Freight Train Traffic Disrupted by Anarchists

  • March 13, 2018 12:43 am

from Insurrection News

CHOOCHOO

Received on 12.03.18:

Taking inspiration from Olympia Stand, we disrupted freight train traffic using copper wire. We did this three times over the last 30 days. Since hearing of the blockade we felt the need to act in solidarity and we know it was a while ago but time is a scam!!!!!

Obviously we took this action because we hate the economy, money, and the things that keep capitalism moving! We want to fuck with its flow with whatever means we had.

This action is also meant to be an attack on the social peace. Hierarchy and domination are a problem, and we want to attack all its forms, but submission, apathy, conformity, resignation, and stagnation also prevent us from being free. We want to end everything that holds this misery together. Fuck comfort and safety—nothing is safe! This supposed “security” people strive for is just creating more policing over our lives. We need to let go of security! How can we expect to move toward freedom without letting go of comfort and taking real risks?

The crisis is always urgent!
Anarchy as a struggle lived in the present!

Solidarity with anarchists and anti-fascists facing repression and torture in Russia
Solidarity to the anarchists in Hamilton fighting the rich and those who defend their peace of mind and property
Solidarity to the remaining J20 defendants
Also shout out & solidarity to whoever smashed the cafe windows of some buildings in West Philly recently

Attack on Construction Site

  • February 14, 2018 12:17 pm

Submission

A cold clear night. We silently walk through the shell of a long-decayed factory. There is no roof to this post-industrial late-capitalism graffiti haven and I stare up to the stars through the fallen iron beams, preparing for attack…

I am thinking…

They are building atop our memories, and they’ll never stop building. The monster of development grows and spreads and there are fewer and fewer places left untouched by its destruction. “Gentrification” is on everyone’s tongues along with sadness and frustration. And through the helpless complaints all we hear is, “but what can we do?” It feels so far gone already, like by the time we can see it it’s already in too deep. But it is not too far away from us.

The developers’ and planners’ construction and machinery are right here in front of our faces, in our neighborhoods! We pass them everyday.

With each new condo and institutional expansion we are watching them bury our memories, our misery, and our culture of all we have left before their comforts of security and promises of technology completely sweep us away into their consumerism and an even deeper alienation.

But we know that our memories and imaginations are some of our strongest weapons. So in our fight to not let them take this away from us, we will attack with what we’ve got and from where we stand.

With that in mind we used glass etch (some mixed with water, some not) to paint messages that said “stop building” and circle A’s (to let them know who we are, lest they forget) across the glass windows of their machines, or just covered the entirety of the windows so the workers would not be able to see through them. Both consistencies of glass etch worked great! We also tried adding sugar to the gas tanks, but to little avail as it seems their engines still functioned the following morning.

Our enemies want our secrets and to take away our hideouts, but we’re here to let them know we won’t go down without a fight! For the destruction of all private property! Solidarity to imprisoned anarchists and friends who cannot taste the night air, especially Tamara Sol, members of the Conspiracy Cells of Fire, Informal Anarchist Federation, and the International Revolutionary Front – you are on our minds and an inspiration. We attack with you in our hearts and intend on keeping the fire alive outside, fighting for total freedom and awaiting your escape.

There are limitless opportunities to attack power, and every act of sabotage makes a difference – no matter how small! Power to all rebels and all those that refuse servitude!

Let’s get creative!
Don’t wait!
Actions speak louder than words!

Fuck The Law 4eva!

Class war on broad street: a report back from the 52nd Super Bowl riots in Philly

  • February 6, 2018 9:14 pm

Submission

On February 4th, 2018, the Philadelphia Eagles stomped out the New England patriots in a classic expression of proletarian violence versus the statist symbol of a modern day “patriot.” Such highlights as known trump supporter and nerd Tom Brady getting dunked on will continue to inspire us. With this event in mind, our affinity group coordinated with other anarchists and anti-authoritarians in the weeks leading up to it to make sure that we all agreed to violently attack institutions and pigs using the sports celebration as cover. Fliers were posted all throughout the city calling for a loose “bird bloc” aka wear eagles gear and fuck shit up. We set the meeting point as city hall, leaving it vague and open to interpretation with the intention of autonomous groups coming together to perform their own actions. We felt this type of action would be more productive for this situation than an organized bloc. From everything we’ve seen so far, this is exactly what happened.

Decked out in Eagles gear, our crew used the cover of this celebration as an opportunity to attack what we view as the structures of domination that continue to keep us in chains. Instead of choosing specific targets, we recognize that with the oppressive structure of civilization, everything in the major business districts of a city, is a valid target. Hidden amongst thousands of eagles fans, we joyfully wandered the streets smashing, painting, and torching whatever we pleased. We also used this opportunity to violently assault police officers with a scattered volley of projectiles. For some of us, this was our first opportunity to physically strike back against the police with the aid of more experienced anti-cop militants. It was wonderful to see the way our friends eyes lit up with joy when they realized that they had all the tools they needed to fight back in ways they felt most comfortable.

We reached out other east coast anarchist crews to assure that we all got the opportunity to experience the fun of this attack, and as an opportunity to reconnect with friends we’ve made while traveling to actions in other cities. It was extremely refreshing both physically and mentally to share these moments of insurrection with people we don’t have the chance to revolt with in our everyday lives. We urge other insurrectionaries and revolutionaries to call upon friends in other places more often. Borders aren’t real and we shouldn’t let imaginary lines define our friendships.

We feel that it’s critical for anti-authoritarians to look for events such as this to plan attacks but also not to wait for them. This sports riot was perfect cover to carry out actions to temporarily liberate ourselves but these events are rare and we strongly believe that we must create our own spaces to act in however ways we see fit. It is worth noting that the NFL is an extremely fucked up hyper-masculine, sexist, racist, oppressive, capitalist institution that profits off the bodily harm of people who, for the most part, grew up in working class neighborhoods. We are also disgusted by the way the state uses the super bowl as an opportunity to further occupy and militarize cities. We stand in full support of the folks in Minnesota holding it down with protest and direct action. Philly loves y’all. Keep up the good work.

We took these actions with the memories of the murders of David Jones, Trayvon Martin, Philando Castile, Scout Shultz, Laquan Mcdonald, Alexis Grigoropoulos, our Russian comrades being tortured, and everyone else who has been murdered, tortured, assaulted, or imprisoned by the state. We one day hope to see the structures of domination that keep us unfree as piles of ashes and distant memories.

 

Free Meek, The Move 9, Mumia, the remaining J20 defendants, and all political prisoners
Fuck the Patriots, fuck the pigs, fuck 12
To Amazon: Fuck you, theres plenty more where this came from. STAY OUT
To all our friends who couldn’t be with us today: We love y’all
Last of all “GO BIRDS”
With Love, rage, and solidarity
-Philly anarchists and 161s

2017:Year in Review

  • January 25, 2018 1:19 am

from Anathema

The following piece offers some thoughts on anarchist activity in Philly in 2017. Like any reflection worth its salt, this one is meant to inspire thought, conversation, and ultimately action.

Changes

The most noticeable change in the anarchist space has been its increase in size, alongside a deepening and broadening of anarchist activity in Philly. An ever-changing place, the anarchist space has seen an influx of new people and ideas. More punks, more overlapping with the left, and definitely more anti-fascism. Many of the struggles anarchists engaged in prior to 2017 have escalated, and anarchists have also opened new fronts on which to fight the social war. The anarchist space itself is constantly in flux; with people dropping in and out, relations between people changing, organizations forming and collapsing, new alliances and hostilities emerge. Each change affects our capacity, growing it, limiting it, moving it in different directions. Like all changes, these present both new opportunities and new challenges. How can we move beyond increasing our numbers to seeing our activity flourish? What would it mean to qualitatively assess the growth we’re experiencing?

Other aspects of the anarchist space have remained the same. We have yet to open large public conflictual spaces within big marches and protests. Theoretical conversation and deepening stays confined within one-on-one conversations and small groups. Assemblies and larger discussions continue to feel like spaces where many people show up with the expectation of being told what to do, of finding a group to join, of coming to a decision all together about what should be done, instead of being spaces where people arrive with their own initiative. As always, there is room to improve; this is not something we should shy away from.

The shift toward anti-fascism, fighting the right, and opposing Trump has affected local social conflict in interesting ways. Longtime anti-fascists expressed both bitterness and pleasure to see large sections of the population finally take seriously the dangers the far-right poses, a danger they have been fighting for years. One unfortunate effect of this shift towards anti-fascism has been a shift away from black revolts against policing and from anti-colonial struggles, as well as a shift away from insurrectionary interventions among anarchists. The rise of anti-fascism has birthed a curious and misguided belief among the mainstream that anarchists and anti-fascists are the same thing. What would it mean to understand the fight against fascism as part of a holistic struggle against all domination? How can we use this supportive climate to move forward without playing down our radical politics for the masses? How can we reimagine anti-fascism as proactive and offensive rather than reactive and defensive?

Strengths

Small and large autonomous actions proliferated! Last year saw consistent anarchist propaganda in the forms of graffiti, posters, and stickers in multiple neighborhoods, mostly in West and South Philly. A practice of attacks and sabotage against symbols and mechanisms of authority have become normal. The attack against a Philly police substation and several cop cars outside it was a notable escalation; Philly police property has not been successfully attacked in such a way, to our knowledge, for many years. The struggle against gentrification has continued without devolving into liberal activism, appearing mostly as targeted vandalism both in and out of demonstrations. How can this practice of attack be sharpened and expanded? What experiments in coordination, escalation, and diffusion can we try in 2018?

The May Day demo and the J20 march on South St were a dramatic escalation of anarchist street presence, creating short-lived spaces where people could freely express their rage against capital and the state without the threat of immediate arrest. This model of demonstrations, planned and promoted out of sight, have the potential to continue creating inviting space to experiment with attack on a scale impossible for a single affinity group to pull off alone. How can we keep creating space to collectively build our confidence and capacity to attack together in the year to come? How can we break out of the anarchist calendar and create moments of collective rage outside of a few anarchist holidays every year?

Support for local and national J20 defendants took many forms. The punk scene began to take political action in a way that hadn’t been seen in years. Lots of benefit shows and an all-day barbecue were organized. Meals, a rally, and benefit shows created a number of opportunities for the punk scene and the anarchist space to intermingle and draw new lines of solidarity.

Speaking of punk, at least twice in 2017 fascists were fought in or around punk shows. This return to the anti-authoritarian roots of the subculture is an example that can be carried over to other scenes and subcultures. How can we intensify the subversive potential of diy music, graffiti scenes, drug culture, or other alternative spaces? What would it look to begin transforming scenes and subcultures into rebellious countercultures?

The murder of anti-fascist protester Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, VA and nationwide debates around public monuments this summer led to a renewed interest in removing the monuments to former police chief and mayor Frank Rizzo. Public rallies and petitions pressured the city government to remove the Rizzo statue in Center City. At the same time, people vandalized the statue and mural, hung an anti-Rizzo banner, and put up posters depicting the statue being torn down. These actions worked to immediately discredit and attack the symbols of racism, and to pressure politicians to take action. This instance of national anti-confederate momentum being directed at symbols of racism and homophobia locally is an interesting example of adapting trends to fit our own contexts and desires. We might do well to learn from this and imagine ways to funnel popular sentiment in anti-authoritarian directions in the new year.

These practices, and the consistent rhythm they have created in the city and the anarchist space, are an accomplishment in themselves. What are ways to further spread and deepen these rebellious activities? What new ones can we imagine and experiment with?

Critiques

Anarchists have not yet been able to create large confrontational demonstrations. We have had little success with this here since at least before the Occupy movement, and this was also notable in 2017. In March, the MAGA march was confronted by the largest black bloc seen on the east coast in years, yet the opposition was mostly symbolic; the cops ultimately shut down the MAGA march. The Black Resistance march in February, which did clash with the police and vandalized a bank, led to arrests and injuries. Reports and many discussions of the march framed the protesters as passive victims, and the number of arrests and injuries left many feeling less empowered than they started. Attempts to create participatory confrontations were made during the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) conference in October, but fell flat. The history of vicious police repression and Quaker pacifism in Philly have certainly contributed to this failure, yet it is up to us to create the activity we want to see.

Anti-fascist organizing has faced some challenges despite its sudden increase in popularity, as new methods are now needed. The wave of new people means that security and communication practices must be reviewed and tightened up.

When police killed David Jones in June, the response by anarchists was remarkably tame. The possibility of expressing an explicitly anti-cop position in solidarity with those who knew David never became a reality. David’s name was painted around the city, but it was the activists who made the most noise around David Jones’ death, asking for truth, justice, and at times community control of the police. This is not a call to dismiss the grief and suffering of those close to David whose ideas we disagree with, rather a suggestion to be honest about our politics and to act on them when police killings happen.

Our networks outside of the city seem to be lacking. Our location along the east coast means we could communicate and coordinate with anarchists in Baltimore, NYC, DC, Delaware and New Jersey. These types of connections could have made responding to the Vaughn prison revolt in February feel more possible. Additionally, international solidarity has not seemed like a priority for anarchists here this past year.

Lastly, and most straightforwardly, anarchists could have done a better job of presenting anarchy as a viable and desirable alternative to Trump and democracy. Despite a spike in activity by anarchists, many people still do not understand why anarchy is so appealing to us. We cannot look to the media to tell our potential accomplices and comrades why we do what we do. Only we can explain ourselves and what we fight for.

Reportback from the Eagles riots: A chance for solidarity, but more importantly, a chance for Joy.

  • January 25, 2018 1:03 am

Submission

On January 21st, we took the opportunity to take part in the temporary autonomous spaces created by the post victory fervor of thousands of football fans. Realizing that the soon to be victory of the Eagles was an ample time for us to strike back against the domination of civilization, the police, and the prison walls built by our own deteriorating mental, we met up with friends outside of Lincoln Financial field with the intention of freeing ourselves, albeit temporarily. We joined up with fellow members of the continuous class war in their celebration, singing, chanting, lighting fires, and using this opportunity to attack ATMs and throw a little bit of art on the dismal walls of south Philadelphia. We moved down broad street with a roving party that the Philly PD just couldn’t seem to shut down.

After the pigs threatened an individual with noise violations for playing music to the crowd, the atmosphere took a more exciting turn. South Philly sports fans who normally shrieked about the thin blue line became agitated at who they viewed as their protectors. We took this opportunity to begin chants such as “Fuck the Patriots” and “Fuck Tom Brady” which many didn’t notice quickly became abbreviated to “FTP” and “Fuck 12” (Brady’s number). The crowd began to swell, with people leaving and even more left their homes to join the party and follow what soon became an autonomous, spontaneous anti police demonstration.

We made our way to city hall where our moving party joined up with an even larger group, the smell of smoke and alcohol filled the air and the distinct sounds of chanting bellowed in our ears, drowning out the orders of the Philly PD. With growing anger, the police attempted to clear the street. We used this opportunity to use the hundreds of bottles littering the streets as projectiles, with many others soon following our lead. The riots moved slowly, untamed by the police as people continued to share their joy and release their rage against the city through attack. More and more riot cops materialized from the side streets as someone with a speaker played NWA’s “fuck the police” to the excitement of many within the crowd. We continued to throw projectiles, light things on fire, and paint the walls with many other folks, most of whom we had never struggled against domination with, but whom we certainly hope to have at the barricades with us in the future. The crowd moved towards 15th and JFK and eventually dispersed. At this time, we are unsure of anyone arrested for taking part in this spontaneous riot.

This action was super great for us and hopefully for the hundreds of others who took to the streets at our sides. It was a beautiful change of pace to strike back in such a low stress environment on such a large scale without the traditional cover of the black block. As insurrectionary anti-authoritarians, we’re far too aware of how damaging to our mental health the institution that is the state is, and how little we get to exercise our rage to the capacity we would like to. This battle in the on going class war was extremely refreshing, and most importantly it was fun. By striking back, we were reminded of the level of joy only experienced when we make our executioners fear us, to watch the uncertainty and terror that manifests in their eyes when they realize that they’ve lost control. We are reminded that within the chaos, we can be free. Most importantly, we are reminded of our own power and that class war and insurrection will never be a few small groups taking actions, but a writhing unstoppable horde of love and rage.

 

We took these actions in memory of all our comrades across this dying world who are no longer with us and those who are slowly slipping from our embrace, whether it be from toxic institutions pushed onto them, or ones they’ve summoned for themselves. A riot will always carry the ghosts of our losses, and our hopes for a world we hope to see one day. For this reason, we view every attack as a eulogy, and a chance for inspiration. We hope to see y’all in the streets February 4th.

Fuck Cops, Go Birds

The Cinema Committee Reflects on 2017 from Belarus to Philadelphia

  • January 20, 2018 10:52 am

from It’s Going Down

[Video Here]

We’ve all heard the story before. People still tell it from the moldering dankness of their mom’s basement. It goes like this: George Soros contacts The Anarchist Antifa Supersoldiers and hands over bulging bags thick with gold in exchange for doing his bidding. Interesting story, right? Well, turns out plenty of shitholes on the internet tell it nearly every week. Since we can’t seem to convince anyone that we’re broke a a joke, and since everyone is calling everyone else a Russian spy, we thought it appropriate to celebrate our current predicament by weaving it all together in a simple and clear narrative. Contrary to popular reports, the international anarchist movement is beholden to neither George Soros or Vladimir Putin. All flags look the same to us. Every country is our homeland.

While the techno-overlords continued to blast the San Francisco Bay Area with their continuously stoked housing crisis, several individuals found it wise to begin burning down luxury housing developments in the city of Oakland. These fires began in 2016 and continued into 2017, each of them completely destroying their targets and costing ten of millions of dollars. The latest was in July when a luxury apartment block caught fire in the heart of Downtown Oakland. These arsons have been wisely left unclaimed by their authors. With the housing and homeless crisis plainly visible for all to see, the sight of burning luxury apartments is a simple message difficult to misinterpret.

Across the continent in Philadelphia, the local anarchist movement has grown quite strong in the past years and become popular for organizing and marching against Trump. Since the fall of 2012, local anarchists have printed their paper Anathema and chronicled events in their city and beyond. With housing costs rising and homelessness increasing, some individuals found it wise to sneak into some luxury developments and torch them to the ground. This arson took place in the Point Breeze neighborhood in 2017 and garnered wide attention in the local media. In another act of rebellion, a group of fifty people rampaged through a series of new developments and trashed everything that reeked of luxury. These two events happened within weeks of each other and sent a clear message against this new luxury development most liberals view as normal. Because of the fluid and toxic news cycle of our current era, few people remember these important activities outside of Philadelphia.

Vandals strike Christopher Columbus statues across NJ

  • January 19, 2018 1:42 pm

from Mainstream Media
CAMDEN – Two Christopher Columbus statues  in Camden County were among several targeted in a statewide vandalism spree, officials say.
Vandals daubed paint on monuments to the Italian explorer in Cooper River Park, Pennsauken, and Farnham Park in Camden, said Dan Keashen, spokesman for the Camden County Police Department.
“My understanding is that this was a statewide event,” he said.
The vandalism was discovered Monday, and crews cleaned the Camden County statues Tuesday morning.
Statues also were struck in Atlantic and Bergen counties, said Dominick Burzichelli, president of New Jersey Order Sons of Italy in America.In Bergen County, red paint was smeared on a pair of Christopher Columbus statues in two parks in the city of Garfield on Sunday, authorities said.
from Mainstream Media

A Christopher Columbus statue in Trenton’s Chambersburg neighborhood has become at least the fourth of the explorer’s likeness to be vandalized in New Jersey this week.

Lawmakers, officials and residents discussed the colonizer’s place in American history on Columbus Day in October.

Many lumped Columbus and his statues in with other historical figures that were being defaced across the country because of their ties to slavery and marginalization of certain racial groups.

A letter left at the statue in Trenton’s Columbus Park titled “F–k your new world” explains that the writers feel communities can be hurt by “progress that is quickly swallowing neighborhoods across the country.”

The note also says the group will be acting on Columbus statues throughout the state. It was signed, “Lovingly, NJ Anti-Facists.”

A statue in Dahnert’s Lake County Park in Garfield and two in Camden County were also splattered with red paint at some point in the last four days.

Striking Back Against the Banks In Portland

  • January 2, 2018 9:03 pm

from It’s Going Down

In solidarity with our comrades in Philadelphia and in solidarity with all our comrades battling the State, we have started off 2018 with the same guerrilla tactics perfected throughout 2017.

We are no longer willing to wait for the some great spark to cause the Revolution, nor can we afford to wait as our mental health depreciates with each new bit of bad news about our dying planet and all these warring nations fighting over blood and oil. Instead, we will turn every little act into an act of rebellion and refuse to submit to the State any longer.

Tonight we borrowed from our comrades in Philly and went out to jam up some bank ATMs. One could not find a better representative of the capitalist machine we seek to dismantle than the very cog which keeps the whole thing afloat, for without banks the State would have no way of determining “value” and stacking debt onto the backs of the impoverished while enriching the lucky few ad nauseam.

We attempted first to lodge rectangles of non-corrugated cardboard into the slots on the ATMs, but found that the machines wouldn’t accept our counterfeits. In a split second decision, we ransacked the closest big box grocery store for all the Visa gift cards we could stuff into our pockets. We cut off about a third of these, so as to make them that much harder to fish out of the machines, and processed to gallivant across Portland jamming every machine we came across. In total we managed to wreck almost 20 ATMs, although we shall have to see how long it takes the banks to repair them. This tactic could and should be implemented all winter long, and could even likely be performed in broad daylight without catching so much as a second look. In truth, humans are so programmed not to notice things anymore that even the cops that passed us by periodically didn’t so much as slow down or look over while passing.

In summary, cardboard works if you really work it but gift cards are easy to steal (since they must be loaded by the clerk before using, anybody who noticed probably thought we were the dumbest shoplifter ever), they easily slip into the machine, and nobody questions a person walking up to an ATM with a card in hand. We felt like the action was a huge success and we will definitely be adding it to our playbook. While our actions will not make the State crumble tomorrow, they allow us a bit of sanity and self-confidence which has been stolen from us. They remind us that the State is not as all knowing or all powerful as it would like you to believe. Most importantly, these low risk actions help us form stronger bonds with each other for when the actions we must take are no longer low risk and the consequences may be dire.

Solidarity and Respect

ATM Attacks

  • December 23, 2017 4:39 am

Submission

In celebration of Black December some anarchists in Philly decided to take a leisurely winter stroll downtown and put a stall in the commerce-shit-capitalism of nearly every ATM in the financial heart of the city.

We took non-corrugated cardboard cut down to the width and half the length of an ATM card with super-glue applied to one side, and jammed them into the card slot of the machine or the card slot for the entry to the vestibule. It was surprisingly easy to do and more than 50 targets got got!

This attack was super low key! All we needed was to dress in the normal winter attire for a below freezing night (faces covered, gloves etc), wipe down our tools, and walk around with the assured confidence of boring yuppies. This time of year has prime weather for looking unassuming and concealing your identity while carrying out all kinds of illegal activities, so don’t be afraid to try this at home! We felt super chill and productive!

This attack was carried out with the memory of Scout Schultz and Alexis Grigoropoulos on our minds, and is dedicated to all those resisting state repression.

For the death of capital and reclamation of our lives!
Money is death sabotage is fun!
Let us light up these dark winter nights with a big fuck you to you know who!
May the burning flames of anarchy warm us this winter & on & on

happy black december y’all

Philadelphia police targeted by vandals on South Street; 10-12 suspects sought

  • November 18, 2017 3:38 pm

from mainstream media

Philadelphia police are looking for as many as a dozen suspects after vandals struck late Thursday night using a smoke bomb, paint, and a hammer.

The incident happened shortly after 11 p.m. at the South Street police station.

Officers say they heard a disturbance and went outside to find two police vehicles had been damaged.

One vehicle had a hammer sticking out of the windshield.

In addition, police say a firework-style smoke grenade was set off in front of the station, causing a blue stain on the sidewalk, and glass bottles with red paint were thrown at the building.

Investigators say pamphlets with anarchist and anti-police messages were found on the street, along with black gloves and masks.

Report from Anti-Police and Anti-Surveillance Actions

  • November 14, 2017 12:25 pm

Submission

In the lead up to the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference last month, we visited a big glossy office building at Commerce Square/2001 Market Street where two of the conference’s corporate sponsors, Accenture and PricewaterhouseCoopers, operate. We left behind a message in glass etch across the entirety of two building entrances, reading: “FUCK THE POLICE,” “NO IACP,” and a circle-a or two. It took them several days to buff it out of the six doors and four windows.

In response, they installed security cameras, so we came back and removed two of them.

Fuck police, fuck surveillance culture.

Philadelphia, PA: The Only Good Cop?

  • November 3, 2017 1:56 am

from It’s Going Down

Stories run the world. Most of the time, when you approach a person on the street and suggest that the police be abolished, they respond, “what would replace them?” People believe the police are necessary to preserve the order of the day. Deaths caused by police among inordinately Black and brown populations occur under the watch of an institution with roots in slave patrols when slavery was the order of the day.

Were there good aspects to the order of the day back then? A few people were doing quite well, some were doing okay, and many were barely surviving. And many more were deemed necessary casualties for the economic system to funnel money to the rich.

Sound familiar? The racial and economic order of today is intolerable, too. We want to overthrow it, too. We are not interested in reforming the police. We want to abolish the present-day policing model entirely.

What would replace the police, you ask? What replaced slavery? What replaced sharecropping? What replaced Jim Crow? Author and civil rights advocate Michelle Alexander doesn’t call the prison-industrial complex the New Jim Crow for nothing. How do we look out for one another – care for one another – without being susceptible to the state offering us repression wrapped in the guise of public safety? We are fighting to abolish oppressive forces such as racism, capitalism, patriarchy and imperialism from the social order entirely.

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Philadelphia the weekend of October 21-24, 2017, there were many events with titles like, “Managing the Narrative of Your Critical Incident as Captured by Body-Worn Cameras,” “Public Trust After a Police Use of Deadly Force Incident,” and “Managing Critical Incidents, Officer-Involved Shootings, and Viral Social Media Posts.” But none titled, “Stop Killing Black People.” This is very telling about the intentions held by chiefs of police around the world. They are not good intentions. They are not moral intentions. They are focused exclusively on PR, covering their own ass, and silencing political dissent through media management strategy.

There were reports of vandalism of memorial plaques to dead cops during the weekend the IACP was in Philly. There was attempted media spin. But that spin doesn’t capture the essence of the message they sent: “The Only Good Cop” written over these memorial plaques celebrates the people’s power to rewrite the stories about who has the right to be in charge or have power over life and death. The police have lost that right, if they ever had it in the first place. They have no moral authority. The people must take it back. The message for the International Association of Chiefs of Police is: The people are waking up to your lies and the lies of those who pay you. Your story’s days are numbered. We call for police abolition. The only good cop is a dead story.

Remember Brandon Tate-Brown. Remember Sandra Bland. Remember Freddie Gray. Remember Philando Castile. Remember Laquan McDonald. Remember Michael Brown. Remember Eric Garner. Remember Amadou Diallo. Remember Oscar Grant. Remember David Jones. Remember all victims of racist state violence.

Cops think revolution is a flower to be crushed. Year after year, they think they can surround us with monuments celebrating state oppression. They understand neither seasons nor seeds. We are growing, we are spreading, and we will be victorious. We can, and we must, overwrite the intolerable stories set in public stone. All power to the people. Abolish the police. Tell a better story. Build a better world.

The only good cop is a defaced memorial plaque. They’re all over Philly. We’ve all seen them. Even though the police state seems insurmountable, a million angry fires can burn it down, one tag at a time. What are we waiting for?

Some Tips on Recent Things

  • October 12, 2017 6:25 pm

Submission
George Ellsworth Lewis III had his neighborhood flyered and was visited by antifascists at his local favorite bar.

The Thorfinn Karlsefni statue got tarred, glittered, and spray painted before Lief Erikson day.

A banner for Scout Shultz in solidarity with those who’re fighting cops went up.

Action Against Mariner East 2 Pipeline

  • September 26, 2017 10:58 am

Submission

Earlier this week we took our first steps against the Mariner East pipeline in Pennsylvania, U$A. On the eve of the fall equinox, we approached several excavators and a flat bed truck on an active ME2 construction site in Media, PA and filled their fuel tanks and other liquid receptors with sand and sugar. After removing the fuel tank lid (there are diagrams about how to do this online), we recommend removing the filter just beneath it before pouring in these abrasives, for maximum damage to the whole machine, and being careful not to spill or leave other traces which would tip off the workers inspecting the machines the following morning. Human-caused ecological collapse and mass extinction are upon us, and we feel we must push ourselves to escalate the fight against it. We take this action in solidarity with Jessica Reznicek and Ruby Montoya in Iowa, and struggles against ecological devastation and settler colonial violence everywhere.

[Philly Anti-Cap note: After being contacted by several concerned groups mentioned in this submission we have removed mention of their groups from this submission.]

USA: Anti-Gentrification Attack in South Philly

  • July 26, 2017 12:00 pm

from Insurrection News

In the dark hours between July 24th and 25th two vacant residential construction sites and a back hoe had their windows smashed in Greys Ferry in South Philly.

Solidarity and complicity with grand jury resistance in North Carolina!
Solidarity and complicity with J20 rebels facing repression!
Solidarity and complicity with imprisoned anti-fascists!

Fuck gentrification!