Tag Archives: repression

Convictions test convictions (2)

The sentences for the January 6 insurrectionists are getting far more harsh. Partly, it’s because the first sentences reflected plea bargains, and then prosecutors worked up to the trials of the worst offenders–and they’re not done yet. Stewart Rhodes, founder … Continue reading

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Repression, Policing, and Punishment for the Oath Keepers

The Sedition trial of five Oath Keepers is just underway in Washington, DC. The government charges the leaders of the far right group with mobilizing and organized armed members to stop Congress from counting electoral votes to prevent Joe Biden … Continue reading

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Protest resumes in Iran

The death of Mahsa Amini–in custody–became a focal point for opposition to Iran’s theocracy. A twenty-two year old Kurdish woman, Amini was arrested for the offense of not wearing her hijab properly. It’s still not quite clear what happened to … Continue reading

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Protests and Repression in Russia

The Russian army needs more soldiers for its war in Ukraine than its leaders promised at the outset, to fight a war that has already gone longer than they expected. Vladimir Putin has announced enhanced “mobilization,” which means drafting young … Continue reading

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Wall of Moms; Lawn of Dads

Protest polarizes. So does repression. The battle in the streets at a demonstration is far less important than the battle in the stands, as those watching decide who to root for and, sometimes, to try to help. This means that … Continue reading

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Trump and the battle of Portland

The president of the United States is ready to sacrifice Portland, Oregon–to say nothing of the US Constitution–to buy into a longshot strategy for winning reelection. Portland, like virtually every city in the United States, has seen large and somewhat … Continue reading

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The mask

Tens of thousands of masked demonstrators turned up in Hong Kong in response to a new ban on wearing a mask in a protest. The show of masked solidarity was completely predictable. Outlawing the mask was all about intimidation, and … Continue reading

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Repression/Concession Digression and Hong Kong

Social protest movements are messy collections of people and groups with different ideas about what they want and how to get it. They tend to do best when they can maintain some kind of unified presence in relation to authorities … Continue reading

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How activists should respond to the racist right: 2. shut them down (antifa) (?)

Standing up to a racist fascist movement when it is still small enough to start seems to make sense. Antifa is an umbrella term uniting people who commit to doing so aggressively, as (at right) in Berkeley in April. Of … Continue reading

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Guns and government: standing down in Oregon

The Occupation at Malheur Wildlife Refuge is falling apart as federal law enforcement picks away at it. On Tuesday afternoon, the FBI and Oregon state police arrested seven Occupiers, and killed another one, LaVoy Finicum, under circumstances that are unclear … Continue reading

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