Craig Gilmore
@craiggilmore
abolitionist organizing // land & housing // books & music.
rough trans:: books in struggle. don’t piss off the librarian. @prisonculture.bsky.social
Which is to say, such activities are essential to an anti-fascist struggle. 10/
So while defending the Prairieland gang through liberal freedom of speech & of reading & of assembly arguments is a useful tactic, we ought not to lose sight of the fact that reading & the distribution of literature cannot and should not be “innocent.” 9/
There are so many rich histories of covert study to draw upon, from underground reading groups in prisons to Amílcar Cabral, Agostinho Neto & others plotting decolonial emancipation clandestinely (during the dictatorship) at Casa dos estudantes do Império 7/
That writing, distribution & reading, whether criminalized or not, should be subversive and dangerous. Smashing ICE & abolishing borders are partisan acts. And we need to defend our partisans. 6/
I want to second @sonofahurricane.bsky.social points that it is a terrible idea to ‘defend’ the zinesters because their writing, distribution & reading was relatively less criminal than other charges; or that reading & writing are somehow inherently 'innocent.' AND 5/
“They are quick to read, inexpensive to print, and easy to transport or to hide. And they can be produced rapidly to respond immediately to changes in the political terrain and current needs of the struggle” 4/ (2 pamplets from Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press)
Pamphlets, zines & comic books have a long seditious history. To quote from a little essay RWG & I just wrote about a set of pamphlets (the Cadernos Consciência & Resistência Negra) used organizing in Lisbon’s mostly Cabo Verdean peripheries 2 decades ago: 3/
Some thoughts on political education, the printed word, & the threat of the Prairieland convictions. Cabral caption trans: 'think more to for better action. Act more for better thought.' 1/
#Prarieland defendants sentenced to 50 years, 70 years, 100 years. The war against protest & dissent // the war against anti-fascists is escalating...
“I must say that I consider the phrase ‘tax the rich’ — quote, tax the rich — when spit out with anger and contempt by politicians both here and across the country, to be just as hateful as some disgusting racial slurs and even the phrase, ‘from the river to the sea..." #ClassWar
Happy birthday to two great revolutionaries. Here's one demonstrating that turning Hegel on his head is not just theory.