by Crimethinc. Workers' Collective
Available in 284 free installments
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disingenuous: accepting diversity of tactics means recognizing and respecting that others are going to make their own decisions about tactics and act accordingly, not granting that diverse approaches are acceptable "when I say so"! He argued, essentially, that the most proper role any counter-demonstration could play was to involve the greatest possible number of people, especially those most seriously affected by fascist organizing? presumably assuming that non-confrontational tactics are always the most popular, that people of color are not interested in confrontational tactics (a patronizing, even subtly racist attitude), and that people of color are the only ones at risk from fascist organizing (when, in fact, people of anarchist and queer orientations, not to mention Jewish heritage, all of whom were present in our number along with people of color, are also significantly at risk from fascist activity). I would argue to the contrary that there were at least one hundred people at the protest that day, if not more, who went explicitly to confront the fascists and their protectors, and who wouldn't have been there otherwise?that is to say, the best way to involve the greatest number of people is for the broadest possible array of approaches to be applied without interfering with one another. For the most part, we took great care to keep well away from the area reserved for the permitted rally, and did a decent job of not hindering their chosen approach. With the exception of this individual, and a clown (yes, literally, a clown) the mainstream media found to say that it was unfair that our noise was drovming out the fascists' articulation of their ideas, few others expressed disapproval of the way our actions interacted wdtii those of other protesters.
After the smoke cleared, we met again to discuss what had worked and what could
have worked better. Spirits were generally high. We had demonstrated the power of a
few individuals to come up with an idea, deploy it in the face of incredible odds, and
A ff tA f influence the course of events. Acting on our own initiative, exploring our potential
64 in practice, we had taken on the assembled powers of the Ku Klux Klan, the National
Socialist Movement, and the state government, and scored some significant victories. Our initial plan for converging and setting the tone for the day's events had worked, and had we had a little more experience, numbers, or morale, we might well have shut the rally down entirely. Beyond this, we had all gotten to know one another much better, and learned a lot about the amazing things we could do together.
Antifascist Action 65
Asphalt Mosaics
A Hot Weather Acthity for Lonely Asphalt Near You
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This is a method for making colorful, permanent mosaic installations in asphalt roads and lots. Like glass, asphalt appears to be a solid but is actually a liquid; this means that a design affixed to it with more asphalt will eventually settle in and become a part of it. We owe our awareness of this technique to a nameless mystic we have never encountered in person.
We saw the first one in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We were walking along a downtovra. street when we spotted a colorful patch of text embedded in the asphalt of a crosswalk. It was clearly made of vinyl floor tile?but how was it attached? We found the piece pictured on the left at the comer of Smithfield Street and Oliver Avenue.
As we walked we saw more versions of the same design. While befuddled by the message, we were amazed by the technique, and avidly discussed how it might be reproduced. But a few blocks later, miraculously, we came upon the Rosetta Stone, a similar piece of the same material and text . . . except that this one featured an additional block of smaller text: instructions! The words were old and badly damaged, but we could just make out the crucial sentence: ". .. i use asphalt crack filler ..." We got right to work.
The next time we came through Pittsburgh we were on tour. Part of our program was a skillshare on asphalt decor, and we had already left a respectable trail of color across the country. After our workshop, we ventured downtown to visit the original pieces. When we got there, we found most of them?^but the crucial piece, the one with the
instructions, was gone. It had been buried under a fresh slab of asphalt. We had discovered it in the nick of time.
