taking part in the annual Caesar Chavez march and rally on March 21 in Santa Rosa. A vigil and “fast” is planned at the corner of Santa Rosa Avenue and Sonoma Avenue from March 17 through March 20.
Sonoma County sheriff scorns immigrants with new program
By DAVIN CARDENAS
Last week, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department stepped up its immigration enforcement, announcing its implementation of “Secure Communities,” a program directed by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. This new program sends the fingerprints taken electronically by jail staff at booking to the ICE databases.
Implementing Secure Communities raises the question of what our sheriff has been doing before this program was initiated? One would suppose that our jail was already reporting undocumented felons to ICE, felons being the bad guys this type of program is supposed to weed out.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Secure Communities was able to identify 111,000 criminal aliens nationally in its first year, 100,000 of them charged or convicted for level 2 and 3 crimes — level 1 being the most serious. Unfortunately, what the numbers tell us is vague because “traffic offenses” also constitute level 2 crimes and the majority of police work takes place around traffic stops (a special thanks to the new Santa Rosa police chief for pointing this out).
Locally, 90 percent of those whom the sheriff hands over to ICE fall under the realm of these lesser crimes, so to think that one could be deported for driving home without a license after picking the lettuce that is in our hamburger seems a little absurd.
Many law enforcement agencies, including the retired chief of police from Los Angeles, William Bratton, have pointed to the fact that when local and federal agencies collaborate in this fashion, the ability to get immigrants to cooperate in investigations or even report basic crimes is greatly hindered. And that isn’t good for any of us.
Due process in deportation hearings is extremely limited, with mandatory (no-bond) detention for persons with minor offenses, virtually no discovery of the government’s case, no right to confront the accuser and highly restricted right to challenge evidence obtained by violation of constitutional rights. With the broad use of biometric databases of immigrants, our government has created what conservatives fear: an overbearing state that takes away the most basic freedoms.
The Department of Homeland Security wants the Secure Communities program to be the national norm by 2013. But deportation is a cruel and harsh punishment for these minor violations of law, punishments of whole families and not merely the person who committed the misdemeanor.
The legal immigration system is broken. The vast majority of people who are present illegally are workers, contributing by their labor and their purchasing, and their contributions should not be scorned by subjecting them to these disproportionate punishments for small violations.
Too many of our neighbors, students, ball players, prom queens, loved ones, friends, workers and leaders run the risk of losing it all, and we as a whole run the risk of failing our future by creating a permanent second class of people. What the sheriff is doing is an indignity to the community of hard-working immigrants, people of faith and all who believe that love, life and the pursuit of happiness should be a goal attainable for all.
Davin Cardenas is on the Coordinating Council of the Committee for Immigrant Rights, Sonoma County, which will be taking part in the annual Caesar Chavez march and rally on March 21 in Santa Rosa. A vigil and “fast” is planned at the corner of Santa Rosa Avenue and Sonoma Avenue from March 17 through March 20.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Letter to Planning Commission- Target Big Box development
from Erin, a friend of IMPACT!, to the Planning Commission. Erin grew up in the East D St. neighborhood, which will be disproportionately affected by the proposed massive big box development at East Washington.
Dear Chairman Arras,
I grew up in this neighborhood, just 3 blocks away from this site. I know exactly what is in jeopardy here: a mixed-income, vibrant, community full of kids that play on these sidewalks and in the park and walk to the library and the fairgrounds on july 4th for fireworks. We are a special neighborhood because we DO have convenience stores located within walking distance all around us. I am not opposed to this new Target if it must be built for the economic sustainability of petaluma, but there are strategies to make it the most well-designed, mixed-use, water-wise development ever!
When I was a teenager I used to walk to downtown and have everything anyone could want at my fingertips--an amazing bookstore, lots of ice cream and coffee shops, and clothing stores. I loved shopping and the ability to get there safely without being overly concerned with traffic. I walked to the pool center and library all the time in the summer. I rode my bike. I love having stores easily accessible to Petaluma residents, and I find it encouraging that lots of folks want to walk or bike to their new Target store. It was the perfect neighborhood for a kid stay healthy and entertained.
Yet, I am terrified that this sense of security will be lost for the dozens of young kids that are growing up now in my neighborhood that is about to be transformed. I am terrified for the little lungs of kids playing at the pool center and skate park, who are just out to have fun and get some exercise--with the amount of traffic this development will generate, they are at high risk for respiratory illnesses. Please make sure Regency does a thorough air quality impact report (which they have NOT yet come close to doing) and a redesign of the site to include MUCH more pedestrian and bike accessibility and MUCH less parking. MANY more trees.
Challenge regency to draft up a plan to put in true water-wise and edible landscaping (Regency's past proposals have been far from sufficient in terms of landscaping). Ultimately, Regency could get much of their landscaping for free if they invited in the volunteer power of our quite committed community.Take a look at Petaluma City Hall lawn! Lets please challenge Regency to collaborate with us. After a long, hard fight,this is the least my neighborhood deserves.
As it stands, the East Washington Place project should be called what it really is: The ‘Target Box’ Place. Picturesque Petaluma, with its beautiful Marina, does not need this incompatible project. Your Commission has the power to cut this project down to size, to make it more pedestrian-friendly, and compatible with the rest of Petaluma. These are property design and site plan issues. These box stores are inharmonious with the rest of commercial development in Petaluma. You can insist that the Target project be made to fit Petaluma, not the reverse. I hope you will take an aggressive stand on site plan scale, open space, and character of the project, to protect the residents of this city. This is not an economic development project---so don’t swoon over the jobs and sales tax imputed to this plan. In my mind, the City Council "missed the Target" but now the Commission has a chance to address the real problems with the inappropriately-scaled project.
With my background in Urban Studies, I was one of the recent Planning Commission applicants. I am going to hold the Planning Commission accountable, as the protectors of our town's vitality and character, to ensuring the best possible design of our city spaces. I trust that you will not let us down.
Dear Chairman Arras,
I grew up in this neighborhood, just 3 blocks away from this site. I know exactly what is in jeopardy here: a mixed-income, vibrant, community full of kids that play on these sidewalks and in the park and walk to the library and the fairgrounds on july 4th for fireworks. We are a special neighborhood because we DO have convenience stores located within walking distance all around us. I am not opposed to this new Target if it must be built for the economic sustainability of petaluma, but there are strategies to make it the most well-designed, mixed-use, water-wise development ever!
When I was a teenager I used to walk to downtown and have everything anyone could want at my fingertips--an amazing bookstore, lots of ice cream and coffee shops, and clothing stores. I loved shopping and the ability to get there safely without being overly concerned with traffic. I walked to the pool center and library all the time in the summer. I rode my bike. I love having stores easily accessible to Petaluma residents, and I find it encouraging that lots of folks want to walk or bike to their new Target store. It was the perfect neighborhood for a kid stay healthy and entertained.
Yet, I am terrified that this sense of security will be lost for the dozens of young kids that are growing up now in my neighborhood that is about to be transformed. I am terrified for the little lungs of kids playing at the pool center and skate park, who are just out to have fun and get some exercise--with the amount of traffic this development will generate, they are at high risk for respiratory illnesses. Please make sure Regency does a thorough air quality impact report (which they have NOT yet come close to doing) and a redesign of the site to include MUCH more pedestrian and bike accessibility and MUCH less parking. MANY more trees.
Challenge regency to draft up a plan to put in true water-wise and edible landscaping (Regency's past proposals have been far from sufficient in terms of landscaping). Ultimately, Regency could get much of their landscaping for free if they invited in the volunteer power of our quite committed community.Take a look at Petaluma City Hall lawn! Lets please challenge Regency to collaborate with us. After a long, hard fight,this is the least my neighborhood deserves.
As it stands, the East Washington Place project should be called what it really is: The ‘Target Box’ Place. Picturesque Petaluma, with its beautiful Marina, does not need this incompatible project. Your Commission has the power to cut this project down to size, to make it more pedestrian-friendly, and compatible with the rest of Petaluma. These are property design and site plan issues. These box stores are inharmonious with the rest of commercial development in Petaluma. You can insist that the Target project be made to fit Petaluma, not the reverse. I hope you will take an aggressive stand on site plan scale, open space, and character of the project, to protect the residents of this city. This is not an economic development project---so don’t swoon over the jobs and sales tax imputed to this plan. In my mind, the City Council "missed the Target" but now the Commission has a chance to address the real problems with the inappropriately-scaled project.
With my background in Urban Studies, I was one of the recent Planning Commission applicants. I am going to hold the Planning Commission accountable, as the protectors of our town's vitality and character, to ensuring the best possible design of our city spaces. I trust that you will not let us down.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Revamped Know Your Rights Cards!
Ben and I are currently working on new Know Your Rights Cards. We are currently working on the template and content of the cards. We hopefully will have our first draft ready by next meeting. If anyone has any input or suggestions please e-mail us at impactpetaluma@gmail.com.
Ni$$ar
Ni$$ar
Monday, February 8, 2010
Remembering the Stakes
One of the first actions I remember taking as a self-identified political radical was selling Marxist and anarchist literature at the age of 14. I would set up my little table on the high school campus at lunch-time or in the dim lobby of the Phoenix Theater at a punk show on Friday night. I’d sit there quietly, reading perhaps, waiting for a curious mind to wander over and engage me in conversation and leave with one of our titles (which we had picked up from AK Press, an anarchist book publisher based in Oakland). This was just after the 9/11 attacks, and while animosity towards radicals such as myself was on the increase (I routinely had books spit on, stolen, and thrown to the ground), young peoples’ interest in political ideas and history was also growing. As a result, I never had to make much of an effort to get folks to come over to the table; politics were already in the air.
To this day, radical political groups still use “tabling” as a tactic for gaining visibility for their group and raising consciousness by distributing political literature and other materials. Tabling is a great way to meet people, engage in dialogue and get revolutionary ideas into the hands of the general public, as is any form of face-to-face political outreach. However, over the last couple of years, I’ve noticed a stark unwillingness on the part of many self-described radicals to actively engage with the public, especially when tabling. Whether it’s at an Anarchist Book-fair in San Francisco, or a public concert in New York City, I’ve witnessed a complete lack of interest on the part of “revolutionary” and “anarchist” organizations to network, dialogue, and strategize with strangers, such as myself. I view this as a larger trend in radical communities which is utterly hostile to anything that requires talking to people outside of our cliques about our politics and our organizations.
I and many people I work closely with are just as guilty of this as the next person. Often when someone, who’s not a fellow activist, asks me “what’s new”, I typically do not respond with the details of how I’m working to stop police brutality, or enrolled in a political education program to help white activists analyze white supremacy and organize to build multi-racial movements for liberation. I generally answer with a shrug and a “you know…just really busy with work.” I’m more likely to tell them to go see a new movie that I just saw than to come to our next meeting and get involved. I’m more likely to spread some gossip than the latest news on the war. And I know I’m not the only one who does this. And every time we do, what we are losing is a great opportunity to engage with people about the work and the ideas that we think are so important: the fight for justice and democracy. I can barely remember how many times I have seen my comrades sit in their uncomfortable chair behind a table of obscure political theory, frowning and counting the seconds until they get to pack up and go home. Then at the next meeting, we all complain that there’s “nobody here.” How many times have we tried to organize an event and waited until the last minute to call people, or not called people at all? How many times have we just relied on a single email to get the word out and then acted shocked when no one attends our little movie night/forum/workshop/meeting/rally/etc.? Do we really think that someone is going to read one hastily-worded email and sacrifice two hours on a Wednesday night to come to some meeting of a group they know nothing about?
I say these things not to attack anyone in particular. As I said, I’m guilty of these things all of the time. And as I mentioned earlier, when I first started tabling, I could rely on the current political climate to help me engage with people; people were already interested. Today, things are a bit different. There is no demand for revolutionary ideas. Not in any significant quantity at least. We have to realize this, take responsibility for not stepping up to reach out to the community, and change direction if we are to survive as revolutionaries in an era where Tea Parties seem to rule the day.
For me, what helps is looking back to those who came before us and went down the very same path that we are now walking. The path to liberation of all of humanity. Understanding that we are part of a proud tradition of community organizers, activists, workers, peasants, and rebels from every inch of this planet can help us gain some perspective on the task before us. What did our comrades back then have to do in order to win? In the face of such terrifying opposition in the 1960’s, how did students in the South defeat four centuries of legal slavery and segregation? In the face of death squads, how did radical labor organizers in the early 20th century fight for and win some of the basic rights and benefits that we all take for granted today such as the minimum wage, the weekend, and the eight-hour work day? Did they do it by shyly sitting behind a book table or calling 10 people the day before a big rally?
In Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, he describes some of the revolutionary working class organizations of the early 1900’s. In the famous Lawrence textile strike, 10,000 workers walked out of their jobs. The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) organized mass meetings, parades, and set up a 50 worker organizing committee. Through this they also set up soup kitchens which could feed 50,000 people. In New York, female socialist organizations were famous for their incredible political outreach. In one day at the climax of one of their campaigns, female socialists “distributed 110,000 leaflets, sold 4,000 books, put out 40,000 stickers, and held 110 meetings.”
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) continued this tradition of mass-based organizing in the 1960’s in order to defeat segregation in the South. Jean Wheeler Smith said that “Bob (Moses) and a band of ten or so organizers, all under 20, could go into a community in the morning…find their contacts, establish sleeping quarters and some means to eat, get a church and turn out the community for a mass meeting that same night.” And while SNCC wasn’t always able to turn out tens of thousands of people to their events, what they emphasized was building relationships and engaging in the day-to-day work that may seem tedious, but pays off in the long run and helps build mass movements. People claimed that SNCC organizers were often “people you could sit down and talk with.” Now compare that with today’s radicals, who often despise talking with the uncultivated masses and too often dismiss those who disagree with them as “reactionary” or worse yet, “liberal.” (meaning hopeless). We’re much more content sitting behind our tables, snubbing our noses at all of those who “just don’t get it.”
But imagine if every tiny anarchist or revolutionary group across the country (and there are many, though they are mostly small) took these lessons and incorporated them into their day-to-day work. Imagine small bands of revolutionary organizers who went door-to-door, talking to people, developing relationships, building the leadership of working people, listening to the struggles of the majority of residents in this country, handing out thousands of leaflets and selling hundreds of books and holding mass meetings. After a few years, we might not seem so marginal or friendless anymore. Out of all the activists I have met and continue to be friends with, almost all of them are brilliant in their own way. They are friendly, smart, funny, personable, creative and fierce people who can accomplish just about anything. For some reason, however, these traits are rarely reflected in their organizing. Either because of the fear of rejection, a lack of confidence in their own ability to communicate, or a subconscious elitism towards the “apolitical masses,” the intelligence and friendliness of the best among us is not seen by most who encounter our organizations. Instead, many in the community see us just another bunch of activists- whiny, privileged, petulant children, if they see us at all, which they rarely do, because we’re far too busy embroiled in some meaningless political squabbling, either in reality or on the internet.
Lest this late-night, flu-inspired rant come off as another overly negative, morale-killing diatribe (something our movements really don’t need at this moment), let this instead be a time to reflect and reconnect with our traditions, and remember what is at stake here. Why do you want to change the world? Why do you do what you do? Why do you call yourself a “revolutionary” or “radical” or “activist?” For me, it has always been, and always will be, deeply personal. Because the stakes are our lives. Because this is the only sensible way to spend our lives. Because capitalism makes slaves of all of us and there’s nothing more I could want than freedom. And if I’m not willing to talk to someone, to put a book in their hands, to put work into building a relationship with them, to help them through the doubts and fears they may have, to make phone calls, to knock on doors, to stand in front of grocery stores, to ask questions, to invite everyone I know to participate in the events I help organize, to have the hard conversations with the people I disagree with, then I am throwing away everything I have learned and I am abandoning the most beautiful thing that I have in this world and that is the struggle for my own liberation, which ultimately means the struggle for everybody’s liberation. When we are too afraid to talk to strangers, we are letting ourselves down. When we won’t make those extra phone calls because we’d rather watch a movie and get drunk, we are letting our friends, family, comrades, and ancestors down. Because our own lives are at stake. Everything that is good and beautiful is under attack and no one can stop it but you. And in that struggle you grow, you love, you learn to fight and you learn how to be free.
Fuck a career. I’m a revolutionary. I’m in this shit for life. It’s time to BRING IT!
To this day, radical political groups still use “tabling” as a tactic for gaining visibility for their group and raising consciousness by distributing political literature and other materials. Tabling is a great way to meet people, engage in dialogue and get revolutionary ideas into the hands of the general public, as is any form of face-to-face political outreach. However, over the last couple of years, I’ve noticed a stark unwillingness on the part of many self-described radicals to actively engage with the public, especially when tabling. Whether it’s at an Anarchist Book-fair in San Francisco, or a public concert in New York City, I’ve witnessed a complete lack of interest on the part of “revolutionary” and “anarchist” organizations to network, dialogue, and strategize with strangers, such as myself. I view this as a larger trend in radical communities which is utterly hostile to anything that requires talking to people outside of our cliques about our politics and our organizations.
I and many people I work closely with are just as guilty of this as the next person. Often when someone, who’s not a fellow activist, asks me “what’s new”, I typically do not respond with the details of how I’m working to stop police brutality, or enrolled in a political education program to help white activists analyze white supremacy and organize to build multi-racial movements for liberation. I generally answer with a shrug and a “you know…just really busy with work.” I’m more likely to tell them to go see a new movie that I just saw than to come to our next meeting and get involved. I’m more likely to spread some gossip than the latest news on the war. And I know I’m not the only one who does this. And every time we do, what we are losing is a great opportunity to engage with people about the work and the ideas that we think are so important: the fight for justice and democracy. I can barely remember how many times I have seen my comrades sit in their uncomfortable chair behind a table of obscure political theory, frowning and counting the seconds until they get to pack up and go home. Then at the next meeting, we all complain that there’s “nobody here.” How many times have we tried to organize an event and waited until the last minute to call people, or not called people at all? How many times have we just relied on a single email to get the word out and then acted shocked when no one attends our little movie night/forum/workshop/meeting/rally/etc.? Do we really think that someone is going to read one hastily-worded email and sacrifice two hours on a Wednesday night to come to some meeting of a group they know nothing about?
I say these things not to attack anyone in particular. As I said, I’m guilty of these things all of the time. And as I mentioned earlier, when I first started tabling, I could rely on the current political climate to help me engage with people; people were already interested. Today, things are a bit different. There is no demand for revolutionary ideas. Not in any significant quantity at least. We have to realize this, take responsibility for not stepping up to reach out to the community, and change direction if we are to survive as revolutionaries in an era where Tea Parties seem to rule the day.
For me, what helps is looking back to those who came before us and went down the very same path that we are now walking. The path to liberation of all of humanity. Understanding that we are part of a proud tradition of community organizers, activists, workers, peasants, and rebels from every inch of this planet can help us gain some perspective on the task before us. What did our comrades back then have to do in order to win? In the face of such terrifying opposition in the 1960’s, how did students in the South defeat four centuries of legal slavery and segregation? In the face of death squads, how did radical labor organizers in the early 20th century fight for and win some of the basic rights and benefits that we all take for granted today such as the minimum wage, the weekend, and the eight-hour work day? Did they do it by shyly sitting behind a book table or calling 10 people the day before a big rally?
In Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, he describes some of the revolutionary working class organizations of the early 1900’s. In the famous Lawrence textile strike, 10,000 workers walked out of their jobs. The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) organized mass meetings, parades, and set up a 50 worker organizing committee. Through this they also set up soup kitchens which could feed 50,000 people. In New York, female socialist organizations were famous for their incredible political outreach. In one day at the climax of one of their campaigns, female socialists “distributed 110,000 leaflets, sold 4,000 books, put out 40,000 stickers, and held 110 meetings.”
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) continued this tradition of mass-based organizing in the 1960’s in order to defeat segregation in the South. Jean Wheeler Smith said that “Bob (Moses) and a band of ten or so organizers, all under 20, could go into a community in the morning…find their contacts, establish sleeping quarters and some means to eat, get a church and turn out the community for a mass meeting that same night.” And while SNCC wasn’t always able to turn out tens of thousands of people to their events, what they emphasized was building relationships and engaging in the day-to-day work that may seem tedious, but pays off in the long run and helps build mass movements. People claimed that SNCC organizers were often “people you could sit down and talk with.” Now compare that with today’s radicals, who often despise talking with the uncultivated masses and too often dismiss those who disagree with them as “reactionary” or worse yet, “liberal.” (meaning hopeless). We’re much more content sitting behind our tables, snubbing our noses at all of those who “just don’t get it.”
But imagine if every tiny anarchist or revolutionary group across the country (and there are many, though they are mostly small) took these lessons and incorporated them into their day-to-day work. Imagine small bands of revolutionary organizers who went door-to-door, talking to people, developing relationships, building the leadership of working people, listening to the struggles of the majority of residents in this country, handing out thousands of leaflets and selling hundreds of books and holding mass meetings. After a few years, we might not seem so marginal or friendless anymore. Out of all the activists I have met and continue to be friends with, almost all of them are brilliant in their own way. They are friendly, smart, funny, personable, creative and fierce people who can accomplish just about anything. For some reason, however, these traits are rarely reflected in their organizing. Either because of the fear of rejection, a lack of confidence in their own ability to communicate, or a subconscious elitism towards the “apolitical masses,” the intelligence and friendliness of the best among us is not seen by most who encounter our organizations. Instead, many in the community see us just another bunch of activists- whiny, privileged, petulant children, if they see us at all, which they rarely do, because we’re far too busy embroiled in some meaningless political squabbling, either in reality or on the internet.
Lest this late-night, flu-inspired rant come off as another overly negative, morale-killing diatribe (something our movements really don’t need at this moment), let this instead be a time to reflect and reconnect with our traditions, and remember what is at stake here. Why do you want to change the world? Why do you do what you do? Why do you call yourself a “revolutionary” or “radical” or “activist?” For me, it has always been, and always will be, deeply personal. Because the stakes are our lives. Because this is the only sensible way to spend our lives. Because capitalism makes slaves of all of us and there’s nothing more I could want than freedom. And if I’m not willing to talk to someone, to put a book in their hands, to put work into building a relationship with them, to help them through the doubts and fears they may have, to make phone calls, to knock on doors, to stand in front of grocery stores, to ask questions, to invite everyone I know to participate in the events I help organize, to have the hard conversations with the people I disagree with, then I am throwing away everything I have learned and I am abandoning the most beautiful thing that I have in this world and that is the struggle for my own liberation, which ultimately means the struggle for everybody’s liberation. When we are too afraid to talk to strangers, we are letting ourselves down. When we won’t make those extra phone calls because we’d rather watch a movie and get drunk, we are letting our friends, family, comrades, and ancestors down. Because our own lives are at stake. Everything that is good and beautiful is under attack and no one can stop it but you. And in that struggle you grow, you love, you learn to fight and you learn how to be free.
Fuck a career. I’m a revolutionary. I’m in this shit for life. It’s time to BRING IT!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Olympics resistance, Spoken word, and Self-Defense
On Thursday, January 21st, four guys from Canada- Testament, Illogik, and the Outspoken Wordsmiths, presented to a group of about a dozen young folks in Petaluma. They were on a tour through the west coast to spread the word about the resistance to the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, which will take place on unceded Native territory. Many groups, from indigenous tribes, to environmental activists, from homeless advocates to anti-police abuse groups, will be organizing protests for the two weeks that the games will take place this February.
Testament broke down the concerns behind the Olympics, which range from the fact that the games are taking place on stolen Native land, to the massive displacement of low-income and homeless people from Vancouver. He also discussed the massive spending ($6 billion dollars!) to host the Olympics, money that is simultaneously being denied to people in need of social programs, education, health care, etc. Furthermore, although this Olympics is being billed as the "greenest games ever," over 100,000 trees have been cut down in preparation for the games, and much land has been paved over to build roads. Lastly, draconian laws have been passed to prevent any protest, and hundreds of high-tech cameras have been installed all around the city to monitor any "suspicious" activity. The Canadian military is sending thousands of soldiers, calling this their "biggest operation in history." We can only guess what this means- suppression of free speech.
After talking about the Olympics, Testament joined Illogik and the Outspoken Wordsmiths for a half hour spoken word and hip hop performance, with poignant pieces about police brutality and protest. Following that, Illogik led a brief self-defense introduction and taught the participants how to break free from several different holds.
We thank our Canadian comrades for stopping by to share their stories, music, and knowledge with us. We wish them luck as they take to the streets next month in protest. "No Olympics on Stolen Native Land!"
visit www.no2010.com for more information about the resistance
Testament broke down the concerns behind the Olympics, which range from the fact that the games are taking place on stolen Native land, to the massive displacement of low-income and homeless people from Vancouver. He also discussed the massive spending ($6 billion dollars!) to host the Olympics, money that is simultaneously being denied to people in need of social programs, education, health care, etc. Furthermore, although this Olympics is being billed as the "greenest games ever," over 100,000 trees have been cut down in preparation for the games, and much land has been paved over to build roads. Lastly, draconian laws have been passed to prevent any protest, and hundreds of high-tech cameras have been installed all around the city to monitor any "suspicious" activity. The Canadian military is sending thousands of soldiers, calling this their "biggest operation in history." We can only guess what this means- suppression of free speech.
After talking about the Olympics, Testament joined Illogik and the Outspoken Wordsmiths for a half hour spoken word and hip hop performance, with poignant pieces about police brutality and protest. Following that, Illogik led a brief self-defense introduction and taught the participants how to break free from several different holds.
We thank our Canadian comrades for stopping by to share their stories, music, and knowledge with us. We wish them luck as they take to the streets next month in protest. "No Olympics on Stolen Native Land!"
visit www.no2010.com for more information about the resistance
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