Keeping Austin Criminal: An Insurgent Review of 2020

Austin Autonomedia: Keep Austin Criminal

2020 was a year of insurgent milestones in Austin–an explosion of autonomous initiatives, a proliferation of insurrectionary tactics and revolt, and the weaving together of new connections between fragmented worlds inhabiting this territory.

We’ve decided to forefront some of the highlights of this year, to celebrate the high points of this year and look forward to the next one. This is not a claim to a comprehensive review of the activity of this past year, an attempt at in-depth analysis and critique, nor a claim to what projects/initiatives/actions “mattered” or not–it’s merely a reflection of things that we have found on our radar, find inspiring, and wish to highlight and remember. We encourage any fellow insurgents reading this to put out their own analysis and perspectives about the event of this year, whether through our page, your own platforms, or wheatpasted on the walls of the city.

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Rent Strike ATX Graffiti

Spray paint in support of a rent strike in Austin. Location unknown. Submitted anonymously to us. The artist sent this statement:

We are at an unprecedented point in our lives. A time where the flaws of the capitalist system and faults of the state are glaringly obvious to even those we would consider to stand in opposition to our political message.
I want to be one of those people that stands up to the plate and helps their friends, family, and entire community in this time of need… For me part of that means showing my support and solidarity with the rent strike. Now is the time to be brave in whatever ways we can be

Yesterday, Rent Strike ATX released a statement calling for a city-wide rent strike and coordination. 

You can download the statement here: https://cryptpad.fr/file/#/2/file/TAz5mkNXXl0qnunapKDXYog+/

You can fill out the Rent Strike Form here: https://tinyurl.com/tvq822s

 


Got a something you need to publish? Send it to us! We take all kinds of radical/revolutionary content, with a special affinity for anarchist/autonomous movements and crews. We specialize in research and strategic intelligence that can inform direct action, but we’ll take art, opinion pieces, and other stuff too! Submit content to austinautonomedia [@] autistici [dot] org.

 

Stop the Sweeps Zine

Originally published by Stop the Sweeps Austin

For public access and distribution, we are republishing a zine produced by Stop the Sweeps Austin–a local network combating the sweeps and displacement of homeless people in Austin. This zine was produced for distribution at the 2020 Austin Anarchist Bookfair, and features a timeline of events presented through facebook highlights, as well as a statement of principles and vision for the organization. We hope it inspires those locally seeking to join or conspire with these folks, or those near and far looking for inspiring examples of ways to organize themselves. Click the hyperlinks below to access digital and print-imposed PDFs of the zine. 

PRINT PDF 

READ PDF 


Got a something you need to publish? Send it to us! We take all kinds of radical/revolutionary content, with a special affinity for anarchist/autonomous movements and crews. We specialize in research and strategic intelligence that can inform direct action, but we’ll take art, opinion pieces, and other stuff too! Submit content to austinautonomedia [@] autistici [dot] org.

Support Immigrants in Hays County

Reposted from the Student Community of Progressive Empowerment at Texas State

https://www.gofundme.com/support-immigrants-in-hays-county

The Student Community of Progressive Empowerment (SCOPE) is a student-led organization dedicated to supporting immigrants of all statuses (or lack of), the first of its kind on the Texas State University campus. Founded in 2015, SCOPE has been providing resources and support for its members and the Hays county community through a variety of initiatives –from raising money to provide scholarships to undocumented immigrants so that they may renew their DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), to organizing pro bono days to provide free consultations with immigration attorneys free of cost and open to all community members, no questions asked.

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Threat Modeling For Activists: Tips For Secure Organizing & Activism

Police block a roadway during Occupy SF protests, December 7, 2011. Threat modeling helps activists anticipate and respond to police repression. (Flickr / Thomas Hawk, CC-BY-NC license)

Originally posted by Kit O’Connell

Threat modeling is a fancy term for “knowing how to protect yourself in different situations.”

This is a draft document which will become part of an upcoming zine on security for activists. Your feedback and constructive criticism is welcome.

The idea of “threat modeling” originated in the military before being adopted by security experts. While the field includes many advanced concepts that don’t interest us here, threat modeling can help us get a handle on our personal security choices. In an age of mass surveillance, choosing what steps to take can feel overwhelming. For a lot of people, it may feel easier to do nothing at all than worry about protecting yourself online.

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What Starts Here: YCT Shut Down, Survivors Stand Up, and DSA Blocks A Bridge

Autonomous Student Media: Gestures Towards the Ungovernable

We fell behind on our news cycle since we were busy working on the YCT. Here’s a roundup of the past 2 weeks of news–a lot has happened! In this roundup, we’ve got a report on the events following the YCT demonstration, anti-Kavanaugh protests in Austin, the Stand with Survivors rally, and the inaugural Turning Point USA meeting.

CW: Sexual assault, Kavanaugh, rape apologism

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Austin Goes #AllOut: Autonomous Antifascists Assemble

Submission from a few black flags

#AllOutATX was the final act in a month of struggle against fascism in central Texas. While the ongoing Occupy ICE San Antonio encampment faced attacks from Patriot Front, local police, and the FBI,this marked the final event of #AllOutAugust, which had been a series of successes from Portland to D.C. in which antifascists defeated far-right forces, often facing brutal clashes with the police who defend them. On the 18th, attention from across the nation was on Austin. Jennilyn Kae Lohmer-Salinas, one of the main organizers of the nationwide marches “against far-left violence,” hails from the area, and Austin was one of the first cities to announce such a rally. In the days leading up to the event, the doxxing of some supporters by an independently set-up honeypot site along with internal conflict resulted in the cancellation of multiple rallies and a fracturing of fascist forces. Locally attention was also focused on this event as it promised to be a test of the strength and future potential of both fascist forces and new autonomous antifascist networks in the area. Below is an account of the events of the day and reflections on how we could have conducted ourselves better. 

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The Birth of ATXResists

Republished from ATXResist’s Facebook

Editor’s Note: On November 9th, 2016, a collection of student activists called for an anti-Trump mobilization in the immediate aftermath of the election. The first of the anti-Trump mobilizations in Austin, it was also one of the most radical in its politic and messaging. Three days later, this statement was published by the organizers, announcing the formation of ATXResists as a coalition–of students and community members committed to combating Trump and the world that produced him. In the following weeks, a series of meetings would give form to a stronger, primarily student coalition that would introduce new forms of militant student activity at UT for the next few months. We republish this initial statement now as part of our Archiving project, to preserve the historical memory of this organization and its accomplishments (as well as its limitations) so that they may inform current and future organizers on and off campus. This will be the first in a series of entries highlighting ATXResists in particular. 

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