Assimilation In Four, Three, Two ...

Later this month AK Press is publishing Why Are Faggots So Afraid of Faggots: Flaming Challenges to Masculinity, Objectification, and the Desire to Conform.  I'm getting it as part of the Friends of AK Press program, and it is a subject I've been interested in for a while.  Why would a group so generally despised and misunderstood want to conform to society's norms so badly?  It obviously goes well beyond equal rights (you can still have equal rights without having to adopt the values of society as a whole), and I want to know what drives that.  Is it that most people, no matter what their particular bent, have a desire to conform?  Is it a bit of self-loathing that manifests itself after years of being told you are inferior and an aberration?  Is it that 95% of the population is just idiotic?  It's a fascinating subject, and I'm glad AK Press is tackling it, though I'm sure it will cause a bit of a controversy.

I don't know what directions the book will take (and it is an anthology, so expect the usual variants in quality), but my guess is that the question of why many homosexuals feel the only safe route to take is one where you mimic heterosexual culture in every way you can -- marriage, children, voting Republican -- may be delved into and taken to task, and that is something that needs to be done.  In the span of history, the modern gay rights movement is fairly young, and it has come a long way, but there are factions within it that seem to have forgotten what was being fought for, and I think this may be the book that helps set the record straight -- no pun intended. 

Like many AK Press books, I probably won't be reading it as soon as it arrive in my PO box, but when I do, you can expect a review here.  In the meantime, I advise anyone with at least a passing interest in the subject to check it out ... as I predict this tome is going to get a lot of press in all the right places.

Realizing the Impossible

As part of the Friends of AK Press program I received a copy of Realizing the Impossible: Art Against Authority, a book whose time had come.

Editors Josh MacPhee and Erik Reuland have compiled interviews and essays with artists of all kinds involved in anti-authoritarian movements throughout the globe.  What follows is an in-depth and interesting look at the history of this type of art and where it is at today.  Printmaking, video, graffiti, puppet theatre and more is covered in its pages, along with plenty of great photographs.

It is easy for a book of this type to become nothing but a cheerleader for anti-authoritarian and anarchist art.  It's not.  In fact, one of the best pieces takes the activist films to task for be substandard pieces of work that fail to hold an audience simply because they don't do what is proven to work.  It is a critical and insightful piece that needs to be read by anyone involved in activist film.  This isn't the only piece that challenges the norm, either.  Throughout the book are people questioning the form, meaning and effect of the art they and others do.  That's what makes this a book well worth checking out for anyone interested in the arts, subversive or otherwise.

The end of the book is a series of essays examining one subject or another in dept.  Of note, there are two great pieces dealing with Haymarket and culture jamming.  Those two works alone make this worth its cover price.  Any serious student of culture will want to read these.  There will be plenty to argue about, but also plenty with which you will agree.

If the book has one fault it is that it is too short.  You know this has merely scratched the surface of what is out there.  It could've been twice its size and still run into the same problem, however.  What is needed is new volumes, and while I don't know if that is something AK Press is planning, I do hope someone does it as this type of art is important in its own right and needs to examined by those involved and those who are witnesses.


Mandatory FTC Disclaimer:  I received this book as part of the Friends of AK Press program.  It was not sent to me to review, but I did it anyway.  If you don't know what that is, go to the link.  Take that, FTC.  Also, clicking on a link may earn me a small commission.

The Right to Be Lazy: More Fun From AK Press

AK Press, enemy of stodgy, narrow-minded rightwing nutters everywhere announced some of its upcoming books a few days ago.  Good stuff is coming.  Being a Friend of AK Press, I'll be getting my mitts on these soon enough.  The rest of you have to order them.  Two of the most anticipated ones for myself are The Right to Be Lazy and Marshall Law: The Life and Times of a Baltimore Black Panther. 

The Right to Be Lazy is being released with legendary publisher Charles H. Kerr (around 125 years and still pissing people off), and features a revised edition of the original English translation.  I don't have a copy of the original book, so finding out that one was coming my way brought a smile to my face.  The bigger smile was reserved for Marshall Law, however.

The Black Panther Party fascinates me.  Armed black men giving out free breakfasts sounds like every white person's biggest nightmare.  ("Oh, God!  They're organizing!")  Doing so with a political agenda sounds like Washington's biggest nightmare.  (And those Tea Party Parrots think Obama is bad.  Imagine having a Black Panther in the White House.  Shit, I'd vote for him or her, and I don't vote for leaders.)  This look at Eddie Conway's life behind bars after being falsely imprisoned for killing a cop is going to be interesting stuff.  Attempted escapes.  Labor organizing.  Militancy.  You name it, it should be covered here. 

There are other titles, of course.  AK Press always does other titles, too.  These two stand out, though.  They take the proverbial anarchist cake.  While the rest of the population is reading Danielle Steele at the beach, I'll be reading about Conway's exploits while sticking it to The Man.

AK Press Sale!

I received this e-mail.  Seems like a good time to stock up.




In This Email Monthly Review Sale Discounted AK Titles Forthcoming AK Titles Friends of AK Press Quick LinksAK Press - HomeNew Titles at AK PressDirt Cheap Sale ItemsFriends of AK
Revolution by the Book (AK Blog)
Save on Monthly Review Books All Month!
We had so much fun with last month's Mayday Spectacular sale, we've decided to keep up the discounting action. So from now on, we're going feature a different publisher each month and put ALL their books on 25% discount for the whole month. That way you'll get a sense of all the great publishers we work with, and you'll save money at the same time! Doesn't that sound fun?

So, to kick things off, our featured publisher for the month of June is Monthly Review Press-an independent socialist publisher, and the publishing arm of Monthly Review magazine. They're known for their books on political economy, history, ecology, and labor, among many other essential topics.

Check out all the Monthly Review titles, in their discounted glory, or read on for a few highlights...
Monthly Review: Recent & Recommended  [Image]The ABCs of the Economic Crisis: What Working People Need to KnowMichael D Yates & Fred Magdoff
Sale price: $8.96 (list price $11.95)
The economic crisis has created a host of problems for working people: collapsing wages, lost jobs, ruined pensions, and the anxiety that comes with not knowing what tomorrow will bring. Compounding all this is a lack of reliable information that speaks to the realities of workers. In this short, clear, and concise book, Fred Magdoff and Michael D. Yates explain the nature of the economic crisis as a normal and even expected outcome of a thoroughly irrational and destructive system. No amount of tinkering with capitalism can overcome the core contradiction of the system: the daily exploitation and degradation of the majority of the world's people by a tiny minority of business owners. This book is aimed primarily at working people, students, and activists, who want not just to understand the world but to change it.

For more background on the financial crisis from Monthly Review, see also The Great Financial Crisis. [Image]Anarchism: From Theory To PracticeDaniel GuérinSale price: $10.50 (list price $14.00)
A classic introductory book on anarchism, with a strong Marxist flavor. Excellent both on the intellectual substance of anarchism and its actual practice through the Bolshevik Revolution, the Spanish Civil War, the Italian Factory Councils, and workers' self-management in Yugoslavia and Algeria. With an introduction by Noam Chomsky. [Image]Discourse on Colonialism
Aimé CésaireSale price: $10.50 (list price $14.00)
Césaire's work, crucial to the anti-colonial struggles of the 50s and 60s, now haunts us again. His questions about the role of imperialism and slavery and of concepts like the "savage" or the "primitive" as central to the construction of "civilization," of the West and of progress remind us that the carnage in Africa, Asia, and the Americas which is our history is not past; it is lodged deep in the heart of Western cultures. As Césaire said, "It is equally necessary to decolonize our minds, our inner life, at the same time we decolonize society." [Image]Eurocentrism: Modernity, Religion, and Democracy, A Critique of Eurocentrism and Culturalism
Samir AminSale price: $13.46 (list price $17.95)
Since its first publication twenty years ago, Eurocentrism has become a classic of radical thought. Written by one of the world's foremost political economists, this original and provocative essay takes on one of the great "ideological deformations" of our time. Rejecting the dominant Eurocentric view of world history, which narrowly and incorrectly posits a progression from the Greek and Roman classical world to Christian feudalism and the European capitalist system, Amin presents a sweeping reinterpretation that emphasizes the crucial historical role played by the Arab Islamic world. Throughout the work, Amin addresses a broad set of concerns, ranging from the ideological nature of scholastic metaphysics to the meanings and shortcomings of contemporary Islamic fundamentalism.

Also by Samir Amin, from Monthly Review: The World We Wish To See. [Image]Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a ContinentEduardo Galeano Sale price: $13.50 (list price $18.00)

The best single volume on 500 years of exploitation and resistance of Latin America's "open veins." Rather than chronology, geography, or political successions, Galeano has organized the various facets of Latin American history according to the patterns of five centuries of exploitation. Weaving fact and imagery into a rich tapestry, Galeano fuses scientific analysis with the passions of a plundered and suffering people. This classic is now further honored by Isabel Allende's inspiring introduction.

For another Galeano classic from Monthly Review, check out Days and Nights of Love and War. [Image]The Structural Crisis of CapitalIstván MészárosSale price: $20.21 (list price $26.95)
In this collection of trenchant essays and interviews, István Mészáros lays bare the exploitative structure of modern capitalism. He argues with great power that the world's economies are on a social and ecological precipice, and that unless we take decisive action to radically transform our societies we will find ourselves thrust headfirst into barbarism and environmental catastrophe. Mészáros, however, is no pessimist. He believes that the multiple crises of world capitalism will encourage the working class to demand center stage in the construction of a new system of production and distribution designed to meet human needs rather than serve the relentless pursuit of profit.

Also by István Mészáros, from Monthly Review: The Challenge and Burden of Historical Time. [Image]The Taming of the American Crowd: From Stamp Riots to Shopping Sprees Al SandineSale price: $14.21 (list price $18.95)
The history of the United States has been largely shaped, for better or for worse, by the actions of large groups of people. Rioters on a village green, shoppers lurching about a labyrinthine mall, slaves packed into the dark hold of a ship, strikers assembling outside the factory gates, all have their place in the rich and sometimes tragic history of the American crowd. This unique study traces that history from the days of anti-colonial revolt to today's passive 'colonized crowds' that fill our sports arenas, commercial centers, and workplaces. In clear and lively prose, Al Sandine argues for role crowds have played in securing greater democracy, civil rights, and free speech. But he also investigates crowds in their more dangerous forms, such as lynch mobs and anti-immigrant riots. [Image]When Media Goes to War: Hegemonic Discourse, Public Opinion, and the Limits of DissentAnthony DiMaggio Sale price: $14.21 (list price $18.95)
In this fresh and provocative book, Anthony DiMaggio uses the conflicts with Iraq and Iran as his touchstones to probe the sometimes fine line between news and propaganda. Using Gramsci's concept of hegemony and drawing upon the seminal works of Noam Chomsky, Edward Herman, and Robert McChesney, DiMaggio enlightens readers about issues essential to the struggle for a critical media and a functioning democracy. If our newspapers and television news programs play a decisive role in determining what we think, and if what the media give us is largely propaganda in support of an oppressive and undemocratic status quo, then it is incumbent upon us to make sure that they are responsive to the majority and not just the powerful and privileged few.

Also about the media, from Monthly Review: The Language of Empire, The Political Economy of Media, and The Problem of the Media. Featured AK Press Titles: 50% Off! [Image]Each month we also bring you a new selection of featured AK Press backlist titles at an enticing 50% discount! Here are the new featured titles for June:

Black Flame: The Revolutionary Class Politics of Anarchism and Syndicalism, CounterPower Vol. I
Michael Schmidt & Lucien van der Walt
Sale price: $11.50 (list price $22.95)
Critical Mass: Bicycling's Defiant Celebration
Edited by Chris Carlsson
Sale price: $9.50 (list price $18.95)

1936: The Spanish Revolution
The Ex
Sale price: $12.50 (list price $24.95)

Igniting A Revolution: Voices in Defense of the Earth
Edited by Steven Best & Anthony J. Nocella II
Sale price: $11.00 (list price $21.95)
Real Utopia: Participatory Society for the 21st Century
Edited by Chris Spannos
Sale price: $11.00 (list price $21.95)

Anarchism in America DVD
Edited by Steven Fischler & Joel Sucher
Sale price: $10.00 (list price $19.95) Forthcoming AK Press Titles: 25% Off! [Image]We've been busy around here lately, getting LOTS of new AK Press books sent off to the printer... and we hope you'll be as excited as we are about the results. Check out the next few books that are coming out from AK Press, and preorder yours today! We'll bill you and send your books as soon as they arrive in our warehouse from the printer.
Wasting Libby: The True Story of How the WR Grace Corporation Left a Montana Town to Die
Andrea Peacock
Preorder now for $11.95 (list price $15.95)
Dispersing Power: Social Movements as Anti-State Forces
Raul Zibechi
Preorder now for $11.95 (list price $15.95)
Uses of a Whirlwind: Movement, Movements, and Contemporary Radical Currents in the United States
Edited by Team Colors Collective
Preorder now for $14.95 (list price $19.95)
Sparking A Worldwide Energy Revolution: Social Struggles in the Transition to a Post-petrol World
Edited by Kolya Abramsky
Preorder now for $16.50 (list price $21.95) Become a Friend of AK Press! [Image]Support anarchist publishing! To thank you for your monthly contribution of $25 or more, we'll send you a copy of every new AK Press title hot off the press—plus you'll get a 20% discount on anything we sell, anytime! With so many great titles at the printer, there's no time like the present to sign up as a Friend of AK.
Sign up now and get a stylish tote bag featuring the new Friends of AK logo designed by Josh MacPhee. If you're already a FoAK, just refer someone else, and if they mention you when they sign up, you'll both get a tote bag. And that's not all-if you keep referring more people after your first, you'll get a $20 AK Press gift certificate for each additional new FoAK you sign up!
 

Anti-Semitism Examined and Debunked

I recently finished The Politics of Anti-Semitism which is edited by the always reliable duo of Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair. The title is bit vague. One casual acquaintance, upon seeing me carry it, asked, "You're reading about how politicians hate the Jews?"

Not really.

A series of incredible essays by people like Cockburn, Bruce Jackson, Michael Neumann, George Sunderland, Linda Belanger, Robert Fisk and Edward Said (among others) takes the media, politicians and Jewish groups to task for their blanket anti-Semitic labels to anyone who, chiefly, dares to criticize Israel's actions against the Palestinians. Each essay is a powerhouse of knowledge, firsthand experience and examination, and if this seems even slightly interesting to you, I highly recommend it.

(As an aside, a director friend of mine who is Jewish, once thoroughly criticized me for my defense of Palestinian acts of self-defense. While he didn't flatly call me out as anti-Semitic, had the conversation gone on much longer I'm sure I would have been painted with that brush.)

AK Press and CounterPunch worked together to put this book out. (I got it through the Friends of AK Press program, which I encourage you to look into.) Quite honestly, every book these two publishers do together is fascinating, and this is no exception.

Ironically enough, I was reading this when Obama administration decided to criticize Israel's plan to build 1,600 homes in a disputed region of East Jerusalem. The administration took a lot of heat for its relatively tame words. It was interesting to see the main thesis of the essays in the book in action right in front of me on CNN ... and this was written in 2003.

I can't imagine what the critics of the Obama administration's admonishment would think if they read this book ...

Happy Anniversay, AK Press!

This year is the 20th anniversary of AK Press, the premier anarchist book publisher. 20 years is a long time for any publisher these days. For a publisher of leftist, radical literature it is almost unheard of.

Here's to another 20, AK. Keep up with the good work.

Required Reading

Anyone who is a political junkie of the progressive variety has heard the name Noam Chomsky. The famous linguist, anarchist, speaker is one of the most quoted people on the planet (just not in America), and he has a virtual library of reading by and about him. He changed the way I watched and read the news, and if any one of his books don't have you heading for a dictionary you aren't reading closely enough.



AK Press,which is an essential publisher of political material, has plenty by Chomsky. (And if you're a Friend of AK Press you'd get all his AK Press books delivered to your door by a uniformed government agent as they are hot off the presses.) AK Press isn't the only publisher of his work, either, but it should be noted that due to what he writes, mainstream publishers are hesitant to publish him.

Chomsky doesn't write to tell you "how it is." He writes to tell you that you should look these things up for yourself to see if you agree that this is how the world works. American dominance, capitalistic greed, war, control -- these are all issues he covers. His thoughts are not just random bits, either. He backs up what he writes about with copious footnotes (hundreds a book usually) so that you can go to the source material and see for yourself. Try getting Rush Limbaugh to do that.



Someday Chomsky will no longer be with us. I'm sure many of his publishers will keep his work in circulation as long as possible. My main concern, though, is that no one will step up to the plate to carry on where he has left off. There are other writers attempting it, but none seem to put it together as well as Chomsky does. His knowledge is broad and amazing. His informational resources are vast. He makes the connections that should be obvious, but aren't. Once you see them, however, you can't turn away.

Chomsky is, quite simply, required reading for anyone into politics. Left or right. Agree with or not. You can't make any argument you want, but you can't say he doesn't get you to think, which may be the most important job of all.

Her First Book

My daughter wasn't even a year old when I started reading to her. The first book? Alexander Berkman's ABC of Anarchism, a classic from 1929 reprinted by AK Press and obtained through its excellent Friends of AK Press program.

My parents would have been appalled.

My daughter is five now, and I still read to her on a regular basis, though she's nowhere near as interested in reading as I was at her age. She's slowly getting it on her own, though, which I think will improve her interest level. I've got around nine hundred books in my library and let her know when she can read she can read of them she can reach. (With that one exception.)

That first book, though, was important to me. I know none of it stuck, but I wanted a seed to be planted. I wanted to, when she would ask me years later, be able to tell her that her first book was an important one, and why it was important. It's essential reading for anarchists and the politically minded in general. I don't exactly expect her to have the same political values as mine, but I know she won't learn the proper things about anarchism in school, so I wanted to get first dibs on that.

Perhaps in the future, when she's been reading for few years on her own, she'll delve into the first book I read her. Maybe she'll have questions. Maybe she'll dismiss it as leftist garbage. If I can get her to question it, though, then I have done my job. You see, I don't think a parent's goal is to get their kid to think like them. It's to have the child question the parent as to his or her beliefs. That should be what every parent strives for. Anything less is unacceptable ... and in some cases dangerous.

Let's hope this first book set the gears in motion for her to be on the right track. At the very least it's better than Limbaugh.

Huge Book Sale!

From AK Press:


Friday, July 3rd: Fuck the Fourth Sale!
4–10PM, AK Press warehouse

It's that special time again! Everything in the warehouse 25% off, with hundreds of titles marked down to $1–5! Snacks and refreshments on us! Tell your friends!


I'll have my daughter that day, so I won't be there, but if you are in the Bay Area and you consider yourself politically minded, you owe it to yourself to check it out. Sounds to be spectacular.

Investigating The Walk

Talking the Walk: A Communications Guide for Racial Justice is an important book with a lot to say if you are involved in any kind of activist group (race-based or not), but I have to wonder if its message is a little lost.

The book, edited by Hunter Cutting and Makani Themba-Nixon, gives activists the tools to effectively deal with issues of race when it comes to things like dealing with the mainstream media. It teaches people how to fashion the debate, how to get issues into the public eye and so on. Honestly, I could see this AK Press book being used in colleges, as it is that thorough and set up to do that very thing. Any questions about the book's validity are also addressed by the use of examples where the described tactics clearly worked. But, again, does it matter?

Now that Obama is president, I've actually heard people say the country is no longer racist. And then there are those who use his race as the butt of jokes (which I've covered on the Cancerous Zeitgeist blog). These two groups are the extremes. There are those who think racism is gone, and those for which it will never go away. Yes it is important to get both groups to hear messages that racism exists and it should be eradicated, but you have to wonder how you can effectively get it through their heads. This book claims to show activist groups how.

On one hand, repeating a message over and over will eventually cause it to sink in and become effective. That's something this book understands.

On the other hand, you spend a lot of time and effort appealing to morons. Time spent on them is time not spent on something else.

Racist messages in the media and from the government must be fought and countered. I don't think any progressive thinking person would argue otherwise. Knowing how to fight and counter is essential, hence the need for the book. I just have a problem taking the fight to idiots.

I am conflicted when it comes to this book. I can see its importance (and it is very well written), but it is not something I would pick up for casual reading. (I actually got it because I'm a Friend of AK Press, which is something everyone should look into.) The only parts of the book that actually interested me were the media situations that were presented (such as Katrina) and how they were dealt with by activist groups. That was interesting.

I've always been a firm believer in letting people drown in their own stupidity and ridiculous beliefs. I understand that when it comes to issues such as race, that stupidity becomes a huge problem for other people. On some level, however, it becomes a gay marriage problem.

The gay marriage problem is simple. Homosexuals want to be treated like heterosexual couples when it comes to marriage. They want assimilation. I would argue that assimilation is a bad thing (look at how well it worked for Native Americans). Equal rights, freedom, and all that comes with it is important. Assimilation destroys cultures. Asking for the right to marry isn't as effective as somehow taking it. Asking to be treated as equals when it comes to race, isn't as effective as demanding it. That's why I always loved the Black Panthers over say King, Jr. When you demand, you don't lose your sense of self. When you ask, it's akin to begging your master for a treat.

This book walks that line, but it often strays into the demanding side, which is why I feel it was worth reading. I just wish most of the focus would've been on creating your own media instead of using the enemy's.

AK Press

For all you political/social junkies of a left bent, I have to recommend AK Press' Friends of AK Press. For $25 a month, you get everything AK Press publishes for that month for free. You have to sign up for 3 months minimum, but it is worth it. You get every book, DVD and CD that the anarchist publisher does, and you get like 20% off all items in the catalog.

This month I got two books that averaged $18 a piece, so you can see it's a good deal. That said, if you don't like political/social books from a leftist/anarchist perspective, this is not something you should do.

I have friends who have done it after hearing me talk about it, and they seem to like it. Check it out if you think it may be for you. It's a damn good deal, and you'll be neck deep in quality books in no time.