In this new feature on the struggle in Rojava, we offer an overview of the history of transnational Kurdish resistance, culminating in the present moment of crisis in the conflict with ISIS and the Turkish state. Drawing on repeated trips to Kurdistan during which he met with youth militias in Cizre and visited Kobanê immediately after its liberation, our correspondent traces the trajectory from the founding of the PKK to the Suruç massacre, spelling out exactly what is at stake in this struggle.
Ex-Worker #41: Anarchism Across the Globe
#41: Anarchism in Belarus, Czech Republic, Korea, and Beyond – In this episode, the Ex-Worker explores connections between anarchism, repression and resistance across the world in countries that rarely appear in the radical limelight. We share an interview with an Anarchist Black Cross chapter in Belarus, discussing the president’s recent release of anarchist political prisoners; interview a Czech anarchist about “Operation Fenix” and recent entrapment cases and terrorism charges leveled at anarchists there; and provide more context to [last episode] (http://crimethinc.com/podcast/40)’s call to flag-burning action from South Korean anarchists by examining the historical and political contexts of the flag for Korean radicals. We also discuss the Suruc massacre, in which five anarchists were killed by an ISIS attack, and developments among Kurdish struggles in Turkey and Syria, and expand our ongoing discussion of the concept of “terrorism” through the lens of a court ruling about gangs in El Salvador. Listener thoughts on Zeitgeist, conspiracy theories, and small-town anarchism, debunking the myth of “cops under attack” since the emergence of Black Lives Matter, and an announcement of the CrimethInc. “To Change Everything” US tour top off our usual collection of global news updates, prisoner birthdays, event announcements, and more.
You can download this and all of our previous episodes online. You can also subscribe in iTunes here or just add the feed URL to your podcast player of choice. Rate us on iTunes and let us know what you think, or send us an email to podcast@crimethinc.com. You can also call us 24 hours a day at 202–59-NOWRK, that is, 202–596–6975.
To Change Everything US Tour Dates
This Tuesday, our comrades are embarking on a two-month tour of the US, comprising fifty events in twenty-five states. Where our massive outreach project To Change Everything introduces anarchist ideas, on this tour anarchists from three continents will discuss their experiences acting on these ideas in a variety of struggles, movements, and uprisings.
There are still a couple days open in Southern California in late October. If you want to help us book those dates, or you would like to host future CrimethInc. tours anywhere in the world, please contact us at rollingthunder@crimethinc.com.
With the fall and the tour just getting underway, this is a great time to order a vast quantity of print copies of To Change Everything to distribute in your area. You can also get copies en Español.
Hope to see you this fall!
#40: Struggles Against White Supremacy
#40: Struggles Against White Supremacy and Police Since Ferguson – It’s been a year since rage over Michael Brown’s murder catalyzed an anti-racist and anti-police rebellion that spread from Ferguson around the country. How can anarchists interpret the trajectory of the struggles against white supremacy that have unfolded over the last year? In Episode 40 of The Ex-Worker, we discuss the current state of police violence and both institutional and autonomous white supremacy, alongside an analysis of how anti-racist and anti-police resistance developed from Ferguson to Baltimore to South Carolina. A listener weighs in on the risks of militarism, from the Iron Column in the Spanish Civil War to the militias in Rojava today. Comrades from Korea share updates on state repression and issue an exciting call for international solidarity, and Clara and Alanis discuss the politics of the term “terrorism” and how to undertake assertive resistance to state repression without resorting to sports metaphors.
You can download this and all of our previous episodes online. You can also subscribe in iTunes here or just add the feed URL to your podcast player of choice. Rate us on iTunes and let us know what you think, or send us an email to podcast@crimethinc.com. You can also call us 24 hours a day at 202–59-NOWRK, that is, 202–596–6975.
Report from South Korea
We received the following report and request from our comrades in South Korea, who recently published a Korean version of To Change Everything and are active in a variety of struggles there.
Starting in spring, the anarchist appeal To Change Everything was adapted into Korean and distributed in paper and online in South Korea. Many welcomed it; the first printing ran out quickly.
It also provoked a strong reaction when the country’s major corporate news agency reported on it and on a project appearing on the appeal’s blog to gather and distribute songs against the National Security Law. The journalist even went to the prosecutor’s office, inquiring whether these activities constituted “aid to the enemy” (in other words, treason), which is what the National Security Law targets. The official’s response was that the answer “depends on an eventual analysis of whether this is part of an intention to threaten the national order.” In the corporate media, the numerous comments posted online with the article expressed a unanimous condemnation of these “pro-North Koreans” that we supposedly are (ignoring the “anarchist” reference), demanding even severer laws and repression. For example, “These pro-North Koreans should be sent to the good old ‘re-education camp’ to be reminded the fact that this country is still at war.”
Next Time It Explodes
A year has passed since the murder of Michael Brown, one of over 1100 people, disproportionately black and brown, killed by US law enforcement in 2014. The movement against institutionalized white supremacy and police violence has spread and escalated, gaining leverage on the authorities and the public imagination despite repeated efforts to coopt it. At the same time, we are seeing extra-governmental white supremacist violence reemerge as a force in the US, as it always does whenever state strategies for imposing white supremacy reach their limits.
The illusion of social peace is evaporating. Over the past year, the National Guard has been called out three times to quell anti-police rioting. White racists have retaliated with church burnings and murders, while raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to support murderers in uniform. The lines that are being drawn may determine the geography of racialized conflict in the US for a long time to come. How did we arrive here from the first demonstrations in Ferguson? And how should we position ourselves in these struggles?
Reflections on the Ferguson Uprising
In February 2015, after months of confrontations in response to the murder of Michael Brown, a number of anarchists from the St. Louis area gathered to reflect on their experiences in the streets, their role in predominantly black struggles, and the ramifications of arson and gunfire in protests. We had sent some discussion questions to get the ball rolling, but mostly they let the conversation take its own course, speaking with admirable frankness and vulnerability. The result is an important historical document, of interest to anyone who might one day participate in something similar.
This transcript originally appeared in the 12th issue of Rolling Thunder, which examines the movement that spread across the United States from Ferguson in great detail. It is the first of a series of texts we will be publishing this week to commemorate the anniversary of the uprising.
Episode #39: The Rojava Revolution, Part II
#39: The Rojava Revolution, Part II – In the latest episode of the Ex-Worker, we continue our discussion of the unfolding social revolution in the autonomous Kurdish territories of Rojava. Building on our coverage in Episode 36, we share two interviews themed around international solidarity with the struggle for autonomy and the fight against ISIS. In the first, a member of Rojava Solidarity NYC, the group of American anarchists that produced the book “A Small Key Can Open a Large Door”, discusses democratic confederalism and the council system in the cantons, compares and contrasts the Zapatista uprising with the Rojava revolution, and describes the solidarity projects they’ve undertaken and what’s at stake for anarchists in our response to the events in Kurdistan. In the second, a member of the Turkish anarchist group Social Insurrection discusses his experience fighting with the United Freedom Forces militia. We address some critiques of the revolutionary structures in Rojava as well as our coverage of them and trace the emergence of international solidarity brigades. A member of Antifa International announces the formation of an International Anti-fascist Defense Fund, and we share info about several recently released anarchist publications. Our discussion of the news takes on Obama’s sudden transformation into a prison reform advocate, indigenous resistance to profiteering off alcoholism, and the outing of a corporate infiltrator into the animal rights movement, while our indignant coverage of Syriza’s entirely predictable betrayal of Greek social movements in their EU bailout austerity proposal concludes with a helpful diagnosis of “The Five Stages of Leftism”.
You can download this and all of our previous episodes online. You can also subscribe in iTunes here or just add the feed URL to your podcast player of choice. Rate us on iTunes and let us know what you think, or send us an email to podcast@crimethinc.com. You can also call us 24 hours a day at 202–59-NOWRK, that is, 202–596–6975.
#38: Anarchism in Lake Worth, Florida
#38: Anarchism in Lake Worth, Florida – How do anarchists organize outside of major cities? In Episode 38 of the Ex-Worker, we offer a profile of anarchism in Lake Worth, a small coastal town in southern Florida with a surprisingly active and vibrant culture of resistance. Participants in the Everglades Earth First!, the Earth First! Journal, the South Florida Prison Books Project, the former Night Heron Infoshop, and Prison Legal News discuss some of the many radical projects that operate out of Lake Worth. We even hear from a former anarchist elected official discussing the contradictions and possibilities of that position! The episode also includes a CrimethInc. tour announcement, feedback from listeners about online crypto-anarchism, appeals for solidarity, plenty of news from all over the world, and more.
You can download this and all of our previous episodes online. You can also subscribe in iTunes here or just add the feed URL to your podcast player of choice. Rate us on iTunes and let us know what you think, or send us an email to podcast@crimethinc.com. You can also call us 24 hours a day at 202–59-NOWRK, that is, 202–596–6975.
To Change Everything US Tour
We’re organizing a US tour for this September and October including anarchists from the groups that have produced versions of To Change Everything in Latin America, Eastern Europe, and the Balkans, as well as North America. Together, they will present a panel discussion comparing experiences from the recent global wave of uprisings and exploring the significance of anarchism in the 21st century. We’re excited to facilitate this exchange of perspectives across different continents and struggles, in hopes of helping to foster more global connections and solidarity.
But we need your help! If you are able to host an event, please contact us at rollingthunder@crimethinc.com. We’re especially interested in setting up events outside the usual venues. We would love to hear from student groups, community centers, and anyone else with a good idea.