PLAIN WORDS ANARCHIST COUNTER-INFORMATION IN BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA ISSUE FOUR FREE WINTER 2017/2018

BLACK DECEMBER: MEMORY IS A WEAPON

DESTITUTION & TROLLING

MIRROR, KALEIDOSCOPE, DAGGER: WHAT IS ANARCHISM?

FUCK YOUR SELFIE: ON THE SPECTACLE OF RESISTANCE

“GOOD TV” AS A ROADBLOCK

TO A TRODDEN PANSY: REMEMBERING LOUIS LINGG

NIGHT OWLS DISRUPT TIMBER SALE

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Plain Words is a website and publication that focuses on spreading news and developing analyses of struggles in and around Bloomington, Indiana. As anarchists, we approach these struggles from an anti-state, anti-capitalist perspective. However, we aren’t interested in developing a specific party line – even an anarchist one – and instead value the diverse forms resistance can take. Our anarchism is vibrant, undogmatic, and finds common cause with all others who fight for a world without the state, capital, and all structures of domination.

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As such, we actively seek collaboration. If you have news, images, reportbacks of actions and demonstrations, communiques, event infor- mation, publications, analyses of local trends and situations, updates on projects and campaigns, or anything else coming from an anti-authori- tarian, anti-capitalist perspective, please get in touch.

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Everything in Plain Words is either taken from the internet or anony- mously submitted to us online. All content is presented for educational purposes only. The editors of this project have no connection to the content beyond transmitting it for others to read. MIRROR KALEIDOSCOPE DAGGER

WHAT IS ANARCHISM?

“The subject is not whether we ac- cles of abuse that plague our relationships, “strategic thought,” and “objective con- complish anarchism today, tomorrow, the petty snitch mentality), and from our- ditions” – strangle our unrestrained day- or within ten centuries, but that we selves (our own acceptance of and partic- dreams of cooperation and free life. The walk towards anarchism today, to- ipation in the above). Anarchism offers us beauty of anarchism is that it has dispensed morrow, and always.” a mirror with which to evaluate ourselves, with ideological certainties, scientific mea- Errico Malatesta, to recognize faults and, ultimately, to make surements, and grand plans, favoring instead “Towards Anarchism” changes. the limitless possibilities that can spring Am I capable of living without forth from the unknown. Each turn of the authority? This question breaks through kaleidoscope – this way and that – brings hat is anarchism? The question all hand-wringing about utopia, bringing new arrangements of light, unique and vi- itself opens like a budding flow- our ideal world into dialogue with our own brant colors, evanescent and determined by Wer, exposing further questions. behavior. Are we slavish, sycophantic, sub- the movements we, ourselves, make. Do we speak of anarchism as a political the- missive? Are we exploitative, dishonest, ory, with its corresponding list of important manipulative? Are we dominating, uncar- Anarchism as dagger books and figures? Or of anarchism as an ing, sadistic? Are we living our lives, now, approach to life, a way of living one’s days in a way that opens doors for experiments uch has been made of the anar- in a way that is liberating? Anarchism can be in freedom – or has all of this world’s bit- chist as wild-eyed bomb thrower, both of these – and much more – because terness diminished our capacity for simple Mand much more has been vomit- it is elusive, defiant of orthodoxy and final human kindness? ed in response by those “anarchists” who words. Let us not speak of anarchism in the The mirror exposes us for what fall over each other to distance themselves dead tongues of Great Men, the dusty lan- we are, and only through this will we from any tinge of violence. Whatever one’s guage of library shelves, or the meaningless change. Anarchism does not wait for “ma- personal inclination toward or against vio- prattle of the artistic avant-garde. In defin- terial conditions” or the “contradictions of lence, the reality of our lives within capital- ing some basic principles, let us cut new capitalism” to transform us – it demands we ism and under the state is one of ruthless paths away from definitive pronunciations. sow the seeds of a new humanity now. brutality and exploitation. This will not be done away with by simply wishing it were Anarchism as mirror Anarchism as kaleidoscope so, or by loving the hand that beats us. To retaliate against the violence of work and t is impossible to envision a free world s our daily lives are impoverished law, property and alienation, is self-defense. when our everyday lives are poisoned by by systems of power, so too are our More importantly, it is a small assurance IPower: from above (police, prisons, boss- Adreams deadened and constrained. that those who wish to violate us will not es, courts, landlords), from others (the cy- Political ideologies – with their dogmas, do so without repercussions. In the face of the violence of the system, dignity is to be Anarchism is a path made by - The Bonnot Gang by Richard Parry found in the counter-violence of our direct walking. It is a tension: against Power, to- - Direct Action by Ann Hansen action. ward unknown freedoms. - Franco’s Prisoner by Miguel García - by Paul Avrich aving traversed some fields and for- Without map, we traverse the wilder- - If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin ests with you, I will leave the “jus- ness. We do not fear the dark; it hides us from our - Into the Forest by Jean Hegland Htification” for anarchism to others, enemies. We do not fear the wild beasts; they are - Letters of Insurgents by Fredy Perlman as so much has already been said about the our companions. We do not fear hunger; the trees - “Maroon: Kuwasi Balagoon and the Evo- human history of free cooperation and mu- are plentiful. We do not fear disease; many among lution of Revolutionary New Afrikan Anar- tual aid. Neither will I dwell upon the in- us are healers. We do not fear each other; tender- chism” by Akinyele Umoja tricacies of an anarchist society (who will ness abounds. We know not our destination – only - “Resistance to Civil Government” by take out the trash, etc.), because I find such that behind us the city without silence consumes the Henry David Thoreau questions impossible to answer in the midst horizon with its cataractous glare. In the darkness - Sabaté by Antonio Téllez of this social prison. Besides, there will not we can see the stars. They are so beautiful. - Sasha and Emma by Paul Avrich be one answer to such questions; systemat- - “The Sun Still Rises” by Conspiracy of ic thinking is what has ensnared us in the Margot V. Cells of Fire barbed wire for so long. What to do with a - We are the Birds of the Coming Storm by Lola world of total freedom will be determined Some tappings on the cell wall Lafon by those who live in that world. The best - “What is Green Anarchy?” we can offer are visions, small experiments - Anarchism and Violence: Severino Di Giovanni - Without a Glimmer of Remorse by Pino Ca- that summon that world in our immediate in Argentina 1923-1931 by Osvaldo Bayer cucci lives, and audacious actions to rid ourselves - Armed Joy by Alfredo M. Bonanno - Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson of Power and its footsoldiers. - “Black Anarchism” by Ashanti Alston

SOLIDARITY WITH MICHAEL KIMBLE

ichael Kimble is a gay, black anar- was present in C-dorm, the epicenter of in- chist held captive by the state of cendiary attacks by prisoners against their MAlabama. In 1986, Michael and captors. a friend were attacked by a man spouting Michael remains active in the racist and homophobic slurs. Refusing to struggles at Holman prison, always seeking be another victim of white supremacist, to push away from compromise and reform heterosexist violence, Michael fought back, towards revolt and the destruction of the killing the man who attacked him. For this, state in its totality. he was given life in prison, a term which he Self-defense against bigots re- continues to serve to this day. quires no justification, and we should stand Throughout the ‘90s, Michael with those rebelling against the overseers came upon revolutionary literature – initial- of the modern-day slave plantations called ly identifying as a communist. Eventually, prisons. Uncompromising solidarity is the he came to anarchism, inspired by individ- flame we carry forth until Michael, the pris- uals like Black Liberation Army fighter and on rebels at Holman, and all captives of the revolutionary anarchist Kuwasi Balagoon. state are free. In Michael’s own words, “anarchism is not If you would like to contact Mi- about building a hierarchical structure for chael or read more of his writings, visit: liberation somewhere in the distant future, anarchylive.noblogs.org but about living your life, now, in a fash- ion that’s liberating.” This politicization was accompanied by active engagement in struggles going on in Alabama prisons. For decades, Michael has participated in collec- tive battles against prison slavery and bru- tality by guards, as well as individual action in defense of other prisoners and against the prison authorities. As prison revolts in Alabama spread throughout 2016, Michael WITH GRAND JURY SOLIDARITY RESISTERS rand Juries are an investigative I cannot begin to explain what de- idarity with the resilient herstory of tool often used by the state against fending the land and the people I state repression resistors, along with Gpeople engaged in liberatory strug- call home means to me, but I want those who will continue to resist after gles. Towards the ultimate goal of securing to express that my resistance to this my time. There is no greater betrayal indictments, they compel testimony (i.e. grand jury comes from my fierce love or humiliation to our movement and snitching), under threat of imprisonment. for them. I was raised in movement the Earth than to cooperate with the It is illegal to refuse to cooperate with a by bold and resilient elders, inheriting state. grand jury, and penalties range from empty histories of resistance that taught me Jayden Savino threats to months or years in prison. In this what it means to fight from where way grand juries can be massively disruptive you stand. I know people here will re- e made this banner and posted to organizing efforts and ongoing struggles spond to this as we do the many other this picture to show Jayden and even before a single indictment has come challenges we face: with care, creativi- WKatie that we care, that we are down. There is a long history of refusing to ty, joy, humor and resolve. Our strug- paying attention to their resistance to the testify to grand juries (and an equally long gle is long, and our lives are spent state’s attempts to coerce them, and that we history of those who don’t refuse to testify in commitment to it. I have spent will support them if repressive measures getting, at minimum, expelled from radical over a decade organizing and build- are escalated against them. communities, projects, and spaces). ing family with some of the bravest Whenever repression comes Inspiring stories of grand jury re- and kindest people I could imagine down on people in and around our strug- sistance in the recent past range from New knowing. I have known, long before gles, it is important to support them for York City to Salt Lake City, Standing Rock, now, the depths of our strength, and many reasons. Besides the obvious ethical and the Pacific Northwest; from anarchist it is with honor to that strength that I responsibilities of having our comrades’ to animal liberation and indigenous strug- say that there is nothing on this earth backs, when they see they are supported, it gles. that could compel me to degrade my signals to them that they are not facing the Most recently, two separate grand integrity by testifying in a grand jury. repression alone. This decreases the chance jury subpoenas have been served to anar- Katie Yow of them cooperating with the state, increas- chists in North Carolina, Katie Yow and es their capacity for defiant resistance, and Jayden Savino. The grand jury targeting The FBI is attempting to make my- demonstrates to those looking in on our Katie seems to be part of an investigation self and my community feel isolated movements that we are strong enough to of what the government has described as a and fearful. Unfortunately for the resist the state’s attempts to foil us. bombing at the GOP headquarters in Hill- FBI, this harassment has done the The confidence that people will sborough, NC last fall. Because of the se- opposite for myself, my community, have your back if the state comes down on cret nature of grand juries, it is not yet clear and my family. This type of FBI re- you helps people to both take audacious what the investigation of Jayden is related pression is not a new phenomenon, offensive action, and resist grand juries or to, but they appear to be different. Howev- and the state’s efforts to target activ- other forms of repression and coercion. er, the timing and location suggest a trend ists and dismantle movements is as of increasing, coordinated state repression. American as genocide. While it is un- Both Katie and Jayden have open- clear what exactly is being investigat- ly and unequivocally refused to testify: ed, I will continue to embody my sol- FUCK YOUR SELFIE ON THE SPECTACLE OF RESISTANCE FROM BLOOMINGTON TO HAMBURG

he following article was written in the act. Trapped by the spectacle as in amber, wake of the recent riots in Hamburg we appear much but are little. Tagainst the G20. I’m republishing it I’d like this to be a catalyst for with additional commentary because I feel conversation. What role, if any, should so- it raises questions that transcend its specific cial media serve in our projects and initia- context, questions essential to developing tives? What role does documentation play a culture of direct action in Bloomington. in demonstrations? How do we protect our- To open further discussion, I’ll discuss two selves from the surveillance state and Alt points: anonymity and spectacularization. Right doxxing? How do we develop forms It is dangerous to engage in open- of communication that do not rely upon ly confrontational or (potentially) illegal ac- Facebook, Google, Instagram, Twitter, or tion with your face visible or only partially defensive safety. (For those seeking tips on possibly the internet at all? How do we de- covered. The state, and non-state enemies safely protecting your identity at demon- velop a sense of collective responsibility for like the Alt Right, can and will use any imag- strations or actions, see “How to Mask Up” our safety, and generalize this knowledge so es obtained from demonstrations to doxx, in Plain Words #1 or online.) as to avoid the media-constructed division investigate, or prosecute demonstrators af- The second critique – of turning of “masked anarchists” and “good protest- ter the fact. Even in the case of seeming- all action into a spectacle for social media ers?” ly “legal” demonstrations (let’s not forget – is equally important. We so often find that unpermitted marches in the streets of ourselves at demonstrations surrounded Margot V. downtown are not exactly legal), there is by smartphones, with people taking self- a high risk of illegal action in self-defense ies, sending texts, and livestreaming. Rather Much remains to be said on this topic, so please feel (ex: defending your comrades against cars than pushing street actions in more creative free to email Plain Words at plainwordsblooming- that attempt to run down protesters, as hap- or interesting directions, many of those who ton[at]riseup[dot]net with your own thoughts. pens at virtually every march in town). By join us in the streets seem more concerned refusing to hide our identities, we are stat- with documenting the image of the moment ing from the outset that: a) every demon- than actively participating in it. This results ‘About the holidays in Ham- stration we engage in plans to refrain from in a theater of resistance, in which the same burg’: selfies, disorders and illegal action of any sort; and b) that we are old symbolic protests that make for good willing to leave ourselves open to both state photo ops take priority over actions that the tyranny of images repression and doxxing by the Alt Right. may materially challenge or disrupt systems Putting aside the purely theoretical/moral- of power. Kept within the realm of social month ago in Hamburg, Germa- istic defenses and critiques of mask-wear- media and its corresponding ideology of ny, a G20 summit was beginning, ing or anonymity, this is simply not a strong pacified appearance, these demonstrations A and with it mass protests against strategic position from which to struggle, as lose any possibility of putting us in touch it, with demands for a more ‘human’ run- it sacrifices both offensive possibilities and with our collective ability to think, feel, and ning of capitalism, up to the total destruc- tion of the system in order to build a more social networks. It doesn’t matter who you cessity or purpose of photographs like ethical world where there would be a place are, but who you seem to be. People must these. and respect for all, where there would be see a photo on the screen that confirms What do these people want? A no repression or hierarchy, where the earth everything, if it doesn’t appear on TV or beautiful memento to show to their grand- would be protected and the insatiable thirst in the internet it doesn’t exist. Just as the children? I don’t want to deny the impor- for empty benefits on which this society is modern liberal nouveau riches take photos tance of documenting this kind of event based would disappear from our values and of their luxuries and share them on the in- also with photographic and audio-visual life goals. ternet so that the world can see their exclu- material; because often, if it wasn’t for peo- You can read about what hap- sive lifestyles and admire their ‘success’, in ple passionate about videos, who gather and pened during the 3 days of the summit and the anti-capitalistic, antiauthoritarian, rev- record all this, or as part of press collec- the demonstrations in many websites, in- olutionary milieus, the same dictatorship tives close to social movements or alone, cluding this blog [actforfree.nostate.net], if of appearance is reproduced. In the midst we wouldn’t know many of the things that you look in the corresponding posts (start- of disorders many people want their own happen. But it is important to maintain a ing from the month of July, for those who souvenir, their own photographs, like those culture of safety and above all to bear in are curious); and as I couldn’t go to Ham- who pay a few extra euros to get a picture mind that when you photograph yourself burg (and I’m sorry about that) for reasons of their adventure in a leisure park while you are not only exposing yourself only but that are irrelevant here, I won’t comment on whooshing on a roller coaster. Images cir- also the people around you or other com- what happened or go into detail. The com- culate frantically on social networks, blogs, rades who at that moment are taking part in rades who were there have talked about that mass platforms of videos and photos, for the events, and maybe don’t want to be part and continue to do so. the joy of the police and the media; and of your irresponsible fetishism. I’d like to talk about a particular if they didn’t arrest anyone it will be suffi- It’s important to reflect on this, aspect of those demonstrations, which I cient to search the internet to find succulent and not fall into an ambiguous or passive think occurs too often in this kind of con- photographic material for their files, and if position of the sort ‘everyone does what text, and which seems a serious problem, unfortunately they later arrest one of these they like’. Some comrades take their ano- at least to me, and one that annoys me. It’s people, it will be enough to check their cell nymity very seriously, as they are persecuted what is known as the ‘tyranny of the image’. phone (which they usually do when they and controlled, while others play at revo- lock you up in a cell and your telephone and lution between flashes and ‘selfies’. Every- n today’s society the spectacle covers ev- documents remain in their hands) to find thing is heroism and publicity, aesthetics, erything. Our lives are being transformed evidence of so and so’s presence at those top-models of the revolt, until the police Iinto a compulsive traffic of images, ste- demonstrations, which only they and their come to your door and then with all your reotypes and identity markets that nourish comrades should have known, evidence might you wish you had never taken that profiles, a projection of ourselves, often that can be used during the trial. On the damned photo… altered, fictitious, but with which we some- other hand, the mainstream media also get For a culture of safety and respon- how make up for our deficiencies and the busy, with activists who serve them up with sibility. Against the fetishism of images and aspects of our real lives that don’t satisfy us perfect photographs for sensational items hoodies. (instead of trying to change them, we cover of news on a silver plate. them with images), just as happens in most I don’t understand either the ne- DESTITUTION & TROLLING

n the grip of modern capitalism we face people through social media. As the popu- would likely not be participants in such bla- destitutions both material and social. lar adage about bullying goes, the weak be- tantly confrontational acts. IPrecarious employment, debt, exorbitant come the strong by preying on others that But different opportunities arise rent, and a diminishing welfare safety net are weak. At the moment, and conceivably with the internet’s anonymity and everyone are complimented by ubiquitous informa- in the future, the formula is: being “within reach” due to social networks. tion technology that hinders the develop- Privilege – Power + Humiliation Every powerless person who occupies a po- ment of real life social skills, perpetuating + the Internet = Far-Right Trolling sition of even marginal privilege now has neurotic anxiety and self-loathing which the easy ability to go to 4chan, participate follows perceived failures to meet expected n the past, those who capitalist society in a coordinated harassment, perhaps of a social roles. Both destitutions can be seen as shaped to be losers and nerds would black celebrity or any visible Trans people, “falling through the cracks,” where people Irectify their powerlessness by becoming and feel the deranged psychological benefit fail to meet society’s norms in achieving a an authority on a commodity or spectacle of asserting power over another. Similarly, middle-class income, and/or fostering rela- of their choice. Developing encyclopedic men who have been trained to see women tions of affection, friendship, and love. One knowledge of video games, music genres, as objects, intimidating ones they are inca- can imagine that these destitute people see and Star Trek episodes while being conde- pable of talking to without being creepy, themselves as losers, and hence gravitate scending to those not in the know replicates can use social media to lash out in their im- towards opportunities to be in power rela- a feeling of authority, and instills a fleeting potence by tormenting, doxing, and threat- tions where they are the ones on top, or at sense of confidence about something, re- ening them. least higher than they are now. gardless how pathetic. This way of asserting The internet has created an easy In revolutionary times, the collec- power over others is passive and somewhat pathway for the powerless-yet-privileged to tive power inherent in massive and combat- harmless, adopted only because it’s within become monsters in a vain reach for power. ive struggles may be seductive enough to reach. Who would have thought that hell would be draw these people in to the anti-politics of Contrast this with the typical im- participatory and decentralized? liberation. But with no horizon of revolu- ages of racial hatred in the post-war peri- tion in sight and the limits of current col- od: southern brutes drunkenly assaulting lective struggles, the destitute will take what civil rights demonstrators, or a horde of they can get. The easiest and most acces- working-class whites in the urban north sible opportunity for power, especially se- converging on a house newly moved into ductive for men with lighter color skin, are by a black family to harass and attack them. the sectors of the internet where far-right The aforementioned losers, having too little trolls specialize in tormenting marginalized confidence in themselves and their strength, “GOOD TV” AS A ROADBLOCK TO BECOMING UNGOVERNABLE (OR ANYTHING ELSE REALLY)

ecome ungovernable” is a slogan gravitational well. Bursts of energy and ters and life. They featured almost exclu- anarchists like to use these days. It spectacular moments responding to a crisis sively attractive white actors playing static Bsounds cool and fits the anarchist generated by capitalism may draw people and one-dimensional cliché characters. With aesthetic of revolt and spectacular conflict. away from the daily grind for days, weeks, “good TV,” shows have compelling ongoing It doesn’t immediately mean much, but or even months, but the system has tools to stories, comedies have become sharper, and that’s the beauty of it, the meaning shifts pull people back in. That’s a lot to dissect characters have a wider spectrum of emo- with each person and the specificities of here, but this essay is going to stick to one tions and are no longer just straight white their lives. With no revolution and lots of element of it: good TV. people. Additionally, niche audiences are environmental catastrophe, state violence, We are living in the era of “good targeted with subcultural anecdotes, politi- and “active shooter situations” on the hori- TV” or the “golden era of TV,” a relatively cal jokes, aesthetic, and tone which prompt zon, rather than despairing at our no-future new phenomenon where TV series are be- viewers to more easily identify with specific future, it instead contains a path forward: to ing praised as intelligent, gripping, and even shows. In other words: TV’s reputation has refuse submission to law, duty, and passivity works of art. Until the last decade, “the idi- gone up, and it is not seen as something to in daily life. ot box” has had somewhat of a bad reputa- avoid or try to disconnect from. But “become” ungovernable? As tion. While most of the masses were sucked The “good” quality of program- in, transform your life into one of ungov- in by it as they are today, it seemed like peo- ming rose out of the success of HBO’s The ernability? This is where things get tricky. ple back then knew even as they watched Sopranos and The Wire in the early 2000s. Capitalism and the technology developed it that it was mindless entertainment, and The dark, moody Sopranos used subtle lit- through it have created conditions that hin- rolled their eyes at all the laugh tracks, game erary techniques and complex symbolism der the creation of long-term life habits shows, and sentimentality. while telling stories about organized crime outside those of passivity and consump- Since TV was a vehicle for com- as more broad metaphors and critiques of tion. The toys of information technology mercials, shows were crafted to appeal contemporary American life. The Wire, sim- are small but contain terabytes of distrac- to the lowest common denominator, and ilarly pessimistic, detailed the intrigue and tion, ever pulling their users’ attention to- therefore contained the least controversial contradictions revolving around the Drug wards them, like a tiny black hole’s massive and most normative portrayals of charac- War in urban America to point out how dif- ficult and naïve attempts at reform can be. taking place, creating buzz and anticipa- their products to the millennial generation The Sopranos was a commercial success, The tion for the next one. Or they are released that seems to be interested in social justice. Wire not so much outside of liberal and aca- a season at a time, so they can be “binge- This has led to certain shows now having demic circles, but both demonstrated to the watched.” Contrasted with a banal-yet-anx- a higher percentage of actors of color and television industry that viewers were inter- ious life under techno-consumer capitalism, characters that are queer, which can wid- ested in shows that had effort and care put these shows with ongoing stories give the en their appeal, especially when targeting in to them, and wanted more than mind- viewer an escapist fantasy of a life of ad- younger audiences. less entertainment. Hence shows like True venture and intrigue, but from the safety of For those interested in liberation Detective, which boast numerous literary and the bedroom or couch. from oppression, exploitation, and other philosophical sources and references. Likely resulting from instant view- systems of control, good TV is bad news. While they are not always as deep er feedback in internet forums and social Television is a technology of social control, as The Sopranos or The Wire, there has since media, market researchers for these media and the world would be a better place if it been a proliferation of “series” which are companies have honed in on both what they was destroyed. But it seems like the oppo- ongoing stories, like the soap operas of the did poorly in the past and how to now tailor site is happening, and people are increasing- past, except with more care put into crafting shows to specific demographics. Addition- ly drawn to spending significant amounts of characters and plot, as well as higher bud- ally, cultural critiques produced by academ- time watching these shows. Whether good gets in designing sets and hiring actors. Un- ics in the ‘90s detailed ways that shows and TV or cheesy ‘90s sitcom, these technolo- like episodic shows where everything more- movies were racist, homophobic, and sexist. gies isolate people from each other and thus or-less returns to normal at the end, these This material, including the tumblr-sphere further the loneliness and anxiety of capital- shows are similar to novels where each ep- which criticizes shows along these lines ism. They frame this society and all its ugly isode is a chapter. Episodes often end in a practically in real-time, is all easily accessible mechanisms and social relations as natural. cliffhanger or with some dramatic moment for marketers to study in order to market And they kill the imagination by putting us in a position of passivity where we are set arate private worlds. “defend” this conceptualization of life, it in in receiving mode while being flooding with Good TV kills creativity, because fact specifically does not do this. Rather, it images, archetypes, and stories. TV is both there is no reason to think or struggle with presents images caricaturing our daily lives, bad in its own right, and in how it stymies what to do with your time when screens can our relationships, and the way we conceptu- revolt and keeps people from taking action connect you to instant entertainment. What alize everything as normal. Like all ideology, against the nightmare world around them. to do with one’s time is hardly a question it camouflages itself as natural. Any benign people need to grapple with, because TV intentions for producing subversive content Isolation & Ideology, fills in the empty slots in one’s daily routine. using TV, and visions of TV existing in a Inherent in the Technology There is no urgency to deal with a society post-capitalist world, would unknowingly that is destroying everything via environ- create these same conditions of isolation mental catastrophe, war, and oppression, and ideology. apitalism breeds isolation. In no because the ability to distract or easily en- other society in history has human- tertain ourselves always exists. Conclusion City experienced such separation be- People have rapidly been losing tween themselves and others. This has come the talent towards communicating with to be because divided people are easier to want television, and the world that it mir- each other face-to-face. This tendency, rors, to be totally razed to the ground. control. Where people regularly encounter hundreds of years old, gets worse every others, potential exists for a variety of inter- IThe world I dream of surely has stories, generation with the increasing mediation roleplaying, and other similar forms of play, actions, behaviors, and relationships to de- of information technology. It’s a common velop over time. In these spaces it becomes but not in such a mind-numbing form as cultural trope to notice that people hardly television. possible for people to build trust, share really communicate with each other, they frustrations, and maybe take rebellious ac- I don’t know what I want readers instead talk at each other. In our era, the to take from this essay. I don’t know what tion together. Strikes, riots, and the building lure of mediating technology or voluntary of subversive bonds need these spaces to anybody’s life is like but my own, and I’m isolation via staying home and watching not interested in telling people what to unfold. There is a reason why totalitarian shows is a result and further cause of this societies enact laws forbidding more than a do with their daily lives or how to engage phenomenon. The more awkward we are, politically. But I do know that this society certain number of people from converging the more we want to stay inside, and the in public. TV is liberal democracy’s work- mystifies what it’s doing to people, and I’m more we stay inside, the more awkward we interested in pointing these things out when around for this problem, in that it draws become. people towards voluntary isolation. I see them. Since television sucks roughly In addition to pulling people to- five hours of life every day from people Capital, which can roughly be de- wards isolation, television and similar me- fined as “money invested in something to in the US on average [1], it seems like an dia forms like movies present the world important thing to notice and think about. make more money,” over time increasingly unquestioningly as it is. The portrayals of colonizes the world, transforming it so that Especially for those of us that want collec- life mimic the structure of the lives we live tive revolt and to develop lives of our own investments can be profitable. This process now, and therefore reinforce the hegemony includes the evolution of technologies in subversive desires. of this way of life in our minds. This is not directions that support the status quo and an intentional strategy of elites scheming in the cementing of habits and cultural norms a smoky corporate boardroom, rather it is that benefit it. We go home exhausted after built in to the technology itself. work and the most attractive option is to [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/01/ Daily life, social relationships, val- business/media/nielsen-survey-media-viewing. collapse on the couch, a significant other ue systems, technology, and even the geog- html next to us maybe, while amusing spectacles raphy of infrastructure are specific to capi- on the screen pass the time until we go to talism at this stage of its development. The sleep and recharge our bodies enough to daily experience of waking up, commuting, trudge back to work. This is not natural. It working, commuting, watching Netflix, and is the environment that’s become dominant going to sleep is only one of millions of over time because it is suitable for capital: forms of life that could exist. Capitalism this is capitalism. has colonized the world to prevent us from Sitting back and watching a show discovering and creating almost any other. is especially seductive because it requires But the characters in shows and movies virtually no effort. It is the easiest option to have somewhat similar daily lives as us, and relieve boredom and to distract from anx- their relationships look like ours. If things iety. Contrastingly, socializing with others deviate, it is in specific genres like fantasy or requires active listening, emotional energy, science fiction where the deviation is part and a sense of obligation towards perform- of the appeal. When viewing these specta- ing social niceties. The potential to say the cles on an ongoing basis, the rhythms and wrong thing, to embarrass oneself, or to be forms of daily life under capitalism are ce- made upset by something someone says al- mented in our minds, so that it doesn’t seem ways exists. So TV, being much easier, draws like life could be any different. us away from the social and in towards sep- To be clear, television does not , , and Louis Lingg. Initially evading capture, Lingg was discov- TO A ered in hiding on May 14. Not one for willing submission to the state, Lingg fought the two police who tried to arrest him – first with a gun, then with fists. TRODDEN While Lingg was not present at the Haymarket the day of the bombing, the state’s dogs claimed he was involved in making . Though no evidence links him to the bomb thrower – whose identity remains a mystery to this day – Lingg was a prolific producer PANSY of bombs and an intransigent enemy of authority. In a search of Lingg’s apartment, investi- gators discovered two spherical and four pipe bombs. REMEMBERING LOUIS LINGG After a notoriously prejudiced trial, the judge sentenced seven of the Haymarket defendants to death by hanging and Oscar Neebe to 15 years in prison. At his sentencing, Lingg remained defiant, proclaiming “I die happy on the gallows, so confident am I that the hundreds and thousands to whom I have spoken will remember my words. When you shall have hanged us, then they will do the bombthrowing! In this hope do I say to you, I despise you, I despise your order, your laws, your force propped authority. Hang me for it.” On November 10, 1887, the day before their execution date, the Governor of Illi- nois commuted ’s and ’s sentences to life in prison (Fielden, Schwab, and Neebe would all be released six years later after being pardoned by Governor John Altgeld). , , George Engel, and were mur- dered by the state on November 11, 1887. Louis Lingg chose a different response to his impending execution. Days after four bombs were discovered in his cell, Lingg placed a lit blasting cap in his mouth, blowing off his lower jaw. Before the guards could enter his cell, he scrawled “Hoch die anarchie!” (“Hurrah for anarchy!”) on the prison cell stones in his own blood. Lingg died six hours later, refusing with his own suicide state authority’s control over his life. For more information on Louis Lingg and the Haymarket, read Paul Avrich’s ex- haustive and engaging book The Haymarket Tragedy. To honor Louis Lingg’s rebellious life, we present an unpublished poem he wrote in 1886, discovered in the Labadie Collection.

ouis Lingg was born on September TO A TRODDEN PANSY 9, 1864 in Mannheim, Germany. Ear- Lly in his life, he began working as a A broken stem, a pansy blossom crushed carpenter, eventually involving himself in In dirt, yet naught in all of Nature’s store revolutionary struggles. His politicization Revels in scorn at what we all deplore compelled him to evade military service, In it. Wert thou where careless footsteps rushed? so he fled Germany for Switzerland, only ‘Neath wanton lust wert thy fair petals brushed to be expelled in 1885. That summer, Lingg E’en when thou smiled thy loveliest, before immigrated to the United States, settling in Dark destiny had rolled its shadow o’er, , one of the epicenters of the vi- Ere yet thy innocence for cause had blushed? brant German-American anarchist move- Canst we read naught not writ in Custom’s scroll? ment. Living and human, cast in a finer mold, On May 3, 1886, police attacked E’en while we mouthing boast a ‘deathless soul,’ a strike at the McCormick Harvesting Ma- Yet still more wise than Nature, far more bold— chine Company plant, killing two workers. Regarding what in Nature is no loss The following day, during a rally against E’en while Hope’s brightest mintage we call dross! this brutal repression, police attacked dem- onstrators. In the melee that followed, an unidentified person threw a bomb into the crowd of police, killing seven of them and injuring many others. At least four other people were killed in the ensuing firefight between police and demonstrators. In response, police, with little ev- idence, began rounding up anarchists who they claimed played a part in the bombing. Eight prominent anarchists – among them organizers, orators, and editors of popular anarchist newspapers – were sought by po- lice: August Spies, Samuel Fielden, Adolph Fischer, Albert Parsons, Michael Schwab, NIGHT OWLS DISRUPT YELLOWWOOD STATE FOREST TIMBER SALE

n the morning of Thursday Nov. So during the weekend following marked with identical paint and markings. 9th, the Indiana Department of the sale, we painted hundreds of additional We hope that by painting these additional ONatural Resources (DNR)’s Divi- trees to match those the DNR had marked trees we can stop them from taking any of sion of Forestry sold the timber rights to for removal in two of three tracts on the them – or at least slow them down. 299 acres of the Yellowwood State Forest chopping block. We did this to obscure To other defenders of Yellow- Back Country Areas that are some of the the trees Hamilton Logging bought, and wood: there are many more trees left un- oldest and most diverse in the state. Nearly to force the DNR Division of Forestry to touched. All it takes it red or blue marking 2000 trees were sold to Hamilton Logging, redo the work of marking these tracts, thus paint, and some careful navigation. We wish who have a long history of shady business delaying when logging can start. you luck and look forward to all the other practices and timber theft. We understand there is a risk that creative and inspiring ways you’ll think of Despite over 200 people showing these additional trees could be cut down, but to protect the land. up to protest the sale, months of organiz- only if the DNR Division of Forestry and ing against the planned logging, and a re- Hamilton Logging show unprecedented, in- <3 N.O.P.E. cent protest encampment being established tentional negligence, by letting a group of Night Owl Paint and Exteriors on private property adjacent to the public pranksters mark the trees for them. Logging land to be logged, the DNR insisted on sell- all currently-marked trees would be a viola- ing another piece of some of the most wild tion of the contract between the two par- and beautiful land in the state – for a mere ties, which only includes the trees the DNR posted to Earth First! Newswire, $108,000. chose to mark, not the hundreds more we November 13, 2017 DEER: 1 COMPUTERS: 0

disoriented 250-pound deer broke glass door leading to the 5,000-square-foot Callahan suffered only “bumps through two glass doors at an east- store, where it continued its rampage. and bruises,” and was not hospitalized, said A side computer store, thrashed — “Maybe he didn’t know there was IMPD Sgt. Kendale Adams. bleeding — through the business and flung glass there or saw his reflection and was No employees at Key Computer a police officer over its back with its antlers running toward it,” Collins said. were injured but broken glass was every- before being tranquilized. There were no customers in the where, a desktop computer was destroyed Indianapolis Metropolitan State store so Collins and his five employees and blood was splattered on the walls, Terror Department described the buck as rushed to a separate office, locked the door equipment and carpet. “going berserk” and “terrorizing employ- and called police. Filth arrived within min- “We had a lot of cleaning up to ees” before the wanna-be cops at Animal utes but were unable to corral the animal. do,” Collins said. “It was very scary but it Care and Control could subdue it. A paid thug of the state wrote in his report could have been worse if there were cus- “You just don’t think of this type that human scum Justin Callahan was in- tomers.” of thing happening in the city,” said Bob jured when the deer ran down the hallway Collins, the head capitalist at Key Comput- and “was able to gore Callahan, stepped on Stay wild & free! er, 9040 E. 30th St. “I’ve never seen any- his right foot and, with its 8-point antlers, Fuck Computers thing like it.” threw him over its back.” Collins said the surprise custom- When two animal control officers er arrived at 10:30 a.m. Friday by breaking arrived later, their tranquilizer darts agitat- through the plate-glass front door that leads ed the deer but didn’t knock it out. The to a reception area. Inside the vestibule, the deer eventually sprinted out the front door deer rooted about, frantically trying to es- and ran to a wooded area across the street, cape but instead busted through another where it was captured. M Santiago, Chile. money in while attempting toexpropriate on December 11, 2013 by a bank’s paid dog ij Greek state. the openwar against weeks of death set off police inDecember 2008 in Athens, whose poulos but alsolightsinextinguishablefires. ideologies, we shouldfirstremember. ciety, its rotten authority, and its poisonous so this fight to begin To lives. their with freedom thosefor who paid examples of the amnesia that wouldAgainst erase the progress. its narratives and of cial history byoffi lives revolutionary of pacification by the state’shistory schools. the Against by technology. the sterilizationof Against lobotomization our Against gesture. fiant is tohave nohistory. Toforest.a Tois tobelostin forget forget nowmarkers astrail serve insurgents. for who camebeforeus, pathsthat whoburned what and progress, toforget in the tides of – “Angry” – irrepressible anarchist killed anarchist irrepressible “Angry”– – , 15 year old anarchist, 15yearold murdered by We over seethe with rage the We for grieve We mourn December hangs heavyus, upon de rememberingisa act of The battles. It is easy, trapped aswe are our in often neglect to brandish too we one – weapon a is emory Alexandros Grigoro Alexandros Sebastián Overslu - - - - - beat. still revoltintransigent comrades’ hearts our our means, whatever ourcontext: through Whatever fight. to continuing by struggles their deaths. We act. We keep alive their our comrades. We do not flinch in fear over thestate against of lament thebrutality and just cry. We do notmerely fold ourhands thewild. of bringing firetothepillagers of 2005 Winter Solstice while in jailoncharges liberationist whocommitted suicide the on spirit of rikan anarchist. in the Black Liberation Army, and New Af Balagoon December 1986 death of prison For allthingswild,peacebypiece William “Avalon” Rodgers To honor these fighters, we do not We the the night to call forth burn – former Black Panther, soldier Panther, Black former – For &Angry Alexandros For Kuwasi &Avalon Kuwasi , earth , earth - the Earth, to the place of my origins. my totheplaceof the Earth, home, to returning – I am jail break made a casualty inthat war. recent But tonight I have all things and wild. Iamjustthe most rose lions,mountain skunks, bats, cliff saguaros, bears, of side the on fight to chose I millennia. been waginghave war against for the Earth pened so quickly.human cultures Certain hap that have allthese events make sense of To them to help friends andsupporters my even fifty even years. or seventy-five last to going isn’t simply state that nonsense but also because the of or any not completing sentences or waiting onparole really not because notonly i aminthe habit of worried, am i years seventy-five the to As W illiam “ D A K D valon ecember uwasi ecember BLACK B ” R alagoon 21,2005 o 9,1983 dgers DECEMBER , - , [email protected] plainwordsbloomington.org