#40: Struggles Against White Supremacy and Police Since Ferguson

Explicit content warning

09/03/15 • 70 min

It's been a year since rage over Michael Brown's murder catalyzed an anti-racist and anti-police rebellion that spread from Ferguson around the country. How can anarchists interpret the trajectory of the struggles against white supremacy that have unfolded over the last year? In Episode 40, we discuss the current state of police violence and both institutional and autonomous white supremacy, alongside an analysis of how anti-racist and anti-police resistance developed from Ferguson to Baltimore to South Carolina. A listener weighs in on the risks of militarism, from the Iron Column in the Spanish Civil War to the militias in Rojava today. Comrades from Korea share updates on state repression and issue an exciting call for international solidarity, and Clara and Alanis discuss the politics of the term ''terrorism'' and how to undertake assertive resistance to state repression without resorting to sports metaphors. {September 3, 2015}

Previous Episode

#39: The Rojava Revolution, Part II

In the latest episode of the Ex-Worker, we continue our discussion of the unfolding social revolution in the autonomous Kurdish territories of Rojava. Building on our coverage in Episode 36, we share two interviews themed around international solidarity with the struggle for autonomy and the fight against ISIS. In the first, a member of Rojava Solidarity NYC, the group of American anarchists that produced the book "A Small Key Can Open a Large Door", discusses democratic confederalism and the council system in the cantons, compares and contrasts the Zapatista uprising with the Rojava revolution, and describes the solidarity projects they've undertaken and what's at stake for anarchists in our response to the events in Kurdistan. In the second, a member of the Turkish anarchist group Social Insurrection discusses his experience fighting with the United Freedom Forces militia. We address some critiques of the revolutionary structures in Rojava as well as our coverage of them and trace the emergence of international solidarity brigades. A member of Antifa International announces the formation of an International Anti-fascist Defense Fund, and we share info about several recently released anarchist publications. Our discussion of the news takes on Obama's sudden transformation into a prison reform advocate, indigenous resistance to profiteering off alcoholism, and the outing of a corporate infiltrator into the animal rights movement, while our indignant coverage of Syriza's entirely predictable betrayal of Greek social movements in their EU bailout austerity proposal concludes with a helpful diagnosis of "The Five Stages of Leftism". {July 27, 2015}

Next Episode

#41: Anarchism in Belarus, Czech Republic, Korea, and Beyond

In this episode, the Ex-Worker explores connections between anarchism, repression and resistance across the world in countries that rarely appear in the radical limelight. We share an interview with an Anarchist Black Cross chapter in Belarus, discussing the president's recent release of anarchist political prisoners; interview a Czech anarchist about "Operation Fenix" and recent entrapment cases and terrorism charges leveled at anarchists there; and provide more context to last episode's call to flag-burning action from South Korean anarchists by examining the historical and political contexts of the flag for Korean radicals. We also discuss the Suruc massacre and developments among Kurdish struggles in Turkey and Syria, and expand our ongoing discussion of the concept of "terrorism" through the lens of a court ruling about gangs in El Salvador. Listener thoughts on Zeitgeist, conspiracy theories, and small-town anarchism, debunking the myth of "cops under attack" since the emergence of Black Lives Matter, and an announcement of the CrimethInc. "To Change Everything" US tour top off our usual collection of global news updates, prisoner birthdays, event announcements, and more. {September 15, 2015}