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Anarchy: a journal of desire armed. #38, Fall 1993
LETTERS part six
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DIVINE REHABILITATION
Dear editor,
You may not believe how I got hold of your magazine (#36 /Spring
'93), but this is the honest truth. I got in a poker game one day
and it lasted nearly eight hours. This guy ended up owing me a lot
of money. He gave me twenty dollars and all his books, his radio
and your magazine. To be honest, before I won your magazine I
didn't see to much reason to really give too much of a damn about
anything. Man, your (my) magazine has really opened my eyes to a
lot of things. But that's not the real reason I am writing this
letter. The real reason is concerning the lawless confusion and
political disorder here in Louisiana.
I stole $25 in an unarmed robbery. I was later apprehended, and
sentenced to 50 years in a rusted-out cage...simply to
"rehabilitate" me (according to the prison authorities). Society
supports these cages which house only indigent people! Society is
a malevolent mass of morons as far as I'm concerned! I have a
friend in here who got drunk one night, thrown in a jail cage, and
ended up kicking the toilet off the wall. The courts sentenced him
to 12 years in a cage...to "rehabilitate" him! At $20,000 per year,
per prisoner, that toilet will cost $240,000... think of all the
poor people that money could feed!
The state is willing to waste $240,000 to get revenge on a drunk
for destroying a stinkin' toilet! You see in Louisiana a toilet is
held in higher esteem than 12 years of a man's life! In a
materialistic country like Amerikkka it's considered a terrible
thing to steal money, but it's okay to put poor people in cages and
leave them there until they go mad, and then release them on
society! I was a robber when I entered prison at 18. And now after
only four years of being "rehabilitated," in a cage, I am
contemplating becoming a sniper when released. Society has gotten
its revenge on me... they've shown me revenge is the righteous,
holy way...that the only way to "rehabilitate" people is to punish,
punish, punish! So after completing a four year course in
"rehabilitation" I want to spread this "divine rehabilitation" to
our wonderful society!
Yes...just as the authorities have attempted to ameliorate me by
punishment...so in like manner, I do wish to ameliorate society by
punishment!...I have reached the inevitable conclusion that society
is insane! [...]
Darrin Robinson #158443
La. State Prison
Jaguar 3-left-3
Angola, LA. 70712
RESPONSE TO MOLLY GILL
Anarchy staff and readers,
I want to let you know that Molly Gill's letter directed to me in
the Spring '93 issue has not gone unanswered. I have written her a
brief and not-nasty-enough reply. If anyone wishes to see a copy,
all you need to do is send me an SASE.
Thanks,
Lawrence
POB 410681
San Francisco, CA. 94141
A BUNCH OF SCHMUCKS
Anarchy,
I find it ironic that a magazine that prints the writings of
Vaneigem, Debord, and other Situationists and anti-ideological
thinkers could also print a bunch of schmucks' appalling attempts
at ideologically justifying fucking children. What does fucking
children have to do with the revolution of everyday life? Ok, your
sexuality is blatantly being suppressed and stifled by laws of a
traditional society, and your first step towards happiness is to
fuck kids. Maybe if these idiots could really justify this kind of
behavior to themselves, then they wouldn't have to ideologically
rationalize it to other thinkers.
C.N., Tucson, AZ.
HORRIFIED
Dear Anarchy,
I am horrified that people who were sexually abused as children
were brainwashed into liking it. It is inhumane that this act of
control and violation could be twisted in the victim's mind into an
act of affection. My fianc=82 & I were intensely offended by your
article on this subject.
I am a volunteer worker for a sexual assault support centre. I do
not think any of the people calling our crisis line would find your
article to be on the avant-garde, cutting-edge of journalism. Nor
would they be comforted by your views on healthy adult-child
interaction.
The person who wrote in that was an incest subject and is now a
psychologist saw their sexual abuse as the only filial affection
they received from their mother & grandmother. In light of the fact
that this person was physically & emotionally abused heavily I can
understand why they feel the sexual abuse was a good thing.
However, I feel this person needs a lot of counselling themselves
& should not be a psychologist.
As for the rest of the responses to this article, I found them
vague, confusing and back-boneless. If you have something to say,
say it! Please don't use jargon & ramble.
I used to really enjoy this mag. Now, because of this article, I
am not renewing my subscription to Anarchy.
L.K., Kelowna, B.C.
PS: Print in whole, or don't print at all. No editing.
SELF-APPOINTED CENSORS
Yo! You! Halt! Cease & desist, ye enemies of the State! It is
futile to resist, join us, while ye can! We will rule the future,
we can do anything, anyplace, anytime! Witness the shooting death
of a Pensacola doctor; expect the body count to rise accordingly
(mass graves, a la Guatemala, Panama & Iraq; dug by the National
Guard, filled by the Marine [sic] Corpse). John Burt can go on
national TV, and proudly espouse to membership in the Ku Klux Klan;
the founders of the Ministries to the Preborn, the Lambs of Christ
and Operation (Mindfucking) Rescue testify before a House Judiciary
Committee & impose their agenda, insisting they be allowed to play
a videotape, designed to discredit anyone "Pro-Choice" showing
themselves to be the reprehensible assholes they are; an unknown
Cuban is indicted on drug trafficking charges, setting the scene
for another Bay of Pigs. Remember Bush/Noriega? Probably not,
considering the soap opera show trial of Wlm. Kennedy Smith, conve-
niently staged at the same time, only 40 odd miles away, setting a
dangerous historical precedent; this being the first time the USofA
has invaded a sovereign nation, for the sole purpose of kidnapping,
prosecuting and imprisoning a foreign head of state, just to shut
him up. This coming right after the appointment & subsequent media
fuckover concerning Clarence Thomas & his alleged sexual misconduct
as regards Ms. Hill & several others. And one cannot help but
wonder if "Operation Desert Scam" was nothing more than a CNN/CIA-
Pentagon-approved government attempt to play on the short memory,
as well as the racist tendencies of the American people, to wit;
consider the fact that Geo. Bush's son, Neil, was under indictment
for banking fraud, extortion, and myriad other allegations, none of
which he did nay jail time for, and for which his cheque probably
bounced. That is, if he even bothered with the fine levied for such
a royal impropriety. Meanwhile, brother Geo. Jr. sells off his
land, oil & stock holdings, days before the "deadline" is imposed,
bordering on insider trading like a motherfucker, yet he's never
called on it. At the same time, gasoline prices soar, before a shot
is fired, and, you can buy your "Kill Hussein" T-shirt right at the
pump, along with your requisite flag decal and yellow ribbon; one-
stop shopping for phony patriotism. Of course you bought 'em.
Now we got "Bubba" Bill & the yuppie housewives from hell, but
perhaps I should get to the point, which is this; there is a "new"
element at play in these fields, that being an unholy alliance
between the fundamentalist "Christian" right-wing religious groups,
the Moral Majority (which is neither), the Aryan Nation, Amerikkkan
Nazi Party, KKK & ultra-conservative factions, passing themselves
off as "Concerned Parents" at a grassroots level[...]. Make no mis-
take; these bastards have an agenda; nothing less than a total
takeover of local, state & federal level government by year 2000,
at which time they are certain their "Jesus/Hitler" is coming back.
Using pornography, rock music or media as their "issues," they are
able to motivate large numbers of "just plain folks" to approve the
actions of these self-appointed censors. They claim they want to
"clean up dirty, smutty art" using almost the same words as Adolf
Hitler used when he declared it "undermines the purity of the Aryan
race." Substitute "Family Values" for "Aryan race" & you get an
idea as to where they're coming from.
These "Christian" cocksuckers are nationally organized, extremely
mobile, above the "law" and arrogant in their certitude of
"Victory." If you recall, Hitler was a Christian, also. His SS &
field troops wore belts inscribed with the motto: "God is on our
side."
All I'm trying to say, in a cheap tequila swilling, lemon-sucking
way is that we will all have a huge fucking problem if these cheap
thugs have their way. Wait till Pres. Pat Robertson & VP Pat
Buchanan take office. We will no longer have to speculate as to
what life might be like in a totalitarian banana-republic style
police state, we will in fact, be living in one. A place where you,
too, may "disappear" or "commit suicide" or be "shot trying to
escape."
I am not trying to be alarmist, and hope I'm not coming off
paranoid. I have been on vote strike for nearly 20 years; voting
for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil. My political
leanings have always been towards the anarchistic, be that Groucho
Marxist or John Lennonist; I am pro-psychedelic drugs (the only
true pathway to God), pro-choice, a feminist, anti-racist & anti-
fascist. That's why this "grassroots" movement disturbs me, and it
should you, too. It is happening, even as we speak. They already
own nationwide TV & radio franchises, which allow them daily
diatribes to a converted audience, saying outrageous shit like
"Radical homosexuals are poisoning the water supply with AIDS" and
"Abortion causes breast cancer." Don't take my word for it, I have
hours of this filth on tape, if you want to hear it. Write me for
a sample.
I submit it to you, your friends & co-conspirators, that we need
to educate ourselves and each other as to the true aims of these
latter-day little Hitler-boys & their busybody wives. I would
greatly appreciate any correspondence with any groups or indi-
viduals who are likewise concerned by this alternative to personal
freedoms; the fundamentalist "Christian" police state, coming soon
to a mindset near you!!! Word.
Increase the Peace,
R.E. Bareaux
108 Herndon Ave.
Stanford, KY. 40484
PS: A quick postscript; Rev. Wildmon is also a member of the Board
of Directors of Focus on the Foetus Family, and is more well known
as the man who took on "Mighty Mouse" and won, making accusations
that because a fucking cartoon character sniffed a bouquet of
flowers & it went up his nose (this is a cartoon) CBS was "de-
claring war on our children" by promoting cocaine abuse. He was
most recently in Wisconsin w/a few hundred thousand perverts like
himself for the purpose of blockading/boycotting Johnson Wax Co.
for sponsoring/advertising on shows like "Northern Exposure" and
"The Simpsons." [...]
NATIONAL SOCIALIST
Dear Anarchy,
I write to comment on a letter from Librairie Alternative in
Anarchy #36. First of all I view myself as a socialist but I have
heavy nationalistic beliefs. Also let me state Molly Gill seems
like a level headed sister. Molly says we should support white
POWs! We should, but this is disputed by Librairie Alternative
(hereafter "L.A."). But I am willing to bet L.A. supports black
racist/sexists such as the Nation of Islam and other black
nationalist groups who teach the white devil concept. If they ac-
cept black nationalism, why not white nationalism? White people are
being oppressed in this country. Look who can no longer speak their
mind with out being called "racist." As for a world Jewish
conspiracy mentioned in the letter, I say look around you. New York
has more Jews than Israel. I shall also state that those of us who
choose to keep our race white by not race mixing are free to do so.
I absolutely agree with some of the policies of national socialism.
I think Molly Gill has every right to be published in your open
letters section. Now I would like to comment on Jason's comment to
this letter. He begins with "Fuck white nationalism, fuck Marxist
obfuscation." I have never read Jason stating "Fuck black
nationalism, fuck capitalism." This is the huge problem with
Europeans in this country today. they readily denounce white pride.
But they embrace the black nationalists who rant about how evil all
white people are. I have seen a lot of black nationalist letters
which don't cause an uprise, but when my sister Molly Gill writes
a letter, oh shit, you'd think it was Judgment Day. I think you
were wrong Jason, you can't denounce one form of nationalism while
allowing another more destructive nationalism to be unscathed in
your zine. As for "Fuck Marxist obfuscation," I thought that maybe
we could work together for a common cause. But I see you don't want
this, so be it. I still enjoy your zine for the most part. You also
call "authoritarian" Marxists and fascists "enemies of freedom."
That is a cold lie. Marxism is a dictatorship of the people and
fascism is the uplifting of one's race. If one is to combine the
two you have then achieved "peace through revolution" (my
statement). You claim communism to be dead, but it's not. The only
reason I attack you this way is because I am offended by your
attitude towards Europeans. The Red Army won WW2, Stalin's only
feat (which is not great). The frame up of Germany by Stalinist
forces who conducted the "Holocaust" I doubt you'll publish my
letter, but, I am asking you to. Peace through Revolution!
Jayson Josef Strieter #186727
Waupan Corr. Institution
POB 351
Waupan, WI. 53963-0351
[This letter is too stupid to merit much of a reply. We stand by
our unvarying anti-nationalist stance. White or black, racial
"nationalism" is unsavory. However, the total confusion here of all
the worst aspects of racism, nationalism, authoritarian socialism
and, apparently, anti-Semitism as well, makes this letter about as
appropriate for this magazine as would be a bowling ball on a bil-
liard table. -Jason]
OFF THE SHELF
Dear Jason/Toni,
Buying Anarchy in Tower Records feels decidedly odd, but I'm not
going to complain since spreading not just the message but the
profile of anarchy can only be a good thing. Issue 36 was a fine
one and I continue to applaud your move to glossy coffee-table
magazine format, since I'm something of an armchair anarchist
myself. Seriously, to have views that most people associate with
hairy punks expressed in a cogent and visually stimulating form,
and available off the shelf of a major record chain, is very
encouraging. [...]
Keep up the most excellent work.
Yours,
J.W., London, England
FREE EXCHANGE OF IDEAS
Dear folks at Anarchy,
Greetings from "Oblando", the number one tourist destination in
the world. [...]
If the free exchange of ideas and information is to occur any-
where, the halls of local gov't would seem likely hubs of such
activity. But on 12/09/91 I was driven from city hall, as Candide
was from Westphalia, "at the point of a jackboot."
Detained for nearly an hour by an armed uniformed cop and the
mayor's chief of staff (who is also an armed police lieutenant), I
was finally issued a trespass warning, banning me from the building
"and its curtilage" for one year, with threat of arrest. The ACLU
of Central Florida sued the chief of staff for $10,000 in Orange
County circuit court in 03/92 for violating my 1st (Free Speech),
4th (Search/Seizure, because I was actually "seized"), and 14th
(False Imprisonment without Due Process) rights. The city's risk
management carrier (they're self-insured) paid for his defense and
settled out of court in 09/92 for $5,000. (A week or so later,
another Orlandoid settled a case with the city for $16,000. He'd
been arrested & booked for wearing a ski-mask & black shirt with
"police" scrawled on it, and passing out handbills poking fun at
our local vice squad. The arrest took place on Halloween night,
1990. Among thousands of masks on the street, his was the only one
cops didn't like.)
Even before I sued, on 01/13/92 (my fellow) members of Central
Floridians Against Censorship went to city hall to distribute more
copies of the newsletter that caused the trespass warning. They
were met at the front door by the city attorney, a mayor's aide,
two employees with video cameras, and six OPD goons. They were
handed copies of the enclosed "city policy," which was hastily
prepared by bureaucretins operating in reactionary mode, and is un-
signed, undated and on City of Orlando letterhead. It states that
"DISTRIBUTION OF HANDBILLS, LEAFLETS, AND/OR OTHER PRINTED MATERI-
ALS IS NOT PERMITTED WITHIN THE CITY HALL OFFICE BUILDING." (As
written, this would seem to prevent a citizen from even such
Anarchy as hand-delivering a letter to one's city commissioner.)
I have since been writing to the city attorney, with no reply, and
to the newly elected (and first ever female) mayor, also with no
reply yet, as to whether they will continue enforcement of this
policy. I have repeatedly brought the policy to the attention of
the editorial board of the Orlando Sentinel and they have not
acknowledged my correspondence. Anarchy is only the second out-of-
town publication (so far) to hear this story; Gauntlet was the
first and they heard it from the editor of the Orlando Spectator,
a local alternative 'zine/paper. I have not yet told it to the gang
that does the Bill of Rights section near the front of Playboy.
Anarchy is the first to hear this other item from "Oblando"
(world's #1 tourist spot): on 07-27-92 the City Council unanimously
approved (without comment) a nine page [...] between the Barbara
Gillmann Gallery (270 NE 39th St., Miami, FL. 33137) and an entity
known as the "City of Orlando Public Art Advisory Board." The
contract was for the exhibition by Florida Hispanic Artists, to
hang in the city hall Terrace Gallery from Aug.-Dec.'92. On page 3
of 9, fourth paragraph, the contract stated: "ALL ART WILL BE
ORIGINAL WORK DEPICTING NO VIOLENCE, NUDITY, RACIAL PREJUDICE, OR
STRONG RELIGIOUS OR POLITICAL OVERTONES." Gillmann was paid $6,000
for curating.
This last is purely coincidental to the goings on in our city
hall, the top of which is superbly built to one day perfectly
accommodate a giant one of those black mouse ear beanie-caps, sold
by the millions just down the highway, by Walt Disney's heirs.
Orlando city hall is barely two years old. Its 1958 predecessor can
be seen being blown to rubble, near the beginning of the film
Lethal Weapon 3, as the two stars run from the front door. Please
let me know if you hear plans for production of Lethal Weapon 4, or
other movies in search of buildings to be dynamited. I wish to
nominate Orlando's "new" city hall.
Love, from "Oblando," don't come here and spend any money.
Michael, Camarata
Orlando, FL.
IWW FAR FROM IDEAL
Dear Anarchy,
Jason, in his response to my letter defending the IWW (Anarchy
#36), suggested that I was arguing that the IWW should be above
criticism. I never made such a claim. I just feel that if we are
ever going to be able to work together as revolutionaries, then a
distinction must be made between criticism and baseless
accusations. Jason simply as no evidence to prove that the IWW is
a political "gang" or "racket" with totalitarian aims. I can
understand how he feels about the slogan "One Big Union," but as I
showed by citing the IWW Preamble, the reference is intended to
convey the notion of working-class solidarity as an alternative to
the narrow self-interest practiced by the AFL-CIO. Jason, however,
prefers not to take the IWW at its word for anything. Then why
insist on holding one phrase against the IWW, "One Big Union,"
while not taking serious anything else it says? Isn't there a
contradiction here? Besides, if the IWW were to change its slogans
to something more "anarchistically correct," Jason would be no more
likely to join it than before, because he opposes all unions and
organizations, anarchist ones as much as non-anarchist ones.
My experience within the IWW, as well as co-operatives, the anti-
nuke movement, and various anarchist federations, has taught me
that the IWW is certainly no less democratic nor less member-run
than the average, and probably a little more than most. I have
witnessed informal hierarchies, and careerism at work in many
organizations, and have never been one to hesitate to call this to
other peoples' attention and fight against it. Certainly the IWW
has had its own share of these problems, and its organizational
structure is far from ideal (if organizations could ever be so).
But I have never witnessed the IWW recruiting "cannon fodder," nor
cynically exploiting the ecology movement, women's movement, or any
other radical cause. When the IWW supports something, no matter how
misguided, it has always been honest and sincere about it. Again,
I put it to Jason, if you have proof, where is it? Show us the
smoking guns and dead bodies, not just hearsay and gossip, or the
Gospel according to Cammatte and Collu.
I recognize the role of criticism in the revolutionary movement.
It keeps everyone on their toes, and ultimately can help to find
answers to our problems. Perhaps Anarchy should be willing to take
some honest criticism yourselves.
Fraternally,
Jeff Stein, Champaign, IL.
Jason responds again...
Beware of organizational manipulation
I have no desire to continue taking the digressions of this argu-
ment further and further from the original point I made in a
footnote to a review I wrote back in Anarchy #28 in the Spring of
1991! At that point I commented on the opportunistic way in which
it appeared that those in control of the IWW newspaper made the
decision to suddenly back Earth First! in the Summer of 1988=FEand to
do so in a fairly jingoistic manner at that. At this same time,
those wobblies who were critical of this organizational decision
(from what I heard from a couple IWW members supportive of EF!)
were not allowed access to voice their opinions in this same news-
paper. I certainly don't know the whole story involved here, and it
isn't the most earthshaking piece of news, anyway, at this point
five years later! But it does point to the existence of typical
forms of manipulation and informal hierarchies which all anarchists
ought to be very concerned about eliminating. In this case, at
least, Jeff Stein obviously isn't so concerned.
Jeff is the one making a mountain out of the molehill of the "One
Big Union" slogan. I consider its use a mere symptom of the ideo-
logical mindset of the IWW administrative and propaganda hierar-
chies (those in control of the public image presented by the
organization), not something that can be taken as a serious plan of
action for implementation by such a minuscule group. I suspect that
this has become a major concern of Jeff's because it serves him as
a diversion from any talk about other specific and genuine problems
with union organization, like the episode I mention above. (Howev-
er, just to let readers know that I'm not the only one concerned by
the "OBU" slogan, a recent IWW General Secretary-Treasurer, Jess
Grant, has been quoted as writing, "If we are to redefine the IWW,
as we must to be successful, taking a hard look at the [concept of]
One Big Union and its scary implications is a good place to
start.")
As for the accuracy of my characterization of the IWW as one of
the many leftist organizations which function as "political rack-
ets," rather than repeating myself I suggest that readers check out
my reply to M.S.J. in Anarchy #34 pp.68-9. Or for a more general
theoretical discussion of the phenomenon see a copy of On Organi-
zation by Cammatte and Collu (a pamphlet available for $1.00 post-
paid from C.A.L., POB 1446, Columbia, MO. 65205-1446).
GREEK ANARCHISTS
Dear Anarchy and readers,
I've been reading your journal for the last couple of years and
found it quite an interesting work, surely, one of the best in the
international anarchist press. I would very much like to have
contact with anarchists from U.S.A. and I suppose that the best way
to do this is by exchanging letters and anarchist material (or even
visiting each other's country!). Thus, I send you this periodical
that we publish in Thessaloniki, in Greece.
I believe you have already had an idea about the anti-authori-
tarian movement in Greece. In the issue #35 there was an article
sent by the comrades from the information bulletin Stiu Tsilia (who
are active in Thessaloniki, too). As I've spent the last year
abroad I'm not the best person to inform you about what's happening
now in Greece. Anyway, I suppose that many of you are more or less
informed about the situation in the Balkans and the war in former-
Yugoslavia. Of course the international mass-media had found guilt
just in the face of the Serbs, yet, the truth is that almost every
power in the area is to be blamed together with the countries of
the "European Community" and, of course, the U.S.A. whose role as
the Empire of the New World Order strikes dangerously once more. On
the other hand, the societies of the Balkan countries are not yet
ready to resist a possible war and that is the worst of all.
However, in Greece the anti-militarists are able to fight against
such a possibility, perhaps more than in any other Balkan country;
what is of a great need is a permanent and willful contact between
the anti-authoritarians of the area, Greeks, Turks, Bulgarians,
Serbs, Rumanians, etc.
I'm also sending you the addresses of the anarchist groups in
Thessaloniki. In a future letter I'll also send addresses from
other groups in other towns of the country.
Anarchist and Libertarian Groups in Thessaloniki
Committee for Total
Objectors
fax: (031) 285604
PO Box 50042
Thessaloniki 54013
Greece
Ektos Nomoi
(@ newspaper)
PO Box 11251
54110 Thessaloniki
Greece
Radio Utopia
(alternative radio)
tel: (031) 214272
Konstantopoulou 1
54634 Thessaloniki
Greece
Mavro Rodo
(@ periodical)
PO Box 10005
54110 Thessaloniki
Greece
As it was mentioned in the article presented by the Bulletin Stiu
Tsilia, there are also two occupations in Thessaloniki where anti-
authoritarian groups are gathered and also where parties and
concerts take place. I really hope that either Anarchy or its
readers will use the addresses I've sent. The communication between
anarchists is as essential as ever.
Fraternally,
Loukis Hassiotis
Filikis Eterias 29
54621 Thessaloniki
Greece