Category: Organizer Essays

This culture is wedded to binaries: good/evil, left/right, with us/against us, pick your favorite. And this society wants things to stay in whatever either/or box they get put into, we don’t like the gray areas. Gender and sex is one place where ambiguity is particularly not tolerated; parents, doctors, the State want to know your sex and gender, preferably at birth. Further, having ambiguous gender, or transitioning from one perceived gender to another, can cause some people to react violently and because gender is such a charged topic, transgendered people often don’t receive the respect they deserve. This is a short, incomplete introduction to transgender topics.

In this society this is the usual scenario: a baby is born and one of the very first things done is sexing the child. Everyone wants to know, boy or girl?

Some folks don’t fit this binary from the start, their genitals don’t seem to match either male or female completely. These folks are called intersexed. Unfortunately, because of the anxiety of doctors, parents or society, around sex/gender, panic ensues and intersexed individuals are more often than not subjected to surgeries they do not need and may not want and that can be damaging to a pleasurable adult sexuality. Adults seem to have a hard time imagining infants ever being adults and having sex or getting pleasure from their genitals; so, it seems genitals are for identifying infant sex only, not for the pleasure of the person who has them. How sad.

More often, we are born with genitals that look like either male or female and so we are assigned a gender at birth to match, either boy or girl. This (seems) to work for most. Males are happy being men in male bodies, females are happy being women in female bodies (excepting the malaise of late capitalism, of course).

But what if this is not the case? For some, the sex they are assigned at birth does not match the gender they feel inside. They are girls in male bodies or boys in female bodies or somewhere in between, because not all trans folks see themselves as one or the other, but rather on a continuum of gender.

Though not all trans folk dismiss the binary sex/gender divide, they just see themselves on the wrong side of it. For the most part, transsexual is a term used by folks who have completed sex reassignment (or who want to). For FTM (female to male) transsexuals this means taking testosterone and having top surgery (double mastectomy) and bottom surgery (hysterectomy, vaginectomy and either metiodioplasty or phalloplasty). For MTF (male to female) transsexuals there are hormones and vaginoplasty and labiaplasty. Not all transgendered folks are transsexuals, and not all want all the surgery, for various reasons. Sometimes they just don’t want surgery, or don’t have health care, or enough income to pay for hormones and/or surgery, because trans folk can suffer from discrimination in employment just for being trans. Some trans guys, for example, just take T (testosterone), or just take T and have top surgery. Also, not all trans folks see themselves as either male or female, but as some combination of both. These folks sometimes use the term genderqueer, which reflects issues with or a rejection of the usual societal gender binary.

The main thing to remember about trans folk is that they are people just like everyone else. Having respect for what pronouns trans folk want used is a good start. For instance, FTMs usually want to be called he or him. MTFs would really like it if you said she or her. And some trans folks use ze or hir, or make up pronouns to fit them. These can be hard to get used to, particularly when someone is first transitioning, but trying to use the preferred pronoun is only respectful. It is true that some trans folk don’t “pass”, but gender is not about what you see from the outside, but about what the person feels inside. Transwomen and transmen struggle enough with their own body dysphoria and internalized transphobia that getting called out on their looks can be devastating. So if you see someone who may be trans, don’t ask them in front of a bunch of people, in fact don’t ask at all. If they want you to know, if it is relevant to your relationship, they will let you know. This can also be an issue of safety for a trans person. Violence against trans folk is frequent and often deadly, so outing a trans person is never a good idea.

Another huge issue is bathrooms, and for trans folks using the “wrong” bathroom can get them beat up or worse. Until gender neutral bathrooms are the norm chances are you will see an ambiguously gendered person use a bathroom now and again. DON’T PANIC! Adults usually know what bathroom to use, being trans does not alter this ability. Not panicking just might keep someone from getting beaten, and since a lot of violence against transfolk is perpetuated by police and other authority figures, alerting them is not wise either. (Not that we anarchists would ever call cops anyway, right?)

Increasingly, trans identity is being seen as an individual matter, who we are is our business not the prerogative of doctors or the larger society. No matter how comfortable we are in our bodies, trans or not, we are all affected by binary gender roles, though this is most blatant, and violent with transgenders. Gay men, no matter how butch; femmy men, no matter how straight; butch women, straight and lesbians; nerdy guys, the list goes on of people oppressed by binary gender norms. Trans folk cross these gendered lines and forge a way beyond just this or that, man or woman, male or female. By listening to and celebrating trans folk we too can unhinge ourselves from the yoke of conforming to roles we may not want.

Intersex Awareness Day October 26th

Transgender Day of Remembrance Day November 20th

 

Pollution, genetics and lifestyle choices are all risk factors for breast cancer. If you smoke cigarettes or use deodorants with aluminum, you are at higher risk. When cancer is detected earlier, treatments are often more successful The best strategy for early detection is to do a monthly self breast exam. Follow up with a doctor if you find a suspicious lump. You cannot tell by yourself whether a lump is benign or cancerous. Men are also at risk for breast cancer and should do exams. To check yourself out:

~With your chest uncovered, sit or stand in a comfortable position. Consider showering beforehand to release muscle tension and make it easier to feel.

~Put one arm over your head with your elbow bent to expose the skin around your armpit. With your middle three fingers of the opposite hand, gently palpate the tissue from the lymph nodes in your armpit to the bottom of your breasts.

~Cover all the breast tissue on that side with an overlapping pattern of palpating.

~If there are any suspicious lumps, most likely they will have the consistency of frozen peas.  Breasts are lumpy by nature, but not hard. Repeat for your other breast.

~If you have a partner whose help you would enjoy, teach them how to do your exam!

Breasts are more tender around ovulation and menstruation, so doing your exam at a similar time each cycle helps reduce false-positives. Knowing your breasts can help you know if something is wrong.

Testicular cancer is the most common cancer for male-bodied people between the ages of 20 and 35. Testicular cancer can spread quickly, but it is an easy cancer to detect with a monthly self-exam and can be treated. So get to know your nuts! Familiarity with them now can make you more sensitive to irregularities later.

~It’s best to do all this after a hot shower, when the scrotum is loose and relaxed. Stand up and elevate one leg for easier access to your scrotum. You can sit or lay down if it’s more comfortable.

~Take one testicle in your hands, with your thumbs on top of it and index and middle fingers on the bottom. (See the diagram below.) Gently roll it between your thumbs and fingers slowly feeling the whole surface area of your testicle. When you’re done with one, move on to the other.

Your balls should fee smooth and slightly spongy. (It’s normal for the tubular epdidymis at the rear to feel less smooth than the testes. ) You should be on the look out for:

~A hard lump—as small as a pea or as large as a golf ball. Don’t completely freak out if you find one. You can’t tell the differennce between a cyst and seminomas yourself. But if you find a lump, get it checked out.

~Hardness in the entire testicle. This is usually the result of hydrocele, a cystic mass in the nut caused by a leaky hernia, prior trauma or infection—easily treatable.

~Changes in size or color. It’s normal for one to be larger or hang lower than the other. If there’s a noticeable change, something may be up.

 

Many people in radical circles spend a bit of their time doing prisoner support activities. This can range from joining a books-to-prisoners project that mails free books to inmates, to individually becoming penpals with a prisoner. Some people focus on political prisoners — prisoners held because of their involvement in radical actions or framed because of their beliefs. Other people see the entire prison-industrial complex as illegitimate, criticize the way that it targets marginalized communities, and/or believe that it is wrong to imprison people at all. Many people are in prison because of the war on drugs, or because economic inequality under capitalism impoverishes entire communities and pushes people to do illegal things to survive.

A key way we can support prisoners is by communicating with them. Prison is a deeply isolating environment. In an email-dominated world, writing an old-fashioned letter on paper can be surprisingly rewarding for you as well as a prisoner. There are many penpal networks that connect prisoners with those on the outside. If you’re in the bay area, Slingshot collective receives hundreds of letters from prisoners each year and is always looking for people to help us write back.

Here are some tips on writing letters to prisoners.

• When writing to prisoners, you have to put their prisoner number on the first line of the mailing address to get it through.

• Make sure to put a return address on your letter. If you are writing to a prisoner you don’t know, it may be best to use a PO box or other address that doesn’t disclose where you live.

• If you’re writing to a prisoner, keep in mind that the prison officials or other authorities may read your letter. Don’t discuss anything sensitive. If the prisoner is waiting for trial or sentencing (or on appeal), it may be better not to discuss the details of their case.

• Prisons prohibit mailing certain items like books, food, money, etc. Ask the prisoner for the rules.

• Don’t make promises you can’t keep like offering to find a lawyer to take their case, sending them money or expensive items, offering them housing on release, organizing a support campaign, etc.— being let down when you’re locked up can be especially devastating. Be clear about your intentions. If you’re not looking for a romantic relationship, it can be helpful to all involved to say so right off.

• While the state locking people up is shitty, it doesn’t follow that all prisoners are angels. They are people just like everyone else, and some of them are flawed or can be manipulative. Use reasonable caution and treat prisoners like you would another penpal.

• Be careful about accepting collect phone calls from jail — prison collect calls are usually absurdly expensive.

Sex should be good for you and your partner(s) and for that to happen it must be truly consensual!

The dominant culture teaches some of us that we are entitled to sex and that the object of our sexual interest is just that, an “object”, and not a person. Sexual predation … how to “hit that”, “score”, etc. follow as normalized expressions of sexual interest and behavior. These are inherently non-consensual modes of expressing sexual interest and often lead to violations of other’s boundaries and well-being. This rape culture is deeply ingrained and must be addressed on an institutional and societal scale. Here are also some suggestions for challenging it on a personal level:

Tips for regaining power:

• Know yourself. Listen to your heart; articulate your needs and boundaries.

• Don’t apologize unless you have done something physically or emotionally harmful. Whether you want to be intimate with someone is always your choice.

• Exercise your ability to reach out to friends and family for help.

• Practice saying no powerfully to yourself and your partner. “Fuck off” is acceptable at times too.

If you have power, question it:

• Compassion. Listen to your partner’s needs despite your wants, and desires.

• Follow-through: if your partner is uncomfortable in any intimate situation respect their discomfort and check-in later on how they are doing.

• Build your peers up; emotional demolition is not stylish!

• Build your emotional vocabulary and talk about your feelings! It’s beautiful and powerful.

• R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Every body is a temple.

• Be vocal about sexual assault you, or friends experience or perpetrate.

Practicing collective power – for everyone:

• Be aware of power dynamics in a relationship.

• Be an ally – engage bystanders and intervene!

• Use the buddy system and let your buddy know what you are and are not comfortable with prior to entering a social situation.

• Check-in, “Hey, are you okay?”

• Practice talking about consent with your partner. An enthusiastic, non-intoxicated, verbal “yes.”

• Encourage others to be aware of the structures of power in society and engage compassionately with one another to be emotionally aware, articulate, comfortable, compassionate, and expressive.

• Practice saying yes, emphatically and excitedly to yourself in the mirror and your partner!

 

We come to radical spaces or events hoping that we can be ourselves, and it can be heartbreaking to discover that the same barriers and hierarchies we experience in mainstream society are often recreated in these contexts. Whether it is certain people talking over everyone else, class assumptions, someone calling the cops or sexual assault, it sucks to find that we are once again on the margins. What can we do to make our spaces more inclusive and egalitarian?

We all bring our histories with us. Each of us is a unique combination of identities and experiences, so what we need to participate fully in community or collectives looks pretty different. Part of making our anti-oppression ideas stick is understanding how we have been trained to marginalize others or to expect marginalization. This can manifest itself physically or socially, as we develop more inclusive spaces.

First, we must do an inventory for ourselves. What identities do I embody that normalize or prioritize me? What identities do I embody that marginalize or disempower me? Consider sex, gender, sexuality, race, class, ability, age, citizenship, religion… When I interact with others, what do I need to a) check in myself and b) know others will accommodate for / include?

Spelling out these boundaries from the beginning is much easier than stopping in the middle of an interaction. For example, non-masculine-identified people are often trained not to take on physical tasks, so making space for each participant to learn / explore / do with the level of instruction they desire is a reasonable accommodation. When planning a public action, the group could consider who is most vulnerable to state violence — such as people of color or people without papers — and find out what risk level feels acceptable to them. In brainstorming or discussion, giving everyone access to background material and acknowledging our theoretical assumptions can increase participation.

Often it is small differences that add up. Taking good stack at a meeting so each person gets their turn, or using phrases like “I agree” instead of “You’re right”, can change the power balance and set precedence for people with more marginalized identities to step up. The (inclusive) heroes of our stories, the focus of our resources, and an increased accessibility of radical culture can all increase participation by people who work for a better world but haven’t found solidarity in the radical scene.

These suggestions from the National Lawyers Guild “Know Your Rights” guide summarize the rules to which the police are theoretically subject. However be careful: the police, the courts, and the government can and do ignore these rules when they feel like it. Sometimes, police retaliate against people for exercising their rights. These tips may help you later on in court, and sometimes they won’t. But even though the state can’t be counted on to follow its own laws, it still may be helpful to know what these laws are so you can shame particular state agents or deal with particular situations. Always use your best judgment — if you aren’t doing anything wrong, there may be no reason to be excessively paranoid or escalate a potentially innocent and brief encounter with a police officer who is just saying “hi” into an ugly situation by acting suspicious and refusing to say “hi” back. The point is to avoid giving information.

Providing this information isn’t intended to scare you into inactivity or make you paranoid. The vast majority of radical projects proceed with no interference from the police. The police hassle and arrest people because they hope that such repression will frighten the population into submission. We can take reasonable precautions while continuing the fight for liberation.

 

Never Talk to the Police

Anything you say to an FBI agent or cop may be used against you and other people — even if the questions seem routine or harmless. You don’t have to talk to FBI agents, police or investigators on the street, if you’ve been arrested, or if you’re in jail. (Exceptions: Your name, date of birth and address are known as “Booking questions” which are not included in your right to remain silent. Also, in some states you can get an additional minor charge for refusing to identify yourself after a police stop based on reasonable suspicion). Only a judge has the authority to order you to answer questions. Many activists have refused to answer questions, even when ordered by a judge or grand jury, and subsequently served jail time to avoid implicating others. It is common for the FBI to threaten to serve you with a grand jury subpoena unless you talk to them. Don’t be intimidated. This is frequently an empty threat, and if they are going to subpoena you, they will do so anyway. If you do receive a subpoena, call a lawyer right away.

Once you’ve been stopped or arrested, don’t try to engage cops in a dialogue or respond to accusations. If you are nervous about simply refusing to talk, you may find it easier to tell them to contact your lawyer. Once a lawyer is involved, the police sometimes back off. Even if you have already answered some questions, you can refuse to answer other questions until you have a lawyer. Don’t lie to the police or give a false name— lying to the police is a crime. However, the police are allowed to lie to you — don’t believe what they say. If you’ve been arrested, don’t talk about anything sensitive in police cars, jail cells or to other inmates — you are probably being recorded.

What To Do About Police Harassment On The Street

If the police stop you on the street, ask, “Am I free to go?” If yes, walk away. If not, you are being detained but this does not necessarily mean you will be arrested. Ask, “Can you explain why you are detaining me?” To stop you, cops must have specific reasons to suspect you of involvement in a specific crime. Police are entitled to pat you down during a detention. If the police try to further search you, your car, or your home, say repeatedly that you do not consent to the search, but do not physically resist.

What To Do If Police Visit Your Home

You do not have to let the FBI or police into your home or office unless they have a search warrant. If they have an arrest warrant you may limit entry if the person surrenders outside. In either case, Ask to inspect the warrant. It must specifically describe the place to be searched and the things to be seized. You do not have to tell them anything other than your name and address. Tell the police that you can not consent to the search unless it is also inspected by a lawyer. If the officers ask you to give them documents, your computer, do not consent to them taking it. However physically trying to block them from searching or seizing items may escalate the situation. You have a right to observe what they do. You should take written notes of their names and what they do. Have friends act as witnesses.

What To Do If Police Stop You In Your Car

If you are driving a car, you must show police your license, registration and proof of insurance, but you do not have to consent to a search or answer questions. Keep your hands where the police can see them and refuse to consent (agree) to a search. Police may separate passengers and drivers from each other to question them, but no one has to answer any questions.

What To Do If You Are Arrested

Repeatedly tell the police “I am going to remain silent, I would like to see my lawyer.” If you suffer police abuse while detained or arrested, try to remember the officer’s badge number and/or name. You have the right to ask the officer to identify himself. Write down everything as soon as you can and try to find witnesses. If you are injured, see a doctor and take pictures of the injuries as soon as possible.

Searches at International Borders

Your property (including data on laptops) can be searched and seized at border crossings without a warrant. Do not take any data you would like to keep private across the border. If you have to travel with electronic data encrypt it before crossing and make an encrypted back up of any data before crossing in case your computer or phone is seized.

Police Hassles: What If You Are Not A Citizen?

In most cases, you have the right to a hearing with an immigration judge before you can be deported. If you voluntarily give up this right or take voluntary departure, you could be deported without a hearing and you may never be able to enter the US legally again or ever get legal immigration status. Do not talk to the ICE, even on the phone, or sign any papers before talking to an immigration lawyer. Unless you are seeking entry into the country, you do not have to reveal your immigration status to any government official. If you are arrested in the US, you have the right to call your consulate or have the police inform the consulate of your arrest. Your consul may help you find a lawyer. You also have the right to refuse help from your consulate.

Police Hassles: What If You Are Under 18 Years Old?

Don’t talk to the police — minors also have the right to remain silent. You don’t have to talk to cops or school officials. Public school students have the right to politically organize at school by passing out leaflets, holding meetings and publishing independent newspapers as long as these activities do not disrupt classes. You have the right to a hearing with your parents and an attorney present before you are suspended or expelled. Students can have their backpacks and lockers searched by school officials without a warrant. Do not consent to any search, but do not physically resist.

Common Sense Activist Security Measures

Don’t speculate on or circulate rumors about protest actions or potentially illegal acts. Assume you are under surveillance if you are organizing mass direct action, anything illegal, or even legal stuff. Resist police disruption tactics by checking out the authenticity of any potentially disturbing letter, rumor, phone call, or other form of communication before acting on it. Ask the supposed source if she or he is responsible. Deal openly and honestly with the differences in our movements (race, gender, class, age religion, sexual orientation, etc.) before the police can exploit them. Don’t try to expose a suspected agent or informer without solid proof. Purges based on mere suspicion only help the police create distrust and paranoia. It generally works better to criticize what a disruptive person says and does without speculating as to why.

People who brag about, recklessly propose, or ask for unnecessary information about underground groups or illegal activities may be undercover police but even if they are not, they are a severe danger to the movement. The police may send infiltrators/provocateurs posing as activists to entrap people on conspiracy charges of planning illegal acts. You can be guilty of conspiracy just for agreeing with one other person to commit a crime even if you never go through with it — all that is required is an agreement to do something illegal and a single “overt act” in furtherance of the agreement, which can be a legal act like going to a store. It is reasonable to be suspicious of people in the scene who pressure us, manipulate us, offer to give us money or weapons, or make us feel like we aren’t cool if we don’t feel comfortable with a particular tactic, no matter why they do these things. Responsible activists considering risky actions will want to respect other people’s boundaries and limits and won’t want to pressure you into doing things you’re not ready for. Doing so is coercive and disrespectful — hardly a good basis on which to build a new society or an effective action.

Keep in mind that activists who spend all their time worrying about security measures and police surveillance will end up totally isolated and ineffective because they won’t be able to welcome new folks who want to join the struggle. We have to be aware of the possibility of police surveillance while maintaining our commitment to acting openly and publicly. Smashing the system is going to require mass action as well as secretive covert actions by a tiny clique of your trusted friends.

More info contact the National Lawyers Guild: 415 285-5067 or 212 679-5100; read The War at Home by Brian Glick or Agents of Repression by Ward Churchill

 

Sometimes it can be hard to know if you’re crazy, or is it the world that’s crazy. Watching while our society destroys itself triggers despair and anxiety. Yet it is possible to summon the courage to stay engaged with the world, survive and fight back. When you’re suffering from depression and anxiety is often the hardest time to ask for help from others around you — and paradoxically when you need help the most. Feelings exist for reasons — if you repress them too hard, you can miss important lessons they may have for you. Here are some tips you can use when you’re in crisis which can also be helpful if you’re trying to care for someone having a breakdown.

• It can help to focus off the crisis and onto what you find joyful until you can gather more resources.

• Our brains are connected to our bodies so concentrating on physical health can help treat mental distress. Eating healthy food on a regular schedule and getting enough sleep are key. Exercise, dance, biking and physical movement can help. So can fresh air and having a stable, calming place to stay.

• It is okay to ask for help or to discuss disturbing mental states with others. It helps everyone when these feelings are out of the closet.

• When things are really painful or stressful, it can help to step back and disconnect from feelings that you’ll be destroyed unless you achieve a particular outcome like keeping a particular lover or avoiding changes. Change is inevitable and our greatest source of pain can be our attachment to keeping things static. A year or two from now, whatever is happening now will be a memory and the pain of wishing it was otherwise will be gone. Most changes, even when they are painful, open up other opportunities. When you accept that your life is an adventure, you can see painful changes as plot twists – great stories you can tell later. When you avoid attachment to a particular outcome, you can step back and watch your life like you would watch a movie, which can really reduce your suffering.

• Joining a mutual support group of peers listening to and helping peers as equals can validating, while not necessarily endorsing your feelings. You can form one yourself or join an ongoing group.

• Find a counselor who supports your self-determination. Ask about confidentiality if someone else — such as your parents, boss, or governmental program — is paying for your therapy.

• Drugs and alcohol often make mental health problems worse.

• There is no shame in using psychiatric drugs such as those for depression or bipolar disorder if you know they work for you.

• Keep in mind that some current emotional crises may be caused by traumas from the past, which may need to be emotionally and consciously processed in order not to keep recurring.

• When you’re depressed, the most helpful thing to realize is that the depressed feeling will eventually pass and your life will begin to seem meaningful again later. Depression inhibits your ability to perceive and understand the world correctly. Your perceptions of isolation, loneliness, un-lovability, and hopelessness are not accurate when you are depressed. You have to get through the low point so you can correctly understand reality again on the other side. Avoid making any decisions or drastic moves such as hurting yourself when you are unable to correctly perceive reality.

• Distracting yourself from depressed thoughts can help: listening to music, making art, washing dishes, or doing a project alone or with others.

• Many communities have 24 hour a day crisis hotlines or crisis centers. Call 800-SUICIDE if you’re thinking about killing yourself or 800 646-HOPE to reach a rape crisis line for survivors of sexual violence.

• For anxiety, try to remember to breathe. Practicing meditation may also help you relax.

• Acupuncture, massage and other body work can be ways for others to give your whole self some gentle attention.

• Ecopsychology is realizing nature and wilderness are our greatest healers. Spend some time outside the city to get centered and get away from pollution which is in itself mind-altering.

• If you have a loved one in crisis, the most helpful thing is to make it clear that you care and be there to listen. They may not be able to call or ask for help — it can be very helpful to keep calling them every day or two to check-in, even if they don’t answer the phone or seem to want help. Sometimes it is okay to want to be alone so don’t be too pushy. Just make it clear that you care.

• Social change: Actually address the stressful factors in your environment. Revolution can heal.

• If someone is having delusional thinking or expressing violence related to mental issues, these suggestions may not be enough and it is okay to reach out for professional help.

 

Below are some chants you can use and adapt at the next street action. Joining your voice with others gives us power we don’t have alone. A good chant translates political vision, rage and resistance into language. It can move a street full of people forward together. The best chants have a good rhythm and build excitement and energy. Clever words, humor and passion make chants fun. If you’re in a protest where a chant has gone on for too long, help save the day by starting a new one! We’ve also listed a few protest songs.

Chants:

There ain’t no power like the power of the people, cause the power of the people don’t stop. Say what?

If we don’t get no justice, you don’t get no peace!

What do we want? _________! When do we want it? NOW!

We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it!

We will not be silenced in the face of ___________ violence

When _____’s rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!

No means no and nothing less. How we dress does not mean ‘yes’

Get up, get down, there’s a ______ movement in this town!

1, 2, 3, 4 We don’t want your fucking war

2, 4, 6, 8 stop the violence stop the hate

The system has got to die, hella hella occupy

Fuck the _________, we don’t need them, all we want is total freedom

From Oakland to _________, fuck the police

Who’s streets? Our streets!

Banks got bailed out! We got sold out!

Hey Hey Ho Ho _______ has got to go

This is what democracy looks like

No justice, no peace

We’re fired up, won’t take it no more! No to Oil, no to War!

Two four six eight – no more chants with rhymes or meters that work!

What do we want? Brains! When do we want it? Brains!

A slogan, exhausted, should never be repeated!

 

Protest songs:

Which side are you on?

This little light of mine

We shall overcome

Solidarity forever

We shall not be moved

The world turned upside down

The Diggers Song

The world is suffering from information overload — a constant barrage of distraction, seduction, and ultimately fear and despair that makes it harder to see the big picture, plan long-term, or just breathe the air and live your life. The constant speed up and centralization of data, money and power favors authoritarian power-grabs and makes home-grown do-it-yourself alternatives seem invisible and impossible. The system loves it when everyone feels scared, hopeless and resigned, because that means the system can do whatever it pleases with no opposition, no resistance, no disorder. The system wants us to think that our only options are the bad choices that it offers. We need to struggle for other options: neither fear-based violent authoritarianism nor hum drum economic servitude as a worker and consumer.

Being part of the resistance — creating alternatives to the top down dehumanizing system —isn’t a burden or a lot of work. It is the secret to happiness and being fully alive, awake and engaged with others and ourselves. Living within the system is boring — we demand a world filled with music, creativity, playfulness and spontaneity. In this world of hate, fear, violence, greed and arrogance, acting with love, generosity and tenderness is resistance.

When we focus on making life meaningful and taking care of others around us and the earth, the sense that the world is so totally out of control doesn’t go away, but it becomes contextualized with the reality that each of us is actually experiencing. Our lives aren’t all great all the time, but they aren’t apocalyptic, either. The looming sense that the world is ending is robbing us of our ability to see that we’re still here now and what we’re doing in this moment is what really matters.

It’s time to disconnect and slow down. The Organizer you hold in your hands is a tool to help you step away from the computerized rat race and reconnect with other people in a face-to-face, non-virtual, cooperative fashion. Writing stuff down with a real pen on real paper changes the quality of thought in ways that we’re only beginning to realize we miss and that we need. Try it! This is the 23rd time we’ve amused ourselves by publishing the Slingshot organizer. Its sale raises funds to publish the quarterly, radical, independent Slingshot Newspaper. We distribute the newspaper for free everywhere in the US, often at the places listed in the Radical Contact List. Let us know if you can be a local newspaper distributor in your area. Consider sending us content for the paper. Thanks to the volunteers who created this year’s organizer: Amy, Angie, Bellamy, Casey, Courtney, Dane, Dov, Eggplant, Elaine, Ellie, Elke, Erica, Fil, Francesca, Hailey, Isabel, Jason, Jesse, Katie, Kermit, Korvin, Lew, Lindsay, Mel, Michael, Moira, Piper, Rachel, Rica, Rory, Solomon, Vanessa & those we forgot.

Slingshot Collective

A Project of Long Haul

Physical office: 3124 Shattuck Avenue Berkeley, CA 94705

Mail: PO box 3051, Berkeley, CA 94703

510-540-0751 • http://slingshot.tao.ca • slingshot@tao.ca • @slingshotnews

 

Printed in Berkeley, CA on recycled paper

 

Anti-copyright.

 

All volunteer collective – no bosses, no workers, no pay.