NOLA Anarcha- Why Anarchists Should Protest the ALEC Conference

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is coming to town! They are a bunch of nasty fuckers who bring corporations together with state legislators so corporate lawyers can hand pre-written bills to the politicians, who then try to get the bills passed in their state legislatures.

ALEC has been making the news a lot recently, with NPR pieces[pt.1, pt.2] about how, in meetings with private prison corporations, they wrote the infamous SB1070, the anti-immigrant law that anarchists and others have been fighting against in Arizona.

Leaked documents from inside ALEC prompted an interview segment on Democracy Now! The documents show that ALEC, in partnership with it's corporate members, actually wrote many pro-corporate laws that have since gone into effect, including free trade agreements that were a main focus of the anti-globalization movement many anarchists participated in after the WTO protests in Seattle in 1999.

And on the Huffington Post, an article explains how ALEC is carrying forward the ideological program of deregulation and privatization pushed by Milton Friedman. This simplistic, fundamentalist capitalist ideology has had many negative local effects, as was mentioned in a recent article on this blog.

Now, anarchists have no illusions about the fact that big business owns and runs the government, but at least corporate power usually fears public anger that arises from the blatant merger of State and corporate power enough to put on a political puppet show for us! Mostly, the way elites legitimize the unequal and unjust system that they preside over to the rest of us is to make sure that it at least has the appearance of people, through elected politicians, getting to decide democratically what happens in our country. ALEC doesn't bother with that populist song and dance, they facilitate the outright penning of legislation by corporations themselves becoming law. So we end up with things like Immigration Policy, brought to you by Corrections Corporation of America! etc...

While ALEC's dealings aren't a meaningful divergence from the normal machinations of power, it is easier for people to see that the system's a sham, and easier for them to finger the true culprits, when corporations are writing their own legislation. This is why the anti-ALEC organizing to confront those economic power structures is worth supporting.

Of course, there will surely be those in the protest calling for the political charade to be played out fully once again, for the kabuki theater to re-close the curtains that shields us from what's happening backstage, so we can once again be whisked away to fairyland, where democracy exists and people power is in charge, and we can return to our peaceful slumber, dreaming the American Dream.

But, there will be also be people protesting who know returning to the democratic facade is not going to solve any of our problems, and that confronting the corporations behind the curtain of our "democracy" is the first step to destroying their control of our lives and communities.

In that spirit, anarchists should come out to the locally-organized ALEC protests in New Orleans (August 5th, 2pm, 500 Poydras St.). Come out not to demand stricter adherence to lobbying laws, more transparency, or less corruption. Come out to demand an end to the power of corporations, and their use of State violence to increase their wealth, and thereby control over our economy, society, and lives. Come out to say that it doesn't matter whether that power is hidden behind the veil of democracy, or is blatantly transparent, as it is with ALEC, that either way it has to be dismantled. Anarchists should come with flags, in black, or with banners and signs to show our united stance, to show that we are not in favor of a return to the democratic political farce, but organizing for an end to capitalist control.

Not only should anarchists participate in the protest on August 5th, but we should organize other actions to confront the corporations who are members of ALEC during the conference, from August 1st-6th. ALEC's members include oil companies responsible for ruining the Gulf and Wetlands, big banks who own hundreds of foreclosed homes in our city while people sleep on the streets, and private prison companies directly profiting from tough on crime laws, the creation of a racist, militarized police state, and booming incarceration rates, which Louisiana leads the nation in. Let's get creative and use their conference to catalyze our own actions to take back our city from these profiteers of human suffering!

Private Prisons in a Wider Context: Video

From Chaparral Respects No Borders:

It has been encouraging to see the awareness about the role of private prison companies in influencing criminalization of people grow and grow in the last year.  SB 1070 and the relationship between various legislators like Russell Pearce and private prison companies like CCA and Geo Group within the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and between governor Jan Brewer and CCA, has been exposed recently.  People had already started to address the connection between Wells Fargo and private prison-run detention centers that hold thousands of migrants in other parts of the country and a tiny bit here in AZ.  Now there are country-wide campaigns popping off against private prisons companies and against ALEC.

However, as horrible as the conditions in private prisons are (and they do tend to be several times worse than state-run facilities), and as obvious as it is that SB 1070 passed with great influence on the part of those who stand to make millions off of putting people in cages, I would hate to see the focus be solely on this most recent phenomenon.  An anti-private prison campaign can easily fall into the same traps as the "go after the real criminals" message, as though there's nothing wrong with the "criminal" "justice" system.  As though the criminalization of people who cross a man-made line is not similar to the criminalization of so many of the people in prisons today and historically.  We should also consider the limitations of previous nation-wide anti-private prison campaigns like the one that targeted Sodexho in the early 2000's. A focus only on the privatization of prisons can only divert energy from addressing the prison system in general; the various reasons people end up in jail or prison, and the ways in which the system will never and is not meant to address the real ills of our society.

I put together the following video to provide a complex yet still simplistic (limited by time and resources) history of criminalization of people for the benefit of the few.  Please share it with anyone you think would be interested.  This video is a follow up from several of my blog entries including No Borders or Prison Walls and What came first: the Racism or the Profit Motive? On Private Prisons' push for SB1070



Please also view the 2nd part.  It all ties together, and there's some good commentary towards the end.

Noise Demonstration at Santa Cruz County Jail

“Bunch of overgrown boy scouts/but it’s us against them ‘til they let every one of my boys out” –Unalike, A-Alikes

On Friday evening, August 6, we gathered outside the Santa Cruz County Jail to demonstrate our solidarity with the people locked up inside and express our hatred of imprisonment. About 30-40 of us stood in the middle of Blaine Street, next to both the main County Jail (where 336 people are locked up) and the Women’s Facility (21 people). We banged on drums made from 55-gallon barrels with the intention of creating as much noise as possible to breach the prison walls. Our portable sound system blasted insurgent hip-hop, including N.W.A’s “Fuck the Police” and the Geto Boys’ “G-Code.” We carried two banners stating, “Free All Prisoners” and “Chinga la Migra/Fuck I.C.E.”

Chants included “We Are All Illegal, Todos Somos Ilegales,” “Chinga la Migra, Y La Policia,” and “Revolt on the Outside, Revolt on the Inside!” We also told jokes at the expense of cops and jail guards. At one point, as the jail guards stood on the roof of the jail watching us, people started chanting “Jump! Jump! Jump!” We also used a megaphone to attempt to speak directly to the prisoners and let them know that they are not forgotten and that they have support from the outside.

One of the main reasons we were there was to express our rage at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (AKA La Migra). We despise the very existence of I.C.E. and borders, but we’re specifically pissed off about a program (named “Secure Communities” by some twisted bureaucrat) that is going to be implemented in the local jail starting August 10. "Secure Communities" mandates that every person booked into jail will have their fingerprints run through an I.C.E./Department of Homeland Security database. Currently there are 25 people on I.C.E. hold in the County jail system, meaning that they will be held an extra 48 hours after they should be released, so that I.C.E. can kidnap them. The new program, funded by Obama, will lead to even more people being detained and deported. Also, earlier this year, the city decided to hire eight more cops, and the police’s gang unit has started working directly with I.C.E.

The apartment complex next to the jail has similar architectural features—isolated units surrounded by high walls and a metal fence. Some of the neighbors came outside and spoke with participants in the demo. Generally, they seemed supportive; one young girl even joined in briefly by playing a drum. We also passed out a pamphlet containing our analysis in hopes of spreading a critical dialogue about I.C.E. and imprisonment. The demo was an attempt at breaking out of our own isolation and communicating with others, both the prisoners and the neighbors. In some ways, we were successful, but we have much to learn. It was an empowering event for participants and some passersby, though we haven’t yet heard what the prisoners’ reactions were. In a heartbreaking moment as we were leaving, we exchanged glances with a woman in the Blaine St. Facility standing at the window. The grim reality of confinement was unavoidable as we departed and she remained.

REVOLT AGAINST ALL PRISONS.

Raúl: A Call to Dream; a Call to Action and Rebellion

By Raúl Alcaraz (on Tohono O’odham lands)
www.antifronteras.com

Currently the DREAM Act Movement is being trashed by both the conservative and leftist tendencies within the Migrant Rights Movement. Reform Immigration for America (RIFA), a right-wing tendency within the movement supportive of an enforcement and militarization approach to Immigration Reform, has reportedly asked that the Senate not move forward with the DREAM Act. While on the other side, radical/revolutionary-minded folks are also critiquing the DREAM Act Movement for not being radical at all and for supporting legislation that feeds into the military industrial complex and the academic industrial complex.

So where does this leave the Dreamers?

To share a little bit about myself, I myself was an arrestee in the sit-in that took place in Senator John McCain’s office on May 17th in Tucson, Arizona to push for the passage of the DREAM Act. I chose to participate despite my own critiques of the DREAM Act. After meeting with the Dreamers and hearing their powerful life stories and listening to their plans of getting arrested despite the risk of deportation, I was deeply moved and compelled to participate. Their conviction, passion and willingness to sacrifice and push the envelope is admirable. It’s good to have constructive critiques, definitely. However, we have to check our privilege and recognize that this is undocumented youth determining their fight and making themselves the subjects not the objects of debate; they are putting themselves at the forefront of a struggle essentially for equal access to education. (It is important to point out the demographics of the DREAM Act 5: None us were U.S. citizens, 3 were womyn and most of us queer.) Yes, the DREAM Act is reformist. And yes, the DREAM Act is problematic for feeding into the military industrial complex. But regardless of our feelings on the DREAM Act, it is undeniable that the DREAM Movement has emerged as the most organized, “radical”, concrete and viable alternative defying the enforcement approach proposed by right-wing pro-Immigration Reform organizations like RIFA. As a recent article’s title suggests, the most visible forces within our movement can be simplified to “RIFA versus the DREAM Movement”.

So where does this leave the radical/revolutionary tendency of our movement?

Since SB 1070 blew up nationally, there have been a series of nonviolent civil disobedience actions across the country which have tended to be more militant in analysis and demands than the DREAM Movement. Beginning with the Capitol 9 in Phoenix and subsequent actions in Los Angeles, Tucson, New York City, Santa Ana and other places, there’s huge revolutionary potential here yet low capacity for long-term massive coordination and sustainability of direct action mobilizing. These actions seem to be sporadic and disconnected with no clear strategy in sight.

This is at a time when our community is the most radicalized and militant it has ever been, yet the most visible/radical element getting all the attention in the mainstream media is the DREAM Movement?! Dang. This begs the question: What’s wrong with the Left? What are we doing wrong? Instead of just critiquing the DREAM, why don’t we ask ourselves why we are allowing this NIGHTMARE called Amerikkka to continue unchallenged? Why are we allowing Border Patrol Pigs to taser, torture, terrorize and assassinate our people? How could it be that we idly sit by continuing our everyday lives uninterrupted as 7 year-old Brisenia Flores and her father are shot to death by White supremacists in Arizona or 14 year-old Sergio Adrian Hernandez is shot in the head by an agent in El Paso, Texas??? Why do we allow Arizona to be ground zero for police brutality against Latinos and the site of a quiet GENOCIDE against thousands of our sisters and brothers that have lost their lives crossing the desert—year after year after year??? How could we let this government get away with genocide and terrorism? What’s going on with our movement? Our strategy? Our tactics? Why are we letting this once in a lifetime opportunity to push our revolutionary visions to the forefront of the movement slip through our fingers? Where have our clenched fists gone? Why are we hiding behind our comfort? Where’s our dignity? Where’s our courage? Where is our commitment to our families and our visions of freedom? Whether it’s the DREAM Act or Immigration Reform, WE CANNOT depend or place our hopes on politicians of either party to be persuaded to side with justice or morality. If this is our strategy we will be waiting for a very long time and have lost from the very beginning.

Have we forgotten about the legacies of Harriet Tubman? Ricardo Flores Magon? Reies Lopez Tijerina? Assata Shakur? Robert F. Williams? Malcolm X? The Black Panther Party? Loilta Lebron? Silvia Rivera? Comandanta Ramona? If there was ever a moment to build on their legacies, it is now. Lobbying, voter registration drives, vigils and marches are obviously not gonna get us anywhere except backwards… nonviolent civil disobedience actions must continue, but that ain’t gonna get us much further either; not in violent Nazi-zona, not in violent Amerikkka.

So where does that leave you?

What are you doing as an organizer or activist fighting for the liberation of our people? What are you proposing? What are you doing? How are you taking things to the next level? Are you being creative? Are you pushing the envelope? What are you scared of? Are you being revolutionary to your fullest potential? Are you sacrificing yourself and your lifestyle like the Dreamers did? The Dreamers quit their jobs. They left their families, cities and communities. They came to Arizona and not just for a day or for a march. They got one-way tickets to support movement-building in Arizona and got arrested and are now facing possible deportation. If you were born with the privilege of having U.S. citizenship and claim to be radical or revolutionary or supportive of that in any way, I ask “how are you challenging your comfort and privilege to achieve visions of social justice?” Furthermore, I ask all people: “what are you doing to build upon the militant/revolutionary herstory of our ancestors whom resisted colonization by any and all means necessary?” Only by reflecting on these questions will we get to formulating concrete next steps that will truly cause an impact on this decadent political, economic, social system we live in. It is not acceptable to be racially-profiled. It is not acceptable to get separated from our families. It is not acceptable for massacres to take place because of U.S. border policies. It is not acceptable for us to get raided, deported and assassinated. So why are we living like it is okay for these things to happen daily? Ethnic cleansing and genocide are at our doorstep. How do we plan to adequately respond to this grim reality?

Beyond a call to DREAM, this is a call for all of us to step it up, to walk the walk, to seize the moment, resist and struggle for the LIBERATION of all people.

Beyond a call to DREAM, this is a call for ACTION, REBELLION and REVOLUTION.

It’s now or never.

For our dreams to become reality it’s up to you, it’s up to us to make it happen.

Imagining Ruins: Bounded Bodies and Borderlands

by Marat Rackham

from Fire to the Prisons #9

“I held the citizenship of the land of pain, I was issued with its passport and I couldn’t envisage when it would expire or what would replace it or where the urge of travel away from it would eventually take me to, nor at what shores this would abandon me. In the territory of pain, there is a certain uncertainty, I thought, of a future outside of it.” – Maps, Nuruddin Farah

“Someone just came in and shot my daughter and husband,” a woman screams to a 911 operator. She describes – in between horrendous moans – the attack. Shortly after the call begins the sound of a screeching door can be heard echoing faintly in the background. “They are coming back in! They are coming back in!” she bellows. However, her screams are immediately drowned out by the incessant roar of gunfire. This attack left two people dead, one being a nine year old girl. Twelve days later four people were in police custody, three of whom had connections to the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps, and one, apparently, was loosely associated with several Aryan Nation groups. This attack occurred in a state, in a borderland, that may prove to be exceptionally significant in the furtherance of anti-state conflictuality. That state is Arizona.

In light of the international financial crisis, the current vulnerability in the capitalist world-system, and the emergence of a hemispheric leftist electoral revival (and inevitable disappointment for many) we can see that lines are being drawn. The state, its proponents, and its enforcers have, out of ideological and practical necessity, strengthened international borders. Huge swaths of land are becoming increasingly militarized, and the body, in effect, becomes imagined, and most importantly, further disciplined as docile property. Due to this, it is entirely common to view societies, and nation-states as having actual concrete correspondence, when this is rarely the case. The recently passed law in Arizona, SB1070, with all of its draconian pretension, illustrates perfectly well the farcical nature of national correspondence, and the subjectification of the body. This law, and its apparent spread, is a desperate attempt to halt the potential decomposition of accepted social forms. Therefore the time is ripe for attack.

Hemispherically there has been an acute rise of left-leaning (rhetorically speaking) governments – from Chavez and Lula, culminating in Obama. It had been obvious, from the outset that these governments were attempting to restructure capital in their own nuanced ways, and construct nanny states in their respective boundaries. The maintenance of relations dominated by the logic of capital has not, and will not be altered by these governments, but a statist driven economy is materializing. This has been applauded by leftists in the United States and Latin America, but there has been a substantial offensive in these countries. From the Tea Parties to the coup in Honduras, reactionary forces are on the march. Amidst this background we are witnessing a hemispheric electoral battle that is having predictable effects – the strengthening of nationalistic tendencies, the strict enforcement of borders, and an encompassing proliferation of disciplinary mechanisms. These procedures are being advanced by the left-leaning regimes, and are not extensive enough for the reactionary forces.

The financial crisis has also had an interesting effect. From Greece to California we are seeing similar occurrences. Government revenues are substantially down because people are consuming less market goods. Since employment is so high the demand for state expenditures is increasing: unemployment, welfare, etc. One main option states have is increasing taxes, which is never popular and increases capital flight. Another option is cutting basic expenditures which often leads to unrest. The state, then, has an insurmountable dilemma, but its subjects are left with many options.

With the increasing instability in the world-system, the decomposition of accepted social forms is becoming increasingly explicit. Our pre-established roles are constantly being challenged, and the state is desperately trying to recuperate insurgent potential. But the growth of reactionary elements is extremely pervasive; the disciplining of bodies, the fortification of national identity, the assemblage of insidious institutions and procedures to actualize the material whole of an imagined concrete society. “Seal the Borders Now,” “Bring Family Values Back,” “Restore America’s Decency Law,” and “Take our Country Back,” are the slogans of reaction. Border agents, in the United States, have reached around 20,000, 653 miles of fence have been constructed along the US-Mexico border, and pilotless drones patrol at night. These, being the most blatant manifestation of state power, are clearly just the beginning.

The framework is in place for further state expansion. Since 2008, ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and Homeland Security’s program, satirically titled, “Secure Communities,” has been working with local law enforcement, detaining and deporting thousands of undesirables. SB1070, in Arizona, is the latest legal incarnation of the previous slogans: it is a feeble attempt at instilling imagined national restoration. These borderlands have long been a societal amalgamation. People have previously gone back and forth through the border at will. But due to the crisis, we see lines being drawn. The increasing demand for documentation for “non-citizens” is coupled with the quest for national ID cards for “legitimate citizens.” Social dissolution is confronted with national branding, but the apparatuses of security, of discipline, can be met with a nefarious lucidity; with shattered glass, with bats, with arson. Unilateral violence can, and must be met, with a protracted struggle; the draining of state resources, and the beautiful incandescence of the proletarian cocktail illuminating through the social body is the ideal response.

The May Day upheavals were a proportionate response to state advances at this time. The attack on Wells Fargo in Denver, the shattered store fronts in New York, the rampage in Santa Cruz, the sabotaged railways in Ontario, the property damage in Asheville, the occupation in San Francisco all demonstrate our revolutionary potential.

One cannot help but smile when we read that police chief Bill Hogan in Asheville states, “I’m not sure what message they’re trying to send, quite frankly.” One wonders what message will be deduced if new fires will consistently be replaced with past ones? What will be the message when we finally stop regulating ourselves? One can be certain that the murder of 9 year old Brisenia Flores and her, father Raul Flores, in Arizona had a fixed message. Hopefully this act will not be forgotten by those in the borderlands. The state and its adherents imagine a future, a future devoid of potentialities. And while national correspondence is an imagined ideal – an orthodox portrait arranged with social security cards and time slots – we must imagine ruins.

In this “territory of pain” there is truly a “certain uncertainty,” and we would be wise to continue the onslaught of the current social order.

Unilateral violence can, and must be met, with a protracted struggle; the draining of state resources, and the beautiful incandescence of the proletarian cocktail illuminating through the social body is the ideal response.

Fire to the Prisons

The Suns of Anarchy

by Jon Riley

It's that time of year again, the NBA playoffs are in full swing, and we at PCWC are closely following our favorite sports team, the Phoenix Suns, as they battle it out with the San Antonio Spurs in the Western conference semi-finals. Game two was tonight, and it was a fantastic game, and not just because the Suns took down our biggest rivals for two games in a row ("rivals" may be too kind to describe the vitriol Suns fans reserve for the Spurs, "immortal enemies" may be a better fit), but we're pleased for their actions off the hardwood. Yesterday the Suns organization came out against the racist bill SB1070, sponsored by state senator Russell Pearce, signed into law a couple of weeks back by Governor Brewer, and the focus of numerous protests locally, and solidarity demonstrations, rallies, walkouts, boycotts, and direct actions across the US.

Thousands march against SB1070 during tonight's game

In an act of solidarity with the state's immigrant and Latino communities, the Suns donned their "Los Suns" jerseys, originally worn as part of the "Noche Latina"promotion, tonight it was an act of defiance to the terror being spread by the reactionary and white supremacist political and social forces at work in Arizona. Suns general manager Steve Kerr made the Suns' case at a press conference yesterday:

"It's hard to imagine in this country that we have to produce papers," Kerr said. "It rings up images of Nazi Germany. We understand that the intentions of the law are not for that to happen, but you have to be very, very careful. . . . It's important that everyone in our state and nation understands this is an issue that needs to be explored. So, we're trying to expose it."

While the announcement came from the Suns front office, team owner Robert Sarver said the decision to challenge the new law came with the final approval from the players. The Phoenix Suns players came to consensus to wear the Los Suns jerseys, and stand in solidarity with Arizona's Latino community, a bold move in these days as the social tension is ever so present.


Suns point guard Steve Nash, winner of two MVPs with the Suns, and one of three foreign born players on the roster, has earned a reputation for his political stance. During the opening days of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Nash caught a firestorm of criticism after taking a very unpopular stance against the war, and it's encouraging to see him step up once again, this time in defense of the state's Latino community:

"I don't agree with this bill, I don't agree with the spirit of the bill or the message it sends, not only to people in our community but how it represents our community across the country and the world.

"I think the bill opens up the opportunity for racial profiling, racism. I think it puts the police in an incredibly difficult position that isn't fair to them. It's an infringement on our civil liberties to allow the possibility for inequality to arise in our community."

Other Suns spoke out on the bill as well, Grant Hill, Amar'e Stoudamire, and coach Alvin Gentry, even our long term rivals are in support of the stance against SB1070. Spurs coach Greg Popavich had this to say in defense of the Suns management and players:

"It's kind of like 9/11 comes, and all of a sudden there's a Patriot Act, just a knee-jerk sort of thing, and it changes our country, what we stand for. This law smacks of that to some degree. So, I think what he's doing . . . is very wise and very correct."

To be clear, I hate the Spurs. Hate 'em. Their bad behavior in previous playoff series with the Suns was just as despicable as the notoriously poor officiating from the refs (or was it something else at work?), but I will reach across the aisle on this, they should be commended for supporting the Suns stance. Popavich and the Spurs will show a little solidarity with AZ on the hardwood by wearing their own "Los Spurs" uniforms during one of the next couple of games in San Antonio.


For those outside of the valley, I'm not saying this is a perfect political moment, we get very few of those after all, but it is a moment to build momentum from. The Suns are run by a bunch of billionaire and millionaire investors, the players themselves are millionaires, I understand that. However, the significance of this should not go unremarked by anti-authoritarians, regardless of your inclination towards professional sports. The Suns are a staple of life in Phoenix, they were the city's first professional sports club, many a Phoenician has fond memories of their grade school class receiving free tickets to Suns games at the old Veterans Memorial Collesium ("The Mad House on McDowell"), and the greatest season of all, the 92-93 team led by Charles Barkley who took it all the way to the NBA finals to challenge Michael Jordan and the Bulls.


While we've been life long Suns fans, we don't mistake these acts of solidarity from the players or management with a developing anti-capitalist, or anti-authoritarian critique. Make no mistake, we see this for what it is, this is a multi-million dollar sports franchise weighing in on the very oppressive atmosphere in Arizona, and some may be speaking up because they recognize the egregious rise in racial profiling and detentions by police, others from the Suns organization probably see a profit incentive with a future Latino audience. If, however, there is some chance of a breakthrough during this playoff run, it's will originate from the commonality that sport offers us, the sense that we are all on the same side as long as we cheer on our team. So, yes, their decision to speak out is massive, but it's no cure all, we remain certain of the ability of ordinary people organize their own lives, to struggle, and to wage war on their oppressors on their own terms.

On a final note, I had a good laugh watching the evening news the other night as the racist politician Russell Pearce was interviewed by a Channel 3 reporter on his reaction to the Suns move against SB1070.

Reporter: Are you surprised that the NBA and the NBA teams taking a stance like this, do you think it's their place to?

Pearce: No it's not their place to. It's the rule of law, I mean, that's anarchism!

Ah, "anarchism" and "anarchy", time and time again this simple utterance by a blowhard politician is intended to strike fear in the hearts of every law abiding, god fearing, immigrant hating, patriotic American citizen, but there's a catch. See, when he calls the Suns' actions anarchism, or labels anyone opposed to his brand of racist terror as an anarchist, he is effectively saying that the common sense of the society is "anarchy." By his logic what the Suns are doing is anarchism. Those who speak out against Sheriff Arpaio are anarchists. All those critical of immigration policy, or law enforcement are obviously for open borders, against the rule of law, or so the logic goes. Everyone else is the anarchist. If only this were the truth.

Then again, perhaps we need not look too far. The kids are self-organizing and walking out of school, or the 90 cities across the USA had solidarity rallies against SB1070 and bills like it, are closer to the visions of a popular movement than we may give them credit for. We may all be anarchists now, in the eyes of the state, or the reactionary social forces, but the challenge we still face is how we can contribute to a popular anti-authoritarian common sense. The Suns position is certainly a step forward, but also not enough, the position against racial profiling is right on, but where is the defense of immigrants, legal or not? How far will we have push the limits of the debate before the mainstream acknowledges that comprehensive immigration reform (as it's proposed now) means the militarization of the border lands, and as a direct result the lands of indigenous people divided by the border wall?

At best we can thank the Suns for opening this void, but it's up to all of us to fill it, and to keep pushing forward. Reform will never deliver freedom or autonomy. The state will never concede anything to those demanding liberties beyond its own laws and constitution. So we forever look beyond compromise and the state.

No controls on movement, no borders, no militarization. It's a start.

***
For a previous writing on our pro-Suns and anti-authoritarian orientation/contradiction, I recommend checking out the old blog of PCWC member Phoenix Insurgent for some thoughts on the Suns, anarchy and basketball, and former Suns center Pat Burke.

I'd also recommend some of the writing from lefty sport writer, Dave Zirin, on this matter. Check out "A New Era: Here Come the Suns", an essay he wrote a few days back, I've posted it over on the Resistance to SB1070 blog, a little side project of ours dedicated to recording the struggles against SB1070 and other forms of resistance to controls on movement.

GO SUNS! BASKETBALL KNOWS NO BORDERS!

First They Came for the "Illegals" But I Only Care about Racial Profiling

You know that poem that starts off with "THEY CAME FIRST for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist." Well, I had always interpreted it as meaning that you should care not because one day it will be you they go after, but you should care because it is happening to someone else who could easily be you. What does it mean if those who make themselves out to be spokespeople for a movement are not fully behind the ones most affected?

It's inspiring that so many different kinds of people are coming out against Arizona's SB1070 immigration bill, due to go into effect in a few months. However, it may not be obvious to all, but there are major discrepancies between politicians and so-called leadership, and the people. For example, while you have undocumented immigrants and their allies at these demonstrations wearing things like t-shirts or signs that say "I'm an illegal", others are focused on racial profiling. This is particularly telling:

“This is not about immigrants taken out of the streets. This is about who is next,” said Phoenix City Council Member Michael Johnson. The former police officer recently alleged he was the victim of racial profiling. (Source)(My emphasis).

Michael Johnson has openly supported Arpaio and his law enforcement efforts against undocumented immigrants. How many people coming out against this bill feel this way is unclear, though as I mentioned, Phil Gordon (Phil Gordon: Foe to Undocumented Immigrants) and Kirsten Sinema (Racial Profiling Focus is Still a Distraction) have said that they oppose the racial profiling part of the bill but have not openly opposed the targeting of undocumented immigrants by law enforcement (particularly federal).

The quote above is from an article about Al Sharpton coming to town to participate in a church service and a march to the capitol. From the same article, this quote exemplifies the presence and position of some undocumented immigrants,

Despite the increased fear caused by the new law several undocumented immigrants decided to join the march. Among them was Catalina Vargas, 67, a former farm worker.

“I’m going to fight as much as I can for legalization,” said Vargas, who marched out front holding an American flag.

About a year ago, Al Sharpton appeared on Lou Dobb's show regarding racial profiling and Arpaio's sweeps, and I discussed his emphasis on racial profiling in Racial Profiling Discussion Undermines Solidarity with Immigrants. Yesterday he made similar statements:

"There is no way this law could be enforced," said Sharpton, "without profiling people based on whether they are Latino or appear to be Mexican...You can amend it. You can bend it. You can do everything you want to with it.

"To say that based on reasonable suspicion, state law enforcement can go after people based on Mexican immigration is to say that it is reasonable to look at anyone that appears Latino and subject them to a harassment and a scrutiny that other citizens in Arizona would not be subjected to."

If you read how right-wingers have vilified Al Sharpton, you might tend to think he's on the correct path. I would argue, however, that his focus on racial profiling is the wrong way to go.

For example, here is a common argument:

"Nowhere in the bill does it say (police can stop or question people about their immigration status) because of race. It just says illegal immigrants," said Whitney Pew, 20. (Source).

Russell Pearce himself has repeated that "Illegal is not a race, it is a crime" (discussed further here). Sharpton, Gordon, Michael Johnson, etc. could easily be saying the same goddamn thing, just in different words. "Illegal is not a race, which is why we're going after illegals but finding every way possible to do it besides based on their race." So many people keep saying that it is the job of the federal government, not local police to enforce immigration. To not oppose the criminalization itself, rather than just the racial consequences of law enforcement of this crime, is no way to be an ally to undocumented immigrants, and perhaps this is the point. Perhaps some folks want to continue to support the rule of law and only oppose what they understand to be racism, instead of seeing how the rule of law in many ways is intertwined with racism.

This is why so many of us have to pick this up where they leave off. Push the debate further by opposing the criminalization of people. How do we take this resistance to racial profiling which is so popular right now and expand it to address criminalization?

http://chaparralrespectsnoborders.blogspot.com/2010/05/first-they-came-for-illegals-but-i-only.html

Students Arrested: A Review of the Leftist Protest at the Arizona State Capital, tactics, and the SB1070 9

We rate the tactics and actions which took place at the Arizona State Capital on April 20^th by giving them 2 stars out of 5.

One star for doing more than holding signs and one star for effort. That being said, these actions are rife with inconsistencies and time will only tell, but we predict a ‘flop’. What follows is a review of the actions, implications, and discussions regarding the Protest and Arrest of 9 individuals at the Arizona State Capital. Those arrested are now given the moniker the SB1070 9.

The 9 arrested for chaining themselves to the Arizona Capital Museum performed their roles with passion, sitting pensively and meekly, reveling in passive inaction. That asshole Stephen “Two-Face” Lemons documents their performance as: “waiting to be taken away.” This display essentially misses the mark: chaining themselves to a door, ensuring a swift ticket to jail, while creating little disruption. Here we would like to interject that many of us, if asked, are more willing to support those who shoplift more than those who get arrested for performing civil disobedience. At least the shoplifter is putting herself at risk, and not taking questionably legal action, while simultaneously having a lawyer set up, the press around, and Copwatch to make sure everyone has a comfortable ride to jail. We only support the SB1070 9 because we are against all prisons, all laws, and all confining apparatuses.

Martyrdom is so passé, if you want to know the truth. While it may have been more eye and media-grabbing than complacently holding a sign, it had the same outcome. By the end of the day, they are not seen as a threat and very few care. Additionally, all of the 9 had lawyers set up when they eventually were carted off to jail and swiftly released. Such miniscule disruption incited moderate media coverage and a very little headache to the authorities, while those arrested stolidly traipsed to their incarceration. People and politicians don’t care how much anyone pleads out of desperation, how many signatures anyone has, or how pathetic anyone looks sitting in front of a building chained to the doors. It is a sign of defeat, demonstrating that they have nothing left to fight with. ...However what can we expect from a bunch of Leftists, who are practically defined by their defeatist and depressive orientation toward action and politics.

Leaving behind the tactic itself for a second, (we’ll be back to a discussion of tactics soon) the motivation behind chaining themselves to the Capital Museum was to grovel at the vile high heels of Governor Jan Brewer. Calls for Brewer to veto the bill SB 1070 can be heard in any video depicting the event. We are not entirely familiar with Ms. Brewer’s character, however, if she falls in line with most politicians she probably thought the begging was quaint, and reminiscent of an image of a previous time of Civil Disobedience... and then she went back to eating her lunch planning on signing the Bill just as soon as she can. This demonstrates that obviously the Left is running out of politicians to plead with. On the notion of Civil Disobedience, it is an outdated and impotent display, put on by those too afraid to actually go to war. That is not to say that it is ineffective all the time, it works sometimes, however, it only works side by side with violent attacks against infrastructure and capital, and only works to ameliorate a small degree of oppression, and not destroy all of it. Additionally, it saddens us that students with radical leanings, like the SB1070 9, are being coopted by Leftist and Reformist groups.

Back on the notion of tactics, we feel inclined to criticize these actions, because as anarchists, our tactics are criticized all the time. For once we would like to say: “a bunch of ‘self proclaimed’ advocates of non-violent civil disobedience showed up and ruined things for everyone!” Thus, if a fight is going to go down regarding tactics, as it most certainly will, we’d like to throw the first punch: non-violent civil disobedience is passive and defeatist and a waste of time.

With that out of the way, we can agree that a real diversity of tactics is what we all want. Some permutation between tactics garners all the advantages of one tactic without the disadvantages excluding the other tactic. Ultimately we respect what others do, and ask for similar respect. We’ll be ok with your civil disobedience, if you’ll be ok when we start smashing things.

Next, we feel that certain groups, sadly even anarchists too, have fallen into the trap of condoning the SB1070 9’s actions merely because they were done. We must refuse the desire to condone action simply because it happened. This plays into the logic of “at least something was done” which is at best, a defensive claim, and at worst, impotent and a waste of time.

Finally, to those who got arrested or are willing to put themselves at risk of arrest, we admire your passion. It is a brilliant departure from the disgusting malaise that society currently suffers.

That being said, if the passion burns hot enough, we suggest that there are more effective avenues to pursue. First off is the notion of ‘attack’. Such racist legislation legitimates an all out War against the established order. Anything less than a War would be complicit with racist laws and the accelerating degree of oppression. In the midst of War, we attack, we do not put hopes in symbolic arrests, and march into our enemies jaws naked and unarmed.

We, speaking for ourselves, are at War. Do what you will. You will probably not hear too much from us in writing in the future...we will be too busy fighting and taking action.

Not JUST No SB 1070,

NO Borders, NO Empire.

DROP ALL CHARGES AGAINST EVERYONE
BROADEN THE SOCIAL STRUGGLE! WAR!

With love, forever irreverent,


The Bad Anarchists of Phoenix.

http://sowhatifallthecollegesburndown.blogspot.com/2010/04/students-arrested-review-of-leftist.html

Some thoughts on SB1070 & civil disobedience

by Jon Riley

Solidarity to the 40 Tucson High students who walked out of class, and to the 9 students arrested at the state capitol yesterday!

Our hats are off to all the youth who took courageous acts today, it is inspiring to see resistance to SB1070, a piece of legislation that has passed the Arizona Legislature, and is waiting for final approval this week by Governor Brewer. This bill was drafted by the notorious anti-immigrant bigot, and state senator, Russell Pearce. Pearce continues to push for legislation that could take Arizona back to something that would only resemble the worst days of the segregation south. In essence, if SB1070 is passed, the state of Arizona will have state sanctioned racial profiling, white supremacists like Pearce are counting on this bill to intimidate much of the Hispanic population so that they would move out of state. This is state sanctioned ethnic cleansing. This one's a game changer.

This wasn't lost upon the nine people who chained themselves to doors at the state capitol today, the most dramatic escalation taken by those in power was met with a response from those below. More than a symbolic gesture, maybe more of a declaration, the immigrant movement in Phoenix took a big step forward today, birthing a civil disobedience campaign that will organize against and oppose the continuing racist assault.


We see this attack on immigrants and communities of color in the cities mirrored in the century old border controls and movement restrictions that the Tohono O'odham people continue to resist on their traditional homeland. Just to travel home, from a village on one side of the border to a village on the other side becomes a life or death situation. IDs are mandatory, profiling is a daily occurrence, the agents of state have their finger on the trigger guard and their eyes on you. How much different will anywhere else be in Arizona if this bill passes? This picture will become more clear everywhere, as the city cop checks for "papers" in Mesa, the border patrol agent in Sells mans a checkpoint, and ICE agents conduct workplace raids in Flagstaff. The struggles that have been isolated, or hidden to each other for too long are finding each other now, only as the attack on human freedom and dignity becomes total.

Lately, we at PCWC have had a saying about this bill, that if is signed into law it will be "the end of politics," this is the end of the debate as far as we're concerned. Unlike a conflict in politics, there's no debate with the law, should we hold onto the illusion that the voice of struggle holds sway in the police station, courtroom, capitol, mayor's office, or white house?

To be sure, this is a dark time, terror lingers on across Arizona these nights, and surely worse will come. Not all is lost though, and these words from a Greek comrade may be of use in these desperate times. "Action dries your tears," he said, and there's always a place for action in our lives.



DROP ALL CHARGES AGAINST THE SB1070 9!
DROP ALL CHARGES AGAINST THE ARPAIO 5!
BROADEN THE SOCIAL STRUGGLE!

http://firesneverextinguished.blogspot.com/2010/04/some-thoughts-on-sb1070-civil.html