Five

In 2008, queer anarchists gathered in Chicago to plot a disruption of the electoral spectacle and cohere a network out of emergent youth crews in multiple cities. Fifteen years later, the proposals put forward then — criminality, autonomous self-defense, riots, and orgies — are needed more than ever. The intervening years have been marked by intensification — of crisis, alienation, loss, and struggle. The right wing no longer hides behind euphemisms: they want to exterminate trans and queer people. The left offers only false solutions: vote, donate, assimilate. A decade of representation, symbolic legal victories, social media activism, and mass-market saturation has left us worse off by all metrics. Our fairweather friends won’t save us from the consequences of their strategy of empty visibility. The inescapable conclusion is that we must come together to protect ourselves.

History confirms the queer legacy of building connection in a world that hates us, the legacy of riotous joy—the legacy of bashing back. The attacks will continue on our nightclubs, forests, story hours, and siblings. To hold on, we need spaces—underground if necessary—to re-encounter each other, spaces to remember, build, share, and conspire.

In this spirit, we are ecstatic to announce the return of the Bash Back convergence! Fifteen years from the original gathering, Chicago will host the 2023 convergence September 8–11. Comrades, old and new, are invited to discuss what’s still vital in the past and what’s needed in the present. In keeping with tradition, the convergence will include presentations, workshops, distros, parties, and other opportunities to make trouble.

Why am I in the Industrial Workers of the World?

Why am I in the Industrial Workers of the World? [a little black cat sits in a field of red, asking the audience this question]

For the logo. Let me explain… [the little black cat is looking up at the insignia of the IWW, a globe in a circle beneath the letters I W W with three stars among them]

The better-known business unions in the states all have logos of varying appeal… [a collection of business union logos, including the Teamsters, the UAW, the SEIU, the AFLC-CIO and the UFCW]

But for all their history and iconography, none of them have what this logo has… Those three stars. [little black cat looks up at the IWW insignia, with the 3 stars glowing]

Really, for me, it’s the last of the three stars that matters the most. It represents the third and final aspect of our work… [The star is glowing in the center of the frame]

Emancipation [chains being broken]

Emancipation of the working class in struggle and at war, and the Earth that feeds and holds us all. [chains encompassing the planet Earth being broken]

Both the IWW and the business unions fight for higher wages and better benefits, which are both critically important, but… [a big, buff black cat flexes imposingly next to a big, buff dog. They are intimidating a blue duck who is sitting behind a desk labeled ‘boss’ and sweating nervously]

We seek to abolish the wage system, to realize Industrial Democracy and live in harmony with the Earth. We want The Big Win, not concessions. Learn more and join at iww.org! [the little black cat is saying all this while the third star glows nearby]

Excerpt:

This detail bears repeating, as it crystallizes Republicans’ selective approach to free speech: Teachers are not required to use their trans students’ chosen pronouns, but trans teachers are expressly forbidden from using the pronouns that align with their gender. The policy appears to stand in direct violation of the First Amendment, as well as the Supreme Court’s Bostock decision, which protects LGBTQ+ workers from discrimination.

The fact that the rules for students’ chosen names apply to both cis and trans children may at first appear as merely a cynical ploy to avoid legal challenges, as anti-trans laws have consistently been blocked in federal courts in recent months. No one truly believes a teacher will face disciplinary consequences for calling a cis boy Rob without a form from his parents. Any such rules will be selectively enforced to attack gender nonconformity.

Excerpt:

Although the cause of the fire is unknown, the loss of the clinic is a stinging reminder of another recent fire at a Southern California abortion clinic. On March 13, 2022, Planned Parenthood’s Costa Mesa Health Center in Orange County was firebombed with a Molotov cocktail. Last month, charges were announced against a third man for his alleged involvement in the attack. “Officials allege that Batten, along with two other men, including a U.S. marine, conspired to attack a women’s health clinic because it had provided reproductive health services,” The Guardian reported.

Excerpt:

In Ukraine, many of the same groups lobbying for greater international support against Russia’s invasion are also speaking out about the need to make sure that money gets to its intended recipients. “Huge money always comes with corruption,” said Vita Dumanska, leader of the Chesno movement, a Ukrainian anti-corruption group. “We can’t keep silent on this.”

Excerpt:

To underline Blanchfield’s point, the ChatGPT book selection process was found to be unreliable and inconsistent when repeated by Popular Science. “A repeat inquiry regarding ‘The Kite Runner,’ for example, gives contradictory answers,” the Popular Science reporters noted. “In one response, ChatGPT deems Khaled Hosseini’s novel to contain ‘little to no explicit sexual content.’ Upon a separate follow-up, the LLM affirms the book ‘does contain a description of a sexual assault.’”

Rigged Vote

Explanation:

Sprawling emission nebulae IC 1396 and Sh2-129 mix glowing interstellar gas and dark dust clouds in this nearly 12 degree wide field of view toward the northern constellation Cepheus the King. Energized by its central star IC 1396 (left), is hundreds of light-years across and some 3,000 light-years distant. The nebula's intriguing dark shapes include a winding dark cloud popularly known as the Elephant's Trunk below and right of center. Tens of light-years long, it holds the raw material for star formation and is known to hide protostars within. Located a similar distance from planet Earth, the bright knots and swept back ridges of emission of Sh2-129 on the right suggest its popular name, the Flying Bat Nebula. Within the Flying Bat, the most recently recognized addition to this royal cosmic zoo is the faint bluish emission from Ou4, the Giant Squid Nebula. Near the lower right edge of the frame, the suggestive dark marking on the sky cataloged as Barnard 150 is also known as the dark Seahorse Nebula.

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