More STEAL SOMETHING FROM WORK DAY Materials!

STEAL SOMETHING FROM WORK DAY postcards and trifolds are ready now. Email stealfromworkday@gmail.com to receive a box of the postcards; the trifolds are ready to print out and photocopy.

The first printing of the stickers flew; we’ve just printed 8000 more. They’re still available from Wild Nettle Distro: email distro@wildnettle.com. We’re still soliciting photos of STEAL SOMETHING FROM WORK DAY materials in action at that address.

WORLD DAY OF STEALING FROM EMPLOY

Thanks to the mixed blessings of Google Translate, even the monolingual can enjoy endorsements of STEAL SOMETHING FROM WORK DAY from elsewhere in the world, such as Barcelona:

Work disorienting you. Enslaves you. Alienates you. You tired. You disgusting. It makes getting up early. I fuck with both loose climbs. I kill that bitch shit coffee and eating makes you fucking evil. You down. It gives you headaches for things that should be crap.

Inspirational Quote of the Week

“The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that 75 percent of all employees steal at least once, and that half of these steal repeatedly. The Chamber also reports that one of every three business failures is the direct result of employee theft. According to the US Department of Commerce, employee dishonesty costs American business in excess of $50 billion annually.”
Hire Power Associates

Call for Buildup Actions on March 15

We’re calling for actions a month before STEAL SOMETHING FROM WORK DAY to build up awareness of the campaign. Here are some options for what you could do, right now or on March 15:

-Tell a friend or coworker about the campaign
-See that trifolds, posters, and stickers appear everywhere
-Take photos of posters, graffiti, or banner drops
-Announce STEAL SOMETHING FROM WORK DAY over the public address system in a retail outlet
-Organize a flash mob in a shopping mall, or—better—an office building or warehouse district: march behind a STEAL SOMETHING FROM WORK DAY banner, or leaflet all the customers, or…
-Send an outraged email about STEAL SOMETHING FROM WORK DAY to a talk show or news program, or send your local paper a letter to the editor.

If you want to warn corporate media outlets about Steal Something from Work Day, here are some appropriate venues:

townhall.com

Fox News has a drop-down list under “We love to hear from our viewers,” including email addresses like these:

glennbeck@foxnews.com
Hannity@foxnews.com
Oreilly@foxnews.com
Ontherecord@foxnews.com
Atlarge@foxnews.com

CNN offers a more limited contact list. MSNBC offers more contacts:

Today@NBCUNI.com
Nightly@NBC.com
Dateline@NBCUNI.com
rachel@msnbc.com
countdown@msnbc.com
hardball@msnbc.com
ed.msnbc@nbcuni.com

ABC news offers links to contact forms by show. CBS also offers a series of contact forms.

April 15 Isn’t Just Tax Day Anymore: Small-Town Texans Endorse Steal Something from Work Day

This appeared in a weekly paper in the small town of College Station, Texas:

Before anyone gets up-in-arms, this is not a call for you to steal from work. It’s an article saying that most of you already steal from work. It is a piece attempting to shine a light on why such a large percentage of the workforce breaks the law in such a socially unacceptable manner. Acceptable methods of breaking the law are running red lights and refusing to vaccinate children.

Steal Something from Work Day is a small movement. Its Facebook group has little more than five hundred members [*] and, regardless of how many are anonymous participants are out there, it would be naïve to think of SSWD as a mass movement. People that actually steal from work are the mass movement.

According to the US Chamber of Commerce, over 75 percent of employees steal from their workplace. And National Retail Security shows that almost 50 percent of lost retail merchandise can be traced back to employees. This raises the question:

Are workers in the United States just a bunch of thankless thieves?

CrimethInc. Ex-Workers’ Collective is trying to answer that question by spearheading an awareness movement through this new holiday. While, for some, the goal is to get their own few proverbial miles out of the corporate jet, for others, it is simply a symbol. It is a statement aimed at employers that are stealing from their labor pool by refusing to pay them a fair amount.

Why is this necessary? It’s necessary because many of you have forgotten that labor is a voluntary service and that a job interview is just as much an assessment of the employer as it is of the employee. It’s a mutual relationship that has been bastardized by bare-bones wages in a market where there simply aren’t enough jobs to go around. In a culture that prides itself on soul-sucking, endless labor that makes everyone feel guilty for every day that they don’t produce, produce, produce, employers know that you need the job more than they need to hire you. So, you get paid dirt and treated like eels.

Actually, eels get better treatment. They don’t have to work.

For example, Best Buy, as a whole, makes over $300,000 per employee every year. If one of those employees makes $20,000 a year, working 160 hours a month, they are not only getting less than 10 percent return on their labor, but they’re really only being paid for about ten to twenty minutes of the time they work each day, depending on how many hours they put into each shift. When it is acceptable for someone to work an eight hour shift and get paid for ten minutes of it, it’s pretty obvious that every day at Best Buy is Steal from Your Employees Day. While they’re not the only offenders, they are particularly egregious in their constant hunt for impressionable teenage minds that lack any knowledge of labor rights and legal consent.

[…]

My advice is, if you’re going to steal, aim high. While it might pay a little to get out the door at Wal-Mart with an armful of CDs, it’s just not smart to go to jail for a pittance when the real money is in legal theft. Try becoming a corporate banker. If you get into financial trouble, you can legally hold an entire nation hostage until its citizens pay you ransom. Start a hate group. The amount of money spent to stop gay marriage numbers in the tens of millions in California alone. Go into marketing for civilian defense contractors. You can make money by recruiting the next generation of non-military personnel that can murder without all those pesky laws and rules to stop them.

Take your pick.

[*the number doubled within a few days]

Steal Something From Work Day STICKERS!

These classy black and red “silent agitators” are available for free or donation from Wild Nettle Distro, and will also be included free in orders from CrimethInc. Far East. They look great on a doorframe or coffee maker! To get a big package of them for your community, email distro@wildnettle.com.

Steal Something From Work Day PHOTO CONTEST!

We can’t urge you to steal from your workplace–and you don’t need our encouragement! But we can urge you to take a pocketful of STEAL SOMETHING FROM WORK stickers and head to the nearest factory, office, housing development, shopping center, or school.

Keep your eyes open–and when you see a STEAL SOMETHING FROM WORK DAY sticker, take a photograph of it! Email your photos to stealfromworkday@gmail.com and they’ll go up in the gallery. If you’re the private sort, start a new email from a public-access computer to send your photos. The person who sends the best photograph wins a gift package–to be mailed after April 15, of course. [Sample photo here.]

Steal Something From Work Day GOES VIRAL!

A new Facebook group is promoting STEAL SOMETHING FROM WORK DAY. Invite everyone you can–let’s dispel the stigma around reclaiming the product of our labor! This is a great place to upload photos and video, and to promote the campaign in general. Be sure to use common sense whenever using social mapping technologies like Facebook.

Steal Something From Work Day GOES INTERNATIONAL!

Thanks to capitalist globalization, it’s never been easier to get exploited by some profiteering corporation–nor to steal from one! Comrades as far away as Spain, Russia, and Bulgaria are getting ready for STEAL SOMETHING FROM WORK DAY.

Meanwhile, here in the US, employee theft is reclaiming $40 billion from corporate bloodsuckers annually, and increasing by 15% per year. Keep up the good work, America!

-

The 2010 Winter Olympics will take place in Vancouver & Whistler, on unceded Indigenous land, from February 12-28 2010. We call on all anti-capitalist, Indigenous, housing rights, labour, migrant justice, environmental, anti-war, community-loving, anti-poverty, civil libertarian, and anti colonial activists to come together to confront this two-week circus and the oppression it represents. We are organizing towards a global anti-capitalist and anti-colonial convergence against the 2010 Olympic Games.

STEAL SOMETHING FROM WORK DAY is a day of action, but it’s much more than that. The point is not so much to urge people to steal from their workplaces—employees of all ideological stripes already steal from their bosses without need of encouragement—as to raise awareness and promote dialogue about the means and causes of workplace theft. Imagine stickers and posters everywhere rendering the individualized action of workplace theft a topic of collective discussion. Imagine joking references to satirical websites spawning conversations about how coworkers can steal more and better together, and why they are entitled to. Imagine STEAL SOMETHING FROM WORK DAY.

This is an opportunity for anarchists to use the networks developed for mass mobilizations and summit protests to ignite class war on the terrain of daily life, where it matters most. Through humor and honesty, we can bring the contradictions present in practically everyone’s lives to the fore, forcing the issues our rulers and managers would rather brush under the rug. One website is already up, and more are on the way, along with videos, stickers, pins, posters, and more. For now, check these out:

Frequently Asked Questions
Posters and Other Promotional Materials
Press Office

Interviews and other inquiries are welcome to stealfromworkday@gmail.com. If you or your organization would like to participate in this campaign, please send in your endorsement, specifying whether you wish for your contact information to appear on the list of participants. Alternately, just make your own material and get it out there!

Grand juries exist to coerce civilians into providing information about themselves and others to law enforcement and intelligence agencies. They operate in secret; no judges or defense attorneys are present, and neither Constitutional rights nor conventional evidence-gathering protocol apply. Grand juries are frequently used to harass activists and dissidents; for example, a grand jury forced independent journalist Josh Wolf to serve 226 days in a federal prison simply for refusing to turn over a videotape he had shot at a demonstration.

Carrie was already called to appear before this grand jury on October 15, and refused to answer questions, reading a statement declaring that she had “no intention of testifying before this grand” on account of her personal convictions. It is possible that if she and Scott refuse to answer questions this Tuesday, they will be thrown in jail for up to a year.

Both Carrie and Scott have contributed immensely to their communities and to the struggle for a freer world. Among other projects, Carrie has worked with EWOK!, a Twin Cities group supporting environmentalist defendants and prisoners, and the Coldsnap Legal Collective, which has been instrumental in supporting arrestees from the 2008 RNC protests. In addition to his own involvement with EWOK! and the Anarchist Black Cross, Scott participates in Oyate Nipi Kte, a group dedicated to the liberation of the Dakota people and the rediscovery of their traditional ways of life, and the editorial board of the Dakota community journal Anpao Duta. If these two are kidnapped by the state, it will be a tremendous loss.

Supporters are calling for a phone-in day to pressure the prosecutor to leave them alone. This Monday, call US Attorney Cliff Cronk and demand that he dismiss the subpoenas. Let them know this harassment is unacceptable and will be met by popular outrage and opposition at every turn. Feel free to take up as much of their time as you can—they clearly feel entitled to waste ours.

Monday, November 16, 9 am to 4 pm Central Standard Time

US Attorney’s Office
Cliff Cronk: (563)449-5432

Support Webpage for Carrie and Scott

General Purpose Poster against cooperating with police investigations [PDF, 576k]

We’ve also designed a poster promoting the unpermitted mass march to downtown Pittsburgh scheduled for Thursday, September 24, which we predict will be the high point of the mobilization.

The recession has been acknowledged for a full year now; capitalism has been twisting the knife for centuries. As survival gets harder and the last illusions are dispelled, many people are looking around for alternatives. But few anarchists are presenting them, leaving the door open for fascists and other opportunists to capitalize on popular distress. It’s ironic that anarchist opposition to capitalist institutions—and anarchist emphasis on alternate lifestyles making the best of poverty—reached their peak a decade ago during a period of apparent prosperity, when they could be so much more persuasive today.

Since Obama’s election, some of us have waited impatiently for a chance to bring opposition to global capitalism back into the public eye. On September 24 and 25, the G20, twenty of the world’s most powerful governments, are convening in Pittsburgh, with the intention of presenting themselves as the ones who can solve the same crisis they have forced upon the rest of us. The summit will take place at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, supposedly “the world’s first and largest green convention center”; meanwhile, as if to dramatize the complicity between liberal governments, ecological devastation, and working class suffering, the International Coal Conference is scheduled to take place in Pittsburgh the preceding three days, September 21-23. This opportunity to connect the dots is being handed to anarchists on a platter—the question is whether we have the numbers, networks, and momentum to take advantage of it.

The G20 summit is calculated to cement the impression that Obama and his cronies run the only game in town when it comes to addressing economic and ecological crisis. It’s a media spectacle, but it has concrete effects: it enables the right wing to frame themselves as the opponents of the prevailing order, while isolating all who desire a different opposition. Effective anarchist resistance in Pittsburgh could shatter the illusion that Obama and his class represent the longings of the public for a better world, focusing attention on more radical responses to the present crises. It would show that anarchists are not simply the extremist fringe of the anti-Bush, anti-war movement, but that we have an entirely different program—perhaps the only hope for working and unemployed people, wild ecosystems, even life itself.

The Backstory on Anarchist Organizing in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh has a rich history of anarchist activity, extending back well into the 19th century. More recently, the Pittsburgh Organizing Group [POG] has made a name for itself as a long-running explicitly anarchist organization. Since summer of 2002, POG has taken the lead in the anti-war and global justice movements, utilizing every tactic from unpermitted marches and lockdowns to community picnics, and participating in mass mobilizations from the 2002 anti-IMF “People’s Strike” to last summer’s protests against the Republican National Convention. POG also carries out regular trainings, puts on speaking engagements, and publishes the semiannual journal Steel City Revolt, which sets the bar extremely high for local publications. In short, POG is one of the few effective anarchist organizing bodies to persist from the so-called “anti-globalization” era through the anti-war era into the Obama age.

POG has joined with several other local Pittsburgh organizations to build a broad-based mobilization against the September summit, forming the Pittsburgh G20 Resistance Project. This coalition has joined other groups organizing against the G20 to craft the Pittsburgh Principles, a solidarity agreement modeled on the historic St. Paul Principles from the mobilization against the 2008 RNC.

Infrastructure

As in prior mass mobilizations, volunteers are organizing various forms of infrastructure to support protesters. A group is coordinating housing for out-of-town participants. There is a legal number to report harassment and arrests, and a legal support group has formed to support arrestees and counter state repression. There are also groups focusing on providing food, preparatory trainings, and medical care in the street.

Days of Action

The Three Rivers Climate Convergence is organizing actions against the International Coal Conference September 21-23.

Thursday, September 24

The main event on the first day of the G20 is an unpermitted mass march on the building housing the summit meetings. This march will include contingents focusing on workers, students, and climate issues, as well as various musical groups and other feeder marches. It is a space for a diversity of tactics manifesting opposition to global capitalism.

The march begins at 2:30 p.m. in Arsenal Park, at 40th Street & Penn Avenue, in Lawrenceville.

Out-of-town participants should study the terrain the march will pass through in advance.

Friday, September 25

Capitalism is not simply imposed by a few heads of state; it is a decentralized system perpetuated at every level of society. Accordingly, on the second day of the summit, actions will take place throughout Pittsburgh targeting institutions that perpetrate the daily oppression and devastation of the capitalist economy. The Pittsburgh G20 Resistance Project has prepared a menu of suitable locations for such actions. Pick a location, plan your action, and come to Pittsburgh!

The idea is that all the actions will conclude at 11:30 a.m. sharp, whether they last for four hours or four minutes up to that moment.

How To Get Involved

-Form an affinity group, discuss what you’re ready to do, make plans for Thursday and Friday together, and come to Pittsburgh September 21-26. Consider organizing a fundraiser in advance and a speaking event upon your arrival home, to draw on community support and spread awareness of why you are going.

-For more information about the mobilization: www.resistg20.org

-Visit the Pittsburgh G2O Resistance convergence center at 4374 Murray Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15217. It’s at the corner of Murray and Hazelwood in Greenfield.

-Fliers and posters are available promoting the mobilization.

Promotional Poster

-
We’ve prepared a poster [2.3 MB PDF] promoting the unpermitted mass march in downtown Pittsburgh scheduled for Thursday, September 24, which we predict will be the high point of the mobilization.

Anyone with questions about what they need to bring or what items could be useful to our organizing can consult the list here, and those who want to share ideas beforehand or are looking for rides can coordinate on the Convergence forums. Any queries, concerns about the accessibility of the space, or offers of help can be sent to info@crimethincconvergence.com. Our website will be updated frequently in the next three weeks.

What follows is a initial list of some of the workshops that will be offered this year. Don’t think this gets you off the hook. We ask that everyone who plans to attend, in fact we demand, that each and every beautiful and unique individual coming to Pittsburgh doesn’t sit passively listening to others talk or perform; we couldn’t bear not being graced with your exceptional talents or insights as well.The convergence is like a giant potluck of epic proportions, and it requires that every single person bring something to share. If you are used to talking a lot in front of crowds and being in charge, challenge yourself further by supporting the efforts of others, or even presenting or performing something that goes beyond the limits of what you’ve done in the past. If you have a workshop to present please post on the forums or e-mail cwc.booking@gmail.com.

Pittsburgh Organizing Group’s Tactical Trainings
A locally based anarchist group will offer a series of workshops from their “tactical training initiative,” including Participating in a Mass Action 101, Lockboxes and Lockdown Devices, Beyond the Boardroom: A Workshop on Strategic Corporate Research, Working With The Media (for Anarchists), and An Introduction to the Global Political and Economic Frameworks. More info here.

The Organization and Benefits of Freeschools to Small Communities
An open discussion on Free Schools compared to other methods of organizing with a focus on small communities.

The GnuRadicals will offer a series of workshops on computer security, including: An “Introduction To Free Software,” which details the theory and history of Free Software and what that means for anarchists; a “Digital Security” workshop that outlines the state of the art in digital security, evading electronic surveillance, and communicating anonymously; an “Install-Fest” that walks participants through installing the necessary software on their computers; and a “Wireless Games” workshop that instructs participants on how to crack encrypted wireless networks, followed by a city-wide effort to crack and map as many as possible.  All convergence attendees should bring their laptops if they have one and would like to participate.

Squat 2 Own
A workshop about political squatting, experiences organizing around housing issues in the South and how these topics relate to homeless solidarity, foreclosures, big banks, human rights, etc. A documentary may be shown if facilities are available, and more info can be found here.

Urban Permaculture/Guerrilla Gardening
Examining the concepts and principles of permaculture and its application to an urban setting. Hands on projects will be part of the workshop, as well as an exploration of the theme of blending anarchist direct action with permaculture. Depending on supplies and proximity to appropriate spaces, guerrilla planting, mushroom log placing and rainwater barrels can happen after the workshop takes place.

Story-Games: Collaborative Creativity, Entertaining Each Other & Abandoning the Media Machine.
What are Story-Games? They look like a handful of people sitting around talking. Some have you inventing the next part of the story, some have you speaking for one of the characters in the fiction. First we’ll have a guided discussion about story in our lives, then a very accessable lecture on Story-Jamming, learning to say Yes, and How To Make It Up As You Go Along. Then we’ll play a few story-games. It will be easy and fun.

Carnival of Solidarity: Tapping into the Radical Potential of New Orleans Mardi Gras
Next Year’s Olympic protests in Vancouver (Feb 10-15) will be happening at the same time as the culmination of Carnival in New Orleans. We are considering the possibilities of organizing solidarity actions in New Orleans during that timeframe. Also, there is discussion of staging radical actions/ outreach amidst the backdrop of Carnival/Mardi Gras every year from now on. This idea is still in the beginning stages; so, the workshop will be partially a brainstorm/thinktank session.

Intro to Botany and Plant Morphology
We will examine evolutionary development of vascular plants, plant nutrient uptake/nutrient deficiencies, some plant propagation, and maybe if time allows looking into flowers/seeds and a quick tutorial on plant breeding and germination. A plant walk in a nearby forested area will follow, if time allows, or be a separate additional workshop.

Trans 101
A workshop on gender as a social construction, transgender issues with healthcare, trans involvement in the LGBT community as a whole, and looking at ways to generally promote the visibility of the trans community.

Urban Hunting and Gathering
How to acquire and encourage wild and feral foods in an urban setting. We will cover animal processing (field dressing, using all parts of an animal, hide tanning, meat preservation), basic hunting and trapping strategies, medicinal and edible plants commonly found in urban areas, and whatever else folks want to discuss.

Herbalist Q & A
Come ask questions and I’ll do my best to answer them! Anything from abortions to headaches to medicine making.

Basic Medical Training
A workshop on basic emergency medicine, covering chemical burns, infection prevention, reduction of dislocations, blunt trauma and broken bones. Perspectives from alternative/holistic approaches will be given as well as from an experienced EMT.

Anti-Semitism in the Anarchist Millieu
Exploring and exposing the unfortunate propensity for anti-semitism in the anarchist milieu – presenting a few tenuous proposals for attacking this with more than just good intentions.

Convergence Reading Group
A contemporary yet classic anarchist text will be distributed to anyone interested at the beginning of the Convergence and near the end we will facilitate a discussion based on our reading. Feeling limited by the workshop format, this will be an attempt to give participants a common thread that extends beyond the alloted time. A discussion about people’s successes and failures in starting and continuing anarchist reading groups in their local communities will follow, or be a separate workshop altogether.

Community Autonomy: Building Networks and Infrastructure
A collective brainstorm on how we can build a network of communities that identify with the movement toward radical sustainability, and how we can build new infrastructure, both physical and social, that can move us toward greater autonomy from oppressive institutions. More info about the presenters here.

Musical Instrument Skillshare and Construction
A positive and encouraging space will be facilitated for folks to learn how to play instruments the want to learn about and teach about ones they know about. This workshop will also aim to create a marching band out of interested attendees to perform later on during the week.

Radical History Bike Tour
Local Pittsburghers will lead a bike tour through the city, visiting the many points of intense radical history that touched these streets. From the site of the Homestead strikes, to the tunnel that Emma Goldman and her comrades tried digging into the prison, to the armory that William Weisiss tried to raid, to the place where the knife that Alexander Berkman tried to stab Frick with is kept. We will have some bikes on hand, but please bring a bike with you if possible.

We’ve also got folks planning discussions on disability issues bringing their personals experiences, a Graffiti Walk, morning yoga, rewilding skills like sling-making, a workshop on basic vehicle mechanics, and a facilitated discussion on writing and editing.

In addition to the workshops there will be evening fun playing urban capture the flag, a radio powered treasure hunt adventure, an epic dance party, a puppet show, spontaneous games of all stripes and an inventive Hat Band that can hopefully expand upon this longstanding international tradition. Since we’ve chosen an urban location this year we’re planning a short swimming retreat out of town, and on Saturday July 25th the Convergence will help boost Pittsburgh’s new monthly Really Really Free Market (bring anything you can to give away!). Ambitious plotting is in the works for other activities, but remember that these can only succeed with the self-motivation and self-direction of the attendees. And so that is what we ask you to bring to Pittsburgh in three weeks time; we can hardly wait to see what you have in store.

Remember, meet at the Northside Commons (W. North Ave. and Brighton) by the pond, on Monday, July 20, anytime between 12 pm and sundown.

Next time, we’ll be able to announce more workshops!

Appendix: Another Tour to the Convergence

Froseph is going on yet another tour revolving around this summer’s convergence. The Wild Nettle Bookmobile, Winona, Minnesota’s anarchist literature distributer will also be along for the ride. Check out their new website! Along with the usual goods, The Wild Nettle Bookmobile hopes to raise some much needed legal funds for the RNC 8, the MKE 3 and Bash Back!. The dates are listed below. The ones marked “(help!)” are not confirmed. If you live in or around those places and would like to host this tour, please email froseph@crimethinc.com.

June:
23-Madison, WI at the Lothlorien Coop w/Thistle
25-Kalamazoo, MI
26-Detroit, MI at the Trumbellplex w/Ghost Mice and Heathers
27-Ann Arbor, MI (help!)
28-Toledo, OH
29-Cleveland, OH
30-Columbus, OH

July:
1-Dayton, OH (help!)
2-Athens, OH at Brown Town
3-Frederick, MD
4-Baltimore (help!)
5-9-Philadelphia July 5-9 (help!)
9-13-Punxsutawney, PA July 9-13
13-27-Pittsburgh, PA CrimethInc. Convergence
29-Lexington, KY benefit for Hugh
30-Louisville, KY (help!)
31-Bloomington, IN (help!)

August:
1-Evansville, IN
2-St. Louis, MO (help!)
3-Kansas City, MO (help!)
4-Lawrence, KS (help!)
5-Omaha, NE (help!)
6-Des Moines, IA

We hadn’t planned on this—perhaps we’d forgotten that we are in a war that is constantly unfolding, that doesn’t permit truce or respite. It’s hard to bear in mind at all times how much depends on us, to remember that we are responsible for making the kind of resistance we want to participate in come about in our lifetime. At the same time, we can’t only react to our enemies, even when they are constantly provoking us—we must also take the time to develop long-term relationships and projects, or else we’ll never be able to take the initiative.

So what will the convergence in Pittsburgh look like?

From Barnstorming to Barn-Raising . . .

Originally, our plans for this summer’s convergence were simple enough. Having perfected our previous format, the wilderness retreat, we were going to experiment with a new model. Staging our eighth convergence in an urban setting, we hoped to pioneer a way for a transitory nationwide event to contribute permanent infrastructure to ongoing local organizing.

Accordingly, we looked around for a building to purchase in Pittsburgh, with the intention of converting it into a working social center in the course of the gathering. As capitalism continues to decimate entire regions, it is up to us to collectivize the abandoned resources and demonstrate that our alternative can succeed where the so-called free market has failed. We’ve spent enough time talking about how things could be different—we have to find ways to make them different.

. . . and Back into the Teeth of the Storm

But the context looks a little different now that the G20 is slated for Pittsburgh. We can expect more pressure from our enemies, so some of our original plans may be more difficult to carry out. At the same time, we are still committed to organizing a convergence dedicated as much to building and questioning as to conflict with the state. This convergence will provide a wide range of points of departure—from a free health care clinic that will function for the course of the event to direct action trainings that will remain useful long after the G20 meetings, and everything else you can imagine as well.

The G20 does not make Pittsburgh any more or less an epicenter of capitalism than it already was. Even before Obama picked it as a shining model of economic recovery, Pittsburgh suffered from gentrification, structurally imposed white supremacy, and all the other scourges of a hierarchical society. These forces must be fought constantly and on a wide range of levels, not simply at global trade summits—though summits, too, offer a chance to fight, and this might be a historic opportunity.

All who are interested in the G20 protests should think critically about what they want out of them and begin talking about how to make those dreams come true. Pittsburgh is about to host a local meeting to discuss the infrastructure and format for the protests; we urge other interested communities to hold their own consultas, so by the time we see each other in July we will be able to compare notes.

Anarchists—whether or not you are invested in the G20 mobilization, we beseech you to bring your talents and projects to Pittsburgh this July. It has never been more important for us to find one another, to make something happen, to demonstrate all the different ways we can resist this world and create another. Help us write the next chapter in the struggle for our lives.

Call for Workshops, Skillshares, and Presentations!

If you would like to present a workshop, organize a discussion, show a film, or otherwise usefully engage the attention of other participants, please send us a description of your plans, and stipulate any limitations or requests.

email cwc.booking@gmail.com

Call for Workshop and Discussion REQUESTS!

This year, we will set aside time for people to present workshops on things they know about, and set aside a separate time for people who have questions they wish answered to share those. Formulate a question you’ve always wanted help with, and bring it to share with others.

For example: Were there women involved in the anarchist resistance in the Ukraine? (The answer is yes.) Are prisoners better off under Obama? (Unfortunately, the answer is no.) How do I get the alarm tags off the shoes at Exploitation Incorporated? (Come to Pittsburgh and find out!)

Alternately, it could be a question that has no easy answer, but that you are excited to discuss with others: Is polyamory inescapably wedded to drama? What agency, if any, can we have in bringing about a worldwide revolutionary struggle?

For best results, email your question to us now, so people can be thinking about it in advance: cwc.booking@gmail.com

Call for Nighttime Entertainment!

Calling all performers: all musicians, all poets, drag troupes and puppeteers, all storytellers, all choreographed dance teams, comedians and surrealists, to participate in the Convergence Cabaret—a nightlong variety show, a spectacular spectacle showcasing all of your weird and wild talent.

AND . . . with no nighttime fire to gather around, we’re looking to put together some participatory, performative, exciting social spaces EVERY evening. Do you have a play to perform or one to cast during the convergence? Are you coming with your genderfucking square dance band? Contact us with your entertainment ideas, small and large.

Email cwc.booking@gmail.com to sign-up.

Call for Help! We Need the Following Resources . . .

If you can share any of these resources in advance, or any others that might be useful, please email info@crimethincconvergence.com:

Store credit for Home Depot and Lowes
Bike repair tools and bike parts
A generator

Food stamps
Condiments
Shipments or deliveries of specialized goods (e.g., boxes of Odwalla bars, cliff bars, etc.)
Spices
Tremendous quantities of food

Kitchen equipment
Rocket stoves
Propane blasters
Water coolers
Carafes

A massage table
Herbal tinctures
First aid supplies
Rubbing alcohol
Large bandages
Tape
Cotton balls
Emergen-C packets

Costume materials
Art supplies
Fabric

Bookshelves
Racks (as in ’zine racks!)
Milk crates
Cinder blocks
Wooden boards

Gardening equipment
Seeds and starts, fruit trees, etc.

Children’s toys

Free literature

What Should I Bring?

Urban camping gear (sleeping bag, sleeping pad), musical instruments, a laptop if you have one and wish to use it in the computer-based workshops, a bicycle (really useful!), mix tapes and seeds to swap, picture frames, gifts for other convergence attendees, ideas, games, workshops, much more . . .

Tours to the Convergence

We’ve been notified of a couple tours heading to the convergence. If you wish us to announce yours, email us about it. Here is a description of one such tour:

The cutthroat revolutionary puppeteers of The Mysterious Rabbit puppet Army are going on a one month tour to help do their part to overthrow the ruling social order. They will be performing several shows, including:

Donny Don’t—A puppet show about security culture
Jack and the Beanstalk—A dramatic anti-capitalist retelling of the old fairy tale
Little Red Riding Hood—An animal-centric look at a familiar story
The Mysterious Rabbit Puppet Army’s Guide To Landing Your Dream Job—Practical tips for weathering the storm

They’ll be distributing an absurd quantity of ’zines, posters, stickers, and books. If you live in a small town anywhere along the tour route and would like them to perform there, that can be arranged. To reach them for further information about any of these shows, or to invite them to your town, email rabbitarmy@live.com.

MYSTERIOUS RABBIT PUPPET ARMY TOUR

Tuesday July 14th Richmond, VA
Wednesday July 15th Washington, D.C.
Thursday July 16th Baltimore, MD
Friday July 17th Philadelphia, PA
Saturday July 18th New Haven, CT
Sunday July 19th Allentown, PA
July 20th through 26th CrimethInc. Convergence
Monday July 27th Athens, OH
Tuesday July 28th Off
Wednesday July 29th Columbus, OH
Thursday July 30th Off
Friday July 31st Bloomington, IN
Saturday August 1st Off
Sunday August 2nd Louisville, KY
Monday August 3rd Off
Tuesday August 4th Nashville, TN
Wednesday August 5th Off
Thursday August 6th Asheville, NC
Friday August 7th Charlotte, NC
Saturday August 8th Greensboro, NC
Sunday August 9th Chapel Hill, NC

Next Time . . .

. . . We’ll announce some of the events scheduled for the convergence, offer a rudimentary schedule, and drop some hints as to our other plans. To contribute or make suggestions, please email cwc.booking@gmail.com and info@crimethincconvergence.com.

Remember, meet at the Northside Commons (W. North Ave. and Brighton) by the pond, on Monday, July 20. The convergence runs July 20-26.

As a humble gesture of solidarity, the next issue of our biannual journal Rolling Thunder will include a report on Chilean resistance movements over the past decade; we hope this will provide more context for and awareness of the Chilean situation for readers around the world. As we did for our coverage of the Ungdomshuset and G8 protests, we are soliciting anonymous accounts from participants in the past decade of social struggles in Chile to fill out our coverage.

If you have experiences you are willing to share or can direct us to publicly available narratives, please contact us at rollingthunder@crimethinc.com. Those who have privacy concerns should consider starting a new email account on a public-access computer.

Please circulate this statement anywhere it may be relevant. Thank you.

Rolling Thunder Busca Relatos De Chile

Después de la muerte de un anarquista alegado por los medios capitalistas transportar un artefacto explosivo, una oleada de represión estatal está llegando a Chile. Mandamos nuestras condolencias a lxs que han perdido un amigo, y nuestro apoyo a lxs que todavía sufren bajo un aparato represivo que no ha cambiado a fondo desde el mando de Pinochet. Nos preocupa el peor todavía viene, como el estado chileno probablemente utilizará el hecho como un pretexto para más allanamientos, detenciones, y hostigamiento.

Como un gesto humilde de solidaridad, la próxima edición de nuestra revista bianual Rolling Thunder incluirá un reportaje sobre los movimientos de resistencia en Chile durante la ultima década; esperamos que dé más contexto y conocimiento a la actualidad en Chile para los lectores por todo el mundo. Como hicimos para nuestro reportaje sobre las protestas de Ungdomshuset y G8 buscamos los relatos anónimos de participantes durante la ultima década de las luchas sociales en Chile para llenar nuestro reportaje.

Si tienes algunas experiencias que estás dispuestx compartir o sino puedes indicar unos relatos ya publicados y disponibles, por favor contáctanos a rollingthunder@crimethinc.com. Para la gente con preocupaciones de seguridad debe abrir una cuenta nueva de correo electrónico en un computador publico (como un cibercafé).

Por favor que difundan esta declaración donde puede ser relevante. Salud.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since the first CrimethInc. convergence in August 2002. We’ve witnessed a protracted war and occupation, an economic crisis, and most recently a change—however superficial—of rulers. We have come full circle from being isolated dissidents in a time of patriotic consensus to seeing our radical critique co-opted by politicians at the very moment our neighbors are becoming aware of the injustices of capitalism and empire.

Seven convergences later, we have reduced the limitless possibilities of the format we first tested to a precise science. We’re in a different social context now, and it’s time to debut a new experiment.

As the economic downturn affects the geography of urban centers, tremendous spaces are opening up that could become new sites of autonomy and struggle. This year, rather than gathering in a wilderness setting to nurture our subversive desires in seclusion, we will stage our convergence in the decaying metropolis of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We hope that this event can contribute to building long-term infrastructure for our culture of resistance.

This will be nothing like the urban anarchist conferences of the past decade–no antiseptic university setting, no dispersing to isolation in individual meals and housing at the end of the scheduled programming. We will actively contest the city environment in an effort leave a permanent mark upon it, just as we hope to contest the rituals and informal hierarchies of the anarchist milieu.

All spring, rumors have circulated about the secret plans of the contingent in Pittsburgh organizing this event. What’s this about squatting a castle? Is it true that they’re buying a giant warehouse in the city center? Will we be building a hammock village spread across empty lots? There aren’t actually catacombs in Pittsburgh, are there?

We’ll have more news here shortly. In the meantime, here are fliers announcing the event {2-up Handbill [2.6MB] & Full-page Flyer [2.4MB]}–please disseminate them everywhere you can. There also a rudimentary website at www.crimethincconvergence.com, which will be expanded soon.

Finally, here are the policies for this summer’s convergence, which have been thoughtfully revised by the locals bottomlining the event. If you are frustrated about any of them, please organize your own event!

Policies

Respect: We ask for your respect for the building and the local area. We aim for the convergence to be a positive, constructive force in Pittsburgh. Exercise discretion, friendliness, and respect while interacting with the local community. Please, no aimless graffiti, public urination, late night loudness, or similar activity likely to attract negative attention. Whatever you’re doing, please keep in mind that the convergence needs to fly somewhat under the radar to come off successfully. Do not put the convergence or its attendees at risk through careless or insensitive behavior, and do not give the cops reasons to interact with the convergence. There are plenty of times to sow mayhem; this convergence is a time to create a safe community space that will hopefully exist long into the future.

Consent: Any interaction you have with others here, whether sexual or otherwise, should be consensual. Silence and passivity do not count as consent. If someone says no to something or is unsure and you badger them until they say yes, that’s not consent; if someone is intoxicated they may not be in a position to give you consent. If someone says you violated their wishes, that counts as breach of consent, whatever a court of law would say. By the same token, don’t define others’ experiences for them: the person who has an experience gets to decide whether or not their wishes were respected in it, and also what, if anything, the community should do about it.

Security: Security is a consent issue just as much as sex is. Don’t say or do anything that puts others at risk unless you have their express permission; don’t speak about their involvement in illegal activity or endanger them by your own actions. Be aware that you may be under observation by your enemies at all times. Don’t alienate others by speculating about whether they are informants or ostracizing them based on suspicion; at the same time, don’t put yourself at risk by trusting people just because they’re here. Also, please don’t needlessly break the law, as that will cause trouble for all of us; there will plenty of time after this week to hone your criminal skills. Food, shelter, and everything else you might want are already provided here.

Pronouns: Part of respecting each other means respecting our varied and infinite gender identities. In the pursuit of making this convergence a safer space for people of all genders, its vitally important to respect one another’s pronouns. The world of gender is a huge and complicated terrain, but it can be more easily navigable with some simple guidelines: Don’t assume someone’s gender simply based on your perception. Ask! People will be glad you did. Make sure to refer to people by their chosen gender (or non-gendered) pronouns. If you mess up, apologize and work on that in the future. If in doubt, “they” works wonders.

Drinking and Drugs: There is a strict policy of no alcohol or drug use during the convergence. This is for several reasons, but the most important are to comply with the express wishes of our hosts and to avoid giving the authorities a pretext for harassing us. An urban convergence is particularly challenging in this regard. With the possibility that convergence attendees will scatter throughout the city at various points during the week, the ’site’ of the convergence is not as clearly defined as in past years. It is for this reason that we ask that convergence attendees remain sober for as long as they intend on taking part in convergence activities. There is no judgment or morality attached to this policy; the last thing we want is an obvious division between people who drink and people who don’t. If you smoke cigarettes, please do not do so inside the building and do not congregate in front it; our concern is with the safety of the building, not personal habits. Also, please do not scatter cigarette butts on the street.

Building Safety: Please be hyper-vigilante about fire hazards: no flames, incense, candles, lanterns, flammable liquids, fire dancing tools, stoves, or anything similar may be brought inside the building. Be aware that the building’s unfinished condition can create safety hazards for attendees as well.

Photographs: Don’t photograph anyone or anything without permission—this is also an issue of consent and respect. Bear in mind that the density of an urban convergence makes this challenging.

Money: Nothing is bought or sold at the Convergence. Occasionally people have asked for donations for items as benefits for political prisoners or projects. This is fine in small doses, but generally the Convergence shouldn’t be a place where a lot of money changes hands.

Non-humans: Attendees may not bring dogs or other pets to the convergence space or to convergence events. Given the space constraints and safety considerations of an urban convergence, no exceptions can be made.

Exclusion: Because this convergence should be a safe space for everyone, people who violate these policies may be asked to leave. In cases of breach of consent, both sexual and security, we will 1) trust the survivor and 2) abide by the survivor’s wishes. For example, if you gave information to the police about someone without their permission and they don’t want you in this space, we will ask you to leave; likewise, if you have sexually assaulted someone and they are comfortable with you being here as long as you participate in a mediated discussion about their boundaries during this event, we will ask you to do so, or else to leave. This is not a matter of permanently excluding “undesirables” from the anarchist movement, but simply of making things work in a limited space for a limited time. People can be asked to leave the convergence without being exiled from our communities. If anything, this simply provides an incentive for individuals and communities to work out their conflicts in advance of events like this, so we won’t all have to deal with unresolved conflicts here.

Some of us, however, felt limited by this flight. We dreamed of building an anarchist castle out of the derelict abandonment right under our enemies’ noses. Hundreds would arrive to help us paint a masterpiece upon our canvas of rubble: workshops, meeting halls, libraries, performance spaces, gardens, and orchards would be constructed out of ruins and wreckage. We’d supply food, shelter, and so much more; like before, we would exchange stories, ideas, laughter, and dance moves with the maniac nomads, eloquent criminals, and dedicated rebels who descended upon our city for a week of chaos and feverish activity. The beauty of this dream was that at the end of it all, some of us could stay; for another week, a season, a year, or maybe even the rest of our lives. It never had to end.

We held onto this plan in secret, believing it to be impossible. Our dream was fraught with complications and seemed doomed to fail. It remained a fantastical plot we lacked the daring to attempt. Until now.

Save the date, July 20-26, Pittsburgh, PA, and stay tuned for more details.

“Jeff Luers has at last entered his final year in prison thanks to a sentence reduction from his appeal. He is thinking ahead and making plans for an education and is excited to start his life again. Your help and donations are needed to help Jeff now as well as to start an education and release fund for him.

“In addition to other items, a new Free Jeff Luers benefit cd compilation is available from freefreenow.org for only $10. This CD contains tracks from some of Jeff’s favorite musicians. All the songs were donated by independent folk artists and punk rockers who are also Jeff’s supporters: Casey Neill, Tch Kung!, Dana Lyons, Spring, Desert Rat, Francine Allen, Happy Bastards, Lonesome Shack, Grand Prix, David Rovics, Mill a h-Uille Rud, and Thunder Craig.”