by Crimethinc. Workers' Collective
Available in 284 free installments
Owner:
Preparation Ice cream: Having enough ice cream to pass out is possible with the help of free coupons for corporate ice cream brands. One might write to these companies telling a sob story about a bad ice-cream-eating experience, or whatever else it takes to get coupons for complementary pints of ice cream, preferably the vegan stuff made out of soybeans or rice. Then with the help of photocopiers . . . well, you know the rest?and if you make them right, the bar codes still even scan! Take all the coupons for ice cream you can produce and get as much ice cream as you can over the days before you roll out the Anarchist Ice Cream Truck.
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Ice cream truck: The Anarchist Ice Cream Truck can be a walking truck made from a shopping cart; alternatively, you could use a bike cart, especially if you plan to cover
broad distances. You'll want to attract attention, so attach things to the side of the cart, use bright colors, and bring along a boombox with music everyone can sing along to.
Sing, walk in the middle of the streets, meet your neighbors and be a part of your neighborhood, have a dance party in the middle of each intersection, get the media to cover your story, get video coverage and vocal recordings and cover your own story, start an ice cream fight, fly kites, bang on pots and pans, stop in local estabhshments and give employees a treat, eat lots and lots of ice cream!
Execution
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Crajgiti
Ingredients
Instructions
Different layers of clothing^ in case you need to change your appearance quickly Shoes comfortable for running Bicycle, skateboard, or other getaway vehicle
Latex gloves ? to keep your hands
paint-free Spray paint, house paint, paint
markers, paint rollers
and trays, stencils, other
decorating supplies
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Graffiti stands out among the countless methods of free expression (see Stenciling, Wheatpasting, Biliboard Improvement, Asphalt Mosaics, Stickering, and Banner Drops and Banner Hoists) for its simplicity, directness, and time-honored traditionahsm. You can be sure Jews put up anti-Roman graffiti in Gaza two millennia ago, just as Palestinians spray paint slogans there today.
There are many different occasions for which this tactic is appropriate. You can simply take a paint marker everywhere you go, adding little messages to mute surfaces. Sometimes, in a supportive crowd already engaging in illegal tactics {see Blocs, Black and Othenvise, pg. 127, and Marches and Parades, pg. 336), individuals can seize the opportunity to redecorate their surroundings on a grander scale; more frequently graffiti is put up by small groups acting under cover of darkness, applying hit-and-run tactics.
If you are going to use the hit-and-run approach, your first task is to arrange a good disguise and cover story. Your presence should not ehcit any attention, let alone suspicion, no matter how busy or deserted the area you will be working in at the time you strike. In
a neighborhood, you could go out walking a dog, or running in a sweat suit like a jogger; in a bar or university district, you could pose as an amorous, giddy heterosexual couple.
When choosing targets, weigh the visibility and aptness of each location against the risk of apprehension and the swiftness with which the artwork wdll be erased. The best targets are in areas that are very busy during the day but practically deserted and unguarded at night. Failing that, watch for a place that is concealed from the immediate view of patrolling authorities, while still being visible to others. One-way streets can be safer than two-way streets, as traffic can only be expected from one direction. It's often better to decorate a low-traffic area where your work will not be erased for months than it is to hit a busy area where it won't last a day. The best time to hit the latter sort of target is right before a big event: decorate Main Street the night before a street carnival or protest, hit the mall the night before their grand opening. Consider the ways art haters will attempt to remove your work, and take this into account in choosing your location: for example, they will often use a sandblaster to grind paint off"brick, concrete, or stone, but they might hesitate before aiming it at the fancy plaque on a monument.
