This week, I spoke with Dr. Alexander Dunlap about a range of topics, such as Degrowth, green anarchism, the violence of extractivism, questions of the conception of renewable energy and resistance to ecocide. We covered a lot in this discussion and he’s written a lot on a range of related topics. Check out his ResearchGate where many pdfs are available or searching his name on AnarchistLibrary.Net. If there’s something at ResearchGate that isn’t available for download, you can email Alexander and request access.
This week on The Final Straw, we’re featuring a recent conversation with anarchist author and activist, Peter Gelderloos about his latest book, “The Solutions Are Already Here: Strategies For Ecological Revolution From Below”, published by Pluto Press in 2022. For the hour we speak about critiques of science and Western Civilization that Peter levels, as well as the centrality of struggling on the ground we stand on, creating autonomous infrastructure, resisting colonial extractivism and the need for imagination and care as we tear down this ecocidal system.
First up, an organizer with the Revolutionary Organizing Against Racism, or ROAR Conference shares perspectives on the upcoming conference, May 18 & 19, 2019 on stolen Ohlone land in the so-called Bay Area. More info on ROAR Conference at roar-conference.com
[ROAR starts at 9m32s]
Then I spoke with journalist and anti-racist activist Spencer Sunshine about various far right and racist tendencies such as traditionalism and third-positionism, in relation to the current landscape of anti-fascist struggle in Turtle Island and in particular tendencies suspected in relation to the demolition of a building at the Highlander Education and Research Center in New Market, TN at the end of March, 2019. More writings by Spencer can be found at spencersunshine.com, at his fedbook author page or on twitter by searching the username @transform6789.
[Spencer Sunshine starts at 30m47s]
Announcements
Atlanta Solidarity
On Friday, April 12th at 8pm there was a ruckus noise demo outside the Dekalb County Jail where prisoners had been able to get out word of physical violence out of camera-view by guards, black mold conditions and more against the mostly indigent, mostly POC prisoner population in this Atlanta Jail. You can hear an interview with the mother of two prisoners mistreated in that jail who got the word out about conditions on IGD’s This Is America #68 from April 12, 2019. At the noise demo, at least two people were arrested and there’s a fundraiser up to help cover legal costs. You can find that fundraiser and kick in by visiting atlsolidarity.org
Immigrant Solidarity Rally, Asheville
Listeners in the Asheville area, on Monday April 15th there’ll be a demonstration in front of the Federal Building at 115 Patton Ave in downtown to mark the year anniversary of the 2018 ICE raids against our communities. The demo will be organized by CIMA, or Companeros Inmigrantes de las Montanas en Accion, and will focus on the continued danger faced by our undocumented loved ones, friends and families. This is also in opposition to HB370 currently in process at the state level that would force collaboration between sheriff departments and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. CIMA urges people to show up in force.
Asheville Black Mama Bail Out Benefit
Also, on Saturday, April 27th at show o’clock at The Bottle Shop next to Firestorm Books, Blue Ridge ABC will be hosting a benefit for Black Mama Bail Out efforts organized by Southerners On New Ground. The show will feature performances by XOR, Kangarot, Nomadic War Machine and more. Check out the flyer and more up at brabc.blackblogs.org
. … . ..
This week we air the second half of Bursts conversation with Kevin Tucker. Kevin is an anarcho-primitivist, author and publisher of Black & Green Review. This week we air Kevin’s views about tribal-bro-ism in the white supremacist and macho approach to historical misappropriation, upcoming issues of the journal Black & Green Review, Collapse, Rewilding versus Revolution and more. For a free look at some of Kevin’s writings, visit theanarchistlibrary.org, and to check out his publishing project, journals and books you can visit blackandgreenpress.org
For part one of Bursts’ conversation with Kevin, you can visit our noblogs site!
Related Audios
If you found this conversation interesting, you may enjoy the interviews Bursts conducted with two other anarcho-primitivists on the show over the years. Check out his chats with Layla Abdel-Rahim pt 1 (Layla begins about 40 minutes in) & pt 2 as relates to her philosophy and her book “Wild Children – Domesticated Dreams” and with John Zerzan on the subject of anti-civilization anarchism more widely.
Announcements
“White Lives Matter” rally in Shelbyville TN, October 28th, Editorial
Online platform The Tennseean has recently been reporting of several white nationalist rallies (called White Lives Matter rallies) that are planned for October 28th in Shelbyville and Murfreesboro TN among perhaps one other town. These spots were chosen by the event organizers, most visibly Brad Griffin, who writes under the alias Hunter Wallace on the blog Occidental Dissent, because of the state’s Republican and red status coupled with a mistrust of law enforcement in what they’re calling “more Democratic towns”. According to a statement that they released on Saturday, The National Socialist Movement, a pro-white organization based out of Detroit, MI, said the group’s “street action” would be broadening its scope to include other small TN towns in the vicinity of Nashville. This same statement claims participation by other groups such as League of the South and the Traditionalist Workers Party. It’s not known how many people will be attending at this time, though the organizers are predictably posturing that it will be a well attended event. The stated purpose of these events is to protest the changing demographic of middle TN, silence from the White House regarding a fatal church shooting in Antioch last month (in which the perpetrator started his early life in Sudan but was a US citizen) and probably some other white nationalist nonsense as well.
According to interviews posted a couple of days ago by WCVS, residents of both Shelbyville and Murfreesboro are both angered at this groups’ presence and confused about why their hometown was chosen. Many statements include disgust at the very message of white nationalism and white lives matter. It’s believed by residents that these groups are outside agitators who are descending on them to disrupt their town and their already scheduled community events, and by doing so are making implicit assumptions about their way of life and of thinking.
All the organizing information is attempting to draw a clear link between these events and the by now internationally famous events in Charlottesville Virginia of August 12 this year, even though that day was a clear loss for those on the side of the alt right. Despite claims, also by the organizers, that the event “will not be violent”, police are gearing up in those cities to prepare for the rallies. Just last night (October 7th), in that same city of Cville, Richard Spencer showed his face and formed a 30 strong, 10 minute long torch march around the doomed Lee Monument (scheduled for removal) in Emancipation Park, the site of their previous defeat. Predictably, police were heavy allies to the Nazis and escorted them away under police protection. If you are disgusted by this, you can call the folks at the CPD and ask them why they’re still helping Neo Nazis do their thing. They can be reached at 434-970-3280. In this post Cville landscape of frenzied and often disorganized white nationalist activity, it is perhaps important to keep these things in our sights and oppose them as best we can.
The exact location of the event has not yet been released, but it might be reasonable to assume that the information will be posted on Griffin’s blog a day or two beforehand. For more information about developments, keep eyes on your favorite anarchist and antifascist news sources!
You can see here the article from which much of this information was pulled.
Download This EpisodeAirs on WSFM-LP 103.3 in Asheville / streaming at AshevilleFM from 3am EST on October 2nd through October 7th and podcasting on libsyn.com.
For a 59 minute long, radio clean version for syndication purposes, please visit the archive.org collection.
Interview
This week Bursts spoke with Kevin Tucker, anarcho-primitivist, author and publisher of Black & Green Review. We had a rather lengthy conversation, so we’ve split the conversation up. This is the first portion, in which Kevin talks about anarcho-primitivism, domestication, civilization, anthropology and the scientific method, human development, agriculture and more.
In the future episode you can hear his views about tribal-bro-ism in the white supremacist approach to historical misappropriation, upcoming issues of Black & Green Review, Collapse, Rewilding versus Revolution and more. For a free look at some of Kevin’s writings, visit theanarchistlibrary.org, and to check out his publishing project, journals and books you can visit blackandgreenpress.org
Other Audio
Today’s episode premiers October 1st, which is the date of the #CatalanReferendum for independence in that northern region within the bounds of Spain. In the leadup, the Spanish government has violently repressed the efforts to hold this election and the news we’re seeing today is no different. If you’d like to hear a chat I had earlier this week with an English-speaking anarchist who has long resided in Catalunya about Catalan nationalism, autonomy, cultural differences between that region and central Spain, some history and some forecasts of where this referendum and repression may go (always critical of the State and Capital), check out our downloadable podcast.
Also, keep an ear out for an upcoming series of podcast miniepisode ‘s featuring William Budington and Bursts chatting about digital security and safer practices with our devices. We’ve got a couple coming out about practices with Burner Phones and strengths and weaknesses of wrangling with the Signal app for end to end encrypted texts from Open Whisper Systems.
Announcements
Defend J20: Call in Day for US Attorney Liu
This Monday October 2nd is the last day for a concerted call in effort to urge the US Attorney to drop the charges against the J20 defendants.
You can join the defend j20 crew in welcoming brand new US Attorney Liu to office with a flood of phone calls demanding that the J20 charges be dropped! Sign up at call.usattorneyliu.org to reserve your time slot. The fine folks there will send you an email with more details and a suggested call script. Her number is 202-252-7566, or if you cannot call in you can send a letter to the Judiciary Center Building, 555 Fourth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20530.
October 19th Call for Solidarity
There has been a formal call for solidarity from antifascists around the south to oppose an appearance by the by now internationally infamous white supremacist Batman villan Richard Spencer. It has been officially confirmed that this piece of white bread is going to be spewing pseudo intellectual and only marginally intelligible xenophobic racism at University of Florida in Gainesville on October 19th, which is in just over 2 and a half weeks from now.
You can see the entire formal call for solidarity, plus some important context that includes recent history and what to be prepared for, at It’s Going Down.
You can get in touch if you want to endorse this call and are planning on being there in solidarity by emailing oct19endorse@riseup.net
Support Herman Bell!
“Black Panther Party political prisoner Herman Bell was viciously assaulted by guards at Great Meadow Correctional Facility (Comstock) on September 5, 2017. While being “escorted” by a guard back to his housing unit, a guard struck Herman, age 69, in the face causing his glasses to drop to the floor. He pushed Herman against the wall, Herman stumbled and fell to the ground. The guard then continued viciously hitting and kicking Herman. Very soon about 5 other guards arrived and joined in the violent attack, hitting and kicking Herman all over his body.
Herman Bell has now been charged with “assault on staff.” Defying common sense, they allege that Herman, for no apparent reason, slapped the guard escorting him. He did this, they claim, in a location out of the view of all inmates but in the presence of other guards. He is now in the Special Housing Unit (box) at Five Points Correctional Facility where he was transferred after the incident.
Herman Bell has not had a disciplinary violation in over 20 years. He had been scheduled to begin a three day family visit with his wife a few days after the incident, their first such visit in over 2 1/2 years. In addition he is to appear before the parole board, for the 8th time, in February 2018.
At this time, we are encouraging everyone to take the time to write to Herman or send him a get-well card, so that the authorities know we are concerned for Herman. Further requests for actions of support will be posted soon.
His new address is:
Herman Bell 79 C 0262
Five Points CF
6600 State Route 96
Caller Box 119
Romulus, N.Y. 14541
Friends and family are also encouraging supporters to email Commissioner Anthony Annucci, to let him know that folks are keeping tabs on Mr. Bell’s situation. Commissioner Annucci’s email address is: Anthony.Annucci@doccs.ny.gov
Comrade Malik, a tireless writer and organizer who’s been very active in exposing unsafe conditions at the Eastham Unit in Texas, is facing retaliation from prison staff, and is asking supporters to email the Texas Ombudsman to prevent any further action being taken against him. You can find out more information at Action Needed to Fight Retaliation at the Eastham Unit!
Support Shaka Shakur and Angaza Bahar
At the Wabash Valley Correctional Institute in Indiana, Shaka Shakur, who is a political prisoner, defended himself against mistreatment by guards, and another, Angaza Iman Bahar (Jimmy Jones), who helped alert the outside world to the situation, are both facing disciplinary charges.
Wabash Valley Correctional has been getting a reputation for “a culture of sadism [in which] guards take pride and find humor in their mistreatment of inmates, especially Black and New Afrikan inmates whom they expose to every kind of abuse and humiliation.” IDOC Watch are asking people to call in so the prison knows that they both have outside support.
This week Bursts spoke with Imam Siddique Abdullah Hasan, one of five defendants in the Lucasville Uprising case from 1993 facing the death penalty known collectively as the Lucasville 5. Hasan, calling from Ohio State Prison supermax in Youngstown, Ohio, took the time to talk about the newly formed Free Ohio Movement, a prison organizing movement based on the Free Alabama Movement which centers on the claim that prisons in the U.S. are the current site of a continuation of slavery supposedly abolished but really upheld by the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Hasan talks about prisoner labor & recidivism, claims of rehabilitation by the state and the organizing towards the September 9th nationwide prisoner strike on the 45th anniversary of the Attica Prison Uprising of 1971. More on Hasan’s case can be found at http://lucasvilleamnesty.org and you can hear our previous interviews with Hasan here.
After that you’ll hear a conversation with a member of Istanbul Anarchist Black Cross, in Turkey, that Bursts conducted. The conversation talks about the political prisoner situation in Turkey, the work of IABC, and the case of vegan anarchist prisoner Osman Evcan, who
recently succeeded to win rights from the state after a 45 day hunger strike. More on IABC, in Turkish, at http://abcistanbul.blogspot.fr/
Announcements
Stanley Corbett at Alexander CI, NC
At the request of prison organizers in North Carolina, we’d like to share the following information:
Politically active prisoner Stanley Corbett (0716025) has been repeatedly harassed by COs at Alexander CI, in Taylorsville, NC, and is being denied full food portions. Upon Corbett complaining, one CO said, “Y’all n-words always complaining about something.” Then later, after filing a grievance, a different CO yelled, “Suck my (BLEEP) n-word, write that up!” Please call in to the prison at (828) 632-1331 and request the administration to feed Corbett and stop this harassment.
Again, that number is 828 632 1331 and Stanley Corbett’s number is 0716025, held at Alexander CI in Taylorsville, NC.
Save Our Roots
Here is a brief announcement from Save Our Roots: An Indigenous People’s Campaign to Protect the Sacred Biodiversity of our Natural Forests:
“[Genetically Engineered] trees pose a very real and significant threat to our natural forests and all Life on … Earth. It violates Indigenous peoples’ fundamental rights to live in harmony with nature and to practice our cultural and spiritual beliefs … The propagation and use of GE trees as a natural resource and commodity for increased pulp and energy production will compromise and destroy the delicate regenerative biodiversity and life-cycles of [the] Earth . The growing of GE trees is a risk towards: the Rights of the Earth; land tenure and subsistence rights of Indigenous Peoples; depletion of precious ground water reserves; increases the use of deadly herbicides and pesticides; continues the release of greenhouse gas emissions and microscopic pollutants; and are a false solution towards mitigating climate change.”
To learn much more about this topic, for updates on current situations and campaigns, and for interview opportunities for your media project, you can visit http://saveourroots.org/
Koko Lepo Solidarity Tour
On Thursday, May 26, 7-9pm Firestorm Books & Coffee (610 Haywood Road) will host the Anarchy & Anti-Fascism in the Balkans: Koko Lepo Solidarity Tour!
Suggested Donation (no one turned away) to help presenter with travel costs. During this time, a member of Koko Lepo autonomous youth solidarity program in Belgrade, Serbia, attendees can hear from a Koko Lepo member who is visiting the U.S. on a tour to spread awareness of autonomous, anarchist and anti-fascist/anti-racist projects and organizing going on in Belgrade and beyond!
The presenter will narrate the evolution of Koko Lepo from a free kindergarten in the defunct InexFilm squat to a broader youth program. The discussion will focus on issues of anti-ziganism (a term for prejudice against Roma/gypsies), autonomous solidarity efforts in Belgrade, the difference between charity and mutual aid, and the struggle against hierarchy; the presenter welcomes challenges and suggestions for continued solidarity and new connections.
Koko Lepo youth solidarity collective is a mutual aid program working with the residents of “the Dump”, a ‘favela-type slum’ in Belgrade inhabited by people usually referred to as “Roma” or “Gypsies”. The collective is founded on the principles of equality and mutual aid. It is closely tied to the anarchist and antifascist scene in the Balkans and beyond.
Koko Lepo began in 2013 as a free kindergarten program in the InexFilm squat in the Karaburma neighborhood of Belgrade. Its students were picked up three to five days a week from their homes in the settlement and walked to the kindergarten where we had a three to four hour program with them before walking them back home. The program was focused on autonomy, respect for others, and making a safe space for the young children to explore their identities. We placed a strong emphasis on undermining ‘traditional’ gender dynamics and breaking down other divisions in the settlement. Over time, we developed very strong ties with our families in the settlement which allowed us to start a broader program for older children. This was called Školica and began as a weekend study program. This quickly expanded however and started to host film nights, excursions, and other activities.
When the squat was taken from us in October last year, we lost our ability to do the kindergarten so we redoubled our efforts with Školica. Now Koko Lepo occurs at least once a week all over the city with either our younger group (aged 7-10) or our older group (11-14) totaling around 50 kids (the kindergarten had another 20 or so). All of our funding comes from anarchist and antifascist groups in Europe as well as some odd individual donations here and there.
We are very happy to announce that, for the 8th year running, the Wild Roots Feral Futures (WRFF) eco-defense, direct action, and rewilding encampment will take place in the forests of Southwest Colorado this coming June 18-26, 2016 (exact location to be announced). WRFF is an informal, completely free and non-commercial, and loosely organized camp-out operating on (less than a) shoe-string budget, formed entirely off of donated, scavenged, or liberated supplies and sustained through 100% volunteer effort. Though we foster a collective communality and pool resources, we also encourage general self-sufficiency, which lightens the burden on communal supplies, and which we find to be the very source and foundation of true mutual sharing and abundance.
We would like to begin by acknowledging that Wild Roots Feral Futures takes place on occupied/stolen indigenous territory, primarily of the Nuutsiu (occasionally spelled Nuciu or Nuchu, aka “Ute”) people, as well as Diné [“Navajo”], Apache, and others. In recognition of this reality and as a first step in confronting it, we seek to establish proactive working relationships with those whose stolen land we gather upon, and open the space we temporarily gather in to the centering and amplification of indigenous voices and struggles. Our understanding is that any community of resistance that doesn’t center the voices of indigenous people and put their leadership in the forefront is a movement that is part of the problem. [Read more here…]
We would like to invite groups and individuals engaged in struggles against the destruction of the Earth (and indeed all interconnected forms of oppression) to join us and share your stories, lessons, skills, and whatever else you may have to offer. In this spirit we would like to reach out to frontline community members, local environmental groups, coalitions, and alliances everywhere, as well as more readily recognizable groups like Earth First!, Rising Tide North America, and others to come collaborate on the future of radical environmentalism and eco-defense in our bio-regions and beyond.
We would also like to reach out to groups like EF!, RTNA, and the Ruckus Society (as well as other groups and individuals) in search of trainers and workshop facilitators who are willing to dedicate themselves to attending Wild Roots Feral Futures and sharing their skills and knowledge (in a setting that lacks the financial infrastructure to compensate them as they may have come to expect from other, more well-funded groups and events). We are specifically seeking direct action, blockade, tri-pod, and tree climbing/sitting trainers (as well as gear/supplies).
Regarding the rewilding and ancestral earth skills component of WRFF, we would like to extend a similar invitation to folks with skills, knowledge, talent, or specialization in these areas to join us in the facilitation of workshops and skill shares such as fire making, shelter building, edible and medicinal plants, stalking awareness, tool & implement making, etc. We are also seeking folks with less “ancestral” outdoor survival skills such as orienteering and navigation, etc.
Daily camp life, along with workshops, skill shares, great food, friends, and music, will also include the volunteer labor necessary to camp maintenance. Please come prepared to pitch in and contribute to the workload, according to your abilities. We encourage folks who would like to plug in further to show up a few days before the official start of the event to begin set-up and stay a few days after the official end to help clean up.
Site scouting will continue until early June, at which point scouts and other organizers will rendezvous, report-back their scouting recon, and come to a consensus regarding a site location. We are also planning on choosing a secondary, back-up site location as a contingency plan for various potential scenarios. Email us for more info on getting involved with scouting and site selection processes.
WRFF is timed to take place before the Earth First! Round River Rendezvous, allowing eco-defenders to travel from one to the other. Thus we encourage the formation of a caravan from WRFF to the EF! RRR (caravans and ride shares can be coordinated through our message board at feralfutures.proboards.com.
We are currently accepting donations in the form of supplies and/or monetary contributions. Please email us for details.
Please forward this call widely, spread the word, and stay tuned for more updates!
And now the call-out for this year’s June 11th: International Day of Solidarity with Marius Mason and All Long-Term Anarchist Prisoners
The podcast version of this episode includes a reading of the June 11th Statement for 2016, a rather lengthy one at about 20 minutes, prior to us playing the interview with Hasan. The text from that announcement can be found here.
This week we spoke with members of Maharlika Integral Emergence, a collective in Davao. Davao is a large city in the south east of the archipelago of Maharlika, also known as The Philippines. We talk for the hour on the emergence of anarchism in this country, anti-colonial indigenous struggle, anarcho-punk, eco-resistance, green and post-anarchism, permaculture, anti-extraction and land struggles and more. Maharlika Integral Emergence is a collective in Davao working with communities to promote self-care, explore autonomy, build alternatives to the deadly duo of State and Capital and it’s ecocidal path. We apologize for the quality of the audio, at times it becomes difficult to hear the collective members due to tech issues. Check out ashevillefm.org/the-final-staw to find the blog entry for this episode which includes hyperlinks to some of the projects and publications coming out of Maharlika. For instance, here’s a pdf about projects that that MIE are involved in.
But first, a couple of announcements. If you’re in the Asheville area, we’d like to remind you that tonight, Sunday the 12th at 5pm is the grande-opening of Firestorm Cafe & Books at it’s new location at 610 Haywood Road at the intersection of Haywood Rd & State St in West Asheville. From their facebook event:
“It’s been sixteen months since we closed our doors at 48Commerce Street… We’re ready to start the next chapter! Join our seven year old workers co-operative for a day long celebration, featuring free coffee and other give-aways plus a 5pm local author showcase!
Located directly across State Street from Sunny Point Cafe, our new store features a unique selection of books for young folks and adults alike. Curious readers will find not only the rich assortment of titles on gardening, green living and political radicalism, for which our co-op is already known, but also an expanded inventory of children’s books, classics and speculative fiction.”
More at http://firestorm.coop
Relatedly, there’s a squatted anarchist social and community space working around some of the same causes as MIE. The space is called Feral Crust and in Manila operate a squatted infoshop, school and garden in a small squatted neighborhood. To contact them for more questions, drop them a line at feralcrust(aaat)riseup(dot) net
We’d also like to mention that AshevilleFM is currently at the Big Crafty Festival in Asheville from noon-6pm today, come check out the booth and sign up to be a volunteer!
Also an update on the occupation at the Che Cafe on the campus of the University of California at San Diego:
“On JULY 15 at 2 PM there will be a meeting with UCSD Chancellor Khosla.
For the FIRST TIME, representatives of the Che Cafe Collective and CCSN will meet with Khosla to see if he will call off the eviction. Che supporters are calling for a big crowd to rally outside the meeting. It’s requested that you come if you can and spread the word! Directions to Office of the Chancellor at www-act.ucsd.edu/maps/ enter search for “Office of the Chancellor”. Address is University Center 107, and it’s located facing the UCSD Town Square just south and west of Price Center.”
We here at The Final Straw are soliciting sticker/poster/logo design to provide fascinating swag for our listeners! The design must include our web address, show name & imagery reflecting the nature of the radio show. Chosen artists will receive gifts of t-shirts and other anarchy goodies. You can email your designs in pdf form to bursts(attt)ashevillefm(ddot)org or a physical copy can be sent to:
The Final Straw
c/o AshevilleFM
864 Haywood Rd,
Asheville, NC 28806
A reminder: The Klu Klux Klan has called for a rally at the steps of the state capitol of South Carolina in Colombia on Saturday the 18th at 3pm. Folks are planning a counter-demonstration on the day to make it known that these jokers are not welcome in the streets. Check out http://columbiascdemocallout.tumblr.com/ for more info, or follow them on their twitter handle, @antiracistSC. From their site:
“On Saturday, July 18th, the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan will assemble on the statehouse grounds in Columbia, SC. And we will confront them.
This rally is part of a recent wave of anti-Black terror, from the Charleston massacre to the arson of Black churches, that has strategically sought to build upon a white racist backlash against the #BlackLivesMatter, anti-police uprisings of the past year.
We call upon all those who can #BlackLivesMatter activists, community organizers, anti-racists, anarchists and other radicals, and anyone else furious with racism and the police—to converge on Columbia, confront the Klan, and defy their message of white supremacy. History has shown—from the armed standoff against a lynch mob in Columbia, TN, in 1946 to the 1958 Battle of Hayes Pond, from the Deacons for Defense to the armed defiance of Monroe, NC’s NAACP chapter, from the 1979 Greensboro Massacre to the 1997 confrontation with the Klan in downtown Asheville, NC—that we must oppose white supremacist organizing actively and physically, in our streets and neighborhoods.
The KKK is only a small group, whose ability to inflict racist violence actually pales in comparison to that of structures of oppression like the police, the economy, and the state. But the sentiment that groups like the KKK hold runs deep through the currents of whiteness in this country, and is a major obstacle to our struggles against these larger structures. Explicit manifestations of white supremacy like the Klan are one way that the state will seek to contain the #BlackLivesMatter organizing and anti-police riots of the last year; at this historic juncture, a large Klan rally in the South cannot go unchallenged.
Bring banners, bring a friend, and bring your anger and rage against the white supremacy that courses through the veins of this society. See you in Columbia.”
Along the lines of last week’s announcement of great audio projects to check out outside of asheville, I’d suggest folks interested in a fantastic North American prison related show give a listen to The Prison Radio Show on CKUT, out of McGill University in Montreal. The show airs on the second Thursday of every month between 5-6 pm CST as part of CKUT News’s Off The Hour & the fourth Friday of every month between 11am and 12pm CST. More at http://prisonradioshow.wordpress.com
Also for a great look at audio anarchy in the Philippines – and to see what this week’s guests typically work on – you can check out the pirate radio station RADYO ITIM at https://radyoitim.wordpress.com/, or at 107.9FM if you are listening in Davao.
Out of Middleton, Connecticut & Wesleyan University, WESU hosts a show called Anarchy On Air, a student anarchist collective radio show featuring interviews, panels, action updates and more. This show was formerly incarnated as The Horizontal Power Hour. This show More can be found at http://anarchyonairwesu.tumblr.com/ and it can be heard 2nd/4th Tuesdays 4:00-4:55 pm EST
Anarcho-primitivist & philosopher John Zerzan cohosts the weekly, years running, hour-long radio show Anarchy Radio on 88.1 KWVA at the University of Oregon, Eugene. Check out archives of the show at http://johnzerzan.net/radio to hear him and cohosts discuss recent news around technology, school shootings, alienation, ecological destruction and ideas. The show airs Tuesday’s at 7pm PST and express your views by calling 541-346-0645 during the live broadcast.
A chat with Eric McDavid on prison, post-incarceration, hope, ice cream and more
This week we’re speaking with Eric McDavid, a recently released eco-anarchist and vegan. Eric and his two co-defendants (Lauren Weiner and Zachary Jenson) were entrapped by an FBI agent provocateur who went by the name of “Anna” and arrested for allegedly planning to blow up cell-phone towers, small dams & a lab researeching genetically modifying trees. Eric was arrested in January of 2006 during an FBI raid on the cabin that “Anna” was providing for the four.
During the court case, the government prosecutors were able to turn Zachary and Lauren against their slightly older co-defendant, Eric, with threats of spending decades of their life behind bars. So, Zachary and Lauren posed Eric as their “leader” and threw him under the bus. As a result, Eric was given a 20 year sentence for what was effectively the charge of being guilty of Thought Crime.
After years of the appeal process, Eric’s support team finally recieved documents within a FOIA that pointed to evidence they should have had during trial; evidence that could have led to a not guilty verdict at trial. Finally on January 8th 2015, Eric was released into the arms of supporters, family and loved ones in Sacramento, CA. More on his case can be found at http://supporteric.org We spend the hour chatting about his incarceration, experiences of support as one of the two names central to the June 11th Day of Solidarity with longterm Anarchist Prisoners alongside Marius Mason, decarceration, hope, ice cream and more.
More about this year’s June 11th at http://june11.org, including their recent call-up
A quick note. Brent Betterly of the NATO3 is slated for release from prison on April 16th of 2015, just 3 days before his birthday on the 19th. You can send him a birthday present to support his post-release life while he gets on his feet by visiting youcaring.com and searching his name.
TFSR: I’m pleased to speak with Eric McDavid, a formerly incarcerated green anarchist and vegan. Eric and his two co-defendants, Lauren Weiner and Zachary Jensen, were entrapped by an FBI agent provocateur who went by the name of Anna, and arrested for allegedly planning to blow up cell phone towers, small dams, and a laboratory searching genetically modified trees. Eric was arrested in January of 2006 during an FBI raid on the cabin that Anna was providing for the four. During the court case, the government prosecutors were able to turn Zachary and Lauren against their slightly older co-defendant, Eric, with threats of spending decades of their lives behind bars. So Zachary and Lauren posed Eric as their ‘leader’, and threw him under the bus. As a result, Eric was given a 20-year sentence for what was effectively the charge of being guilty of a thought crime. After years of the appeal process, Eric’s support team finally received documents from a Freedom of Information Act request (or FOIA request) that pointed to evidence they should have had during the trial. Evidence that could have led to a not-guilty verdict at the trial. Finally, on January 8th, 2015 Eric was released into the arms of supporters, family, and loved ones in Sacramento, California. Thanks a lot for chatting, Eric.
Eric McDavid: It’s my pleasure to be here.
TFSR: You’ve been described as a green anarchist. Do you accept that moniker? And what does it mean to you?
Eric McDavid: I accept it just because I define it pretty much as the perception of the environment being the largest common denominator of whatever social critique I adhere to and utilize. So, it’s basically the environment as the primary concern and orientation towards social critique.
TFSR: So sort of an eco-anarchist perspective, or do you have a critique of agriculture or industrial civilization or technology?
Eric McDavid: My understanding of anarchy comes with a full critique of culture and society, and pretty much Western culture in total, which encompasses all the different nodes and aspects within it. Basically, a lot of this stuff right after folks moved towards domestication of themselves and everything around them.
TFSR: How did you and your supporters finally get you out, and what were the conditions of your release?
Eric McDavid: How I finally got out was through the habeas [corpus] appeal. Habeas [corpus] is kind of the last-ditch appeal that you can use in the federal courts after your direct appeal to the Circuit [Court] and then to the Supreme Court. Both of those have been denied in my case, and we were on the habeas appeal when my support team, Sacramento’s Prison Support, had acquired these documents from a FOIA request, which hadn’t existed prior, allegedly.
And the funny thing is that these are just documents that point to other documents that existed at the time of trial. They were able to show that in the habeas [corpus] appeal to the magistrate judge, who was a little bent out of shape about it. I suppose more so because at about the same time I went to trial, he used to work for the US Attorney’s Office. And so he was going to be shoving a whole lot of negative energy into this case from their perspective.
We ended up getting a call, I want to say the beginning of November, end of October. Mark Vermillion, who is one of my legal team along with Ben Rosenfield, got a call from the US Attorney’s Office, and they were like: ‘Yeah, what do you want to do? Do you want to do anything? Because you’re supposed to have those things that you’re pointing out in this appeal.’ And Mark was just: ‘No, what do you want to do?’ So they came back at them with: ‘How about we just do a cut and dry, drop everything, head out the door type deal.’ And then after a hearing on the 16th of December, that’s where it was all leading towards.
TFSR: Are there any stipulations that you can’t file lawsuits against the prosecutors for withholding evidence, or are you on any sort of house arrest or anything like that?
Eric McDavid: Yeah, they always include “you can’t sue us for anything that we might have done wrong” type of stuff. And of course, they say you’re always agreeing to this, not under any type of coercion or anything like that.
TFSR: Sure, because prison doesn’t count as coercion or anything? [sarcasm]
Eric McDavid: No, totally, yeah, definitely. So, I’ve just got pretty basic unsupervised release conditions. I just have to stay within the Eastern District of California. If I want to go out, I gotta give notice to my Parole Officer (PO). You got the basic: at least three piss tests throughout the whole supervised release. I got 24 months of the supervised release, but they say if I go squeaky clean, then they’ll probably drop it after 12. Let’s see, you got random checks by the PO of your residence. Oh, I got the computer monitoring on my laptop for school, where you have to pay for that. I have to pay for that.
TFSR: What?
Eric McDavid: Yeah, yeah.
TFSR: Wow, just jabbing in the needles.
Eric McDavid: You know, they try.
TFSR: Your release by the state was basically saying: “We conducted ourselves in a poor manner during the case and withheld evidence.” Not: “This whole thing was BS, and you shouldn’t have been in there in the first place”, right?
Eric McDavid: Yeah, totally. They couldn’t even go as far as that first part that you stated, because if they had said that they would have done something wrong during the case, if they had stated that in front of the court, the court would have had to drop the charges due to the Brady infractions. Basically, the whole twist of it was around the Brady violations, where they’ve got a precedent that says everything that the US Attorney’s Office, the government has they have to turn over to the defense to be able to use as evidence, either for or against the case.
From transcript that I’m pretty sure is on the website of that January 8th hearing, it’s really self-evident how they try to jump around that and it kind of added to the whole drama of it all. But we had no idea until that last instance, what was going to happen. It was quite the roller coaster ride of just still keeping that awareness around [the fact that] I’m still gonna be [in prison] for another eight and a half years. I mean that part was always there. And you know, what do you do with that? You just keep moving from day to day, and try and keep your body healthy, keep your mind sharp and keep your mind healthy, and keep soaking in all the support that kept on coming in nonstop throughout the whole process. But still being open to the possibility and probability of walking out the door.
I actually had a friend in [FCI] Victorville who would help keep that aspect alive in me, even though there were just the showboating probabilities that came from the appeals process they had to go through. I knew they were gonna get denied, but he helped me. Every few weeks he’d hit me up. He’d be like: “Hey, if you had to leave tomorrow, would you have everything all lined up? Are you ready to go? Okay, now the situation changes. Here’s a different situation. You’re getting out, how would you have to change your mindset and what your process would be to get out, and what would you have to handle on the outside? And how would you do that?” That person really, really helped build a good foundation to help keep my brain sharp, my mind sharp and my heart open to other options and different probabilities.
TFSR: Sounds like a really good friend.
Eric McDavid: Definitely.
TFSR: For people in the audience who haven’t experienced prison or jail or what have you, can you talk a little bit about what was your experience of relationships with other prisoners while on the inside? Did you have to deal with gangs and sectarianism and such a lot?
Eric McDavid: Yeah, definitely. I mean, for me, it was part and parcel throughout the whole run. And the thing is that in the federal prison system, it’s not nearly as intense and heavy as it is in the state systems. So those folks that are going through that part of the prison industrial complex, they’ve got to deal with a lot heavier stuff than I do or I did. There was definitely dealing with gangs and everything. Starting at Victorville, which was a medium-security prison. If you mess up at some other medium or a low [security prison] really bad, you get in a real big fight, they send people to Victorville for extra punishment.
TFSR: Just because it was so much harder to keep your head down at Victorville? Or just get by, sort of like: ”Well, you screwed up. Let’s set you up to fail” type of thing? Or was it that the guards were more harsh? Or what?
Eric McDavid: The whole system at Victorville was a little bit more harsh than other medium yards. That’s what it was. It was a disciplinary yard. It’s out in the middle of the desert, on top of everything, and it was a part of a complex. So there are two medium yards, the penitentiary, which is one of the highest security [prisons] in the system. And then there was a camp for female folks.
The intensity at Victorville was a little bit higher than the usual medium yard. For one, because they had a bunch of folks coming down from the pen that was right next door, so they had a high population of folks that had been dealing with that intensity for 5-10 years on the yard. And then just a lot of folks that are there for what they call disciplinary action. So there are less resources, he cops are more assholes, the administration is worse. There’s just not that much to do there for folks so far as resources or whatnot. And so with all of that as a foundation, it creates a lot of stressful environment for everybody within.
I think a couple of weeks after I got there, there was a lockdown for a week after two groups, two gangs got into it. And then six months after I got there, there was a 45-minute riot in the yard, after which we were locked down for a month and a half to two months. So it was a pretty active yard, and there was definitely that type of politics going on with gangs.
For me personally, the way that I danced with it all, I found that so long as I did my program, so long as I kept my own program, my own routine, and just did the same thing pretty much every day, that creates a structure for other people to go off of. So as far as they can see and know what you’re doing throughout the day, and they know that you’re not going to mess with their routine and their program, that creates a bit of security for them, because they get so dependent upon those types of patterns. Just to make the days roll into weeks, into months, into years, because that’s what they have left to do.
That type of relationship to your own routine and pattern is really highly respected because they know that you’re not just some random cannon that might go off in their face and fuck up their program, and then they have to go to the shoe, or they might have to stab you because you’re fucking up in their situation and bringing heat onto them, or any number of things. And so I saw how just having my daily routine and keeping to myself, and even hooking up with some other folks on similar routines, no matter who or what kind of groups there were, they just respected me being independent and doing stuff on my own.
TFSR: It seems like a lot of what you’re talking about is obviously very stressful. I would call prisons a very stressful situation, from what I understand. Some prison reformists and prison abolitionists have pointed to the high percentages of mental health issues of people going in and also exacerbation of mental health issues of people that are inside because of the conditions that are there and the lack of treatment. Is that something that you can comment on, from what you’ve experienced inside?
Eric McDavid: Yeah, that is prolific throughout my entire experience. Especially at the last place I was at, which was a medical yard, it was definitely prolific, and there’s no two ways about it there. They had a whole bunch of folks that were so traumatized by the experience of prison on top of their prior traumas experienced throughout life that there was no question that the added stressors and structure of prison did nothing but further debilitate [them]. I mean, regardless of whatever type of help they said that they were trying to do via groups or therapy, most of the time it was just over medication and the therapist trying to just get people through their program so that they could get recognition for fulfilling program requirements and keep numbers high in their classes to keep on getting paid for their job that they weren’t doing. Basically, classic bureaucracy.
TFSR: Can you talk about what your experience of support coming from the outside has been and if and how it changed with the resurrection of June 11th as the Day of Solidarity with Long-term Anarchist Prisoners, including you and Marius Mason?
Eric McDavid: Yeah, the resurrection. Where does that come from? Did it go away for a while? Was I gone during that?
TFSR: I mean, I feel like after Jeffrey Lures was released, because [solidarity with him] was the original point of that [day], and then he said: ‘Okay, let’s reassign it to long-term eco and anarchist prisoners.’ And you and Marius were the top two names for that. So I guess maybe the re-emergence or rebirth, or Phoenix rising from the flames, I don’t know.
Eric McDavid: [laughs wholeheartedly] Okay.
TFSR: [in funny voice] Easter egg!
Eric McDavid: For real, for real, I don’t know if it’s just my memories faded up for so long, but it feels like every June 11th I’d get this huge batch of letters, and that would only trail off maybe come August, or September, would it start to dissipate. And pretty darn sure, when I’d gotten to prison, that was when I definitely remember that for certain. And I know you could talk to folks at SPS [Sacramento Prisoner Support] about this, and they’d have a better relationship to it all, because they had more of a hands-on so far as fundraising and direct interaction with other groups, especially around J11. I mean, every June 11th, I remember Jenny from SPS talking about how those funds that were generated on June 11th were what….. [Sorry, the dog is just whining at the door right now.]
TFSR: [Oh, I can hear that, poor dog]
Eric McDavid: [Sasha, come here, come, come.] So whenever June 11th came around, those funds that were generated and given at that time were pretty much what paid for her to be able to come and see me throughout the whole year. They weaned off about June, and then the next June 11th will come, and then those funds would fill right back up. So, yeah, the support that came from that was phenomenal and continuous from my experience of the whole bit.
TFSR: Good. Petey, Jenny and the other folks involved in Sacramento Prisoner Support, SPS, do a phenomenal job of organizing, from my experience at least. I guess maybe you don’t have any views or critiques of how prisoner support goes in the US, from your experience, because you’ve had a good crew working on your side.
Eric McDavid: Are you posing a question? [laughs]
TFSR: Yes, or maybe you do. You can’t see me winking at you.
Eric McDavid: [laughs harder] Darn it, the video link, is not working.
TFSR: Do you, in fact, have a critique?
Eric McDavid: [laughs some more] The most basic stuff is the most important so far as prisoner support goes, from what I experienced of it. If there are differences of opinion within the support group, they would always contact me directly and have a conversation about it. And then it’d be like: ‘Okay, so this is where we’re at with it. How do you feel about it? We see these two different things, or four different things, or eight different things. Can you respond about this right now? Or would you like to take time to think about it and then come back and hit me up?’ I mean, for real for real, it was all just the basis of healthy communication patterns being utilized within the group, including me as well. So as long as that stuff was happening throughout the whole experience, that’s how I felt like, especially with SPS. That was one of the main things that held everything together, and the most effective and efficient way of just making sure everything was covered, because we talked about everything in an open way. And so after you get that covered, then everything else just kind of falls into place. It’s like a Tetris game that you don’t have to turn the pieces on because you have the right foundation already set up.
TFSR: Prefigurative anarchist praxis. [in funny voice] What! Weeee! Cool, good to hear.
How do you feel about the term political prisoner?
Eric McDavid: There are a couple of things on that. I mean, for real for real, when you’ve got the long indictment with 15 uses of the word ‘anarchy’, or ‘anarchism’ in it, and it’s not a terribly long indictment, actually, so that word is used at least every other page, then you have to think that there’s a little bit of a political influence, happenstance, maybe something happening in the indictment. And so there’s that.
TFSR: I detect sarcasm.
Eric McDavid: [laughs] No, no, no. I said a very true statement. There’s nothing sarcastic whatsoever. And then there’s also the utilization of “how is that different from folks that are politically influenced from a second-hand aspect?”. Where they’re brought up in such economically deprived and neglected (or not neglected, because that actually means something else), so definitely economically consciously deprived areas and regions, where their option is to move outside of the legal system, which is politically in place as well… And so when those folks are put in prison, how is that not… how can that be differentiated from a political frame of reference as well?
I guess it just all depends on your definition of “political prisoner”, so far as what type of framing we’re trying to use to discuss. So how do I feel about the “political prisoner” term? I mean, I don’t have any problem with it. It feels valid from a basic sense. And then you can kind of go for “prisoner of war” too because it’s just internal [logic]; there’s that easy translation between the two. Yeah, it’s kind of there. I don’t really trip on it.
TFSR: While on the inside already, having been convicted, how did your beliefs and your desire to live in a certain way, for instance, like your political beliefs around veganism or your anarchism, how did those things affect the way that you were treated by your jailers and also by the folks around you?
Eric McDavid: By the folks around me. I mean, for most of the time, it was just like: ‘What do you eat? How do you eat? If you don’t eat meat, what do you eat?’ And it’s just like: “Well, I don’t know, I eat beans and legumes and rice and fruit and nuts and vegetables,” and [I would] go off with that whole array of things. And they just go: “Man, I don’t know how you do that.” Because, I mean, I’d have to eat the soy during chow [mealtime], and everybody’s just like: “Uuuggghhh, soy… yadda yadda yadda”. Actually, I helped out the cooks to make the stuff taste pretty good at the last spot I was at. But every time they came at me with: “Oh, what do you eat? How do you eat that? Uughh, that stuff’s nasty.” I was just kind of like: “Man, I didn’t come here for the food.”
TFSR: Good point
Eric McDavid: ‘I did not come to prison for the food. So, you know what? For real, for real. I have to look at it like this right now. I’m just feeding a machine, and I need these certain things, these certain aspects covered to keep my body going, what are you gonna do?
And then you also had folks with perspectives on anarchism, having no clue or idea of anything other than just “total random chaos” and stuff like that. And so [I was] trying to sit down with folks sometimes, and just being able to iterate some very basic concepts and ideas in ways that folks could receive it. And every time I did that, I mean, folks would just kind of go ahead: “Well, yeah, I can’t really argue with that.” There were people there that are interested in conversation, and that’s always there. And the cops, most of the time, you just go: “You know what? You got access to my file. Go and read my file. I’m not going to talk to you. I don’t need to talk to you. You don’t need to talk to me. I don’t care how bored you are. If you’re really bored, go and talk to the file.”
TFSR: I seem to recall a few times of you going on hunger strike because you were being denied vegan food. Was that just based on the facilities that you were in? I understand state facilities, for instance, where I think you may have been held initially. I may be totally wrong, and call me out on it, please. I’ve heard that folks that are in state prisons and especially county jails, usually have a lot of difficulty getting hold of vegan food and getting hold of supplements and let alone being able to pay for stuff through commissary if you have to buy it separately. But can you talk about the difficulties that you’ve faced on the inside and what came of those in terms of getting a hold of a more healthful vegan diet?
Eric McDavid: Yeah, the county was the worst, definitely. That was where I had to do those two hunger strikes. Once I got to federal prison, actually one of the first spots that I got to at Victorville, they had a tray of vegetables and peanut butter sitting there waiting for me, before I’d even gotten off the bus. That was nice that I didn’t have to deal with that once I got into the federal prison. But yeah, in counties they’re so focused on the money tunnel that they’ve got going that any deviation from this script is fought tooth and nail.
TFSR: Just another stop on the road towards dehumanization, I guess.
Eric McDavid: Oh, yeah. Well, I mean, you got dehumanization on so many levels in this culture, it’s amazing. It just manifests itself in the militarization of the police as well, and even with the way folks interact with the jailers. All of the folks that were in prison with me or in the county jail with me were always [shouting]: “Hey CO, hey CO”, calling them CO – correctional officer. I don’t know if this is universal across America, but in Sacramento County, the sheriff’s office runs the county jail. The deputies have to do two years of work in the county jail before they can go out on the street. And so that’s part of their process of ensuring the dehumanization of ‘the other’ from within the indoctrination of the people that become no longer people, but deputies.
And all the folks that are there in the cells, people that have been within the system for a while when interacting with cops [shout]: “Ay, CO, ay, CO, ay, CO!”. And so I was like: “You know what: Hey, deputy. You’re not a correctional officer, you’re a deputy. I’m gonna call you a deputy.” And some of them got pissed about it. Some of them got livid about me calling them a deputy. I mean, it was just something to knock them off of their center. Maybe it was just so that I wasn’t going to play into that dehumanization, just to get them out of that frame of reference of just being that screw. So if you’re constantly referred to as a screw and somebody calls you a nut, you’re going to react differently.
TFSR: Or both [laughs]. In relation to the increased dialog around the prison industrial complex in the mainstream, I have recently become aware that political support around prisoner issues has started engaging more actively and in the more mainstream with post-release support for the formerly incarcerated. Eric, in your experience, what sort of things should the audience members understand about the psychological effects of incarceration and post-incarceration? What sorts of things are we doing right, and what could we be doing better?
Eric McDavid: This is a really good question. So, for real, for real, right at the gate, the support that I’ve been getting is still breathtaking. I mean how it comes in, on a personal level and through different mediums, it seriously knocks me off my feet continuously. So for me personally, the types and the amount of support that I’ve been getting have just been phenomenal. Maybe after a while, I’ll be able to find a critique for it, but right now, it’s just so overwhelmingly beautiful that it’s hard to conceive of critiquing it. I don’t know. Maybe it’s just kind of like one of those things, when you’re in the box, it’s hard to see what’s on the outside of the box.
TFSR: Yeah, that makes sense.
Eric McDavid: Does that make sense? Maybe it’s just one of those things with that.
TFSR: You’re getting good support and you’re amazed about it. But what sort of things have you felt that you’ve needed support about? Especially those things that could be… not universalized, but you know, the same sort of things that people who are looking to support and folks who are getting out in general look for. For instance, Brent Betterly of the NATO 3 is scheduled for release coming up. (In any case, more information on that at freethenato3.wordpress.com.) Whether or not someone’s a political prisoner or in for political reasons, and getting support in that way, this is the most carceral state in the world. So many people go in or are in one stage [of imprisonment] or another, especially among marginalized and racialized communities and classes. What sort of things have you had to deal with that you think are kind of universal, that we should be thinking about with our community members, our comrades and our family members?
Eric McDavid: That’s a good way of putting that. The biggest thing is dealing with the bureaucracies right when you come out. Getting a driver’s license again, if you have to deal with getting a car, all the stuff that comes with that. Getting a job or getting back into school because for fed [federal] you have to either go to school full time, or you have to work full time, or do half and half. And, so, dealing with those types of bureaucracies and all that comes with it. Some people do not want to mess with that shit, and it’s really difficult for them. Especially with all the PTSD that comes with getting out and coming out of the shock of the different social realms, the transition between them.
So maybe checking in with people that just get out and say: “So what is it? Do you need any help with dealing with this bureaucracy or that bureaucracy, or getting food stamps, or getting into financial aid for school?” A lot of that stuff could be a great space to help folks out. Over the last nine years, I have just been dealing with bureaucracies so damn much that it’s like second nature for me now. So, I know how to deal with that in a healthy way for me, and it ends up being really efficient. Just really efficient, there’s nothing pleasurable about dealing with bureaucracies. That could be one of the huge stressors, a major stressor for folks just coming out.
The monetary stuff is always there too. Any type of buffer for folks just coming out is always monumental. I got that box of vegan sausages that I’ve only made a third of the way through. I got that a week and a half after I got out. Maybe it may be that long, it’s not the next week, so that’s okay. So now I don’t have to worry about purchasing protein for the next six months, and that is a huge load off in my mind. One less thing I have to worry about. And then folks sending me a letter that had two stamps in it, that’s just sweet. And now I have a stamp to write you back and say: ‘Thank you, and how are you doing, and what’s up, and what do you get going on?’ And I also have a stamp for someone else who sent me a letter, and that’s one less thing I have to worry about. A lot of this stuff may feel really small, but it ends up being monumental in the end. Even the incremental, small things that we support folks with.
TFSR: Are there any culture shocks that you care to share, good or bad, that you’ve had since your release? Not in terms of what you just referred to, like post-incarceration PTSD, but more like, for instance: have the vegan sausages gotten better?
Eric McDavid: [laughs] Yes, they’ve gotten better! The vegan sausages have become phenomenal. And there’s one thing that keeps hope in my heart for the human race. And I have a very contentious and very narrow definition of hope, by the way. There is still hope when humans can make vegan ice cream that tastes this good. What is impossible? Seriously. There’s nothing impossible after that.
TFSR: [laughs] Is it the nut-based ones?
Eric McDavid: It’s every single kind I’ve tried so far. They’re just phenomenal.
TFSR: Good. I mean, I’m glad, but I’ll bite since you said it’s contentious and such. Are there elements other than the vegan ice cream that you would like to talk about in terms of hope? What does hope mean to you? You can pass this if you want.
Eric McDavid: No, definitely. No, I love this one. And I have to give credit to it because the person that worded it the most beautiful way possible is the person that wrote the Doris magazines.
TFSR: Cindy Crabb, right?
Eric McDavid: Yes, thank you. And she talks about hope in this… oh-so-beautiful way! She words it so much better than I ever could. Saying that hope isn’t this thing for me where I place all my energy and just kind of allow that to do whatever it is I hope to do or to accomplish. It’s not anything near that. It’s more like the feeling of a crush, of having a crush on something. There’s this idea and there’s this outpouring that just comes from everything around me and within me all at the same time. Towards this idea and towards this beautiful thing that I’ve just so deeply fallen lustfully in love with, and just can almost touch it.
TFSR: And what happens without hope, do you think?
Eric McDavid: Without hope?
TFSR: When you lose hope?
Eric McDavid: Oh, yeah, no, don’t do that. You just don’t do that. That one’s not fun, because that’s a downward spiral that leads to a whole bunch of toxicity and trauma and self trauma especially.
TFSR: But I mean finding that there’s hope, and then just shifting the object of that hope from one to another seems kind of unhealthy, too. In terms of not allowing yourself to feel like a roller coaster and also be actively engaged in what the next taste sensation is, or whatever… You know what I mean?
Eric McDavid: Yeah, no, I hear that. I didn’t say that the crush was without heartbreak. Yeah, no, there’s definitely a balance there.
TFSR: But you’re just not cutting yourself off to it.
Eric McDavid: Exactly. There’s always the possibility of heartbreak, and that’s what always helps create that extra little dangerousness.
TFSR: It makes it worthwhile.
Eric McDavid: Definitely.
TFSR: Do you have any observations, just generally, on the anarchist scene upon release that are kind of a surprise? Where it’s at in North America or worldwide, or in your community? As far as what the discussions are, or levels of activity, or talking to people who are maybe going through the continued post-Occupy depression, or whatever?
Eric McDavid: [laughs frantically] Don’t put all your bags in one basket.
TFSR: I like that.
Eric McDavid: Don’t ever do that. Always leave an opening. Let go of that stuff. For real, for real. It’s done, in the past, and once we let go of something, we can open our hands once more, and find something else to play with. So why would you hold on to something that’s not there anymore, anyway? I know it’s sad, and we can grieve. But I mean, seriously: let it go, let it die, learn from it, and then we can put our hands on something else and something new and something now instead of what was in the past.
TFSR: I mean, I’m still burned from the anti-war movement, so…
Eric McDavid: You and me both [laughs]. That’s what opened my gates and so I’ve still got grief from that leftover, definitely. But it’s blossomed and developed into a new thing, and then it’s definitely not what it used to be for me any longer. But seeing stuff, for real, for real, I’ve been just galloping in a little bit and getting a little bit more and more into stuff, but not terribly fast. I’ve got school and everything. But I’ll tell you what, I’m going to the Anarchist Book Fair in San Francisco on the 25th. I’m sure that there will be more than something after that.
Oh, you know what, there was one little thing. There was one thing about drama within the milieu. And how it’s just [makes a funny voice]: ”Oh God, more drama about this, drama over here, about this.” And I kind of almost wanted to reframe the idea of drama. In so far as how I was hearing people talk about it and hearing the relationship to it. Especially, for real, for real, us humans are just full of drama. I mean there’s no way to escape it, there’s no way to get around it, and there’s no way to avoid it. We’re dramatic individuals and groups. I mean mostly because we have really dramatic ideas and really passionate ideas, and so that type of energy is bound to manifest within our relationships. And I just would really like to maybe put out there an idea, regardless of how much drama we create and inadvertently… that [we should be] trying to move with a consciousness about how we communicate to each other and ourselves, and how we relate to ourselves, with types of communication. I think for the drama part, which is never going to go away, I think we could actually just get better at being dramatic.
TFSR: Think of a community of dramaturges, you know. [makes exaggerated voice] Thespians everywhere! In the streets! Yeah.
Eric McDavid: Now, see, you can’t put a limitation on that type of potential.
TFSR: Okay, okay. [both laugh]
To that last question that I was going to ask: on a more personal note, on the tongues of many anarchists in the US since your case has begun, was the example of Anna. She’s been described in support literature as a college student, who, for a paper, infiltrated anarchist groups like Food Not Bombs and the black blocks during the FTAA protests in Miami in 2003. An FBI agent enrolled in the same community college course as her, heard about her activities and engaged her with the FBI, leading to her meeting you, Zachary, and Lauren after attending CrimethInc and other gatherings around the country and embedding herself into anarchist scenes. It’s assumed by many that she’s been placed into protective custody by the FBI and possibly furnished with a new identity. Do you have any observations you’d like to make about that or any words you’d like to broadcast to her or others who may take the same sort of path in their lives?
Eric McDavid: Not really, for real for real. I couldn’t see anybody who’d want to take that path really listening to your program, for real for real. So that part feels a little irrelevant. But words to her, definitely not. She gets to live her life however the devil she wants to, and so long as it’s away from me in as many ways as possible, there’s no problem on my end whatsoever.
TFSR: Was there anything that we didn’t talk about that you’d want to?
Eric McDavid: Good question.
TFSR: Snuck that one in.
Eric McDavid: One aspect of the use of entrapment within the legal system isn’t something that’s out of the norm or an oddity or just some random happenstance. Throughout my whole bid, there was nothing but that: “Damn you got just like I did! You got to hit just like I did!” Over and over and over again. “Oh, your sounds just like mine, but is a little bit different on this.” It’s prolific within the so-called legal system. My case is definitely not special in any type of way regarding that aspect. Entrapment is used prolifically throughout the whole system.
TFSR: Do you have any words for listeners, especially young folks coming up who may not have learned lessons that many of us have learned at least being around for a bunch of years? Folks are passionate and just how to be safe or how to be safer?
Eric McDavid: Yeah: read history. Now I know that that can be a hard thing to hear, but our history is really important for us to know on a very intimate level, because it’s not even our history, it’s our story. All of our different stories have a really profound, intimate impact on our lives that we live today. The greater understanding that I would have had back then of our stories, the more of a foundation I would have had to be able to look at what was going on around me at that time and to be able to orientate it and put it in a correct frame of reference. Instead of just being able to throw it off as: “Oh, yeah, it’s just that. That’s just that, that’s just whatever. I’m just tripping out.” If that makes sense.
TFSR: So since that question was posed the agency to younger people who are just coming up and learning stuff, or people who are new. What do you have to say to folks who have been around for a while in terms of fostering those relationships with younger folks and folks who are coming up, and who are asking them questions? What do we do? Do we point them to the history? Do we just sit down and have the long conversations and see what they want to know, and then do our best to say “Oh, yeah, I know a little bit about this. Here’s my thoughts.” How do we foster as… I know it’s gonna sound funny, and I’m not 40 yet.
Eric McDavid: [laughs hard] Were you going to use the word ‘elder’?
TFSR: Yes, I was! [both laugh frantically]
Eric McDavid: [with emphasis] Oh! I don’t know. I’m still debating on whether that’s an ageist term or not.
TFSR: Ageist as in negative to the people who are considered elders or agist to everyone else who’s not considered an elder?
Eric McDavid: [laughs some more] Yes.
TFSR: “Yes.” Good answer.
Eric McDavid: I like you, Bursts.
TFSR: I like you too, Eric.
Eric McDavid: Of course, there’s no rote way to do this, and it’s all going to be totally organic and created out of each individual situation. But maybe a basic orientation to the situations that may arise could be of course being aware of healthy communication and styles of communication. And not being in the mindset that someone who may appear younger or who wants to talk about this type of stuff is fragile in any way. So that you’re not going to scare them off if you’re talking about something heavy, and they’re not going to be ruined after you have this type of conversation with them.
TFSR: I’ve made the mistake of having conversations with folks… There was a conspiracy trial that happened in this town after May Day in 2010. And you know, parts of this community have been sort of shattered, and folks who have been around for a while, especially the folks that did support, or lived with the co-defendants of the actual 11, [were] just super paranoid about everything. “If we hear anything, we just shut it down. Don’t even talk about that. What are you doing? Are you insane? Are you a cop? Dadidadada.” Which is not helpful and not realistic either. It gives so much power or assumption of power to the state and omnipotence and stuff like that. But I guess just having real conversations and just listening to where people are at, I guess?
Eric McDavid: Yeah, and being honest with where you’re at, too, with everything. If you don’t feel comfortable talking about something with someone, then definitely don’t do that, but don’t shit on them in the process, because you’re not comfortable. Does that make sense?
TFSR: Yeah, totally.
Eric McDavid: Yeah. And I mean the more we become aware and familiar with all these COINTELPRO practices that have continued to this day and will continue for a while, the more we familiarize ourselves with it and how they’re used, the more comfortable we get with how to deal with it. And so, like you said, by not dealing with it and by totally shutting down, we definitely provide the state with exactly what they are trying to do and accomplish. There has to be some medium and some comfort zone within the conveyance of trying to articulate these types of ideas in healthy ways.
TFSR: Just to jump back a little bit to when I was talking about post-release: Brent Betterly is going to be released on April 16th, and his birthday is on the 19th. So…
This week’s show, we rebroadcast an interview from 2013 with Krow, aka Katie Kloth, followed by updates on the 2-week old hunger strike at OSP Youngstown, the release of the 5e3 prisoners in Mexico & recent metal, deathrock and punk from around the world.
Krow is an anarchist, environmental and indigenous rights activist. At the time of the original interview, Krow had been facing charges stemming from a protest where eco-activists found workers from Global Taconite, a mineral mining company attempting to extract iron ore from the hills of Iron County, Wisconsin, secretly test-drilling. Krow was charged with throwing a worker’s camera away and minor assault which was caught on a video. A link to the video will be included in this episode’s blog post.
Krow was sentenced to 9 months in jail this January, 2015. In addition, according to the Ashland Daily Press, Krow will have five years of probation with the felony charge and two years with the misdemeanor including a work release where they’ll be pressed to work a full-time job as a way of normalizing them and their activities. Otherwise known as domestication. Krow is now also facing charges from District Attorney Martin Lipske of bail jumping for allegedly participating in an anniversary protest in a “forbidden zone” in the Penokkee range controlled by Global Taconite along with 45 other people. Lipske appears to have it out for Krow, who had initially filed charges could have resulted in a 15 year sentence for Krow.
You can write to Krow at:
Katie Kloth
Iron County Jail
300 Taconite Street
Hurley, WI 54534
Also this hour we announce the recent news of the release of Amelie, Carlos & Fallon from prison in Mexico on March 13th. They were charged with a molotov attack January 5th of 2014 on a Nissan dealership and the neighboring government offices of the Mexican Department of Transportation and Communication and had faced serious charges relating to terrorism because people were in the government office at the time. The 3 collectively were known as the 5e3. Amelie and Fallon, both Quebecoise, were deported back to Canada. We’re happy that they’ve been able to rejoin their friends and loved ones and that Carlos Lopez Martin with his child.
To hear some words from Amelie & Fallon while they were imprisoned in Mexico, check out our website.
Translations of their letters can be found here: http://waronsociety.noblogs.org/?tag=5e3
On Monday March 16th, over 30 supermax prisoners at Ohio State Penitentiary went on hunger strike. Warden Jay Forshey and OSP staff are refusing to meet their demands or negotiate with them. Some of the hunger strikers have not even been met and consulted with regarding their demands. Eleven prisoners remain on hunger strike and are committed to staying through to the end, if necessary.
This week, The Final Straw takes pleasure in re-presenting a conversation with Layla AbdelRahim about her book, “Wild Children – Domesticated Dreams: Narratives of Civilization and Wilderness”. She is an anarchaprimitivist who explores ideas of education, domestication and civilization in terms of childhood development and overall human health. In these excerpts from the conversation we define some terms and talk about instrumentalization of living things and symbolic thought and how they are used to shape the child’s mind into the civilized and non-empathic perspective. Info on the book can be found at http://www.fernwoodpublishing.ca
