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"Victoria" Anarchist Reading Circle

Reading for Revolution

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Category: Theory/Praxis

Apr 28: Youth Liberation

Posted on April 22, 2024 by Light

Our last meeting on anarchist education led us to read about Youth Liberation.

We will be discussing NO! Against Adult Supremacy Vol. 1 (2019) at our next meeting!

“Every hierarchy, every abuse, every act of domination that seeks to justify or excuse itself appeals through analogy to the rule of adults over children. We are all indoctrinated from birth in ways of ‘because I said so.’ The flags of supposed experience, benevolence, and familial obligation are the first of many paraded through our lives to celebrate the suppression of our agency, the dismissal of our desires, the reduction of our personhood. Our whole world is caught in a cycle of abuse, largely unexamined and unnamed. And at its root lies our dehumanisation of children.”

NO! Against Adult Supremacy Vol 1 is available on the Anarchist Library, or the Internet Archive as a printable zine. (our reading is pages 17-36)

As always, we will be meeting at Camas Books, 2620 Quadra street, unceded Lekwungen territory. The next session will take place on Sunday, April 28 at 6:30pm.

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Posted in Decolonization, Relationships, Theory/PraxisTagged youth liberation

Feb 18: What Is Black Anarchism?

Posted on February 4, 2024 - February 14, 2024 by Light

In honour of Black History Month, we will be watching and discussing Andrewism (Andrew Sage)’s video What is Black Anarchism? (2021), which is also available to be read as a zine.

Andrew in his (video) essay introduces the concept and history of Black Anarchism, a political philosophy and movement that combines the principles of anarchism with the experiences and struggles of people of racialized Black people. He explains the main features and goals of Black Anarchism, such as opposing all forms of oppression, with particular emphasis on racism and white supremacy, and creating a non-hierarchical and self-determined society. He also mentions some of the prominent Black Anarchists and their contributions, such as Ashanti Alston, Kuwasi Balagoon, Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin, and Martin Sostre, who have been invisibilized by their White counterparts.

The text version of the essay is available on the Anarchist Library as screen or imposed zine PDF.

It is also available through our website: screen or imposed zine PDF.

As always, we meet at Camas Books and Infoshop, 2620 Quadra Street, on unceded Lekwungen Territory at 6:30pm on Sunday February 18th.

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Posted in Anti-Racism, Police & Policing, Revolutionary Theory, Theory/PraxisTagged Black, Black Lives Matter

Jan 21: Uri Gordon – Anarchy Alive! chapter 6 – Homeland

Posted on January 14, 2024 - January 14, 2024 by VARC.Anon

Next circle, we are reading Chapter Six, titled, “Homeland: Anarchy and Joint Struggle in Palestine/Israel” by Uri Gordon. This is the final chapter in Anarchy Alive! (2008) and it offers insights on the issues, challenges, and movements involved in solidarity and direct action struggles within occupied and contested State forms. This will be a good reading to do in preparation for the talk on the 28th.

Uri Gordon will be in dialogue with Palestinian sociologist Mohammed Bamyeh on Sunday January 28th, 2024 at Sunset Labs, 400 Herald Street (behind Value Village), in “Victoria, BC”. Doors open at 11:30am, discussion starts at 12:00pm. The talk is accessible online through Zoom by following this link.

The chapter begins with a historical account of the Israeli State project and an introduction to the occupation of Palestine as well as the anarchist presence in the region at this time. The chapter discusses solidarity in terms of allies as supporters/followers, the consequences of resistance, including State repression, blacklisting, violence, and even death, which these activists routinely face, and the resulting contractions that can arise when working for change across varying degrees of social and cultural differences.

Gordon introduces examples of solidarity and resistance as practiced by two groups, the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and Anarchists Against the Wall, the direct action group formed in opposition to the ‘Segregation Barrier,’ a.k.a. the ‘Apartheid Wall.’ ISM is known for the cooperation they have achieved between Jews and Palestinians, as well as Internationals, who, among other things, act as human shields in zones of increasing militarised violence within the region. Complimenting this history, the Anarchists Against the Wall movement consciously integrates diverse struggles, creating networks of resistance intersecting across different forms of oppression, as exemplified by the relationships between the anarchists and queer and animal liberation movements. In the end, Uri Gordon offers a path of shared development in struggle that argues for the nuanced articulation of place-based identity in terms of Indigeneity and bioregionalism.

We will also be discussing the final sections of Come Hell or High Water: A Handbook on Collective Process Gone Awry (pages 81-125). This is an optional reading.

As always, we meet at Camas Books and Infoshop, 2620 Quadra Street, on unceded Lekwungen Territory at 6:30pm on Sunday January 21st.

The chapter by Uri Gordon can be downloaded here, and pages 81-125 of Come Hell or High Water can be downloaded here. Please see the previous post for a download of the full version of Come Hell or High Water if you desire.

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Posted in Decolonization, Theory/Praxis, Uncategorized

Jan 7: Come Hell or High Water: A Handbook on Collective Process Gone Awry

Posted on December 28, 2023 - December 28, 2023 by VARC.Anon

For our next gathering, we will be discussing Come Hell or High Water: A Handbook on Collective Process Gone Awry (2009) by Richard Singer and Delfina Vannucci, published by AK Press. The authors share their insight about collective organizing experiences in this handbook. The handbook is useful for anarchist organizations, horizontal social or political groups, worker co-ops, or just for trying to incorporate egalitarian processes where they don’t already exist.

We will read Preface (p.7) to the end of Is This Really Democracy? (p.80) ahead of time for our discussion.

The text is available here through the Boston Anarchist Black Cross.

As always, we meet at Camas Books and Infoshop, 2620 Quadra Street, on unceded Lekwungen Territory at 6:30pm on Sunday January 7th.

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Posted in Activism, Theory/PraxisTagged organizing, protocol

Dec 10: Oppose & Propose Conversations

Posted on December 1, 2023 by Creatrix

We were so inspired by reading Andrew Cornell’s history of the Movement for a New Society that we decided to explore the conversations associated with the movement. Please read the following reflective sections regarding MNS theory and praxis for the next gathering. You can find the reading here:

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Oppose & Propose Part 2 - Conversations

1 file(s) 9.52 MB
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As always, we are meeting at Camas books located on unceded Lekwungen territory at 2620 Quadra Street. We start at 6:30pm this Sunday evening on December 10th.

Be seeing you!

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Posted in Activism, Anarchist Societies, History Behind Current Affairs, Theory/PraxisTagged Prefigurative Politics

Nov 26: Movement for a New Society & Contemporary Anarchism

Posted on November 16, 2023 by Creatrix

Movement for a New Society The next reading we will be considering is a section from Andrew Cornell’s 2011 book Oppose and Propose! Lessons from Movement for a New Society (MNS). MNS spanned across the United States between 1971 and into the 1990s, but was concentrated largely in Philadelphia. As the name of the  book implies, MNS was involved in both protest actions (to oppose) as well as in building alternative institutional frameworks (to propose). The section we chose to read outlines the early history of the movement, as well as an analysis of why it dissipated at its end.

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Movement for a New Society and Contemporary Anarchism (part)

1 file(s) 36.32 MB
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As always, we are meeting at 6:30pm at Camas Books, 2620 Quadra Street, Victoria, BC on unceded Lekwungen Territory. The next date is on Sunday, November 26th.

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Posted in Activism, History Behind Current Affairs, Theory/PraxisTagged Anarchism, History, Pacificism

Oct 29: The Continuing Appeal of Nationalism & Media Literacy Workshop

Posted on October 22, 2023 - February 6, 2024 by Creatrix
Due to outstanding media events regarding Palestine & Israel, we will be reading Fredy Perlman’s The Continuing Appeal of Nationalism (1984) as a primer for a workshop, as well as a discussion, on understanding conflict, navigating media, and practicing solidarity in a time of war and crisis overseas.
One member fled Afghanistan as a refugee during the Soviet occupation. They were active in the post-9/11 anti-war movement, and organized with Afghan-led voices internationally against the NATO war in Afghanistan.

One presenter studies the intersections of infrastructure, conflict, and politics in North America, Central Asia and the Caucasus.
The Continuing Appeal of Nationalism (1984) is available to read for free on the Anarchist Library https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/fredy-perlman-the-continuing-appeal-of-nationalism
As always, we meet at Camas Books and Infoshop, 2620 Quadra Street, on unceded Lekwungen Territory at 6:30pm on Sunday October 29th.

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Posted in Theory/Praxis, WorkshopTagged Anarchism, Anti-Imperialism, Freddy Pearlman, Media Literacy

October 1st: Reconciliation is Dead: A Strategic Proposal

Posted on September 21, 2023 - September 25, 2023 by Light

In lieu of the Canadian State’s declaration of the national ‘holiday’ “National Day for Truth and Reconciliation” observed September 30th, we have decided to read Reconciliation is Dead: A Strategic Proposal (2020) by Métis water defender Tawinikay. In the piece, Tawinikay asserts that “the concept [of reconciliation] is a state-led smoke screen used to advance a more sophisticated policy of assimilation” that perpetuates and ensures the survival of the settler-colonial state.

Reconciliation is Dead is free to read on the Anarchist Library, and is also available as an imposed PDF.

Optionally, Autonomously and with Conviction: A Métis Refusal of State-Led Reconciliation is a recommended sister-text, which is also available as an imposed PDF.

As always, we are meeting at Camas Books, 2620 Quadra Street, on Lekwungen Territory. The next meeting is Sunday October 1st @ 6:30PM.

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Posted in Allies, Indigenous Solidarity, Relationships, Revolutionary Theory, Theory/PraxisTagged indigenous, Reconciliation, tawinikay

Sep 17: Creeker Zine Volume One

Posted on September 9, 2023 by Creatrix

There’s nothing like actually getting to read something that is local and close to our hearts like we are this week with the first installment of the Creeker Zine. Yes, it is time for us to consider all the trials and tribulations our comrades over on the blockades have been experiencing as we take a few moments to ponder over their words in Creeker Volume One. Join us for an undoubtedly intense journey by clicking on the link to their zine here.

As always, we meet at Camas Books, 2620 Quadra Street on Lekwungen Territory. This meeting will take place on Sunday, Sept 17th at 6:30 pm. Be seeing you!

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Posted in Activism, Ecology, Gatherings, Theory/PraxisTagged Anarchism, Creeker, Land Defense

September 3: Art is Activism, ft. Stefan Christoff

Posted on August 30, 2023 - August 30, 2023 by Light

This time we are shaking things up! Join us at 7:00PM at Camas Books, 2620 Quadra Street, on Lekwungen Territory on Sunday, September 3rd for an in-depth discussion about how art can infuse unionization drives, Indigenous solidarity campaigns, and the struggle for Palestinian justice with militancy.

This interactive workshop, facilitated by long-time community organizer and artist Stefan Christoff, will highlight three examples of creative activist campaigns and community organizing work that explores the intersections of art and activism.

First Stefan will speak about current efforts in Québec to mobilize artists to join the struggle against Bill 31, newly proposed legislation in Québec that aims to cut into the capacity of renters to express solidarity through lease transfers. Stefan is working on a campaign called Artists United Against Bill 31.

Stefan will speak about the campaign to support Dollarama warehouse workers in Montreal during the peak of the pandemic crisis who faced unjust and unsafe working conditions. Many workers were facing the realities of precarious status and pending deportations from Canada. Stefan helped coordinate artist support for this campaign as part of the Immigrant Workers Centre (IWC), which included an open letter and street art posters.

Also, Stefan will speak about an ongoing collaboration with Wet’suwet’en activist Marlene Hale to support the Indigenous land rights of the Wet’suwet’en people who are struggling against the imposition of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline on their traditional Indigenous territories. Stefan coordinated a series of events and an open letter signed by many local artists to support the Wet’suwet’en resistance to contemporary colonialism.

Finally, Stefan will speak about helping to coordinate the global #MusiciansForPalestine campaign, which has brought over 1500 artists together to support the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against the apartheid policies of the Israeli state against the Palestinian people.

There will be a presentation aspect and also a street art aspect to this workshop. Participants will cut out street art lettering to express an important campaign and / or political demand that arises from the conversation in this workshop.

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Posted in Activism, Decolonization, Theory/Praxis

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