p· • •

r v

front_ ana 6acli artworli ana 6acli yoem oy ;asmme

I ' ,:.; ft • t, \. ' ·-· !;U' .... • :"'!& - j j

EDITORIAL COLLECTIVE STRTEMENT ..... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 2 OL YMPIR BRSH BRCK! MEMBER SENTENC£0 ........ .. .... .. .. ...... .. .... .. .. ...... .. .... .. .. . 2

RROICRL QUEER CONVERGENCE ANNOUNCEMENT ..... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 3

EXCERPT FROM TOWRROS TH E QUEEREST INSURRECTIO N ..... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 4 A PREOCCUPATION WITH HR NDS ..... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 5

DRY OF REMEMBERRNCE SPEECH ..... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 6 TRRI NING COMMUNITIES TO BRSH BRCK .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... 9

THE PATRIARCH ..... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 13 MELTING THE SNOW ..................................................................................... 14 0PEN ............................................................................................................ 17 A L.OVE WILLED QUEER .................................................................................. 18 BRSH BRCK! COMMUNIQUE #666 .... ...... .. .... .. .. ...... .. .... .. .. ...... .. .... .. .. ...... .. .... . 21

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P!NK AND BlACK ATTACK ~D!TOR!Al COLlECTIVE ~TATEMENT

Welcome to Pink and Black Attack_ a queer an­rchist periodical based out of Olympia, WA. We

proudly join the recent w•ve of queer organiz-~18 and action with this publication. with which twe hope to provide news, theory. analysis and an elevant to queer anarchists. In short, this zine is by IS and for us. We are nor affiliated tvith any ocga­

puzation. T he opinions in the pieces that follow are

~ose of their authors. and we as a collective do no recessarily endorse everything that is primed. That f>e:in' g said. we do think that the following pieces

re valuable and worth reacting,

Pur next issue is due out in May. If you'd like o submit anything to the zine. please send it to

pinkandblackattack@riseup.net by April 15th. Art ~ould be in black and white.

~solidarity-

~ink and Black Attack Collective

~oints of Unity: We are queer anarchists. \Ve oppose the state and

p pitalism in all their forms. We are anti-assimilationisr. \Ve reftLSe to beg the tate for equality.

1We acti\'ely oppose heterose.lism, ttansphobia, bleism, patriarchy. clas.sism. and white supremacy. We believe in collective liberation for all people. We believe in revolutionary solidarity with evecy­

pne in the struggle against the state and against d1e ~omination of capitalism. We especially support puc comrades who face legal trouble because of fheir struggles-

BAtd(! ME-MBf"R AKll MAY OAV ARRmff IN OlYMPIA

Active oommunity member and friend Forest Stu­b enhvas sentenced for events alleged to have happened

Day2008 in Olympia, Washington. Forest took an Alfred plea bargain {saying he didn·t

t:~~::~i::::!~~:but is pleading guilty because there is lose in court), pleading a felony and a down to two gross misdemeanors. For·

plea does not implicate anyone else. The court said that Forest ran alongside someone

~~:~~::::.~ undercover police officer's cell phone and ~ trade clothes with this person. Forest denies this.

pointed a gun at him. At the sentencing, Forest told the judge that he is

pa~:!:::l:;~:~::~ 'm::a:rr~ied and has a lease on a house. He ~ he does for his communities, indud·

but not limited to, sexual assault prevention. forest·s the judge not to give him a harsher sentence

he was protesting~en the arrest happened, and and sentence political dis·

which is what the judge did. For two gross misdemeanors, Forest Student of

~~::~~· WA was sentenced to 60 Days in jaiL forest was ~ for political reasons, charged for political reasons,

r::::~ed for political reasons, and sentenced for political

Forest will be serving the time via work release means he has to sleep at the jail every night for 60

~o,nse,cutive clays and will only be allowed out dur~ing llhe 'dayj go to work.. Forest has 30 days to start his jail time.

Forest is an active community member in Otympia, He works in support of anti-imperialiststruggJes, sexua~

jassau1tt prevention/ destroying rape culture, is active in mmtarization resistance, organizes against police and

p oli<' :e violence and is an active member of the NW queer trans community. Forest has court fees {totaling $700)

cover and rent to pay while he is in jail. lfyou can at all ~UJpport monetarily it would be greatly appreciated. If you

your kind words and thoughts will be c:he1nshed justa~ r'''cn. Support your community.

Solidarity,

t'riends of Forest

oontributions please contact Freeforest·

ANNOilNtiN6: NmlONAl. 1ll'1'f(l\f. QIJftR CONVfRMN(f

fMY 281'11-31~ AnarclD-Queersl Tmnniesl Fairies! Penuts! Sex-V\Ukus! Sex-Radi­cals! Allie ' s. Bash Back! is ecstatic to announce a national radical queer anve.rgence :to take pace in Chicago, May 28th through May 31st ci 2009! ~·re )ieased to invite all mdical queers to join us foe a weekend ci debauchery and :mischief. TIE last weekend ci May will pow! to be four sdid days ci worksiDps, discussions, performances, games, dancing and street adion! ~·ll hmdle tiE food and the musing. Yall bring tiE Ol"gY, en, and decadence! ~·re looking foe fOlks to facilitate discussions, put <n 'M.U'kslnps, organize caucuses. share games, tell stories, get heavy in some theory, or bottom-line a dance party. More specifically we're looking iDe 'mll'ksiDps themed around queer and tmns liberation, anti-mcism, anfronting patriarc4', sex -.vk, ableism, self defense, DIY mental and sexual health, radical history, pornogm~, or queer theory.~ are also looking tor c.oPous amounts ci glitter, safer sex puducts, zines, tnme-made sex toys, balaclaws, pink and Hack flags, sequins, bondage gear, md porn, flowers, strap-<ns, and assorted dumpstered goodies.~ down? M> RSVP, wlunteer for a -.vksiDp. get more information, or send us dirty pictures. email-mdica)queer2009@gmail.com and clEck out- BasbBackNews.V\OrdPress.Com Lubing up the social war, Bash Back!

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an excerpt fran 11t0\Nards the queerest insurrection•• by the mll'y nardini gMg

V II THE PERSPECTivt Of QUEERS WITHIN THE HET· ERONORMATivt WORLD IS A LENS THROUGH WHICH WE CAN CR.ITIQ!JE AND ATTACK THE AP. PARATUS OF CAPITAUSM. WE CAN ANALYlE THE WAYS IN WHIOI MEDIONF. THE Pl\ISON $YffiM. THE CHURCH. THE STATE. M ARRIAGE. THE ME­DIA. BoRDERS. THE MILITARY AND I'OLICE ARE USED TO CONTROL AND DESTROY US. M ORE IMPORTANTIY. WE CAN USETHESE CASES TO AR· TICULATE A COHESIVE CRITIOSM Of EVERY WAY TliAT WE ARE ALIENATED AND DOMINATED.

{lgEER IS A POSITION FROM WHICH TO ATTACK THE NORMATIVE • MORE. A !'OSITION FROM WHIOI TO UNDERSTAND AND ATTACK THE

WAYS IN WHICH NORMAL IS REPROOUaD AND REITERATED. IN DESTABILIZING AND PR06LEMA· TIZlNG NORMALCY. WE CAN DESTABILIZE AND BECOME A PROBUEM FOR THE ltrrALITY. THE HISTORY OF ORGANIZED QliEERS WAS BORNE OUT OF THIS POSITION. T li E MOST MAR· GINALIZID • TRANSFOLK. PEOPLE OF ODLOR. SEX WORKERS · HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE CATALYSTs FOR RIOTOUS EXPLOSIONS OF QJJ£ER RESISTANCE. ThESE EXPLOSIONS HAVi BEEN COUPLED WITH A RADICAL ANALYSIS WHOLEHE.ARTEDLY ASSERT· lNG THAT THE LIBERATION FOR QliEER PEOPLE IS INTRINSICALLY TIED TO THE ANNIHILATION OF CAPITALISM AND THE STATE. IT IS NO WON· DER. THEN. Tli AT THE FIRST PEOPLE TO PUBLICLY SPEAK OF SEXUAL LIBERATION IN THIS COUNTRY WERE ANARCHISTS. OR THAT THOSE IN THE LAST CENTURY WHO STRUGGLIED R>R QJJEER

LIBERATION ALSO SIMULTANEOUSLY STRUGGLED AGAINST CAPITALISM. RAOSM AND PATRIAROIY AND EMPIRE. ThiS IS OUR HISTORY.

V III IF HISTORY PROVES ANYTHING. IT IS THAT CAPI· TALISM HAS A TREACI-IEROUS RECUPERATivt TENDENCY TO PACIFY RADICAL SOCIAL MOVE­MENTS. IT WORKS RATHER SIMPLY. ACTUAU.Y. A GROUP GAINS Pit I VI LEGE AND POWER WITHIN A MOvtMENT. AND SliORTLY THERE.AFTER SaL THEIR COMRADES OUT. WITHIN A COUPLE YE.ARS OF STONEWAll. AFFLUE.NT-GAY·WHITE­MALES HAD THOROUGHLY MARGINAUZlED EvtRYONE THAT HAD MADE THEIR MOVIME.NT POISI8LE AND ABANDONED THEIR REVOLUTION WITH THEM.

IT WAS ONCE THAT TO BE QliEER WAS TO BE IN DIRECT CONFLICT WITH THE FORCES OF CON· TROLAND DOMINATION. Now. WE ARE FACED WITH A CONDITION OF UTTER STAGNATION AND STERILITY. AS ALWAYS. CAPITAL RECUPER· ATED BRICK· THROWING STREET Ql!EENS INTO SUITED POUTIOANS AND ACTIVISTS. ThERE ARE LOG-CABIN· R.fPuiiLICANS AND "'STONEWAll." REFERS TO GAY 0EMOCR.ATS. ThERE ARE GAY ENERGY DRINKS AND A "QJJEER• TELEVlSION STA· TION THAT WAGES WAR ON THE MINDS. BODIES AND ESmM OF IMPRESSIONABLE YOUTH. ThE "LGBT" POLITICAL ESTABLISHMENT HAS BECOME A FORCE OF ASSIMILATION. GENTRIFICATION. CAPITAL AND STATE-POWER. GAY IDENTITY HAS BECOME BOTH A MARKETABLE COMMODITY

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AND A DEVICE Of WITHDRAWAL FROM STRUG- CONFLICT AND MAKE IT SPREAD. GLE AGAINST DOMINATION. N OW THEY DON'T CRITIQ!}E MARRIAGE. MILITARY OR THE STATE RATHER WE HAVE CAMPAIGNS FOR Q!}EER ASSIMILATION INTO EACH. THEIR POLITICS IS ADVOCACY FOR SUCH GRIEVOUS INSTITUTIONS. RATHER THAN THE ANNIHILATION Of THEM ALL "GAYS CAN KILL POOR PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD AS WELL AS STRAIGHT PEOPLif "GAYS CAN HOLD THE REIGNS Of THE STATE AND CAP1TAL AS WELL STRAIGHT PEOPLE!' "WE ARE JUST UKE YOU". ASSIMILATIONISTS WANT NOTHING LESS THAN TO CONSTRUCT THE HOMOSEXUAL AS NOR· MAL· WHITE. MONOGAMOUS. WEALTHY. 2S CHILDREN. $ UVS WITH A WHITE P1CKET FENCE THIS CONSTRUCTION. Of COURSE. REPRODUCES THE STABILITY OF HETEROSEXUALITY. WHITENESS. PATRIARCHY. THE GENDER BINARY. AND CAPI· TAUSM ITSELF. IF WE GENUINELY WANT TO MAKE RUINS Of

THIS TOTALITY. WE NEED TO MAKE A BREAK. WE DON'T NEED INCLUSION INTO MARRIAGE. THE MILITARY AND THE STATE. WE NEED TO END THEM. NO MORE GAY POUTIQANS. CEQs AND ODP5. WE NEED TO SWIFTLY AND IMMEDI· ATELY ARTICULATE A WIDE GULF BETWEEN THE POLITICS Of ASSIMILATION AND THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERATION. WE NEED TO REDISODVER OUR RIOTOUS INHERITANCE AS Q!}EER ANARCHISTS. WE NEED TO DESTROY ODNSTRUCTIONS OF NORMALCY. AND CREATE INSTEAD A POSITION BASED IN OUR ALIENATION FROM THIS NOR· MALCY. AND ONE CAPABLE Of DISMANTLING IT. WE MUST USE THESE POSITIONS TO INSTIGATE BREAKS. NOT JUST FROM THE ASSIMILATIONlST MAINSTREAM. BUT FROM CAP1TALI5M ITSELF. THESE POSITIONS CAN BECOME TOOLS OF A SOCIAL FORCE READY TO CREATE A COMPLETE RUPTURE WITH THIS WORLD. O UR BODIES HAVE BEEN BORN INTO CONFLICT WITH THIS SOCIAL ORDER. WE NEED TO DEEPEN THAT

A PREO CCUPATION WITH HAND S BY BILLIE

the first girl I got wit h co11ununicated lltult itudes the first time she gra bbed n1y hand I followed her home tipsy

the few n ights I spent in her bed she told stories wit-h her hands we wrote s tories with our hands

she said she liked t-he notion of p r etty girls in her bed she seen1ed to have the confidence I lacked

we walked to the coffee shop boldly I clasped her hand as we approached our friends timidly she dropped mine

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DAY OF REMEMBRANCE November 17, 2008

Hello ev eryone. My name is Saffo and I am trans. Some o f you may know me by m y binh name, Fokion. As many of you w ill al­ready know, to many trans people, changing our names is an imponant rite of pas­sage. Coming out as rrans, choosing a new name and rransirioning my identity has been a difficult, beauti­ful , emotionally exhausting, revitalizing and spiritually empowering process. Some of you w ho have known me

for years have struggled to remember to call me by m y new name, and by my new preferred pronoun. I assure you that it's been even more difficult for me, adjusting to a new name, to a new rela­

tionship with rhe world. But it is so important and I ap­preciate the many people in my life who have supponed me through this struggle, as well as the countless many trans and gender variant people who have struggled and fought so hard before me- many of whom have sacrificed their lives fo r the chance ro name themselves. After all, today is the day of remembrance, so I must remember w ith a sense of gratitude and humility those who have fought before me and made rhe ultimate sacri­fice.

So whar•s in a name? Many of us live our our lives with names that were given ro us by our parents. which may or may no t have any real meaning or signifi­cance. Your name is per­haps rhe most im portant, most deeply engrained so­cial marker you w ill have in your life. It claims to define you- and yer most people did nor choose their name, or may nor feel char it has any real meaning to them. Coming out as trans has given me a sense of solidar­ity with people everywhere who have chosen to rename themselves. Similarly, it is through this politics of nam­ing that we are also able to name the forces of violence char oppress us. Transpho­bia, Heterosexism, Racism, Classism, Imperialism, Age­ism, Ableism, Capitalism, Sexual Assault and Violence, rhe Prison Industrial Com­plex. The list goes on. Nam­ing the systems of violence that oppress us and those around us is a viral first step in our various struggles for lib eration. And so ir is rhrough naming both our­selves, our communities, and the forces of violence that oppress us that we are able to fighr back.

So whar•s in my name? I chose the name Saffo fo r many reasons. Those of you who knov.r

me probably know rhat I am half Greek. My birrh name, Fokion, is an ancient Greek name. According to Greek culture, a parent is supposed ro name their child afrer her or his grandparent, who is supposed ro be named after a saint. My mother, how­ever, a devour atheist, chose ro defy tradition, giving me a name that was ancient Greek. I was always proud of this . I was drawn to rhe name Saffo because it is nor the name of a saint. Further­more, for chose who don't know, Saffo was the ancient poer from rhe island of Les­bos who wrote love poems ro other women. Hence where the \vorld "Lesbian"' comes from. My choice of name reflected a desire ro connect my culture with m y queerness, while simulta­neously resisting Christian hegemony.

\Vith that said, we are here today ro remember rhe countless many trans and gender non--conform­ing people who have been slaughrered by the sysremic violence of trans phobia. By an interest ing coincidence, today happens ro be an im­portant day for me both as a tranny and as a greek. Today is the 35th anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic Massa­cre. Let me explain . fn 1967, as pan of the cold war, rhe United Stares over

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threw [he Greek govern­ment and installed a m ilitary dictatorship in Greece. In November. 1973, students at Athens Polytechnic went on strike against the j unta and rook over the school. The government responded on November 17th by crushing down the gate of the school with a tank. and slaughter­ing the students. November 17th is an imponam date to Greek people- a powetful reminder of violence of the state and US imperialism. Thiny-five years ago today, [he United States slaugh­tered Greek students orga­nizing to ovenhrow a repres­sive right-wing regime that the US had installed. This is. of course. nor a unique experience. The United States has covertly and overtly enacted tremendous violence an over the world from Manifes t Destiny, to the Vietnam \Var, to Pi­nochet, to the war in fraq, to the Spanish-American war, ro the occupation of Pales­tine. to Free Trade .. . and that's just the beginning ... As we speak right now, we stand only a couple blocks away from Textron world headquarters- a company [hat manufactures duster bombs used to kill fraq i civil­ians. VVe are living here in the belly of the beast- the United States empire, the most powerful force of dea[h and destruction in the his­tory of the world.

So what does this have to do with the reason we are here today? I wanted to bring up November t 7th because today is a power­ful day for me, on the 35th anniversary of a date that has been ingrained in my head since r was a child. to be recognizing my queer sisters and brothers who have fallen as pan of a dif­ferent. but related struggle . Some people might say, "but [hose are separate issues ... And r would respond, when you•re rising up to fight for your life, there are no «sepa­rate issues." This touches on something all-too-often left out in mainstream queer discourse- [he connection between state violence and violence against queer and trans people . \Vhile out-side our borders the United States asserts its violent hegemony through war,

. . esplonage, secret pnsons, the so-called drug war, and the World Bank and IMF; inside our borders we have the largest prison population in the history of the world . There is an enormously profitable industry built around imprisoning people in the US. This is the prison indus[rial complex. \V'hen private prison companies be­gan losing money recently, the state responded by tar­gering immigrants in order that prison companies could increase their profits. fmmi­grams, communities of col-

or, queer. trans and gender non-conforming people are favorite targets of the prison industria) complex.

VVithin prison walls, queer, trans. and gender non-conforming people are routinely subject to rape, hu­miliation, and other forms of brutality- far more so than our straight and cisgender peers. Furthermore, trans people are often placed in rhe \vrong-gender section, or are kept in solitary confine­ment, and are frequently de­nied access to medical treat­ment. This is stare violence against our community. lr is important to recognize that the mechanisms of state violence that terrorize queer and trans people are some of rhe same that terrorize im­migrants and communities of color. \V'e must recognize chat different oppressions function d ifferently. as our identities funclion differ­ently. but ul[imately we have more ro gain from build-ing solidarity between our various movements. Some people. however, stubbornly refuse to recognize the im­portance of these connec­nons.

Perhaps no\vhere is [his hypocrisy more clear than with the issue of hate­crimes legislation. Many trans people Jive in commu­nities or neighborhoods that are not supportive. \V'e live with the knowledge that, were we ro be attacked,

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our neighbors may not give a shit about us. This is, in pan , a result of the isolated capitalist system in which we live . Many people don't notice their neighbors, don't feel supponed by any son of communiry, and hence, when violence happens, the only recourse we have is the police. The same police force that raided stonewall. The same police force that doesn't give two shirs abour queers. I don't wam, in any way, to de-legitimate rhe experience of trans people who are victims of hate crime- or those of us \vho live w ith the fear every day of being hate crimed. These are very real forms of vio­lence that terrorize us and our community. \Vhat I want ro say is that we must begin the work of building mean­ingful alternatives to dealing wirh violence besides more violence. Imprisonment and heavier sentencing is nor the answer to dealing with vio­lence againsr trans and queer people. The prison indus­trial complex fails every day to reduce violence. That is not its goal and it never has been . Irs only goal is more . . . Lmpnsonmem, more VIo-lence, more fear, for more profir. We live in a world where rhe US empire profits off our struggles and wants us ro remain afraid. The capitalist system depends on it.

I do not have the an-

S\ver as ro how to deal with violence. \Vhat l can say, however, is that ir is time for us ro recognize rhat all fo rms of violence and oppression feed off each o ther. Single issue politics will not bring us real liberarion . r once heard someone say, "single­issue politics doesn't work, because we're nor dealing with single-issue oppres­sors.,. ft is rime for rhose do­ing work to end gender and sexual violence to recognize rhe systemic racism and classism in the prison system in order to see that these are nor viable options. It is rime for srraight cisgender people doing work to end the vio­lence of rhe prison system to rake up the burden of help­ing ro end violence against trans and queer people. Ul­timately. r have fai th that we can work together ro smash the systems of violence rhat oppress us all.

So, for these reasons, I am honored to be here to­day to commemorate those who have fallen in all of our various srruggles. \Vherher it be against US empire, defending the rights of im­migrants, working to abolish prisons, or demanding the right ro walk safely down the street, we all fight every day in our own ways. Bur more importantly, I want to celebrate those of us who are alive and still fighring. I wam to end on a positive nore here by recognizing

and celebrating all of our various differences while we simultaneously recognize and celebrate our common shared humanity.

Human beings are fragile creatures, and it is only through m utual sup­port, through love , rhrough compassion that we can really make it through this world rogerher. Trying ro make it through rhis world and survive has been a spiritual process for me, and naming myself has been yet another step on a journey rhat will last unril the day I die. \Ve each have our own unique journeys, and it jusr so happens rhat we have been blessed today to each cross paths being in the same room at the same rime. Some of us are born being told \ve're a woman, and later decide we're actu­aUy men. Some of us are born being rold we're a man, and later decide we're ac­ruaUy women. \Vhat's true rhroughout, though, is that it is only deep inside here (heart) rhat we can really name ourselves, that we can find our own paths along rhis fucked-up beautiful jour­ney called life. Bur for each of us that blazes another path, we can know that \ IVe have helped make rhe strug­gle a little easier for those who wiJI come next.

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TRAINING COMMUNITIES TO BASH BACK SELF DEFENSE AND SELF DETERMINATION

n cnse )OU bm"eel'i heard, he recent upsu_rae in anti­ueer violence h:ls been niched by a radknl queer/ . ns insurgency. ~ nre e ywbeie. One m.me that

' "' use, in Cbicaao. Pbilty, Memphis, Minnenpolis,

IJ)elrner, LnnsinQ. Olympia, elsewhere. is Bash­

l&<:k! ~ are mililnntly .nizina ix our coUec:.~·

. "' liberntion. ~seek lo

~=~ptlriarcby. while js, cism. hdemsexiSDl: rnnspbobia, clljli.lnlism ,

all the rest. Because of be Jll""'alence of anti-queer

jvicolenoce, many queers are !kina about <q:mirina f defense. In doina so, we

re drawing from n f.tDUJOUtSJ islory of queer seH defense Compton Cnfeleri.~. ~ \ltll). and models of self

ense organ iz.ina (Block , ntber P.uty ). ~ ore atso

· nfluenced by the models self defense 0111anizing -eloped lo confront do­

mestic violence am sexual ss:wlt atpinst ·wimm.in the largest by far being ape Agaression Defense AO). This is a model that

o.s certain strengths, but lso needs lo be radically

-..structured

. .

• semester-loog sd!­ense (50) class that w:ts

is) offered free of cb tu ·ae to jsttxJenls at the smallliber-

-ar ls cdlege I went Jo, The ~;tnJCIDr was RAI)-certi­

ied liu b.md:reds of other jinstnx:tts who are pnrt of

n.~tiooal "vlomen-on))'" defense~ mostly

ba~ in martial ads cen­ers and police deptr1menls.

k.ina the class foe free, in free time, and foe c:redit.

' "" directly benefillina Jf.n>m the while and m iddle-

ass privilege that b.-.d aJ'""' oocess ID coiJese in the

ir st Jll.•ce. I look. the clnss l .'t'IU5e it ~'\'!IS mmln. ble to nro because I iu>e>v that

,iv:n r tmnsi.tiooed frocn liD'"" to female in the ne:tr itUJttll'e, I ""s ""'¥ likely to be lnraeied by gender v io­lleJ>Oe. I was not out as trans · n the class- I ptssed as

ale - but I look. il becnuse WitS trans, and this shaped

experiences os much as wh ill> ness <lid. (In spite

RAO's official · ,vomen­ty"' stnnce, my insh·udoc

loJ>...,.d the class lo ever)One. ople perceived as male, a s ' II see, were instructed erentty.)

at struck me then - eren re so now - is the fuilure • model of

0 bose<! on stmiaht w im-

p:mn's experiences load­s the needs of queer.

~~·and Qellder-queer II" . The RAO model of defense is "iDe v.ornen," while their definition

'\0\0fD)'D is ••nc!ear from

~=-~ m.~ials. il is clear ~ their model !bat the)'

"' no sense of queer and rnns people and the vio-

"' w e fuce. The instruc-1' '\\OUJd occasionally turn me nnd inixnl me tbatf

we """"' lenrnina SO for jmen (RAO model). instead

beina assertive oro sir<lOQ 1o confront an at1acker ho nssun-aes their target

's vulneroble), she .-'OUid ~~ me llo de-esca.b.tef jc down the at1acker. a

lo m.~u myself seem s of a threat ( you know,

ike. -Hey it's cool man, I .idn't know she '\\US )our · friend. Let me buy you beer. No h:ud feetingsf

lokolY'?J-'Thrulkfu.IJy, I · rec.:el\e:J RAJ)'s trninina for ,vomen,. but cleady the

binary-aen<Jered self de-se model that RAO u ses

us de\-eloped br people itb normntn, aeniers-

be instruclor and abouJ it->-tbirds of the par-

. · nts in that class were bite. There were"""""'' immin of color tnk.ing the

s. \ioJ I cannot re

member a sinale time that race '\\'9.5 discussed during the class, e>'ell though class time wns split 50/50 be­tween education and physi­cal1rainina. At the time, I didn't think twice abou t the wny the class ignored rnce, and I De\'e&' talked lo my classmates about it, so I don't know bow "'timmin of cobr experienced the class. I do know that I ex­perienced it from a place of white privilege, which I now recognize.

It is from my position as a white, class-Jxivileged, an­archist 1ranspersyn that I want lo examine the reality of gender violence, privilege, and self-defense in our cul­ture.

An Analysis of Gender y,_ lence

First, definitions ... Gender violence., is used io inch de violence against wim.min and queer and trans people. "Domestic violence" (OV) refers lo any sexual, physi­cal, or emotional abuse that is perpetrated by a partner, brmer partner, family tnember, or acquaintance. "Stranger violence" (SV) is a term loaded with racism within the white-suprema­cist ideology. I use it lo refer lo assaults on the street, per­petrated by stranaers, usu­ally against people of color (contrary lo the myths), queer and trnns people, and wimmin. "Institutional vio­lence" (IV) is perpetrated by institutions - police, crimi-

nal injustice system, prison system, boroer patrol, ICE, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Planned &renJhood, bster systems, schools, and hun­dreds of other arms of the state, cocporations, non-pot­its, and other (non-familial) institutions - mostly against people of color and the pooc. "Trnns" is an umbrella term lOr people who are targetted by transphobia becaues of their gender presentation, bodies and/or idenJities. "\Vh.ite supremacism" is used instead of the hierar­chy-blind term "racism."

All violence is systematic. The political anai)'Sis of most 5I) classes - the one I heard in col.lege, the one that brmed the basis lOr a recent "anarchist" SO class at a conference in Laramie - bcuses on the system of patriarchy. The analysis, if it's gi\oen at all, states quite accurately that wimmin are. sexuaJJy assaulted by men at extremely high rates -a bout 1 in 3 wi.mmin will be survivocs, studies say, and 99% of the perpetrators are men - and then lem'E!S it at that. The next step is, "so we hm'e lo defend ourselves."

'frue enough. BuJ the ques­tions of which people hm'e the privilege lo defend them­selves, what people face institutional violence, what people are prosecuted when they defend themseh-es against domestic or strnnaer vimence, and what fadors in addition lo being a womyn affect a persyn's likelihood

of being assaulted, are usu­ally left unasked and un­answered. These questions - and their ans'\i\rers - are extremely importanJ.

In reality, as any good 5I) instructor will teach, most violence against white straight wim.min is perpe­trated by partners, family, and acquaintances. Attacks by straDQers and institutions dispropoctionatejy target people of color, queer and trans people, sex workers, and - 'vitb increasing sever­ity - people who fit inlo two, three, or bur of those de­mographics.

" A disclaimer, I know that this analysis is leavina shit ouJ. rm certain that a bleism, fatpbobia, age-ism and e\'e&'}' other brm of oppression conJribuJe lo domestic, stranaer, and in­stitutional violence. I am de­liberately bcusing on white supremacis111, heterosexism, and transphobia, and their intersections, lo the e><clu­sion of other perspectives. I am indebted to ll'o'OTE! %men of Com Against Vio­lence and wimmin of color bbggers like brownfemip­

""'""' lOr my understandina of The Cobr of Violence (as the INCITE! anthology puts it), especially institutional violence.

10 illustrate the impact of the white supremacist state, as ,-veJ.l as bo1110phobia and transphobia, on situa­tions of violence and self-de­fense, two recent example"

LJ

lawsuit was still in process. defend themseM:s against On August 18, 2006, 5e\'ell - paraphmsed from Between violence. On the contrary, )OUD8 African American The Lines News, issue 1616, this author is inspired by lesbians tl'ln'eled lo New '\brk 11113/2008. and 5UJ'POC'fu'e of OC'llllniza-City from their homes in tions like the former Black Newruk fuc a regular night Any analysis of gender vio- Rlnther &rty. The point out. When """kina down lence that lhlls to acknowl- is that people of color often the street, o man sexually edge. and deal with white face different forms of vio-propositioned one of the suprem-acis111, hetetosexism, lence, which calls for differ-women. After refusill8 lo and tmnsphobia is incom- ent models of self-defense. take nob an an~u, he. plete. But, and this is far This reality is just as appu-assaulted them. The women worse, a self-defense class ent lo peojlie of color as it is tried to defend themseM:s, that fails lo acknowledge the ignored by white peope. and • fight broke out. The state's criminalization of women were charged with POC self-defense, and the R.rt of what this means fuc Gang Assault in the 2nd de- extent of state-perpetrated white people is that, any pro-gree, a Class C Felony with o or state-sanctioned gender SO stance by white folks has mandatory miniaaa m of 3.5 violence - in response to 1o aCOJUnt for white. privi-)rears. Rttreese. Johnson was lege and stand in solidarity additionally charged with .Jln anti-racist with people of color. An 1st Oearee Assault. Three S'D yersyective anti-racist SO perspectn"' is of the -..omen accej:ted jliea not just about the defense offers. On June lith, 2007 is not just a6out of the self, but the defense '"'nice Brown (19), lerrain tfie aefense of of the comiD.lnity, and the Dandridge (20), R.treese defense of peojlie (especially Johnson (20 ), and Renafa tfie self, out tfie of color)'s right lo defend Hill ('M) recei•'ed sentences aefense of tfie thernseM:s. A w hite persyn £Q1l8ill8 from 3 112 lo 11 )'ears who believes in her own self in prison. community, ana defense but chooses not lo - quoted from free the new tfie a~ense of take action in supped of the jersey i hlog V\'ebpage, httpo/ I NJi reinfucces a system thai freen;t. V\'OI"dpress.COJll, ac- peoy (esyecia{{y mandates w ho may defend cessed 12/6/2008. of cot:or)'s r/fefit herself (white wimmin),

and who may not ( wimmin, In June 2008, Ouanna to aefencft em- queer, and trans people of Johnson, a transgender se{ves. color). v.om.an, u""aS arrested in Memphis, TN on o prostitu- which (traditional) self-de- 10 add insult to injury, most tion charge. Memphis lb- tense is simply not an oj:tion SO ctosses construct situo-lice Officer Bridges McRae - sin:ulfaneously privileges tions, stories, and for-practice called her o "he/she" and a white people, erases the ex- encounters that reini>rce "faggot,'' and then beat her periences of peojlie of color, white supremacist stereo-while Officer J. Swain held and lem'eS the state's white types. b'en after all the her down. The beatill8 was supremacism unchalle.nQed. talk about acquainfance video taped and Ouanna '""s In a standard SO class, white rape, V\'hen it comes down in the process of suill8 the privilege is nothing if not lo the l1lO\"eS )OU learn and city of Memphis, TN fuc po- foundaJiooal. the situations ')OU QO 0\'el' 1

lice brutality. She was found the perpetralor is cast as o murdered in an alley on This is not lo soy that people stm118U who, fargetill8 )OUr

Na.'ember 9, 2008, while the of color cannot oc should not body or )OUr money, at

D

cks )OU on the street. In he SO class I look, which

"OS led by a white '"'myn, .. final exam" wns &o

end myself against a n 'vho came at me front

hind while I " 'liS using XfM, atte ina to steal

t s fwu(a come as no suryrise, then, that 'R:A'D seiJae­fense classes are taught 6y yo{ice aeyartments to civi{ian wimmin. 'Rather than cha {enging tfie state, tfiese classes rein-orce the state's

unwritten ru{es a6out wfio may aefena herself, aiuffww, ana who may not.

money. These situations re calculated, in the white premacist im-aginary, pay inlo stereotypical

·mages of black oc brown l""l8sers and black rapists. I i'U'""'' that it works this way

cause that's J::Jc.m;• if "''OI'k.s · n my <M'll head, and my

hite-sup-emocist social ~oditioning is largely the

me as other white peoplecs hese situations '\\'ere e\'lm

ated at the "anarchist" 0 class I alluded lo.lt ""s

by a white man, so this

uld not be loo surP"isiDII· friend of mine called out

his racism in a letter lo the ganizers, and their re-

ponse did not e\'ell mention ce, even 'vhile it '-vent on

on "responding" to our jcOJocerns about trnnsphobio

disregard of surv.mxs' eds ( castill8 both as our

'personal issues").

n gender violence lie the · ntersections of all of the

lowing i>rms of oppres-• ! aJlX)Q8 others: sexism,

IJ>el:erosexism, trnnsphobia, hite supremacism (white

pie hm-e the privilege of lseiJf-,defense; people of co.loc 0 is criminafrred), clas-. (homeless people and

x ~face especially 'ah ie>-els of violence),

:ionalism, imperialism, incarceration (gender

· nee bema especially emlent around borders,

"Or, and in jails &. prisons). unlly, if is important 1o

· nt out lo the anarchist udience of this zine that

ss actions, especially con-:rol.led .. riots," teJXI &o le:n-e ippes of sexual assault and tber focms of domestic vio­

pence. in their Wilke.

he white-supremacist state s d~'ll a line. beh\-een o kinds of setf-defense:

he state-sanctioned, "''ell , -touaht self defense of ivileged people, and self ense. that is criminalized

because of the lo1111 history oppressed peope's re­

lsistance to the US, and the dical threat it poses lo

he state. This second kind setf defense has its roots

· n black struaaJes against ista..,..Y, indigenous struaaJes

:r land and survival, slm>e lrel>ellio' ns, indiaenous up-

isill8s, the Underaround ilrood, the Black &ntber ty, and the American ln­

l""'.n Mo.>ement. Currently' st of the wimmin on

ath row were convicted of 'llina their abusers. About

f are. 'vim.min of coJoc.

final critiques of main­ream setf-defense classes. ne is their (not sliding ale) financial cost, which

kes them prohibith-ely xpensM: lo many people,

institutionally classist. he other is their general

of analysis, which re­-es the context of vio­

jlei>ee. so that Yttimmin learn 0 as if violence weremn­

m rather fu'lll systematic, as if it were inevitable.

his makes SO the responsi­bifrty of the individua~ e.>en

'ni>rces victim-blaminll, ther than understanding ot causes atxl adwcatil18

he dismantling of patri­rchy and other systems of

t sboukl come as no sur-ise, then, that RAJ) self­ense classes are touaht by ice departments lo civil-

. n wimmin. Rather than haliell8ing the state, these lasses reini>rce the. state's nwritten rules about who

llwiV deferod herself, and •, and who may not.

sested Models b- Self IJ)elfeno;e OJ'!Ill11izina

t should be noted before oontinue that my ideas

models ilr SO ocganiz­are just theoretico.l at

. point. Also (again), I white, and there are

iJ>ecpe-.of- color-led groups have~ models

self-defense OI'Qlllli zillQ. f "'"are soill8 lo or-ganize

defense, we need lo take re direction from people

coJoc than from this lwJ:lil"le aufhoc. As this goes

tbe edilor, I run awaitina text of a SO model <level

loJ>o<i by an INOTE! aroup in ichigan, which I run sure ill b-ee me lo rethink my

IWli>at .....wd a self-deter­jmil>aticm model of SO look

"ke? The or-ganizers .....wd her a group of inter-

sled people without p-e­~mninillQ a syllabus, and

:ioritize the comruJn ities &ce tbe most systemat­

violence. The instrudor(s) the class .....wd be those

lwJ:loo hln'e martial arts slUIIs share, and .... ould not

lila'"' any greates- decision­kina JlO"''er. In ti>ct, all

· ipants would become as individu-

' skills with, say' dealillQ ifh transpbobia 01" queer­shillQ would be areates-n a straight instrudoc.

sharing what situa-they -..m>t Jo learn so

, "'tbat situations disem­;er them and what kind

violence they &ce or are risk b-. Their ans-.."ers

jixlllltbe basis lOc tbe train­syllabus, lOc exarqJ)e: ac

~cintalllCe rape situations, busive relahlosbips, queer

shillQ on tbe street, bath­om confrontation of trans

~:;,~· police harassment, ce sexual harass-' and cat-calling.

his model ensures that tbe tent of tbe SO training

· s determined by its plrtici-

~~· rather than the orga-ln instrudol's, who are "kely Jo have pivileaes that

~~them Jo tbe needs of Ill . ipants.

e patrwch w those tear gas canister

e patrwch hot those rubber bullets

e patrwch rrested me on that bridge

spat in my face ughed at me for being n angry feminist militant queer shameless adulterer n impolite l.itde girl nd duew me in a cage.

en that piece of concus­iongrenade "t me in the head during

tmarch woke up and screamed ck you patriMch

am all of those things, nd proud of it, too.

n1eltlng the snow: a self defense workshop experience

Recently folks from BBI Denver attended an anarchist regional networking conference. The main speaker was Anarchist jeff"The Snowman" Monson of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. who was also going to lead a self defense workshop. BBI Den\'er had been talking a little about organizing some rad self-defense for us queers and trannies. so we were interested to attend the workshop, learn from an anarchist fighter, and see how they handled all the issues that are entangled with the topic of"self defense:'

We came <M'3)' from that workshop extremely disappointed and dis­turbed (if not very surprised) by the fact that there was a negligible amount of analysis during - or seemingly in the design of- the workshop. \Ve had some serious concerns and critiques of the whole thing, which we talked out amongst ourselves during the lunch break of the conf. and which we mentioned to a couple of the organizers with hopes of having a com•ersation about it. Anarchist time being as it is. ev­erything was late and delayed and there ended up not being time to talk specifically about the workshop (probleJnatic itself?), so we wrote up OW' concerns and critiques as an email and sent it off to the organi·z­ers. What follows here is that initial c.ritique, and then the responses v.-e got back from two of the organiz­ers. Their responses really pissed us off. (Note that these views may or

may not eA.-press the opinions of the instructor of the workshop.) We hope this can be useful for BBI Chapters. first in articulating some of the problems with "self defense• as it is normally talked about and taught, even in "'radical,. spaces (see also our other essay in this line). And the responses we got are a crystallizing e.tarnple of really bow far we have to go e\'en within our .. mo\-ements~ both around queer/ trans issues, issues of race and white supremadsm. and just in general with owning our shit when v.-e are called out.

for defense and offense, Sissy Sparkle

[the original critique of the self de­fense workshop, written mostly by me who identities as queer, gender­queer, and mLtedlatin.[

Last week, many of us attended the RendezYous. We come from vari­ous places: uncom•entional dem•er, Fort Collins Uproot, Bash Back! Dem•er (radical trans and queer folks) , and/or an anarcha-feminist backgrowtd. We are super -in"'­pressed with the Facing the Wind collective, got a lot out of the con­ference, and went to a nwnber of good workshops. However, we do have a number of serious concerns v.-e want to address, mostly around the self defense workshop (SDW) Jed by jeff Monson.

To start, we<.t like to say that we understand a couple of mitigating

factors. The conference was run­ning late, so there was less time for the SDW than the instructor had planned, which obviously affects how well the topic can be covered Also, we understand there was some miscommunication between the organizers and instructor about whether it was intended for all au­diences or only for .. women":

Our first concern begins with this latter point - that the schedule listed it as a "'women's self defense workshop.• Why was it gendered to begin with? What was the analysis that went into that decision? We assume the reasoning was to create a space for folks without a life of male privilege, and we can get be­hind that notion in many instances, but felt it was problematicfor this workshop. The term .. women,. is a loaded one and feels exclusionary to many trans and gender identities. Those of us who are trans and gen­derqueer didn't feel comfortable to even be in the room. even though ""are more frequently targeted by violence than those with normative gender presentations and identities. A more inclusive way to create such spaces would be use terms like .. all self-identified womyn,. or "'trans-in­d usive,. or .. womyn and transfolx": Next if it was supposed to be for womyn and transfolks, why were there self-identified men participat­ing and even leading the workshop? And why was this not addressed in any fashion at the beginning? It would have been extremely pro­ductive and liberating to have de­cided before we started - as a group

LJ

of those interested in attending - how v.-e wanted the workshop to go. We believe the most effective, radical, and libemting way to orga­nize a SOW is for the participants themselves to decide the structure, boundaries. the kind of situations v.-e want to practice responding to. etc.. Having had this conversation, then we could have all been clear on whether or not we wanted to or should have been in that space. We believe the intent was to create .. safe"' space of sorts, but for the rea­sons above it ended up feeling very unsafe. exclusionary. and in fac.t a little dangerous.

A final problem we see with the .. women~ self defense workshop'" is tbat if it is not done righ~ If there isn't a Jot of mdical analysis around gender, patriarchy, race; In fact around the whole of white suprem­adst heteronormative patriarchy and the many oppressions it mani­fests; And spedfically around rape culture in our sodety and in our radical communities; if these issues that cause and create the situations where .. self defense"' is neCESsary are not addressed Then the work v.-e are doing is not radical but rather a band-aid tbat gives womyn the responsibility of defending them­selves without acknowledging and addressing underlying systems ­like patriarchy, which must them­selves be eradicated. 1ben how is our anarchist SOW any different tban the one taught by the local •well-meaning" police department! (In fact, tha(s that POs do classes­they reinforce systems of oppres­

criminalization of people-of-color self defense (e.g the New jersey 4), as well as the radal aspects of violence - especially state violence one cannot defend against without breaking the law. That is, there are ways in which self defense is a white privilege, as well as racist in its imaginings ofPOC attackers against white victims.

Some speciJk examples from the c. lass: • The myth of strangerrape The scenarios the instructor pre­sented - and that the participants were to imitate and practice - were all of the form "the stranger big bad man attac:ks the lone weak woman"'. This is an extremely disempower­ingmodel to learn under, full of unexamined stereotypes. And i(s not even very accurate since we all know that most violence, rapes. physical abuse, and sexual as­saults occur not between strangers but between family friends lovers acquaintances intimates. To not address this reality perpetuates the runnber one myth that mpe culture promotes. We also know tbat queer and transfolks are just as likely to face domestic and intimate violence as those in traditionaliy­gendered rela­tionships. In fuct, lgbtq folks are the ones more likely to encounter situ­ations of stranger violence, such as queer-bashingin _, the street.

sion in many ways. especially when classes have disempowering models • and no analysis.)

No talk of consent or boundaries When holding a •self defense•

workshop. it's also important to acknowledge and critique the

Once the stranger attack scenario

was laid out and the instructor showed the moves for defending oursel\•es, we were to practice the moves with a partner. There was no time, space, or suggestion to check­in with our partners about issues of consent. boundaries, triggers. etc before doing these moves of physi­cal doseness, vulnerability, power, and emotional trawna In a room with survivors and folks trauma­tized and scarred - and probably perpetrators as well - to skip these c.om•ersations is negligent and po­tentially retraumatizing.

• The leg wrap-around move For dealing with the situation of be­ing on the ground with an attacker coming down after you. the instruv tor's suggested move was to reach up and gmb the attacker between your legs and pull them down onto you and then also hold them tight with your arms. While this is probably a great move in a juijitru match. it seemed problematic. in this scenario. First to practice such an intimate move without knowing your partner's boundaries and trig­gers. Second to not address issues tbat this move ntight bring up for people. SoeciJkallv what that

D

mo\'e and position might mean for survh·ors. who are likely to be retraumatized in any attac.k, much Jess by having to hold a perpetrator tight between their legs. When a couple of us raised some concerns about this, we felt the instructor's response brushed aside our con­cerns and showed little wtderstand­ing of the deeper issues invoh·ed Further, we were taug·ht how to get into the bearhug position, but not bow to get out of it again safely.

We offer these thoughts with the hope that they'll be shared with the organizers. the SOW instructor, and the attendees of the Rendezvous. We think it would be irresponsible to continue doing Self Defense Workshops in the same way as the one that was done in Laramie, as hopefully our analysis above made dear. Some issues should be easy to soh·e, some will probably require some hard com•ersations about how to create the world v.-e want to live in. If there is interest, we would be willing to facilitate a dialogue on the issues we've raised here the next time we meet. We hope that this letter can be a part of that con\'ersa­tion about how our radical commu­nities can continue to c.hange and grow - and be strong enough to tear down all the systems of oppression

[from an organizer who I'd assume identifies as female and white. -dkwJ

I have a couple questions regard­ing your concerns- Wby when Jeff asked "Is everyone comfortable trying this?" you failed to speak up? Wby, if you were un­comfortable with the instructor did you even stay? Why not go to the free speec.h room and strike up a

com•ersation, or play ping-pong?, have tea in the front room? You may not be comfortable with e.·ery seminar you see and that is the nature of free speec.h. I spent quite a bit of time with Jeff and he is not the type of man I think you are pro­jecting him to be. He is not sexist or homophobic- and he is has been through a tren1endous an1ount of personal pain. If you knew him you would understand how sensiti\'e he actually is. He looks very masculine I know, and I supposed that proba­bly triggered certain feeling in you­but you really sbouldnt assume be is not considerate of others needs. There should be no issue with Jeff. He neither said or did anything sex­ist. Not everything will be pleasing to e••eryone in every possible way. This is the nature of the world we live. Thank you for your feedbac.k, but please let's end this dialog.

[from an organizer who I'd assume identifies as male and white. -dkwl

First and foremost, we are very disappointed that men crashed the seminar, Jeff dedded not to ask any one to leave because be felt (as you pointed out) the the things be was discussing could be used by anyone. The idea to have it as ''Women's Self defense· crune about because we felt if it was just a "self defense" dass it may pro\'e to be uncomfortable for some people. Jeff is in high demand for his senai­nars and v.-e fek this would avoid the probability of a testosterone filled room.

"It would ha\'e been extremely productive and liberating to ha\'e decided before we started - as a group of those inter-

ested in attending - how we wanted the workshop to go."

This is a bit disturbing, and frankly against the spirit of the conference. We felt that individuals should have the free­dom to e.tpress themselves in ways they saw fit. We did not think it appropriate to tell people how to express themselves or dictate bow they v.-ere to share their information. All who participated were allowed total freedom of e1.-pression. Jeff is a professional fighter, not necessarily a scholar on feminist literature.

·A more inclusive way to create suc.h spaces would be use terms like 'all self-identified womyn' or 'trans-inclusive or <v.·omyn and transfolx:"

This is unfortunate. I think the nature of the presentations and the atmosphere of the conference made it dear that the people attending would be accept­ing. If someone felt uncomfortable or Ull\>\'elcome I think this reflects personal issues; presentors and organizers did all we could to make all feel welcome. As far asspedfi­cally stating self-identified womyn. trans-in­d ush·e, etc.~ that was implied, if it needs to be explidtly stated, that is unfortunate. Also, se\'eral GLBT organizations were asked (practically begged) to present or at least table at the e.·ent, but they flaked out and didn't show. We wanted to offset Jeff's outwardly masculine presence with discussion of important gender issues.

As far as the "wrap around leg move" ... Jeff is a world champion fighter, he knows what works. Some people may feel awk­ward doing this, but self defense can often be awkward. By nature it often im·olves intimate contact.

'If there isn't a lot of radical analysis around gender. patriarchy, race; In fact around the whole of white supremadst heteronormative patri­archy and the many oppressions it manifests;"

Again, this is not jeff's n"Jl"rtise. Also. where does it end? Shouldn't v.-e also discuss how meat eating re­enforces ideas of male dominance and violence to­wards women? (see "Sexual Politics of Meat")lt could get pretty silly and so much discussion would ulti­mately lea\'e no time for the actual self defense.

"No talk of consent or boundaries"

I eo.·en heard him state that par­ticipants should only do what they were comfortable doing. And partners v.-ere not assigned. so I think this puts responsibility on the individual to discuss boundries with partners.

The Yery basic issue is freedom of expression. Jeff expresses himself through teaching self defense. I do not think it is fair to dictate his or an)·ones way of expression. If he was sexist or homophobic he would not ha\'e partid pated His presentation was simply practical self defense, called women's self defense because v.-e wanted a safe place for women to learn impor-

tant, potentially life saving informa­tion. Despite the lilct that some men im•aded the space, I think it was still a safe place for women.

Furthermore, if women are wt­

comforatble with a man teaching women's self defense, they simply

should not attend.

This issue has bothered me tremen­dously as I think it will ultimately do more damage than good. I think the idea that groups should dictate bow people express them­selves to be abhorent and against the principles of anarchism.

we called ourselves ,.open" she said she liked the notion of

a pretty girl's open bed where ever she roamed­

polyamory.

after ! left for Olympia on the phone I said

I found another pretty girl's bed expecting hoping

she'd be pleased

she sounded pleased

two days later she called said she found another pretty girl's bed­

! was pleased she said she was ·u, love"

a word we never used I understood now

she was calling it off with me

polyamory is complicated I miss her bright skin

and inquisitive hands

this sucks

D

~£0V£W9££EVQU£E~ 6:J.Jale cricket A common cliche people proffer against anarchists, dis.sidtcus. and radical=; from all walks of life IS that we expend more energy aniculating what we are agaiuo;t rather than what we are for. Thi-s critique was admira­bly confronted by the Green Anarchy collectivo, which suggested. ''while we can certainly agree on some basic thing$ •~ against... what we are for is virtually end­less" (2004 ). • Rewilding," a key conceptual Umol'>.tion offered by the anti-ci\;Iizafioo anarchiSI pmpectin, l'llCip$\lbtes this attitude of endlessness. ill a ~ty wbere we are so often deluged with messages that we mnSI "change the world," the phiiOS<lphy of rewilding sugge:ns we take an alternative stance and view ow re­lationship with the world in an inherently posillveman­ner. Rewilding affirms the beautifu~ n1ysterious and profotwd nattU'e of life and e:Ustence. eondudiug it's 'only' d>is dominant, civilized society tl10t's fucked.

What nevertheless bothers me the term ""'"1ding" is that '\"1d" pan is so rarely and directly clefiDed. One of the more popular rewi!ding mesuge boards on the intemtt define< m>ilding as a n'!b, "to rerum to a more namral or "ild state; the process of undoing doDIO$­ticarion" (Rewilclinfo). Yet, this deflnirioo arricnlates nothing of this "l>ild state." This often !ea,·es me -..ith the imprusioo that the "l>ilding" pan of the rewilding is undeRtood and all that remains is for us to move to­ward it. Many prescribe e.xactly this: a return to Stone Age existence. This entails a set of practice~ often known as primitive or earth skills. Nascent rewtlding cultures ha\'e arricnlated these skills mu<:h as not only physica~ but also relational ADd while these are impor. tam and e\'al better tangible goals to undenal:o, they speak notbmg of a '""Y mysterious, thought prol'oking, and open-ended exploration which is not rooted in any particuLv practice: namely, our prot.,. of disco,·tring what "ildness "is" and what it means, both subjtc:tivtly and objtc:tively in the here and now.

Definitions of lli ld and wildernes.s How have rewilders Wldertaken this exploratioo? Green Anarchy posits ~>ildness as "the most refutable physi­cal &ct that we are capable of obser\>ing: the re1•ersion of to wild fonn, uncontrolled by the domesticating grip

of (a portion) of one species" (2004). Martial ar>ist and tracker Willem Larstn writes, "More than anything, to me, wild means frte ... To set free, means to escape dependence. To e.tJeape dependence, means to reclaim one's natural gifts. To reclaim one's natural gifts me.ans to become interdependent" (Wi!lem Larseu, The Col­lege of Mythic Cartography, posted March I, 2001). Prominent blogner Uti>an Scout's asks "How can we define 1>ild?" He answers by way of comparison: "The <lil'l'eretn bt<ween a "ild and free commensal (sic) symbiotic relationship and a domestic pol'Mitic one invohres the commilme.Dl to control or the will to have power-o\'H rather than hal'< power-with" (Urban Scout, The Adveuni!<S of Urban Scout, posted March II, 2008).

What all of the above de:fi.uitious share. in common is their generality. This is undoubtedly necessaty, as generalizations exist promote a basic, if not problem~ atic understanding of a word, tenn, or in this case, the de;tructil.., teud..Oes of civilization and posstble al­tematiw modH of existence. Hown"ef, in each case above,. the writers in\"oke Stcoodary tenns (e.g. power, relationship, domestication) that are subject to more intense scrutiny than rhe primary term being defined. Domestication. for irutance, has a precise scientific definition ce.ntered on human manipulation of animal and plant populations, but such de.finitions are rarely applied to human• thetll$tlves. This raises a number of open questions with no definitive aus\1.rers: How do humans fit into the process of domestication? Are they themselves do""'sticated? How is this term biologi­cally or cnlturally cleftnod? Domestication is seemingly related to wilderness (it is what "ilderness is !lOt) bur this c:ircular play of murually defining words does oot reach toward lucid undentanding.

Academics have focused on wilderness in the conte~d of lingui<tics. In the first paragraph of bis treatise Wilder­nes..c; and the American Mind, environmental historian Roderick Nash notes, "Wilderness, in short, is so heav. ily ftigbtened with meaning of a perso~ symbolie, and changing l:ind as to ruist easy definition" (196S, 1).1\e\'ertheless, Nash traces the el}mology of

the. term'\vild" to the. early Teutonic and Norse lan­guages (from which English developed), finding "the root seems to have been 'will• with a descriptive mean­ing of self-willed, willfu~ or tmcontrollable. From 'willed' came. the. adjective '-nlj.td• used to convey the idea of being lost, unmly, disordered, or confused ... the. Old English 'deor' (animal) was preft.xed with wild to denote creatures not under the control of man" (ibid). Nash concludes that "wilderness" etymologically trans­lates to "the place. of wtld beasts" (1965, 2) and further suggests that wild "is related to 'wealed' or 'woeld,' the Old English terms for forest" (ibid.).

American Indian scholar Jay Hansford C. Vest's draws from Nash's etj-mology, sinnlarly concluding that wil­derness most c.losely means,"' self-willed-land• or 'self­willed-place' with an empha~ic; upon its own intrinsic volition ... A wild animal is a 'self-willed animal' - an tmdomesticated animal- similarity, wildland is 'self­willed land"' (1985, 324). Contemporary dictionaries define wilderness as "an area essentially undisturbed by human activity together with its naturally developed life comm\w.ity," "an empty or pathle.'is area or region" (Merriam-Webster), or "uncultivated land" with "deso­late c.harac.ter.. . in which one. wanders or loses one's way" (Oxford English Dictionary). Nash adds: "Any place in which a person feels stripped of guidance, lost, and perplexed may be called a wilderness" suggesting contemporary definitions of the teiUl are equally in­formed by "the feelings they produce in the observer" (1965, 2).

While Nash readily admits our "feelings" of wildness may be subjective, he. \mwittingly separates hwnans from the po~sibility of embod:ying wildnes., instead of merely experiencing it as something separate. or "out­side" of us. Neither does he challenge or specify con­temporary understandings of wilderness as "desolate." or "be.ing lost," which tend to have negative cultural connotations. Vest's essay also fails to make. connec­tions between "self-willed" and "being lost" in any positive manner.,. seemingly suggest they foreign, rather than primary conditions of our e:Ustence. While both authors admirably explore the multifacet­ed definitions of '\vilderness, ... neither challenges the idea of a hwnanlanimal separation. nor discusses the possibility that humans as animals have been, are, and can be. wild. These limitations need not be considered a failure or end. Instead, they lead us in other directions pathways for our journey to self-willed lands ...

Wilderness as soda!: queer desire and love Love. is perhaps the easiest way to express and articu­late the c.om1ections between queer desire. and wilder­n~s. Feminist and cultural critic bell hooks' book All About Love: New Visions cites self-help author M. Scott Peck, who defined love as "the will to e.xtend one's self for the. purpose of n\utwing one•s own or another's spiritual growth" (2000, 4). books' calls love as an act of wilL a choice, rather than some-thing out of our control or respoDSlbility. Love, she writes, "is most often defined as a noun, yet ... we would all love. be-tter if we used it as a verb" (2000, 4). What we do is ine\oi­tably as. if not more important than what we say. This places books' in close company with those who desire to rewild the. English language. through "verbing" our no\ms. reanimating fi.-xed concepts and ruming them into processual-based ones (Antbropik, posted March 18, 2008). The expression of love for ourselves and others aro\md is undoubtedly i'isues from the deepest self-wtl led, wild places within and around us. This is tmdoubtedly the. "spiritual" aspect that both Scott Peck and hooks refer to.

Black feminist Audre Lorde's landmark essay "The Uses of the Erotic," traces the etymological origins of the. tem1 •erotic• to the. Greek 'Eros; the personifica­tion of love in all its aspects (1984, 43). Eros/the erotic includes our romantic, se.-.;;ual re-lationships with oth­ers, but does not hierarchically value. such relationships above others. Lorde writes, wrhere is a difference be­tween painting a back fence and writing a poem, but only one of quantity. And there is, for me, no differ­ence between writing a good poem and moving into sunlight against the body of a woman I love" (1984, 46). Lorde speaks of a moment of joy, of rapture, expe­rienced from within a he-terosexist, patriarchal society. Lorde•s joy is a direct assault on social institutions (and their purveyors) that impose an implicit regime of love, defined as a scarce resource. to be guarded, mea'iured, kept and controlled. This reconceprualization of inti­macy beyond heterosexual confines is a key contribu­tion and critique that feminists have added to the larger conversation about love. Thi'i critique shows up in a nwnber of diverse. sources, from literature on the prac­tice of alte-rnative. polyamorous or open relationships to historical critiques of the nuclear family, marriage, and institutionalized monogamy. Such perspec.tives are ,;tally important to the practice of rewilding. Ecofentinist author Cbaia Heller further articulates Lorde.'s notion of the erotic. In Heller's book The Ecol

LJ

ogy of Evei)•day Life, she suggest the. erotic contains both an implicitly anarchist >iew of hwnan nature and "an ethical dimension, establishing it a• a quality of be­ing against which all our actions may be measured for ethical oontent and meaning" (1999, 85). Heller v.Tites, "[I]f we were to demand from our everyday lives the same. pleasure and pa'ision that we hope to find in sex­uality, then we. would have. to make some pretty pro­fo\md institutional changes. If such institutions as rac­ism, sexi'iim.,. capitalism, and the state make. misery out of our work in political engagement, in tum making a mise!)' out of our socia~ familia~ and se.-.;ual relation­ship•; if hierarchy and authority inhibit lhe cultivation of creativity, participation, and plea•ure, then surely, fighting to restore the. e-rotic means nothing short of a social and political revolution" (ibid).

Ecofeminis~ have. also exposed how wilderness has been socially, hi•torically, and culturally oonstmcted by dominant ci>i lized cultures. Author/acti>i st Greta Gaard shows how queers have experienced lhe bmnt of such constructions. Christian-informed worldvie.ws have. defined queers a-; simultaneomly natural and \Ul­

natural. They are a'isociated with a conceptualization of nature as animali<Stic, less than human, and thus open to violent e.'\.-ploitation. At the. same time, the. dominant culture ha'i defined queerness as an ac.t that transgresses the.natuml order (Gaard 1997, 120). The elfect, acoord­ing to Gaard is "the 'nature' that queers are urged to comply to is none olher !han the dominant paradigm of heretosexuality" (1997, 121). This dangerous oon­tradiction exposes the. way human biases shape our per­ceptions of the world, and proves we cannot rest easy with generalized, unarticulated ideas of wildness.

Queer theorists have pointed out that sexuality is not mere a choice of bodtly attraction, but a historically evol\oing, intellectually infonned, regulated cluster of ideologies. The. regulation of sexuality is one. window through which we can view deeper, interrelated power operations such a<; ecosystem destruction, and genocide of entire peoples and species. The. opening page of Eve Sedgwick's very-influential text Epistomology of the Closet asserts that any analysis of modem society is in­complete '"without a critical analysis of modem homo/ heterose.~ual definition" (1990, 1). The historical emer­gence of this sexual fault line is of"deteJUlining impor­tance in the lives of people. across a spectnun of se.xual­ities" (ibid). For what is self-willed, what is joy, what is love., has no role in civilized society. Beyond regulation

e.xists an \mspedfied queer, chaotic anarchic;tic desire~ which radiates far beyond the homo-hetero divide.

Se.~uality and wilderness share a close affinity because they are both sites that ultimately elude and exhaust any inte-llectual e-xplorations we may \mdertake. This does not render such \mdertakings fntitless. Rather~ it is the individual process of discovery that allows us to name our self-willed places, beyond regulation, sym­bolic representation and ultimate-ly~ civi lization itself. This is of bolh political and personal significance. For if we are to overthrow the. present civilized order v.-i th the. force of our collective wil~ we must be sure. to do so from the. deepest, v.i ldest place. of our heatts.

References Adventures of Urban Scout, The .. Domestication vs. Rewtlding. http://www.urbanscout.org/domestication­vs-rewildingl. Anthropik Network, The. E-Primitive: Rewilding the Engli•h Language. ht1pJ/anthropik.com12008103/e­printirive-rewtlding-the-english-1angrtagel. College ofMythic Cartogxaphy, The. httpJiwww.myth­ic-canography.org/2007/03101/breaking-the-spell-re­wilding/. Gaard, Greta. 1997. Toward a queer ecofeminism. Hy­patia vol. 12, no. 1: 114-137. Green Anarchy Collective. 2004. Back to the. ba•ics volume lhree: rewilding. Green Anarchy 16: no page n\unbers. Heller, Chaia. 1999. The Ecoloogy of Everyday Life. Montreal, Canada: Black Rose Books. hooks, bell. 2000. All About Love: New Visions. New York: Harper Perennial. Lorde, Andre. 1984. Si•ter Outsider: E..says and Speeches. Berkeley, California: Crossing Press. Na•h, Roderick. 1967. Wilderness and lhe American Mind. London: Yale. Univeristy Press. Rewild.info. http://www.rewild.info/. Sedgwick, Eve. Kosofsky. 1990. Epistemology of the Closet. Los Angeles: University of California Press. Vest, Jay Han•ford C. 1985. Will-of-the-land; wilder­ness among primal indo-europeans. Environmental Re­>iew vol 9, no. 4: 323-329.

Bash Back! Communique #666 Greetings ass-pirates and carpet­munc.hcrs,

As wc•n: sure you•vc alrc-..1dy boen made aware, the ncwly dectcd

president of the United States has committed to repelling the "'Don•t Ask Oon•t Tdf polk)'• and will al­low queers to serve openly in the military. In the past, we at Bash &dcl, have boen extn:mdy critical of queer military service. wc•vc boen known to n-fer to DADT activists

as .. ro.dst. assimilationist fudcs,. or "'imperialist tools,. or simply .. what

tUcking idiots ... Those f:.un..iliar with o ur past position on the issue w ill be surprisod to le..1.rn that we have had a c.hangc of heart. We are now complcrdy in b\'01" of

queer military scnice! We have come to several rcaliurions and 3ppbud the repeal of DADT for the foUow­ing reasons:

The milit:.uy bas BIG wc-..1pons. In o ur efforts to arm queers. BB! crews have boen working to obtain insidi­

ous amounts of pepper spray and other sdf defense we..1pons. H owever;.

if our opc:ratjves can jnfiltntte the milhry. we wiU ba\'e acCC'$ to bjgger and bcttc:r tO)'S ( not to mention the tn.Uning that goes whh thC'Ol). \'Q"e• ~

alrc:ad)' fierce as fudc,. imagjne us with military training. After doing some ~sc:arc.h on the js. sue.. wc:'\'e disCO\•c:nd that rjgbt w jng

cbrisdans, po Htidans. and military officials~ in consensus on the fact that queers jn the military will completdy comprom.isC' unit cohc:· sion. OO.ttle re.lC.'liru::ss, and the O\tro.ll strt:ngth of the armed forces . Being that Bash Back! opposes milhrism, imperialism and ALL forms of state power, we are c:cstlltic about the o pportunity to destroy the military from the ins jdd

Wl\'e boen w:.ttching a lor of military porn and rt'ading a healthy amount of "'barracks'" thC'Olc:d c:rotka lardy.

Noedlc:ss to say wc:'\'C' ckvdopc:d a bit of a collc:cd\'e milbry ktJsh. O ur walls a~ alrc:ad)' co\'c:~d jn pre.cum at the \'c:ry possibility of the orgks we can jnsrjgatc: once wc:•re bunk·

ing up with a bunch of sex~epri\'od s.Uiors. In short, thank you. B31'3ck 0 b3Jllll and the asshnil:ltjo njst gay establish. mend Truly yours, the birds of a cummjng storm,

Bosh Back!

P.S. DADT actjvists a~ stHlracisr. tools of C'Olpjrt:. P.P.S. Come to the radical quoer comergc:nce jn May!

D

here is wha t i know. bus stops in win tor ,

cold hands on your hot stomach. i know kisses like s ink ing&: i know

watching you. i know wet wei ght against mo ,

the thick smell of sweat and stale come. 1 know your h i ps in my lap and

my bones in your hands . 1 know your surrender , tho child-like line between humiliation and des i re.

h itting sparks at the paco of train tracks and tides . i know beauty so gentle it is paralyzing.

( i know k issing you when you are so close it is j ust your inhalation.)

pinkandblackattack@ riseup.net