The Radical Cheerbook is a collection of cheers intended to be used by radical cheerleaders at anti-capitalist protests. Radical Cheerleading is a tactic aimed at bringing energy and excitement to what might otherwise be stale and boring protests. An old radical cheerleaders website describes it as “…Protest+Performance. It’s activism with pom poms and middle fingers extended. It’s screaming FUCK CAPITALISM while doing a split.”

The Radical Cheerbook features dozens of cheers promoting anarchy, feminism, bikes, and more while opposing cops, patriarchy, and homophobes.

Get it from us or on ZineLibrary.

Read // Write // Resist Books produces hand bound journals from recycled materials, sells them, and gives all of the profits to support political prisoners who are imprisoned for animal and earth liberation actions:

These are books made by and for dreamers, artists, lovers, adventurers and daredevils. We want to see these books water stained, scratched and creased from extensive traveling; to read first hand accounts of protests and secret plans originally recorded in their pages; to find inspiring notes written on sheets torn from them hidden in the nooks and crannies of the urban world (seriously, send us pictures!).

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Read, Write, Resist Books exists to financially and morally support those facing the dehumanizing and vicious experience of imprisonment for charges of ecologically-motivated direct action. All profits are donated directly to these political prisoners in order to help them pay legal fees, buy reading materials and supplies during their incarceration, and transition back into every day life on the happy days they are released.

Here’s to a world where forests, rivers, and free life are valued and protected above profits.

Check it out!

According to the leftist media, “tens of thousands” participated in May Day actions across the country. Those actions were largely organized by Occupy as part of a “general strike” proposal that was taken up by many Occupy groups around the country. The day featured large marches in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, a bank occupation in Philadelphia, occupying a mall in Portland, and “liberating” a foreclosed home in Portland.

For anarchists, the highlights definitely seem to be where you would expect: cities like Oakland, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, and New York featured militant marches and targeted property destruction.

A May Day statement from the Seattle-based Tides of Flame provides some context:

“Here we are again. For us, not much has changed. However, the cities around us have grown, strengthened, become more adaptable, resilient, and overwhelming in their ability to absorb all of our energy. The contemporary metropolis is a machine designed to extract capital from humans and to keep them pacified while doing so. Those who reject pacification are demonized, marginalized, imprisoned, or murdered.

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The tactics displayed on May 1^st not only demonstrate an ability to attack these seemingly invincible structures, they also encourage and promote agency amongst people who rarely get the chance to strike back at the institutions that they despise. The authorities do not want a populace that asserts itself outside the legal framework. They want to preserve the system that has brought us all to the dead end we now face. There is no legal route out of the current impasse. There is only rebellion, illegality, experimentation, mutation, and abandon. Our goal is and will remain to encourage people to disregard the laws that allow this death-culture to grind on and on and on. This does not only mean destruction—for there is so much to create–but it is undeniable that destruction is central to this project of snatching our lives and the earth back from those who have stolen them.”

Some highlights from the day’s events:

Seattle

There was a large black bloc during the May Day anti-capitalist march. Several banks and corporate businesses were attacked to the cheers of the crowd. The Mayor made an “emergency declaration” in response to the protest, enabling police to confiscate what they believe could be used as “weapons.”

New Orleans

From NOLA Anarcha: “After eating some delicious free food prepared by wonderful folks of the Community Kitchen, smoke flares clouded the air with colorful plumes as the march took the streets. Winding through the CBD, flag corps and a stilt walker danced to a second-line beat among black clad anarchists, children, and Occupy New Orleans activists. The march descended on the French Quarter chanting anti-capitalist slogans and attacking symbols of exploitation.”

San Francisco

On the eve of May Day, a black bloc “…left a trail of broken glass and paint” as they vandalized businesses, attacked a police station, and damaged luxury cars.

On May Day, anarchists and Occupy San Francisco occupied a building to house the San Francisco Commune.

New York City

Unpermitted march: protestors made blockades in the streets, tore down barricades, and clashed with police. Banner messages read “fuck the police,” “kill capitalism, save the world,” and “general strike: kick it ’til it breaks.”

Occupy Everything: Anarchy, Occupy, & the Oakland Commune

May 10 // 7 PM // The DAAC (115 S Division)

Join Occupy Grand Rapids and friends for a discussion on anarchy, Occupy, and the Oakland Commune. Hosted by Aragorn!, editor of the new book Occupy Everything: Anarchists in the Occupy Movement, this discussion will look at the flexibility, energy, and experience that anarchists brought to The Occupy Movement as it moved beyond lower Manhattan onto the docks and streets of Oakland, the town square of Philadelphia, and abandoned buildings around the country.

“The anarchists’ way of operating was changing our very idea of what politics could be in the first place. This was exhilarating. Some occupiers told me they wanted to take it home with them, to organize assemblies in their own communities. It’s no accident, therefore, that when occupations spread around the country, the horizontal assemblies spread too.” - From Nathan Schneider in The Nation

It’s sort of rare to see videos about these kind of projects, so it’s definitely worth watching:

Enter the Left and MoveOn

Unfortunately, the left constantly tries to co-opt social struggles in order to bring them into its framework of how “social change” happens. It’s not a one time deal—if they aren’t successful at first, they will try a new approach. Now a large coalition of these leftist groups (including MoveOn.org, various unions, Greenpeace, Progressive Democrats of America, etc) have formed a group called “The 99% Spring” to shift the direction of Occupy towards their own ends. The left (from Democrats to the socialists) always fears what it cannot control—and because Occupy is a force that exists outside the left—it is essential that these groups try to bring it back into the fold, especially in an election year.

To that end, The 99% Spring is hosting a series of trainings across the country (including here in Grand Rapids) to train Occupy sympathizers and participants in “direct action” skills. The focus is of course on “non-violent civil disobedience,” thereby ignoring ongoing debates in Occupy about “diversity of tactics” and violence. However, more dangerous is that the trainings are pushing only certain actions—primarily those that have the most minimal impact and fit most easily into the existing system. The trainings promote actions that do not question the system as a whole (in contrast to the many within Occupy who reject capitalism and everything about the rotten world we live in): moving money to “less evil” banks, increasing taxes on corporations, getting money out of politics, and making politicians accountable. Various reports from the trainings held thus far around the country show what you won’t get: no talk of the May Day general strike organized by numerous Occupy groups (see also: strikeeverywhere.net) or upcoming protests against NATO in Chicago.

MoveOn, Occupy, and Iraq Summer Redux

This is similar to a MoveOn event back in February where the group held a screening of the film Inside Job. There were handouts and sign-up sheets that used the language of “the 99%” and that had clear references to Occupy. However, once the discussion took place, those facilitating put the blame squarely on former President George W. Bush and his policies and said that the most important thing to do was to mobilize to vote for President Obama because he was going to be facing a tough re-election campaign. When someone from the audience started to ask a comment critical of Obama’s record, the discussion was cut short. The event was clearly designed to recuperate the Occupy phenomenon and to use it to re-elect Democrats.

In many ways, this was similar to an effort back in 2007 called “Iraq Summer” when Democrats and related groups—including MoveOn.org—invested in a “grassroots” campaign to channel anti-war energy into an effort to get Democrats re-elected. Locally, the Iraq Summer campaign also tried to take anti-war work being conducted by a largely anarchist group called ACTIVATE and shift it towards the local Republican representative rather than focusing on the fact that the Iraq War was a thoroughly bi-partisan affair. Whereas ACTIVATE pursued disruptive street protests and other such actions, Iraq Summer emphasized the non-confrontational and disempowering tactics of petitioning, yard signs, and press conferences.

Look out for the Left… and not just the Democrats!

It’s easy to criticize MoveOn and the Democrats, but what’s harder for many (even some anarchists) is to criticize the left more generally. Nevertheless, it’s critical to do so as their attempts to influence Occupy have been every bit as bad. Here in Grand Rapids, unions have had a negative influence, trying to get Occupy to seek recognition from the City Commission (a moved seemed as much designed to make one of the union organizers look good in front of his Democratic “contacts” as out of any real practical concern) or in neutralizing Occupy’s class analysis by making it about the loss of middle-class privilege rather than the destruction of the class system.

In other cases, the corpses of authoritarian socialism have tried to shift Occupy in their direction. At a recent “Inter-Occupy Summit” in Grand Rapids, three out of six breakout sessions were led by people connected to the International Socialist Organization (ISO). As would be expected, the talk was what you usually get from the ISO: condescending rhetoric and them saying that they know best. At the “Occupy & Labor” session, much of it was aimed at criticizing the General Strike planned by numerous Occupy chapters across the country. As is generally the case, because it isn’t being initiated by people that fit their textbook definition of “workers,” the ISO is opposed to it. Moreover, it’s dangerous because the “ultra-left” doesn’t think about how “alienating”it will be to “workers.” It’s the same old song and dance: because they aren’t controlling it and because it doesn’t fit a more than 100 year old formula of how “change” happens, it must go.

Concluding Thoughts

Occupy – both in Grand Rapids and elsewhere – has its problems to be sure. But this is a clear example of how the left works and why the left is an obstacle. And it’s not just the more obvious power plays of the Democratic Party, it’s across the board—from the Democrats to the socialists in the ISO who claim that “the time isn’t right.” They always want to control the uncontrollable.

Sending a birthday card to these prisoners is a great way to let them know that their contributions to the struggle have not been forgotten. If you make one, remember – don’t use anything like white-out, stickers, tape, or glitter on it.

For the last 2 years the closest Saturday to May 1st MLK Park has been reserved for a community celebration. Hundreds of people have come to the park for food, entertainment, and resources to organize for a better Grand Rapids and society. This year the celebration will take place April 28th at Martin Luther King Jr. Park from 12 noon to 8pm.

International Workers Day May 1 (May Day) is a holiday celebrated around the world in remembrance of the Haymarket Martyrs and the fight for the 8 hour day. May 1st marks the 126th anniversary of International Workers Day. The origins of International Workers’ Day go back to 1886. Hundreds of thousands of workers across the United States went on strike. In Grand Rapids, 7,000 furniture workers of the Knights of Labor left their workplaces for an impromptu march. Workers demanded that their 10- and 12-hour work days be shortened to an 8-hour day with no reduction in pay. Over the next few years, thousands of workers won the 8-hour workday that many of us still enjoy today. The memory of the Martyrs, and the struggle that they died for is what continues to bring hundreds of thousands of workers into the streets, around the world every May 1.

The IWW is also planning to “unveil an organizing campaign that may affect ArtPrize” according to their website.

Other things planned for the event include a Really, Really Free Market, music, a potluck, and tables from a number of different organizations.

From the introduction:

“This zine is an account from the protests against the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) in 2001. It was one of the most militant of the anti-capitalist (anti-globalization) protests that took place at the turn of the century in North America.

What happened on the streets of Quebec City was inspiring. Anarchists laid much of the groundwork for the mobilization and to a large degree shaped their character. Despite the heavily militarized police force, anarchists – and others – were able to crash the supposedly impenetrable barricades in short order. A confluence of factors – the literal carving up of the city for the security perimeter, the police violence, and the work done by anarchists in advance of the protests, led to a situation where large numbers of folks in Quebec City were generally supportive of the protests. Over the course of the weekend, the protests quickly moved into the realm of widespread rioting.

We share this story not to idealize the past or engage in nostalgic yearning, but to inspire future conflicts.”

Download it from us or Zinelibrary.

As an example, “A” is for the “awesome anarchists” who taught Occupy consensus:

The ABCs of Occupy: A Is For Anarchists

Other letters include “F” for “Food Not Bombs,” “N” for “Nocturnal Ninjas,” “R” for “Revolutionary Really Really Free Markets,” “P” for “Pigs,” and more. It’s really a fun project that communicates many of the ideas and values present in Occupy Grand Rapids. We definitely encourage folks to check it out.

On a more serious note, it’s really interesting to read in terms of how anarchist ideas and concepts have permeated Occupy Grand Rapids. We also recommend that folks check out the Occupocalypse! zine put out by folks involved with Occupy.