In The Age Of Trump, Peaceful Revolt Is Our Only Option

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At an anti-Trump protest at the University of Wisconsin, a Native American activist in a feather headpiece holds a "Power To The People" banner. January 1, 2014. (Flickr / Joe Brusky)
At an anti-Trump protest at the University of Wisconsin, a Native American activist in a feather headpiece holds a "Power To The People" banner. January 1, 2014. (Flickr / Joe Brusky)

For those who are not already aware, this will be my last column for MyMPN. The Mint Press News reader blog will be closing down as the website prepares to restructure their resources.

Still, I wanted to use this final column to offer some advice for all activists and to announce my future plans.

I know that there is a great sense of despair and dread as we prepare to watch Donald Trump’s inauguration in nine days. The fear is heightened for those who are African American, Latino, a member of the LGBT community, etc. That is why it’s important to not only donate to organizations that support those who will be targeted by a Trump administration, but also to have viable social movements that challenge all forms of political and corporate power.

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Hafizah Geter Gives Moving Poetic ‘Testimony’ At Medgar Evers College

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Hafizah Geter performs at Medgar Evers college on December 14, 2016. (José Negroni)
Hafizah Geter performs at Medgar Evers college on December 14, 2016. (José Negroni)

A traveler — a poet — and a bit of a millennial-beat, Hafizah Geter read at Medgar Evers College on December 14 in an event that attracted scores of finger-snapping students from the Crown Heights institution.

Her spoken-word reading, with an emphasis on equating the political with the personal, led to her final poem of the evening, “Testimony,” an unreleased tribute to Ditmas Park-native Anita Neal, the mother of Kyam Livingston.

Ms. Livingston, at 37 years old, died in her jail cell in 2013 after guards allegedly denied her requests for medical help for several hours. The following year, Ms. Geter, new to Brooklyn, met Ms. Neal when she refused to overlook her day-in-&-day-out crying on her sidewalk as she mourned the loss of her daughter.

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Gonzo Journalism Rejects The Myth Of The Neutral Media

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Spectators and citizen journalists film an arrest of an activist by NYPD on their smartphones and digital cameras on December 11, 2011. (Flickr / Jessica Lehrman)
Spectators and citizen journalists film an arrest of an activist by NYPD on their smartphones and digital cameras on December 11, 2011. (Flickr / Jessica Lehrman)

Dr. Milena Rampoldi of ProMosaik interviewed Kit O’Connell about gonzo journalism and his writing.

Milena Rampoldi, ProMosaik: What is gonzo journalism and what does it mean to you personally?

Kit O’Connell: Hunter S. Thompson, author of “Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas,” and many other books, coined the term “gonzo journalism,” but the practice goes back much further. A great example of an early gonzo journalist is Nelly Bly, who had herself committed to a mental hospital in 1887 to expose the horrific treatment of patients. Ken Kesey is another famous practitioner, though what he practiced was a variation called “New Journalism.”

Gonzo journalism is journalism which rejects the idea of neutrality and objectivity. I consider myself an activist first and a journalist second, even though it’s the journalism that pays my bills and lets me continue my activism. For me, journalism is a way to reveal important truths and try to share the knowledge that we need to build a better, more humane world.

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Aleppo: How The US Manipulates Humanitarianism For Imperialism

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The United States is manipulating humanitarian concern in an effort to protect its proxy militias and its imperial regime-change project in Syria.

The media and intellectual classes are dutifully falling in line, promoting a narrative of military aggression under the cover of “protecting civilians.” These same “responsibility to protect” arguments led to the invasions of Iraq and Libya, exponentially increasing the massacres, chaos, and proliferation of violent extremism within those countries. They are hypocritical, designed to further interests of conquest and domination, and will lead to more death and destruction in Syria as well.

The United States has no stake in the wellbeing of Syrian civilians, despite their condemnations of Russia’s offensive in Aleppo. This is clearly shown in the fact that the people they are supporting are guilty of the same crimes they accuse Russia and Syria of: indiscriminate attacks, targeting of civilians, destruction of schools, hospitals, etc. Furthermore, the offensive in Aleppo is really no different from what the U.S. did in Manbij, where they are said to have incorporated a “scorched earth policy” while they liberated the city from ISIS, whereby the civilian population was treated “as if they were terrorists or ISIS supporters.”

Why One ‘Remain’ Voter Now Supports A Hard Brexit

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As a “Remain” voter, making the best of this Brexit situation means negotiating a deal with the EU which leaves the U.K. as a member State in all but name. But with Theresa May seemingly going for a “hard” Brexit, this doesn’t look likely — at least at this point in time.

So if we’re stuck with a hard or at least non-“soft” Brexit, what should we do? We should look not to the U.S. or trade agreements with other countries for a solution, but instead no further than Scotland.

If another independence referendum is held, Scots may want independence so that Scotland can rejoin the EU or negotiate a deal which would award it de facto EU membership.

Hawaiian Kingdom, American Empire: An Interview With Professor Keanu Sai

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I learned about the continuing existence of the Hawaiian Kingdom in a roundabout way through an interest in nuclear disarmament and the protests against U.S. military bases in Okinawa. Hawai’i’s history and its unresolved status as an occupied nation reveal a deeply ironic contradiction in America’s imperial project. The numerous American bases located around the […]