We played an awesome show in Portland with our pals HOLY!HOLY!HOLY!
Members of H!H!H! were accused by perfect strangers of being unsafe, so we opted to ask the neighboring bar if they'd mind not calling the police if we played on their corner outside. They said yes, and didn't feel like interrogating strangers about rumors first. I'd expect a bar owner over a member of the "radical" "community" to play 20 damn questions with crazy looking/sounding kids, but as Adam & The Ancient Gods mentions in his set (in the VIDEO BELOW!), the "Portland Mentality" often lends to more probation-esque policing with "radicals" than what is typically considered "mainstream society."
The sentiments in the video speak for themselves, so I'll stop at reiterating the amazing time we had with our friends in portland playing music, sharing conversation, and assorted awesomeness.
(*** note: The featured "confrontation," as stated in the video, was undertaken by strangers about issues they have never been personally involved in, at a non-radical space. Myself and the 9 people on our tour have had nothing but incredible personal experiences with Michael and his family, including his two amazing kids and many housemates/friends.)
(Portland is SO PUNK that there was a GBH patch left under a car on the ground. I told everyone that I'd only continue to respect them if they resisted the urges i KNEW they were having to pick it up.)
If you are having trouble finding out why people feel unsafe around you, I can make sure the info is broadcast so widely you'll be sure not to miss it. <3
ReplyDeleteWhoever you are, if you would prefer to chat about whatever it is you're concerned about, you can hit me up via email and let me know who you are and stuff.
ReplyDeleteI can't really absorb your intentions through the sarcasm/threat, and I'm not even sure who you're addressing... so hit me up I guess.
(this blog/tour has over ten people on it not from portland at all, so be mindful of being direct in who you're trying to address, i guess...)
piggknuckle@yahoo.com
dear anonymous #1,
ReplyDeletethank you for your voice. YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!! let's tell the nation the truth about these guys.
#4 says, heeheehee all the way home
ReplyDeleteThe internet warriors coming out to legitimize the title/sentiment of this post is somethin' else.
ReplyDeleteIt speaks volumes of the quality of discourse that the first post was sarcastic and threatening (not to mention inarticulate) and subsequently heralded in a "thanks."
As a queer, female Palestinian bodied person on this tour, I am curious who "you GUYS" refers to on this tour...and why don't you start telling YOUR nation by actually saying what you mean on these comments.
ReplyDeleteThese anonymous accusation comments sound like infiltrator tactics to me. Do they even know anyone on this personally?
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think it's pretty amusing to talk about "telling the nation" in the way being suggested given the very TITLE of the tour.
ReplyDeletewhy are these people unsafe? what's the story?
ReplyDeleteahahahahahahaahhahahaaaa blogger fights. *fart*
ReplyDeleteI'm working on putting the whole story of why michael franklin is a violent manarchist into something like a zine, but for now let's go with the threat's he's made against an anarchist who tried to call him out.
ReplyDeletehttp://i.imgur.com/78tY5.png
http://i.imgur.com/U4Ad7.png <-Michael's Wife, Angela Franklin, included because it includes a glimpse into their mental states. She describes the story michael tells her, about an army of sharps who seek out transphobes and beat them up.
http://i.imgur.com/nclRu.png
I asked you about the Army of Sharps because one person who has been harrassed by you in the past, had a really scary incident dealing with antifa and Sharps. That person is also being called a manarchist and accused of being unsafe as well. At the time of our internet exchange I really didn't know anything about you and what you are connected to. Now, looking back I shouldn't of said anything about Sharps, but I wanted you to understand how scary it is for me to have the constant threat of someone taking action against michael because they heard he was a threat to safe space, a transphobe, a racist, and all the other things people have piled on to the list. This could all be resolved if you would just tell us what michael did/said that makes him a transphobe/racist/sexist... we all know why he threatened you, but we are all waiting for the proof that he is transphobic/racist/sexist. even the people who have come up to us all over the counrty have had no examples just oppressive labels.
ReplyDeleteAdam, you let us all down. Don't come back.
ReplyDeleteviolence! ahahahaha. on facebook? fuck i am so glad i don't live in portland....these scenesters are insane. I have never experienced Michael Franklin to be oppressive in any way. Agressive, yes, but oppressive? Never. I have known him for years. If you read those links that Anon put up, you can see pretty clearly he was not threatening attack, but defense. On facebook. hahaha
ReplyDeleteAdam, you bring us up, wherever you are. You are welcome back to my house anytime. As for the accusations against me, I am not worried, because I know that I have never participated in, condoned, or perpetrated oppressive language. The accusation of transphobia was from saying that a female friend had every right to express her desire to live with other womyn. There is nothing transphobic about expressing your desire to be with anyone. I am not clear at all how this also has equated to being a danger to womyn, racist or sexist, but all of those claims have been lobbed against me. I have also been called a danger to safer space. Ridiculous! I have never used violence against a single person int he anarchist community, and anon above me spelled it out clear. I WAS USING THE THREAT OF DEFENSIVE ACTION! And I will never deny that. Paxana has proven themself to be a dangerous person. Ask how many "call-outs" they have been involved in. Ask how many people's lives they have attempted to destroy. Look at the insanity of the actions against me, my family, my band mates and my friends in the community, not just in portland, but across this fucked up country.
ReplyDeleteI am no longer living in the paralyzing anxiety that has gripped me for months. I am not acared of Pax, their bullshit accusations, or their friends. I will continue playing music, fighting the cops and all forms of power and I will continue to be a part of any community I choose. I am not submitting to their dominance,as so many have. You claim I make you unsafe? Ask how many people have wanted to speak out against this bullshit but do not OUT OF FEAR of repercussion from Pax and their friends. Just ask. Ask any community I have ever been a part of prior to pissing off the R and B by "dissing their crew on zerzan's show" (from the message sent by pax to me) if I have ever exhibited any of the oppressive behaviors I am now being assaulted as having. You will find an overwhelming response to the opposite.
I am not scared of you, or your stupid fucking scene-zine.
posting accusations on facebook is not equal "calling out".
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad we can't all burn portland down together... I guess the internet makes it easy to condemn everyone AND write condemnations off all too easily.
ReplyDeleteUntil the sun burns out, I'll try to minimize judging off of hearsay or anything but direct experience. Some people can be awful once or twice or during a period in their life, and then become amazing folks overnight for one reason or another.
I'm not scared.
I think there's a reason this all mostly seems to stem from internet sources/communication... irrational fear and half-ass interactions are easier than thinking something through.
ALL of this shit is a toy-fight at a kiddie-pool wading party.
Dry the fuck off.
and GTFO
ReplyDeleteI am Alvaro and I say:
ReplyDeletefuck anonymity, that shit's for fighting the big fish not people. have some courage yall, stand up for what you believe dont hide your insecurities behind "ideologies". seriously. that shit's bad for you and for everyone else.
Alvaro again.
ReplyDeleteAlso, people are dumb. Start acting with a bit more dignity yall, if you have a problem dont write a blog about it or a zine, not only is that "reformist" (because it doesnt DO anything) but it's also kinda clishe. Seriously, anarchists writings zines, who wouldve thunked. If we have a problem with a "liberatory-minded" person then we MIGHT want to try to talk to people civily, if someone says/does something that offends you TELL THEM, i know 85% of the people there and they are all really swell people who WOULD do something about their problems fi talked to with respect.
ALSO! PLEASE stop telling me who to be friends with. I think we are all intelligent people who know who's a good person and who's not. Please dont tell my friends where they can go or cant.
I'm not gonna check this again (1. because this blog suck and 2. because this is stupid, if yall wanna get at me do it via facebook Alvaro Chivas-Fernandez)
Again, i don't think here is the place to spell out every fucked up thing you've ever done, but i want to correct some double-speak michael is putting out.
ReplyDeleteYou didn't defend Ali's right to live with womyn. You defended her right to not live with womyn, provided that particular woman is transgendered. She said that sometimes when you need a female housemate you need "estrogen" "a real woman" and "a trans woman won't always cut it". Those are euphemisms for housing discrimination based on someone's gender expression, which is cissexist, transphobic, unethical, and in many states illegal.
Also, Michael said if I kept his name out of his mouth, I wouldn't have to watch my back. To defend himself against an attack would be obviously justified, but to defend himself against being talked about is ridiculous. He wouldn't have made a spectacle out of himself at the star-e-rose if he didn't want to be talked about.
And go ahead, ask me how many "call-outs" I've been involved in. In my 7 years as an anarchist, the answer is two. Three if you call me telling uriel to fuck off on facebook a call-out, but that seems like a particularly broad definition. I helped a friend who was raped confront their aggressor. I went with them once to the persons shop and confronted them. The other was Michael... and this is the first time i've helped get his show shut down. If he works on his issues with violence and fucked-up right-wing politics, I'd be helping him book shows, but he refuses to. He blames these on facebook, PC, anything to mask his own oppressive actions.
as far as i can tell the internet is insanity. anyone participating in/with the internet is willingly participating in insanity and therefore is insane.
ReplyDeleteanyone "making a point" about how "shitty" someone else is on the internet is a MORON.
bring on Armageddon.
lolz @ paxana : for boasting about how long they've been an anarchist. that's so cool. i miss portland for shit like that. "IN MY 7 (LONG YEARS OF BEING A BIG CIRCLE A ANARCHIST) "...... blahblahblah
i wasn't boasting about how long i've been an anarchist. i was remarking on how rare my involvement is in call-outs. in 7 years, this is the second time. michael would have you believe this is something i do for fun to thousands of innocent victims.
ReplyDeleteblaming michael's bullshit on the internet is the best example of being unaccountable i've ever seen. facebook is a piece of machinery somewhere. it didn't cause him to say the fucked up shit he said, and "the armageddon" won't stop macho fuckwits like michael franklin from siezing power for their far-right agenda.
even better
ReplyDeletelinky linky
http://www.derailingfordummies.com/#theinternet
and what is michael's far-right agenda consist of?
ReplyDeleteI need to make this clear, and perhaps Paxana is not clear on this. Perhaps Paxana is a decent person who is acting under the idea that I am a threat and doing what they need to do to make their community safe.
ReplyDeleteI never defended any of Ali's comments concerning what a womyn is. I defended her initial comment that she wished to live in a house with more females. Expressing desire to be with anyone is not a phobic statement, imbedded with any preconcieved notions of what the make-up of a person is. Immediately following that i was related to Lierre Kieth for being a "primmie" and that our "prim club" has a history of this. I told Paxana to leave my name out of their mouth because I have seen people be attacked based on accusations surrounding these issues. Paxana told me that they would follow my band and anywhere I was in the community they would be there to show everyone what a threat I am. Had I known that Paxana is merely an internet bully with no real pull in a community to take physical action against people, I would have never said I would use violence. I do not retract that I would and will use violence to defend myself, particularly now that I am being surrounded by people in public spaces while I am with my children. The escalation of this is imminent as political ideology has interfered where conversation has failed. If we are to talk about time involved in this community, I can vouch for the twenty years I have been an outspoken anarchist, and have NEVER been "called out" for transphobia, sexism or racism. It could be because my communities were soooooo scared of me that they hid away, or it could be because I am not a threat, a transphobe or a sexist, racist homophobe, as has been said about me by people whom I have never had relationship on any level with.
The sad thing is Portland has been through so much of these "processes" that transformative jsutice has been lost, since of a strong forceful community is gone and we are no longer a threat to anybody but ourselves.
I have never defended any phobic comments and have spent years creating space in our homes/collectives where all people are free to be and arm their liberation. I am not transphobic. I embrace all forms of gender fucking, as I feel gender is a false identity to begin with.
ReplyDeleteThe quoted statements in Paxana's post were NOT said by me in any form, nor were those comments defended by me.
You're lying right now, michael. I don't know if it's to yourself or to these people, but you're lying. Want to bring this back to email or do you want me to spell it out publicly? Ostracizing you is not my first choice with how to deal with you, and I'd genuinely like to see you rejoin the anarchist movement within portland as a positive contributor. Share your email with me and i'll make another email for speaking with you and I'll write you to discuss this.
ReplyDeleteWhy not make it public? I have use of many no problem speaking with you, and have in fact asked for it repeatedly with many different mediators and been denied. How am I lying?
ReplyDeletewoah, keyboard probelm.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem speaking with you.
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!111
ReplyDeleteDONT MAKE PAX SPELL IT OUT PUBLICLY!
HE'LL WRITE A ZINE ABOUT YOU!!!
OH NOOOOEEEESSSSSS!!!!11
PAX ALONE DECIDES WHO IS IN THE ANARCHIST MOVEMENT!!!!!111111ONEONE
The mere idea that Pax said that, let alone truly believes that Pax's community is "the anarchist movement" is saddening and enraging. This is THE PORTLAND MENTALITY.
ReplyDeleteDude, fuck off with your portland mentality hogwash. YOU FUCKED UP. YOU ENFORCED SHITTY SOCIETAL OPPRESSIONS. NOT PORTLAND, NOT FACEBOOK. OWN YOUR ACTIONS FOR ONCE IN YOUR FUCKING LIFE. DON'T HIDE BEHIND YOUR CHILDREN, JUST STAND THE FUCK UP AND OWN YOUR ACTIONS.
ReplyDeleteSo, you just stood up for Ali's right to choose who she lives with. Say, how did it come up that she wants to live with womyn? Did she just bring up that fact out of nowhere or was it part of some larger discussion?
"I embrace all forms of gender fucking,as I feel gender is a false identity to begin with"
ReplyDeletethis is an inherently transphobic, and privileged statement as it denies non cis peoples right to identify as whatever gender they please (trans people die everyday just because of their gender identity). peoples gender identities aren't false they are REAL, trans people are constantly told by this cisexist society that their gender is false. i can see why people are accusing you of transphobia, it just seems you have a lot of privilege to work through, even though you are trying to mean well. I hope you can see past all this drama and work on your shit.- sophie
"hide behind your children"... how is he doing that?
ReplyDeletewhat are the specific steps you want michael to take to "own" his actions? what are you suggesting occur? if this is affecting people to this extent, then it is obvious that pax needs to set forth a way of resolving this.
this and many other conflicts are holding back the entire anarchist community from having any solidarity. the streets are burning everywhere... isn't this want we want...shouldn't we be acting now?
pax!!!! let's get this over with so we can go back to making the true people hold themselves accountable. where have all of the actions gone? people are sick of the internal politics that are in the portland community and by us not being able to work this out is making a number of people happy...not us...not you. i am pleading here!!!! We have to understand that we dont have to agree on anything except who the enemy is and it is not anyone within our communites. even with all of this bullshit if you were being attacked in the streets we would have your back, we would have anyones back. could we say the same about you?
If you feel that michael has stated or supported any transphobic remarks then why don't you out right ask him how he feels about those issues. give him the space to respond.
sophie- i really don't think that was what michael was stating. please let him respond before holding onto to the idea that he's a transphobe. it's really hard to have these discussions on an internet format, which is why I think this whole mess started.
ReplyDeleteHe can't be asked to leave an anarchist space without "being surrounded by people in public spaces while I am with my children." His children were on the other side of the room and, furthermore, I'll tell his ass to leave in front of whomever I damn well please, be they a newborn baby or a great-grandparent.
ReplyDeleteAs for where the actions have gone, there are a lot of theories about that, but they don't have anything to do with why Michael is unaccountable for his actions.
Why don't I ask him his position on the issues at hand? Because I don't care. I'm sure he can tell me the right position if pressed to, but he can't own up to the fact that he has said and done some really fucked up shit over the past few years. I would prefer to do this over email so I can explain to him at his own pace what is fucked up about the shit he's said and done, but if public is where he wants it, so fucking be it. If he answers the question I asked honestly, the true story of what he was backing up in that conversation will be revealed. I wish I could ask him a question and get an answer without being derailed, but this is the nature of the medium. After we show his responsibility in the transphobia, there is the matter of the eco-racism and the misogyny and then the threatening behavior.... it could be a while, maybe you should sit back, keep the derailing to a bare minimum, and learn something about your husband.
You repeatedly state that you don't care about his position...then why are you doing this? so once again what are the specific examples in which he was any of the things you accuse him of being. we want this PUBLIC. we need specifics for him to "own up" to anything. what is this "true story" of what he was backing up? are you trying to critique green anarchy through this conflict? is that what you are alluding to?
ReplyDeleteand nice try to get me pissed by telling me i don't know my husband. you are reaching...really reaching...
ReplyDeletefrom what i'm aware of our children where holding his hands while he was surrounded and told to leave. and pax you didn't tell him to leave... you weren't there. not at the bookfair, not at star e. rose. you are sending people who don't even know michael or who haven't even had any real interactions with him to do you bidding. if you truly think he's a threat then why send your friends into the fire?
ReplyDeleteSophie, what is meant by that satement is that the assignment of gender externally is not real. It is only real in so far as we declare our own identity. there is no natural born gender, and societal roles applied to us from birth are inherently false for doing so. That would have been better said that predesigned gender roles is a false identity. I tend to keep my comments somewhat short online, and do so so as to not take up too much space on other's forums, such as the Terror Bus tour folks. too late, i suppose, for that.
ReplyDeletePax- this is why i don't engage. There is no accountability anywhere. Pax said they "don't care" what my positions are. It is clear they just want a political witch hunt and will do what they can to manuever their position within the social hierarchy they have worked so hard to create. I have never had a real discussion about any of these issues with Pax or any of the people attacking me, but have been told repeatedly what I believe. Ridiculous and assumptive. talk about privilege! My children WERE holding my hands. To state facts is not hiding behind anything Pax, it is true that YOUR friends took it upon themselves to decide who is safe, without consensus from the group or organizers and kick me and my children out of the space. Tell my wife, a strong anarchist womyn who has been my partner for 9 years that she doesn't know me? Shit. I have answered every question, and clearly. Anyone who has taken the time to discuss this issue with me, seems to have no problem with me. Pax obviously does, so much so that they must fabricate bullshit. Well, I am done arguing with crazy.
What I meant by not caring about your position is that, regardless of what is in your heart-of-hearts, in a deep down place where you hold your true position which I'm sure is 100% liberatory and not at all fucked-up, you said and did some fucked up shit. I can't know what your true, deep convictions are, so I don't care to address them. I care to address what you did, and how you're going to begin to undo the harm you have caused.
ReplyDeleteSo answer the question, Michael. What was the context in which Ali mentioned that she wanted to live with womyn. Was it out of the blue or did something spur her to say it?
Or if you prefer, I could... it really looks like you're trying to duck out of answering it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, don't try to silence Sophie. I don't know who they are but they bring up really solid points about cissexism. When people identify as cisgendered, do you tell them gender is a false identity, or just when people are trans or genderqueer.
And if your wife of idon'tcarehowmany years doesn't know you have a problem with bigotry, she doesn't know you sufficiently.
#notadiss #justafact
how does michael have a problem with bigotry? and please tell us why ali wanted to live with womyn. obviously michael doesn't know what you are trying to get at...
ReplyDeleteHis problem with bigotry involves the cissexism, eco-racism and misogyny i've been trying to call to his attention this whole time.
ReplyDeleteAli was trying to make a distinction between sex and gender, without knowing the word for it, trying to talk about sex assigned at birth. I spelled out that if you replace sex with sex assigned at birth, it was true that a penis makes someone male SAAB, but that sex assigned at birth is a totally irrelevant category to put anyone in, unless you're that person's doctor. Ali insisted that there were other instances when SAAB was a relevant category, and I pressed her to name some. She said that sometimes, when you're looking for a housemate, you're looking for a woman, and it needs to be a real woman, "with estrogen" and that a trans woman "wouldn't cut it." I told her that was incredibly fucked up and cissexist. Michael's response was "What's really fucked up is telling someone who they should and shouldn't live with."
At this point, I admittedly jumped down michael's throat, saying he had no room to speak on this issue, as his history with fucked-up bullshit is already well-documented. I can get into that history here if you'd like.
i'll let michael talk about ali's thread dispute. but how can you say that michael has no room to speak on the issue. did you just assume that no one is his life is trans? what gives you room to speak on the issue?
ReplyDeleteand PLEASE!!!!!! give us the low down on all of this "well-documented" fucked-up bullshit.
specify!!!!
1. eco-racist
2. cissexism
3. misogyny
you have only had interactions with michael for the last few years... where is all of this history?
My hope is that you can see why i'm hesitant to post this here when you justified his threats against me by saying that my publishing his bullshit was an attack...
ReplyDeletebut since you're asking for it to be on here, let's get these out of the way one at a time.
the cissexism has already been addressed.
The misogyny came in the form of doubting a survivor's story of patriarchal abuse. When HHH went on tour with Jeff Monson, it came right as Jeff Monson was accused by his partner of domestic violence. Since he was booked to speak at the red and black, we called him to speak about the matter. He blamed it on cointelpro slander (not hard to see where michael learns this ever-so-tasteful derailing tactic). When we said Jeff Monson wasn't allowed to speak at our establishment, Michael emailed us, letting us know he was disappointed in us.
*trigger warning, discussion of rape and rape apologism)*
As a side-note, Michael's misogyny goes even deeper than I knew at the time. There's a moment on Zerzans show, two weeks ago, when Michael describes how cointelpro uses feminists to make false rape allegations to discredit prominent men in the movement. He just cannot get enough doubting of survivors stories in.
Everyone should listen to Zerzan's show themselves to see what I REALLY said. You NEVER spoke to Jeff Monson, and refused to when I asked you to speak to him. Jeff will concur. Oh wait, us "manarchists" stick together, huh? Yeah, Pax, your bullshit political agenda makes itself clear the more you use blanket terms for people. At any rate, Jeff Monson was never accused by his partner of domestic violence or rape, as you so sneakily added in there. He was arrested for domestic violence under trumped charges that even his partner said were false. But I guess, at Ye' ole Red and Black Cafe, "the institution", you aren;t concerned with facts, just reprsentation of your own boldness and ability to enforce policy, there is another word for that, police, the community. It is not misogyny to ask you to speak directly to an accused person, that is called humanity. But, please go on, tell us all more.
ReplyDeleteThis by the way occurred over three years ago, and went "unchecked" until I "dissed your crew on zerzan's show" (quote from pax about me)
Guess I wasn't a threat enough until I called your bullshit ideology out, huh? Next. and i sense some shit about the discovery channel hostage taker comin right up, so let me dispell it for you.
I never once defended the discovery channel hostage taker, or his fucked up manifesto. I did say that taking action against discovery channel is a honorable act, albeit poorly focused. I was having a discussion with friends about his manifesto, and there was question over his use of the term "anchor filth babies" in which i put forth that i don't think his use of that term was to be racist as much as it was to be anti population. That is it, no further discussion took place, we all lived to see the sun rise a thousand times since. But somehow, that makes me eco-racist. Decide for yourself.
And please, Pax, continue speaking for all womyn, and silencing the opinions of womyn in my life, it is a real credit to your liberatory stance.
ReplyDeletethis is a joke right? this isn't real?
ReplyDeleteMichael, no matter how low my expectations for decent human conduct get, you continue to fail to meet them. If you don't see something wrong with bringing your children in as coerced witnesses to defend your reprehensible conduct, i really don't know how to help you. When you figure out how to be an anarchist, or a dad, or something other than a living breathing chunk of feces, we'll talk about ideology. In the meantime, don't try to enter any more safer spaces in Portland. i can't control what happens on your oogle-getaways, but in Portland, your violence and oppressive rhetoric will not be tolerated.
ReplyDeleteFair and WHitman are and have always been active members of the anarchist comunity, both within our home and collectives and the greater community. Your agism is a fucking joke, Pax, and anonymous, How fucking dare you claim that I coerce my children and how fucking dare you challenge my ability to be a father or their ability to deserve voice and space. Whether you like it or not, you took action against them as well, and they wanted to speak out on this forum addressing it. Are you seriously going to say they do not have an equal voice? Call me feces? Attack me with lies? Keep it coming you fuck wads, cause it shows exactly who you are, whether you post anonymously or not, people are seeing the mentality here. I guarantee that anyone who has ever spent time with Fair and Whitman will attest to their amazing ability to call shit when they see it. And they see a lot of shit in this city. And they hate the poor excuse for the hot chocolate at the red and black anyway. hahahaha. capitalism fail.
ReplyDeleteI'm just impressed that of all the sites on the internet, they'd happen to stumble into the same one where you and I were having a discussion. And then they decided, without any pressure, to back up the person who pays their rent and buys their food? I suppose they could just as easily speak out against you, without it being weird at all so no coercion there.
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, i wasn't there. I trust the people who told me that your kids were on the other side of the room, but I said early-on that it is completely irrelevant. I'd 86 you in front of anyone, of any age. Its only a matter of time before your kids understand that you are a hideous circus clown, using them as a shield to deflect criticism of your hodgepodge of prejudices you try to pass off as an analysis. I have no interest in pushing back the inevitable.
hey, i liked the song about lifestylists, by the way. did you folk-punk band write any more songs about lifestylists that they could play on the sidewalk of alberta? I love folk-punk songs about lifestylists.
Also, it might be time for somebody to teach you to make hot chocolate yourself, because your ass isn't gonna be welcome anywhere in town that makes it until you unfuck your politic and distance yourself from threatening anarchists as a means of silencing critique.
ReplyDeleteFair and Whitman are the two most amazing, brilliant children I have ever met. "coerced witnesses"? Fuck you. You obviously do not have children or spend time with children. Kids speak their minds about what they believe, and they cut out all the bullshit. I've seen both Fair and Whitman give in-depth critiques on a number of problems and ideas in this world, completely original critiques not coerced out of them or implanted into them by their father or mother. I have lived with them for a good amount of time and I have never seen them put anything except good health and hygiene into these kid's heads. Michael and Angela let the kids see the world as it is, not hiding or censoring anything, and Fair and Whitman come up with their own Ideas, opinions, and critiques, and I have never seen Michael tell them they're wrong if those ideas do not line up with his own. These kids are genuine and Michael and Angela are some of the greatest parents I've ever met. This is the first time I've spoken up on any of this bullshit, as Fucking pointless as it is on the internet, but seeing as how I will never meet any of these anons of Paxana in person I will have to say it here. I am in Holy!Holy!Holy! I've lived with Micheal and your actions have made my life and many others very dificult, not just Micheals. I am apart of the family he speaks of, so is the rest of Holy! and your base accusations have fucked us all over multiple times. I am not scared and I've had just about all I can take of this nonsense.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't seen Michael's fucked up behavior personally, that's fine, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. This dude fucking threatened me over me questioning his bad analysis. bottom fucking line. don't care about his kids, don't care about his band, just care that he threatens folks who question his bad analysis.
ReplyDeleteQuintin, if you want HHH to be able to get gigs in portland again, you have two choices... convince michael to fix his analysis and make up for his violence or, if you don't think that's possible, drop him from the band so he has more time to work on his issues without all these distractions.
ReplyDeleteWhoa...
ReplyDeleteI won't pretend that I've actually read all of the comments, because the hyperbole is just overwhelming, but I want to state for the record that from my personal and long-time friendship, the Franklins comprise one of the most open, loving, articulate and intelligent families that I know. Anyone who's spent ten minutes with their kids can see that Fair and Whitman remarkably intelligent, independent and discerning, and that they wouldn't hesitate to speak honestly if they weren't comfortable with anything they or the people around them were doing. Michael and Angela are incredible parents, musicians and humans, and these attacks have no legitimate basis. Michael is an aggressive guy, certainly, but his anger comes from wanting to create a safer and healthier environment for his family--not from wanting to out-radicalize members of his supposed community. And what's the deal with all of these anarchists telling one another how to behave? This is preposterous. I only hope that this bizarre drama doesn't cause my dear friends to leave town.
Love, Mara
This slanderous campaign again Michael needs to stop. The accusations made here on this website and on fucking facebook for the last 8 months are completely unfounded. As a friend of this family and a member of H!H!H!, I have witnessed countless time where a call for evidence has came up and... nothing. Nothing, again and again. Why can't anyone bring any facts to the table? I have never heard the term, guilty until proven innocent, have you?
ReplyDeleteAs far as Michael and Angela trying to coerce their children, I would very careful with this. As a mother myself, I do not tolerate it very well when people make accusations about my parenting or claims about my children. This is a dangerous road, I would advise changing your travel plans.
I honestly, have tried to stay out of this ridiculous battle. A discussion that has completely stayed online, out of real life or real talk, it's a fools errand. I am going to ask that this discussion be brought to real life (I know scary, right?) An open forum. I hope Paxana has said that he didn't feel 'safe' with doing this, because he was afraid that Michael was going to learn his bike route and beat him up and steal his lunch money. But guess what? We ALL know where Paxana works. And ya know what? No ones beaten him up yet. I think he'll be okay. Let's all just get this shit down with. Enough people have suffered, enough time has been wasted, and I think our keyboards could use a rest. Whattya think?
I'll just leave this here.
ReplyDeletehttp://i.imgur.com/djVP9.jpg
I showed ample proof of michael's threats earlier in the thread. He hasn't denied the transphobia, and his explanations of his racism and sexism are bullshit. If you're really his friends, you'll help him acknowledge he has a problem with patriarchal violence and intimidation and then I'll help you work with him. I'm a busy person. I don't have time to babysit michael while he tries to learn why intimidating people is bad.
ReplyDeleteAll I've seen, both in this precious thread that keeps being brought up and in the non-internet world physically being with Michael, is that he threatens self defense. Honestly this violence thing is not an issue. unless you physically move against him or his family, as he has stated, nothing violent will happen, as stated. The real issue here is our lives and good names are at stake over this stupid internet battle. We're getting shows canceled left and right both in and now outside of the anarchist community because of this slanderous nonsense. This is one of the ways we survive, not just money, but doing this is a part of our souls, It is our life. Complete strangers will not even get to know us because of this bullshit. This needs to stop. I would gladly try and help one of my closest friends realize and work on their racist, sexist, transphobic, patriarchal problems. I can't stand that behavior and If I saw that in someone in my community I would probably be doing what you're doing, in person of course. but I see none of that in Michael. None at all. There needs to be some sort of resolution to this pointlessness. None of us are going to stop being who we are, and you're not going to stop stating your mind, which honestly would be bad, everyone should have that right. The slander needs to stop. Anyone can hate any of us as much as they want, but trying to fuck up our lives is too far. That's what the state does, that's what the government does. We have never made anyone in any of the places we've played or been housed feel unsafe or oppressed or discriminated upon. Talk shit if you really feel like it, whatever helps you sleep at night, but stop fucking up our lives.
ReplyDeleteQuintin, listen, I know michael hasn't been violent or threatening to you, and I'm glad for that, but he was to me. He wasn't threatening self-defense, because he warned me to watch my back if i didn't keep his name out of my mouth. Responding to someone speaking your name with violence is an unacceptable escalation. If you don't take his threats seriously, it probably says more about how your history with violence differs from mine. I don't really have any choice but to take these threats seriously, because in the past they've shown themselves to be as real as it gets. It isn't statist to try to keep someone who wants to hurt you away. It isn't statist to tell someone not to advocate housing discrimination or make rape jokes. I'm not trying to throw michael in prison, i'm trying to get him to improve himself and keep a safe distance from me, and that's a perfectly anarchist and anti-authoritarian thing to do.
ReplyDeleteIf you're concerned about people not getting to experience your band, kick michael the fuck out, and then everyone will get to experience holy holy holy without deciding whether they want to support an unaccountable aggressor. If you think he can be something better than a patriarchal aggressor, if you think he's genuinely a good guy with good intentions and a good heart, then use that belief, use that hope to help him get through this fucked up thought pattern patriarchal society put on him. Prove to me what a kind person he can be, because all I see from him is the fucked-up, intimidating, transphobic, hate-speech he spews out. I want to believe that the michael you know is real, I just have never seen him. Help that michael kill the other michael.
wow, screen caps are fun, aren't they? I just recently figured out how to do it myself and let me tell you, I'm gonna have a good ol' time bl*ckmailing more than a few people. Anyway, regarding this whole thing, I'm just speechless... Paxana, this is a fucking joke, right? I mean, someone telling you on FACEBOOK to "watch your back" qualifies as a threat serious enough to warrant this sort of crusade? There are plenty of trans and queer people who are dealing with REAL violence & discrimination in their lives. Get a grip and stop blowing some internet squabble/foot-in-mouth incident way out of proportion. Talk to Michael face to face and work out your tiff or let it the fuck go, god! I'm sick of hearing about this shit! Why does your beef with him result in an entire band losing shows/money/reputation? If they were a shitty band I wouldn't care so much but they're actually pretty good.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the in real life issue of comments made regarding COINTELPRO & rape allegations I have only two words to say: Julian Assange.
As I said, if you don't feel threatened by Michael's behavior, that's your prerogative. Our experiences with violence are probably different, and we're probably going to respond to threats in different ways. Besides that, he didn't intend them to threaten you. He intended to intimidate me, and he achieved that.
ReplyDeleteIf my friends were acting the way Michael was acting I would want someone to show me screencaps, because my friends aren't like that, and if they are acting like that, there's clearly something wrong in their life, and they need me to check in with them and help them get through whatever is causing them to act that way.
As for Julian Assange, you clearly misunderstand my position. I trust survivors stories. The typical response is to jump in to call survivors of sexualized or intimate violence liars, but this is reprehensible. Even if their aggressor is a famous leftist, even if they did something good once, I trust the survivors. Julian Assange is a rapist.
Pax-polly-ana:
ReplyDeleteYou are boring.
Those of us who have known Michael and Angela (and their kick-ass children) for years know that Michael is prone to all kinds of things (making people laugh, making delicious meals, running off at the mouth, being a pain in the ass, welcoming strangers, creating brilliant artwork, making music)...and we also know that he is harmless. So your shitshow is just boring. And old. Move on.
I truly believe that most people simply want to be taken seriously. And we hear you. You've been heard. You got your feelings hurt and you think Michael is a bad, bad man. Now, move on. The more hysterical you get, the harder is to take you seriously.
Many people have had experiences with violence that far exceed anything you may have experienced thus far. I assure you -- as a victim of rape, as a sister whose brother was shot in the back of the head (after he was raped and sodomized), I don't have any fucking patience for people who cry victim over some internet shenanigans. I don't know what your personal story is -- but it sounds like you have shit you need to work out in therapy...not by targeting some imaginary adversary on the internet.
Find someone to feed. Make some fucking music. Plant a garden. Do something -- but seriously, shut the fuck up about the Franklins. You'll feel better soon.
"Also, it might be time for somebody to teach you to make hot chocolate yourself, because your ass isn't gonna be welcome anywhere in town that makes it until you unfuck your politic and distance yourself from threatening anarchists as a means of silencing critique."
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a threat to me.
Pax, grow a pair and meet Michael and Angela in person to clear this up. I've questioned Michael on many things and he has never threatened me. I've known the Franklins for 6 years, We were in a band together. Yes, he is an outspoken, aggressive bulldozer. But, he is also the most giving and TOLERANT person that I know. Unless, of course, you're a rich white republican.
-Prison Sex
YEah, Pax, My reference to the Big Lebowski on facebook to a friend on a show page to which you never intended to attend is proof that i don't love my children. You are so absolutely right. I am willing to take full accountability, and thank you for seeing what nobody has ever seen. You are an anarcho saint and a sensible person. Funny though, how you can occupy space with me online, but not in real life...is that because you feel the internet to be a non threatening space, inherently? And you point to your personal experience with you history with violence as proof of my violent ways, but when I spell out my history with shit talkers creating disaster, I am not valid? let's look at who who was right about how this would play out. I knew and said you would continue to escalate this until it led to us losing space, shows, credibility and space with your slander. These are real life attacks. They have all happened. Perhaps it is you that should be held accountable, as you are the only one who has shown themselves to be a threatening piece of turd to my entire community. SPeak to silence the multiple womyn in my life and tell them what I threat I am to womyn? discount everyone's personal experience, tell them how wrong they ALL are, and refuse to see what they have told you. Use intimidation of being ostracized to silence anyone from speaking out against your claims. Troll the internet creating conflict within communities you are not involved intimately in. gather information and use it as you see fit without context. manufacture distrust and divisive points in those communities. use your position of power in the social hierarchy to manipulate and control others. coerce people to act on your behalf. ignore any real process. deny accountability and resolution repeatedly. make us of the community for your personal police. judge, jury and executioner. you are winning, Pax, keep going.
ReplyDeleteHas it occurred to anyone that you may just be wrong, a little even, and are taking this to extremes it has no place being? Has it occurred to anyone that you are using and abusing the processes of the anarchist community to protect your shit talking? You are well known, and hold yourself in regard for the amount of shit you talk. You think that has no repercussion? I don't know much about you, but have heard from many many people that "this is so Pax" and the fact that everyone I have ever worked with is shocked about these accusations against me, but no one you work with that I have spoken with is shocked that this shit is coming from you? does that say anything?
I'm not taking this to any extreme. My position has remained the same. You fucked up, you said fucked up oppressive bullshit, you threatened an anarchist. It stops when you want it to. When you decide that it's time to change, the pressure will discontinue.
ReplyDeleteNo it doesn't surprise me that people expect this out of me. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm the type of person who spots bullshit and calls it out. I spent my teenage years in fear of loud, brainless men and their brash actions... I've got no time for it today. I'm not going to overreact, but I'm going to keep you at a safe distance and make sure people can make informed decisions about who they want to associate with. It also doesn't surprise me that your friends are surprised by your behavior. If you acted this way all the time, they probably wouldn't be friends with you. By the way, almost everyone has pointed out you have problems with being agro, but that doesn't really matter. What matters is you fucked up and social pressure is the only tool at my disposal to get you to undo the harm you've caused, so it will continue to be applied. Hopefully in the future you'll think twice before you spout oppressive bullshit, if not because you care about anarchist principles, because you care about your oogly folk-punk band.
It's clear that you don't think you've done anything wrong, so what purpose would meeting you in person possibly have? It would reinvoke the fear I felt when you threatened me, and waste both of our time.
Anon, I'm really sorry those terrible things happened to you. I assure you, however, Michael is not imaginary. I've made sure this hasn't gotten in the way of the good work I do. There's plenty of time to share my experience with Michael and plant gardens. And my community is significantly better because there isn't a violent aggressor hanging out in its periphery.
"When you decide that it's time to change, the pressure will discontinue."
ReplyDeleteI doubt it. You're enjoying the attention way too much.
Also, don't talk to me about being accountable. I'm open to talking to anarchists about being accountable for my actions, but I'm not so sure the best person to teach me about it is somebody who is currently being addressed for sexism/rape apologism, racism, cissexism, joking about child-rape, and violent threats. It, um, might look to outsiders like retribution. Especially if that person has said repeatedly that they don't believe in accountablility or mediation. I wouldn't want it to look like hypocrisy to outsiders.
ReplyDeleteSo let's talk about you for right now, as you seem to be having enough trouble with that. Then when you've worked through your shit you can give me some tips you picked up along the way.
"I doubt it. You're enjoying the attention way too much."
ReplyDeleteTry it. Test me and see. What are you afraid of? You'll do a ton of self-growth work, examine your positions and prejudices, become a better human being, and then one of the things I said will turn out to have been untrue or an exaggeration? That would sure be a shame, wouldn't it? I'm asking so much of you.
It was already asked, kindly, that those 2 women DID NOT want to be videotaped and that it was not posted online. Please stop violating people's privacy.
ReplyDelete-Ali Cat.
Paxana, you said "Julian Assange is a rapist" ...well, you were there so you must know, right? All straight men are pigs and rapists and aggressors, right? This pretty much sums everything up, doesn't it? In your mind people are guilty until proven innocent, it's your way or the highway, and your point of view must be the only right point of view because you're all knowing, all seeing. Please get a grip.
ReplyDeleteUgh. Portland. How does anyone even BREATHE there??
ReplyDeletePaxana -- Thank you for your sympathy regarding what happened to me and my family, but I think you've missed the point. You are fighting windmills. Michael is not imaginary -- but your portrayal of him very much is.
ReplyDeleteI think what you'd really be interested in is a career in law enforcement. You call yourself an anarchist, but I think you've come full-circle. By masochistically policing the thoughts and speech of another human being (who, by the way, has more love and compassion in his pinky finger than most people do in their whole bodies), you are now in cahoots with the authorities.
You obviously don't know Michael very well. People deal with the world's atrocities in different ways. Does Michael have a warped sense of humor? Yes. But at the end of the day, his actions are what matter. I've never seen anything but kindness in his actions. I've sat around many campfires with him, even argued with him over his ideologies (I'm not an anarchist, for the record). I don't agree with him on every issue (or even most), but I have never had better disagreements with another human being. He never once made me feel small or threatened or less worthy.
If you felt threatened by Michael, I don't doubt that at all. That was *your* reaction. Your fear. We are all sensitive people. I don't doubt the feelings -- I just doubt the veracity of the fear itself. Feelings aren't facts -- and they aren't always warranted. Isn't it just vaguely possible that you are looking for a man behind the curtain who simply isn't there?
Fuck off comparing people to the police. Do you know what a police officer is or does? They fucking murder people on the street. They lock people up in concrete hell-holes, and then smaller, solitary hell-holes within those larger hell-holes. They deny people sunlight, access to friends and family, and sometimes even life itself. They don't suggest self-growth work for people, or try to keep away from dangerous people.
ReplyDeleteIf the police went around informing people which people were unaccountable agressors, you'd have a pretty apt comparison. Pax would be a bona fide police officer. As it stands, you're talking out your ass. Go tell Mumia about the scene-police and how similar they are to the real police. Go tell him how bad Michael's got it. Go do something. Just go.
Taking an internet debate on Facebook and translating said disagreement into a public blacklist and witch hunt on an individual and their family seems pretty damn overkill to me. Folks will always disagree on ideological details - but labeling someone publicly as a transphobe/rascist/manarchist/whatever does have dangerous connotations - and seems to me like a much more violent act that anything Michael posted in the screen capped threads above.
ReplyDeleteCan't you folks just have a public mediated discussion (or whatever) to get over this? You don't have to like each other - but just stop harassing this man and his wife and kids. It's disgusting. While it might certainly be productive for us all to analyze or to be made aware of our own subconscious prejudices/oppressive language (even if unintended.) The lengths to which this has gone is absolutely ridiculous. Education - not Oppression. Michael and family have shown willingness to resolve the conflict - would like to see the "other side" match that sentiment. Infighting Anarchists is so fucking counterproductive to any semblance of a larger movement. Fail.
WOO! PARTY!!!
ReplyDeletethere's a difference between an actual cop and paxana exhibiting a cop mentality. ACAB. Fuck the Police, including the scene police!!!!
ReplyDeletePaxana is very much trying to stand in the way of this family's access to life, peace, food, etc. by creating drama, blacklisting them, and spreading lies about Michael. Intimidation takes on many forms. It is insidious. It doesn't need to end in gun violence in order to be a kissing cousin of cop mentality. Cop mentality isn't limited to murder on the streets. Clearly, it is YOU who doesn't have much experience with what cops are capable of. In fact, control starts OUTSIDE of prison -- not in it.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I do not believe that Pax has the ability to use the full power of the state. However, Pax and their friends do have the ability to adopt the mindset of policing. They are exhibiting that and it shows in the language and actions they use.
ReplyDeleteIt's like this...
I am a perceived threat, based on no actual evidence, meaning no history of physical violence in our communities, and my political ideas are used as blanketed stereotypes, based upon their history with a culmination of other's within that political realm. I am seen as a "primmie" and all that comes with their experience with those of that ideology are thrust onto me. I hav enever been asked about my views on any of the topics, because they are irrelevant, yet the stereotype is of full importance to them. Therefor I am compared to Lierre Kieth to back their claims of transphobia. I am compared to macho primitivists in their history and made to look like that. Using of a political stereotype by language such as "you and your prim club have a history of this" speaks to their not having a solid foundation of me, rather a vague idea of who they think I am. I am then pushed into account for that which I am not. Much like the media playing anarchists out to be thugs and terrorists despite all that we do to build resistance to the state in positive and forceful ways. I am then kept out of "safe spaces" by those concerned within the community, which parallels the use of police to create a culture of fear of someone based upon the predicated stereotype thrust upon them. Information on me is gathered, and held to used against me. Read: prosecution. Words are distorted and taken from context. Charges are trumped, where-as I was once being charged as a transphobe, I am now a rape apologist, child-rape friendly, threat to all womyn and all genders of trans folks, violent and a threat to community, where before I was never violent, only threatened to use violence if I was attacked. These are all means that police have used, and the adoption of these mentalities within our community do no start or stop with me. We have seen time and again these same processes used and abused to deal with personal conflict, creating a pandemic of disrupted and distrustful communities. Again, I never snitchjacketed, rather pointed out hat the parallels exist. As they do. Truth of the matter is, this is a stupid argument gone awry and shuld never have included or affected the entire community the way it has, for that I feel partially responsible for feeding these beasts. But, it is at least, a discussion about this community that many have been wanting to have, but kept silent out of fear.
Let's hold the public forum. I vow to remain non violent in so far as no one physically attacks me. Let's allow, finally, for th evoice of those afected to come forth. I will be held accountable, as I have always welcomed, by sincere people whom I have damaged in some way. Ask anyone in my history, if I hurt them in any way, I will take responsibility and make ammends to the best of my ability. I hav enever felt Pax to be sincere in their complaints, as they came first int he form of public accusation that me and my "prim club have a history of transphobia" and that I am a transphobe. There was no discussion, just accusation. This is not the way transformative justice works. This is the way mainstream society functions.
Pax and the other anons also need to re-examine their view of children and the ability they have to be both affected and share voice in this community. This is is utmost importance to me as I do not see many radical parents stick around the community for this exact reason.
I've been bored. I've been lonely. Facebookz has been gotten boring & I been reading this blog
ReplyDelete& I and there's a lot I don't give a shit about. but then this.....
"His problem with bigotry involves the cissexism, eco-racism and misogyny i've been trying to call to his attention this whole time. "
What is eco racism?
CREEKS VS.PONDS
WATERFALLS VS TREES
I don't think one person can do that...
Isn't that like systemic policies... or whatever...
I'm about to violently run the both of you out of town. Whiny fucking punks fuck off.
ReplyDeletePax is a inferiority-complexing douchebag whose co-owners are almost entirely sick of their shit, too. The bad publicity this brings on the store and the animosity it brings up in the Portland community WITH NO INTENTION OF DISCUSSION OR RESOLUTION only harms us all.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I'm almost in favor of the sentiment of the last poster. We'd be better off, it seems, without either of you stoking and fanning your own flames of the "one correct analysis". You both are attempted patriarchs. And everyone sees it but you two.
Here's a tip: Michael, Pax. . . . everyone laughs at you both. Especially the people who are politically and socially engaged with the ACTUAL community, and not ghettoized into your little "crews". Piss off, both of you.
Eco-Racism is racism which hides under the umbrella of environmentalism or Deep Ecology. For instance many prominent Deep Ecologists call for closing of borders, or an end to humanitarian aid to overexploited nations.
ReplyDeleteThe manifesto michael supported was this: http://www.boondocksbootleg.com/profiles/blogs/breaking-news-hostage
and included these points:
2. All programs on Discovery Health-TLC must stop encouraging the birth of any more parasitic human infants and the false heroics behind those actions. In those programs' places, programs encouraging human sterilization and infertility must be pushed. All former pro-birth programs must now push in the direction of stopping human birth, not encouraging it.
5. Immigration: Programs must be developed to find solutions to stopping ALL immigration pollution and the anchor baby filth that follows that. Find solutions to stopping it. Call for people in the world to develop solutions to stop it completely and permanently. Find solutions FOR these countries so they stop sending their breeding populations to the US and the world to seek jobs and therefore breed more unwanted pollution babies. FIND SOLUTIONS FOR THEM TO STOP THEIR HUMAN GROWTH AND THE EXPORTATION OF THAT DISGUSTING FILTH! (The first world is feeding the population growth of the Third World and those human families are going to where the food is! They must stop procreating new humans looking for nonexistant jobs!)
7. Develop shows that mention the Malthusian sciences about how food production leads to the overpopulation of the Human race. Talk about Evolution. Talk about Malthus and Darwin until it sinks into the stupid people's brains until they get it!!
(if you're not familiar with Malthus, he put forth a lot of racist and classist ideas about population-control)
Michael Franklin has been a friend for over a decade, and has never had a transphobic, homophobic bone in his body. I read the above and the imgur screen grabs- did you re-read these before posting them, Pax? they don't do you any favors. You're doing a smart job of painting yourself as someone who revels in drama and false accusations.
ReplyDeleteI think everyone better just retreat to their corners.
Haters gonna hate.
ReplyDeleteBringing this up on here was how michael wanted to deal with this, not how I wanted to. It's abundantly clear he thinks he did nothing wrong, because his friends are a bunch of yes-folks who care more about keeping their friend happy than supporting marginalized folks. If something ever happens and you miraculously develop an analysis, you can post and say so on here, I'll check this occasionally. Until then, I'm out. People can see what you've done and draw their own conclusions.
ReplyDeleteKeep fightin' the misandry, Michael, and stay out of places you think I might go.
And whoever administrates this blog, please delete the video as per the request Ali Cat mentioned.
Video was of a confrontation in a public place, and is a sample of a real life situation accompanying a personal expression.
ReplyDeleteWon't be removed.
No discussion will be entertained along those lines.
Even with the fact that this started over threats of violence? Their fear of violent retribution isn't a concern of yours?
ReplyDeleteI do realize that people are pissed at both Pax and I, which is really unfortunate. I have taken responsibility for my part in this being brought to the greater community. I honestly regret that it has gotten this far. I cannot control how this gets perpetuated into the community and am attempting at damage control of the lies put out about me. I am an honest person, and you may not like me, which is fine, but to spread this shit through the community has brought great damage to my friends, family and those I have not even had time to build relationship with.
ReplyDeleteI also NEVER supported the manifesto, and went to lengths to critique it on BURN. Don't control people's ideas by rewriting history please.
ReplyDeleteAs if my views matter, the point of these attacks has nothing to do with who I am or what I believe.
Paxana refuses to meet with Michael for mediation but then tells him to avoid places where xe will be. LOL, and yes I'm literally laughing out loud irl for real
ReplyDelete"Even with the fact that this started over threats of violence? Their fear of violent retribution isn't a concern of yours? "
ReplyDeleteOh, for Christ's fucking sake. THIS is what violence looks like, you fucking crybabies:
http://www.google.com/search?q=abu+ghraib&hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=MUQ&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=ivnsu&source=lnms&tbm=isch&ei=EyVHTuu6C4jnsQKalfiRCA&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&ved=0CBUQ_AUoAQ&biw=2560&bih=1223
I will also go wherever the fuck I want. I do not need your permission. It certainly would be great to not have to worry about confrontation with more of your friends "who care more about keeping their friend happy" than about learning the truly ridiculous launching point for all of this, but I refuse to live my life in fear. SO fuck yourself scene police. If you want to talk to me about any this, anybody, I am open to honest sincere discussion. I am never going to ask permission to move freely. Ever. Nor will my wife, my daughter or my son. EVER.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteHere's one that's not in that stupid zine:
ReplyDeleteThe guidelines in that stupid zine, when read by anyone with half a brain, obviously have contradictory and self-"derailing" suggestions that render the whole piece looking as absurd as it is.
Less zines that sound like they're written by pissy middle-schoolers shaping the milieu, please.
Alvaro here again. So i lied. i did come back ONLY TO FIND 80 MORE COMMENTS!!!! wtf. yall.
ReplyDeleteSo imma be blunt. As so called revolutionary folks or anarchists or liberatory folks or whateverthefuckyoucallyourselves you really suck. The way i see it, and granted i may not be talking about everyone here but really i should be, we are in the business of REVOLUTION of change of something good. In order to do that we HAVE to get out of our infoshops/coffeeshops/etc. and eventually TALK to "real" people (that is to say, someone not a punk, or someone not white, or someone who is a good person but uses fucked up terminology).
As a (lower?) middle class hispanic person i have a VERY hard time imagining yall talking to "regular" people. LET IT ME MADE CLEAR THAT I AM NOT DOWNPLAYING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FOLLOWING: cissexism, heteronormativity, eco-destrcution, etc and all these other wonderful terms that only after being in the "scene" (and i say scene MEANING a scene, much like metal is a scene or bluegrass is a scene)for years no one would know what any of that means. While all those stuffz are important we cannot focus on the spices when the entire meal is rotten. In other words, get THE FUCK over eco-racism (i've been around for a whlie and i have NO FUCKING CLUE what that even means, honestly it sounds like white people having too much time in their hands and trying to proof that they are the "most down" out of everoyne else).
As a person who neither knows Michael nor the accuser(s) i can honestly say that this seems like a vindictive prosecution a la judicial system (relentless to the point of stupidity and absurdness).
If i may make a constructive criticism? (i assume you said yes, if you said no then stop reading cuz imma give it anyway)
to the prosecutors: drop this. put all this energy into ACTUALLY doing something. i dont mean go to the inforshop or coffeeshop or whatever portland people do, i mean ACTUALLY organize something of importance that will actually change something. A lot of time we anarchists think that organizing means throwing a party or setting up a show or something like that. That is not organizing. Selling coffee or books is not revolutionary. Learn from the Panthers, learn from the Angry Brigade, learn from old school SNCC, from the Brown Barets, etc. THOSE were good revolutionaries. THOSE were revolutionaries that did not act like feds. THOSE were people actually putting their energy into something positive.
d
ReplyDeleteWow, Portland is such a small town. Have you ever noticed that some brands of anarchy are filled with rules you cannot disobey? If you are police-ing, how can you hate the police?
ReplyDeleteSo much drama!! You'd think this was winter in Portland from the tone of the exchange I have read so far.
It is my belief that people should be able to live with whom they want and choose their own roommates. I may disagree with a someones opinion or roommate criteria, but no one should ever have to live in the same house with someone that causes the other cotenants distress. People I know discriminate against white guys with impunity. I would not want to live in a Christian home were a room available and do not think that they would want me to live there either. I do not think they should be legally required to rent their room to me and consider the mentality that would give rise to such an unpleasant idea would not be one in which I wish to live. Gender discrimination is only relevant when a landlord is renting out a property. To suggest that people should be forced to live this way or that in the privacy of their own homes smacks of fascist thought, rather than anarchistic ideals. It is indeed the antithesis of anarchy and represents to me a frightening and dangerous misuse of the hard fought rights transsexuals and transgendered people have fought for. There are almost no protections in the law for transsexuals and never will be if this idea of forced cohabitation is the ultimate goal. It is a disservice to the larger movement to make wacky claims and drum a person out of their livelihoods based on what I have read so far. Holy!Holy!HOly! all should leave and move down to San Francisco!!!
Well, Michael-I hope you realize the MidWest would be happy to have you back-I know there are some buttheads here, but the sheer volume to pseudopsychologists and self-impressed philosophers is much lower, and I doubt taht any of them take themselves as seriously as those in Portland seem to-reading the above makes me feel as if 'm at a convention of sexually frustrated baristas and philosophy school droupouts-bring them pretty babies and that gorgeous wife home to the Heartland-Grandpa John
ReplyDeleteAs for Paxana's view of the law, I have been able to find no state or province in the US that attempts to use legalese to bully people into opening their homes to those who make them uncomfortable or they do not wish to live by or with. Even smaller landlords are allowed to say who lives in their homes. If you have a legal basis for your spurious claim, please site it. Otherwise leave the nice people and their children alone and get back to milking yer mamas trust fund. By the way, I am a transsexual, we are not a monolith. You are making it awful and embarrassing to have you in our ranks, one day you will be forgiven. Way too much testosterone sweet Paxana, go stop some logging, throw a monkey wrench into the machine, anything would be more relevant and helpful. When you want to join the real world, look me up, it's really way more fun when you aren't saddled with
ReplyDeletea harsh, holier than thou anarchist attitude. Boring!!! We need to be working together or we will never get anything done. Paxana you personally are holding back the great revolution with your attempt to replace your rules for the rule of law, we need less laws not more, right? We need each other, you are not seeing the bigger picture, think about what YOU are doing to their lives and weigh it against your personal emotional damage. It is as if we nuked France cause they disagreed in our trade talks. Proportional reactions are completely appropriate, but you are going over the top. We need to worry about changing minds and hearts rather than bludgeoning those with whom we disagree. I suspect most people are better than you give them credit for being. Cheers!! -Melody
What does the law say? http://www.craigslist.org/about/FHA#roommates
ReplyDeletePaxana, forgive me for mis-judgeing your gender status. Authoritarian communist? Really? Can an anarchist be an authoritarian? My head hurts just trying to juggle the concept.-Melody
ReplyDeleteChrist, you people are fucking idiots. This vapid excuse, on both parts, for a political analysis is, quite frankly, appalling to me as someone who lives in the community. I'll run either one of you out of my safe space. A safe space from self-important, politically vacant, spoiled, white scenesters.
ReplyDeleteI am simply trying to battle the allegations against me. I sincerely wish we weren't doing this, but this has been brought upon us. As of this point, I have been denied space and my band and family have been ejected from spaces all over the country because of Paxana's bullshit. I have never before participated in scene drama, and wish I did not have to now.
ReplyDeleteThere are no safe spaces.
ReplyDeleteKind of sick of white male bodied individuals taking on ad-hoc roles of representatives of "oppressed communities" and speaking on their behalf under delusions of being some kind of great defenders of the less advantaged. Pax is full of paternalistic shit. You say Michael is hidding behind his kids while you hide behind computer screens and refuse to take part in any kind of public dialogue outside offa the internet what so ever. Obviously your going about this with bad intentions. You have personal beef with Michael and are trying everything in your power to completely destroy him under the guise of "being threatened" and wanting to rid him of your space. Then why do you continue to follow him around online posting on his bands facebook event pages and engaging in dialogue if your so threatened by him. Just another white male bodied person thinking everything they say should be taken seriously without having to back their claims at all. Check your own shit. I think its pretty fucked up that you personally think you hold the power to ban the band from ever playing in a town again.
ReplyDeleteOne cannot and should not place Micheal in the same chicken-shit and shameful role as Pax for simply defending himself and his livelihood from the baseless accusations of a cowardly self-styled Gestapo of the "Anarchist Community". To do so is deeply irresponsible and ignorant.
ReplyDeleteI do believe the tide is turning however, as more and more people that I encounter and discuss this matter to are beginning to look through all of Pax's distortions and lies and are beginning to see him as the little impotent tyrant he is.
I desperately urge everyone who has accepted Pax's account of the events to actually seek out the fact. Make an actual effort to find out *exactly* what was said in the original incident and come to a conclusion yourself. You may find as I have that these charges are so vastly trumped, exaggerated and even down right fabricated that it begs the question:
ReplyDeleteWho is an actual threat to the community?
Micheal, the accused or
Pax whom has clearly hijacked the language of safer spaces, accountability processes and has donned and abused the identity of victimization to wage attacks on others to protect his own Social Capital and his position within the Portland Anarchist Social Hierarchy?
The answer is very obvious. The actions of Pax presents an extremely dangerous precedent to radical communities. A precedent that vicious opportunists and the State may from now on very well exploit.
As a member of a marginalized demographic (Brown, Radical and Queer), Pax, you sniveling white boy, shut the fuck up and sit down, you do not represent all of us. You merely represent yourself and your selfish, destructive ends.
bryan ferguson, i wouldn't throw rocks if you live in a glass house, its only a matter of time before you reap what you sew..tick-tock....
ReplyDeletesew or sow? Also, if you're looking for Pax's real name, it can be found online but that's not it. Your googling skills must rival your spelling skills... tick-tock to you too :-)
ReplyDeleteHey, just out of curiousity, is the admin going to take down the attempt at posting someone's real name? My guess is no, because that person committed the high crime of publishing their main bro-dawg's threats when we all know they should have left our man alone and stayed silent. Fucking pig.
ReplyDeleteWHOSE THE ONE SNITCH-JACKETING NOW MOTHERFUCKER? TO INSULT SOMEONE BECAUSE THEY SPELLED ONE WORD WRONG IS CLASSIST, PRIVELEGED BULLSHIT.
ReplyDeleteSHUT THE FUCK UP PUNK.
"Our Man"? Is that making assumptions about their gender? Sure sounds like it to me! Sexist asshole.
ReplyDeletethe high crime? fuck this town.
ReplyDeletethe only one i'm trying to snitch-jacket is paxana. they spoke up about threats to them, LIKE A COP WOULD DO!
ReplyDeleteAs for the person's spelling, the computer they're using to post this shows that they have access to spellcheck. And thanks for being concerned about the class background of the person who's threatening someone.
Pardon me..Bryan Weideman. Its only suiting that everyone knows your name given that you have muddied the names of others and their family. Consider me a referee, merely leveling the playing field.
ReplyDeleteXOXOXO
Not quite, but you're getting closer. Is the terror bus tour going to take this down, or are their stated convictions entirely for shit?
ReplyDeleteNice try. http://pdxmugshots.com/mug/bryan-m-wiedeman-1
ReplyDeleteBryan, what are you afraid of? You employ these same tactics. Doesn't feel very good does it? I suggest you leave the Franklins alone you little piece of shit worm. We are not afraid of you, we are many and we have far more integrity, dedication and vehemence then your clown posse could ever muster. We will take this as far as you bring it.
ReplyDeleteIf revealing personal info is on the table, I'll gladly match you at that. How about Uriel's posts about Pax's name get removed and Michael's address never gets published. Or Michael posts proof that he's attempting to get the afformentioned posts removed and we decide if that's credible. Let's give it 48 hours?
ReplyDeleteDon't have time to talk atm. Anon, please don't dox Michael. Michael, please get admin to delete Uriel's posts. Uriel, knock it the fuck off. Let's keep at least one side of this discussion at the level of anarchists, can we?
ReplyDeleteROFL
ReplyDeleteFirst off, why do you assume its Uriel? In assuming this your posting his name online yet once again. And then you have the gall to ask that your name be removed, you fucking two-face.
Second, you are in no position to be making self-serving demands or making veiled threats. Bryan, given your history of shit-talking and personal attacks on people I can only assume that your threat of posting Micheals address is actually a thinly veiled threat of physical violence upon the Franklins and their children, as well as the people who share a home with them. What makes you think you can you demand a double standard that works in your favor?
Its funny how the self-described "Authoritarian-Communist" is making demands to censor and silence others. Your revisionist tactics could woo even Stalin.
How about you go ahead and remove any posts online mentioning or attacking Micheal first. How about I give you 24 hours? Then maybe we can talk about offering concessions to you.
Do you really wanna go round and round in this stupid game or do you wanna knock this bullshit off? It think this is game over for you.
Just a reminder, Pax was the first to publish personal info online when he decided to use Micheal and Angelas names online. Not the other way around.
ReplyDeletethe following link is one example of why michael could of felt threatened for someone just calling him a transphobe/racist/aggressor http://combat--wombat.tumblr.com/post/7608782175/daniel-wilson-is-an-unaccounable-aggressor-and
ReplyDeleteI posted screenshots of what they displayed on their facebooks. This was information that they offered to the public sphere. When someone threatened to reveal sensitive information about the Franklins' that they themselves had not offered, I asked them not to. I can't say whether they'll listen to me, but I'm sure as fuck not going to be made to feel guilty for publishing Michael's threats against me. If I threatened to send SHARPS to Michael's house, he should post screenshots of that, and then we'll be even, but connecting info that the state has to info that they don't have, that is bogus on a level that is hard to describe.
ReplyDeleteYou'd love to make this about me. You'd love to set an example of the first one who tried to come forward about Michael's threatening behavior, so the next person will suffer his cowardice in silence and not ask for help, but it ain't going to happen. It is precisely my history with violence and oppression that gives me the strength to cast bullshit like Michael aside. I decided a long time ago to stop being a victim, and Michael is teaching himself that the most difficult way possible.
If this is a portland phenomenon, and other towns support unaccountable manarchist aggressors threatening their cities anarchists, fine. I'm open to that possibility. In that case, Michael should go there, threaten their anarchists, and be happy to be in the land of oppressive jocks without an ounce of sense or anything that could be sincerely referred to as an analysis.
HERP A DERP DERP A DERP DERP DERP
ReplyDeleteCouldn't have said it better myself :-)
ReplyDeletePax, you started off with accusations, that led into you posting those accusations publicly, which in my history, leads to people being physically harmed, not to mention socially ousted. Your accusations were unfounded. I am not transphobic. I do not use transphobic language. I did not defend anything said on that thread other than Ali's ability to express her desire. It was not a post in search of roommates, just a post expressing a desire. Much like "i relaly want some fucking cookies". It was not meant to be an exclusionary post, so far as I know. I saw it simply as a person expressing her need to be around people without penis' for a while. A common desire amongst most of the female bodied people I know. From my, admittedly, angry response to being called a transphobe, this whole thing has been taken to ridiculous levels, resulting in my being banned from space, when I never laid one finger on you, or any other anarchist in my life. My response to defend myself, came directly from my hsitory of seeing how this shit plays out when there is no communication. You made it clear from the beginning that communication was not an option. Therefore, I told you that if you continued to press this attack, and ever confronted me or my family in public (meaning a physical confrontation) that i would defend myself. You called me "the enemy" and told me i would be treated the same as the CEO of Weyerhouser. If that is not a threat, I am not sure how you feel about the CEO of Weyerhouser. Now, this shit is way beyond you or I. So many people have been negatively affected by this that it makes it hard for me to think of anything else as most of my friends are being peripherally attacked as well. This is fucking gross. I don't know who is posting anything on here except for those few of us who use a name when we post.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see all of this resolved, as I hav eno history of violence, and feel i am wrongly being ousted from spaces. If I cannot prove that by having not attacked you, then at least let my history and my community speak to that. You hav eno knowledge of my history and are asserting that you do. It is a falsity at that point. You need to allow my community, those who have known and intimately worked with me, to have voice in this, without fear of repercussion from you and your "crew". If my address gets posted, I will not hesitate to see that as a real life assault. If my family has to live in fear of some fucked up zealot acting against what they perceive as a transphobe, racist, sexist homophobe, thanks to your deluded view of me, pax, I will hold you personally responsible. THIS IS NOT A THREAT. This is a plea for some fucking humanity here. Hat eme all fucking day, but coercing others to hate me with no experience with me is unfair and definitely not anarchistic.
Get the personal info removed from this site, get your friend who just wrote me and threatened me to recant what they said, and I will take this as a good-faith attempt at showing you are not a harm and will take steps toward meeting with you and speaking to you
ReplyDeleteTo be clear, even what you just said was transphobic and fucked up, but we can talk more about that when you're a safe person to be around.
ReplyDeleteAnd also to clarify, I mean your friend who facebook messaged threats, not Uriel/the mystery person who is trying to post my info.
i have no idea what facebook shit you are talking about. i will not do work for you to prove who i am.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to tell you the name of the friend of yours who is harassing me, lest you call me a snitch again... maybe there's some way I could private message it to you?
ReplyDeleteThen don't do those things to prove something to me... do those things because you understand that releasing someone's information without their approval is wrong, and you would want me to remove your personal information if someone posted it and I had the power to get it removed.
What, Pax, is the difference in someone posting information about you, and you posting accusations about me? Your accusations are not grounded in fact, they are formed from your opinion and experience. But when the title of transphobe, rape-apologist (particularly enraging to me for reasons i will never give you), sexist, racist or any of the other labels you have thrust around, without thought of the consequence, are referring to me, it is deeply personal and has proven to be more than potentially harmful, but actually harmful. Do you see how powerful information is? Do you see how harmful it is to provide it, not just to your friends in your community, but to a broader, potentially more destructive group that has access to these posts?
ReplyDeleteAfter what we have experienced on our last tour, and before and after, I have a hard time being sympathetic to you on this one. I would like to think that we would never take these measures against each other, but I have lost most faith I ever had in the anarchist community here. Someone went as far as taking this to my manager at a job I loved and worked with for two years. Seriously? Do you know what you are doing?
Every time I give someone reasons you're a shitbag, I show them specific examples of the behaviors I list. It's their choice whether they see these behaviors as problematic. Usually they do, but not always. There isn't one claim I can't back up with evidence (I didn't have any evidence of the transphobia before this, but you've been more than forthcoming.)
ReplyDeleteIn any event, I'm not your babysitter. I'm being punished for trying to explain to you what you did wrong, so it won't happen again. You'll have to find another real anarchist to tell you, and when you ask why I won't sit down and hold your hand through this process, I'll point to this conversation.
In the meantime, it might maybe you could go to one of those cities where people like having their anarchists threatened. Or, I suppose, one of those cities where "watch your back" means "i'll defend myself if attacked."
tl;dr: leave town. this will be my last post.
and the crowd goes wild!
ReplyDeleteThe role of "primmie oogle manarchist stereotype" was played by Michael Franklin.
The role of "real anarchist" has been played by Paxana.
Thanks to supporting caste! Check back next week when we do this again with another anarchist perceived as being a threat to the social hierarchy! Till then, blog on you crazy diamond.
LMFAO at Pax telling people to leave town!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fucking DERP A DERP.
HERP A DERP A DERP DERP DERP A DERP HERP A DERP A DERP DERP DERP A DERP HERP A DERP A DERP DERP DERP A DERP HERP A DERP A DERP DERP DERP A DERP.
ReplyDeleteRESPECT MY AUTHORATAY!
Pax, as you are not a trans anything, you have no right to tell us what we should be upset about. You are actually doing us a disservice. I ask you to go fight for someone who needs it and not be a manarchist pretending you need to stick up for us because you think we cannot do it ourselves. I am personally very offended that you, Pax, feel we need your help and are being a big manly defender of misguided notions. Please shut up and leave the nice people alone. -Melody
ReplyDeleteI personally am very offended and feel that PAX needs to mind his own business and not assume that trans people cannot stick up for themselves. We do not need your help pax and by persecuting these people, you are disempowering us to make our own decisions about who we hold responsible for injustices. Quite frankly, with your authoritarian communist bull in a china shop attitude, you are doing trans people a great disservice and are saying that we need a man to save us. Is that what you are intending?
ReplyDeleteSo glad these last two comments happened. THAT is the proper response.
ReplyDeleteI don't need "warnings" about ANYONE, let alone a national email-warrior barrage of folks trying to get shit canceled on strangers... we should trust that radicals can take care of themselves.
please post proof of national emails.
ReplyDeleteThe only "proof" that would be available would be testimony from those who have tried to cancel people's tours, or from people who have had their tours canceled. If anyone's willing to testify to that effect...
ReplyDeleteThe first comment on this thread is even boasting their ability to nationalize the reputation in question.
Radicals apparently can't take care of themselves in Portland, they are busy shivering in fear, ensconced within their perceived "safe" spaces and hoping the world will not upset their fragile assumptions or challenge their porcelain beliefs which are erected on the backs of the truly oppressed.
ReplyDeletehmm, no proof huh. no screen capture?
ReplyDeletedid any holy holy holy show ever get cancelled before the one at star-e-rose? because they never mentioned a show being cancelled on their facebook or their website. you'd think they'd do that, to look for a new venue, or to tell their fans not to come to the wrong space.
ReplyDeleteNot everyone concerns themselves with screen captures to legitimize themselves to people with irrational skepticism. I've had shit canceled from almost 2000 miles away, H!H!H! had shows canceled for the type of garbage on this thread, and I personally know others who have had it happen, and I know others that know others, etc.
ReplyDeleteFuck your screen caps, I don't expect you to care, and I don't want you to. It's of no consequence to me whether or not you believe.
but then they never posted about it?
ReplyDeletedid people go to the shows, because HHH didn't tell them it was cancelled?
ReplyDeleteI could go through and read all of these comments and air my feelings but I won't. I'll get right to the point: if we want to see our future liberated, and live in a world where real change is possible, we should check our privileges, own our emotions, and be brave enough to have a real, honest, face-to-face community discussion. We need to talk about everyone's version of the "truth" in an environment where no one is silenced, and to discuss what our values truly are and how our behaviors have, have not been, or can be more aligned with them. This is something that I said multiple times on the night of this confrontation. But that part isn't in the video. The video also does not document the fact that we spent nearly 2 hours calmly discussing and empathizing and trying to the best of our abilities to come to community solutions while periodically being yelled at, accused, objectified for projected ideas of what our identities are, belittled, and dismissed (there were definitely major intimidation tactics being implemented against us, it was not a good situation). I'm sure the video doesn't show the part of the night where Michael was yelling and throwing a fit and cursing and just being totally fucking scary. Does it show those things? Correct me if I'm wrong. The only part it shows is the emotional climax on my end where I let a comment slip. It doesn't show the emotional triggers leading up to this moment or the beginning of the conversation that started off as calm and friendly. So: cut the boring parts and get to the drama, right? Intentionally sacrificing the reality of a situation in order to help prove a point-- now there is some real radicalism. Just remember that everything that hits the internet has a chance to be edited to the author's liking. Believe whatever you'd like to, but also know that there are major parts of that 2 hour confrontation that are not documented.
ReplyDelete(Cont'd) Moving on, I've had some time to think about what happened this night and I realized that maybe asking Michael to leave wasn't the "right" decision, and that there IS more to the story than I know and perhaps it was presumptuous of us to step up and try to defend the safety of the space. I will own up to that. I will also admit that there were a couple moments where emotion trumped logic, and the first few seconds of that video captured the most prominent one of those for me (of course that's the first thing that's shown, and none of the conversation leading up to it). If the decision to cancel the show was unproductive and is just causing more melodrama, then I do apologize and agree that it shouldn't have happened. This does not mean that I see Michael as a safe person to be around-- in fact, if I were to pretend I knew nothing about this dispute, and were to solely judge by his behavior that night, I would feel totally uncomfortable around him. He has a serious temper, and throws his weight around in a way that can only be interpreted as aggressive and inflammatory.
ReplyDeleteBut I also realize that this isn't right. Witch hunts don't help us. We should never let oppressive behavior fly, but we also should tell things how they are and call people out in a way that is productive. And we should all be receptive to being called out because our perpetuation of oppressive bullshit makes us no different than any other perpetrator out there. And when we're called out on doing something messed up, we should own up to it and talk to people about how we can heal the gap caused by our bullshit.
That is what accountability is. Why do we have accountability? It is a way for us to be more true to our values and to help heal our community when it is wounded. It is a way for us to grow and acknowledge our mistakes so we can learn from them, it is a way to maintain our feelings of comfort and safety around each other.
Ask yourself: what are we fucking doing? Is it helping us toward a liberated future, or are we acting out of narcissism? What matters more: looking like you know what you're talking about, or assessing a situation in a truthful, realistic manner? Are you receptive to criticism? Are you willing to bypass defensiveness in order to affect real social change and work toward the future we want to see?
These questions are not directed toward any one person, but to everyone who has an opinion or involves themself in radical practices. I try to ask myself these questions every chance I get and I am willing to acknowledge when I am not acting in a way indicative of positive social change. Are you?
Let's stop all of this internet bickering. It's been going on for far too long. What we really need to do is own up to our mistakes and learn how to bridge the holes in our communities. Let's stop objectifying each other with labels and recognize that we are all human beings who are multiplicities and that we all have internalized oppression and that we all have a lot of work to do. I would love to have a solidarity gathering/discussion where we figure out how to end all of this and re-focus on the shit that really matters.
In the mean time: take this video down. We expressed that we did not consent to footage of us being posted, and it is not an accurate representation of that night's events.
Everybody think real hard about all this shit and then let's talk. As people, not words on a screen.
Video is not coming down.
ReplyDeleteLogic regarding un-contextual editing is advised, and should be expected by any rational people.
It wasn't edited to skew a situation, it's not intending to "represent" that situation, either. It's a snippet for brevity and for entertainment.
Thanks for adding your thoughts for (A) the few dopes who would take this video as completely in context and (B) for those who are/were interested.
If you haven't completely forgotten about this in a year or so, I'm sure you can contact the one or two people who are still huffy about this or still thinking about this in a year or so, and let them know the context.
Check your emotions. Chomsky-forbid we are humans who feel things. Last I checked the video did not show the 8 months of harassment against Michael, his family or his band. But yeah, two strangers kicking him out of a space is calm and rational and requires submission on his part. Fuck off.
ReplyDeleteRemember when i said this about not taking the video down?
ReplyDelete" If you haven't completely forgotten about this in a year or so, I'm sure you can contact the one or two people who are still huffy about this or still thinking about this in a year or so, and let them know the context."
how's everybody doin?