Who Does It Get Better For?
{{This essay is a response written in 2011 to the ‘It Gets Better’ Campaign}}
~ Amelia
The It Gets Better Project, a project rectified in response to an outburst of queer youth suicides in the Western world, highlights the association that queerness and homosexuality have with death. Through this association, as well as the It Gets Better Project itself, queerness becomes intertwined with death and the death of the nation. Opposing death and the image of the homosexual subject, is the prospect of life, which is lead only by the heteronormative discourse. The It Gets Better Project naturalizes the ideology that queerness and ‘otherness’ equate death, whereas heteronormativity and normative subjects, including the white, privileged normative subject, equate life. Through the media attention that the It Gets Better Project has received, these stories of queer youth suicide have become a tool for the regulation of lives, both queer and normative. This regulation creates a straightening device that is in line with the biopolitical aims to serve the hegemonic discourse of the nation state: the heteronormative necessity within a nation for that nation to thrive through the means of gay-bashing, homophobic violence and the death of the homosexual subject.
In the early fall of 2010, America was overwhelmed by a wave of homosexual youth suicides, struck by the number of suicides, as well as the suicides themselves. The nation was shocked by the events; the wake of this outburst of suicides had countries, activists, LGBT communities and LGBT allies questioning what fuelled the ‘sudden’ outburst of queer youth suicides in a climate that seemed to be changing in its acceptance of the LGBT community, specifically of LGBT youth. In response to the desperate situation, Toronto’s Dan Savage of Savage Love of Eye Weekly jumped at the chance to showcase a way to a happier life for queer youth, producing the It Gets Better Project. The It Gets Better Project showcases Dan Savage and his partner, both white, gay, male subjects who associate with the homonormative discourse, reaching out to queer youth explaining that their lives will get better if only they chose to live it. Dan Savage and his partner exemplify the existence of homonormativity, which is the heteronormative lifestyle lived out by homosexual identifying subjects. This lifestyle includes marriage, proper work, and consuming, adopting children, becoming an upstanding citizen that can uphold the standards set upon heteronormative subjects. The allowance of gay subjects into this heternormative discourse of life implies that the current climate in which we live is a climate of supposed sexual acceptance, of sexual exceptionalism1 Dan Savage and his partner, in the It Gets Better campaign, create propaganda for a homonationalist way of life, a life that follows the heteronormative discourse, which benefits the nation state. This is a time and space of queer temporality, as “homonationalism is [...] a temporal and spatial illusion, a facile construction that is easily revoked, dooming the exceptional queers”2. This is to say that the temporal existence of a queer nationalism, of a homonormative and homonationalist discourse, is always on the brink of its own demise. Within its own existence, sexual exceptionalism, which allows propaganda like that of It Gets Better to exist, is always a moment away from its own death. Queerness is always in tandem with death, whether through the queer body, the queer youth of the nation or the ideology of queerness itself.
Judith Halberstam’s In a Queer Time and Place focuses the first two chapters of the book on the death of Brandon Teena, a white female to male transgender subject living in small-town Nebraska in the United States. Halberstam claims that Teena was living “literally and figuratively out of time and place”3 which is to say that there exists a time and place that is not ‘out’ but rather ‘in’ for queer subjects. The notion of US sexual exceptionalism paints the Western World, specifically the United States, as a place that welcomes queer subjects and queer bodies ‘in’. Contradictorily, the story of Teena is not of his life, but rather his death in the face of homophobia and transphobia. The boys who live in the small-town who beat Teena, his girlfriend and his differently-abled friend of colour to death, represent the normative attitude that is concurrent with the ideology of perpetuation of life, murdering the subjects who are associated with death, only furthering the identification of queerness with death. Halberstam offers the reasoning that Teena operated outside of normative time because he opted “to live outside of reproductive and familial time as well as on the edges of logics of labour and production. By doing so, they [he] also often live[d] outside the logic of capital accumulation: here we could consider [...] HIV-positive barebackers, rents boys, sex workers”.
Outside of the normative construction of time are subjects associated with death; from the diseased subject (HIV-positive barebackers) to the subject who will soon be ridden with disease (sex workers). In the It Gets Better Project, Dan Savage and his partner are two homonationalist subjects that clearly do not queer time. In fact, there is not much about their lifestyles that is queer, aside from the fact that they happen to be in a same-sex relationship. Due to the fact that the lives of Dan Savage, his partner, and their adopted son do not cross the boundaries of time and space, they are subjects who are temporally accepted into the normative discourse. Their association with death is in line with the heternormative association with death: which is an association that occurs only after a long life of happiness and normativity, as “we create longevity as the most desirable future, applaud the pursuit of long life, and pathologize modes of living that show little or no concern for longevity”.
Because the subject of Brandon Teena did not align himself with normative modes of living, he became automatically associated with death. The subjects that the It Gets Better Project was created for were also not in line with normative discourses of life: they were homosexual subjects whose homosexuality did not contribute to the nation like Dan Savage’s homosexuality does. The queering of time and space of the victims of homophobic bullying, Tyler Clementi for example, who did in fact take their lives in the face of an ever-changing climate of sexuality in the US were not homonationalist subjects due to their age. Clementi himself was only eighteen years of age, an age at which one is not yet able to involve themselves thoroughly with the life of the nation through acts of marriage, reproduction and proper work. In this sense, Clementi and the other subjects of the It Gets Better Project queered time and space more so than Dan Savage and his partner currently do. The black and white of these two very different lives is as follows: Dan Savage has aligned himself with the life of the nation through homonationalism and the following of the heteronormative discourse, perhaps in order to survive, while Tyler Clementi aligned himself with death through his inability to follow a heteronormative discourse, not only by way of homonationalism but also by way of his queerness, which queered the space he was in to a point of uncomfortability, leading to his suicide. One could even say that Clementi is a queer subject, whereas Dan Savage is a homonationalist, albeit homonormative subject.
Halberstam introduces the idea of “geographies of resistance” in relation to the queer body. The queer body and the queer subject as a site of resistance becomes problematic for heteronormative discourses that homonormative subjects tend to follow in order to be associated with the life of the nation, rather than death. Queer bodies and queer subjects as tools for resistance become associated with “improper, nonnational queerness”6 Puar states, “we have a split between proper, national (white) homosexuality [...] and improper (colored) nonnational queerness [...] therefore proliferating the sexualities of which Foucault speaks (the good patriot, the bad terrorist, the suicide bomber, the married gay boy, the monster-terrorist-fag, the effeminate turbaned man…)”. This split is reflected in the It Gets Better Project; Dan Savage and his partner are the proper, white, nationalist homosexual subjects, whereas Tyler Clementi and the other queer youth who committed suicide are representative of improper nonnational queerness. This is due to the fact that Dan Savage and his partner have chosen to associate themselves with life, through living, as well as through the It Gets Better campaign, while Tyler Clementi has become associated with death through his suicide and through the campaign’s exploitation of his suicide. Dan Savage is representative of life, whereas Tyler Clementi is only representative of death because it is all he is known for.
Non-normativity is associated with people of colour; people of any race other than white. In this sense, the It Gets Better campaign is not only a straightening device for proper homosexuality, but also a whitening device, as queer youth of colour are completely absent from the campaign. Nor is the subject of race or class at all touched upon. Instead, what It Gets Better enlists is a reproduction of whiteness in life; to deviate from whiteness is to assume otherness, such as blackness, which is to associate with death; just as to deviate from heterosexuality is to assume homosexuality, which is to associate with death. Dan Savage’s lifestyle itself reflects upon this ideology of improper nonnational queerness in terms of sexuality, race and class in the narrative of his life. Dan Savage discusses details about his white family taking a trip to Paris, France in which he spent time with his son “strolling the streets of Paris and chatting”. This specific part of Dan Savage’s narrative highlights the project’s inability to discuss the differences of queerness in relation to class and race. Dan Savage is a white, homonormative, middle to upper class subject who has access to the mainstream through his whiteness, maleness and class, all of which put Dan Savage in a position of privilege. The lifestyle that Dan Savage has that allows him to associate himself with life and the life of the nation, rather than death, are things that are not available to everybody. Homophobia and racism reflect one another in their consistent ability to continually be ‘othered’ subjects. Dan Savage and the other members of the project fail to discuss the possible acceptance into the association with life for queers of colour, differently-abled queers, and queers of lower and different class. The It Gets Better Project once again resembles a propaganda that pushes the white, normative discourse forward, relating that any of the improper nonnational queernesses will fail to become associated with life, for they are not even worthy of being associated with the death of queer, white youth.
In Terrorist Assemblages, Puar discusses the events of sexual torture that occur in Abu Ghraib, Iraq. In Abu Ghraib, Iraqi prisoners of war were tortured by means of homosexual actions by white, American officers7. Images of these events circulated the internet, thus upholding the ideology of deviance associated with homosexuality by paralleling homosexuality and torture. In these instances of sexual torture, heterosexuality dictates the tortured body by using homosexuality as a repressive normalizing tool. Heterosexuality becomes a basis for the practice of necropolitics in warfare; In Abu Ghraib, the discursive power of heterosexuality standardizes the function of necropolitics through the anti-hegemonic position of homosexuality. This practice of necropolitics for regulation of sexuality parallels queerness with barbarism, animalistic characteristics and deviance. The use of S/M practices on Iraqi prisoners idealizes ‘regular’ sexuality by utilizing sexual practices seen as deviant and perverse by the American public on the racialized body of the prisoner. The notion of US sexual exceptionalism in light of the necropolitical practices of sexual torture of Iraqi prisoners creates a void between the two ends of the sexual spectrum through the racial differences of the Iraqi prisoners sexuality interplaying with S/M versus the American, white heteronormative or homonormative subject’s sexuality. This creates the ideology that the racialized other must have a regularized and therefore acceptable sexual personality in order to escape death. Based on the regularization of sexuality in Dan Savage’s propaganda The It Gets Better Project, the prisoners of the Iraqi prison, as racialized subjects, deserved to be subjected to having the decision of the continuance of the their lives or their eminent deaths, in the hands of the white American soldiers at whose hands they suffered. These prisoners were used as a tool of regulation of the othered body, outside and inside sexualities.
The torture of Abu Ghraib regulates the racial other and the queer subject simultaneously, ousting both as relative to the death of one nation (Iraq) to perpetuate the life of another nation (America). As this war has equated the death of many Iraqi civilians and Iraqi and American solidiers, the placement of not just a sexual torture, but rather a homosexual torture rectifies the interplay of shame of homosexuality and its dependence upon the presence of death in order to exist. Just as in the case of Tyler Clementi’s suicide, the homosexual tortures in Abu Ghraib only exist in a site that has a dependence on the death of something- if even just the death of the possibility of acceptance of queerness (true queerness, and not just homonormativity) as a societal norm. The fact that heterosexuality was not used as a torture device on the bodies of Abu Ghraib prisoners relates that there is nothing deviant or shame-worthy in heterosexual sex practices.
What the It Gets Better Project aims to do is justify and honour the deaths of a number of white, male, American homosexual subjects in order to produce a proper homosexuality that is in line with the aims of the nation state. This project fails to access an audience of any ‘true’ queerness, whose subjects deviate from the norm of homonormativity and whiteness. What Dan Savage’s campaign in fact does is highlight the existence of death within the life of the homosexual as well as the regulatory power of heteronormativity and its relationship with a ‘proper’ homosexuality. Through this process of ‘othering’, Dan Savages campaign does not only virtually murder the possibility of life for nonnormative sexual subjects, but also nonnormative subjects whose ‘queerness’ and ‘otherness’ rests in their race, class and/or ability- even the life of a heterosexual subject who queers societal norms is left out of the equation of this image of life, only to find themselves aligned with death. Through Dan Savage’s campaign there is a clear idolization of successful homosexuality as well as a red herring for failed homosexuality. Through this propaganda for the biopolitical functions of a ‘proper’ sexuality, the presence of the death of the heart of the homosexual and queer subject, always present in life, becomes undeniable.
Citations:
Puar, Jasbir. “Terrorist Assemblages: Homonationalism in Queer Times.” United States: Duke University Press, 2007.
Halberstam, Judith. “In a Queer Time & Place.” United States: New York University Press, 2005.
Comedy?
Hey there,
Just got back from facebook, and let me tell you. That shit’s fucking funny! Let me tell you a joke. K, there’s this guy, right. And he’s walking through black neighbourhoods in a KKK robe and carrying a cross. And you think that’s funny? There’s more! He filmed it, himself in the robe with the cross, making racial slurs left and right, and put it up on youtube where it went viral! And here’s the punchline. He’s playing at London’s APK club on June 3rd.
Ok, that was a rather bad joke. But I can’t see it being better than any of the jokes that will be told on stage that night. ari shaffir, aka “the amazing racist” will be “performing” at the APK, a recently reopened(in it’s 3rd location now) bar in the downtown core of London. I kinda like the APK, but if we condone racist behaviours, by using them to promote someone, then there’s a bit of problem. Namely, that being of condoning racist behaviours.
Now, you may not realize this, but London is quite the hotbed of racist activity. Last month for example, neo nazi’s marched on city hall(after a failed attempt last year). So, you can imagine that those of us who actually pay attention to this, would be a little perturbed, that a bar, which has a recognition of being a positive space in the community, would bring in a “comedian” who thinks that racist behaviour is funny. Racism can be funny. But not if you’re making fun of those affected by it.
I’m sorry APK, but ari shaffir is not funny. I’m not going to link, for the same reason the author of this article at Londonfuse.ca didn’t link to him. You can google his videos if you really want to. But hopefully, like me, you’ll think that watching some asshole drop off people at INS is fucked, and will just move on to something more productive. Like maybe calling APK, and letting them know that you think that having someone who uses racism to promote himself, perform on their stage, is an affront to thinking and caring people everywhere.(519) 858-9900 <<APK’s phone number
I’m not going to get into all the arguments and justifications I’ve heard for this guys “comedy”. Suffice to say, if he finds racism funny, like so funny, as to actually go out and perform it, for a camera, in order to go viral, so he will be forever known as the guy who walked around the hood in a hood, well, sorry, but like the promoter of the APK event suggested, maybe he should call the mental help line.(btw, directing someone you don’t know to a mental health line, because you don’t agree with them, isn’t funny either)
And just because he’s played sold out shows, doesn’t make it right. ari is famous because of his amazing racist video’s. Which means, he directly benefited from racism. every time you see his “comedy” show, he’s benefiting. The amazing racist, was a cheap and disgusting trick, to get hits and infamy. It worked. So much so that others are now benefiting. Like the promoter. Benefiting from racism, directly. Do you see the problem yet?
How exactly does one go to being against racism, to using archie bunker to defen….err, wtf? my head hurts now….
He then goes on to ask one of the women out, as if anyone of them would actually want to date a guy who thinks racism in any form, is ok.
There’s so much more that I want to write on this, but I feel that if I give this goofball any more attention, people will actually go to his show.
Editors Note: The APK has canceled the event, and has posted a statement here.
Not sure what they mean by “logic”
Confront Barrick Gold: AGM Protest 2013!
On Wednesday, April.24th, 2013, an estimated 50-75 activists from the Toronto area gathered in front of the Metro Toronto Convention Center to protest Barrick Gold, the world’s largest gold mining corporation while the board of directors held their annual general meeting. The protest was a great success despite the poor weather conditions and remained lively as ever through the many speeches, chanting, and wonderful performances by drumming group Rhythms of Resistance, as well as our favorite radical hip hop artists, Test Their Logik.
Corporations are in themselves corrupt in nature, but Barrick Gold is one of the worst. It has and continues to commit human rights abuses and environmental destruction, such as forcing indigenous peoples off their lands and contaminating water sources that these communities rely on for survival, simply to make a profit. It is also well known for supporting police brutality and violence in the name of security, and many people around the globe have been injured and killed, whether they are working for the company, protesting or as a result of the health effects of living near a gold mine. Rafael Castillo is the vice president of a Chilean workers group that occupied the San Ambrosio Church on Aug.4th, 2012 to protest poor labour conditions at the Pascua Lama mine. According to him, workers are dying every year due to the working conditions and lack of medical attention. Mine security guards have raped countless women and girls in various communities as a “security” tactic (usually these women and girls are near or in the mine searching for gold in order to have an income and feed themselves or pay for education, as the mine left their community in poverty). Barrick created a remediation program in Papua, New Guinea forcing survivors to give up their rights to sue the company in order to receive remedy, while the program in itself is corrupt as it does not address the real issues that survivors face nor do survivors have a say in what they receive. For example, much of the time they will receive chickens…tell me, how the fuck do chickens help one cope with the trauma of sexual violence? It’s absolutely pathetic. Twice so far in the year 2013, on Feb.21st and April.1st Barrick was fined for irregularities, pollution, and violating conditions of their glacier monitoring plan.
These are of course, only a few examples…I am no expert on this, so I advise you to look into this more. Here are a few more general facts which I gathered from protestbarrick.net that sum up why mining corporations like Barrick Gold are harmful:
-Human rights abuse used to be the work of repressive governments, but increasingly corporations are getting into the act. Barrick has benefited from a number of these abuses. In late 2005, Canada’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs lamented that “Canada does not yet have laws to ensure that the activities of Canadian mining companies in developing countries conform to human rights standards, including the rights of workers and indigenous peoples.
-An estimated 50 percent of mining operations occur on native lands. For many indigenous people, who often rely on their environment for food and necessities, mining threatens not only their livelihood, but also their traditional way of life. Their lands tend to be vulnerable to encroachment because of their lack of power within their country’s political system; their land and water rights are often ignored while their resources are exploited and their environments destroyed.
-Gold mining is a highly consumptive and environmentally destructive industry. In addition to the landscapes that it destroys, gold mining (especially open pit gold mining) creates massive amounts of toxic waste that often causes acid mine drainage and heavy metal contamination.
-Gold mining and metal processing also uses vast amount of water and energy, often subsidized. It also utilizes dangerous chemicals such as cyanide in its leaching processes, posing a threat to local water systems.
-Water Depletion is a major negative consequence of gold mining. The large amount of water required to run a gold mining operation exacerbates its impact on local communities, many of which are already experiencing drought.
-Acid Mine Drainage: Open pit mining creates great waste for a small yield. On average, it takes 79 tons of waste to extract one ounce of gold, according to a conservative estimate by the No Dirty Gold campaign, a project of EarthWorks and Oxfam. The process involves grinding up ore, and then exposing it to cyanide in order to extract the gold. Sulfides in the crushed rocks interact with air and water to create sulfuric acid, which in turn creates acid mine drainage(AMD). In and of itself, AMD is harmful to ecosystems because it makes water too acidic to support life. Additionally, the sulfuric acid in AMD leaches out other substances from the waste ore, such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury, which can have disastrous health effects, and can contaminate both air and water. Gold mining has been linked to 96 percent of the world’s arsenic emissions.
-Cyanide is the chemical-of-choice for mining companies to extract gold from crushed ore, despite the fact that leaks or spills of this chemical are extremely toxic to fish, plant life and human beings. Cyanide is a deadly chemical, used in the gas chambers of the Second World War and on death row in the United States between 1930-1980. The chemical has caused havoc in water systems across the world with over 30 spills in the last five years.
-Canada, where Barrick is based, is home to 75 percent of the world’s mining and exploration corporations, which run operations across the globe. Despite being a leader in this industry, Canada has not taken the lead on mediating or taking responsibility for the behavior of their corporations abroad.
-Gold mines are dangerous for both the people surrounding them and the people who work them. Already, 50 people have died working construction on the Pascua Lama project, strikes in Peru have been met with violent police repression, and mine workers in Russia have been trapped with fires in underground mines that are rife with environmental violations.
-Mining Corporations will often claim that environmentalists oppose mining operations at the expense of the economic development of the communities they purport to represent. The reality of mining, however, often conflicts with this false dichotomy. Mining often relies heavily on government subsidies for water and energy, and the royalties that mining company’s pay are often significantly less than other industries. In this section you will find testimonies and articles that reveal the true nature of the “economic development” that mining produces.
I’ll admit I didn’t know a whole lot about this until recently, and I became even more informed when I had a look at protestbarrick.net and their annual report, “Debunking Barrick” which was given out at the protest. It has many contributors and the editor, Sakura Saunders was the main organizer of today’s action. Sakura is a co-founder of protestbarrick.net and is heavily involved in mining justice and corporate accountability activism, among other things. The (not so) funny part about all of this is that Barrick Gold puts out the image of corporate social responsibility by straight up lying about their actions, lobbying and going out of their way to intimidate those seeking to expose them. Here is a video of Sakura calling CEO Jamie Sakalsky out on Barrick’s bullshit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cf0wX0FcybM
“But ultimately, we just got to continue to do what we do.”
…and there we have it, folks. This is why the protest today was so necessary. Today’s main message was “gold is a toxic asset, invest in life”. Corporations like Barrick Gold are committing atrocities every single day and most people have no clue because they’re lying about it, and governments are helping with their cover ups. A common pro-corporation argument is that they create jobs, which is the truth in a lot of cases. However, that does not mean that corporations are good. It only proves further one of the inherent flaws in our system: the co-dependance of survival and human rights abuses/environmental devastation. It proves that in our current system, we will never have equality and we will never be able to fully address issues of privilege and oppression, and poorer countries will never thrive under the influence of the richer. It proves that capitalism is ultimately, in every way imaginable, destructive and harmful to the Earth and creatures inhabiting it.
It was an honour for us to make the trip to Toronto for this protest and stand with everyone there, in solidarity with one another and communities around the globe who are impacted by Barrick Gold and other destructive forces.
In love and solidarity,
~Bailey
You must 
Internet Lockdown!
Here’s a quick little thing you can do. Harper gov’t is up to it’s old tricks again. And now that the big media companies can go after thousands of people, they will and do. WTF? Disgusting money grab is what it is. You’ve seen the multi thousand dollar judgements against people who shared a few songs right? And that’s just one aspect…
“If they don’t let us dream, we won’t let them sleep”: Inspired by “The Coming Insurrection”
The crisis is everything we know, and everything we are familiar with. The crisis is the comfortable routine of our everyday lives which is presumed to represent universal human values, and is upheld by the empire through the use of police and military force whenever an uprising against the crisis should occur. We can think of the modern-day crisis in terms of individual incidents, such as the Greek austerity crisis that is currently spreading around the globe, or the starving children in Africa who everyone seems to pity and yet they fail to realize how their pity and what we call “white savior complex” is in truth making the problem much worse. However, we are past the point of individual crises. The system is one big crisis where we have been pitted against each other by choosing sides after being convinced to pick a side, rather than stand with our fellow humans in a common struggle. That is modern politics today…countless attempts to manage one disaster after another, while manipulating the hearts and minds of the masses who are the very foundation of what our society is, and what our society could be if we let it. All of this is in the name of power, in the name of the state and national identities, and when we really get down to the bottom of it, it is in the name of human happiness: “What this war is being fought over is not various ways of managing society, but irreducible and irreconcilable ideas of happiness and their worlds”.
I think that a big part of the crisis is that most people do not believe that there is a crisis. There is a common belief, especially in privileged western countries that we are “lucky” to live where we do, we are “lucky” to live in a capitalist system and we are “lucky” that we are given the “freedom” to be part of it. Of course, that “freedom” entails that if we do not participate in the system and play by the rules of those who govern it, we are given the message that we are either not worthy of having a voice (radicals get told this a lot, “if you don’t vote you can’t complain”), or we are thrown into prison cells or put on house arrest…anything to silence those who believe not only that all of the options given to us by the powerful are wrong, but that the very idea of giving up our autonomy to another human, to allow another human the privilege of giving us our options, is a painfully mistaken viewpoint. Being part of the system does not give us peace or freedom, but traps us in a constant crisis that will eventually lead to our destruction. We are isolated from our communities, the work that is necessary for our place in the economy, which due to the nature of capitalism it is in turn necessary for our survival…causing more isolation from the natural world which the economy exploits. Most importantly, we are isolated from ourselves and our social nature as humans.
We are isolated from our communities through indoctrination into the idea of the “self”. One of the ways this happens is through the mass media, which teaches us to shape who we are through trends, clothing, fashion, and individualistic ideologies such as “I am who I am”, “I don’t care what anyone thinks of me”, and even the very concept of “I”. We’re being taught to become brands of ourselves, and in a system where we are built to work we are expected to sell ourselves to employers and to society through wage labour. However, we are social creatures who are connected not only socially but biologically. Scientific studies have shown us that humans are connected in the deepest of ways…chemically, atomically…and the anthropology of human nature has proven to be controversial in the sense that there is a divide between the social Darwinist idea that life is nothing but a game of survival of the fittest, which is a common defense for capitalism and libertarianism, while other ideas, studies as well as our own experiences show that we cannot survive without cooperating with one another…as Kropotkin believed, cooperation not competition. Even corporate CEOs would not have been able to get to where they are without other people, developing relationships and making deals to move up the ladder so that others fall to the bottom of the capitalist pyramid, and becoming wealthy off of their exploitation. On a more positive level, I think we can all agree that having a solid social network, a community if you will, strengthens us mentally as well as catches us when we fall so that our individual crises are not as debilitating as they would be if we were completely on our own. The individualism that we’re taught to embrace only separates us…it forces us to forget that we are unique individuals who are more importantly part of a community. The crisis here is that it feels as though we have lost all solidarity with each other through being forced into capitalist individualism where people care about their work and their assets more than their relationships. I found it interesting when I read that the closest thing we have to real solidarity is activist communities, but they are also isolated in their ideologies that depend on the crises that separate us to begin with.
We can all relate to Marxist rhetoric through its mentioning of exploitation, labour power and surplus value. What a person does for a living is usually what defines them. We see this all of the time and we even catch ourselves buying into it. When we make new friends we ask them what they do. We get a post-secondary education with the hope that we will acquire a fulfilling career. There is a very interesting paradox, the fact that through technological advancement we have seen many jobs die out because machines take over them, and yet humans are defined by their work…we talk about the importance of human advancement and yet this advancement is holding many people back. We have workers without work, and as a result people are desperately turning to whichever powerful politician will create jobs, regardless of how draconian and fascist they are. We are taught that the purpose of democracy is to empower, and yet people are feeling more and more disempowered. We live in a world of war, exile, colonization, and suffering that makes us foreigners on our own planet, in our own communities. How can we take anything seriously anymore, especially when we see politicians and news broadcasters trying to ask serious questions about the world’s problems, yet they laugh at our oppression that is caused by their power? We desperately want to identify ourselves with cultures and social systems that oppress us, such as wage labour, “work”, and when we see communities outside of the norms we’ve created, when we see that sense of community and solidarity elsewhere, some get angry about it because it reminds them that they do not have that. How many times do we hear people criticizing the drum circle hippies for example, by saying “go get a job”? We buy into social norms, such as monogamy or the nuclear family even, because they are concepts we’ve always been familiar with and we think that we can’t live without the familiar or the “normal”. And again, we shame those who do not live by these norms.Work has very much become a social norm not only because we cannot feed ourselves without it but it defines our worth. We get embarrassed if we are unemployed because we are afraid that it will reflect poorly on our character. We blame ourselves for not fitting in and yet the practices of those who influence the structures in which we find ourselves are the ones making it harder and harder to do so. Is it the fault of the unemployed person for being unemployed in a society that creates workers without work, or is the fact that work is an economic and social necessity the part that is truly flawed? When are we going to realize that continuing to buy into these systems of power, and indoctrinating our children into them, will only continue to oppress us and keep us on a choke hold?
Even the physical structures of our environment have become a powerful part of the way we manage and think about our lives. Of course, we do not think of it this way but certain areas (such as what we know to be cities) are built in a way that cages us into a geographical location. Take London for example, and how we think of London as a community. Our location becomes part of our identity. We know people here, we work here, we go to school here, we have our own propaganda, our own police force, our own “leader” and our own oppressors and oppressed. Everything that I mentioned above, social norms and wage labour and isolation…happens for us within a geographical location and is influenced by that community that we join when we move there. Wherever we are at certain times, whatever circumstances we find ourselves in at those times. It is all connected to our human experience. Why is it then, if the here and now is so significant, that people are always concerning themselves with what the future holds? We wake up in the morning, get on a bus or drive to another location to our work or school, and when that part of our day is over we go back home or to another place. People are always on the go and have very little patience. Our main concern when we finish a task is what our next task will be. This is just like when we are working wage labour jobs and we have deadlines to meet, specific hours we are required to be at our workplace and expected to perform to a certain standard. There are few bosses who are flexible and sympathetic to the needs of their employees outside of the realm of what is required by law, such as survival. Your boss will understand if you have to leave work early due to having a heart attack, but if your partner leaves you and you are suffering from severe depression they most likely do not care either way, and will not encourage you to take the day off and heal. Just get on the bus and go to work, and look at the billboards along the way, listen to top 40 music on your ipod and be a good citizen…and for the love of humanity, respect the authority of the police officer who is harassing the homeless in the downtown core! Keep it simple and stay in your comfort zone. There are some people who get dragged into this brainwashing, but there are also some who do not, and funny enough they are commonly the marginalized communities who are struggling to put food on the table. The strongest communities seem to be the least privileged. Everything that is known about survival, about not isolating ourselves, and about living in the moment is born out of the fact that our very survival depends on it. Unfortunately the current state of things is not only applicable to human affairs, but to the affairs of the planet and other creatures we share it with…“a relationship to the world based on management, which is to say, on estrangement”. We are all aware of the statistics when it comes to environmental damage and the petty attempts by politicians to correct the issues while using the same system that caused them. It is the expectation, that because past generations have set us up for destruction, that we are the ones responsible for fixing the problem but doing it in a way that preserves their dominance and prosperity. We are seeing glaciers melt, extinction of countless species, and deathly storms such as Hurricane Sandy that are clearly being caused by the destruction of the environment, and yet governments are forcing austerity measures and corporate tax cuts because WE apparently need to “tighten our belts”…meanwhile, they pretend to be dealing with the problem (but not actually addressing the problem) through things like “carbon tax shifting”. This is called “green capitalism”, and many environmental NGOs work within this structure of making monetary deals with corporations and citizens and using only a small part of their profit to correct the wrongs. They are essentially contributing to the environmental exploitation that is slowly killing us. I do not believe that anyone who is aware of this hypocrisy is looking forward to the day where new policies and pro-environment organizations are no longer sufficient in maintaining a liveable planet.
Aside from forming various communities, separate civilizations no longer exist: “There is no ‘clash of civilizations.’ There is a clinically dead civilization by all sorts of life-support machines that spread a peculiar plague into the planet’s atmosphere.”. The plague? Global capitalism. It has been spreading since colonial times, long before and after the discovery of the “third world” after World War Two and during the red scare, when there was not only a cold war but there began a need for the USA to start policing the world. In addition to being part of the formation of the world wide forces of capitalism known as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, they desperately tried to take hold of the so called “less fortunate” countries by giving them loans, in order to prevent the USSR from spreading communism, and to have control of their natural resources…and it all went downhill from there. Now we have the Western world in debt, and we have the “third world” in even more debt and stuck in cycles of poverty, dictatorships and war. This actually does not sound much different from the Western world, funny enough…you can see poverty if you go to certain areas of your city, and I would argue that we also live in a dictatorship seeing as how we are forced to abide by whatever rules are decided on by the powerful (rules that none of us truly have a say in creating), and we are constantly going to war with other countries who refuse to bow down to our power or the power of our neighbors, or those countries are pitted against each other by international alliances with similar economic interests. The plague has spread, alright.
“We have to see that the economy is not ‘in’ crisis, the economy itself is the crisis,” is a good way to sum up the current situation, since everything is connected to the economy…all oppression, all injustice, everything that is leading to the destruction of humanity. We are aware of the problems, we are aware of the crisis, but what we have not figured out yet is exactly what we are going to do about it. I wonder when we are going to figure this out! Time is running out for humanity. It is no longer a question of how much more economical, green, or healthy we live within the capitalist system where these are all matters of corporation versus corporation. It is no longer a matter of who we vote in to save us, because no one is going to save us. Saving us would require those who think we do not need saving first of all, realizing this and then sacrificing their authority and financial security. It has become apparent that ending oppression in all forms is impossible in a system that is inherently oppressive, and encourages nothing except greed and exploitation of other humans in the name of “success”. The businessmen who are making deals over expensive coffee dates may feel as though all is well because their subjective experience is one of prosperity, but not one businessman will survive long enough to make such deals if we wipe ourselves out through environmental destruction or nuclear war, in addition to the gradual degradation of the global community through increased poverty, violence against women and children, and everything that goes along with our resources dying out so we have nothing to use for food or any basic necessity, or foster scientific knowledge so that we can cure and prevent deathly diseases from spreading and killing us off. The possibilities for how our destruction will occur are endless.
Insurrection is a violent uprising against government, or any type of authority. There are many people who believe in nonviolent revolution and dread the very thought of arming themselves, being chased or beaten by police, or anything that would create even the slightest risk of a person being injured. We hear references to Dalai Lama quotes or Gandhi’s revolution (which contrary to popular belief, was not completely non-violent). This is all very understandable…humans for the most part are empathetic creatures, and when we think of violence it is easy to put ourselves in the position of the victim, which makes us think how terrible it would be to see our loved ones in such a place. However, there is a growing need for the people who think this way to confront the truth. First of all, there is a difference between physical violence and systemic or inherent violence. The Prime Minister for example, may not physically injure a homeless drug addict…but the fact that the Prime Minister is the Prime Minister, and aside from corporations that lobby him is the owner of privilege and power in Canada, through accumulation of this privilege has left a large part of the population in the same or similar positions as this homeless drug addict. He could use a very small portion of his wealth to feed and house this person as well as allow them to seek treatment for their addiction and the mental health issues that are likely causing it, and yet this person remains in the position that they are in. This is how the entire world is set up, and it is set up so that people like this stay in the positions they are in, because powerful politicians and CEOs remain in their respective positions. Tell me, which is more violent? The cycle of poverty and destruction of the human person, of the human right to life and dignity, or the blac bloc anarchists smashing the windows of a corporation that contributes to the cycle? We have policies against discrimination that are meant to tackle issues such as violence against women, and yet our society values and rewards qualities like dominance and aggression because these qualities are what allow people to advance up the economic ladder. We supposedly have policies against racism, and yet immigrants from certain parts of the world are increasingly questioned and sometimes not even allowed into this country due to threats of “terrorism”, or inability to contribute to the economy on immediate entrance, and very rarely being hired into their fields of expertise because they studied in another part of the world…it is heartbreaking to meet taxi drivers who are trained as doctors or engineers, and what is even more heartbreaking is how common this is. Same-sex marriage may be legal, but that does not come close to addressing our heterosexist attitudes and the amount of hate crimes that occur to gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans individuals, and the amount of hatred and prejudice against the queer community that is still tolerated by authorities. In the case of physical violence, an investigation and prosecution may occur but again, what about the mindset that led to it? Hatred and bigotry are completely tolerated with the absence of a physical act. Unfortunately these are only a few examples of the systemic violence that plagues us…and in my opinion, such systemic violence is much more worrisome than a smashed window or a burning police car will ever be. Another note about violence that needs to be pointed out to those who discredit violent acts of rebellion, is the fact that regardless of whether or not we use violence, the state will react violently against us because we are threatening their power, which they will do anything to uphold. The state has declared war on our rebellion and did so long before we considered taking action. This is no longer a matter of “causes”, but a matter of war. We can choose to arm ourselves and have a fair chance at winning or we can set ourselves up for defeat. Indeed, if we are even considering the notion of insurrection we have obviously been arming ourselves on an intellectual level, as we have woken up from the illusion of perfection that we have been indoctrinated into since day one.
To clarify, this is not to say that the only solution is violence…only that I believe violence may be necessary in the future and we should familiarize ourselves with a diversity of tactics. There are some who are confident using violent tactics and there are those who are not, and that is perfectly reasonable. In fact, forcing everyone fighting for the revolution to use violence would be conflicting with the anti-authoritarian, anti-oppressive ideologies we are using as intellectual, social and political weaponry. To go even deeper, we need to make connections between the personal and the political, “don’t back away from what is political in friendship”. Those of us who are finding common ground and common goals through our discovery of the truth need to stand together and organize ourselves (not necessarily through organizations!), and make current political structures irrelevant. There are many ways to do this, such as organizing free community meals, health clinics, workshops, and turning our workplaces into worker owned cooperatives. The possibilities really are endless, we just need to join together to use our creativity, compassion and skills and share them with each other. Another way is to form communes, which is a way of including all of these things and forming our own communities with the intent of spreading them. If communes grow and we become more dependent on each other than the state, the state will prove to be more and more irrelevant. Through communes we can make everything associated with state power irrelevant…corporations that sell us our food can die out if we start growing our own, health care whether it is public or private can be taken into our own hands and made more personal and less arbitrary if we create our own clinics, children can grow up in stable environments if we form ones that foster safer spaces and creativity in addition to collective child-rearing, and not a single person will be alone or lack basic needs if all of us come together to make sure they have them. As a result, we will not need money, or leaders for that matter because decisions can be made on a community level through consensus…which does not necessarily mean that everyone gets exactly what they want but people can meet each other halfway so that decisions reflect the interests of the greater community. As far as the natural world goes, if we plan carefully enough and make Earth education a number one priority we can learn to harmonize with the Earth, and do all of these things in a way that rather than exploiting it for our own needs we can work with it. After all, the Earth has already given us everything we need to survive.
I think we are at a time where these ideas are all well and good, but we need practical advice as to how to go about them…starting communes, maintaining the social order of them (for example, this social order would depend on personal accountability as well as holding each other accountable), and how to resist attempts at destroying these communities and forcing us to rely on the state. We need to find each other, get organized and start organizing to weaken it. We can look at previous uprisings such as the one of Algerian youth back in 2001, or more recently the Quebec student movement. The inspiration is there but what about situations such as the state clamping down, since the state is going to have more access to the resources needed for our destruction? Most importantly, the whole vision is obviously an idealistic one. How will these new communities address problems within and between that resemble problems on the outside? For example, what would happen in the case of sexual assault? How would the perpetrator be held accountable, rehabilitated and what would we do to support the survivor in the healing process? This is but one example of many important questions that we need to be asking ourselves if we are starting a revolution…as even the most radical individuals can tell you, the problems we face in the society we distance ourselves from do not magically disappear when we become socially conscious and working towards change. There are so many fresh, passionate ideas out there but very little practical instruction as to how to make these ideas a reality. It is something that all radicals seem to struggle with at one point or another, and it will remain our biggest challenge of all.
There are a lot more manifestos than DIY guides to the revolution, which can be both inspiring and problematic. I say that it is slightly problematic, because obviously there is a lack of grounding in the area of practicality…again, these are all great observations, but what do we do about them and where do we start? However, the amount of passion out there is undeniable, for me at least. Sharing this passion with others makes me feel completely fearless at the thought of going to jail or being punished by the state in any way…it reminds me that like many, I am indeed ready to die for the revolution if we happen to get to the point of insurrection in my lifetime. The good thing about idealism is that it inspires people to seek out practical solutions themselves. It inspires us to seek opportunity through the crisis. We may not all come to the same conclusions at first, but I feel as though we can all eventually meet half way through our common struggle. Everything, opportunity included, starts with an idea, with inspiration. Whether or not the insurrection is coming, whether or not we will see a revolution in our time, whether or not current social movements are giving the illusion of influence and change or are truly making headway…This is our opportunity, all we need to do is jump on it. And I leave you with this, comrades:
“If they don’t let us dream, we won’t let them sleep!”–Unknown author
In solidarity,
Bailey
This was written after handing in a book review on “The Coming Insurrection” for my class on radical politics/social movements. All I did was reform it so that it is less of a review and more of just my own thoughts and conclusions I gathered from the book. All quotes are from the book, and I give credit to The Invisible Committee as well as previous lectures from my classes and other books I’ve read. Rather than attempt to find those books or lecture notes, I acknowledge that everything we know, we learned from someone, somewhere, somehow. I am no exception to that. Everything that I consider knowledge of mine, I owe to the person who shared it with me.
Peace on Earth. If you want it…
Do you want to see the end of war? Or do you just want to not think about it? They call us ill, and lie about us, for wanting to change things. Yet the only solutions they offer, is more of the same.
One of the “solutions”
Shit like this happens all the time, yet most remain ignorant of it. Most would rather remain ignorant, and not see the gritty truth of what the state is doing to people. The problems being magnified and created, over and over and over again. And yet most are content to do nothing. Because they don’t know.
We could turf the power elites in a day if we wanted to. We could all wake tomorrow, and live in peace. But not going to happen as long as we continue to let psychopaths run the show. Don’t just sit there people, do something. Doesn’t have to be radical. Doesn’t have to be dangerous, or even revolutionary. But instead of going to your “job” tomorrow, you do that instead. Resist the fascism being imposed on all people of Turtle Island, settler and original peoples alike. Please? I’m hoping that asking politely, will cause those who can, to stop participating, and those who can’t, to start resisting. We are all indignant. Even those who generally support the system, are beginning to wonder. I leave you with the words of Bill Hicks.
Prison Justice NOW!
Harper is a fool. Spending more money on useless prisons, while not enough of money is spent on mental health, because to our fundamentalist christian “leader”, it’s a problem of “sin,” and not mental health to Führer Harper.
What he is doing, is further marginalizing those who most need help, and criminalizing their behaviour, and then throwing them into a culture of fear and violence, also known as the prison system. Those with mental illness are over represented in that system. More than 10% of men, and 33% of women incarcerated in canada’s prison system have a mental illness of one sort or another. Our prisons have become warehouses for the mentally ill, as we have slowly decimated those facilities used to treat those who need help.
Look at the case of Ashley Smith. Originally jailed for one month, she was placed into the system. Imagine a place with bars , chains, cuffs, and no privacy. Every part of your day closely monitored and managed. By guards who could care less if your crime was violent or not, or whether you’re ill or not, because their job prohibits treating anyone any different. You are a number. A last name to them. Some of the incarcerated are more in need of help than anything, yet, we make all of them criminal’s to subjugate and humiliate them. In the case of Ashley Smith, the poor woman never had a chance. Instead of treating her, the punished her more and more and more. The actions taken by Corrections Canada in her case, are criminal. Watch this documentary report from the CBC’s Fifth Estate.
We could treat these people. And I’m not saying we don’t require institutions to hold people. Obviously the bernardo’s and pickton’s will never go away. The peter fromm’s and max heinz’s aren’t going to go away. The russel williams don’t deserve to roam free. Not until, or even if, their illness’s can be cured, and even then, I would have to wonder, and monitor that person for the rest of his or her life.
This prison system doesn’t help anyone, and in most cases, only serves to make the problems worse. Violence inside, leads to violence outside. Which leads to more time, and for some people, it becomes a way of life. A way of life they don’t know how to get out of, and the system will never really provide them with a real way to cope with their individual illness’.
Sometimes they do, but really, when you look at the numbers, and see that there aren’t enough people doing the work that needs to be done, and you realize that those same people are probably overworked and tired, and you can’t tell me that anyone can perform well in these circumstances. Guard, psychologist’s, other prison workers have all indicated that they do not have the resources to properly manage our prison system, or to treat those who need help properly.
But whatever, that’s unimportant. What’s important, is that we all stand up and say, that enough is enough. I’m sick and tired of treating people like animals in my name, and getting paid with my money. This doesn’t only go for the prison system. It goes for many of the systems we have in place. Too much attention is being focused running Harpers© regime, and not enough time on taking care of the people who most need it.
It’s hard to write about this subject without seeming to be going soft on inmates. But at the same point in time, they are the most marginalized and oppressed class we have in our class system. We have people like Alex Hundert and Mandy Hiscocks, who never should have seen the inside of a prison, yet have, because the state decided that they were naughty, and should be punished for organizing against it. We have people falsely accused and convicted. But as long as we keep those who are violent off the streets, who cares right?
I care. I care, because all the state is doing to most of these people, is to teach those who want, to become better criminals. Making the violent ones worse, and being a kind of “criminal” university. Is that what we really want? It’s about time for our society to stop sweeping the problems under the rug, and face them head on. Alex and Mandy have both shed quite a bit of light on the prison system as of late. You should check out their blogs, here, and here. Mandy has been released, and Alex is currently in solitary confinement originally for organizing peaceful resistance to “the ongoing degradation of our living conditions here, which was a culmination of dissent after a week where we had been locked down for all or part of every single day.” Most recently, because “the Security Manager has decided that having me on range, where I can associate with other imprisoned people, constitutes a threat to security.” Apparently, talking about one’s creed is a threat to security.
We stand in solidarity with all prisoners who are or have experienced discrimination, and undue hardship because of a lack of compassion and outright disdain by the harper regime. We want to see an end to a justice system that doesn’t give out true justice, but metes out punishments that only makes problem worse. This weekend, the Prison Justice Film Festival is taking place. Please come and support!
Full program details available at www.prisonjusticefilm.word
FRI FEB 8 @ Central Library (251 Dundas)
Prisoners’ Justice: 2 Spirit, Queer & Trans Perspectives (7pm)
After-party @ General Population (9 pm, APK, 347 Clarence St.)
SAT FEB 9 @ Old East Studios (755 Dundas)
Indigenous Sovereignty, Immigration and Detention (1 pm)
Criminalization of Women and Mental Health (4:30)
Political Prisoners and the Criminalization of Dissent (7 pm)
SUN FEB 10 @ Old East Studios (755 Dundas)
Political Prisoners in Latin America (1 pm)
Final Panel – Resisting the Prison Industrial Complex: From Reform to Abolition (5 pm)
All of us are Equal before the law. Idle No More, LAW, and sovereigns.
Or some such BS. One argument, I’ve not really heard come from Idle No More, but have heard much from the the oppressive sun news, and fringe conspiracy bunch, says that we are supposed to be equal before the law, and the Original Peoples cannot be equal, because them hold themselves to be above Canadian Law.
Well, lets talk about LAW then. In this case, TREATY law. The canadian gov’t agreed to the treaties, in perpetuity. And since then, they have ignored them. If we are all truly equal under the law, and the law states we mush share the land, and not interfere with the Original Peoples Law, then why have settlers never obeyed the law?
Ezra Levant is a lawyer. One would think, that a man such as him, would know the law, and more importantly, wouldn’t knowingly break the law. But he has, and he still does. Why would anyone listen to such a hypocrite?
And as for law, the Original Peoples have every right to do what they are doing. This is their stewardship. We forcefully took that stewardship away, with the indian act, with residential schools, with the slow genocide of their culture. They are taking the power back from the oppressors, because they know what will happen if they let them keep it.
Equal under the law? Only when canaduh recognizes the treaties as law, and behaves as such. And some of the shit I’ve been hearing from the sovereign types is utter garbage. I mean, how you can you justify sitting on the sidelines, or even flat out against INM, while the one thing all sovereigns should hold dear is broken and shattered. I’m not talking about laws. I’M TALKING ABOUT CONTRACTS! Sorry for that little rant, but it seems that a great many sovereign types have come out against Idle No More. I guess that many of you peeps don’t care about contracts as much as you say you do.
Liberal Scum: A Rant
The liberal leadership convention took place at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto today, January 26th, 2013 where the new leader of the liberal party was selected, as well as Ontario’s new premier, Kathleen Wynne. This is following the resignation of ex-premier Dalton McGuinty as well as former leader Michael Ignatieff, who announced his resignation in May 2011 after the federal election, where the liberal party wasn’t exactly successful. Around 10,000 people gathered in Allen Gardens after an anti-poverty march this afternoon, mainly union folk and activists from all over Ontario who were more than ready to confront the liberals. Overall the rally was quite peaceful, although it is becoming more and more clear that the people of Ontario are fed up with the liberal agenda of austerity, anti-labour, and practices that increase rather than alleviate the extreme poverty in this province. The rally was organized by the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL), and several other anti-poverty organizations, unions, and activist groups.
Although it really is much more complex, I guess you could say that these are the three main demands of the anti-austerity movement:
1) Raise the rates of Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)
2) Bring back community start-up funding for both of these.
3) Affordable housing
Where do I even start with this? If I wanted to, I could ramble on about what political parties should be doing to solve these problems. I could talk about where their priorities should be, where they should be directing funding and what types of programs they should be supporting. I wouldn’t be wrong in saying those things. However, I don’t want to do that anymore.
I am fucking sick of political parties. Want to know how I feel about them? In this case, the liberal party?
Something hit me today. It’s not that it didn’t before, but it hit me in a new way. It felt more real than ever for some reason and I don’t really understand why. I was standing at the front of the crowd outside of Maple Leaf Gardens. The police had blocked the entrance of course, but they created a pathway for people going in and out of the building, so basically they would be walking past the crowd every time…the walk of shame, no doubt.
These people…some of them may have been politicians, perhaps their assistants; they were somehow connected to the liberal party (funny–I actually saw someone I went to high school with). They would walk past the crowd and look at the angry people in front of them, people who are angry because they’ve been mistreated. The stability of their jobs, and well-being of their families and lives are continuously tossed around in order to make sure that the rich don’t lose anything from this economic meltdown. Anyway, they would walk past the crowd…smirking…and taking pictures…and holding hands and laughing to each other at what was in front of them.
I don’t know what else to say except…there is something wrong here…really fucking wrong. I’m looking at these privileged assholes who probably never have to worry about where their next meal is coming from or possibly losing their home, or their job or their basic human rights. And they are LAUGHING at other humans and the hardships they have to face.
FYI: Basic human rights are not guaranteed in Canada. What if you can’t afford food? What if you can’t afford shelter or clothing or anything? These are all supposed to be HUMAN RIGHTS. And they are not guaranteed unless you have the money to pay for them. You have to buy your rights in this country because the people who control everything–those scumbag politicians who don’t really give a shit about you or me or anyone–will not give them to you, even if your life is on the line. This is the society we live in, folks.
I don’t understand how anyone can stand for this. Why do people even bother with this system anymore? Why do people sit around and talk about who’s winning the election, which political party they support, who should be the overlord of the country, etc…why do people put their faith in any of them, or take them seriously in any way, when they are laughing–FUCKING LAUGHING–at your oppression?
People seem to be worshipping Kathleen Wynn already, because she’s the first woman premier and she’s openly gay. That’s all well and good, but when are we going to start treating the disease rather than just attempting to eliminate the symptoms? Sure, she might make a few positive changes here and there…but in the end, there will still be starving people, homeless people, affordable housing shortages, sexual violence, hate crimes, prejudice, and basically every problem you can think of that we’re currently facing. A few positive changes aren’t good enough. I want more. I want REAL change. And I’m sure you do too.
So in that case, stop pandering to them. Stop supporting them. Stop “keeping the peace”. Stop cooperating with them. Stop giving them power. The more power and authority you give them, the more you tighten the leash on yourself and the more you are part of the problem, as in you are contributing to your own oppression and the oppression of your loved ones.
Anyway, this took a different direction then I had originally planned. I wanted to make it sound super academicy and factual, but I’m feeling like death and my head is all fuzzy so I rambled instead haha. Perhaps there will be a better post about this in the future.
In Solidarity,
~Bailey
Attack on the Right to Food
Recently, the mayor of Seattle started enforcing the laws against outdoor feeding. He suggested that it was because of mental illness. So instead of feeding them, should we be handing out pharmaceuticals? Or should we send out the shrinks, to counsel those who need therapy? Do you think that will work? I don’t. Not with the way the system is now. Shrinks want money. They want to get paid. Because they want to have good homes, and be able to send their children to good schools. Because our society values their freedoms, as “productive” members of society, more than it does those less fortunate.So instead, they only help those with the money to pay them. The ones who truly require the most help, do not receive it, because so few therapist’s are willing to work gratis. Because, they NEED to maintain their lifestyles. And too many of those who need the help, never get it, because our society marginalizes and demeans those of lessor economic status.
But to bring this back into focus, yes Mayor Michael Nutter(his last name is too fitting to make up), the mentally ill are over represented within the homeless population. How very astute of you to realize that. But by enforcing the ban on outdoor meals(hell not even attempting to strike down the law the first time you read it), you are marginalizing these people even more. Those same mentally ill which you refer to, those who have symptoms which generally prevent them from operating in normal society, those MORE likely to eat a proper meal in an outdoor, public setting, will be denied this chance.
The people who run these meals, who are concerned with more than just themselves(I suppose that must be a crime now) will not stop. The Bread of Life Mission, has vowed to ignore this unjust, asinine law, and continue to feed the homeless, regardless of the restrictions. Food, Not Bombs Orlando, continued feeding people, despite multiple arrests, and will not be stopped either. The laws do nothing to help those most in need, and everything to harm them, and truly, only cost the taxpayer more money.
The City of Brotherly Love, joins with Seattle,Orlando, and Las Vegas, among others, to ban feeding homeless outdoors. These policies will only serve to push homeless people, into shelters and soup kitchens, which come with their own multitude of issues, from being run by “missionary” organizations, pushing an unwanted religious agenda, to violence, because some don’t know how to cope in enclosed spaces with many people.
But by policing these events and arresting people, these gov’ts are doing the job that the organizers only wish they could do by themselves. These laws, by there very existence, help to spread the message of Food, Not Bombs, even better than the wildest expectations of any radical organizer. Our thanks is due, but not to the gov’ts that oppress, but to those organizers who put their freedom on the line, to do what is right. Kudos sisters and brothers. You have our solidarity!
10,000 Voices Can’t Be Ignored
On January 11th, 2013, thousands of people from across Turtle Island, gathered on Victoria Island to show their respect for Chief Theresa Spence, and to march on Parliament Hill, to show their disdain for Stephen Harper. I had the pleasure of travelling with some of my fellow activists to Ottawa from London, in a rented van. After getting up in the morning(sorry, couldn’t do the 7 am thing, because we didn’t get there 2am), we walked down to Victoria Island.
Upon getting there, I could see that the media had been told to stay back for the time being. Luckily, I’m not just media. I honoured the request of the warrior guarding the gate, and put my camera’s away. I briefly entered the camp, where preperations for the press conference and march were taking place. Soon after, I left, and went back outside the door, to wait for the press conference.
After waiting for a while, the press conference started. The media was allowed around to the side, and Chief Spence came out to greet a throng of journalist’s and camera’s. She spoke about how her people have honoured their side of the agreements made between them and the government, and how the government has repaid that with residential schools, broken promises, and ignorant “solutions“. There was also one bigoted heckler, who was quickly escorted away by the warriors.
After this there were some disappointed media folks, who apparently had problems listening. One person kept on asking Spence’s spokesperson why she wouldn’t answer any questions, when EVERYONE had been told before hand that she is weak, and that she was only coming out to deliver a statement. Not to answer questions from ignorant journalist’s who just wanted a good sound byte of themselves.
Shortly thereafter, the march started. There appeared to be around 5,000 people actually physically there. That doesn’t include all those who weren’t able to make it, or watched on livestream. We had over a hundred people watching the feed at one point!
Eagle staffs led the march, and dancers and drummers were everywhere. The atmosphere was almost festive, but subdued because of the seriousness of the issues. Over and over, people are telling me that this isn’t about harper, or money, or resources. This is about the land that we all share. This is about the agreements the settlers made with the Original Peoples of this land. To share. Not to pillage for corporate interests.
The Chiefs who took part in the march, went to the doors of the Langevin Block, to deliver the demands of those outside. Harper was not inclined to talk, and police were guarding the doors when we arrived. Speeches were delivered, drums were beat, and singers sang. It was a beautiful sight.
We then joined the rest of the crowd, who had moved on to parliament hill proper, where leaders and youths delivered speeches. Once the speakers had finished, a round dance ensued, circling the park in front of parliament. It was an amazing show, and I wonder if the world record for largest number of round dance participants was broken. 
At about 3pm, we all went back to the camp on Victoria Island, to say goodbye to one of our fellow activist’s, who had decided to stay in solidarity. I had a chance to meet briefly with Chief Spence and thanked her and express my admiration for what she’s already done, and continues to do. Her family was also standing behind her, and I am grateful to have met these amazing people.
Chi Meegwetch,
Curtis Nixon
You can watch the livestream vids here. Had some technical difficulties, but they mostly turned out ok.
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/theindignants-org
Please help us bring you more!
http://theindignants.org/chipin
Idle No More – What can you do to help and Aamjinwnaang Nation Solidarity!!
They’re asking for a meeting with the crown and her representatives, and for the gov’t to honour treaties, as this new bill c-45 completely ignores them. The best way to do that is to email, call, write, and visit your stephen harper, and your mp too.
harper.s@parl.gc.ca
Don’t forget david johnson, our privileged governor general, who speaks for the crown in canada..
Demand that treaty rights be honoured. Join in the demonstrations, add to their numbers, take pictures, post them, video too if you can. Livestream, Twitter, facebook, email list, Blog, talk to your neighbours, co-workers and friends, people on the bus, walking down the streets, drinking in coffee shops. The only way to win this is through education. The only way for that to happen is for people to talk about it.
We need to talk about it not only for the First Nations peoples of this land, but For EVERYONE who lives here. This affects ALL of us, and the First Nations Peoples are the stewards of this land, known as Turtle Island. This isn’t Canada, or the United States of America. Those are names given by arrogant and ignorant European settlers who divided the land and created the borders in the first place…Settlers who continue, to this day, to marginalize and commit atrocities on what little land has been left to the Original People of this land.
There is a reserve near Sarnia, and all of the members know someone close to them with cancer. Nearly 2 in 5 pregnancies end in miscarriage or stillbirths. In 2005, 60% of the toxic air pollutants dropped on the land within 5 kilometres of the reserve. If this is not a blatant and overt attack upon this nation, I don’t know what is. This is but one example of many. It is time to stand #IdleNoMore with our sisters and brothers. To stand against all such atrocities. We walk together, but separate. Settlers have their laws, and the First Nations have theirs. This is the nature of the Two Row Wampum Belt. Settler leaders need to start respecting that or face consequences.
On the 23rd of December, we visited Aamijiwnaang Nation and the blockade they have setup to stop the flow of a CN Rail line through the reserve. This rail line, we have been told, ships over 5 million dollars worth of goods everyday. It will not run until Chief Theresa Spence meets with Stephen Harper, who ignores treaty rights and wishes to make this land their own personal fiefdom.
I spent the night talking and sharing with people who have been effected by the government’s indifference to the crimes of the factories and industry that surrounds them. We spoke of the things I’ve laid out previous to this, but the real enemy here is apathy and ignorance. Idle No More, as a movement can wipe out that indifference and ignorance. The people have been quiet for too long. It is time for not only activists, but the regular people to come out in support of those who have been oppressed for so long. It is time for us not to question, but to answer if asked. Not to lead, but to support in solidarity.
We also marched and shut down the streets of Sarnia, as well as the 402 for a time. About 400 to 500 people participated in this epic event, reminiscent of the 2007 blockade of the 401 by the Mohawk warriors. Like last weeks rally and march in London Ont, the march today was a peaceful demonstration to get Harper’s attention. Harper has continually ignored and marginalized those who are only trying to get justice out of a system that rarely, if ever, brings justice to those oppressed by settler society. By refusing to meet with Chief Theresa Spence, Harper once again shows his blind arrogance by refusing to even acknowledge Chief Spence and her hunger strike. Not only that, but his sheer callousness was brought to the forefront when one of his aides had the nerve to tweet “mmmm bacon”, while fully aware that someone is on hunger strike because of him.
The solidarity that is shown between everyone on this issue has been amazing. It is time to bring this out to the broader population. I watched CBC’s coverage of all this and I found it atrocious. Chief Spence is not asking to speak with agents, sellouts, and sycophant’s like John Duncan and Patrick Brazeau. They have no intention of leaving. No longer will the Aamjinwnaang Nation tolerate the settler invasion of their land. No longer will Theresa Spence tolerate the ignorance of the government and its puppets. No longer will nations allow pipelines through their lands, which will eventually burst and destroy it.
Many people are talking about the Seven Fires Prophecy. It says that when the world has been turned foul, and the waters bitter with disrespect, that the peoples of the earth with have 2 options to choose from: materialism or spirituality. If they choose the latter, then they will be saved. If they choose the former, they are doomed. It is up to each and every one of us to make a difference here. It also says that the people of all 4 colours will unite as one to stop the madness. Whether or not the prophecy is true, it certainly provides much insight and hope.
Sisters and Brothers, thank you. Many of you have never been idle, but do not let that deter you. It is a common misconception in settler society, so it actually helps with the promotion. Even the ignorant ones, just by talking about it, help. The whole world is watching. And not only watching, but standing in solidarity with you. Worldwide, people are watching this, and being inspired to have their own events in their own cities and towns, in support of Idle No More, and all of the First Nations peoples. Be inspired…or just help those who are. But most importantly, if you can, make those connections with others about these issues,educate them as well as yourself.
In solidarity,
The Indignants
Please, watch this video. It says more about what this movement really is, than anything written above.
Migwetch
Idle No More: First Nations Resistance in London, Ontario
Today is Thursday, December. 20th, 2012 and Chief Theresa Spence is on the 10th day of her hunger strike. Not surprisingly, it is taking a toll on her physical health as she is reportedly weak and generally unwell. Chief Spence began her hunger strike on December.11th in protest of Stephen Harper’s refusal to speak with First Nations leaders in regards to Bill C-45, which through changes to The Indian Act (which is racist in itself), gives a significant amount of control of reserves to the federal government as well as putting thousands of protected lakes and rivers at risk by amendments to the Navigable Waters Protection Act. Canada now has less than 200 protected lakes and rivers. According to treaties between the federal government and First Nations, they are required to engage in dialogue with the First Nations people and receive their blessing before making any decisions that would affect land and water—surprise, surprise…broken treaties. This actually isn’t the only way the federal government is destroying the environment and human rights on Turtle Island. CETA, the Enbridge Pipeline, and FIPA are a few other examples. Thankfully, our First Nations sisters and brothers are rising up through a resistance movement called “Idle No More”. Over the past couple of weeks there have been peaceful, yet militant protests to show support for Chief Spence and speak out against Bill C-45.
First Nations communities in London and the surrounding area held their protest yesterday, and it was a damn successful one! The march temporarily closed down the 401 as approximately 1000 protesters marched on the highway and onto Wellington Road, all the way up Wellington through downtown and eventually ending in Ivey Park (Yes, Richard business school d-bag Ivey park). Several speeches were made by First Nations community leaders, as well as traditional singing and drumming throughout the March and afterwards. The streets belonged to us, and even the London police behaved themselves as they were mainly concerned with directing traffic and did not interfere with the march.
We are all familiar with the Attawapiskat situation. The deplorable conditions there and the lack of government action, in addition to everything listed above goes to show that the government really does not care what happens to the First Nations people. They are using Bill C-45 to further marginalize the First Nations people of Canada and exploit the Earth in whatever way they see fit in order to further their corporate capitalist agenda. I know that I am personally on the same page as many of our First Nations comrades when they say that they are not Canadian citizens. Legally, I am a Canadian citizen…but I am not proud of it. This is aside from the fact that I don’t even support the idea of a state. I am ashamed to live in a place that gives power to those who care so little for human life, the creatures who share the earth with us, and of course Mother Earth herself. The First Nations people of Canada (and Turtle Island in general) have been mistreated on their own land for far too long, and that is now coming to an end. I truly hope and believe that what we’re seeing is the beginning of a First Nations solidarity revolution. In the meantime, our thoughts should be with Chief Spence, who is prepared to die unless treaties are recognized, the Earth is given the respect it deserves and these human rights disasters are reversed…or at the very least, the First Nations people are given a voice in all of this.
As a privileged white girl, this is a struggle that I will gladly support from the sidelines while First Nations people take for themselves what is rightfully theirs. It was an honour to stand with with all of you yesterday.
Peace and Solidarity,
~Bailey
Banting Students in Solidarity Against Bill 115!
Students and public sector employees all over the province have been demonstrating their discontent with Bill 115, which funny enough has been called the “Putting Students First Act”. Bill 115 is being passed by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in order to limit cost increases in the Ontario education system and to allow the conservative and liberal agendas to continue without disruption by the labour movement. The bill takes away unions’ right to collective bargaining as well as the right to strike, and allows the government to impose its own rules on Ontario’s school boards. In addition, the bill implements wage freezes and 60% of teachers will have their wages cut while only 40% will receive their scheduled pay increase over the next few years. Teachers will also receive a 1.5% wage cut through scheduled PD days, and will be limited to 10 sick days throughout the school year. Over 55,000 members of The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) will be affected, not only teachers but school support staff such as custodians, educational assistants, librarians, and early childhood educators to name a few.
It is quite clear that bill 115 will have a severe impact on unionized workers in the education system, but what many fail to acknowledge is that the bill will also have a negative impact on students…thankfully, the students have taken this situation into their own hands, and are determined to show the government as well as the public that they will not stand for the injustice being thrown at their teachers, or their fellow students for that matter. Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School was one of the many high schools in London that organized a walk out on Monday morning followed by a protest to peacefully express their dissent.
How does bill 115 affect students? While attending the Banting walk out, we were able to chat with a few students to hear from their perspective, why this bill is not a good step for Ontario. One of the main reasons, and it is an important one, is that many extra-curricular activities such as sports, dramatic arts, music, as well as academic tutoring will be strictly limited or lost completely by putting teachers in such a vulnerable position. It is painfully obvious why this is a problem. As one Banting student, Dylan explained, due to the monotony of the education system, extra-curricular activities are the only reason many students go to school in the first place. This is where most of them find inspiration and purpose in an institution they are forced to attend during a time where they are expected to find exactly what they want to devote their lives to when they become adults. No wonder students are concerned! If the only aspects of high school that are keeping you there are taken away, what reasons do you have to stay in school? Not only are their current student experiences that shape them at risk, but their futures are at risk. How on Earth can this possibly be called the “putting students first act”?
I want to make it very clear that this is not the only reason for the walk out. Students are concerned about their high school experiences, yes, but even more so about showing support for their teachers and support staff. The main organizers of the walk out, Dallas and Jaime, expressed that they absolutely did not walk out of class to disrespect their teachers, but to support their teachers in their struggle…as for how the teachers and school administration felt about this, they were unable to encourage nor discourage the action, but students have hinted that the teachers appreciate the support. “We love our teachers just as much as they love us”, explained Jesse, another Banting student passionate about the walk out, “the teachers aren’t allowed to fight back, so we’ll do it for them”. Another student by the name of David summed it up nicely, “we’re the only bargaining tool they have left”.
A few hundred students were in attendance today peacefully speaking out against bill 115, holding signs that read “kill bill 115″ and cheering enthusiastically in the streets as cars drove by honking their horns, clearly in support of the demonstration and the unions affected. Miranda and Jessie, who were also in attendance, in my opinion gave the most important reminder of all: we need to show the government that they are being watched. People are paying attention to their actions and will continue to do so in addition to expressing our disapproval…they may feel as though they can sacrifice average citizens to push forward their own agenda, but we will never stand for it.
This whole action was quite eye opening in the sense that it gave us a whole new sense of hope in today’s youth. The world is becoming increasingly more unfair and chaotic, and sometimes even as activists we lose hope in the future. We were extremely impressed by the awareness, passion, and solidarity with this group of students and hope that they continue to do this amazing work. They are the future, after all. Peace, love and solidarity! ~Bailey
Teaching assistant’s demonstration at Western to raise awareness
On October 16th 2012, members of the Teaching Assistant and
Post-Doctoral Workers’ Union (PSAC 610) staged a marking demonstration
on Concrete Beach at Western University.
Teaching Assistants raised awareness about their working conditions and
the constraints under which they are to provide quality feedback when
grading assignments. Undergraduate passers-by were given the chance to
mark essays strict time constraints, and afterwards they were asked for
their reactions. (Watch in 1080p for best quality)
Filmed and Edited by Mike Roy
Recorded in London, Ontario Canada (Oct 16th 2012)
Fascist, Neo-Nazi political party has a foothold in the EU and is now targeting Canada.
Currently the Right wing Fascist party “Golden Dawn” holds 18 seats in the Greek parliament. And on October 10th the Greek prime minister, Antonis Samaras, warned Europe that his country was on the edge of a Weimar Germany-style social collapse.
The Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has warned that the deteriorating economic and social situation in Greece has left Greek democracy facing its biggest challenge. He likened Greece today with the end of Germany’s Weimar Republic.
Antonis Samaras warned that “Greek society as a whole is threatened by what has not occurred in our country before: the rise of a right-wing extremist, one might say fascist, Neo-Nazi party.”
He said society was “endangered by rising unemployment, just as it was toward the end of the Weimar Republic in Germany.”
He added that the polls indicate Golden Dawn (Chrysi Avgi) is already “the third-strongest political force in Greece, upward trend.” He went on to say that if his government fails Golden Dawn is “waiting for us the chaos.”
You have to check out this Video:
The Canadian connection.
Golden Dawn wasn’t well known outside of Greece until this year, when it exploded from a fringe group to the third most popular party in Greece, at 22% in opinion polls.
Many are shocked that the party has done so well — it holds 18 of 300 seats in Greek parliament — considering it advocates the expulsion of all immigrants from Greece. The English-language Athens Today calls it “a fascist, racist movement of vigilante thugs.”
And now, it is exporting its brand of ultra-nationalism to Canada. The group has set up in Montreal and is recruiting member’s.
Sources and further information:
Please show solidarity and sign this petition to prevent the Golden Dawn to establish itself in Canada: SIGN HERE
Further sources and further information:
Great blog: http://links.org.au/node/2985
The Golden Dawn Greece: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Dawn_%28Greece%29
The Weimar Republic : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimar_Republic
The Brown Shirts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_shirts
The Night of the Long Knives: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Long_Knives
Photo: AP/Tumbler
Happy Birthday Occupy London!
It’s been over a year since Occupy Wall Street made international headlines and Occupy camps started appearing around the globe. It developed into a movement that would not only change our understanding of the word “occupy”, but would begin an ongoing, consciousness raising fight against the corporate elite, environmental destruction, austerity measures, the growing gap between the rich and poor, and all of the social justice issues in between that are intrinsically connected to our global capitalist agenda. London Ontario is no exception, and last October we saw activists join together with students, workers, as well as professors and other “professionals” in order to combat social inequality in our local community, in solidarity with Occupy movements around the world. Today is Occupy London Ontario’s one year anniversary, and it’s been one hell of a ride.
This note isn’t so much about the political side of things. I’m not here to talk about the world’s problems and what needs to change, and I’m not here to provide solutions at the moment. I am not claiming that Occupy is a perfect movement without flaws, because there certainly are flaws. I’m not here to talk about those either. I’m also not claiming that it is the be all and end all of activism, because that is certainly not the case. I’m actually taking this opportunity to be a little bit self-centered, and reflect on my experience in the Occupy movement and what it has done for me personally. I owe a lot to this movement and the people involved because not only do I believe in its ideologies but for the first time in my life, I believe in myself. Occupy helped me find my voice, and that is something I can never be thankful enough for.
I remember my first time at the camp, a few days after it had been set up. It was a Wednesday night, and I was in the King’s cafeteria (I go to King’s College at Western University) when a dear friend came over to say hello, and mentioned that she was heading down to Victoria Park because there was a rumor that police were coming to tear down the Occupy encampment. Now, I was already a supporter of the Occupy Movement from the minute I heard about Wall Street, and I knew that there was a London camp but I just hadn’t had the chance to go down there yet. It sounded like they needed support more than ever, so what did I do? Instead of going to class, I went to Victoria Park. To be quite honest, I think that was one of the best decisions I have ever made. When I got there, I was nothing less than amazed. I was welcomed with open arms by a friend who I hadn’t seen in a while, and he took me on a tour around the camp. In addition to the tents that belonged to people camping, there was a media tent, a library (which I thought was the coolest thing ever, a library in the park!), and a Food Not Bombs tent where free food was cheerfully being served to anyone who wanted it. I went to my first general assembly…I had never been to one in my life, in fact, I had no clue what a general assembly was. But what really intrigued me was the fact that there didn’t appear to be any leaders. There was a person facilitating the meeting, but decisions were made by everyone in the circle. Every single person there had a chance to speak if they wanted to. I kept quiet myself, I just wanted to observe…and I was impressed. My favorite part about the camp, and I noticed this right away, was the safe space policy. Occupy London has a safe space statement that was being read at every GA, banning any sort of discrimination such as racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. as well as things like sexual harassment and assault, threats, emotional and physical abuse, and pretty much everything you can think of that would threaten a safe space. I am still incredibly attracted to the idea of safe space statements for any organization, and the entire realm of what safe spaces mean and feel like. After the GA, and I’ll never forget this…we had a lovely time in the bandshell while David Rovics, an awesome, politically radical musician gave us a beautiful performance. He was supposed to perform at King’s that night, but because Occupy was in potential danger everyone was at the park rather than at his show, so he joined us there. We all sang and danced together and cuddled to keep warm, and there was a real sense of community. I got a very positive first impression, to say the least.
I never ended up camping at the park because school was getting pretty hectic and I needed to be at home, but whenever I had a free moment there was no other place I wanted to be. I went back every day, and very quickly I started to bond with everyone. I knew some activists in London already from attending various events, but I didn’t know anyone personally. This was the best part in my opinion, getting to know the people at the camp and while the main focus is of course, social justice issues, interpersonal relationships develop naturally in any group of people working together in a common cause. The camp was always eventful, food was always available, workshops were being held in addition to general assemblies, and at the times when there wasn’t anything happening we had a chance to just be with each other. It was an awesome atmosphere overall. I can’t emphasize that enough. It was a sad night when the camp was torn down, but that certainly wasn’t the end and we all knew that. The camp was significant and always will be, because it was our own community that was completely separate from the system. Think about it…everyone there got 3 meals per day, a place to sleep, they were part of the decision making process and we didn’t turn away the homeless, mentally ill, or anyone. We took it upon ourselves to take care of each other and we held each other as well as ourselves accountable. We proved that together we don’t need to rely on capitalism or government to meet our needs.
This was eye-opening for me because I had already lost faith in the system and I didn’t know where I stood on anything…I was incredibly confused when it came to my own beliefs and I just didn’t know what to tell people anymore when asked where I stood politically. I had read some anarchist literature already, and I identified with it but wasn’t sure if I was ready to call myself an anarchist. After talking to others who did identify as anarchists, and becoming more familiar with the ideologies, I was pretty certain that I had been an anarchist for a long time and just didn’t know it. I’ve learned a lot over the past year, and now I can say that I no longer trust politicians, police and other authority figures to take care of us, because they’re not. Capitalism is broken, it always has been, and the people in power don’t give a shit about what happens to any of us, they’re only concerned with how they can benefit the privileged in society…the ones who contribute to economic growth by exploiting others and causing the poor to suffer. We can’t have rich people without poor people. I don’t want to benefit from another person suffering, which is exactly how capitalism is structured. No thanks. We need to govern ourselves and come up with our own solutions. We need to take care of each other. Those in power are like babysitters who watch over us to make sure we stay out of trouble but don’t actually care about our happiness and overall well-being. I dunno, I just don’t understand how anyone can buy into that…well, maybe I do, because I did too for a while, but you get what I’m saying.
Here’s where things are going to get personal and self-centered…but it is all part of my story. I had a complicated childhood, which included years and years of bullying in school. My entire life I’ve been called stupid, fat, and lots of other terrible things by classmates and so called “friends”. I’ve also been silenced and belittled and told that I’ll never amount to anything. I’ve been told that the things I care about aren’t important. I’ve been told that I should sit down, shut up, and do what people say without question. All throughout high school, I was afraid to talk. I was afraid to express myself because I would just get mocked. I struggled with anxiety and depression. I used to cut myself…not something I’m proud of, but it happened. I get suicidal thoughts at least a few times per year. I’ve had some serious confidence and self-esteem issues. And I’ve never had a real support network that I can fall back on and know that everything will be okay. I still struggle with all of these things. I’m not putting all of this out there because I want you to sympathize…I don’t need or want sympathy. I’m being open about it because it’s the truth, and believe it or not, it’s Occupy and activism in general that has helped me through so much of it.
See, when I got involved with Occupy, I all of a sudden had people in my life who wanted me around, people who valued what I had to say. I was shy and afraid to talk at the beginning, and I would stay pretty quiet at meetings and even at social outings, like when we would go for drinks after a meeting and just spend time together, which is VERY important because if you don’t take time for that stuff it’s no longer fun and you get burnt out. But I was the quiet one. Everyone seemed to be cool with it, but they would still ask if I had anything on my mind…which is good because that’s how I knew my voice mattered, but there was no pressure to say or do anything that made me uncomfortable. OLO gave me strength and confidence and helped me realize that I am important, despite what I’ve felt my entire life, and that I should speak up and use my voice and not live in fear. I gradually became more and more comfortable with everyone, and anyone who knows me at all is well-aware of how outgoing I am, but it wasn’t always that way. I’m very proud of myself and how far I’ve come over the past year. I never know how to take compliments, I’m pretty awkward…but I’m starting to see in myself what others see in me, and I think we can all agree that that is the best feeling in the world…finally being okay with who you are, with all of your strengths and flaws and realizing that it’s perfectly fine to not have all of the answers, because we’re finding the answers together. I still struggle with a lot, but none of our problems go away overnight. It is a process of learning and growing, something that doesn’t end until we die.
Long story short, I’ve never been part of something like this, or had a closer group of friends in my life. We’re a family. And I’ll never ever forget that. As far as our tight-knit group goes, things have changed…not all of us are best friends anymore, which is really sad, but at the same time I suppose these things happen and you just have to hope for the best. I so badly wish I could fix everything but it’s more complicated than that, unfortunately. But you will always be my family. I love you all so much, you have no idea how much it still means to me. It is a social movement, it is about changing the world, and in the process it can change lives. And it did just that.
Occupy motivated me to get involved with other forms of activism too. We’re pretty closely connected to organizations such as No One is Illegal, the London District Labour Council, Common Front Against Austerity, and so many more. My best friend and I are now the co-presidents of the King’s Social Justice club, and I’ve become involved in the Women’s Issues Network and the I Know Someone campaign. I spoke at Take Back the Night recently, and I’ve gotten better at talking to the media and public speaking in general. I even talk in my classes more, and I just feel so much better about myself than I ever have. I’ve been tear gassed, chased and beaten up by riot police during the Montreal student protests, and I’ve taken some pretty crazy risks that I’ll never forget. A year ago, I would never have had the confidence to do any of these things…or anything, really. My life has become absolutely insane, but in the best way possible. Every day I’m excited for what is to come, and I know that I have a lot to look forward to in the future. I’ve never had this much hope and optimism, and I’ve never been so genuinely happy before.
Occupy has accomplished a lot, but if there’s ONE thing, it brought people together who otherwise wouldn’t know each other, and it started projects and sparked ideas that wouldn’t have come about if Occupy hadn’t first. It’s amazing to think about how connected everything is, and how connected we are to each other, and how much we can accomplish when we join together. No one knows what the future will bring, but I think we’re all in good hands as long as we stay together.
Happy Birthday Occupy London, all I can say is thank you for everything.
Peace and love,
Bailey
Take Back the Night 2012
A couple of months ago I was asked to speak at the annual Take Back the Night march on Thursday, September.20th as a female activist and representative from Occupy London. The idea behind Take Back the Night is that women should be able to walk the streets at night, or anytime for that matter, without experiencing sexual violence (whether it’s harassment, assault, rape, etc). We gathered in Victoria park, had our rally and then female-identified individuals took the streets while our male-identified allies cheered us on from the sidelines. The reason it is done this way isn’t to segregate, and contrary to what some people think, it isn’t encouraging sexism…it is symbolic in the sense that we shouldn’t need men to walk with us in order to be safe. We shouldn’t need their “protection” because there shouldn’t be any threat of violence in the first place. Anyway, here is my speech…I hope you enjoy it because I enjoyed writing and sharing it. I realize that some parts of it sound harsh, especially the part about patriarchy in activist communities…it isn’t an attack, it is an honest look at how the problems we see and criticize in our society don’t just disappear when we become socially conscious, it is an ongoing dialogue with ourselves and each other. Sometimes we need to realize that we’re actually contributing to the things we’re trying to stop, and the only way to move forward is to confront our own flaws. Special thanks to my friends Trini, Awasis, Rachelle, Brent and Ollie for your encouragement and constructive criticism! 
I would like to begin by thanking each and every one of you for coming tonight. The fact that we are all here shows that we are committed to the struggle of ending violence against women, a struggle which thanks to our foremothers who fought these battles before us, has come a long way but is nowhere near the end.
Whenever I have discussions with people about this subject, they feel the need to bring to my attention that we have it significantly better in Canada and we should stop complaining and be thankful for the rights and freedoms we have. Activists hear this all the time. And perhaps the people who say this are right in some ways. After all, in some parts of the world, women are denied rights and freedoms that are automatically given to men, and are forced to view men as authority figures, as superiors…and in most cases, will experience sexual violence in the form of harassment and assault, which may or may not include rape…not only from their male partner, but from men in the community and it will tolerated by the community and the victim will be blamed for it.
But let me ask you this…first of all, why are we always criticizing other counties when Canada has its problems too? In Canada, a country that is normally held in high regard on an international scale as well as by its citizens, a country that takes pride in calling itself “free”, and claims to value diversity, peace, and equality, 1 in 3 women will be sexually assaulted at some point in her lifetime. That means that at least one of the women in your life…your mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, daughter or female friend have probably experienced it, or will experience it. Sexist jokes about women are considered normal and funny, and we all know sexual harassment is far too common. 13% of women have been sexually assaulted while drunk or high; because someone felt that it was acceptable to take advantage of her impaired judgment and inability to give proper consent. Over 90% of sexual assaults occur by someone who is known by the victim, whether it is a friend, partner, acquaintance or relative. And guess what? Only 6 out of every 100 incidents are reported to the police, because even the police, who are supposedly here to “serve and protect”, usually blame the victim. There is a police officer in Toronto who made a statement a couple of years ago saying “if women didn’t dress like sluts, they wouldn’t get raped”. These statistics are all recent, Canadian statistics and that appalling statement was made by a Canadian police officer. We love to point fingers at other countries to make ourselves feel better about the problems we have here, but this is happening in Canada, folks. Now stop whining to me about how we’re all equal and how women have it so great here, because we still have a lot of work ahead of us!
Another thing, why is it exactly that we have it BETTER in Canada than in other parts of the world? It didn’t just happen all of a sudden, out of nowhere…and it didn’t happen because a good politician decided that women are human beings…it happened because women who had realized the extent of their oppression came together and started organizing, started demanding their rights. Activism!
Activism is a crucial part of this struggle, like all struggles. As activists, we make it a priority to inform ourselves about what is wrong in our society such as poverty, homelessness, hate crimes, corrupt politicians, and oppression issues to name just a few. We know that issues of gender and sexuality are intrinsically tied to race, class, disability status, age, and so on. Not only do we educate ourselves on these issues, but we try to educate others and live by the principles we speak of. Women and men alike often talk about feminism, female-identified and male-identified folks being equal…and let me take this opportunity to acknowledge my cisgender privilege here and apologize if I appear to be leaving out those who do not identify as male or female…gender is complicated, and please be aware that YOU are just as important to this struggle as those who identify with either side of the gender binary!
I love the activist community because we all know that a lot of work needs to be done, and more importantly, it isn’t just women working towards women’s empowerment. There are a lot of good men out there who recognize the power and privilege that they hold simply for having been born male. Men don’t have to fear walking home alone late at night, at least not for the same reasons. Men can wear whatever they want and they don’t have to worry about being cat-called, and they are not accused of wanting attention from the opposite sex. Now, there are exceptions to every rule, and it is true that 1 in 7 boys will be sexually assaulted before reaching the age of 18, but in most cases they don’t have to worry about inappropriate staring, unwanted touching, sexual harassment and assault, and in a situation where he does have an unpleasant encounter with someone the police never ask “what were you wearing?”, or “how much did you have to drink?” in order to determine the severity of the incident, and whether or not the perpetrator will be held accountable.
And guess what? Being a male activist does not exclude you from these privileges. It also doesn’t mean that you are not guilty of being sexist, or being the perpetrator of sexual violence against women (as well as other men). The problems we see and criticize happen just as much in activist communities as they do outside them. We’ve all seen men act out of their own social conditioning that they claim to challenge. They do this by being dominant and aggressive towards others; belittling, patronizing and silencing female voices, and reacting defensively when we try to make them aware of their own misogynistic behavior. We’ve all known men who call themselves “feminists” and claim to respect women, yet when women feel disrespected by them; they turn it around and make themselves victims. They are quick to criticize the societal expectations of men and typical “male” traits such as dominance and aggressiveness, yet they fail to understand how they themselves have manifested these traits. Brothers, you need to understand that when your sisters criticize you, it is done out of love. We tell you what you are doing wrong because we want you to stand in solidarity with us on our journey for liberation, but you cannot be part of this if you continue to stand in our way. It is society that did this to you, and it is society that continues to oppress all of us, but calling yourself a feminist or an activist does not make it all disappear. Activism cannot help you unless you are willing to help yourself. And we need you, we REALLY need you. As your sisters we want you to be part of this with us because you are a very important part of ending violence against us, since it is mainly your gender causing this violence. We need you to stand up against patriarchy, sexism and misogyny and not only be critical of others’ behavior but understand how you can be part of the problem and allow yourself to heal. That is the first step, and this cannot move forward until that first step is completed. You can either listen to us and take our advice, or you can brush it off and continue with your oppressive behavior…it is your choice, but let me tell you, if you choose the latter, you are contributing to the oppression, degradation, and violence against women everywhere. You are contributing to the sexual harassment, assault, and rape of women in your community. You are not eradicating patriarchy but you are the face of patriarchy. And if you’re standing here thinking I’m being unreasonable and aggressive for saying these things rather than valuing what I have to say, you are unbelievably hypocritical for being here tonight.
Sisters, we are also guilty of oppressive behavior at times. We too forget that we are privileged in various ways, whether it be white privilege, heterosexual privilege, cis-gender privilege…I could go on and on about how our society is built on privilege and oppression. In some cases we’re just not treating each other well. I think one of the main reasons for that is because we’re constantly being pressured to fit society’s mold of what we should look, feel, and act like. We’re taught to compete with one another for attention, mainly from males. They try to teach us how to be “beautiful”, and they teach us not only to shame one another but to feel ashamed of our own bodies and our sexualities. We’ve all heard women call other women sluts and whores as insults, we’ve all heard people insult our gender by saying things like “women are catty bitches” and a lot of the time it is women who are saying this! Again, being an activist does not make a person immune to criticism. Just like men, we also manifest behaviors within ourselves that we would criticize in others. If we do not come to terms with this just like we’re urging our men to, we will never truly stand in solidarity with each other. The most important thing we need to do aside from understanding our privilege is to love, empower, and learn from one another! If we’re going to take back the streets, we will need to do it together, and that is exactly what we are here to do, am I right?
This is a call out to all human beings here right now: This is take back the night. We are here because women shouldn’t have to live in fear. We are here because women should be able to walk the streets freely and safely without experiencing sexual violence, or any kind of violence for that matter, in any form. We are here because we want to end the oppression of women so that one day, we’ll be able to end oppression in all forms and humans can live together in harmony. Let us occupy patriarchy; smash sexual violence (and maybe the state while we’re at it!), and take back our communities. We need to stop talking about revolution and make the revolution happen here and now. And we will do just that.
Note: To clarify, “Occupy patriarchy” is meant in a way that we are occupying the struggle against it…the term has been used often by feminists, but it is easy to misinterpret it as encouraging patriarchy…which is not the case!
Peace and love,
Bailey
“Democracy’s Bankrupt” Test Their Logik
The Indignants are proud to present their first ever music video, “Democracy’s Bankrupt” from Test Their Logik, a revolutionary hip hop duo who go by the names of Testament, and Illogik. The sick beats and timely message for all of those who are voting in the 2012 elections, means that this wicked track should go viral. One can always hope anyway. Without further ado,
Following their Debut Album “A” Test Their Logik is proud to present “Democracy’s Bankrupt”. This gritty aggressive anti-voting anthem is a timely first single off their upcoming album “Be” which officially drops December 21st.
Arriving on the one year anniversary of the occupations that swept the world following Occupy Wall St., as well as the final weeks of America’s quadrennial democratic spectacle, “Democracy’s Bankrupt” pulls no punches in its ruthless attack on the concept of representational democracy and our current structures of governance.
www.testtheirlogik.com
www.theindignants.org
www.crimethinc.com/vote
booking: testtheirlogik(at)gmail.com
twitter: @testtheirlogik
facebook.com/testtheirlogik
Filmed and edited by Curtis Nixon & Mike Roy
video inquiries: admin(at)theindignants.org
www.youtube.com/user/TheCurtisNixon
www.youtube.com/user/cabl3guy2012
beat by Illogik illogikrfc.bandcamp.com
lyrics:
every politician’s already been bought.
capital rules this ballot box.
this pyramid scheme is about to collapse
runnin outta credit outta steam outta gas
healthcare welfare everything is getting slashed
more cops more jails bailouts for the banks
rolling out the tanks to occupy the planet
we occupy a plaza they wanna oscar grant us
murderers working for the people on our ballots
who serve the corporations and the rich and the bankers
all about traffic keep products flowing
profits soaring our wages stay frozen
they shipped every job they could across the ocean
built borders for the people but kept markets open
we waited for change. ain’t no use in hoping
the system needs war and slaves to keep floating
so sinking this ship is the path we’ve chosen
democracy’s bankrupt we ain’t voting
X2
All power to the people.
If voting changed anything it would be illegal
those in power have always been deceiptful
we’re done with voting for a lessor evil
democracy means war, surveillance, prisons,
police, borders, capitalism.
every vote is a vote for the system
act directly make your own decisions
democrat or republican
liberal conservsative no hope in them
same shit different asshole fuck votin’ man
status quo, their job is preserving it
when revolution comes what they get they deservin it. the nerve of them
bankers serving them, the federal reserve pyramid they subserviant. fuck the ballot tear it up or burn it man. power to the people believe its concerning them.
the tables are turnin, and after obama, the liberal monster, innocent child drone bomber, stop being depressed realize that we’re strongerthis false dichotomy we don’t belive it any longer. fuck the ndp the liberals and harper, they all work for the beast their hearts are darker. If voting could change anything it’d be illegal the whole tree is evil chop it from the root power to the people.
X2
All power to the people.
If voting changed anything it would be illegal
those in power have always been deceiptful
we’re done with voting for a lessor evil
democracy means war, surveillance, prisons,
police, borders, capitalism.
every vote is a vote for the system
act directly make your own decisions
yeah yeah let’s take back our lives
make our decisions fuck these greedy politicians
yeah yeah the people gonna rise
and stat building the world we wanna live in
we don’t need em to survive
freedom’s misssing in this democratic prison
these pinnochios lie they the true parasites stay free til we die anarchists we defy
the law. and the rule of our masters
the evil of a lessor none of them are better
they’re still all bastards
a multiheaded hydra their heads we’re gonna sever.
like our own shackles
liberate by any measure piling up the pressure
no hope in the ballot every vote’s a disaster
a voice that’s been captured. freedom’s what we’re after.
X2
All power to the people.
If voting changed anything it would be illegal
those in power have always been deceiptful
we’re done with voting for a lessor evil
democracy means war, surveillance, prisons,
police, borders, capitalism.
every vote is a vote for the system
act directly make your own decisions
every politician’s already been bought
capital rules this ballot box
every politician’s already been bought
capital rules this ballot box
every politician’s already been bought
capital rules this ballot box
every politician’s already been bought.
capital rules this ballot box
Test Their Logik
testtheirlogik.com
Omar Khadr: Child Soldier
Omar Khadr is back in canada now. Unfortunately, the state has seen fit to put him in a prison with the worst of the worst, surely intensifying the effects of the harsh conditions, and torture at the hands of the guards in Guantanamo bay.
Omar was child soldier, fighting in a war caused by the very forces that imprisoned him. To see it any different would be to lie to yourself. But our government has continually refused to acknowledge that fact. In the legal battle, in which the state probably spent millions of dollars taking the question all the way to the supreme court. Which told the gov’t that Omars constitutional rights had been violated, but not going on to the next logical conclusion, that the appeals court had said to do, which was to order the state to do what it could to get omar back in canada.
Of course, that doesn’t really surprise me. It has long been known that there is a stench coming from the “justice” system. And it doesn’t take much to see some of the political bull that makes it there. But most seem to stay apathetic, and only pay attention once in awhile. if at all.
“Harpers”© gov’t has refused to acknowledge Khadr’s Charter rights. Not only that, but they were also complicit in the interrogation, and at nearly ever step of the way, totally apathetic to his rights. And completely ignoring his status as a child solider. The Canadian cabinet has failed Omar, and now they place him in the worst prison we have. To “rehabilitate” him. LOL. Yes, because in order to rehabilitate people, we make them cohabitate with the worst of the worst that our prison system has to offer.
This is after having endured stress positions, dragged in his own excrement, sleep deprivation, and the list goes on. And our “glorious” leaders have condoned this, by doing the exact opposite of what they should have been.
While he may be guilty of the crimes, he was a child soldier, manipulated and coerced into fighting for “Allah”. Indoctrinated into a system of religious belief, that most muslims I know, do not even condone. Yet for the “mistake” of being born to a religious zealot, the state has jailed and tortured this young man. Don’t be surprised if he comes out of prison next year an even more damaged individual than he was before he was arrested.
Montreal CEGEP Students vote and demo August 13th
On August 13th 2012 students at Montreal CEGEPs (Quebec senior high schools/colleges) gathered into General assemblies to decide on maintaining the strike or going back to school. Many activist and students from Ontario made it down to help with the school blockades to join the demonstrations, including the Indignants from London ON.
The evening demo started with one CEGEP joining the demonstration, then the crowed marched to a CEGEP which was having a general Assembly. Some activists and students went into the school and up to the gym were the students were voting.
The demonstration continued on, and word had got out that some key schools had voted to go back; this definitely affected the overall mood of the rally. About 2 hours in, the police attacked with rubber bullets and tear gas, splitting the crowd into several small groups, than continued to attack the small groups till people gave up.
Many good organizers are saying all is lost, but looking into that gymnasium seeing all the students participating in a General Assembly, I thought that in itself is a huge victory. Democracy is not perfect, but at least the students in Quebec are leaps and bound ahead of us in Ontario in horizontal democracy. The model used by the Quebec students is one that encompassed accountability and empowers them, with some tweaking and time we can make it work here.
Update from Quebec: “it’s possible you’ve heard that a number of associations, including really mobilized ones, have voted to end their strikes, which is true. Facing incredible repression, and inaccurate but terrifying threats of a lost semester or year, yeah, people will vote to strike. At this point four or five university associations and two CEGEPs – with around 25000 students total – have voted to continue their strike in the last few weeks. I’ve also heard that the association at UQO voted in June to continue their strike despite law 78, and that this mandate will be upheld.
Mike Roy
Photos of school blockade and evening demonstration:http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152001312030234.883258.784550233&type=3
Video: http://youtu.be/KfPkG_ADQKY?hd=1 <–HD video of demo
*Will have a video of School blockade up soon and will post here.
The noise of pots risk to resonate well beyond Quebec..
The noise of pots risk to resonate well beyond Quebec..
The weekend of July 27th-29th students from all over Ontario and Quebec got together in Toronto for the “Ontario student strike workshops”..
This is fast becoming a global movement, which highlights the struggle for a accessible education that transcends all borders due to the fact that the majority of countries are grappling with budget cuts in education, while tuition fees explode. At the same time this is helping to spread the General Assembly model, bringing empowered students together to make collective decisions and begin dialogue about common concerns.
Personally it was a fantastic weekend, the workshops were very informative and helped shine a light on the avenues that we can take collectively to form and maintain a mass movement in Ontario and the rest of world.
Videos of the work shops will be up soon.
**Saturday night rally video: http://youtu.be/Grz5yKHxMjA?hd=1 <–HD link.
**Photos: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151950008220234.875219.784550233&type=3
Mike Roy
The Indignants Media & Media Co-op
