Author: Conflict MN

Anonymous submission to Conflict Minnesota

49 dead, 53 others injured. The massacre in Orlando, Florida was a horrifying reminder of the world we live in. A world that would love nothing more than to see us dead. We’re used to this. We were used to in when the NYPD attacked the Stonewall Inn. We were used to it when Ronald Reagan turned a blind eye and ignored us as AIDS slowly and methodically slaughtered us by the tens of thousands. We were used to it when we were kicked out of our homes and put out on the street for being brave enough to come out. We were used to it when Cece Macdonald was prosecuted for defending herself against racist transphobes. We were used to it when we saw our friends committing suicide and no one seemed to care. But just because we’re used to it doesn’t mean we are any less angry. On the contrary, we are fucking pissed. We’re pissed off that the State has focused on Omar Mateen’s religion and not on his toxic masculinity. We’re pissed off that 49 of our Latinx queer and trans siblings were murdered and the only thing that is going to come of it is more bombs dropped on innocent people overseas. We’re pissed off that the conversation has turned towards gun control that would only give the state even more repressive power during a time when arming for self-defense seems to be the only rational choice in the face of a potential Trump presidency or more of the same neoliberalism, mass incarceration, and police terrorism under Hillary Clinton. We’re pissed off because we’re sick of being killed just for trying to exist.

But we’re not ones for standing by and just venting our frustrations and then going on about our day unphased. We can’t abide that. So a couple of us decided to go out last night and paint the town black. This is just the first step though. We want anyone who reads this to be inspired to take action on their own, we encourage you readers to take autonomous actions on behalf of our siblings who were murdered in Orlando and so many others who will die due to the structural violence of racism, transphobia, and patriarchy. But most importantly, we want you to get organized. Because while on our own we might just be a weak little twig, but when we bundle together well…you know the rest.

Anonymous submission to Conflict Minnesota

Today on June 11th many people came out to enjoy music and raise money for those blockading the Dakota Access Pipeline. With the complicity (however passive) of onlookers, a handful of posters were pasted nearby while the hot sun still shone brightly.

The poster contains an excerpt from “Accomplices Not Allies” by Indigenous Action Media. This powerful quote summarizes the poverty of the logic of allyship. Allies are passive supporters who follow orders of the leadership of the “Community” they are an ally to. Recently the language of accomplices has been taken and used for the same logic. Accomplices must listen to the leadership of the “Communtiy” they are an accomplice too. This quote, and it’s pairing with the image of a burning police car as in the original publication, hits back at the all-too-often pacifist distortions of allies and even accomplices. To be clear: the problem is not if you call yourself an ally or accomplice, but the the acceptance or refusal of subordination to the others on their identity alone (almost exclusively NGO politicians).

If you would say, a few posters is a pathetic act of solidarity, well you would not be alone. To those who react in this way, you are invited to upstage these wheat-pasters. This should not be a difficult task. Make a game of it. If solidarity with Water Warriors is not for you, find your motivation elsewhere. Attacks on the colonial machine do not need to be particular.

Attached is the poster file to print yourself along with instructions for use. As advised, stay safe.

Anonymous submission to Conflict Minnesota

On May 1st, 2016 people from around the world commemorated International Workers and Immigrants Rights Day. What began as an explosion of violent rebellion in an industrial district of Chicago in response to police killing striking workers fighting for the 8 hour work day has become an international holiday where the fires of Haymarket are reignited time and time again. In Seattle, the demonstrations took a radical turn that has become almost ritualistic in that city. Anarchists clashed with police and bravely fought back against pepper spray and concussion grenades with rocks, bottles, fireworks, and police even allege that molotov cocktails were used. 9 arrests were made and 5 police were injured. In Chicago 19 protesters were arrested after a noise demo in front of the Cook County Correctional Facility. Here in Minneapolis, we know about state repression. Movements such as AIM, Black Lives Matter, the IWW, and the RNC Welcoming Committee have all experienced state repression that attempting to squash these movements for liberation from capitalism. Trust us when we say that we have no love for the police here, especially after the ruthless killing of Jamar Clark. In response to this police repression, a highway overpass and retention wall were redecorated with antagonist slogans:

ACAB

ATTACK CAPITALISM

MPLS 2 SEATTLE – WE GOT YOUR BACK!

Solidarity with the arrested anarchists in Seattle, Chicago, and everywhere else! Rest in power to the protester killed in Taksim Square! Fuck police repression, fuck the state, and fuck capitalism. Solidarity means attack, fuck the civil let’s get disobedient!

Anonymous submission to Conflict Minnesota

ATTACK WHITE SUPREMACY

ATTACK THE POLICE

declared the bold text on posters flyposted the length of Sunday’s May Day parade route. A masked anti-fascist squaring off with a police officer in Stone Mountain, GA is pictured too. The cops and fascists attacked in Georgia bring joy to our hearts and rejuvenates our desire to revolt. [Donate to the legal fund here!] Against the spectacle of the annual parade, we affirm the fierce rebellions that brought us here.

The territory known as the United States continues to erupt against the twin forces of the State and white supremacy in all of their forms. Whether the Donald Trump rallies that end in broken cruisers and broken noses, the KKK rallies that never evade the boots of anti-fascists, or the fires of Baltimore and Ferguson. This is not divorced from a long history of rebellion in the United States before there even was such a thing. We will never rest until the colonial machine is torn apart for good.

We don’t indulge ourselves in believing that these posters will raise the consciousness of the masses in preparation for The Revolution. These actions must be made insignificant through repetition.

Chicago 1886

Los Angeles 1992

Baltimore 2015

Anonymous submission to Conflict Minnesota

On April 23rd, anti-fascists converged on Stone Mountain, GA to confront a white power demonstration. Barricades were erected and burned while participants used rocks and fireworks to attack the police tasked with protecting the white supremacists. A multiplicity of tactics were deployed by a variety of groups that effectively shut down the rally. This multifaceted and autonomous approach is inspiring and should be used as a reference point for all who wish the ungovernable spread of anarchy.

The Stone Mountain confrontation marks one of many conflicts erupting from the resurgent far-right, just like the shooting that took place in North Minneapolis. The struggle against white supremacy (as one arm of domination) is global, and each confrontation finds resonance all over the world. Expressions of solidarity remind us of this connection.

After hearing the news from Georgia, a banner was promptly painted and hung in Minneapolis. The banner read:

MN 2 GA

SMⒶSH

WHITE

POWER

Nine anti-fascists were arrested in Stone Mountain, donate to their legal
defense here.

Anonymous submission to Conflict Minnesota

On the morning of April 10th the statue of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata at 12th Ave. and Lake St. in South Minneapolis was adorned with a mask. This occurred in commemoration of the anniversary of Zapata’s assassination and in response to a call made by compañerxs in Mexico for actions in solidarity with political prisoners and in support of their unyielding struggle against the state and the cartels, which we know are not just linked by a few bad apples as the authorities would have us believe (sound familiar?) but are instead two facets of the same organization of society that produces poverty and destruction across the globe.

A small gesture no doubt, but one that helps remind us that the struggles of the past are not dead, cast in bronze with no relevance to our daily lives, but rather continue to breathe through us whenever we stop waiting for change to come and begin living our lives as insurgents in the here and now, whether this looks like masking up and resisting the police in the street, taking care of our loved ones and ourselves, or simply telling our friends about how and why people in other places and times resist/resisted and what lessons their struggles might hold for ours.

As of the 13th the mask had yet to be removed.

Anonymous submission to Conflict Minnesota

In the dead of night came the messages:

PIGS WILL PAY

OFF THE PIGS

ACAB

After Jamar Clark, Terrence Franklin, Marcus Golden, Fong Lee, Michael Kirveley, Phil Quinn, and so many others being murdered by the police, we cannot simply stand by and watch these bastards continue to get away with it again, again, and again. If the State refuses to enforce its own laws because it was never meant to give us justice then obviously we have to do it for them. This is just a small drop in a waterfall. Sooner or later, the deluge will come, and the police will have their day of reckoning.

All Cops Are Bastards

Anonymous submission to Conflict Minnesota

With an expected decision on whether or not to indict the officers who murdered Jamar Clark looming, the Minneapolis Police Chief released a video statement a few days ago. The statement declares that the police will not tolerate violence but remains dedicated to upholding the first amendment rights of citizens. It is clear the police are preparing for the inevitable unrest in response to the decision, as a part of counter insurgency operations. These operations will involve both directing people’s potential anger at the decision into legitimate channels, and repressing those who refuse.

Hand in hand with these efforts will presumably be the “community leaders” and non-profit organizations smothering all uncontrollable activity. As made clear during the 4th Precinct occupation, their goal is to diffuse the anger and preserve order (and seem to resent not being given proper credit for doing so by the city). It is these two twin forces that rebels will have to contend with.

As a contribution to the struggle against the police and the world they maintain, posters were put up in busy areas of the Powderhorn Park neighborhood.

The text of the poster:

Anonymous submission to Conflict Minnesota

Over the weekend, twice did inmates at Holman Prison in Alabama rise up. They set fire to guard towers, and barricaded doors. In a small act of solidarity, a banner declaring FIRE TO THE PRISONS was hung in Minneapolis and flyers were left in the area about the uprising.

May the fires in Holman spread across the country with countless diverse and uncontrollable actions. The inmates rebelling inside prison walls cannot be left to fight alone.

“We’re tired of this shit, there’s only one way to deal with it: tear the prison down.”

Anonymous submission to Conflict Minnesota

Monday night, approximately a dozen gathered in Minneapolis in solidarity with the anti-racists stabbed and arrested in Anaheim the week before when confronting the KKK. The following text was read and distributed around the area:

Solidarity with Anaheim

On February 27th, rebels converged in Anaheim, California to shut down a planned KKK rally. Upon the arrival of the Klan members, they were fiercely confronted and driven out as quickly as they had come. During the brawl, one of the white supremacists stabbed three people. The police, who initially arrested the man, let him go claiming that he acted in self-defense. We do not place any legitimacy in the police or the laws they enforce: taking action against white supremacists needs no justification.

This is one of many clashes that mark an escalation of conflict in recent years. Here in Minneapolis we experienced this ourselves when white supremacists opened re and injured five people at the 4th Precinct occupation just a few months ago.

We cannot appeal to the state to settle these conflicts. The state has its own interest in maintaining law and order, and we know this order is based on structural white supremacy. While it’s most visible manifestations are confederate flags or police murders, white supremacy shapes our entire society in the most insidious of ways.

An attack on the functioning of the system is therefore an attack on white supremacy. We cannot wait until the far-right strikes again, or until the next police shooting; the time to act is now. We cannot elect leaders or enlist in organizations to do this for us, we must do it ourselves.

Self Organized Struggle Against White Supremacy

Solidarity Against Racism