By Global Uprisings. Since the election of Donald Trump, acts of racist violence have proliferated across the United States. Racists and misogynists feel emboldened to express and act on their views. White nationalist groups and resurgent traditional white supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan have used Trumps victory to gain new recruits. All that stands in their way are the groups of committed anti-racists who have taken it upon themselves to prevent fascism from becoming a powerful political force in the United States. This film tells the story of what “Antifa” is and why people are using these tactics to confront racism and fascism in the US today.
How To Set Up An Anti-Fascist Group
An article by Anti-Fascist Network that goes over the details of starting an Anti-Fascist Action group in your area.
Security Culture: A Handbook For Activists
An excellent zine that encompasses the basics of security culture for those that are interested in radical resistance. More from them on security culture here. For online resources, go here.
Texting Tips for the Brave: Guidelines for Using Signal
Signal is an amazing resource and a great tool for many groups of people to connect and communicate with each other. The intent and purpose of these groups can vary widely, from making dinner plans to organizing the next display of collective power. If you aren’t already using signal, you should be!
But simply using Signal isn’t enough to keep you and your friends safe. Our collective security is only as good as the individual with the least safe practices. So we outlined a few guidelines and protocols to help tighten your individual and collective practices.
This is Not a Dialogue: Not Just Free Speech, but Freedom Itself
“Maybe you missed this, but you’re not in a dialogue. Your views are beside the point. Argue all you want—your adversaries are glad to see you waste your breath. Better yet if you protest: they’d rather you carry a sign than do anything. They’ll keep you talking as long as they can, just to tire you out—to buy time.
They intend to force their agenda on you. That’s what all the guns are for, what the police and drones and surveillance cameras are for, what the FBI and CIA and NSA are for, what all those laws and courts and executive orders are for. It’s what their church is for, what those racist memes are for, what online harassment and bullying are for. It’s what gay bashings and church burnings are for.”
Three Way Fight
Many theoretical writings focus on armed resistance against the state-capitalist system, and the need for militantly opposing state imperialism and police repression. This “Us” against “Them” position has a lot of valid points, and we would by no means criticize the imperative nature of militant resistance against the state and capitalism in particular. However, this position neglects third parties that are also extremely hostile to bourgeois democracy and capitalism as they stand now, yet are no more sympathetic to our egalitarian, anti-authoritarian values: modern-day fascism.
Fascism is a term that stiffly resists concise definitions, but for the purpose of clarity, one will be attempted anyway. Fascism is a violent, reactionary mass political movement that seeks to replace the current ruling elite with its own idealized class and impose its brand of totalitarian order on the rest of the populace. This is not the single ‘golden’ definition, as fascism wears many different faces depending on where and how it arises. Hopefully, this definition will provide a nominal understanding for the purposes of this essay.
Why Environmentalists Must Be Antifascists
In this age of Trump, with its’ rising white nationalism and escalating acts of terror against people of color, there can be no ambiguity when it comes to resisting white supremacists in particular and the far Right in general. And the environmental movement is no exception.
Repress This
This zine is meant to give you and your loved ones practical insights and suggestions for basic actions and precautions. As a committee, we want to demystify the work we do so that all of you can feel more empowered to engage in solidarity work. Many of us have noticed through our participation in Occupy Oakland and other social struggles that the work of supporting arrestees and organizing against repression often falls on a small segment of the movement. Although many of us within this segment are more than happy to do the political work we do, we hope that we can engender a deeper and more diffuse practice of solidarity spread far beyond ourselves and immediate comrades. It is important that the bulk of the anti-repression activity and organizing does not fall solely on “support people” such as the ARC, Occupy Legal, Oakland 100 Support Committee, and the great number of people and collectives on which we’ve come to rely. We should all strive to take on some of the less sexy anti-repression and legal work that is so crucial to our movements. Everyone’s well-being should be everyone’s priority
The Criminal Legal System for Radicals
Tilted Scales Collective offers a helpful collection of insights for radicals coming up against the legal system. The discussion – excerpted from an upcoming book – focuses on the need to balance personal, political, and legal goals and how these different considerations often intersect with each other. It is important reading for all radicals and its detailed analysis offers many helpful tips for navigating the legal system and preparing for encounters with it.
Topics covered include subpoenas, going underground, staging “political” defenses, taking plea agreements, snitching (don’t do it), making public statements, and much more. It is both very thorough and highly readable.
Whatever You Do, Don’t Talk to the Police
This short zine/pamphlet offers basic advice for people engaged in political activity who will likely encounter police as a result of their political work (everyone will, it’s only a matter of time). The zine starts with the premise that people should not talk to the police and offers practical suggestions on how to minimize interactions and avoiding incriminating one’s self and other participants. From there it moves on to discuss the importance of making opposition to police an essential part of grassroots organizing. It also offers some basic tips on attending street demonstrations as well as suggestions on how to minimize the potential negative ramifications of social media usage.