CVille Anarchism

CrimethInc. Presents: Capitalism and Resistance in the 21st Century
A discussion drawing on our new book, Work
Thursday 8/25 5:30 at RANDOM ROW BOOKS\
Click image for more info

Show them who's boss: No One.

After so much technological progress, why do we have to work more than ever before? Why does the old labor movement seem to be powerless to stop the new assault on workers? Can capitalism survive another century of crises? And how do we get out of this mess?

Please join us for a high-energy discussion of these questions and more. We’ll focus on the ways capitalism has changed over the past few decades, and scrutinize recent examples of resistance in the US and overseas to propose anti-capitalist strategies for the 21st century.

www.crimethinc.com/work

Anarchists must rethink their political forecasts and revolutionary
strategies as we face the converging crises of energy depletion, climate
change and economic instability. In this talk, activist and writer Uri
Gordon examines some of the questions opened up by the prospect of
industrial collapse over the coming generations, and asks what
consequences this has for anarchists and their allies today. Presentation
followed by open discussion.

Uri Gordon is an Israeli environmental and anti-occupation activist, and
a writer on anarchist politics. He is active with the Negev Coexistence
Forum and Anarchists Against the Wall, and teaches at the Arava Institute
- an environmental studies program with Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian
and American students. He is author of the book “Anarchy Alive!”, which
examines central debates in the anarchist movement today.

EDIT: Location changed. Location is now TBA.

As a supplement to the efforts of Workers and Students United (WASU) some folks will be doing a Direct Action workshop on Monday, April 4th at 8pm, TBA. WASU will hold a brief meeting and the workshop will follow. All are invited!

From the IWW, to Seattle, to Egypt, that phrase has always rung true

Some topics covered include:
- What is Direct Action? Examples?
- Why use it?
- Where do we stand in terms of the efficiency/inefficiency, confrontation/non-confrontation, etc. of specific tactics and how do we use a strategic diversity of tactics?
- How is it put into practice? (affinity groups, decision-making, dealing with police, etc.)
- Existing and potential uses for Charlottesville

Here’s some resources to get you ahead:

- Methods of Struggle: Anarcho-Syndicalist Tactics – Broad resource guide on all aspects of organizing coming from an anarcho-syndicalist (worker-based) perspective
- What is an Affinity Group? – Affinity groups are the basic unit of anti-authoritarian organizing and direct actions. This discusses the mere basics.
- Quick Guide to Consensus – Consensus decision-making is one of the most common structures for affinity groups to make decisions before, during, and after actions.
- Egypt Today, Tomorrow the World – an analysis of the Egyptian uprising, which by itself is a great example of the breadth and depth direct action can have today across the globe.

Credit goes to Rachel Atcheson for all the pics!

Thanks everyone who made the bookfair possible through help, workshops, or just showing up!

Throughout this week, we’ll be changing the website to a hub for news, texts, and organizing for anarchists in Charlottesville and beyond.  Stay in touch!  Our new e-mail is now cvilleanarchism@gmail.com.

Here’s some events that will be coming up in the future (add any other ones in the comment section!):

- March 31st – Day of Action in Solidarity with the Wisconsin struggle

- April 15-17th – Weekend of Resistance Against the IMF and the World Bank http://imfresistance.org/

- May 1st – May Day: International Day of Workers’ Struggles http://maydayrva.org/

In love and solidarity,

The C’Ville Bookfair Crew

Read on! There are so many great texts out there!

First:

The Charlottesville Community Childcare Collective will be making its grand debut during the bookfair!  E-mail them at cvillecommunitychildcare@gmail.com for inquiries.  Here’s a post from their blog:

Charlottesville Community Childcare will be providing child care at an event for the first time this Saturday.  We will be hanging out with kids at the Anarchist Book Fair from 1 – 7 pm, and we cannot wait!  The fair is being held at Random Row Books and the Garage, and we are excited to be able to welcome children to the event.  We also cannot wait to meet lots of other people who may be interested and willing to share ideas.  Perhaps we’ll see you there!  We’ll be the ones covered in paint/chalk and playing with legos.

Second:

Shirts everywhere!  Different colors!  Get ‘em at the bookfair!  Pre-order some through e-mail?

Bonus anarchy points if you can guess where the picture's from

The funds will go towards bookfair expenditures (printing and merch), gas money for long-distance travelers, and the remainder will go towards local projects like the blooming Charlottesville Prison Books Collective.

We’re also getting buttons, courtesy of the Dream City Collective in DC!

Here’s a few things we thought would be useful to help you get here:

Most of the events will be happening at Random Row Books (315 West Main Street, Charlottesville, VA) and the film screenings will be hosted at the Garage (across 1st street NW from Lee Park)

Getting into Town
-We have an Amtrak Station, Greyhound Station (across the street from Random Row!) and a small airport
-if you’re driving, we’re an hour west of Richmond and 2.5 hours southwest of DC

While you’re in Town:
-the two places that the bookfair is held are very close to one another
-most of the places that are offering housing are pretty close by
-there is a free trolley that runs on a loop between the University and Downtown
-there are quite a few buses: the University ones are free, most of the town ones aren’t
-feel free to ask us for help if you’re confused!

Hi Everyone!

The Charlottesville Anarchist Bookfair is less than a week away! I hope you’re all as excited as we are.

Some of you have asked if there’s anything you can do to help us. We definitely have a few things that we need done, and would love your help.

If you’re local:
-help us flyer (anywhere, anytime, but especially other Festival of the Book events and radical events/spaces in town)
-host out of town people! We’ve got a lot of people coming into town who need a place to stay for a night or two- bed, floor and couch space would be appreciated
-tell your friends, professors, peers, clients, roommates, coworkers, partners and people you run into on the street and facebook friends

If you’re from out of town:
-invite folks from your town!
-offer up rides to other people

Please contact us: cvilleanarchistbookfair@gmail.com to help us out with these things!

Also, if you need anything (housing, childcare, etc) please let us know and we will work to accommodate you.)

Thanks so much + see you soon!

Hi y’all!

So in case you haven’t heard, anarchists, homeless folks, students, and others are now going into their 8th day of occupation at the Monroe Park in Richmond, VA.  They set up a small camp site on their first day and have made it through and expanded out with semi-permanent structures to establish a free, safe, and truly public space for everyone in downtown Richmond.

Well, Obama said "Yes We Can", so...

Recently RVA cops busted up some other homeless camps in town and those folks are now staying at the Monroe Park occupation, so the occupiers need camping supplies like: tents, tarps, blankets, and sleeping bags plus anything else that would make their time easier.  In the spirit of solidarity, we’ll be holding a supply drive throughout the bookfair for Monroe Park.  Lots of Richmond folks are coming, so they can just take it along.  Visit http://monroeparkoccupation.wordpress.com/ for more info and many videos and pictures!

Please bring what you can, if not, then save it up for actions in our town

Note from organizer:  We made this short list for the welcome packet of the Bookfair, however, one individual thought it was relevant enough as generic framework/principles for future anarchist events, so they posted it up on the internet.

Things to do while at the bookfair space:

1. Get to know the organizers, publishers, and strangers present. Make new friends, we’ve been intentional about making this a priority.

2. Say hello and thanks to all those who helped put this together: those from Random Row, the Charlottesville Community Childcare Collective, the bookfair organizers, Joyful Dissent folks, everyone who offered housing, and countless other folks.

3. Be respectful, y’all. This includes respecting genders; don’t be afraid to ask what pronouns someone prefers to be referred to by or to state your own preferences.

4. To those anarchists present with some sort of personal tension between them: use the chance to talk out differences, let out frustrations, or otherwise do anything constructive to keep things from hurting the actual flow of the event. It is all too often personal drama gets in the way of mutual organization.

o That said, there’s a big difference between “personal drama” and “personal violence”.  Serious issues like sexual assault, racist bigotry, queer/trans-phobia, etc. are the opposite of personal drama in that they not only get in the way of organizing when their effects are kept silent, but also are what we are committed to working against. When we say “drama” we mean fussing over tactical differences, gossip, snobbery, etc.

5. Walk around, enjoy yourself.

6. Scheme and organize!

Things NOT to do while at the bookfair space:

1. Be an uniformed cop, undercover cop, informant, or a snitch. Anarchists have a long history with these folks and it isn’t pretty.

2. Make assumptions about knowledge levels, gender, comfort levels, abilities, etc.

3. Hang out only with those who look like you and talk like you.

4. Keep all of your ideas and dreams bottled up in your head and/or blog

Also:

Please respect the spaces you walk around, whether as privileged folks strolling around isolated working class neighborhoods, guests sleeping over at someone’s house,or just human beings coming into a town you know little of. Use the bookfair as a chance to ask locals about Charlottesville and its history.

PS.  Check out this Crimethinc article on the Wisconsin situation (click image):

Let's work to have one that says "Virginia". There's way too many reasons to do so.

(Written by an organizer who heard this from the folks at Random Row.  This is the individual organizer’s view only and it is not attached to any organization or establishment)

Don’t worry, nothing horrible… the bookfair’s still on

Thank you, people who stay calm with interrogatory cops

On Wednesday, March 9th, 2011  Random Row Books received a visit from the Charlottesville Police Department inquiring about the nature of the folks who’d be here and if we we’re gonna have security.  Now, as an anarchist who’s had a share of experiences and run-ins with “curious” cops, your fellow organizer  figured right away that they’re fishing for excuses to get in the way of the bookfair’s success, which is a way-too-common story for US anarchists.

But it turns out they asked that because they thought “anarchist” meant there were gonna be “militant christians” and “white supremacists” present and they were sent by higher-ups to investigate.  So either they genuinely think anarchist is equated with that, or they’re looking for an excuse to stick their fingers on our business, or they’ve done their homework and have caught up on the history of fascists and racists crashing on events and marches held by anarchists (usually with the aid of cops)… I’ll let you guess which one you think is likelier because I honestly can’t guess.  We still expect them to be hovering around the event space regardless.

Whatever the case, we’re not in trouble.  The bookfair is still happening, and it will be awesome.  Your fellow organizer will use this story as a chance to remind everyone that cops are not an anarchist’s friend, nor the friend of anyone who’s lived a life of struggle.  Yes, the human behind the badge might be a friend theoretically, but as long as there is someone like the police who’s job it is to stand between those who struggle for dignity and those in power who live off of them, we will have conflict whether we ask for it or not.  The bookfair is a chance to learn about the history of such conflicts and to discuss how those conflicts play out today in our communities.

Please click on the picture above, anarchists from the Iron Rail infoshop in New Orleans have met a much more dire fate, and need support.

Here’s some resources on cops, please read them:

- Anarchist Survival Guide for Understanding Gestapo Swine Interrogation Mind Games

- If a Cop Tries to Talk to You

- The Police – a poster from Crimethinc.