"Abolish ICE" sounded like a radical demand to Democrats, though ICE itself only dates to 2003. Today, it should be clear to even the most deluded liberals that if you establish institutions for the sole purpose of brutalizing people, authoritarians will inevitably use them to consolidate power. The Trump administration is intentionally circulating photographs of dehumanized prisoners crowded into bunks reminiscent of the famous photographs from within the death camp at Buchenwald during the Holocaust. Spectacular violence is central to the fascist program, which hinges on accustoming people to spectatorship and passivity. image
ICE posted—and then deleted—this advertisement on Instagram and the fascist-owned platform X/Twitter, announcing themselves as the thought police stopping ideas from entering the United States. It's not just about attacking undocumented people, or immigrants, or dissidents—they aim to prevent thought itself. If Hitler's Nazi Party were still in power today, its Instagram feed would look exactly like the ICE Instagram: a series of photographs of captured, brutalized human beings. ICE represents fascism. Resist by all means. image
"Before 1914, the earth had belonged to all. People went where they wished and stayed as long as they pleased. There were no permits, no visas, and it always gives me pleasure to astonish the young by telling them that before 1914, I travelled from Europe to India and America without a passport and without ever having seen one." -Stefan Zweig Borders as we know them are a recent concoction. The passport system as we know it dates to the First World War. ICE was founded in 2003 as part of the so-called "War on Terror," a disaster for freedom in every way. These institutions are neither timeless nor beneficial nor inevitable. image
Organizers are billing the April 5 demonstrations as the biggest protests since Trump returned to power. Great. But what's the strategy? Trump will not leave power willingly. Mere petitioning is pointless. How do you topple an autocrat? First, identify a segment of society that is not permanently committed to his reign, but whose support is essential to keeping him in power. Analyze their interests. Identify what is more important to them than keeping him in power. Think about their vulnerabilities. Next, identify a form of activity that could put that segment of the autocrat's supporters in a situation in which they will prefer to stop supporting him. Engage in that activity—whatever it takes. Repeat as needed until enough sectors of society shift their commitments. All of this occurred in summer 2020. Trump concentrated federal agents in Portland to try to show his supporters in the capitalist class that he could impose order to preserve business as usual. Because he failed—thanks to courageous resistance in Portland—capitalists did not support his 2021 coup. If we don't want to live under the autocratic rule of Donald Trump or his successors forever, we have to use direct action to break up his support base and force those who have remained passive to take a stand against him. image
The fact that Elon Musk's attempt to buy the Wisconsin Supreme Court failed despite $25+ million in propaganda and bribery shows that there is still a force more powerful than greed. But everyone knows that force is hatred of fascist billionaires—not support for the Democratic Party. The Democrats represent authoritarianism lite. It was their neoliberal policies that concentrated so much power in Elon Musk's hands in the first place. To abolish the structures that produce billionaire supervillains, we will have to do a lot more than vote. We will have to bring about fundamental shifts in how we relate to resources. This will require grassroots networks taking direct action. image
Those who seek to oppress us are not invincible. Whatever power they acquire, whatever technology they employ, they make mistakes, they overlook vulnerabilities. And they are motivated by bigotry and greed, which are not the most powerful forces in the human spirit. image
Clashes between police and protesters are picking up in Turkey following the autocrat Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's decision to have politicians from the opposition arrested. For background, you can read about the last mass uprising in Turkey—the Gezi Park uprising of 2013—here:
Every Tesla is a surveillance device. This is worth knowing regardless of whether you plan to engage in protest activity. This chart shows the locations and ranges of the cameras, presuming they have an unobstructed view. Fashion tips for preserving your privacy around Teslas: image
To prepare for the next election, Turkish autocrat Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sent police to arrest his chief political rival and 100 other political adversaries. This is the model Trump is importing to the United States. For background on the roots of Turkish fascism:
We honor the courage of the protesters arrested at Trump Tower in solidarity with Mahmoud Khalil. Christian Nationalists aim to make themselves the arbiters of what counts as antisemitism in order to dehumanize Palestinians, discipline Jews who refuse to support genocide, and pave the way for fascism. Trump made this clear enough yesterday, when he declared that a Jewish politician from the opposition had "become a Palestinian" by disagreeing with him. Just as white nationalists justify racist violence by claiming to be "protecting women," Christian nationalists are attempting to use accusations of "antisemitism" to justify crackdowns, deportations, and genocide. Don't fall for it. image