From It's Going Down

As the smoke from May Day clears we hear many people asking, why? Why did what happen, happen? We also hear many people throwing around baseless accusations and assumptions; it was a bunch of angry white men, there was no message, they weren’t really anarchists, it was just mindless vandalism. We are writing this to address some of this and to counter the narrative of the police, business owners, and main stream media. We cannot speak for everyone there, but as some participants we can speak for ourselves.

Early in the morning of April 20th we poured concrete on the train tracks that lead out of the Port of Olympia to block any trains from using the tracks. We took precautions to notify BNSF (the train company) - we called them and we used wires to send a signal that the tracks were blocked. We did this not to avoid damaging a train, nothing would bring bigger grins to our faces, but to avoid the risk of injuring railway workers.

On Sunday night, anarchists in Olympia marched in solidarity with rioters and rebels in Milwaukee. After Sylville Smith was gunned down by the police in Milwaukee on Saturday, residents rose up and fought the police, burning down buildings and destroying police cruisers. We are saddened that another person lost his life to the police and white supremacy, but we are also inspired by the response in Milwaukee.

(from pugetsoundanarchists.org)

Earlier this spring on May 21st, two young black men were inside the Safeway on Cooper Point Road in West Olympia. One of them decided there was no point in paying for a twenty-four pack of beer, so they attempted to just walk out the front door with it. But as is so often the case, a Safeway employee who makes less than 15 dollars an hour felt it necessary to prevent this horrible crime. When she attempted to stop the young man, he threw the beer at her and ran away with his friend. As it turned out, these two men were brothers, Andre and Bryson Chaplin.

From It's Going Down

Thoughts from a Black Anarchist Concerning the Lack of Momentum in Olympia

For one night, one of the most epic nights, in my life for sure and probably in the history of Olympia, a united front was successfully formed where over 200 people came to flood the streets of Oly and run the Nazi scum out. A strong Bloc of 50 or more were ready and it was enchantingly beautiful, I was amazed. I was proud.

Airs on WSFM-LP 103.3 in Asheville / streaming at AshevilleFM from 3am EST on June 29th through July 5th, 2015, then podcasting at radio4all.net. Also airing this week on KOWA-LPFM in Olympia, WA, KWTF in Bodega Bay, CA, KXCF in Marshall, CA, and WCRS-LP Columbus Community Radio 98.3 and 102.1 FM.

From Oly Documents

from PSA (http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/node/111)

Context: This is a response to internet scandal over a demo that was called for at the home of the Olympia pig who shot Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin early Thursday morning. Several Olympia activists, professional allies, etc. got up in arms over the fact that this was not organized by the management of yesterday's 11 am and 6 pm demos, and that anarchists (who were presumed to be white, many but not all of whom are) did not seek approval from self-proclaimed leaders. The piece seeks to dispel common misconceptions and clarify our positions in this struggle. We welcome further dialogue and dispute.

from PSA (http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/node/110)

First off contrary to popular belief it was not all crackers at the Fuck the Police march that happened a little after 11pm on May 21st, 2015.