Mutual Aid (April 2020)

I gave an interview on KBOO radio, discussing the anarchist roots of the concept of mutual aid, why it is important in the midst of the pandemic, and how today’s mutual aid network can be tomorrow’s revolutionary militia.

The program also includes an interview with Popmob‘s Effie Baum, discussing current mutual aid efforts in Portland.  Popmob, along with Rosehip medics and others, are producing hand sanitizer and giving it away, especially to under-served and vulnerable populations.  They need donations.

The broadcast ends with a long discussion of the CIA-funded animated film made from George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm.

Rosehip Medic Collective - Mutual Aid Disaster Relief

 

Re-Reading The Plague (March 2020)

I have a short reflection on the Three-Way Fight blog about Albert Camus’ novel The Plague.  I relate the novel to Camus’ philosophy, to strikes and other direct action against the coronavirus, and to antifascist organizing.

 

Apparently I’m not the only person thinking about Camus.  In the last few days, both the New York Times and the L.A. Times have run pieces about The Plague, though we seem to approach the book from very different angles.

Existential Comics seems to have not gone the obvious Camus route.  Instead has a pretty good bit about Marx, and openly calls for tenants to organize rent strikes:

“if you lost your income from the pandemic, you should not be paying rent. Think about organizing with your follow tenants to go on a rent strike. Workers can’t be the only ones to have their savings wiped out from a public health crisis. When all is said and done we have to reflect on what caused us to be so unprepared to organize society to act on everyone’s behalf (hint: it might have something to do with having all of our institutions based solely around enriching the property owning elite, but hey, who knows).”

Beyond Policing videos (January 2020)

A couple months ago, I was on a panel at Portland State University, titled “Imagining a World Without Policing.”  Also speaking were Julius McGee and Alyssa Pariah.  Aaron Roussell moderated.  And Alex Vitale headlined, so to speak.

Video of the event is now available in two parts from Flying Focus.

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