This week we’re sharing a chat with Graham Clumpner, an anarchist veteran of the U.S. military from the early days of the so-called Global War on Terror. During his time in Afghanistan and elsewhere, Graham worked his way up to being an Army Ranger and left the military in 2007. After struggling with the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Graham resisted being recalled into the military, for a short time going underground before finding a path with the help of Common Courage and the G.I. Rights Hotline. Graham became involved in anti-war organizing with Iraq Veterans Against The War (IVAW), which later developed into the group, About Face. Currently Graham organizes on-water direct action against fossil fueled climate change in the Salish Sea with the Mosquito Fleet as a part of the Environmental movement against climate change and is also on the advisory board of the CLDC.
For the hour Graham will share about his time before, during and immediately after, his resistance to redeployment, ideas on de-enlistment and his politicization as an anarchist a little on the inspiration of the revolution in Rojava. You can find Graham on Twitter by the handle @turncoatveteran
Stay tuned for the second half of this conversation, out May 20th at our website, in our podcast stream, blah blah blah. You’ll hear Graham talking about the responsibility of veterans and members of imperialist societies for the harms done in their name and with their money abroad, what it might mean to build a movement with teeth, pushing back on environmental devastation by militarism and capitalism and some tips on integrating veterans into our movements.
Announcements
Indigenous Mutual Aid
So far, the coronavirus pandemic is making more apparent all the violences that the so called US is predicated upon: capitalism, xenophobia, racism, prison/slavery, genocide, and disposability, all of which – when they collide – create situations that are escalating degrees of deadly for the people and communities who are most affected by systemic violence.
We here have seen staggering statistics in so called US, which already account for almost a third of all covid deaths worldwide. The widest spread rates of infection and death are coming out of communities which are the hardest impacted by racism, poverty, and genocide. To that end we would like to uplift the platform Indigenous Mutual Aid! From their website:
“Indigenous Mutual Aid is an information and support network with an anti-colonial and anti-capitalist framework. We exist to inspire and empower autonomous Indigenous relief organizing in response to COVID-19.
We seek to grow the organizing of this effort into a collective hub of
organizers from throughout what we recognize as Turtle Island.As our communities have a deep history with organizing to support each other in times of crisis, we already have many existing Mutual Aid models to draw from. This looks like a small crew coordinating their relatives or friends to chop wood and distribute to elders. It looks like traditional medicine herbal clinics or sexual health supply distribution. It looks like community water hauling efforts or large scale supply runs to ensure elders have enough to make it through harsh winters. Basically any time individuals and groups in our communities have taken direct action (not through politicians or indirect means) and supported others, not for their own self-interests but out of love for their people, this is what we call ‘mutual aid.’”
To see their website, along with further reading and ways to donate, you can go to https://www.indigenousmutualaid.org/
Other Indigenous mutual aid funds (from IMA website):
Seeding Sovereignty Rapid Response Fund
NDN “Collective” COVID-19 Response Fund
Indigenous Environmental Network COVID-19 Mutual Aid Fund
7th Generation Fund – Flicker Fun for COVID-19 Response
First Nations Development Institute COVID-19 Response Fund
Native Voices Rising COVID-19 Fund
If you have suggestions for further mutual aid networks we can help uplift and amplify, or if you yourself would like to be interviewed or know someone who might, you can always email us at thefinalstrawradio@riseup.net with the subject line “Mutual Aid Info”!
Prison-Related
Prisoners across the country and around the world are resisting their captivity and the dangers of the pandemic in a constellation of ways, from sharing rations to caring for the sick, from filing grievances and getting word out about conditions to daring escapes, uprisings and hunger strikes. A few great places to find news are the Perilous Chronicle site and the Breakout columns on itsgoingdown.org and to hear prisoners struggles in their own voices, check out our fellow CZN podcast, KiteLine.
Leonard Peltier
Leonard Peltier is an elder indigenous rights activist, member of the American Indian Movement (or AIM) and prisoner held since the 70’s for the killing of a federal agent during the Wounded Knee standoff when the U.S. government besieged native people at Pine Ridge reservation. This week two congress people, citing the release from prison of convicted fraudster and ally of Donald Trump, Paul Manafort, due to fears of covid-19 and his age and health problems. Published a letter to the president requesting similar release for Mr. Peltier. His main support website, WhoIsLeonardPeltier.Info, has more info on his case. At our website you can hear a conversation we had with his supporter Paulette D’Auteuil.
Imam Jamil Al-Amin
Jamil Al-Amin, formerly known as H Rap Brown, is a civil rights leader and elder in prison accused of shooting two sheriff’s deputies in Georgia in the year 2000. He is currently fighting for a retrial of his case and there is a petition on change.org where you can see a video of the Imam’s son and attorney, Kairi Al-Amin talk about the possibility and learn more about the case and see an adjoined video of the man who has confessed to the shooting of the deputies.
Marius Mason
Marius Mason is an imprisoned Earth Liberation Front activist who is 10 years into an almost 22 year sentence for acts of sabotage against ecocide and capitalism. He has tested positive for covid-19 while being held at Danbury Correctional in Connecticut and is being held in quarantine with other corona-positive inmates. His support folks are posting updates on the blog at SupportMariusMason.org and they are asking folks to send him letters. Note that he is limited in who he can write back to, so you may not get a response, but he could sure use some inspiring words right now. Check out a conversation with Marius’ daughter we published a few years back.
Jennifer Rose
Just a bump that Jennifer Rose, whose words we featured on the show a few weeks back, is still in need of support letters for an upcoming parole hearing she has. You can check out her support site at https://babygirlgann.noblogs.org
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