(Canada) Call Out for Anti-Capitalist Actions at the G20 in Toronto

The G20 is meeting in Toronto this June! But, if that's interesting to you, then you probably already knew that, and perhaps you've moved on to asking yourselves -- What is to be done?

We are calling ourselves Southern Ontario Anarchist Resistance (SOAR), and this June, we want you to hop to Toronto. In the last decade, our movements have spent a lot of time arguing about summit hopping. This conversation has often been interesting and productive, but we feel that the time has come to stop talking, and to start causing some shit! SOAR is calling for three actions, between the afternoon of Saturday, June 26th and the evening of the 27th. Here's a short rundown of the actions we're calling so far:

Get off the Fence! -- On Saturday, June 26th, we will form an anti-colonial, anti-capitalist presence to walk in solidarity with the big People First march, before continuing on towards the fence to confront the police state and Toronto's corporate culture. This action will be militant and confrontational, seeking to humiliate the security apparatus and make Toronto's elites regret letting the dang G20 in here. Meet by 1pm at the Northeast corner of College and university.

Saturday Night Fever Later, from late on the 26th ‘till dawn on the 27th, come join us for a roaming street party! We will dance through the streets of Toronto to the music of guerilla DJ's and renegade bands, taking back space from the corporate spectacle that this city has become.

Autonomous Direct Action All day Sunday, we are calling for diverse and creative actions aimed to disrupt business-as-usual. As the leaders of the G20 nations make their final deliberations, let's demonstrate the diversity of our discontent.

These actions are being organized around an affinity group structure. By coming to Toronto as part of an affinity group, you will be best able to plug into that structure, thereby making sure that your party is as awesome as possible. We encourage you to form affinity groups with your trusted friends, lovers, comrades, etc. An affinity group is a small group of people, about 3-10 or so, who are interested in similar tactics and have similar levels of comfort. They can be thought of as the basic building block of the larger, decentralized group that we will form during these actions. In a demonstration, affinity groups are able to communicate and make decisions quickly and autonomously, and can act with greater efficiency and safety.

We've got a month and a half to get ready for this! Let's gather in the secret, quiet places, and discuss with our trusted buddies what would excite and inspire us. Then, once we share a vision, let us scheme how to create it. Here are some things to think about when preparing as an affinity group:

-Comfort level – what sort of things are you willing or not willing to do?

-Legal preparations – How will you deal with arrests?

-Getting used to working as a group – In the coming weeks, make some time to go adventuring together.

-Have a plan – What sort of roles will your affinity group take on during the events? What are you good at? How will you apply those skills?

-Material preparations – What will you need to bring to do what you need to do? Don’t forget water!

Once you have an affinity group, SOAR wants you to get involved with the planning of these actions! In the coming weeks, we will be organizing spokes councils, where representatives from affinity groups can come help plan the details of the actions, and to plug in by committing to taking on certain roles as a group. If you are interested in attending such a meeting, drop a line to torontospokes @ ecologyfund.net. And of course, the internet is not a safe place to discuss any specifics of these actions.

All SOAR events celebrate a diversity of tactics, meaning that we support all the many different ways that people choose to resist our common enemies. We will not condemn or attempt to prevent or control actions being taken by others, and will vigorously resist state repression against anyone. That said, respect for diversity of tactics also means not smashing things while we're part of the labour child-friendly march, and remembering that although we might think certain tactics are pointless/annoying, we should not needlessly antagonize those people. Not that y'all would ever do that.

It's gonna be a great summer folks.

Be the riot you wish to see,

Southern Ontario Anarchist Resistance

 

Announcing Anti Prison Demo during G20 in Toronto

On Sunday, June 27 2010 at 5pm there will be a Demonstration Against Prison in Toronto. Anarchists are organizing the demonstration as a part of the larger mobilization in opposition to the G20 meetings


This is a statement of our perspective and intention for the demo, more details to come soon.

Prison is everywhere. It is nothing more than a reflection of the society in which we live. A society that resembles an open prison in which the majority of the population is locked up because of the necessity to find money, because of the lack of purpose in life, because of the roles of submission and servitude that are imposed by the ruling values. It is a daily threat and reality that has permeated every facet of society.

With the deepening of surveillance, the integration of police forces, the increased use of private security, the existence of courts, repression and isolation, the walls of prison are already built around us. If we don’t accept this miserable life offered to us, they’ll always have room for us in their overcrowded cells. The fear of being ripped apart from our loved ones and thrown into jail is what we measure, each day, against our existing servitude.

In the streets, prisons, psychiatric institutions, detention centres, there are those who do not come to peace with their exploitation, who do not bury a taste for freedom, for a better life, just because a judge imposes it. There are people who refuse the daily humiliation of obeying guards and bosses. For whom the walls and the barbed wire of the prisons are not yet marked in their brains but are taken as obstacles to overcome.

We desire to stand with comrades and accomplices who refuse to accept this reality, who refuse to be defeated by the System, who taste freedom in the ashes of prisons. We want to shed our fear and together confront the prison apparatus – the surveillance cameras, the police, the alienating consumer culture, the prison itself.

A question is often raised: what do we do with the murderers and rapists? In this question lies the assumption that the current system offers a solution. All the prisons have yet to “correct” the elements of society that breed this violence. Let us think instead about what we can do with each other, how we create communities of self-determination and autonomy that do not breed this rape culture through patriarchy, or genocide through racism.

We want to expand our solidarity in struggle against prison. We want people to join us and directly confront the systems of social control. We want to be everything prison isn't: uncontrollable, joyful, creative...

The location for this demo T.B.A.

Keep the date marked off, we'll see you in the streets!

For updates and more info: http://fireworksforprisons.wordpress.com


Queer G20 Call Out

The G20 is invading Toronto from June 25th to 27th, 2010. This is a callout to militant queers everywhere; trans people, dykes, homos, faggots, cocksuckers, and genderfuckers: come to ATTACK!

We all know why the G20 needs to be opposed: world leaders getting
together secretively to make destructive global capitalist advances from
behind closed doors. The G20 represents the interests of the forces
which oppress queers on a daily basis, from the state and police as
tools of repression to fundamentalist, right-wing Christian agendas, to
enabling more corporate power and environmental destruction.

FUCK THAT.

We live in a world where queers are treated like absolute shit, where
the rich are conducting a colonial and ecological genocide, where racial
profiling is still acceptable, and where we are forced to live off the
backs of others. We will never be able to fully express our identities
or build supportive communities while we continue to live in this system
of privilege and domination. And this will continue until we destroy the
powers that stand between us and our decisions and dreams.

Luckily, queers come backed up with a long history of resistance. This
will be especially poignant during the G20 because the 41st anniversary
of the Stonewall riots falls on June 27! Our queer forebearers taught
themselves how to organize, how to resist, and how to fight the cops on
the streets, all the while still living their own brave lives, which in
itself is an act of love and revolt.

When the G20 comes to Toronto, we will make it evident that radical
queers are powerful, fierce, and a tangible threat. That we are
unpredictable, ungovernable, and pissed-off. During the G20 summit, we
have a special opportunity to show the powers that oppress us just how
hard we are willing to fight for the world (and parks) we desire (to
fuck in)!

So, queers, come to Toronto, bring your affinity groups, your
pink-and-black bandannas, your heels, your ceramic dildos, your plans
and your flaming raging spirits. Stay tuned for specifically queer
actions to come, and know that the G20 resistance will be full of queer
anarchist comrades.

Check out this callout from the Southern Ontario Anarchist Resistance:
http://www.anarchistnews.org/?q=node/10935

As well as what is being planned by the Toronto Community Mobilization
Network at: http://g20.torontomobilize.org/

DISCLAIMER: We are in no way encouraging you to do anything illegal or
disruptive, because something like that could actually shift the power
balance and change things, and that would be very very naughty of you.
Please just sit at home, go to work, and watch your pass your life pass
you by.