Late last year, the National Socialist Movement announced the opening of a California chapter based in Riverside, the largest city in southern part of the state's Inland Empire. On September 26, they held a protest at the corner at Madison and Indiana, where people of color gather to look for work. In response, activists formed a broad-based coalition composed of political parties, students groups, labor unions, churches, and community groups to demonstrate their opposition to racism and hatred at City Hall. Meanwhile, a smaller contingent of antifascist activists took a more direct approach at the targeted corner, confiscating swastika-laden flags from the nazis and ultimately expelling the ragtag bunch after a few small skirmishes.
Humiliated, the Nazis decided to return the following month. Once again, the community rallied against them, drawing anywhere between 700 and 1000. On this occasion, however, the racists enjoyed the protection of numerous riot-gear clad police officers from multiple agencies who allowed them to make their hateful stand. When valiant antifascists from the Brown Berets penetrated the police perimeter, a small conflict took place. The day ended with two of our comrades behind bars, one for disobeying a police order and the other for throwing a "deadly weapon" later identified as a lemon.
As Nazis continued to organize, community activists recognized the need to increase the pressure. They published Jeff Hall's home address, which he uses as a base of operations, and called for a protest, scheduled to take place during the NSM's monthly meeting. "We're doing this because there are people in our community--people of color--who live in that neighborhood," explained one of the organizers, who asked to remain anonymous.
In response, the Nazis published a flyer calling for a demonstration at the home of a longtime Riverside activist, accusing him of "child endangerment," who had been active in the anti-Nazi organizing last year. Apparently, the Nazis were under the impression that the Riverside activist--who is Jewish--had called for the demonstration at the Nazi house, where a young child also resides. The Riverside activist was not involved in the planning and execution of the home demonstration, but made a handy scapegoat, especially for those who believe that people of color are incapable of organizing in their own defense. Unlike Hall, the activist, who is a leader in a statewide socialist party, does not use his home as a base for organization.
However, due to the the overwhelming presence of California human rights defenders at the National Day of Action for Arizona, turnout was relatively low. Only about seven members of the SoCal Antiracist Network were present, backed up by a contingent of about five Brown Berets. "Our reason for being there was to be security, to get Chicanos out of there if anything happened. We were not there to break any laws, we were not intending to go into the house," said of the the leaders from the Brown Berets.
Four police officers in riot gear were at the end of the cul-de-sac where Hall lives, and the police helicopter hovered overhead. Once the antifascists took their stand, a crowd of about thirty Nazis in full fascist costume swarmed out of the house and confronted one of the organizers. "We're not here to fight," he explained, and backed up about thirty feet. The Nazi charged him aggressively, but the antiracist defended himself, knocking the Nazi out cold at the end of his charge. The Nazis continued their offensive against the antiracists, chanting "Get the girl!" and attempting to strike the only woman present, a member of the Brown Berets. They brandished two firearms as police looked on, refusing to intervene in the violence. "If you don't like it, get out of here," one of the officers told a member of the Berets.
In light of the armed Nazi aggression, the antiracists withdrew their picket for the day. The antifascist struggle in Riverside, however, is anything but over.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Calling All LA Anarchists: Invitation to Participate in Insurgent Summer
What is this summer's most radical online project? *Insurgent Summer* is an online book reading and cooperative blog discussion of Fredy Perlman’s 1976 book *Letters of Insurgents*. This is a 800+ page book of fictional letters between two Eastern European workers, Yarostan Vochek and Sophia Nachalo, separated by twenty-five years and two continents. As they reconnect through an exchange of letters, we learn about the battles they have fought – physical, political, emotional, and moral – and eventually the ones they have left to fight.
Your reading of *Letters* will begin on *June 11, 2010*, with the first of the ten exchanges between Yarostan and Sophia. Each week, three "Guides" (DeAnna, Artnoose, and Andrej) will post discussion pieces, reflections and analysis, preparing the terrain for an engaging discussion to which everyone is invited! We will conclude on August 20, in honor of Fredy Perlman's birthday!
Though copies of the book are limited, we are happy announce that we have both audio and full-text downloads of *Letters of Insurgents* available. Insurgent Summer is an opportunity to read one of the most important books of anarchist fiction and morality of all time. Please visit *http://insurgentsummer.org/* for more information, and let us know that you're going to participate!
Also please post on websites, twitter feeds, send to friends, etc.!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Calling All LA Anarchists: August 2010 - We Are Everywhere (Dispatch from the CrimethInc. Ex-Workers' Collective)
By now, anarchists and anti-authoritarians across the country have probably given up waiting for an announcement of the annual CrimethInc. Convergence. The truth is that as experienced organizers grow more weary of repeating themselves, and the emerging energetic anarchist communities are all tending to be less and less interested in organizing, few places seem to be appropriate candidates for this summer’s convergence. Moreover, by early spring it was already too late in the game for a community to come forward and offer to host the event, and interest simply had not surfaced.
In possibly the first great anarchist mistake of the decade, the CrimethInc. Experimental Committee was founded in late January. Their first assignment? To preserve and integrate the best elements of the convergence into a new model, adjust them to strengthen longstanding weaknesses, all the while upping the ante in a way that serves the anarchist community as a whole. At first, we thought their solution was a bad idea, so we commissioned a report and quickly changed our minds.
You’re being invited to participate in CrimethInc.’s next big experiment: a decentralized convergence.
THE OBJECTIVES
To create and maintain points of entry everywhere. To demonstrate our ability to work together despite internal differences and external obstacles. To invigorate anarchist infrastructure rather than lean on it. To orchestrate a show of force in solidarity with anti-authoritarians all over the world. To inspire curious newcomers without exhausting our vigor. To illuminate the map like a starchart of constellations. To remind ourselves – everyone – that we are everywhere.
THE CHALLENGE
Can anarchists mobilize to achieve these objectives with a tight deadline? In an effort to test and strengthen our potential, we’re inviting anarchists of all stripes and contexts to participate in a widespread and decentralized demonstration of outreach and infrastructure. To get involved, all that is required is that you facilitate or organize one or more events that will occur simultaneously across North America throughout the month of August.
THE PLAN
During August, we make anarchist principles and activity visible and accessible at a scale never before attempted. Consider it an international month of action; the activities can be of any caliber and temperament, and can appear anywhere: in the news, in the library, in the bedroom, in the supermarket, at the Really Really Free Market, on the streets, and so on. Use this as an opportunity to explore and experiment: if you aren’t typically involved in local mutual aid projects, give it a go; if you’ve never gone on a tour before, plan one with your friends; if you write zines, write banners; if you author theory, stage a reading; if you occupy classrooms, teach one for free. Whatever you do, wherever you go, wave the black flag for everyone to see –including, and perhaps especially for, our friends and comrades – and let the world see that we are everywhere.
THE SKELETON
To supplement the individual events we’re inviting people who’d like to teach workshops, perform skits and puppet shows, and share music and videos, to organize tours with their friends. The troupe could be just one person – you – or as many friends and companions as you can pack into a vehicle: whatever is doable and exciting. You could schedule events in a few towns in your region over a weekend, or cross the continent in a month. Your theme could be acute, spreading awareness about specific campaigns against mountain-top removal, evictions, state repression, the tar sands of Canada, the oil spill, oppression, or for mutual aid projects, solidarity with struggles happening here or elsewhere, or obscure theory. Or it could be more broad – raising awareness about anarchism itself.
Decentralized tours could the most appropriate and safe way for the anarchist community to achieve the objectives of the nationwide convergence. Accessible points of entry can emerge in all of the places that anarchists already are. Inspirational experiences can be had with new people. The diversity of anarchist perspectives and positions can be celebrated and affirmed in a way that allows them to work together, allowing us all to hold our commonalities close and activate our solidarity.
We’re pleased to announce that several tours have already signed up as endorsers: The Conspiracy Tour [USA], The Emergency Tour [USA-Midwest], and Testament & Illogick [Canada]. If you already plan on touring with a project during August, you can plug into the strategy with almost no additional effort. If you haven’t planned anything during August, please consider organizing a tour in solidarity with all those who will be organizing events in their hometowns. This goes most especially for everyone who has participated in CrimethInc Convergences in past years, and is able and willing. To help offset the price of fuel, you might consider distributing free literature for donations, and selling books and screenprinted items – if you’re partial, the Literature Distro Kit is one of the cheapest places to start.
In the next few weeks, we’ll be maintaining a list of tour dates both organized within our challenging timeframe and scheduled for the month of August. To add your project to the itinerary, please email experimental.committee@gmail.com as soon as possible, and we can publish your public events as they unfold.
THE NERVE
Drawing from the lessons of Steal Something From Work Day, our work should effectively utilize modern modes of communication and reclaim their functions when necessary.
Twitter – We can use Twitter to announce your events and simultaneously contribute to the volume of the phenomenon. If you use twitter, tag your tweets with #AnarchistsEverywhere to let people locate it in a search of the entire campaign. If we remember that these tweets are public and can function as promotional work, we can contribute to the campaign 140 characters at a time.
YouTube & Vimeo – We can upload short vignettes that promote the campaign and will be relevant for years to come. Our current recommendation is the proliferation of short 45 second clips ending in the slogan “WE ARE EVERYWHERE”. To avoid the alienation that can sometimes be felt when watching high-quality video production, it is encouraged that these clips be shot with cell phones to remind everyone that they can make their own. To contribute your video to the campaign, simply tag it with “AnarchistsEverywhere”.
Social Networking – Share this blog entry, and when more web projects and videos emerge share those too. Announce local events to everyone that you communicate with through that medium. While you’re at it, be mindful of the networks you imply on facebook.
Of course, it is also important that we create signposts in the real world too. Design posters, t-shirts, stencils, stickers, and other folk-art projects and spread them everywhere. See this appendix for helpful slogans.
THE HEART
Of course, each tour will make this campaign exponentially larger, but this August won’t be about tours. More important is what is going on in each place they pass through; if you are part of an active community – even if that community is just you –you can make your town another mark on our constellation map, which is a substantial contribution. In the context of this campaign, doing locally what tours cannot is considerably more effective than an elaborate schedule of tours. You are a part of the everywhere.
Ultimately, this campaign is about doing what we do every day. In working together as a decentralized concert of actions and activities we can collectively establish visibility for our local efforts and global struggles. For inspiration, check out Recipes for Disaster if you haven’t already, or you could plan a workshop, block party, public discussion group – even a bike ride. Put quite simply: if you’ve got a black flag and the will to fly it, this August the world will be watching.
Whatever you do, your contribution will be a part of an experiment to determine our collective power-to and solidarity-with – no amount of participation is too small, and everyone’s efforts will be counted.
THE DETAILS
Please read the arguments for decentralizing the CrimethInc. Convergence and the implications of a successful August 2010. Whether or not your project is a tour complete with a list of dates and venues, or a single event open to the public, it is still valuable and worthwhile to promote as a part of this campaign. Please email details to experimental.committee@gmail.com for help promoting your event.
APPENDIX of SLOGANS {not just a big joke}
In reclaiming and reworking modern marketing and advertisement strategies, we can re-appropriate the elements of our social conditions. Opportunities to do so will be self-evident: wherever capitalist imagery and sentiment competes for our attention. To do so effectively we would benefit from maintaining relative consistency throughout this campaign. This campaign is already built on a concept that both demands participation and refuses to be homogenized by those with particularly concentrated resources; the message is that we are everywhere and therefore the aesthetic will naturally benefit from the wide spectrum of positions from which these messages can emerge. Additionally, we cannot successfully demonstrate our prevalence without communicating things that describe our politics and the widespread nature of our resistance. That these things are true does not mean we cannot create a consistent and circular front of visibility – this can happen by taking advantage of the strategies outlined above in the nerve section and by making prolific use of, and following the various style guides accompanying, the following slogans:
- { for use wherever possible, and most appropriate }
- { for use in pre-august promotional material }
- { anytime you need a clever supplement }
- WE ARE EVERYWHERE
- WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS AUGUST?
- GET ALL OVER THE PLACE
- { The Circle A }
- DOING BEING EVERYWHERE
- PARTY THIS AUGUST
- MAKE TOTAL ALL OVER THE PLACE
- NO ONE IS ILLEGAL – WE ARE EVERYWHERE
- THE BLOCK IS HOT, AUGUST WILL BE HOTTER
- STOLEN LAND IS ALL OVER THE PLACE
- AN INJURY SOMEPLACE IS AN INJURY EVERYWHERE
- TAKE IT OVER THIS AUGUST
- ONE BIG EVERYWHERE
- OUR PLACE IS ALL OVER THE PLACE
- TAKE BACK THE NIGHT THIS AUGUST
- MOTHERS WORK EVERYWHERE
- WE WANT YOU
- ANARCHISM IS IN THIS AUGUST
- BASH BACK EVERYWHERE
- AGAINST CAPTIVITY EVERYWHERE
- BREAK THROUGH THIS AUGUST
- GROW BACK ALL OVER THE PLACE
A Post Sentencing Statement From Dave Solidarity
A Post-Sentencing Statement From Dave Solidarity
On June 1, I was sentenced to a 1 month stay in a Federal Prison, starting June 22nd, after being convicted of a 'violation of the terms of my supervised release.' To give a little bit of background, in 2006, I was convicted of 'damaging United States property' after setting fire to an Army recruiting center in the Bronx, and served 6 months in a federal prison, followed by 3 years of 'supervised release.' Last year, a few months before this term of supervised release was set to expire, I was arrested outside of the second occupation of the New School, and charged with assaulting an officer, rioting, resisting arrest and maybe a couple other things.
While ultimately all of the State charges were dropped, my 'supervision' status allowed the federal government to pick up the slack and ultimately take me to trial on the same charges, only with a lower standard of proof ('a preponderance of evidence' as opposed to 'beyond a reasonable doubt') and with rules allowing hearsay, in this case, from the pigs called in to testify. The prosecution recommended a sentence of 9 months, plus 2 years of supervised release and some other stuff that I'll go into later, but ultimately I got the 1 month in, plus 1 additional year of supervised release, plus 200 hours of community service.
Okay, so that's the bare bones boring stuff. Now I get to take this opportunity, as someone who already is one of the usual suspects, and unquestionably under surveillance, to say some wild shit that others trying to preserve their relative freedom would be unable to.
Let's go point by point.
1. I am a crazy motherfucker.
When I was first sentenced for setting fire to that Army recruiting center, part of the judge's sentence was that for the entire three years I was on supervised release, I attend weekly therapy sessions, so that "I could understand why I did what I did". At the time, I remember thinking 'it's pretty fucking obvious why..." but didn't go much deeper than that. After I got back to NYC, my PO sent me to my assigned therapist and the goal of state-mandated therapy became more clear.
After a month of these 'sessions', I realized that not only was this therapist reporting everything I said to my PO, but my PO was telling the therapist what areas to 'probe deeper into.' Most of this involved him trying to get to the bottom of why I really had problems with authority. 'Because I'm an anarchist?- But what about your relationship with your Dad..?' So that had to end. When I got a little bit of money together to switch to a therapist of my choosing, who refused to tell my PO anything about what happened other than the fact that I showed up, the probation department took me to court, a battle that I eventually won.
In that case, my lawyer argued that my political beliefs were being looked at as a pathology, and that the probation department was using therapy as political re-education camp. Now I am in exactly the same position-Once again, I've been sentenced to weekly therapy. At the sentencing hearing, the prosecution stressed the need for this therapy, because "I had exhibited an extreme problem with authority, particularly police officers." While at first I got angry about their characterization of me, I realized that they're right.
The past 10 years of my life have been dedicated to fighting authority in general, whether they be the pigs, politicians or bosses. They all have to go. So, if that makes me crazy, fuck it. When I hear about cops getting attacked in Seattle, I get all jittery and excited. When I read about French workers taking their bosses hostage, I wanted to catch the next plane over. The best part: I'm not the only one who's crazy like this. Most people are 'crazy', and every day, more and more people are starting to do something about it.
2. We need to step up our game.
One of the benefits of being an anarchist 'usual suspect' in NYC, is that it allows me a rare glimpse into the mind of the government, and I've found that there's not much going on in there. Every time something gets blown up around these parts, (you know, annually, when one of those cute little packages gets delivered from everyone's favorite cyclist) the Feds show up at my house (I'm never there) or follow me around everywhere, or call me into my PO's office, because they know I have to show up there. And every time they start asking questions, it becomes abundantly clear that they are unable to understand how anarchists operate. They keep trying to find leaders, or try to make dubious connections between above ground groups and actions that occur. Their obvious frustration is what leads to the kind of prosecution that put Eric McDavid away, which will hopefully be overturned on appeal.
But what we need to recognize is that this shows our strength! When we stop squabbling with each other for long enough to extend our struggle, it turns out that fighting without leaders and without hierarchy actually works. Given that we're still in a period of 'crisis', this is the time we need to be hitting the hardest.
Now, some people have been leading the way(see Mayday 2k10). Much of the negative response towards those actions falls into the 'it's only going to bring greater repression' category. Of course it is, but what the hell did you expect when you decided you were an 'anarchist'?
This is the point where I get to pull out my 'former/pending political prisoner' card, and say people are going to catch some heat, but guess what-there's over 2 million fucking people in prison. My whole neighborhood is under police occupation. I'm going to prison for a violation-level charge of 'resisting arrest'. Shit is bad, and anyone who fights back is going to potentially subject to consequences. We have to understand this, and take calculated risks, but when they take some of our people, we hit back harder.
3. Hitting Back.
I mean this literally. Solidarity means attack, remember? There have to be real, tangible consequences for the state or capital attacking us. However, the only way this can be sustainable is if we get out of the anarchist ghetto. This means putting our energies towards helping out with other peoples struggles, and building real relationships in the places that we live. Is your neighbor getting evicted? Well, guess what, landlords have addresses. The police are running up on your block to grab somebody? You and your neighbors have to let them know there's gonna be consequences.
The point, however, isn't just to fight for the sake of fighting. We're trying to create some kind of liberated spaces, right? This means actually creating spaces, and then militantly defending them.
Look at how Portland is doing it-they're getting a little wild in their battle against the cops. NYC needs to catch up...
4. ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK.
The only way we're going to be able to maintain any of our efforts at creating liberated spaces is if we go on the offensive. If by day we're running community centers, doing alternative education, fixing bikes, or growing our own food, by night we're attacking the police stations, the business owners, the real estate agencies. There is no conflict between these two ends, because guess what, Capital with the assistance of the State is going to come down hard these projects sooner or later, and if we've been on the offensive this whole time, we'll be much better prepared to fight back. We'll be building alliances and through those connections finding people with whom to go on the attack. And when the shit hits the fan? We won't be 'those crazy anarchists'; people will know who the fuck we are.
From where I stand, what you get out of building things up in your neighborhood or town is necessary to be a complete person, whether it's helping out with childcare or whatever. The same is true of striking back against the forces that make our lives miserable in a million different ways, both large and small. The point is to make these two goals complement each other.
5. Don't get all worked up about a cracker being locked up.
So, I gotta end this by pointing out the obvious-as a white man from a relatively "privileged" background, I'm getting a slap on the wrist. But there's over a hundred prisoners in the US from less privileged backgrounds who have been sitting in prison for literally decades. Many of these folks were part of liberation struggles in the 60s and 70s who took part in actions that make anything we've ever done look tame in comparison. Millions of dollars taken to fund revolutionary activities? Check. Assassinating cops in response to the police murdering Black people? Check. Busting comrades out of prison? Check.
So, take a second to check out listing of prisoners done by the Anarchist Black Cross Federation, at abcf.net. Start up a correspondence with one of these folks, throw a benefit for them, figure out a way to get them the fuck out of prison. Also, check out the work done by local ABCs, especially those in Denver, NYC and Toronto at denverabc.wordpress.com and nycabc.wordpress.com or 4strugglemag.org(Toronto).
So, in closing, I'd like to address a few words directly at the federal employees who will be reading this, particularly those in the Probation Department and our friends in the NYC Joint Terrorism Task Force (especially those fat motherfuckers that keep showing up at my court dates):
First and foremost, fuuuuuuuuucccckkkkk you. It doesn't matter how many times you try and get my ass up in that court, or how many times you lock me up, or how many times you show up at my house (I will never be there). I'm never gonna stop. But guess what, much as you wish this were the case, I'm not a lone wingnut. There's thousands of us, all over the place, and this shit's just gonna keep growing, and we'll keep fighting.
Finally, remember when you brought up in court that part of the communique I wrote when I was like 18, about how I was trying not only to bring down the United States, but to abolish the idea of the state itself? Yeah, I'm still on that shit.
Can't Stop Won't Stop,
Dave Solidarity
As soon as Dave's address in jail is available, it will be put out widely.
On June 1, I was sentenced to a 1 month stay in a Federal Prison, starting June 22nd, after being convicted of a 'violation of the terms of my supervised release.' To give a little bit of background, in 2006, I was convicted of 'damaging United States property' after setting fire to an Army recruiting center in the Bronx, and served 6 months in a federal prison, followed by 3 years of 'supervised release.' Last year, a few months before this term of supervised release was set to expire, I was arrested outside of the second occupation of the New School, and charged with assaulting an officer, rioting, resisting arrest and maybe a couple other things.
While ultimately all of the State charges were dropped, my 'supervision' status allowed the federal government to pick up the slack and ultimately take me to trial on the same charges, only with a lower standard of proof ('a preponderance of evidence' as opposed to 'beyond a reasonable doubt') and with rules allowing hearsay, in this case, from the pigs called in to testify. The prosecution recommended a sentence of 9 months, plus 2 years of supervised release and some other stuff that I'll go into later, but ultimately I got the 1 month in, plus 1 additional year of supervised release, plus 200 hours of community service.
Okay, so that's the bare bones boring stuff. Now I get to take this opportunity, as someone who already is one of the usual suspects, and unquestionably under surveillance, to say some wild shit that others trying to preserve their relative freedom would be unable to.
Let's go point by point.
1. I am a crazy motherfucker.
When I was first sentenced for setting fire to that Army recruiting center, part of the judge's sentence was that for the entire three years I was on supervised release, I attend weekly therapy sessions, so that "I could understand why I did what I did". At the time, I remember thinking 'it's pretty fucking obvious why..." but didn't go much deeper than that. After I got back to NYC, my PO sent me to my assigned therapist and the goal of state-mandated therapy became more clear.
After a month of these 'sessions', I realized that not only was this therapist reporting everything I said to my PO, but my PO was telling the therapist what areas to 'probe deeper into.' Most of this involved him trying to get to the bottom of why I really had problems with authority. 'Because I'm an anarchist?- But what about your relationship with your Dad..?' So that had to end. When I got a little bit of money together to switch to a therapist of my choosing, who refused to tell my PO anything about what happened other than the fact that I showed up, the probation department took me to court, a battle that I eventually won.
In that case, my lawyer argued that my political beliefs were being looked at as a pathology, and that the probation department was using therapy as political re-education camp. Now I am in exactly the same position-Once again, I've been sentenced to weekly therapy. At the sentencing hearing, the prosecution stressed the need for this therapy, because "I had exhibited an extreme problem with authority, particularly police officers." While at first I got angry about their characterization of me, I realized that they're right.
The past 10 years of my life have been dedicated to fighting authority in general, whether they be the pigs, politicians or bosses. They all have to go. So, if that makes me crazy, fuck it. When I hear about cops getting attacked in Seattle, I get all jittery and excited. When I read about French workers taking their bosses hostage, I wanted to catch the next plane over. The best part: I'm not the only one who's crazy like this. Most people are 'crazy', and every day, more and more people are starting to do something about it.
2. We need to step up our game.
One of the benefits of being an anarchist 'usual suspect' in NYC, is that it allows me a rare glimpse into the mind of the government, and I've found that there's not much going on in there. Every time something gets blown up around these parts, (you know, annually, when one of those cute little packages gets delivered from everyone's favorite cyclist) the Feds show up at my house (I'm never there) or follow me around everywhere, or call me into my PO's office, because they know I have to show up there. And every time they start asking questions, it becomes abundantly clear that they are unable to understand how anarchists operate. They keep trying to find leaders, or try to make dubious connections between above ground groups and actions that occur. Their obvious frustration is what leads to the kind of prosecution that put Eric McDavid away, which will hopefully be overturned on appeal.
But what we need to recognize is that this shows our strength! When we stop squabbling with each other for long enough to extend our struggle, it turns out that fighting without leaders and without hierarchy actually works. Given that we're still in a period of 'crisis', this is the time we need to be hitting the hardest.
Now, some people have been leading the way(see Mayday 2k10). Much of the negative response towards those actions falls into the 'it's only going to bring greater repression' category. Of course it is, but what the hell did you expect when you decided you were an 'anarchist'?
This is the point where I get to pull out my 'former/pending political prisoner' card, and say people are going to catch some heat, but guess what-there's over 2 million fucking people in prison. My whole neighborhood is under police occupation. I'm going to prison for a violation-level charge of 'resisting arrest'. Shit is bad, and anyone who fights back is going to potentially subject to consequences. We have to understand this, and take calculated risks, but when they take some of our people, we hit back harder.
3. Hitting Back.
I mean this literally. Solidarity means attack, remember? There have to be real, tangible consequences for the state or capital attacking us. However, the only way this can be sustainable is if we get out of the anarchist ghetto. This means putting our energies towards helping out with other peoples struggles, and building real relationships in the places that we live. Is your neighbor getting evicted? Well, guess what, landlords have addresses. The police are running up on your block to grab somebody? You and your neighbors have to let them know there's gonna be consequences.
The point, however, isn't just to fight for the sake of fighting. We're trying to create some kind of liberated spaces, right? This means actually creating spaces, and then militantly defending them.
Look at how Portland is doing it-they're getting a little wild in their battle against the cops. NYC needs to catch up...
4. ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK.
The only way we're going to be able to maintain any of our efforts at creating liberated spaces is if we go on the offensive. If by day we're running community centers, doing alternative education, fixing bikes, or growing our own food, by night we're attacking the police stations, the business owners, the real estate agencies. There is no conflict between these two ends, because guess what, Capital with the assistance of the State is going to come down hard these projects sooner or later, and if we've been on the offensive this whole time, we'll be much better prepared to fight back. We'll be building alliances and through those connections finding people with whom to go on the attack. And when the shit hits the fan? We won't be 'those crazy anarchists'; people will know who the fuck we are.
From where I stand, what you get out of building things up in your neighborhood or town is necessary to be a complete person, whether it's helping out with childcare or whatever. The same is true of striking back against the forces that make our lives miserable in a million different ways, both large and small. The point is to make these two goals complement each other.
5. Don't get all worked up about a cracker being locked up.
So, I gotta end this by pointing out the obvious-as a white man from a relatively "privileged" background, I'm getting a slap on the wrist. But there's over a hundred prisoners in the US from less privileged backgrounds who have been sitting in prison for literally decades. Many of these folks were part of liberation struggles in the 60s and 70s who took part in actions that make anything we've ever done look tame in comparison. Millions of dollars taken to fund revolutionary activities? Check. Assassinating cops in response to the police murdering Black people? Check. Busting comrades out of prison? Check.
So, take a second to check out listing of prisoners done by the Anarchist Black Cross Federation, at abcf.net. Start up a correspondence with one of these folks, throw a benefit for them, figure out a way to get them the fuck out of prison. Also, check out the work done by local ABCs, especially those in Denver, NYC and Toronto at denverabc.wordpress.com and nycabc.wordpress.com or 4strugglemag.org(Toronto).
So, in closing, I'd like to address a few words directly at the federal employees who will be reading this, particularly those in the Probation Department and our friends in the NYC Joint Terrorism Task Force (especially those fat motherfuckers that keep showing up at my court dates):
First and foremost, fuuuuuuuuucccckkkkk you. It doesn't matter how many times you try and get my ass up in that court, or how many times you lock me up, or how many times you show up at my house (I will never be there). I'm never gonna stop. But guess what, much as you wish this were the case, I'm not a lone wingnut. There's thousands of us, all over the place, and this shit's just gonna keep growing, and we'll keep fighting.
Finally, remember when you brought up in court that part of the communique I wrote when I was like 18, about how I was trying not only to bring down the United States, but to abolish the idea of the state itself? Yeah, I'm still on that shit.
Can't Stop Won't Stop,
Dave Solidarity
As soon as Dave's address in jail is available, it will be put out widely.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Nazis attack antiracists in Riverside
by Rockero
Saturday, May 29, 2010
RIVERSIDE, California - In the latest anti-fascist action to occur in this conservative inland city , a small group of anti-fascists planned to out Jeff Hall, the California "commander" of the Michigan-based National Socialist Movement (NSM), outside of his house. They were violently confronted by about thirty Nazis, who brandished firearms and threatened the safety of the demonstrators.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
RIVERSIDE, California - In the latest anti-fascist action to occur in this conservative inland city , a small group of anti-fascists planned to out Jeff Hall, the California "commander" of the Michigan-based National Socialist Movement (NSM), outside of his house. They were violently confronted by about thirty Nazis, who brandished firearms and threatened the safety of the demonstrators.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
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Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Napolitano in Claremont / Napolitano en Claremont (Republished from LA Indymedia)
by Rockero
Sunday, May 16, 2010
CLAREMONT, California - The arrival of Homeland Security Secretary (and former Governor of Arizona) Janet Napolitano to this community at the far east end of Los Angeles county propelled a march and rally of about 300 people in denunciation of the policies of immigration agencies, which fall under her purview.
The head of the migra attended the Pomona College graduation to receive an honorary law degree, as well as to orate during the ceremony. But despite her having been invited by the institution, students, professors, and members of the community did not comply.
At eight o'clock, people, among them, Pomona College workers, whose current struggle is to unionize, warehouse workers, supermarket workers, day laborers, students, teachers, community members, human rights defenders, and numerous anarchists arrived at the Greyhound station, which has been the site of several Border Patrol raids. There agents have detained passengers from the bus line without any probable cause.
At the initial convergence, a provocateur from the anti-immigrant Minutemen arrived, but the people refused to be provoked. The march, which was undertaken without any other issues, went up Indian Hill, so called for an indigenous community that once resided in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, until arriving in the neighborhood that borders the college.
Once before the plaza where the graduation was taking place, the crowd took the steps and entryway of a building with a Greek façade to display their banners and lift their chants.
"Hey hey! What do we say? Immigrants are here to stay!" ¡"Sí se puede!" "¡Legalización!"
On the sidewalk in front of the Pomona College campus, a contingent of the most disreputable sector of society, the migrant hunters, had set up a protest, also against Napolitano. "For once we agree on something!" a comrade joked. But the agreement ended there. "We're here to protest Janet Napolitano for her complicity in allowing what's happening across the street to occur on America's soil. We're here to send a message to Janet Napolitano that the American people won't tolerate her, Barack Obama, and their form of government. One thing I find intolering [sic] about them is right across the street, how they can allow criminal illegal aliens onto American soil to displace American workers and the American dream from the American people," he gibbered.
His statement lays bare the hypernationalism, which is a progenitor of fascism, that the resistance has been exposing for some time, and which is an attribute of anti-immigrant groups that has given rise to openly-fascist demonstrations such as those we have seen in recent months.
On the other hand, those on the other side of the street sent a strong message of interethnic and international solidarity. A UFCW worker explained, "I think that it's unfair, I think it's not the answer, it's not the solution to what's going on in Arizona. I think it's only gonna lead to more people getting harassed and mistreated. We're human beings, and we're not different. We're all alike. We've got a common humanity, we gotta acknowledge that."
While the crowd demonstrated outside, the resistance also showed its strength inside the ceremony. Most of the Pomona professors wore white stoles to symbolize their solidarity with the immigrant community, as did many of the graduating students. About then, a small group of students infiltrated the ceremony, and in dead silence, unfurled a large banner reading "Alto AZ." They reported that inside, the drums and tumult of the protest were audible.
The procession left the steps and proceeded to Shelton Park, where the Jornaleros del Norte played and various speakers lectured. Emilio shared some words of welcome, and was followed by Loyda, who read a communiqué from the director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network that said:
http://la.indymedia.org/uploads/2010/05/may_2010_104.jpg2nkfgj.jpghttp://la.indymedia.org/uploads/2010/05/may_2010_111.jpgq7rco3.jpghttp://la.indymedia.org/uploads/2010/05/may_2010_111.jpgq7rco3.jpghttp://la.indymedia.org/uploads/2010/05/may_2010_115.jpg3srrvs.jpg
"Napolitano's part of the Obama government is tearing families apart. She is disrupting and victimizing entire communities across the country. But no matter what they do, they cannot break our spirits. Yes, there is fear and anger. But most importantly, there is courage to resist. People across the country from all walks of life are in solidarity with Arizona. We know that in order to implement the SB 1070 bill, Arizona will need the cooperation of the Obama administration. This is the moment for President Obama to eradicate the mechanisms and programs that give the authority for police to enforce immigration law."
The intercollegial department of Latino and Chicano studies also sent a communiqué in favor of human rights and in support of humane immigration reform.
Afterwards, Connie from the UFCW told the story of a 1200-worker plant in Texas that was raided by ICE. "A plant in Texas, 1200 employees at that plant. ICE agents came in. They had warrants for 133 people. A hundred and thirty-three people that they thought might be in the country illegally. Instead of going to the human resources department and asking to pull these people aside so they could talk to them, they arrested every single person working that day. Twelve-hundred and forty-seven people. That means over a thousand legal residents or United States citizens were arrested. This is wrong! It's all wrong!"
Angélica Salas, director of CHIRLA, was next: "So, we now have a tradition here in California, that basically started in Santa Clara University, when Janet Napolitano went there. And she was received there with a thousand people, telling her that she was not welcome in California if she was gonna keep ripping apart our families. If she was going to keep deporting hard workers. And if she was going to violate the ideals of justice and equality that she's supposed to stand for."
Dilma, a representative of Warehouse Workers United, spoke next. "I'm a warehouse worker, and I'm here to represent everyone who could not come today. The truth is that I've been a worker. I'm not what they say about us Latinos, that we come to ask the government to take care of us. It's not true. I have always struggled, I've been here for 20 years and I've always gotten by. That's why I tell you all, fellow workers, that we must fight together because it can be done, yes comrades, we can fight!"
The next speaker was Cristián, a Pomona College worker. "I come to represent the members of the group Workers for Justice, which like many organizations, has fought to have our rights respected. We've been in this struggle for two years, and we're going to keep it up until our rights are respected and we're treated properly."
José, a delegate of the Inland Empire Day Laborer Congress, followed. "Today is a day of resistance, of struggle for all the women of conscience, for all the men, too, who on this fine day have come to tell Janet Napolitano, in a loud voice of protest, that we do not agree with the continual theft of the future of our children. Every member of our families have witnessed the kidnapping of our cousins. Our nephews and nieces have practically--and technically--been left orphans without receiving any assistance. For this reason we are here today, to denounce this criminal policy which actually goes beyond the Río Grande, with its grand waters, nor the scorching desert, nor the immensity of the ocean, has been able to separate that love the immigrant comrade has for his wife and who has his family here, beautiful and unified. And these criminals from immigration services come and separate them. What right do they have? Don't these gentlemen also have families? Don't they have a wife waiting for them? What will they tell her when she asks, 'What did you do today?' How can that police officer or that immigration agent show his face when he has to answer, 'How can I hide what's in the depths of my heart? Today, I separated some families'? What a nice job President Obama is doing after he used our community to take power, and now he's being manipulated by Nazi groups, like those in Arizona. What's happening in Arizona is a true danger, not just for our community residing in the State of Arizona, but for all of humanity. It must be understood thus. Because the senators who pushed these laws are Nazis. Arpaio is a Nazi. The Minutemen are Nazis in another mask, disguised Klan that has resurfaced. That's why all the women, children, and men who are here are repudiating this criminal policy that does nothing to ensure the safety of this country. Supposedly they are defending security, but what great security when they are destroying the future of the smallest of these lands! As a day worker, we've fallen victim to raids. They've taken our comrades away. The police constantly harass the corners. Sometimes they ask for our IDs, and when we give them to them, they often keep them. So I believe that these types of policies are unacceptable because they violate the human rights we all share. And my invitation to you as a day laborer is that we remain united, that we continue resisting, and also that from this site of resistance we send a loud and warm greeting to the resistance in Arizona, because we are all Arizona, and together we continue until the final victory, and for the right to live in peace. I have spoken."
Before ending with more music, Professor Calderón spoke about the new "Secure Communities program and an invitation was made to the national day of action for Arizona on May 29th. Thousands are expected to arrive to combat this assault on our community.
Domingo, 16 de mayo 2010
CLAREMONT, California - La llegada de la Secretaria de Seguridad Interna y ex-gobernadora de Arizona, Janet Napolitano, a esta comunidad del extremo oriente del condado de Los Ángeles provocó una marcha y manifestación de alrededor de 300 personas en denuncia a las políticas de las agencias migratorias, las cuales conforman departamentos del ministerio que encabeza.
La encargada de la migra asistió a la ceremonia de graduación de Pomona College con el fin de recibir un diploma honoris causa en derecho al igual que para pronunciar durante la solemnidad. Pero a pesar de su invitación de parte de la instutición, los estudiantes, profesores, y miembros de la comunidad no se quedaron conformes
A las ocho de la mañana ya había empezado a llegar la gente, entre ellos, trabajadores de Pomona College, grupo cuya lucha actual es para sindicalizarse, trabajadores de bodega, trabajadores de supermercados, jornaleros, estudiantes, maestros, miembros de la comunidad, defensores de derechos humanos, y varios anarquistas, a la estación Greyhound, sitio de varias redadas de la Patrulla Fronteriza. Se alega que los agentes han detenido a pasajeros de la línea de transporte sin causa ninguna.
A la convergencia inicial llegó un provocador del grupo anti-inmigrante Minutemen, pero el pueblo no se dejó provocar. La marcha, emprendida sin ningún otro inconveniente, subió todo el búlevar Indian Hill, así llamado por un poblado de los indígenas que se encontraba en esa localidad de la estribación de la sierra San Gabriel, hasta llegar a las residencias vecinas del colegio.
Una vez delante de la plaza donde se llevaba a cabo la graduación, el pueblo tomó el patio y los escalones de un edificio de fachada griega para montar sus mantas y corear sus cantos.
"Hey hey! What do we say? Immigrants are here to stay!" ¡"Sí se puede!" "¡Legalización!"
En la banqueta que linda el campus de Pomona College, un contingente de la lacra de la socieded, los cazamigrantes, había armado una protesta, también en contra de Napolitano. "Por una vez, coincidimos en algo," bromeó un compañero. Aunque ambos grupos estuvieran para denunciar a la secretaria, el acuerdo no pasaba de allí. "Estamos aquí para protestarle a Janet Napolitano por su complicidad en permitir que pase sobre suelo americano lo que está ocurriendo al otro lado de la calle," comentó uno de ellos. "Estamos aquí para mandar un mensaje a Janet Napolitano que el pueblo americano no le tolererá ni a ella, ni Barack Obama, ni su forma de gobierno. Una cosa que veo intolerable de ellos está en frente, es como pueden permitir que los criminales extranjeros en el suelo americano para desplazar a los obreros americanos y el sueño americano del pueblo americano," balbuceó.
Su declaración pone en evidencia el hipernacionalismo, progenitor del fascismo, que la resistencia ha estado sacando a la luz desde hace rato, que es atributo de grupos anti-inmigrantes y que ha dado pauta a manifestaciones de fascistas abiertos como los de estos últimos meses.
En cambio, los del otro lado mandaron un mensaje fuerte de solidaridad interétnico e internacional. Según una trabajadora del sindicato de trabajadores de supermercados, UFCW, "Lo veo injusto, no creo que sea la respuesta--no es la resolución a lo que pasa en Arizona. Sólo va a dar lugar a que más personas sean hostigadas y maltratadas. Somos seres humanos, o somos diferentes. Todos somos iguales. Tenemos en común nuestra humanidad, y hay que reconocerlo."
Mientras que la muchedumbre se manifestaba afuera, adentro la resistencia también mostró su fortaleza. La mayoría de los profesores de Pomona College usaron estolas blancas para solidarizar con la comunidad inmigrante, así como lo hicieron muchos de los estudiantes en proceso de graduación. En esos momentos, un grupo pequeño de estudiantes infiltraron la ceremonia y, en pleno silencio, desenrollaron una manta grande con la letra "Alto AZ." Reportaron que desde adentro se escuchaba el tamboreo de la manifestación.
De los escalones la procesión procedió al Parque Shelton, donde tocaron los Jornaleros del Norte y hablaron varios oradores. Emilio dijo unas palabras, y fue seguido por Loyda, quien leyó un comunicado del director de la Red Nacional de Jornaleros que decía:
"El oficio de Napolitano en el gobierno de Obama está desmantelando familias. Está interrumpiendo y victimizando comunidades enteras a través del país. Mas no importa lo que nos hagan, no pueden romper nuestros espíritus. Sí, existen miedo y coraje. Pero más importantemente, hay el valor para resistir. Personas de todo el país y de diversas condiciones sociales están en solidaridad con Arizona. Sabemos que para implementar el proyecto SB 1070, Arizona necesitará la cooperación de la administración Obama. Éste es el momento para que el presidente desarraigue los mecanismos y programas que otorgan autoridad migratoria a la policía local."
La facultad intercolegial de estudios latinos y chicanos de los Claremont Colleges también hicieron comunicar su declaración a favor de los derechos humanos y en apoyo a una reforma migratoria humana.
Después contó Connie de la UFCW la historia de una planta de 1 200 empleados de Texas en la que entró ICE. "A plant in Texas, 1200 employees at that plant. ICE agents came in. They had warrants for 133 people. A hundred and thirty-three people that they thought might be in the country illegally. Insted of going to the human resources department and asking to pull these people aside so they could talk to them, they arrested every single person working that day. Twelve-hundred and forty-seven people. That means over a thousand legal residents or United States citizens were arrested. This is wrong! It's all wrong!"
Siguió Angélica Salas, directora de CHIRLA: "Aquí en California ya tenemos una tradición que, básicamente, empezó en la Universidad de Santa Clara, cuando Jante Napolitano fue allí. Y fue recibida por mil personas, diciéndole que no estaba bienvenida a California si iba a seguir separando nuestras familias. Si iba a seguir deportando a la gente trabajadora. Y si iba a violar las ideas de justicia e igualdad que debería de relevar."
Próximamente discursó Dilma, una representante de los trabajadores de bodega Warehouse Workers United. "Yo soy una trabajadora de bodegas, y estoy aquí en representación de todos los que no pudieron venir este día. Y la verdad, yo he sido trabajadora, no soy como dicen que nosotros, los latinos, venimos a pedir que nos mantenga el gobierno pero no es cierto. Yo siempre he luchado, he estado aquí por 20 años y siempre he salido adelante. Por eso yo les digo a todos aquellos trabajadores que luchemos juntos porque sí se puede, compañeros, sí se puede luchar."
El próximo en hablar fue Cristián, trabajador de Pomona College. "Vengo en representación de miembros del grupo Workers for Justice en Pomona College, que igual que muchos organizaciones hemos luchado para que nuestros derechos sean respetados. Ya llevamos dos años en nuestra lucha, y vamos a seguir luchando hast que nuestros derechos sean respetados y nos tratan como nos merecemos.
A continuación habló José, un delegado del Congreso Jornalero del Inland Empire. "Hoy es un día de resistencia, de lucha de todas mujeres que tienen conciencia, de todos los hombres también que hoy en este buen día venimos a decirle a Jante Napolitano, nuestra voz bien fuerte de protesta, que no estamos de acuerdo en que se siga robando el futuro de nuestros niños. Todos en nuestras familias hemos sido testigos que se han llevado a nuestros primos, se han llevado a nuestras primas, se han quedado los sobrinos prácticamente y técnicamente huérfanos, sin recibir ningún apoyo. Y por eso hoy estamos aquí, para denuinciar esta política criminal, que incluso, va más allá de que el Río Bravo on sus aguas bravas, ni el calcinante desierto, ni la inmensidad del oceano, han sido capaces de separa ese amor del compañero inmigrante que trae a su esposa y aquí traen una familia bonita, unida, y llegan estos criminales del servicio de inmigración y los separan. ¿Con qué derecho? Acaso estos señores no tienen también familia? ¿Acaso no tienen una señora que los espera? ¿Qué le dirán cuando le pregunta '¿Qué hiciste hoy?'?" ¿Qué cara pondrá ese policía o ese agente de inmigración cuando le ha de decir, 'No he de guardar lo del fondo del corazón, pues hoy separé a unas familias'? ¡Que bonito trabajo está haciendo el Presidente Obama después de que utilizó a nuestra comunidad para llegarlo al poder, y ahora está siendo manipulado por grupos nazis como en Arizona. Lo que está pasando en Arizona es un verdadero peligro, no sólamente para nuestra comunidad que reside en el Estado de Arizona, sino para la humanidad entera. Así hay que entenderlo. Porque los senadores que han impulsado estas leyes son nazis. Arpaio es un nazi. Los Minutemen son nazis, disfrazadas con otras caretas. Disfrazados de los Ku Klux Klan que han vuelto a resurgir. Y por eso todas la mujeres, jóvenes, y hombres que estamos aquí estamos repudiendo esta política criminal que nada garantiza la seguridad de este país. Ellos supuestamente están defendiendo la seguridad, pero ¡que bonita seguridad es esa cuando están destruyendo el futuro de los más pequeños de estas tierras! Como trabajador jornalero, nosotros hemos sido víctimas también de redadas. Se han llevado a nuestros compañeros. La policía constantemente hostiga las esquinas. Si a veces nos piden IDs, se las damos, a veces la policía se queda con ellas. Entonces, creo que es inaceptable este tipo de políticas porque vulneran los derechos humanos que todos tenemos. Y mi invitación como trabajador jornalero es a que sigamos unidos, sigamos resistiendo, y también desde esta esquina de resistencia mandamos un fuerte y caluroso saludo para la resistencia en Arizona, porque Arizona somos todos, y todos unidos vamos, hasta la victoria siempre, y por el derecho de vivir en paz, he dicho."
Antes de terminar con más música, habló el Profesor Calderón del nuevo programa "Comunidades Seguras" y se hizo una invitación al día nacional de acción para Arizona el 29 de Mayo. Ese día se anticipa que lleguen miles de personas para luchar contra este asalto a nuestra comunidad.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
CLAREMONT, California - The arrival of Homeland Security Secretary (and former Governor of Arizona) Janet Napolitano to this community at the far east end of Los Angeles county propelled a march and rally of about 300 people in denunciation of the policies of immigration agencies, which fall under her purview.
The head of the migra attended the Pomona College graduation to receive an honorary law degree, as well as to orate during the ceremony. But despite her having been invited by the institution, students, professors, and members of the community did not comply.
At eight o'clock, people, among them, Pomona College workers, whose current struggle is to unionize, warehouse workers, supermarket workers, day laborers, students, teachers, community members, human rights defenders, and numerous anarchists arrived at the Greyhound station, which has been the site of several Border Patrol raids. There agents have detained passengers from the bus line without any probable cause.
At the initial convergence, a provocateur from the anti-immigrant Minutemen arrived, but the people refused to be provoked. The march, which was undertaken without any other issues, went up Indian Hill, so called for an indigenous community that once resided in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, until arriving in the neighborhood that borders the college.
Once before the plaza where the graduation was taking place, the crowd took the steps and entryway of a building with a Greek façade to display their banners and lift their chants.
"Hey hey! What do we say? Immigrants are here to stay!" ¡"Sí se puede!" "¡Legalización!"
On the sidewalk in front of the Pomona College campus, a contingent of the most disreputable sector of society, the migrant hunters, had set up a protest, also against Napolitano. "For once we agree on something!" a comrade joked. But the agreement ended there. "We're here to protest Janet Napolitano for her complicity in allowing what's happening across the street to occur on America's soil. We're here to send a message to Janet Napolitano that the American people won't tolerate her, Barack Obama, and their form of government. One thing I find intolering [sic] about them is right across the street, how they can allow criminal illegal aliens onto American soil to displace American workers and the American dream from the American people," he gibbered.
His statement lays bare the hypernationalism, which is a progenitor of fascism, that the resistance has been exposing for some time, and which is an attribute of anti-immigrant groups that has given rise to openly-fascist demonstrations such as those we have seen in recent months.
On the other hand, those on the other side of the street sent a strong message of interethnic and international solidarity. A UFCW worker explained, "I think that it's unfair, I think it's not the answer, it's not the solution to what's going on in Arizona. I think it's only gonna lead to more people getting harassed and mistreated. We're human beings, and we're not different. We're all alike. We've got a common humanity, we gotta acknowledge that."
While the crowd demonstrated outside, the resistance also showed its strength inside the ceremony. Most of the Pomona professors wore white stoles to symbolize their solidarity with the immigrant community, as did many of the graduating students. About then, a small group of students infiltrated the ceremony, and in dead silence, unfurled a large banner reading "Alto AZ." They reported that inside, the drums and tumult of the protest were audible.
The procession left the steps and proceeded to Shelton Park, where the Jornaleros del Norte played and various speakers lectured. Emilio shared some words of welcome, and was followed by Loyda, who read a communiqué from the director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network that said:
http://la.indymedia.org/uploads/2010/05/may_2010_104.jpg2nkfgj.jpghttp://la.indymedia.org/uploads/2010/05/may_2010_111.jpgq7rco3.jpghttp://la.indymedia.org/uploads/2010/05/may_2010_111.jpgq7rco3.jpghttp://la.indymedia.org/uploads/2010/05/may_2010_115.jpg3srrvs.jpg
"Napolitano's part of the Obama government is tearing families apart. She is disrupting and victimizing entire communities across the country. But no matter what they do, they cannot break our spirits. Yes, there is fear and anger. But most importantly, there is courage to resist. People across the country from all walks of life are in solidarity with Arizona. We know that in order to implement the SB 1070 bill, Arizona will need the cooperation of the Obama administration. This is the moment for President Obama to eradicate the mechanisms and programs that give the authority for police to enforce immigration law."
The intercollegial department of Latino and Chicano studies also sent a communiqué in favor of human rights and in support of humane immigration reform.
Afterwards, Connie from the UFCW told the story of a 1200-worker plant in Texas that was raided by ICE. "A plant in Texas, 1200 employees at that plant. ICE agents came in. They had warrants for 133 people. A hundred and thirty-three people that they thought might be in the country illegally. Instead of going to the human resources department and asking to pull these people aside so they could talk to them, they arrested every single person working that day. Twelve-hundred and forty-seven people. That means over a thousand legal residents or United States citizens were arrested. This is wrong! It's all wrong!"
Angélica Salas, director of CHIRLA, was next: "So, we now have a tradition here in California, that basically started in Santa Clara University, when Janet Napolitano went there. And she was received there with a thousand people, telling her that she was not welcome in California if she was gonna keep ripping apart our families. If she was going to keep deporting hard workers. And if she was going to violate the ideals of justice and equality that she's supposed to stand for."
Dilma, a representative of Warehouse Workers United, spoke next. "I'm a warehouse worker, and I'm here to represent everyone who could not come today. The truth is that I've been a worker. I'm not what they say about us Latinos, that we come to ask the government to take care of us. It's not true. I have always struggled, I've been here for 20 years and I've always gotten by. That's why I tell you all, fellow workers, that we must fight together because it can be done, yes comrades, we can fight!"
The next speaker was Cristián, a Pomona College worker. "I come to represent the members of the group Workers for Justice, which like many organizations, has fought to have our rights respected. We've been in this struggle for two years, and we're going to keep it up until our rights are respected and we're treated properly."
José, a delegate of the Inland Empire Day Laborer Congress, followed. "Today is a day of resistance, of struggle for all the women of conscience, for all the men, too, who on this fine day have come to tell Janet Napolitano, in a loud voice of protest, that we do not agree with the continual theft of the future of our children. Every member of our families have witnessed the kidnapping of our cousins. Our nephews and nieces have practically--and technically--been left orphans without receiving any assistance. For this reason we are here today, to denounce this criminal policy which actually goes beyond the Río Grande, with its grand waters, nor the scorching desert, nor the immensity of the ocean, has been able to separate that love the immigrant comrade has for his wife and who has his family here, beautiful and unified. And these criminals from immigration services come and separate them. What right do they have? Don't these gentlemen also have families? Don't they have a wife waiting for them? What will they tell her when she asks, 'What did you do today?' How can that police officer or that immigration agent show his face when he has to answer, 'How can I hide what's in the depths of my heart? Today, I separated some families'? What a nice job President Obama is doing after he used our community to take power, and now he's being manipulated by Nazi groups, like those in Arizona. What's happening in Arizona is a true danger, not just for our community residing in the State of Arizona, but for all of humanity. It must be understood thus. Because the senators who pushed these laws are Nazis. Arpaio is a Nazi. The Minutemen are Nazis in another mask, disguised Klan that has resurfaced. That's why all the women, children, and men who are here are repudiating this criminal policy that does nothing to ensure the safety of this country. Supposedly they are defending security, but what great security when they are destroying the future of the smallest of these lands! As a day worker, we've fallen victim to raids. They've taken our comrades away. The police constantly harass the corners. Sometimes they ask for our IDs, and when we give them to them, they often keep them. So I believe that these types of policies are unacceptable because they violate the human rights we all share. And my invitation to you as a day laborer is that we remain united, that we continue resisting, and also that from this site of resistance we send a loud and warm greeting to the resistance in Arizona, because we are all Arizona, and together we continue until the final victory, and for the right to live in peace. I have spoken."
Before ending with more music, Professor Calderón spoke about the new "Secure Communities program and an invitation was made to the national day of action for Arizona on May 29th. Thousands are expected to arrive to combat this assault on our community.
Domingo, 16 de mayo 2010
CLAREMONT, California - La llegada de la Secretaria de Seguridad Interna y ex-gobernadora de Arizona, Janet Napolitano, a esta comunidad del extremo oriente del condado de Los Ángeles provocó una marcha y manifestación de alrededor de 300 personas en denuncia a las políticas de las agencias migratorias, las cuales conforman departamentos del ministerio que encabeza.
La encargada de la migra asistió a la ceremonia de graduación de Pomona College con el fin de recibir un diploma honoris causa en derecho al igual que para pronunciar durante la solemnidad. Pero a pesar de su invitación de parte de la instutición, los estudiantes, profesores, y miembros de la comunidad no se quedaron conformes
A las ocho de la mañana ya había empezado a llegar la gente, entre ellos, trabajadores de Pomona College, grupo cuya lucha actual es para sindicalizarse, trabajadores de bodega, trabajadores de supermercados, jornaleros, estudiantes, maestros, miembros de la comunidad, defensores de derechos humanos, y varios anarquistas, a la estación Greyhound, sitio de varias redadas de la Patrulla Fronteriza. Se alega que los agentes han detenido a pasajeros de la línea de transporte sin causa ninguna.
A la convergencia inicial llegó un provocador del grupo anti-inmigrante Minutemen, pero el pueblo no se dejó provocar. La marcha, emprendida sin ningún otro inconveniente, subió todo el búlevar Indian Hill, así llamado por un poblado de los indígenas que se encontraba en esa localidad de la estribación de la sierra San Gabriel, hasta llegar a las residencias vecinas del colegio.
Una vez delante de la plaza donde se llevaba a cabo la graduación, el pueblo tomó el patio y los escalones de un edificio de fachada griega para montar sus mantas y corear sus cantos.
"Hey hey! What do we say? Immigrants are here to stay!" ¡"Sí se puede!" "¡Legalización!"
En la banqueta que linda el campus de Pomona College, un contingente de la lacra de la socieded, los cazamigrantes, había armado una protesta, también en contra de Napolitano. "Por una vez, coincidimos en algo," bromeó un compañero. Aunque ambos grupos estuvieran para denunciar a la secretaria, el acuerdo no pasaba de allí. "Estamos aquí para protestarle a Janet Napolitano por su complicidad en permitir que pase sobre suelo americano lo que está ocurriendo al otro lado de la calle," comentó uno de ellos. "Estamos aquí para mandar un mensaje a Janet Napolitano que el pueblo americano no le tolererá ni a ella, ni Barack Obama, ni su forma de gobierno. Una cosa que veo intolerable de ellos está en frente, es como pueden permitir que los criminales extranjeros en el suelo americano para desplazar a los obreros americanos y el sueño americano del pueblo americano," balbuceó.
Su declaración pone en evidencia el hipernacionalismo, progenitor del fascismo, que la resistencia ha estado sacando a la luz desde hace rato, que es atributo de grupos anti-inmigrantes y que ha dado pauta a manifestaciones de fascistas abiertos como los de estos últimos meses.
En cambio, los del otro lado mandaron un mensaje fuerte de solidaridad interétnico e internacional. Según una trabajadora del sindicato de trabajadores de supermercados, UFCW, "Lo veo injusto, no creo que sea la respuesta--no es la resolución a lo que pasa en Arizona. Sólo va a dar lugar a que más personas sean hostigadas y maltratadas. Somos seres humanos, o somos diferentes. Todos somos iguales. Tenemos en común nuestra humanidad, y hay que reconocerlo."
Mientras que la muchedumbre se manifestaba afuera, adentro la resistencia también mostró su fortaleza. La mayoría de los profesores de Pomona College usaron estolas blancas para solidarizar con la comunidad inmigrante, así como lo hicieron muchos de los estudiantes en proceso de graduación. En esos momentos, un grupo pequeño de estudiantes infiltraron la ceremonia y, en pleno silencio, desenrollaron una manta grande con la letra "Alto AZ." Reportaron que desde adentro se escuchaba el tamboreo de la manifestación.
De los escalones la procesión procedió al Parque Shelton, donde tocaron los Jornaleros del Norte y hablaron varios oradores. Emilio dijo unas palabras, y fue seguido por Loyda, quien leyó un comunicado del director de la Red Nacional de Jornaleros que decía:
"El oficio de Napolitano en el gobierno de Obama está desmantelando familias. Está interrumpiendo y victimizando comunidades enteras a través del país. Mas no importa lo que nos hagan, no pueden romper nuestros espíritus. Sí, existen miedo y coraje. Pero más importantemente, hay el valor para resistir. Personas de todo el país y de diversas condiciones sociales están en solidaridad con Arizona. Sabemos que para implementar el proyecto SB 1070, Arizona necesitará la cooperación de la administración Obama. Éste es el momento para que el presidente desarraigue los mecanismos y programas que otorgan autoridad migratoria a la policía local."
La facultad intercolegial de estudios latinos y chicanos de los Claremont Colleges también hicieron comunicar su declaración a favor de los derechos humanos y en apoyo a una reforma migratoria humana.
Después contó Connie de la UFCW la historia de una planta de 1 200 empleados de Texas en la que entró ICE. "A plant in Texas, 1200 employees at that plant. ICE agents came in. They had warrants for 133 people. A hundred and thirty-three people that they thought might be in the country illegally. Insted of going to the human resources department and asking to pull these people aside so they could talk to them, they arrested every single person working that day. Twelve-hundred and forty-seven people. That means over a thousand legal residents or United States citizens were arrested. This is wrong! It's all wrong!"
Siguió Angélica Salas, directora de CHIRLA: "Aquí en California ya tenemos una tradición que, básicamente, empezó en la Universidad de Santa Clara, cuando Jante Napolitano fue allí. Y fue recibida por mil personas, diciéndole que no estaba bienvenida a California si iba a seguir separando nuestras familias. Si iba a seguir deportando a la gente trabajadora. Y si iba a violar las ideas de justicia e igualdad que debería de relevar."
Próximamente discursó Dilma, una representante de los trabajadores de bodega Warehouse Workers United. "Yo soy una trabajadora de bodegas, y estoy aquí en representación de todos los que no pudieron venir este día. Y la verdad, yo he sido trabajadora, no soy como dicen que nosotros, los latinos, venimos a pedir que nos mantenga el gobierno pero no es cierto. Yo siempre he luchado, he estado aquí por 20 años y siempre he salido adelante. Por eso yo les digo a todos aquellos trabajadores que luchemos juntos porque sí se puede, compañeros, sí se puede luchar."
El próximo en hablar fue Cristián, trabajador de Pomona College. "Vengo en representación de miembros del grupo Workers for Justice en Pomona College, que igual que muchos organizaciones hemos luchado para que nuestros derechos sean respetados. Ya llevamos dos años en nuestra lucha, y vamos a seguir luchando hast que nuestros derechos sean respetados y nos tratan como nos merecemos.
A continuación habló José, un delegado del Congreso Jornalero del Inland Empire. "Hoy es un día de resistencia, de lucha de todas mujeres que tienen conciencia, de todos los hombres también que hoy en este buen día venimos a decirle a Jante Napolitano, nuestra voz bien fuerte de protesta, que no estamos de acuerdo en que se siga robando el futuro de nuestros niños. Todos en nuestras familias hemos sido testigos que se han llevado a nuestros primos, se han llevado a nuestras primas, se han quedado los sobrinos prácticamente y técnicamente huérfanos, sin recibir ningún apoyo. Y por eso hoy estamos aquí, para denuinciar esta política criminal, que incluso, va más allá de que el Río Bravo on sus aguas bravas, ni el calcinante desierto, ni la inmensidad del oceano, han sido capaces de separa ese amor del compañero inmigrante que trae a su esposa y aquí traen una familia bonita, unida, y llegan estos criminales del servicio de inmigración y los separan. ¿Con qué derecho? Acaso estos señores no tienen también familia? ¿Acaso no tienen una señora que los espera? ¿Qué le dirán cuando le pregunta '¿Qué hiciste hoy?'?" ¿Qué cara pondrá ese policía o ese agente de inmigración cuando le ha de decir, 'No he de guardar lo del fondo del corazón, pues hoy separé a unas familias'? ¡Que bonito trabajo está haciendo el Presidente Obama después de que utilizó a nuestra comunidad para llegarlo al poder, y ahora está siendo manipulado por grupos nazis como en Arizona. Lo que está pasando en Arizona es un verdadero peligro, no sólamente para nuestra comunidad que reside en el Estado de Arizona, sino para la humanidad entera. Así hay que entenderlo. Porque los senadores que han impulsado estas leyes son nazis. Arpaio es un nazi. Los Minutemen son nazis, disfrazadas con otras caretas. Disfrazados de los Ku Klux Klan que han vuelto a resurgir. Y por eso todas la mujeres, jóvenes, y hombres que estamos aquí estamos repudiendo esta política criminal que nada garantiza la seguridad de este país. Ellos supuestamente están defendiendo la seguridad, pero ¡que bonita seguridad es esa cuando están destruyendo el futuro de los más pequeños de estas tierras! Como trabajador jornalero, nosotros hemos sido víctimas también de redadas. Se han llevado a nuestros compañeros. La policía constantemente hostiga las esquinas. Si a veces nos piden IDs, se las damos, a veces la policía se queda con ellas. Entonces, creo que es inaceptable este tipo de políticas porque vulneran los derechos humanos que todos tenemos. Y mi invitación como trabajador jornalero es a que sigamos unidos, sigamos resistiendo, y también desde esta esquina de resistencia mandamos un fuerte y caluroso saludo para la resistencia en Arizona, porque Arizona somos todos, y todos unidos vamos, hasta la victoria siempre, y por el derecho de vivir en paz, he dicho."
Antes de terminar con más música, habló el Profesor Calderón del nuevo programa "Comunidades Seguras" y se hizo una invitación al día nacional de acción para Arizona el 29 de Mayo. Ese día se anticipa que lleguen miles de personas para luchar contra este asalto a nuestra comunidad.
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