The Hotwire #23: Historic school walkouts—Alt-right unravels—Solidarity with anarchists in Russia

Hundreds of thousands of high school students defy adult authority and walkout against mass shootings; anti-pipeline camps hold strong from Virginia to West Virginia to so-called British Columbia; we interview an anarchist in Brazil as protests erupt there after an anti-police brutality politician was assassinated; the annual march against police brutality in Montreal beats cops back; Russian anarchists explain in an interview why it’s not just Putin that’s the problem, or Trump for that matter, but the systems of power they inhabit; plus a repression round up, announcements for Saturday’s international day of action to #DefendAfrin, and calls for exciting upcoming anarchist bookfairs and speaking tours. {March 21, 2018}

-------SHOW NOTES------

• Table of Contents:
  • Introduction {0:00}
  • Headlines {1:50}
  • Interview: anti-police brutality protests erupt in Brazil {6:47}
  • Interview: anarchists stand up to elections and repression in Russia {15:05}
  • Historic student walkouts roundup {21:02}
  • Repression Roundup {26:55}
  • Next Week’s News {32:27}
• Download 29:30 minutes long version
• Youth liberation texts, possibly to be used by anti-authoritarian youth looking to connect with others at March For Our Lives events on March 24:
  • Gun Control? No, Youth Liberation! Mass Shootings—School Walkouts—Getting Free
  • No! Against Adult Supremacy
  • The Child and its Enemies
  • Youth Liberation
  • Anarchism and Youth Liberation
  • The Teenage Liberation Handbook
  • Make sure to check out the new blog Cutting Class, counterinfo for the ungovernable generation.
• Saturday, March 24 is also the international day of solidarity to defend Afrin. Find an event near you.
• J20 support resources:
  • J20 Legal Defense Fund
  • Twitter
  • Fed book
  • An Open Letter to Former J20 Defendants, with useful “do”s and “don’t”s
  • Teen Vogue: The J20 Arrests and Trials, Explained
• Other anarchist shows mentioned in this Hotwire:
  • Check out this video report from the March 15 demonstrations against police brutality in Montreal
  • This video report documents some of the anti-pipeline resistance from Camp Cloud up in Burnaby Mountain, British Columbia.
  • Check out episode 30 of The Ex-Worker to listen to an interview with Tortuga, an anarchist in Chile who openly admits to attempting to bomb a closed bank and who faced anti-terrorism charges for it.
  • Watch this documentary about the 2010 Caso Bombas repression case in Chile.
  • In Hotwire #21 we report on the opposition Richard Spencer and the alt-right faced in Michigan
  • In Hotwire #19 we explain why radical social movements are better equipped to solve the problem of mass shootings than the state is
  • In Hotwire #16 we announced Herman Bell’s parole efforts
  • Trouble #9: Learning to Resist
  • Trouble #10: School’s Out
  • IGDcast: Mutual Aid Disaster Relief on Building Dual Power & Upcoming Tour
• You can read The Coming Insurrection here, we particularly enjoyed the sixth circle. We also recommend watching Glenn Beck’s hilarious review of the book.
• Fundraising:
  • Donate to the anti-Mountain Valley Pipeline treesitters in West Virginia.
  • Donate here to support Alejandra Pablos, an undocumented activist in the clutches of ICE as a result of her outspokenness.
  • You can PayPal money to support anarchists and anti-fascists facing repression in Russia through abc-msk@riseup.net. We recommend to send euros or dollars, as other currencies are automatically converted to euro according to PayPal rates.In case you need another option for money transfer, including digital crypto currencies, please contact the Anarchist Black Cross of Moscow: abc-msk@riseup.net
• Author Mark Bray speaking tour on his book Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook
  • Thursday, March 22: The Civic Theatre, Nelson, British Columbia, Canada
  • Monday, March 26: Brooklyn Historical Society, Brooklyn, NY
  • Tuesday, March 27: Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY
  • Thursday, March 29: Appalachian State University, NC, 7 PM in Belk Library, Room 114
• Mutual Aid Disaster Relief tour
  • March 21 @ 3:00 PM at Friends Meeting House 1104 Forest St. Charlottesville, VA 22903: Giving Our Best, Ready For The Worst: Community Organizing as Disaster Preparedness
  • March 23 @ 7 PM at The Base 1286 Myrtle Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11221: Protectors v. Profiteers: Communities in Resistance to Disaster Capitalism
  • March 24 @ 12 PM at The Base 1286 Myrtle Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11221: Giving Our Best, Ready For The Worst: Community Organizing as Disaster Preparedness
  • March 27 @ 5:30 PM at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church 42 N Eagleville Rd., Storrs, CT 06268 : Protectors v. Profiteers: Communities in Resistance to Disaster Capitalism
  • March 28 @ 1 PM at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church 42 N Eagleville Rd., Storrs, CT 06268 : Giving Our Best, Ready For The Worst: Community Organizing as Disaster Preparedness
• Use this straightforward guide to writing prisoners from New York City Anarchist Black Cross to write to political prisoner Jaan Laaman of the United Freedom Front:
  Jaan Karl Laaman #10372–016
  USP McCreary
  Post Office Box 3000
  Pine Knot, Kentucky 42635
  {Birthday: March 21, 2018}
• You can support Alejandra Pablos, an outspoken undocumented activist in the clutches of ICE, by signing this petition and donating here.
• Show valve turner Michael Foster some love as he has been transferred to a new prison. Write a letter or send a book to:
  Michael Eric Foster #51974
  Missouri River Correctional Center
  P.O. Box 5521
  Bismarck, ND 58506
• You can help Mexican anarchist political prisoner Luis Fernando Sotelo, who has been imprisoned in Mexico since 2014, by e-mailing the supreme court at contacto@scjn.gob.mx or by tweeting them at @SCJN on Twitter about Luis and the unconstitutionality of Article 362, under which he was imprisoned.
• Herman Bell was released on parole after over four decades in prison—hurrah! But now New York City’s mayor, the governor, and the police unions are trying to fuck with him—FUCK THAT! Here’s what you can do to support Herman:
  1) CALL New York State Governor Cuomo’s Office NOW 518–474–8390
  2) EMAIL New York State Governor Cuomo’s Office
  3) TWEET at Governor Cuomo: use the following sample tweet: “@NYGovCuomo: stand by the Parole Board’s lawful & just decision to release Herman Bell. At 70 years old and after more than 40 years of incarceration, his release is overdue. #BringHermanHome.”

  Use this script for phone calls and emails: “Governor Cuomo, my name is ________and I am a resident of [New York State/other state/other country]. I support the Parole Board’s decision to release Herman Bell and urge you and the Board to stand by the decision. I also support the recent appointment of new Parole Board Commissioners, and the direction of the new parole regulations, which base release decisions more on who a person is today than on the nature of their crime committed years ago. Returning Herman to his friends and family will help heal the many harms caused by crime and decades of incarceration. The Board’s decision was just, merciful and lawful, and it will benefit our communities and New York State as a whole.”