Phoenix Anarchist Winter General Assembly

Phoenix Anarchist Winter General Assembly

    Saturday, December 17, 2011
    3:00pm until 6:00pm
    At The Fixx
    11 East 7th Street, Tempe, AZ 85281
   
We will have discussion, food and social events after!

During this time of crisis it is essential that we get together to formulate strategy, have debate and plan for an ever increasing uncertain future. Our ideas are spreading faster than ever, let's fan the flames!

Proposed topics with more to come include:
- Anarchism, The Global Crisis and Resistance

- Items to act on such as teach ins, social events, demonstrations

- Looking towards to the future, a participatory discussion on what may be coming down the road

We invite all anarchists to come, endorsers so far include:

The Phoenix Class War Council (firesneverextinguished.blogspot.com)
Anarchist Anti-Authoritarian Caucus (At Occupy Phoenix)
www.phoenixanarchist.org
Survival Solidarity (survivalsolidarity.wordpress.com)

PCWC presents a discussion on "Whiteness and the 99%" with Joel Olson

The Phoenix Class War Council presents: "Whiteness and the 99%", a discussion at Occupy Phoenix.

Where: Cesar Chavez Plaza/Occupy Phoenix, on Washington between 2nd and 3rd Ave in downtown Phoenix.

When: 2 PM this Saturday, November 26


Joel Olson, member of Bring the Ruckus and the Flagstaff Repeal Coalition (which demands the repeal of all anti-immigrant laws in Arizona), will be discussing his recent essay "Whiteness and the 99%".

In addition to the general focus of the essay, the talk will place a particular emphasis on the attitudes of white people towards police historically and what that means for the current occupy movement. In addition Joel will be engaging the question of how the other largest social movement of our time, the immigrant movement (which called a general strike in 2006), remains largely unnoticed by -- and unconnected to -- the occupy encampments, and what that means for the trajectory of white and non-white movements fighting against economic dispossession and state repression.

From the essay:

"Occupy Wall Street and the hundreds of occupations it has sparked nationwide are among the most inspiring events in the U.S. in the 21st century. The occupations have brought together people to talk, occupy, and organize in new and exciting ways. The convergence of so many people with so many concerns has naturally created tensions within the occupation movement. One of the most significant tensions has been over race. This is not unusual, given the racial history of the United States. But this tension is particularly dangerous, for unless it is confronted, we cannot build the 99%. The key obstacle to building the 99% is left colorblindness, and the key to overcoming it is to put the struggles of communities of color at the center of this movement. It is the difference between a free world and the continued dominance of the 1%."

Read it here:
http://www.bringtheruckus.org/?q=node%2F146

Rundown of local struggles and events for the remainder of November

After an interesting October that saw the emergence of the Occupy encampments across the globe, including one here in Phoenix, and the level of struggle generalize to incredible lengths with the General Strike in Oakland, and inspired by the possibilities of open revolt against the rich, we have been engaged in debate and discussion with other anarchists and comrades over the challenges facing a potential anti-capitalist movement in Phoenix.

Primarily, we have debated whether this is simply a moment of crisis for the many whose jobs and homes seemed safe bets just a few years back, or if this is the beginning of a movement of people challenging the fundamental beliefs of American capitalism. Simultaneously, we have our deep concerns over some very conservative positions held by some in the Occupy encampments who have expressed near total adoration for the police and other authorities who have used extreme force and violence to attack the various encampments.

As anarchists, we are interested in what possibilities exist for a broader critique aimed at the many institutions of power and authority that could materialize from the initial Occupy groups, and the various responses to the crisis we hope to see emerge in the months to come. While we have had a rather infrequent presence, in terms of PCWC's participation, anarchists have been a regular sight at the Phoenix camp, but with no organized voice. To rectify this, a group of Phoenix anarchists called for a "Anarchist & Anti-Authoritarian Caucus", this group held a meeting at the Occupy site on Monday and additionally organized a series of events which begin tonight. The events are to coincide with the two big days of events at Occupy Phoenix, including two discussions tonight and a call for an anarchist section in the march and park re-occupation on Friday afternoon. The Anarchist & Anti-Authoritarian Caucus will be meeting again at 9PM next Monday, November 21, at the Occupy Phoenix encampment at Cesar Chavez park in downtown Phoenix.

In addition to the events this week, we want to remind everyone that the ongoing struggle against the proposed Loop 202 freeway extension is ongoing, and supporters are attending ADOT meetings this week to advocate for a "no build" option. For more information on what's going on with the freeway, or how to take action check out their website (No South Mountain Freeway).

At the end of the month a lot of people will be coming to Phoenix to shut down the ALEC conference being held in north Scottsdale. We support the fight to get these rightwing lawmaker-lobbyist organizing sessions shutdown because we are against all laws and all lawmakers, not just the particularly obnoxious ones. Stay up to date with the many events and actions at their website (AZ resists ALEC).


The Caucus' events, times, and summaries are listed below.

Thursday, November 17:
8:00pm - 9:00pm: Discussion on The Revolutionary Moment and What Anarchism Has to Offer
This is an open discussion, lightly moderated to discuss the current moment and what it means to us.

Are we in a revolutionary situation, locally and/or globally? Occupy movements have organized in anarchistic ways, is this a natural progression from the top down structures that have failed? This is not a reformist movement, so what else is there? Can we push forth the way we organize into other parts of society? Invite your friends and be prepared to discuss!


9:00pm - 10:00pm: What are you gonna do if "_______" happens?
The purpose of this teach-in is to approach direct action tactics from, well, a tactical standpoint and not a moralistic or philosophical one.

The question, What are you gonna do if _______ happens? is asked to elicit a consideration of the best practical outcomes of a given situation that could come up within a political demonstration, direct action, march or protest rally. The point is not to legislate what people should do in advance, but to get people to start thinking tactically about what they are doing within an action.

Some very general questions to consider:
+ What immediate goal needs to be reached?
+ What possible resistance and confrontations might be encountered?
+ Are the people around me also ready to react to various situations?
+ How should we communicate changing goals within an ongoing direct action should the previous agreed upon goal become unattainable?
+ Are we physically prepared for foreseeable events that may occur?

Additionally, how can we keep direct actions imaginative and open to modification? (The world doesn't stand still and even the best plans don't anticipate every possible encounter.)

And last, but definitely not least, how to think differently about the role media representations play in relation to the development of a movement, especially with regard to the concern over controlling media representations of a movement.

Friday, November 18

3:30pm - 11:30pm: Mass Gathering and March to Support the Re Occupation

Gather at 3:30 PM to create the revolutionary section of the march. Stay till nightfall to party in support of the re-occupation.

Bring banners, boom boxes, flags, awesome chants and whatever else to make the march and party enjoyable. Make a float if you'd like.

Gather near the black flags!

#Occupy Phoenix reading roundup for 10/30

The text of the Oakland general strike solidarity statement approved by the Occupy Phoenix General Assembly, 10/28/11


The latest news of interest in our continually updated readings regarding the #occupy movement:

Oakland on Strike! For a Radically Democratic Oakland without Cops, Politicians, or Bosses! (Counterpunch)

Three Nazis Kicked Out of Occupy Seattle (The Stranger)

Phoenix police chief: Occupy Phoenix demonstrations cost city over $200,000- Councilman Sal DiCiccio to suggest charging protesters (Arizona Republic)

Portland police arrest 25 Occupy Portland demonstrators overnight (The Oregonian)

Denver Anarchist Black Cross update from 3 weeks of social war in Denver, Colorado (Denver ABC)

Don't Assume those who confront the police are agents provocateurs (Joaquin Cienfuegos)

Occupy Denver: Police using rubber bullets and teargas (Censored News)

Our Lives Are Not Negotiable!

 

OUR    LIVES   ARE   NOT   NEGOTIABLE!

We are at the beginning of a great shift. We are in motion, all of us, experiencing new ideas, trying out new ways of living, organizing and relating to each other. The old ways of doing things, which have had the feeling of going through the motions for some time now, are finally fading away. Soon they will all be gone.

The truth is we have been tired of this world for some time. It isn't organized for our benefit, which makes sense because it isn't organized by us. It's organized by capitalists and bureaucrats, politicians and technicians. So-called “experts”. The institutions, all of them, have revealed themselves as servants of power, not broken but functioning normally as part of a giant profit- and power-driven machine. It hasn't changed, it's just easier to see it now.

American democracy isn't broken, we are witnessing the logical conclusions of its internal nature. Likewise with American capitalism. We don't need to “fix” it because it isn't broken. Neither was it ever meant to respond to us. In capitalism we produce and consume, but the profits go elsewhere. In democracy we validate capitalist domination over our lives. This is the normal functioning of the system.

This crisis goes beyond “corporate greed” or “getting corporate money out of politics”. It wasn't some character flaw that led to this calamity. And it isn't any particular mechanism by which elite power influences politics that is the problem. It's that elite power controls politics regardless. This is because we live in a dictatorship of money, of capital. Just like you can't get money out of capitalism, you can't get capitalist power out of government because government exists to perpetuate capitalist power.

This crisis goes deep. It's not just foreclosures, it's also the vacuous suburbs themselves. It's not just unemployment, it's the meaninglessness of our jobs. It's also being worked to death in an era of massive technological advancement. It's a system that moves so fast that we never get any time to slow down. We exist for the system, not the other way around. Meanwhile the system throws so many of us away, locking us in prisons, poverty or powerlessness. It eats up the Earth with an insatiable appetite, foisting the costs unto us.

It's a system determined to eat up everything in sight, invading and colonizing everywhere, including our minds and relationships to each other. Always accumulating at our expense, and backed up by the army and the police, it's a system that doles out petty privileges to some while it systematically attacks others, all the while keeping the lion's share for those at the top. And, as we have seen, if it wants to it can take those privileges away. The laws do not protect us so why should we respect them? In this system we have very little control over the fundamental questions of our lives. Picking between brands of ketchup isn't freedom. And neither is working in the ketchup factory. Nor studying at ketchup university.

At such an important point in our history, now is not the time to seek to restore normality. Now is no time to be conservative. Do not hold back! We must resist the temptation to try to return to the way the system functioned in the past. Not only isn't it possible, but it would be a betrayal of this amazing moment. And things weren't so great back then anyhow. Don't beg for reforms. Insist on your dreams. Think big. Look around you for inspiration of how things could be. Now is the moment to ask yourself how you would like the world to be, not what you would settle for. It can be different. It can be totally different.

DEMAND   EVERYTHING,  INSIST  ON  YOUR  DREAMS  AND  RESIST   THE  URGE   TO COMPROMISE  IN  THE  STRUGGLE!

#Occupy Phoenix reading roundup for 10/28

PCWC's continuously updated news that we think should be of interest to #occupyphoenix.

Postal workers occupy TD Bank on Bay Street (rabble.ca)

Activists dropped a banner at a downtown parking garage Wednesday morning to protest Mayor Menino's recent statements concerning anarchists (Boston Indymedia)

Anthropologist Graeber Turns Radical Side Loose in Zuccotti Park Protest (Bloomberg)

On the Previous Few Days, And What Is to Come… (Bay of Rage)

SFPD: Massing of Police Was Training Exercise, Readying For Oakland Protesters (KQED)


Occupy Oakland makes plans for citywide general strike (Mercury)


Behind the Barricades at Occupy Oakland  (Mother Jones)

“Anonymous” Shuts Down Oakland P.D. Website Over #OccupyOakland Battle (Pat Dollard)

Occupy Movement Not Ready for General Strike, Says Duke Labor Historian (Duke)

Getting to the Roots of Capital (Articles on the Occupy movement from an anarchist perspective)

This Saturday at Occupy Phoenix, a discussion on "Defending Self-Defense from Militant Nonviolence"

 "I am not the 99%! I am me, you are you. In different ways the rulers of this society have screwed us over. Each of us, in different ways, autonomously (but perhaps interweaving what we do), have to respond. To hell with moralistic condemnations of other people's choices in this regard. To hell with imposed guidelines and programs. That guarantees a "movement" that cannot move!"
-Apio


As seen last night in Oakland and Atlanta, police agencies continue to clamp down on the surge of anti-capitalist, anti-bank, and anti-corporate protests around the country, and Phoenix has been no exception.  Phoenix police made dozens of arrests during the first night of Occupy Phoenix, as people sat down in the park after it closed at 10 PM and refused to leave.  Many of those arrested chanted that they "love the police" and reaffirmed their commitment to non-violence, while riot cops methodically pulled them behind their lines. Notably, one person was grabbed by her head and yanked behind the police line, while another person reported that he received a light beating after he was snatched. Still loving the police?

Anyone in the park who shouted back at the police advance, who had the nerve to challenge the state's attack on a peaceful gathering, was labeled as being "violent", or accused of trying to "provoke the police" by some of the "non-violent" protesters.

There's already a couple of other posts on here in the last few weeks about the role of the police as antagonists to social movements amidst all the cop loving going on, as well as the dead end of a non-violent movement that polices anyone who oppose the presence of armed white supremacists and neo-nazis at Occupy Phoenix.  Furthermore there have been a number of different groups and individuals advocating for some type of "peace police" that will marginalize and even physically isolate any person(s) who may be engaging in "violent" behavior, like defending oneself from a physical attack, or yelling at a cop who is being violent towards others. The Occupy Phoenix encampment will not survive if militant non-violent advocates continue to insist on a "head down" mentality that shames individual or collective self defense, the politicians, cops, and/or nazis will make sure of that.

In addition to some of the problems with the organized non-violence presence, there is also a popular, if factually inaccurate, narrative of non-violent movements (Gandhi, MLK, the civil rights movement) that says they were victorious simply because of the virtuousness of their non-violence.  This one sided understanding of social change throws history and facts out the window in favor of a mythologized interpretation of struggle, one that ignores any context that becomes inconvenient or clashes with the dogma of non-violent protest in the United States.

So, with all the contention over the question of tactics in this current struggle, I was happy to see that a friend of PCWC has organized an event for this weekend to challenge the dogmatism of militant non-violence, and to invite attendees to explore the histories of direct action, movement self defense, and diversity of tactics through a public discussion.  This event will take place this coming Saturday from 2-5 PM, at the Occupy Phoenix camp at Cesar Chavez Plaza (201 W. Washington Street) in downtown Phoenix, I encourage all interested to attend.  The summary for the event is reproduced below:


"Defending Self-Defense from Militant Nonviolence"

From day one of Occupy Phoenix it has been made clear that Kingian nonviolence is the acceptable means of protest, demonstration and direct action.

Nonviolence is a tactic, but it is one of many. It is important to remember that those who defend self-defense as a tactic are likewise not discounting the efficacy of nonviolence.

The purpose of this teach-in is to give a historical account of self-defense and direct action from the abolitionist movement and the Civil Rights era through to the present day.

It would also be extremely important to listen to our Native brothers and sisters, whose land we continue to live upon, on their ongoing struggles against U.S. state oppression and the tactics they employ.

It is also for the purpose of pointing out what Joel Olson has recently described as the "left colorblindness" of the Occupy movement in pointing out the historically different relations that people of color have had with the state and with the police. It seems easy to dismiss self-defense as a tactic when the community you are a part of has never felt oppressive state violence through exclusionary legislation, racial targeting, criminalization, slavery, prison and the dispossession of land.

Also, it is a hope that a discussion regarding the protection of private property rights above human values under nonviolence principles can occur.

	Saturday, October 29 · 2:00pm - 5:00pm
	Cesar Chavez Plaza 201 W. Washington Street Phoenix, AZ

#Occupy Phoenix reading roundup for 10/26

Today's continually updated collection of articles we think should be of interest to the Occupy movement.

Letter from an Anonymous Friend: The Morning After the Attack on the Oakland Commune (Anti-Capital Projects)

Reports from Occupations: Oakland, Atlanta, Philly, NYC (BtR)

To the Occupy movement – the occupiers of Tahrir Square are with you (LibCom)

Occupy Wall Street's Race Problem (American Prospect)

What Police Should be Learning From the Occupy Protests (Security Debrief)

A Look at the Occupy Movement In a Manner Neither Forceful Nor Foolish (Counterpunch)


"Corporate greed," or just plain old capitalism? (LibCom)

 Inside the Shocking Police Crackdown on Occupy Oakland: Tear Gas Used, 85 Arrested (Alternet)

#Occupy Phoenix reading roundup for 10/25

The latest news of interest in our continually updated readings regarding the #occupy movement:

Occupy Tucson protesters launch satellite camps (Associated Press)

Occupy Tucson costing city thousands (KVOA)

Screw the PiggyBackers (Occupy Los Angeles)

Beyond Occupy Wall Street: 11 American Uprisings You've Never Heard of That Changed the World (BeyondChron)

Dear, Occupy Oakland: A letter on strategy (Occupy Oakland)

On #Occupy: Ryan Harvey (AK Press)

Chemical bomb tossed into Occupy Maine encampment (Portland Press Herald)

Occupy Albany: Under pressure to make arrests, police and troopers push back (Times Union)

Occupation Movement: Hactivists expose police and police brutality (Censored News)

Toward a Radical Strategy in Decolonize/Occupy Seattle (Black Orchid Collective)

Seattle: The Anarchist Anxiety (The Stranger)

Is Madagascar the model for Occupy Wall Street? (Globe and Mail)

Occupy Oakland's diversity is strength, challenge (San Francisco Chronicle)

Occupy Denver: 4 busted in police raid on squat (Denver Westword)

UPDATE: DPD Raids Squat, Support Needed (Denver Anarchist Black Cross)

#Occupy Phoenix reading roundup for 10/22

 There might not be much more added today since we're going to be at the #occupyphoenix general assembly all day.

WHY (RE)OCCUPYING WON’T WORK (Stronghold)

Despite eviction warnings, Occupy Oakland protesters revel into the night (Oakland North)

On Immanence and Occupations (Ian Alan Paul)

Occupy Oakland, Day 12, Morning of Looming Forcible Eviction by Police, 10/21/11: photos (Indybay)