By Mark Naison (February 4, 2017) One of the many reasons I am appalled by Donald Trump’s world view are his comments about subjects I know first hand. A prime example of this is his apocalyptic promise to end “carnage in our inner inner cities.” Not only do these pronouncement ignore gentrification and the suburbanization of poverty, they come…
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By Hyung Kyu Nam (February 3, 2017 We should see ourselves in a long arc of change globally as we face a crisis with imperialism, capitalism, ecocide and both political and social oppression that are all interconnected: Zapatista, Seattle WTO, Tunisia, Egypt, Wisconsin, Spain, Greece, Occupy, BLM, Idle No More, Umbrella Movement. Ultimately, these crises require radical change. …
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By Chris Crass (January 31, 2017) There are demonstrations taking place all over the country today and remember 10 people demonstrating in a rural community, small town or the suburbs, where I grew up, can have a powerful impact, like the hundreds and thousands in cities. When we act as movement, like Black Lives Matter, like Standing Rock, like the…
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By David DeHart (January 25, 2017) It’s hard to say for sure what to do in times like these… but here are some thoughts on what I hope to do going forward. I hope these tidbits will help inspire ideas of your own! Take every opportunity you can to contribute to resistance against the oppression and destruction that we are…
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By Arun Gupta (January 24, 2017) Last weekend saw the two poles of American protest. One side was the inspiring and historic Women’s Marches. But it was non-confrontational and the Democrats are working furiously to co-opt it and shunt it into electoral politics. If that happens, it will be a disaster like the “Wisconsin Uprising,” and the entrenchment of Scott…
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By Mark Rudd (November 18, 2016) I went to the demonstration today. By my estimate there were about 1,000 people there. About half the crowd were older people, but the other half were young. Lots of Native Americans. Great spirit, “Save the Water, Save the Land!” During the close, I noticed a young woman wearing a bandana. This is…
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By Christian Matheis (November 14, 2016) In the 19th and 20th century, when the U.S. was formally, legally segregated under Jim Crow laws, regressives cried “freedom! liberty!” in order to paint a false moral picture of their ill-gotten, mean-spirited grip on political and economic power. When activists responded with efforts to desegregate, those who opposed civil rights often…
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By Alexander Reid Ross (November 10, 2016) ““For some of us there was no one particular place, and we grabbed whatever we could from wherever we found space, comfort, quiet, a smile, non-judgment.” – Audre Lorde Remembering today that the great burden of organizing takes place in the interstices, away from the obtuse and brutal burlesque that passes for radicalism…
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By Joseph Orosco (November 10, 2016) In the late 1980s, Mexican anthropologist Guillermo Bonfil Batalla published his book Mexico Profundo, or Deep Mexico. In it, he argued that the lives and experiences of ordinary Mexicans living in rural areas and poor urban neighborhoods in Mexico continue to be rooted in Mesoamerican civilizations. Their understandings of work, community obligation,…
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By Arun Gupta (October, 11, 2016) It’s over for Trump, so what happens next? No modern presidential candidate has overcome a 4-point gap in October, and that was the margin before the tapes. The latest poll, NBC/WSJ, has him 11 points down in a four-way match, 14 points in a two-way match. There is noise in the data…
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By Arun Gupta (October 9, 2016) Trump is toast barring something unprecedented like Clinton being forced from the race. He has a slim chance to staunch the bleeding, though not really recover, if he trounces Clinton in the debate Sunday night. But that is unlikely given a) that a town hall format plays to Clinton’s strengths and will showcase his weaknesses;…
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