Post by benbrucato on Oct 30, 2011 12:56:42 GMT -5
I put together a reading/study list. These aren't articles I necessarily agree with, at least not in full (though I wrote one long one, and two short ones here). The reason I selected them is because they provide histories, discussions, issues, etc. that I think would serve as really good springboards for discussion. Some are really provocative and would inspire reactions, whether in support or disagreement. Such provocative things can encourage us to challenge entrenched ideas (or "legacy thinking"); if we react strongly, we might ask ourselves "where is this coming from?" The idea is not that these would frame what we are about, but would frame the discussions through which we would determine that together.
Someone mentioned they heard from other people that they were concerned with the list being "an anarchist reading list." I'm willing to take stuff out and put others in. Some of the "anarchist" writings raise important considerations. The first one by CrimethInc is really important because it's self-critical throughout - it addresses mistakes in their past analysis and actions. That's one of the reasons I put it in there - it's very thoughtful, and I think it would encourage us to be self-critical, and think about how we can learn from mistakes. The article on and the article by David Graeber are selected because they detail the radical origins of OWS, the first with some really awesome detail. It also provides some idea of where things might go -- for instance Graeber's discussion of the 'jubilee' - the forgiveness of debts. The ABCF piece is "anarchist" only by virtue of the "A" in ABCF. The organization has influences far beyond "anarchism" due to the involvement of a wide range of political prisoners and prisoners of war, who come from all sorts of political persuasions, many Marxist of some sort.
Any feedback is desired and appreciated.
Thanks,
Ben
Thoughts on Revolution:
Fighting In The New Terrain by CrimethInc
Our Lives Are Not Negotiable by Phoenix Class War Council
Radical Perspectives on the Occupy Movement:
David Graeber, the Anti-Leader of Occupy Wall Street by Drake Bennett
On Playing By The Rules – The Strange Success Of #OccupyWallStreet by David Graeber
Occupy First. Demands Come Later. by Slavoj Zizek
The Violent Silence of a New Beginning by Slavoj Zizek
Progressively Losing by Richard Kline
The Occupy Wall Street image that marks the end of the global consensus by Jonathan Jones
“How Can You Occupy an Abstraction” by Ben Brucato
The Crisis and The Way Out Of It: What We Can Learn From Occupy Wall Street by Ben Brucato
Race & Gender:
Why I support Occupy The Hood by Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin
Whiteness and the 99% by Joel Olson
What are we saying when we call for diversity in the Occupy movement? by Ben Brucato
The Tyranny of Structurelessness by Jo Freeman
Environments: Physical & Mental:
Nature and Madness by Paul Shepard
The Mental Environment by Bill McKibben
Diversity of Tactics:
What ‘Diversity of Tactics’ Really Means for Occupy Wall Street
Statement of Solidarity from Cairo
The Revolutionary Politics of Self-Defense by ABCF-TDC
Police:
Seven Myths of the Police by CrimethInc
Someone mentioned they heard from other people that they were concerned with the list being "an anarchist reading list." I'm willing to take stuff out and put others in. Some of the "anarchist" writings raise important considerations. The first one by CrimethInc is really important because it's self-critical throughout - it addresses mistakes in their past analysis and actions. That's one of the reasons I put it in there - it's very thoughtful, and I think it would encourage us to be self-critical, and think about how we can learn from mistakes. The article on and the article by David Graeber are selected because they detail the radical origins of OWS, the first with some really awesome detail. It also provides some idea of where things might go -- for instance Graeber's discussion of the 'jubilee' - the forgiveness of debts. The ABCF piece is "anarchist" only by virtue of the "A" in ABCF. The organization has influences far beyond "anarchism" due to the involvement of a wide range of political prisoners and prisoners of war, who come from all sorts of political persuasions, many Marxist of some sort.
Any feedback is desired and appreciated.
Thanks,
Ben
Thoughts on Revolution:
Fighting In The New Terrain by CrimethInc
Our Lives Are Not Negotiable by Phoenix Class War Council
Radical Perspectives on the Occupy Movement:
David Graeber, the Anti-Leader of Occupy Wall Street by Drake Bennett
On Playing By The Rules – The Strange Success Of #OccupyWallStreet by David Graeber
Occupy First. Demands Come Later. by Slavoj Zizek
The Violent Silence of a New Beginning by Slavoj Zizek
Progressively Losing by Richard Kline
The Occupy Wall Street image that marks the end of the global consensus by Jonathan Jones
“How Can You Occupy an Abstraction” by Ben Brucato
The Crisis and The Way Out Of It: What We Can Learn From Occupy Wall Street by Ben Brucato
Race & Gender:
Why I support Occupy The Hood by Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin
Whiteness and the 99% by Joel Olson
What are we saying when we call for diversity in the Occupy movement? by Ben Brucato
The Tyranny of Structurelessness by Jo Freeman
Environments: Physical & Mental:
Nature and Madness by Paul Shepard
The Mental Environment by Bill McKibben
Diversity of Tactics:
What ‘Diversity of Tactics’ Really Means for Occupy Wall Street
Statement of Solidarity from Cairo
The Revolutionary Politics of Self-Defense by ABCF-TDC
Police:
Seven Myths of the Police by CrimethInc