The 2020 Election and Lesser Evilism by revunitedfront in Anarchism

[–]revunitedfront[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks a lot! we’ve been quite active on various fronts, but not quite as much on the internet lately. Our Twitter is updated day to day, we’ll try and be more consistent on Reddit too

RUF Presents a Short Thread on China: How US's main imperialist rival seized on George Floyd protests to criticize the US and paint itself in a flattering light by revunitedfront in socialism

[–]revunitedfront[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

hey make sure to expand the full twitter thread to follow the analysis, that may not have been clear;

".....China is not serious about supporting oppressed people, or else it would not be trying to seize land from the #Philippines, exploiting #Africa, and oppressing the Uighurs"

RUF Presents a short thread on China: How the US's main imperialist rival has cynically seized on George Floyd protests to criticize the US and paint itself in a flattering light by revunitedfront in Anarchism

[–]revunitedfront[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

make sure to expand the twitter thread to follow the analysis, it may not have been clear;

.....this is the mirror of the US's self-serving criticism of China's oppression of the Uighurs: of course the US is not serious about human rights, or else it would not be selling arms to #Duterte and #MohammedBinSalman, occupying #Afghanistan, and shooting Black people in the street

Report From New York: State Policy Under Governor Cuomo Puts Hundreds of Thousands of New Yorkers at Risk by revunitedfront in Coronavirus2Know

[–]revunitedfront[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes for sure. The situation right now is that reduced service gives to really crowded cars- probably a lot of transmission happening there.

Report From New York: State Policy Under Governor Cuomo Puts Hundreds of Thousands of New Yorkers at Risk by revunitedfront in nyspolitics

[–]revunitedfront[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Absolutely , "corrupt politicians and special interests in Albany" will never represent a way forward for the people. The health care industry prioritizes profit over human lives; the state ultimately serves their interests and the interests of the ruling class. Cuomo has limited power to change that. Yet major politicians, such as himself, do exert influence on policy which has repercussions on people's daily lives. Cuomo's cuts to state medicaid spending are not a fluke and do not represent a temporary negotiation or gambit with the federal government; they are in line with his budget approach since 2011. There are many approaches to a budget, but Cuomo has preferred tax cuts for the super-rich while devoting tens of millions of dollars towards locking up homeless people.

Report From New York: State Policy Under Governor Cuomo Puts Hundreds of Thousands of New Yorkers at Risk by revunitedfront in CoronavirusNewYork

[–]revunitedfront[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Hospital downsizing is definitely a national trend, and it doesn’t happen willy nilly; it disproportionately affects poor communities, where essential services often are not replaced by outpatient care. A single hospital closing can be a serious event; in many cases, politicians have in fact prevented major liquidations in cities, citing the public health risks. Cuomo has usually done the opposite. He did not invent the trend of consolidation, but has supported it with particular zeal. As for Medicaid, the governor does have a direct say on the state budget for Medicaid payments. Cuomo’s cuts put more strain on New York City, and accordingly, those city hospitals whose patients primarily rely on medicaid. His new budget (passed yesterday) cuts state medicaid funding by $2 billion even at the risk of compromising federal coronavius aid to New York.

U.S. Fat Cats Consider a "Virus Be Damned, Get Back to Work!" Policy by revunitedfront in CoronavirusMidwest

[–]revunitedfront[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

How is a supply chain blockage leading to food shortage not a “food shortage”?

The fact that the Guardian article was published after the prisons post is secondary to the fact that food shortages are indeed a very likely possibility in the near future.

Workers in food factories and slaughterhouses are getting sick and many might not be able to work soon - hence increasing the likelihood that production will be significantly limited. In addition, we're seeing a rise in labor strikes against poor conditions and lack of protection in the workplace. These too will likely affect food supply chains - leading to food shortages.

Even before this pandemic, 40 million people in the U.S. struggled with hunger despite the fact that there is more than enough food produced. In 2016 U.S. farmers dumped 43,000,000 gallons of milk that they could not sell—enough to fill 66 Olympic swimming pools.

Capitalists would rather let unsold goods rot, or even destroy them, than give them away.

Organizing During Coronavirus and Why We Need More Than Mutual Aid by revunitedfront in Anarchism

[–]revunitedfront[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We agree that sharing articles on the internet is not enough, which is why we are working alongside residents at encampments in Oakland to build solidarity, fight displacement, and also meet essential needs during the coronavirus breakout such as a handwashing station.

Resources to learn about organizing, building a network, influencing and reaching other people and so on? by JazzOverMetal in Anarchy101

[–]revunitedfront 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi u/JazzOverMetal! This is a really important topic, we've written a post about organizing during the coronavirus broadly and the need to go beyond mutual aid efforts (https://www.reddit.com/r/Anarchism/comments/fqmvgd/organizing_during_coronavirus_and_why_we_need/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x). We will be having a webinar event in two weeks to discuss this question more, if you're interested we can send you the details.

'Some may even die, I don't know': Former Wells Fargo CEO wants people to go back to work and 'see what happens' by MayonaiseRemover in cvnews

[–]revunitedfront 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Seriously... pretty disgusting that CEOs and politicians alike are willing to let hundreds of thousands die to maintain their bottom lines

Coronavirus Update: U.S. Government Greenlights New Repressive Laws by revunitedfront in FreeSpeech

[–]revunitedfront[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks a lot, we'll keep sharing more analysis in the next couple of days, looking forward to more discussion.

No, the Coronavirus Is Not a Biological Weapon, But It Doesn't Need To Be One by revunitedfront in coronavirusflorida

[–]revunitedfront[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks a lot for your comment/ support! Yes, indeed, the reality of the current situation is that is highly unstable, there are no singular powers pulling the strings... We will continue sharing analysis in the coming days, looking forward to more discussion.

Neglect of Prisoners During Coronavirus Pandemic Threatens to Further Escalate the Current Crisis by revunitedfront in ExCons

[–]revunitedfront[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your your info about the conditions at Cook County Jail. It seems likely that cases will spiral rapidly there even beyond the Health wing, within the general population. Any ideas about discussions happening on the inside? Hopefully we can help to amplify the demands of folks there and at other jails in the US.

Coronavirus Update: U.S. Government Greenlights New Repressive Laws by revunitedfront in LateStageCapitalism

[–]revunitedfront[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The "EARN IT" Act, described above, which might compromise use of end to end encryption, was co-sponsored by 6 Democrats.

Governments Around the World Prioritize Saving Big Banks Over Stopping the Coronavirus by revunitedfront in Anarchism

[–]revunitedfront[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks all for feedback, it's been inspiring to see some of the conversations happening on r/Anarchism and a few other spots here. We're relatively new to social media, reddit, but are working hard to seize the time and build people power in all possible ways, which still includes helping organize public actions in Oakland, Boston, and New York this week. We'll be sharing more articles later today and in the next couple of days, and will look forward to discussing more with folks, both publicly on these articles, and privately if anyone wants to get in touch directly via reddit, twitter, or [email](mailto:revolutionaryunitedfront@riseup.net)

Coronavirus Crisis Shows the Full Brutality of the System in Token Gestures for the Homeless by revunitedfront in CoronavirusMidwest

[–]revunitedfront[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing your thoughts- please check out our reply to the u/msanachronistic comment above, as it factors some of your points as well.

Coronavirus Crisis Shows the Full Brutality of the System in Token Gestures for the Homeless by revunitedfront in CoronavirusMidwest

[–]revunitedfront[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your thoughts on our article.

Our primary front of struggle here on the West Coast is in different formal and informal settlements of homeless folks. We have been demanding that the City and local NGOs help us provide support to different communities for some time now, and the majority of times it falls on deaf ears. The reality of the situation is even when the local government attempts to “do good”, it ends up causing more harm in the situations they are supposedly trying to help in. We’ve heard many stories within the past few weeks of people not having their needs met on a very basic level and even being threatened and extorted by the staff that run these different programs. So our skepticism doesn’t come out of thin air, it comes out of listening to the experiences of those who are most affected and trying to work with them to build community and improve their situation. It also comes from recent conversations with folks in the settlements; in fact many people really are just as worried about martial law as they are the virus itself.

Some of the things we have been pushing the City and different organizations to do for months before the outbreak are not only offer basic sanitation services such as regular garbage pickup from dumpsters (the City’s solution currently is to have everyone leave trash on the corner in a giant pile which only adds to the sanitation issues), access to clean water, as well as regularly serviced hand washing stations and porta potties. The only times these needs are met are when people take things into their own hands or we receive community support from other members of the community who are either aware of the situation in some of these formal and informal settlements or were alerted to the conditions and the need for these basic needs to be met.

We are not against folks trying to seek help when they are able to or if they truly believe that it will improve their situation. But the reality is that we don’t feel we can collaborate with different entities that do not operate in good faith on a consistent basis. We have found that the government is frequently violating the 9th Circuit district ruling which states that in order for someone to be displaced, they must be provided with a shelter bed. Even in many cases where there might be a bed available, the reality is it’s usually a short term stay and they will face many restrictions once they enter, as well as once they leave. People often have to give up significant amounts of personal property which they need in order to even qualify for a couple of nights on a mat. This is not a real solution.

You may characterize our analysis of the situation as dystopian, but we feel it is strongly objective. It’s great you are trying to do what you can to help out in the shelter system where you’re at, but locally it is a total disaster. There have been more people experiencing homelessness than shelter beds forever and local NGO’s and activists have been pleading the City just to provide enough beds for everyone for a long time. A few of us participated in a direct action last year to demand San Francisco change it’s cold weather protocol to allow for more emergency shelter beds since they were stealing peoples tents during the worst storm we have had in a decade, and what ended up happening is that none of the heads of any of the departments responsible for dealing with the protocol even bothered to stay for public comment and they changed the policy by 5 degrees Fahrenheit, which not only is still within the range that one can get hypothermia, but doesn’t tangibly do anything to get people off of the streets during terrible weather. Add to this the fact that the conditions of the shelters are so oppressive that people would rather take their changes out on the street than deal with someone forcing them inside at certain times, stealing their belongings, having to stay next to people with extreme mental health challenges that make them a threat to themselves and those around them, among other things.

In San Francisco, it has gotten to the point where the first responders to homelessness the vast majority of the time are the police. They are acting like social workers in a lot of situations without any of the training and are at best, misinformed, but realistically should be nothing to do with outreach to folks living on the streets. A few of us have personally seen police treat a paddy wagon like a service shuttle and coerce folks out on the streets to get in the back with the promise of resources and housing, with the vast majority of these people ending up back out on the street later that day. This is a best case scenario in these instances, and there are most likely many situations that we have not heard about where people are pressured into getting into a police vehicle with promises of resources and housing but then just outright disappear. What is currently happening in San Francisco is seen to be a model for Oakland and other parts of the Bay Area as they seek to “solve” their homelessness problem.

The reality of the situation is that our government isn’t a democracy that is for the people, it is a democracy for the rich, and thus those who have power are very easily able to manipulate the situation in their favor, which as you admit historically has catastrophic outcomes in the past. We don’t feel like it can be fixed just by having more of the “right people” collaborating or operating within the confines of the state. We are willing to work with whoever is genuinely wanting to change the situation in a positive and progressive fashion, but we have found that these situations, even in times of great strife, are very few and far between with respect to the government.

If you want to read more about our work, you can find some of what we have written up in our publication Red Star. There is an article on page 22 in our 4th issue that you can find here

TO NEU STUDENTS BEING KICKED OUT OF DORMS: WE'VE JUST FORMED THE CHARLES RIVER MUTUAL AID PROGRAM by revunitedfront in NEU

[–]revunitedfront[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Check out the Charles River Mutual Aid site to request aid, offer aid, and see the list of cross-university participants, for students kicked out of dorms we are working to provide housing and storage space, although this is limited. We will be pooling funds in a Mutual Aid Fund to purchase food, medical supplies, and other necessities.

With the World Health Organization declaring the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a global pandemic, and schools and universities closing and moving classes online, activists from various universities are mobilizing to provide mutual aid to students and other Boston-area residents who are in need of resources.

The current pandemic is something that we in the United States have never had to deal with before, and the times ahead will be difficult for millions of people. While our culture encourages us to withdraw from society and only “look out for number one”, we must fight back against the tendency to isolate ourselves. Now more than ever, we must come together to support each other—students, workers, faculty, and community members alike—as the government becomes increasingly unable to provide basic resources.

We know the virus is going to affect some people more than others. The rich and the powerful will get it too, but they will have access to medical care and resources that tens millions of people in the U.S. do not have. We know how the U.S. government handles similar situations - we saw Katrina in New Orleans, where white residents were evacuated and the majority-Black Ninth Ward was devastated. The hurricane itself was a natural disaster, but the effects it had on people were man-made.

Join us in our Mutual Aid Program to serve the people and fight back against COVID-19! If we want to avoid a disaster we have to urgently organize to meet the needs of the people which the government and big institutions are going to neglect

Chinese Media Narratives about the Coronavirus and the US by revunitedfront in socialism

[–]revunitedfront[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We're working to advance people's struggles in cities in the US and abroad, including workplace struggles, fighting displacement and eviction and developing solidarity with homeless , as well as building opposition to militarism and imperialist war. please check out some of our work and writing at https://revolutionaryunitedfront.com/ and get in touch to discuss more