P.8 issue #6 Tides of Flame ing these work-stoppages, the forests Massacre would be quiet, still, and sometimes Middle Class continued from pg. 6 3continued from pg. 7 filled with laughter. No more trees fell, 3 class of the Seattle area and intensified production stopped, and these “timber perity and national strength. But that the conflict between them and the capi- beasts” lived freely in the woods for a few time has passed, and what remains of a Seattle anarchist paper talist business owners. IWW members months. the magical middle class is vanishing, continued to travel the Western United Just prior to the Seattle General Strike despite the desperate efforts of its ideo- States by hopping freight trains, stopping of 1919, many of these woodsmen min- logues. What will remain after it van- joy ~ freedom ~ rebellion in different towns, agitating amongst the gled and agitated on the streets during ishes will be a concentrated ruling class local workers, and increasing the mem- that strange moment where the work- of capitalists and a nihilistic substrate bership of their union by the thousands. ers almost took over the city. When the of poor, creditless workers who will be issue #6 | mid sept 2011 In the Northwest, the majority of IWW repression following the General Strike lucky to legally rent an apartment. tidesofflame.wordpress.com members were not only lumberjacks liv- descended upon the working class, these Keeping these two forces separated [email protected] ing in the woods, they were also explic- IWW members drifted away, tramping by a middle class buffer has helped keep itly anarchists. across the land, their dreams becoming conflict hidden under the surface. With The press called these people “timber nearly forgotten. But their vision of a the American Dream now crumbling beasts” in an attempt to demonize them, world without capitalism continues to into its own grave, we will see conflicts but in reality they were beautiful, kind this day in the Seattle General Member- the likes of which we have only so far 1 people. Rather than slave away for the ship Branch of the IWW and the Seattle glimpsed in places like Cairo, Athens, Who will revive the capitalists, these anarchists would in- Solidarity Network, a splinter group of and London. The worst nightmares of filtrate remote logging camps, launch a the IWW. the high capitalists are starting to come violent whirpools true. strike, and shut down all logging. Dur- of flame on Rape and the State Seven million dollar Earth Liberation Front if not us and those arson of “green” mansions in the Street of Strike! Dreams, Snohomish County, March 2008. that we consider brothers? Come! New friends: this will please you. n the evening of September 7th, The next morning, at 4:30 AM, over 2011, a group of International 400 longshoremen stormed the EGT ter- We will never work, OLongshore and Warehouse minal. When a random police cruiser Union (ILWU) workers blocked the first noticed a mob of people heading towards oh tides of flame! train to ever enter the new EGT grain the port, one ILWU member yelled at the terminal at the Port of Longview. EGT, cop, “Today’s the day law enforcement a multinational corporation, has refused gets theirs!” They proceeded to pull an This world to employ any ILWU longshoremen in EGT security guard out of his car, drive the grain terminal, choosing instead to that same car into a ditch, and smash contract the work out to a smaller, less the windows of a security guard station. will explode. militant union from Oregon. The ILWU Amidst the sound of shattering glass, sev- blocked the mile long train for over four eral terrified guards decided to stay inside hours before riot police arrived. The the station, convinced they were going to group threw rocks at the police, sprayed be killed. Indeed, the ILWU members A. Rimbaud them with mace, and carried bats and ax were a wild bunch, carrying bats, spit- anarchistinternational.org pugetsoundanarchists.org handles for defense. Despite these deter- ting curses, and confidently proceeding rents, the police were able to arrest 19 of towards the train they had tried to block waronsociety.noblogs.org autonomiaseattle.org 1 the longshoremen and allow the train to earlier. Some people cut the brake lines of pass into the port. In response to this, the mile long train while others dumped anarchistnews.org continualwar.wordpress.com the ILWU decided to attack the grain all of the grain from the train compart- terminal. continued on pg. 2 3 P.2 issue #6 Tides of Flame Tides of Flame issue #6 P.7

any sort of restriction on their earth- those kind of people. destroying activities, especially not a he eal Well, they’ve done it this time. Auto- radical union that demands high wages, T R nomia has been pushed out of the neigh- full benefits, and will strike whenever it borhood by anal-retentive, control-freak damn well pleases. EGT, in its efforts War On Cars yuppies who are entirely ill-equipped to export grain across the planet, is just SEATTLE - The number of bicyclists to reside in a densely, diversely popu- one of many capitalist entities that alter killed by cars keeps increasing, tail- lated urban environment that is bound and destroy the planet by alienating ev- pipes continue to spew fumes into to erupt into riots within the next few eryone from the land around them. In the air, and freeway accidents kill years. their system, we eat food from all over But life goes on. It’s only a matter of 3ments. By the time the police arrived, thousands of people each year. There the world, with workers in China trad- time before a new social center pops up the longshoremen had vanished. is much buzz about the war on cars, ing their lives for money in order to by in a disused building near you. After hearing about what had hap- but it seems like the only people who grain from Minnesota, and vice versa. pened to their comrades down south, EGT is trying to break ILWU control are actually waging this war are not the ILWU locals in Tacoma, Seattle, Tides of Flame would like to thank over the ports, and this attack on the our beloved Mayor or the mourning and Everett went on a wildcat strike everyone who made Autonomia pos- part of EGT represents the first shots in friends of the dead bicyclists. The true (a spontaneous strike not approved by sible. We will really miss it. a battle to crush the ILWU and expel it partisans of this war are degenerate ar- union leadership). And so, on Septem- And to all rich, whiny neighbors: from every port. sonists and bored suburbanites. ber 8th, 2011, the ILWU shut down the fuck off and die, you boring, khaki- Currently, there are 100 ILWU On September 8th, two young men major ports of the Puget Sound, costing wearing VOTERS! workers who are accused of participa- (driving a car, yes) cruised around the Ciao, Autonomia! various corporations millions of dollars. tion in the siege of the EGT terminal streets of SeaTac smashing out the While the spark of this fire began with a and will be tried in batches of fifteen at windows of other people’s cars. In to- CENTRAL DISTRICT - Thanks to its tive had planned to hold regular music specific labor dispute, the reason for the Massacre the Cowlitz County Courthouse. Addi- tal, they vandalized 20 vehicles. One rich, whiny neighbors, the Autonomia fundraisers to help pay the rent. De- three wildcat strikes was simple solidar- 3 continued from pg. 4 tionally, two ILWU members have been Social Center at 600 24th Ave S. in the spite efforts to sound-proof the space ity with distant comrades. witness who saw the two young men arrested and charged with a variety of Central District is closing after only 9 and open channels of communication the side of the police, and a battle en- The ILWU has long been a mili- hysterically laughing as they smashed felony and misdemeanor charges stem- months. Evidently this mighty little with those living around the social cen- sued between the men on the boat and tant organization, being one of the few a window had only this to say about ming from the siege. Local authorities bastion of freedom was too much for ter, certain uptight citizens just could the police on the shore. Everyone on unions to fight and prevail against the them: “They are crazy.” have announced through the press that these assholes, who could not abide a bit not handle Autonomia and its ragtag the boat ran to one side, nearly capsiz- communist witch-hunts that took place Taking it to another level, an arson- others will be arrested in the coming of street-life on an otherwise empty cor- crowd. Once, a frightened wife even ing the vessel. from the 1920’s to the 1950’s. While ist burnt three cars in Beacon Hill dur- days. This crackdown will undoubtedly ner. A little music a few nights per week called the police after her husband had During the gun battle, several other unions restructured and pacified ing the first hours of September 11th. be met with a response from the union, and a well-tended sidewalk garden? Not gone to talk with the “anarchists” and IWW members fell into the water and themselves to comply with the gov- The brightest jewel in this fiery crown but what form this response will take is for these gentrifying scum-bags. hadn’t come back home soon enough. drowned. Others were killed by gunfire. ernment, the ILWU remained unre- is a completely destroyed Prius, the dependent on what the organization de- For the whole of its existence, Auto- Instead of crossing the street to find her Luckily, the IWW were able to kill two pentant for its communist influences. ultimate symbol of green-washed car cides. nomia provided a place for anarchists husband herself, this Nervous Nellie in- paid mercenaries. The pilot of the boat Recent examples of the ILWU’s contin- culture. If there is to be a war on cars, The editors, authors, and designers of and other anti-authoritarians to meet stead called the cops, probably on speed- was finally able to escape from the docks ued strength include the shutdown of we don’t think this arsonist will be sip- Tides of Flame would like to express our and to have events like movie-nights, dial. Her husband, as it turned out, was and return to the waters of Possession all west coast ports in 2008 in protest support and solidarity with the long- ping cocktails with the Mayor. Hope- workshops, fundraisers, and meetings. perfectly fine. Sound. After warning the second boat, against the Iraq war and the shutdown shoremen and offer our fully, they’ll be burning more cars. There was a free store full of clothes Anyway, thanks to these party-poop- the IWW contingent return to Seattle, of San Francisco Bay Area ports in re- meager resources to help and toys that anyone was welcome to ing shitheads, the Department of Plan- having lost 12 comrades and carrying 27 sponse to the murder of Oscar Grant, them in their struggle. take. There was free tea and coffee and ning and Development put a stop to wounded others. Back on shore, the lo- an unarmed man who was shot in the While a world free from free computers to use, too. L@s Quix- the music, thus starving Autonomia of cal Everett IWW began its rally but were back by a cop when he was lying on his capitalism would un- otes Infoshop had a nice little bookstore potential income. Neighbors like these quickly surrounded, beaten, and thrown stomach, handcuffed. Now, however, doubtedly put all long- and lending library with cozy chairs are the types that regularly attend com- in jail. the ILWU is under attack by the forces shoremen out of work, and shelves brimming with exciting, munity meetings with police, slobbering After arriving in Seattle, 75 IWW of world capitalism, and it is responding we hope that as we incendiary reading material. An indus- on their handcuffs and offering tips on members were arrested, and all were to this attack in a serious manner that struggle together, anar- trial kitchen produced food for delicious which neighborhood kids they think charged with murder. Shortly following will only intensify. chists and unionists can open potlucks and Food Not Bombs. possibly maybe could be selling drugs the massacre, the governor of Washing- EGT, the multinational corporation tackle the hard problems The place was generally neat and tidy, on the corner based on their, you know, ton sent several companies of soldiers that is refusing to hire ILWU workers, of our precarious exis- with posters on the red and blacks walls manner of dress and slang and stuff. into Seattle and Everett to prevent any has taken over the grain terminal at the tences in the capitalist celebrating struggles from around the They cringe at graffiti and all other signs potential reaction to the murders of the Port of Longview in order to ship grain world. world. A giant calendar proudly an- of disorder. They use their money and IWW. Eventually, the charges against grown in the Midwest to China. World nounced the month’s events. their friendly relationships with cops to the 75 were dropped. capitalism and its acolytes do not like Burnt Toyota Prius on Beacon Hill, September 11th In addition to all of this, the collec- sanitize their surroundings. You know, This event radicalized the working continued on pg. 8 3 P.6 issue #6 Tides of Flame Tides of Flame issue #6 P.3

Abstracted from reality, the idea of The Mythology the middle class was romanticized as a universal truth; a guarantee of a certain “It’s a creepy reminder Open & Burnt standard of living with endless oppor- of the Middle Class tunity for improvement. However, the of that poor man that postwar economic boom that provided committed suicide there. for all to see. but the political sphere itself relies on a for the development of what would They just leave it open shared assumption: the basic goodness become the myth of the middle class of capitalist democracy. Politicians may could not last forever. Indeed, by the and burnt for everyone bicker about its internal functioning, but early 1970s, real wages began to decline, to see. I am sure there are none advocate the abolition of capitalist a pattern which continues to this day. squatters in the building. democracy. The middle class, then, at- As people’s paychecks could not sustain It needs to go.” taches itself to the ideology of capitalist their ever-increasing cost of living, debt democracy. This ideology is expressed as became integral to maintaining the ap- comment// faith in hard work and upward mobility, pearance of a middle class lifestyle. Tak- capitolhillseattle.com with a safety net in case of hard times. ing on debt allowed people to maintain It is articulated in the cultural realm as the consumption that a middle class t the corner of Bellevue the American Dream. However, unlike lifestyle dictated. In other words, debt and Pine, breasting the many dreams, the American Dream allowed people to keep up appearances Aborder of Downtown Se- has a basis in reality. even as they were increasingly required attle and Capitol Hill, the Mari- The enduring strength of the to live beyond their means in order to on Building squats over bars and American Dream as an ideology do so. boutiques, busy coffeeshops, and is based in large part on the fact The fixation on appearances served to the outbreak of condo develop- that, for a certain time, the dream conceal the very real economic hardships ments. In the early hours of Oc- he middle class is universally un- was true. The rapid development of the facing people who identified as middle tober 27, 2008, the last resident 10/27/08 - The Marion Building burns. derstood to be the most magical modern middle class was initially fueled class. Middle class ideology implied in the building fired one round of Tof creatures, complete with its by veterans returning from World War that, given the opportunity for improve- his gun, and his apartment went Nearly three years later, it still One way there are own fairy tale narrative. Under threat II. The GI Bill made college education ment that American society offered, any up in flames. stands empty, touched only by the graf- and nearing extinction, the middle class and home ownership a realistic goal, and decline in living standards was a mark of The only remaining evidence of this fiti that spreads like a fungus across its more people fighting promises America salvation if only its the economic boom that followed the personal failure. To that end, it was im- history are the black scorch-marks on walls. Some see this open wound in the leaders can find a way to save the mysti- war provided rising standards of living portant to maintain levels of consump- the northwest face of the building. In- cityscape as “a magnet for some of the lonesomeness, cal beast. Politicians left and right drone and stable, well-paying jobs for a large tion on par with one’s peers, as a notable vestigators determined that the fire had less savory elements of city living includ- on about protecting the middle class, section of white America. In the three decline in consumption would let others been intentionally set in the apartment ing vandalism and crime.” Complaints and the other way those hardworking Americans of Main decades after the war, mass social move- know of one’s problems. Debt offered a of Ed Jackson, the 89-year-old apart- received by the city have led to police at- Street, Anytown, USA. ments shook the nation, but eventually temporary solution to this problem, al- ment manager, only twelve hours before tempts to root out any infection, remov- there is one less person The mystical middle class cannot be deteriorated into reformist and radical lowing people to maintain consumption he was to be evicted. But it was neither ing squatters and struggling to control easily defined. Its name implies the exis- tendencies, with the reformists bargain- in spite of declining purchasing power. the gunshot to the head nor the fire that the graffiti. fighting the world. tence of a lower class and an upper class, ing for increased access to the middle This tendency has devolved into a situ- killed Jackson. It was money. What is Like Christopher Monfort’s attacks but where are the boundaries? Further- class while the radicals were often met ation where taking on debt has become truly unsettling about his death is the on police in the fall of 2009, Ed Jack- - Jesse Bernstein more, the middle class is further divided with severe repression. the price of entry into the middle class banality of it: the slow crush of capital son’s last move is seen as a small and into upper and lower ends. In reality, The expansion of access to upwardly lifestyle. From mortgages to student gutting the hill. isolated rupture. But the fires that people who call themselves middle class mobile, middle class lifestyles helped loans to auto loans to credit cards, debt Developers had purchased the Mari- raged that night still burn in many of have greatly varying incomes. What uni- solidify the popular narrative of the val- is a central feature of American life. on Building two years prior, serving the us. Still, in only a few months any trace fies them, and thus defines the middle ue of hard work and determination in The middle class dream, then, isa residents with notices to vacate by Sep- will be bulldozed over. Let us not forget class, is their self-identification with the bringing progress. The reformist logic of fiction propped up by an increased reli- tember, 2008. Jackson, who had lived in Ed Jackson, and the thousands of oth- idea of a middle class, with a shared set social change also found a comfortable ance on fictional money, or more - pre the building for 42 years, ignored these ers displaced and killed in the process of values and goals; a shared ideology. home in this narrative, with structural cisely, money that does not yet exist. The notices. Eventually, the developers filed of gentrification. Let us instead find What, then, is middle class ideology? inequality and oppression to be chipped economic situation that allowed for the an eviction order, and the King Coun- each other, all of us on the brink of self- At first glance, the middle class appears away at rather than smashed. Middle development of the American Dream ty Sheriff’s Office contacted Jackson to immolation. Our project is not one of to have a tremendous split: the partisan class identity became less of an indicator is simply gone. Returning to political have him removed by the end of Octo- martyrdom, but of choosing to live, of divide expressed by the Republican and of socioeconomic status and more of an discourse, the obsession with saving the ber. Rather than pack his things, Jack- picking at the scabs of the city, of setting Democratic parties. This divide extends ideological stance; that is, something to middle class can be read as a euphemism son chose to destroy the structure he had the fires, to open it all. to every aspect of the political sphere, believe in. standing in for an idealized era of pros- tended over for almost half of his life. The Marion today. 3 continued on pg. 8 3 Forgotten History Tides of Flame issue #6 P.5 The1916 Everett Massacre Liberals Beg the Government to n 1916, the first world war ravaged are found among millions of the working tied itself to the dock, the county sheriff the lands of Europe, killing mil- people and the few, who make up the em- asked the men on the boat, “Who’s your Follow its Own Surveillance Laws Ilions of poor, working class people ploying class, have all the good things of leader?” The IWW members began to n August 31st in Seattle, the revealed the National Security Agency’s and expose state secrets. who were conscripted into fighting a life. Between these two classes a struggle laugh and responded, “We’re all lead- 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Ap- (NSA) the bulk interception of Ameri- “But what about the 4th Amend- war between kings. In every country in- must go on until the workers of the world ers.” As they took their first step onto Opeals was discussing whether cans’ phone calls and emails. This “war- ment of the Constitution, the part of volved in this slaughter, dissidents and organize as a class, take possession of the the docks, the sheriff pulled his gun to preserve lawsuits challenging the gov- rantless wire-tapping” is partially ac- the Bill of Rights which supposedly anarchists were imprisoned for agitat- means of production, abolish the wage sys- and said that none of them could come ernment’s mass surveillance of millions complished through back-door access to guards against unreasonable searches ing and speaking out against the war. tem, and live in harmony with the Earth. ashore. After this, gunfire erupted from of people. Back in 2005, the New York telecommunications networks and their and seizures... that protects us, right?” Those who deserted the trenches were These sentiments could not help but continued on pg. 74 Times and a former AT&T technician records databases. The Electronic Fron- an annoying pony-tailed liberal might executed and all rebellion was effectively resonate in the minds of the shingle tier Foundation (EFF), an international exclaim. You mean that document writ- crushed on the suicidal continent. 1916 weavers of Everett. It was common to non-profit digital rights advocacy and ten and signed by rich, white slave-own- was a dark year for Europe, holding no see these workers with missing fingers legal organization based in the US, is ers living on stolen native land? Don’t promise and no future. The anarchists and dying from a form of asthma caused calling this activity illegal and rebels of the United States did not by inhaling the cedar dust of the mills. and has since 2005 filed escape this darkness. Working hours were long, and the pay lawsuits against both the Law is a thing of wax in the That year in the Seattle area, thou- was vastly out of proportion to the haz- NSA and various telecom hands of the government. sands of people were beginning to orga- ards. With the help of IWW organiz- companies. The case has nize together to fight the ruling class of ers, the strikers began to stage rallies on basically come down to business owners. After the recession of the corner of Hewitt and Wetmore. The whether or not the court can even issue make us laugh! Like every law docu- 1893, the Seattle area had found itself idea of the strikers assembling so terri- a judgment on the legality and constitu- ment the world over, the Constitution with a large underclass. Prior to 1893, fied the wealthy business owners of Ev- tionality of the surveillance. has always been a mere thing of wax the city had been growing quickly. But erett that they instructed the police to However, as this example and many in the hands of the government which when rampant speculation on railroad brutally attack them whenever they ap- others show, the government almost they twist and shape into any form they construction led to financial collapse, peared in public. As the months of the never polices itself. Things like this usu- please. Laws are either used to directly many people were put out of work and strike wore on, attacks by the police be- ally slip by no matter how much liber- repress everyone in the furtherance of left vulnerable to exploitation. The rush came common, but with each new rally, als like those at the EFF whine about power, control, or big business, or to for gold in Alaska a few years later cre- the number of supporters grew. In re- the “separation of powers”, “checks and codify activities that most people know ated more opportunities to make quick sponse to this repression, a group of 300 balances”, and an assault on the 4th as correct already. Sometimes laws are money, but it served to only increase IWW members from Seattle decided to Amendment. even used to calm down and trick so- class tension and enrich the already- get on two steam boats and go support In 2008, to protect the executive cial movements into believing they’ve wealthy. By 1916, there was no more their comrades to the North. branch and businesses (in this case the won something from the system--this is growth in Seattle and the war boom was The common term used by the police NSA and telecom companies) from called reform. When laws themselves are not to start until 1918. to describe IWW members was “anar- the EFF lawsuits, the legislative branch all that are defended, changed, or cre- Within this context, a group of chists.” The Russian revolution did not (Congress) passed immunity laws for ated, the effort is useless. Politicians or shingle workers began a strike in Everett happen until 1917, and there was no red the telecom companies and granted the judges can always change a law or inter- against their employers that was to last communist menace to invoke. While government the authority to monitor pret it as they see fit. Nevermind little for months. Supporting this isolated the IWW never called itself anarchist, telecommunications without warrants things like warrantless wire-tapping, group of shingle workers was the Indus- it was in practice an anarcho-syndical- when someone suspected of terrorism government officials and agencies have trial Workers of the World (IWW), an ist organization, believing the workers was communicating internationally. proven themselves to be entirely capable international union that had become could seize all means of industrial and The judicial branch kept up its part of of getting away with murder. extremely powerful in the United States. agricultural production and abolish the bargain when a judge named Walker Instead of trying to convince the Rather than organize various trades into money. When the business owners dis- dismissed the cases against the telecom government that something it is doing separate unions with their own organi- covered that 300 IWW members were companies on the grounds that Con- is illegal or unjust, the EFF, being spe- zations, the IWW organized all trades coming to Everett, they stoked fear in gress had spoken. The executive -fur cialists in the internet and technology, into what was referred to at the time as people’s minds by saying that anarchists ther defended itself by using something might better put all of their admittedly “one big union.” In the preamble to the were coming to burn down the city. called the “state secrets privilege”, which impressive energy and resources into IWW constitution, the authors state: As the two boats approached Everett, is a McCarthy-era doctrine that basi- disrupting, hacking, and attacking the The working class and the employing a group of hired mercenaries and Sno- cally allows the government to squash state itself, which, after all, is the cause class have nothing in common. There can homish County Sheriffs waited with a lawsuit before it starts, whenever the of and not the answer to many of our be no peace so long as hunger and want guns at the docks. When the first boat case could damage “national security” problems.