Category: Organizer Essays

In this political and historical climate, great sex can be a subversive, expansive, and radical mode of dismantling socializations and creating alternatives to mainstream drone culture. More and more, the Christian right’s morals and limits are seeping into the larger culture. Take a look at fashion, security precautions, and what is being passed off as education, entertainment, etc. This nauseating wave of puritanism and conservative values hangs in the air, almost unnoticed like the stale salty grease cloud present when passing a McDonald’s. Subtle, toxic, bland, unhealthy, normative.

Comfort in one’s skin and sexuality, consent and self-care are an essential backdrop. There is no way to have freeing sex without actively checking in with all partners about emotional and physical comfort and openness. If folks are shutting down, going on to the ceiling, disassociating or not that into it, then how the fuck can it be any good? Knowing what one wants is not easy, as we are taught very boring and limited sexualities in this culture. Part of what can make sex so revolutionary is discovering what it is we like and pushing ourselves (consensually of course) to and beyond our limits.

Role Switching

Many of us get stuck in sex roles or sex acts — butch or femme or top or bottom or daddy or slave. Switching up roles is exactly as it sounds; availing oneself the opportunity to receive when previously being the provider; taking turns sucking and being sucked, biting and being bitten, slapping and being slapped, holding and being held, fucking and being fucked.

Gender-queerness

Sex can be a stage to play with the fluidity of gender and go beyond binary-gender or sex determined gendered bodies. This may mean relearning how to have sex and switching your focus away from genitals and genital contact. (Boys get blowjobs and girls get finger banged.) There is so much to play with and destroy, pervert, re-name. It is respectful and sexy as hell to ask people what they call their body parts and how they want them touched. When opening up what we consider erogenous zones, more conversations about re-imagining bodies, gender, and society may become possible. Anybody can get a blowjob anywhere on their body and the same goes for finger banging. This can mean less focus on genitals and orgasms and more focus on nerve endings and what turns them on and works also on an emotional level for a person. Expansion, redefining and being aware of people’s boundaries are key in this realm and essential to sex.

Laughter

Try laughing during sex. It can be diverse; from a coy giggle, to a belly laugh, to laughing at oneself at an awkward moment or just as a way to communicate joy. Laughter is contagious and can put folks more at ease. One may laugh solo or in unison w/ sex partners. Laughing can help relieve tension – so you don’t get so caught up in your “performance”. Doing sex is goofy and silly and in fact hilarious. There is a myth that we should act a certain way during sex; virile, coquettish, animalistic, blasé, submissive, dominant, alluring etc. Laughing helps hush those “you should be fill in the blank” voices. It neutralizes the tape-loops that play in your head and the self-imposed expectations of hotness based on media-inspired sources. Noise in general during sex is a fabulous added layer to events. Sound can act as a reflection of what is going on and also act as a release for the sensations being experienced; crying, screaming, moaning, gasping are all marvelous additions to this sex symphony. Laughing enhances the intimacy and the experience in general.

Role Play

Adding some drama to the scenario can provide many things: lessen other social/psycho/dramas that folks tend to drum up when the issue of sex arises, keep things interesting and creative, help explore different identities, help approach taboo subject matters, and heal from past traumas. Role-play can be a great way to challenge one’s rigidities and discover hidden perversions in a safe context.

This can include working up characters in a setting with a plot. It can get intricate with scripts or songs, drag, props or outfits, even a dance routine. Also these scenarios can leave the bedroom and social norms. Here is where many taboos can be explored. The more the merrier, sillier, nastier. These games could challenge political and social norms in positive and smarty-panted ways. Role-play scenarios set up safe consensual spaces for folks to go there consciously, critically, humbly and with an open mind. The important thing here is that everyone is okay with where the story goes.

 

by Yeaozinho

People of European descent have seemingly always had trouble naming those that they came into contact with upon first arrival in the already-discovered continent of North America. In the oft told story, Christopher Columbus, believing to have traveled around the world and found himself in the Far East, referred to the people he encountered as “Indians.” (in a fine illustration of how the colonialist victors choose names for others, even the above discoverer’s name has been Anglicized from its Italian original: Cristoforo Colombo.) Indian, and later American Indian, are still the legal definition in US law for all the peoples living here prior to contact. However, since the name began with an error, it rankles many to this day. In the latter half of the twentieth-century, this nomenclature was altered in many textbooks and official documents to read “Native American.” However, this name too has angered many for the same reasons that “Indian” does: it is not a self-defined name, but rather one handed down from the powers that be. Perhaps Native American is more politically correct, but it is still clearly an outsiders’ description. (Ironically, the first usage of the capitalized “Native American” was done so by a group of racist Anglo-Saxon protestants in the 1850’s in an attempt to differentiate themselves from newer Irish and German immigrants.) A further problem is that the word “native” itself also has a number of pejorative usages, including “going native” and is associated in some people’s minds with being primitive or backward. Ultimately, naming is about power, and until everyone has the power to name themselves, this discussion will never go away.

Other terms not mentioned, like “indigenous peoples” or “Aboriginal” are so vague as to refer to nearly any ancient population worldwide, which is also hardly a useful characterization. (*Words like savage, Redskin, heathen or squaw have all gone out of favour because they have been deemed offensive, and one wonders the fate of all the terminologies we use today.) Defining a group of cultures so widely diverse as those that inhabited North America prior to contact is a fatally flawed proposition in the first place Also, terms like “Iroquoian-speaking” or “Pueblo-dwelling” define giant groups that are just as varied as saying “English speaking” or “Apartment-dwelling.” Borders also make things problematic, as “Native American” is meaningless when you consider the histories of the various groups that regularly crossed modern nation-state boundaries. So, why even bother to try and name people in this way? It is because this is exactly what both historic and modern-day colonizers want. If you can define someone, you can control them.

The natural inclination of those seeking to be respectful would then be: well, don’t generalize, refer to Peoples by their individual group-names rather than as one overarching population. However, this too is fraught with difficulty. Common usage names are often just as false and insulting as “Indian” can be. Take three examples: Mohawk is actually a word used by a rival group, the Narraganset, which literally means “the flesh eaters.” Both Sioux and Apache are French and Spanish corruptions of the word “enemy” in the languages of the Anishinaabe and Zuni Peoples respectively. In all three cases, European invaders, having no clue what they were doing or what the words meant, have defined groups for centuries by the terminology of their direct adversaries!

So, what is to be done? Well, of course, like any discussion of this scope, there is no one “solution” to the issue of naming. Think of how you define yourself and your own history: do you want the right to make that distinction yourself?

Naming is, and should be, about self-determination and empowerment. In the late 1960’s these concepts were flipped on their head when a radical group of activists began referring to themselves as the “American Indian Movement” and began to proclaim “Red Power.” Sometimes the very source of the strength of a word can be dependent entirely on who is saying it. Whenever there is confusion over what to call someone, I would offer only one concrete piece of advice: why don’t you ask them?

 

***Those of us at Slingshot welcome any comments on this issue and encourage people to send in their thoughts. The issue of naming itself came up at a meeting we had regarding the historical dates included within the organizer. We recognized that we were using far too many vague terms, and sought to define things as precisely as possible in a way those historical figures may have wanted to be referred to***

 

Welcome to the 2014 Slingshot Organizer. In the world we envision, there are less facebook friends and more friends sitting around a campfire talking and singing late into the night. With the government tracking every email we send and every phone call we make, using a low-tech paper calendar is one of the last ways people can keep their thoughts, schedules, friends and whereabouts to themselves. Doing things by hand, off the grid and for ourselves is about more than just flying below the radar — living like this keeps our lives engaged, active and meaningful in an increasingly resigned, passive world.

In the corporate/computerized world, competition and greed organize reality. But you don’t have to accept that world. We’re building a counter-culture where people create projects and collectives freely of our own will to do things we care about with people we love. These structures should be impossible under capitalism, and yet we exist. And we’re growing because people aren’t interchangeable robots no matter how powerful multi-nationals, the government and the media may appear to be. Their world is fragile and temporary and history is full of powerful empires collapsing, as illustrated in this organizer. We hope you can use the organizer to create your own beautiful, pleasurable moments, communities and spaces worth fighting for.

This is the 20th time we’ve amused ourselves by publishing the Slingshot organizer. Its sale raises funds to publish the quarterly, radical, independent Slingshot Newspaper. We try to distribute the newspaper for free everywhere in the US. Let us know if you can be a local newspaper distributor in your area. Thanks to the volunteers who created this year’s organizer: Aaron, Adam, Ali, Andrew, Ara, Ari, Bill, Bolinho, Brian, Brianna, Brickma, Brooke, Brookie, Danny B, Dominique, Eggplant, enola, Eric, Fil, Finn, Francesca, Grant, Greta, Heather, Jamie, Jess, Jesse, Joey, J-tronn, Kaye, Kazoo, KC, Kermit, Korvin, Kris, Lala, Lew, Lindsey, Melissa, Mike, Nat, Nausicaa, Nidia, Rachel, Solomon, Sy, Vanessa, Zoe, Zoe, and 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 ex. 3 • 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.

Big banks brought about the 2007 financial crisis through risky lending, and they are notorious for exporting wealth from local communities. The hacks in congress claim these banks are “too big to fail,” so rather than regulate or outlaw them, the politicians continue to use public money to bail out these private institutions–rather than directing funds towards education, transport, healthcare and other desperately needed community services.

No one else is going to do it for us, so perhaps it is time to take bank regulation into our own hands & shut down the corporate banks ourselves.

In 2012, a group of students & teachers at the University of California at Davis (UC Davis) used their bodies as a human chain, blocking the entrances to a corporate bank on their campus. After 2 straight months, the bank branch shut down and left the university forever. Maybe this tactic is most effective on universities and other campuses (i.e. hospitals), or maybe it can be transplanted into any community. We can only find out through trial and error.

If you are out of work due to the financial crisis the banks created, why not dedicate 15 hours a week to blockading a corporate bank in your neighborhood? It’s a great way to meet people, and it could have lasting positive effects on your community and quality of life.

Some tips:

– Coordinate. The Davis Blockaders are rumored to have used an online spreadsheet to sign up for 3-hour shifts to make sure multiple people were always covering the entrances during banking hours. (For funsies: you can treat the blockade like a job & wear a suit!)

– Personal Stories. If you have a personal story about how big banks screwed you or your loved ones over, don’t hesitate to share it with the customers you turn away.

– Recruit Lots of Local People from Diverse Backgrounds. It can also help to have some local celebrities & upstanding community members as spokespersons.

– Educate. Some people are still plugged in to the corporate media and don’t understand why big banks are bad. Be ready to explain the basics to these n00bs, or have some fliers to give them.

– Bring a book. Some relevant titles: DEBT: the first 5000 years by David Greaber and Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin.

– Document Any Abuses. If bank employees, customers, or cops attempt to break the law by assaulting anyone in the blockade, film them!

– Avoid breaking the law. Don’t give the police an excuse to crash your blockade. If a window gets smashed or a pedestrian gets punched, it’s pretty much over. If someone wants to do drugs or booze up, they need to go someplace else. A bank blockade is a specific type of tactic & needs to stay focused on its goal. That said, if a random riot wanders by and saves you some time by torching the bank, what can you say?

– Get Legal Support. Be in touch with local law firms that specialize in Civil Disobedience. Twelve of the Davis Blockaders were charged with misdemeanors, but several rockstar lawyers showed up to defend them in court. With help from the legal community, the “Davis Dozen” each received a mere 60 hours of community service & clean records.

– Send us your stories of successful blockades! We may run them in the Slingshot newspaper. All submissions to slingshot@tao.ca.

Some resources:

strikedebt.org – Join the global debt strike! Stop making payments & reclaim the future!

publicbankinginstitute.org – Make all banks into publicly-owned institutions and end this bullshit once & for all!

Books

FICTION

Summer People Marge Piercy

He She It Marge Piercy

Best of Singapore Erotica editors L.Q. Pan & Richard Lord

Ecotopia Ernest Callenbach

The Octopus Frank Norris

Bluebeard Kurt Vonnegut

Bastard Out of Carolina Dorothy Allison

The Drowning Girl by Caitlin R. Kiernan

Mists of Avalon Marion Zimmer Bradley

Tell Me How Long the Train’s Been Gone James Baldwin

Ceremony Leslie Marmon Silko

The Rum Diary Hunter S. Thompson

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Robert Persig

The Revenge of the Lawn Richard Brautigan

The Dispossessed Ursula K LeGuin

Ubik Philip K Dick

The Galactic Pot-Healer Philip K Dick

 

NONFICTION

Days and Nights of Love and War Eduardo Galeano

Killing Hope William Blum

More Power Than We Know Dave Dellinger

The Riot Grrrl Collection Lisa Darms

Why We Drive: The Past, Present and Future of Automobiles in America Andy Singer

We Got Power!: Hardcore Punk Scenes from 1980s Southern California David Markey

The Enchanted Screen: The Unknown History of Fairy-Tale Films Jack Zipes

The Irresistible Fairy Tale: The Cultural and Social History of a Genre Jack Zipes

Sphinx: The Life and Art of Leonor Fini by Peter Webb

The Vicious Red Relic, Love: A Fabulist Memoir Anna Joy Springer

Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide Andrea Smith

A Free Range Childhood: Self Regulation At Summerhill School Matthew Appelton

On the Ground Illustrated: Anecdotal History of the Sixties Underground Press Sean Stewart

Heroines Kate Zambreno

The Coming Insurrection The Invisible Committee

Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age W. Bernard Carlson

Subversion: Definitive History of Underground Cinema Duncan Reekie

Destroy All Movies: The Complete Guide to Punks On Film Zack Carlson & Bryan Connolly

The Courage to Heal Laura Davis

Bound for Glory Woody Guthrie

Anarchy Comics: The Complete Collection Jay Kinney

The Philosophy of Punk Frank O’Hara

Frames of War: When is Life Grievable? Judith Butler

Don’t Leave Your Friends Behind Vicky Law

Firebrands: Portraits from the Americas Josh MacPhee

 

Zines:

Hungry Hungry Hoes, Doris, Breakfast,

Shotgun Seamstress, Entropy, Mend My Dress,

No Gods No Mattress, Absolutely Zippo,

Asswipe, Baitline!!!, Wasted Indeed, Cometbus,

Nuts!!!, The Match, Muchacha, Node Pajomo,

Maximum Rock n’ Roll, Fifth Estate, The Pelican,

Fireworks, Shards of Glass in Your Eye,

Razorcake, Rochester Teen Set Outsider, Neon Shit,

Degenerate, Specious Species, Shut Up Slut, Rad Dad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NONFICTION

Days and Nights of Love and War Eduardo Galeano

Mass Psychology of Fascism Wilhelm Reich

Horror Movies of the 1980’s John Kenneth Muir

Killing Hope William Blum

The Best of Intentions: The Avow Anthology Keith Rosson

More Power Than We Know Dave Dellinger

Sphinx: The Life and Art of Leonor Fini by Peter Webb

Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide Andrea Smith

A Free Range Childhood: Self Regulation At Summerhill School Matthew Appelton

Asia’s Unknown Uprisings: South Korea Social Movements in the 20th Century George Katsiaficas

High Risk: An Anthology of Forbidden Writings edited Amy Scholder & Ira Silverberg

The Vicious Red Relic, Love: A Fabulist Memoir Anna Joy Springer

No Straight Lines Four Decades of Queer Comics edited Justin Hall

Heroines Kate Zambreno

The Coming Insurrection The Invisible Committee

Anarchy Comics: The Complete Collection Jay Kinney

Queers Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the LGBTQ Fans Who Love It edited Sigrid Ellis & Michael Damian Thomas

On the Ground Illustrated: Anecdotal History of the Sixties Underground Press Sean Stewart

Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age W. Bernard Carlson

Subversion: Definitive History of Underground Cinema Duncan Reekie

Destroy All Movies: The Complete Guide to Punks On Film Zack Carlson & Bryan Connolly

Don’t Kiss Me: The Art of Claude Cahun & Marcel Moore

The Courage to Heal Laura Davis

Bound for Glory Woody Guthrie

Why We Drive: The Past, Present and Future of Automobiles in America Andy Singer

The Philosophy of Punk Frank O’Hara

We Got Power!: Hardcore Punk Scenes from 1980s Southern California David Markey

The Enchanted Screen: The Unknown History of Fairy-Tale Films Jack Zipes

The Irresistible Fairy Tale: The Cultural and Social History of a Genre Jack Zipes

The Riot Grrrl Collection Lisa Darms

Frames of War: When is Life Grievable? Judith Butler

Don’t Leave Your Friends Behind Vicky Law

Firebrands: Portraits from the Americas Josh MacPhee

I Wish There Was Something I Could Quit Aaron Cometbus

 

FICTION

Summer People Marge Piercy

He She It Marge Piercy

Islam Quintet Tariq Ali

Best of Singapore Erotica editors L.Q. Pan & Richard Lord

Bluebeard Kurt Vonnegut

Bastard Out of Carolina Dorothy Allison

The Revenge of the Lawn Richard Brautigan

The Drowning Girl by Caitlin R. Kiernan

Mists of Avalon Marion Zimmer Bradley

Ecotopia Ernest Callenbach

The Octopus Frank Norris

Ceremony Leslie Marmon Silko

Going To Meet The Man James Baldwin

Tell Me How Long the Train’s Been Gone James Baldwin

The Rum Diary Hunter S. Thompson

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Robert Persig

The Dispossessed Ursula K LeGuin

Ubik Philip K Dick

The Galactic Pot-Healer Philip K Dick

 

Zines:

Hungry Hungry Hoes, Doris, Breakfast, Shotgun Seamstress, Entropy, Mend My Dress, No Gods No Mattress, Absolutely Zippo, Asswipe, Baitline!!!, Wasted Indeed, Cometbus, Nuts!!!, The Match, Muchacha, Node Pajomo, Maximum Rock n’ Roll, Fifth Estate, The Pelican, Fireworks, Shards of Glass in Your Eye, Razorcake, Rochester Teen Set Outsider, Neon Shit, Degenerate, Specious Species, Shut Up Slut

 

Books

 

NONFICTION

Days and Nights of Love and War Eduardo Galeano

Horror Movies of the 1980’s John Kenneth Muir

Killing Hope William Blum

More Power Than We Know Dave Dellinger

We Got Power!: Hardcore Punk Scenes from 1980s Southern California David Markey

The Enchanted Screen: The Unknown History of Fairy-Tale Films Jack Zipes

The Irresistible Fairy Tale: The Cultural and Social History of a Genre Jack Zipes

Sphinx: The Life and Art of Leonor Fini by Peter Webb

Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide Andrea Smith

A Free Range Childhood: Self Regulation At Summerhill School Matthew Appelton

On the Ground Illustrated: Anecdotal History of the Sixties Underground Press Sean Stewart

Why We Drive: The Past, Present and Future of Automobiles in America Andy Singer

No Straight Lines Four Decades of Queer Comics edited Justin Hall

Heroines Kate Zambreno

The Coming Insurrection The Invisible Committee

Anarchy Comics: The Complete Collection Jay Kinney

Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age W. Bernard Carlson

Subversion: Definitive History of Underground Cinema Duncan Reekie

Destroy All Movies: The Complete Guide to Punks On Film Zack Carlson & Bryan Connolly

The Courage to Heal Laura Davis

Bound for Glory Woody Guthrie

The Philosophy of Punk Frank O’Hara

The Riot Grrrl Collection Lisa Darms

Frames of War: When is Life Grievable? Judith Butler

Don’t Leave Your Friends Behind Vicky Law

Firebrands: Portraits from the Americas Josh MacPhee

 

FICTION

Summer People Marge Piercy

He She It Marge Piercy

Bluebeard Kurt Vonnegut

Ecotopia Ernest Callenbach

The Octopus Frank Norris

Bastard Out of Carolina Dorothy Allison

The Revenge of the Lawn Richard Brautigan

The Drowning Girl by Caitlin R. Kiernan

Mists of Avalon Marion Zimmer Bradley

Ceremony Leslie Marmon Silko

Going To Meet The Man James Baldwin

Tell Me How Long the Train’s Been Gone James Baldwin

The Rum Diary Hunter S. Thompson

Best of Singapore Erotica editors L.Q. Pan & Richard Lord

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Robert Persig

The Dispossessed Ursula K LeGuin

Ubik Philip K Dick

The Galactic Pot-Healer Philip K Dick

 

Zines:

Hungry Hungry Hoes, Doris, Breakfast, Shotgun Seamstress, Entropy, Mend My Dress, No Gods No Mattress, Absolutely Zippo, Asswipe, Baitline!!!, Wasted Indeed, Cometbus, Nuts!!!, The Match, Muchacha, Node Pajomo, Maximum Rock n’ Roll, Fifth Estate, The Pelican, Fireworks, Shards of Glass in Your Eye, Razorcake, Rochester Teen Set Outsider, Neon Shit, Degenerate, Specious Species, Shut Up Slut

 

NONFICTION

Days and Nights of Love and War Eduardo Galeano

Horror Movies of the 1980’s John Kenneth Muir

Killing Hope William Blum

More Power Than We Know Dave Dellinger

Why We Drive: The Past, Present and Future of Automobiles in America Andy Singer

We Got Power!: Hardcore Punk Scenes from 1980s Southern California David Markey

The Enchanted Screen: The Unknown History of Fairy-Tale Films Jack Zipes

The Irresistible Fairy Tale: The Cultural and Social History of a Genre Jack Zipes

Sphinx: The Life and Art of Leonor Fini by Peter Webb

Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide Andrea Smith

A Free Range Childhood: Self Regulation At Summerhill School Matthew Appelton

On the Ground Illustrated: Anecdotal History of the Sixties Underground Press Sean Stewart

Heroines Kate Zambreno

The Coming Insurrection The Invisible Committee

Anarchy Comics: The Complete Collection Jay Kinney

Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age W. Bernard Carlson

Subversion: Definitive History of Underground Cinema Duncan Reekie

Destroy All Movies: The Complete Guide to Punks On Film Zack Carlson & Bryan Connolly

The Courage to Heal Laura Davis

Bound for Glory Woody Guthrie

The Philosophy of Punk Frank O’Hara

The Riot Grrrl Collection Lisa Darms

Frames of War: When is Life Grievable? Judith Butler

Don’t Leave Your Friends Behind Vicky Law

Firebrands: Portraits from the Americas Josh MacPhee

 

FICTION

Summer People Marge Piercy

He She It Marge Piercy

Ecotopia Ernest Callenbach

The Octopus Frank Norris

Bastard Out of Carolina Dorothy Allison

The Drowning Girl by Caitlin R. Kiernan

Mists of Avalon Marion Zimmer Bradley

Tell Me How Long the Train’s Been Gone James Baldwin

Ceremony Leslie Marmon Silko

The Rum Diary Hunter S. Thompson

Best of Singapore Erotica editors L.Q. Pan & Richard Lord

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Robert Persig

Bluebeard Kurt Vonnegut

The Dispossessed Ursula K LeGuin

Ubik Philip K Dick

The Galactic Pot-Healer Philip K Dick

 

 

As we build new non-hierarchical projects, businesses, houses and institutions, efficient, clear and open group process can make our work a lot easier. Making decisions as a group shouldn’t have to mean sitting in endless disorganized, frustrating meetings or letting our groups be dominated by those with the loudest voices. Here are some tips on how to create effective, fun, cooperative structures for liberation.

Decision Making Process

• If possible, come to meetings having already thought about concrete things to say and discuss.

• Starting a meeting well sets the tone for what is to come. Make a clear agenda that everyone understands and agrees on. Select people to play roles at the meeting: a facilitator or co-facilitators, a time keeper, someone to take minutes, and maybe a stack-keeper and vibes watcher for bigger meetings. Go around the circle and have everyone introduce themselves and perhaps check-in with how they’re feeling to build a cohesive spirit for the meeting.

• Meetings are more fun when there’s food and drink served.

• It can be helpful to have a brainstorm to generate lots of ideas on a particular agenda item. Everyone throws out ideas and no one comments on them or discusses them at the time. They are written down and organized or discussed later.

• Sometimes people raise their hands to speak to a point. The facilitator or stack-keeper will call on people and keep their comments in order. Other times a “talking stick” gets passed around — only the person holding the stick can speak.

• Sometimes, it is nice to have a “go-round” so that everyone in the circle can speak to a point or at least say “pass.” That will give quieter people who might not raise their hand a chance to speak.

• During the meeting, after discussing a point on the agenda, one or several people can state specific proposals or counter-proposals for the group to act on. This avoids general discussion that doesn’t lead to a clear decision or action.

• When a meeting is having a hard time getting to a decision, it can be helpful to take a non-binding “straw poll” to get a sense of how people feel on an issue. It may be that most people already favor one course and a straw poll can move the meeting from discussion to reaching a decision.

• Many groups use consensus to reach a decision — the process of only making a decision when, after thorough discussion, everyone agrees to a proposal or agrees to stand aside and not block it. This can take longer because it takes time to hear everyone’s point of view and requires people to compromise but avoids a group splitting between winners and losers.

• At the end of the meeting, make sure the date is set for the next meeting. Doing a check-out to state how people thought the meeting went can help heal hard feelings that may have developed during the meeting. It also helps to have people repeat what they agreed to do at the meeting so everyone remembers who will do what later. Write up minutes and distribute them to the group.

Organizational Development

• Groups that grow slowly and organically — starting with small goals and letting the project expand with the group rather than biting off a huge task right from the start — tend to keep going rather than burning out. Avoid endless discussions of abstract structure and procedures before you’ve even done anything.

• Collectives work best when they stay small — maybe the size of a band or at most a smaller chamber orchestra. If a project requires more people, several independent collectives can communicate and cooperate on it.

• Having an established welcoming ritual for new members will help the group seem open rather than a closed clique of friends.

• Some collectives are open to anyone who wants to join. Others are closed collectives — new members have to be invited to join by the existing group. Figure out which kind your group wants to be based on the goals and needs of the group. It is okay to decide who you want to work with — being closed can help deal with disruptive people. On the other hand, open groups can include new energy, people and diversity outside your personal friendship network.

• Finances should be open and not mixed with anyone’s personal money.

• Keep a binder with all the minutes of meetings to maintain history as membership changes.

• Avoid development of an “in-group” by rotating tasks, sharing information about how things work, and publicly posting meeting times if the group is an open collective.

 

Fiction

The Days of Abandonment – Elena Ferrante

Nevada – Imogen Binnie

The Activist – Renee Gladman

Parable of the Sower – Octavia Butler

Drown – Junot Díaz

The Good Soldier Švejk – Jaroslav Hašek

Nightwood – Djuna Barnes

 

Nonfiction

How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read – Pierre Bayard

Why Are Faggots So Afraid of Faggots? – Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore

The Secret Life on Puppets – Victoria Nelson

Towards a Creative Nothing – Renzo Novatore

Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics – bell hooks

Are Prisons Obsolete? – Angela Davis

A Crime Called Freedom – Os Cangaceiros

Parasite Rex – Carl Zimmer

Walled States, Waning Sovereignty – Wendy Brown

The Fire Next Time – James Baldwin

Shotgun Seamstress Zine Anthology – Osa Atoe

The Gentrification of the Mind – Sarah Schulman

 

 

Poetry

Top 40 – Brandon Brown

Prelude to Bruise – Saeed Jones

Citizen – Claudia Rankine

The Heart’s Traffic – Ching-In Chen

Letters to Wendy’s – Joe Wenderoth

The Maximus Poems – Charles Olson

Collected Poems – Kenneth Patchen

Engine Empire – Cathy Park Hong

Inter Arma – Lauren Shufran

Life on Mars – Tracy K. Smith

 

Comics

Sex Criminals

Bitch Planet

Fun Home

Black Science

Pretty Deadly

How to monitor the police: Copwatch

In a free, non-hierarchical society, there wouldn’t be a police force — a group of people paid by those in power to use violence to enforce laws. Laws are typically made by elites to protect their power and social position, and therefore a primary function of police is to protect inequality. Historically, the most oppressed communities have suffered the worst abuse and violence at the hands of police. In response to this brutality, people have organized to protect our communities by watching the cops. These efforts try to deter the worst police abuses by exposing them to public attention. While the police are always watching you, usually no one watches the police. The Black Panther party originally existed to follow police patrols and stop their abuse of the black community. In more recent years, activists around the world have started Copwatch projects to keep an eye on the police.

The following are exerpts of the Berkeley Copwatch Manual on how Copwatch groups monitor police activity. If your town doesn’t have a Copwatch project, you can start one by gathering friends and forming your own citizen patrols. Good luck!

 

Copwatch’s main tactic is to discourage police brutality and harassment by letting the cops know that their actions are being recorded and that they will be held accountable for their acts of harassment and abuse. To this end we will: record incidents of abuse and harassment, follow through on complaints, publicize incidents of abuse and harassment, educate those who don’t believe that police harassment exists.

Defuse Situations

As Copwatchers, we don’t want to escalate a situation to where police arrest someone as a way of getting back at us. We must learn how to assert our rights and to encourage others to assert their rights without endangering someone who is already in some amount of trouble.

We do not attempt to interfere with officers as they make routine arrests. We document and try to inform the cops when we feel that they are violating policy or the law.

Shift Procedures

• Be sure your warrant status, bike or car is up to date. Don’t give the cops any opportunity to bust you. Assume that this could happen.

• Identification can be very helpful if the police detain you.

• Have a partner for safety as well as good Copwatching. It is very important not to confront the police alone. You must have a witness and someone who can verify your story in case of a problem

• Make sure that you are not carrying anything illegal! No knives, drugs, etc.

• Wear a Copwatch identification badge.

• Be sure that you or your partner brings things you will need to Copwatch: Incident forms, the Copwatch Handbook, Police Dept. complaint forms, Copwatch literature to distribute, tape recorder, police scanner, video recorder, cameras, copy of Penal Code

During Shift

As you observe a situation, one partner records what officers are saying or doing, while the other quietly gets information from witnesses. Consult and share information. Get a firm grasp of the situation first. Record as much information as possible. Witness names and numbers and badge numbers are important. It also helps to write down when, where and what time the incident happened. If there has been an injury, encourage the person to see a doctor and take pictures of the injuries as soon as possible. Distribute Copwatch literature while you are observing a stop so that people understand that you are not just there to be entertained but are actually trying to help.

Remember that you have the right to watch the cops. You don’t have the right to interfere.

When you observe police remember that you don’t want to make the cops more nervous than they already are. Keep your hands visible at all times. Don’t approach an officer from behind or stand behind them. Don’t make any sudden movements or raise your voice to the cop. Try to keep the situation calm. You don’t want to get the person in more trouble. If an officer tells you to step back, tell the officer that you do not want to interfere, you simply wish to observe.

More Assertive Style:

• Ask victims if they know why they are being arrested or detained.

• If the stop is vague, ask the cop to name the Penal Code Section that they are enforcing.

• Have educational conversations with people standing around.

• Don’t piss the cop off if you can help it. Don’t let it get personal. No name calling!

• Identify yourself as “Copwatch.”

• Try to stay until the stop is concluded. Remember that Rodney King was just a traffic stop originally.

• If a person wants to take action, give them complaint forms.

• Don’t assume who is right and who is wrong. Observe and document before taking action.

Be Careful:

• Don’t inadvertently collaborate in a crime (don’t become a look-out, warning if police are coming, etc.)

• Taking pictures or videotaping can be a problem if the detainee doesn’t want you to. Respect them. Tell them that you are working to stop police misconduct. If this doesn’t satisfy them, turn off the camera.

• Don’t make promises that you can’t keep. Don’t tell people you will get them a lawyer or take the cops to court, etc.

• Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know” if you are asked legal questions. That is better than giving out wrong information.

To see the full manual or for other information, check out www.berkeleycopwatch.org.

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. 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: 415 285-1055 or 212 627-2656; read The War at Home by Brian Glick or Agents of Repression by Ward Churchill

 

Good sex is an act of mutual aid. Every person, regardless of gender, is responsible for contributing to the well-being and pleasure of their partners and themselves. We must explore and know our own desires and learn to speak them. We must hear and respond to the desires of our partners (even if that means accepting refusal gracefully). This means finding the words to express how we like to be touched, spoken to, tied up, and cuddled. Getting explicit permission, however vulnerable and scary it may seem, is a great turn-on. What better than knowing your partner really likes it when you touch them that way, talk in that voice, or use that prop? What is better than knowing you can ask for anything, and it will at least be considered respectfully? There is no way that we or our relationships can grow if we don’t find safe spaces in which to explore.

If you have never spoken during sex, or asked permission, or blurted out your desires, feel free to start small. Most people hear compliments well, and appreciate encouraging suggestions. However, it’s equally important to discover the boundaries of your comfort (often situational) and speak them as well. Starting off with a “this feels so good” or “I love it when you…” or “I’d like you to spend the night if you’re interested” is fantastically brave. If you’re not there, work on moaning—just get yourself vocal. Steady yourself for disappointment (and delight), and enjoy the benefits of good communication. Often, people’s boundaries are related to past experience, and creating a safer “right now” can help some people open up closed doors. There is no implicit consent to touch someone’s genitals because you have kissed them, or to have intercourse because you’ve had oral sex. If your partner tenses up or cries or is unresponsive, it’s really important to stop, check in, and support what they need. Be honest about any risk factors you bring, such as sexually transmitted infections, whether you have unprotected sex with other people, and if you have allergies to glycerin or spermicide (in lube) or latex. Details make all the difference.

It’s also important that we take care of our community and help out our friends. At the very least, we should directly check in with them about what they want and expect, and possibly act to get them to a place of lower risk. It’s also important to confront people (in a supportive way) who act aggressively, because they may not understand that what they are doing is possibly assault. They are either okay with what they are doing, or don’t believe there’s anything wrong with it.

While being so direct about sex is outside of most norms, it transforms sexual experiences. When we are sure that we agree with our partners about expectation and desire, there is no fear to distract us—only pleasure and humor. It’s much less pressure to offer someone a choice (“Would you like to come home with me or would you rather hang out here?”) than a request (“Would you come home with me tonight?”). If we allow for slow and comfortable intimacy, we are likely to experience it more fully and joyfully.

So, if you are often the initiator of your sexual experiences, experiment with patience and let someone else take the lead. Even if it means being alone more often, you may find you enjoy yourself more when you have partners. If you are less likely to initiate sex, think of ways you could safely ask for intimacy. Having the support of friends could make it easier to approach that really great someone.

It’s our responsibility to create new sexual expectations based on good communication that not only reduce the likelihood of sexual assault, but affirm that sex is normal and necessary. This begins with teaching children healthy ideas about their bodies and believing people when they share stories of sexual assault. Consider it turning on the lights. There are endless ways for us to end our internal oppression and explore healthy, better sex.