Michigan Radio, “After Oakland fire, Detroit DIY spaces prepare for scrutiny”
The city has many informal, DIY spaces for creative people. And at least one of them, the Trumbullplex, was visited by a city fire marshal last week. Patience Young, a Trumbullplex resident, said the representative was friendly. He let the nearly 25-year-old artist-anarchist housing collective near Wayne State University know they would be facing a […]
Connect Savannah, “Year in Review: Music”
“The Oakland warehouse fire occurred in a radical leftist commune rife with HIV, drugs, and alternative lifestyle degeneracy,” a thread on the website 4chan decreed. “These communes are known as ‘DIY spaces’ to the bums, anarchists, and drug addicts who populate them.” What can you do to support your local DIY scene in these uncertain […]
Westword, “DIY Solidarity Shines at Denver’s Ghost Ship Fire Benefit”
Mala Mente, an anarchist, anti-racist power-violence hardcore band led by a mixed-race crew of musicians, railed against the “white-cis-hetero-patriarchy,” the Denver Police Department and the forces of gentrification that displace poor people of color. Continue Reading
The Verge, “4chan trolls want to ‘quell’ anti-Trump dissent by shutting down DIY venues and art spaces”
In another thread, posters label themselves a “Right Wing Safety Squad” — something akin to guardian angels, preventing “unwitting leftists from getting themselves killed.” In this thread, one poster lists every space they’ve reported, including anarchist collectives, comedy clubs, co-ops, music spaces, and LGBTQ safe spaces in places like Salt Lake City, Austin, Philadelphia, Baltimore, […]
SF Weekly, “Whore Next Door: This Is War”
Here in the Bay Area, we’ve already been in mourning since the news of the Ghost Ship fire solidified the notion that the very people that once made this city magical are becoming extinct. Thirty-six queers, artists, punks, anarchists, and leaders were tragically wrenched from our community on the second day of December, leaving a […]
The Olympian, “Anarchists create disturbance in downtown Olympia Friday night”
A group of about 20 people in downtown Olympia Friday night, who were thought to be anarchists based on the black clothes, black backpacks and face coverings they were wearing, created a disturbance that lasted about 20 minutes, according to Olympia police. Continue Reading
The Washington Post, “The Oakland fire would never have happened if the city cared more about artists”
These were artists, not anarchists. And evicting them from the spaces they’ve created won’t keep them safe. A tangle of complex issues underlies this tragedy, and one of them is the housing crisis. But to characterize the affected community as anarchists choosing a life of lawlessness is a dangerous and disrespectful misrepresentation. These artists have […]