1/20/24 – Westminster House
– 11:30-1:30 – Mutual Aid: Solidarity Not Charity?
This is a discussion about mutual aid in the post-2020 landscape, from the particular perspective of anarchists in Portland. As anarchists moved to respond to the crisis of COVID, the shape of our mutual aid projects shifted. Three years after the start of the pandemic, many mutual aid projects look like charity by another name with an emphasis on quantity (often at the expense of quality) and monetary fundraising to sustain projects. The discussion will open with a brief reading and then there will be space for small break out sessions and a larger group discussion. The goal of the discussion is to critically analyze the state of anarchist mutual aid projects today and explore potential shifts in direction as they move forward.
– 1:45-2:45 – Certain Days Collective
The Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners Calendar is a joint fundraising and educational project between outside organizers in Montreal, New York, and Baltimore, and current and former political prisoners. Josh Davisdon from the Certain Days Collective will discussing the calendar and political prisoner support projects.
– 3:00-4:00 – Corvallis Organizers Strategy Session
Open only to known Corvallis organizers & regional allies, this session provides an opportunity for locals to gather and discuss coalition making and shared goals for the coming years.
1/21/24 – Corvallis Benton County Library
– 1:00-2:00 – Self Defense & De-Escalation 101
This workshop will cover de-escalation, including how to diffuse potentially violent or dangerous situations without the use of violence. It will cover topics like verbal and nonverbal communication, how to use body language, what to do against a weapon, when and where de-escalation is appropriate, and more! the skills you learn here will help you in situations involving counter-protestors, event disruptive, street harassment, every day arguments, and violent situations.
– 2:10-3:40 – Coast Range Association
Out of 20+ years opposing capitalist forestry in western Oregon, Chuck Willer offers an analysis of multiple crises linked to what he terms the capitalist-power-core of attack finance. He offers an overall model of the capitalist social system and critiques climate and conservation movements for the degree they concretely address capitalist dynamics. Chuck also addresses mainstream and non-mainstream economics and points to relevant economics useful for understanding planet threatening crises. Chuck draws on such sources as economists Anwar Shaikh and Fred Lee, social philosophers such as Nancy Fraser and the radical geographers mapping the global financial system.
– 3:50-4:50 – Radical Ideologies Today: Marxism and Anarchism – Platypus OSU
It seems that there are still only two radical ideologies: Marxism and anarchism. They emerged out of the same crucible—the Industrial Revolution, the unsuccessful revolutions of 1848 and 1871, a weak liberalism, the centralization of state power, the rise of the workers movement, and the promise of socialism. They are the revolutionary heritage, and all significant radical upsurges of the last 150 years have returned to mine their meaning for the current situation. In this respect, our moment seems no different.
There are a few different ways these ideologies have been taken up. Over the last decade the square occupations reflect one pattern: a version of Marxist theory—understood as a political-economic critique of capitalism—is used to comprehend the world, while anarchist practice—understood as an anti-hierarchical principle that insists revolution must begin now—is used to organize, in order to change it. Some resist this combination, claiming that Marxism rejects anti-statist adventurism, and call for a strategic reorganization of the working class to resist austerity, and perhaps push forward a “New New Deal”. This view remains wedded to a supposedly practical welfarist social democracy, which strengthens the state and manages capital. There is a good deal of hand waving in both these orientations with regard to politics, tactics, and the end goal. Finally, there have been attempts to leave the grounds of these theories entirely—but these often seem either to land right back in one of the camps or to remain marginal.
To act today we seek to draw up the balance sheet of the 20th century. The historical experience concentrated in these ideas must be unfurled if they are to serve as compass points. In what ways does the return of these ideologies represent an authentic engagement and in what ways the return of a ghost? Where have the battles left us? What forms do we have for meeting, theoretically and practically, the problems of our present?
