Any critique of this article should be directed toward the author “Trashy,” whose manner and tone do not reflect Earth First! as a whole. Furthering infighting and divisions only benefit the ones destroying the planet.
By Trashy
DGR in Trouble
At the annual Law and Disorder Conference, radical ecology group Deep Green Resistance (DGR) was confronted by trans-women. In the aftermath, books were destroyed, verbal assaults were exchanged, organizers declared regret about inviting DGR in the first place, and a DGR lawyer accused the trans-women of the Class A Misdemeanor offense of “Menacing.”
No salmon were harmed in the process.
Law and Disorder
The Law and Disorder Conference is a relatively large gathering of radical-minded folks in the Cascadia bio-region in its fourth year. This year’s roster of speakers and panels included Rising Tide, eviction defense activist, Ajhamu Umi, awesome eco-defense lawyer Lauren Regan, the Jericho Movement, and more. The community event also hosted interesting tables for groups like PM Press, Jericho, the Portland Radical, and Deep Green Resistance.
DGR’s relationship to the radical community was put to the test during the three days of events. In one tense moment, a grand jury resister, who is also a trans-person, was present as a conversation about gender disintegrated into an argument wherein the DGR table expressed total opposition to a critical analysis of cis-gender identity.
Burritos flew when, on a totally different occasion, a similar argument blew up between an anarchist and a DGRer.
The RadFem Controversy
DGR has been criticized for the “Radical Feminist” views of one of its leaders, Lierre Keith. Radical Feminism views trans-women as men who, at best, cannot possibly understand femininity and, at worst, are misogynists intent on undermining and subverting the feminine. The controversial essentialization of gender (penis = men) led to a large campaign against the RadFem 2012 conference in London, and its eventual cancellation by the venue, Conway Hall, on the grounds that speakers “actively discriminate” and “foster hate” against trans-people.
Lierre Keith is a leader of DGR, and has stated that trans-women are like capitalists who claim to be working-class
DGR is also outspokenly anti-anarchist, and their literature repeatedly attacks anarchism. Experts note that this is a new trend in the writing of some of their leaders, particularly Derrick Jensen who wrote persuasively in favor of black bloc militancy before collaborating with Chris Hedges to malign the black bloc as “the cancer in Occupy.” Jensen tells Hedges, “[black bloc] attacks on cops are simply a means to an end, which is to destroy a movement that doesn’t fit their ideological standard.”
Questions have been raised in the past about DGR’s participation in an event about radical responses to law enforcement, since the leaders of DGR have actively participated with and collaborated with law enforcement. On at least two occasions, Lierre Keith has worked with police officials. Jensen collaborated with the FBI to track down an emailed death threat.
Tensions Escalate
Tensions at Law and Disorder escalated to a head when, on the final day of the conference, a confrontation between two trans-women and two cis-women tabling for DGR turned to vandalism. As the cis-women denied the trans-women’s identity, the trans-women took out a black marker and proceeded to draw on DGR’s text books. One of the cis-women stretched her hand out to protect the valuable words of their leaders, and the marker grazed her hand.
After reporting the “assault” to the organizers of the conference, the Law and Disorder organizers resolved to post a public response on their Facebook page. Insisting that the conference appreciates safer spaces policies and listens to everyone who makes claims about disruptions, the organizers declared that DGR does not fit their safer space policy, and will not be asked back in the future. The thread was immediately packed with more than 80 comments, which became so blatantly trans-phobic that the organizers finally removed it from Facebook.
Among the Facebook commentators was Derrick Jensen, himself, who was also found recently on the comment section of the EF! Newswire arguing that EF! hates women and accusing a moderator of being a rape apologist. On the Newswire, Jensen declared that he will be writing a new article attacking queer-theory and anarchists as misogynistic.
What is to be done?
Many activists feel that local DGR activists are different from their ideological leaders, and deserve inclusion in the radical community. Others insist that DGR is based on an authoritarian-hierarchical model wherein “autonomous” local chapters are suborned to an informal ranking that accumulates in central ideological figureheads, much like Maoism in the late 1960s or even Scientology.
The confrontation at Law and Disorder may set back relations between local DGR activists, the ideological leaders of DGR, and the radical community for some time. Activists in other groups around Portland are currently contemplating how to address “solidarity” from DGR in the future.
Upon leaving the conference, some wild-eyed radicals were heard to say, “We did it! We finally won!” When asked what it was that they won, the young ferals shrugged their shoulders and walked away.
Derrick Jensen is a leader of DGR
EF! DAM
Ecodefense
Earth First! Newswire 
Aric McBay’s response. Pretty f’n admirable
http://www.aricmcbay.org/2013/05/14/dgr-and-transphobia/
Actually, full of lies. He was booted out, and not over a trans* issue.
Really, care to expound on that or do you want to just say, “that’s not true” with nothing to back it up. Also, Aric’s chapters were the only decent ones in the fucking book. Derrick and Lierre desperately needed an editor.
Victim blaming. Nice. The MRA’s would be proud.
This is how DGR members must feel right now:
I’m not sure the equation being put forth is penis = men but rather an early life of male socialization and male privilege = a human that needs to work on their shit even after they begin identifying as a woman. Many with a vagina, socialized and treated as “femail”, have an experience that is different from trans-womyn and their uneasiness with those originally socialized male (though not all trans-womyn are) and bearing a penis.The inverse is also true. The power dynamic is complicated. Many cis-women are raised with privileges that are wielded over trans-folk. These would make great discussions.
Its a shame however that DGR and EF! and Anarchists and Feminists and Queers have so effectively dis-empowered each other as to make those they most need to be fighting roll over in their chairs with great belly laughs and happiness that they don’t have to do much to disrupt radical movements. Bravo to EF! and DGR. Bravo to this writer and Lierre Kieth.
It would be at least possible to talk about if that was the argument they were making, but that’s not what they’re saying at all.
Many radicals are making this argument.
Furthermore, many radicals are arguing that socialisation isn’t just a childhood thing, but a lifelong interaction with multiple power structures. Within these structures, white, straight, enabled males are trained in entitlement in their own privileged class. Meanwhile everyone else is the ‘fair game’ class: this includes many/most trans* people.
Radicals are not a homogenous group. DGR is not comprised of a single mind, but many, all with different views.
As a part indigenous person, the leader of Sea Shepherd has some iffy mythology surrounding him, but I still support Sea Shepherd, as they do brilliant work and I can differentiate the views of a leader from the views of other participants/members.
@cerberus… right… that’s what this about Thanks for clarifying.
“In the aftermath, books were destroyed, verbal assaults were exchanged”
“Burritos flew when, on a totally different occasion, a similar argument blew up between an anarchist and a DGRer.”
Holy non-agent actions, Batman!
Think you could lay the blame for the BOOK DESTROYING on the people who did that, and while you’re at it name the BURRITO THROWING person and who they threw their burrito at? Burritos do not fly on their own and books do not destroy themselves.
Whoever did that stuff is wrong, and I’m guessing from the sketchy write-up that it was the men wearing dresses (nothing wrong with that) who destroyed feminist books and that it was a man’s hand that threw an object at someone they disagreed with.
Fuck off.
Mature response. Sounds like most extreme right-wingers Ive met in my life.
This is the proper response to anti-trans bullshit, “men in dresses” Fuck off indeed
Thanks for this story. I wanted a little more details than the transphobes’ side of things. Which got reposted over on anarchist news.
That piece was truly idiotic and I really don’t understand why you published it. It was utter nonsense in every way. Criminy, were you that desperate for copy? I can’t even dignify it with a more elaborate list of criticisms, it was that bad.
I agreed. I do not know the full story on everything but I do some of the things in this article are based upon clearly a wrong understanding of what has happened.
Bu considering the nickname of the writer to this article maybe one should not expect anything else but yet another horizontal war between people of all group that claims they are fighting for real justice and freedom for humans and non-humans.
I’m glad I don’t live in USA. In this part of the world (Scandinavia), the radical left is keeping its shit togheter in much better ways. Sure there are conflicts of interest at times but instead of acting like idiots radicals at least listen to eachother and continues to fight the real enemy.
One will have plenty of time to argue about this and that when industrial civilisation has been stopped once and for all.
I don’t know what occurred at the conference, I wasn’t present. I like what you said however.
I know the back-details on *a lot* of the side-events mentioned in this article. Things the author[sic] can’t possibly know. This article[sic] is full of lies, misdirection, half-truths.
For instance, the above failed to mention (on purpose? accident?) that the death threats were from right wing fruitcakes, and did a great deal more than threaten death… The entire ‘no snitch’ rule surely applies to our allies and their actions – not batsh*t people further right than the tea party?
To follow on…
Aric didn’t leave due to disagreeing with a trans* inclusion policy… He was made to leave for a number of other reasons, which involved the sacking of a former DGR ‘leader’ who was a security liability.
Horizontal-hostility…is the bane of the left.
It’s bullshit like this, that keeps the left perpetually ineffective. We radicals will never get anywhere…if we can’t put aside our differences and focus on the institutions and people who control the planet, humans, and non-humans.
If only people who were concerned about ‘horizontal hostility’ against transhaters were as concerned about ‘horizontal hostility’ against transfolks.
Well played DGR, you shit in enough places yr bound to step in it eventually. While it’s true that the local chapters don’t seem nearly as crazy as their bosses, trying to get them to distance themselves from the transphobic ideology is like pulling teeth. They either agree with it or are evasive and refuse to criticize it. I think the horizontal hostilities have generally come from the DGR camp; their anti-anarchist rants are particularly sectarian and cointelpro-esque at times. I think it is time we wish them goodbye since Derrick’s comments on the Voina article about his upcoming piece on how queer theory and anarchism are misogynistic would suggest that the worst of this has yet to come.
Of course this is horizontal hostility. However, considering people in the Earth First! movement have been dealing with DGR leadership shitting on them publicly and been responding with internal conversations with DGR and trying to find common ground. However the leadership of DGR has for years now kept up at publicly denouncing anarchists and Earth First! This article was of course going to happen at some point. It sucks. I hate it. But considering the levels of animosity Derrick has been slinging at us, what else was going to happen? I’m surprised somebody didn’t publicly call out this behavior earlier.
I’m sorry for the books that were injured in the process of this controversy, they didn’t deserve that. If anybody wants to throw a burrito at me I’ll take it. I love burritos.
Yeah, it’s obviously unfortunate that this happened. It could have been easily prevented by not working with organizations like DGR with hella fucking sketch politics. I’d honestly feel better sitting at a table with the PCR (Canada, eh?) than those cop-lover transphobe university-tenured assholes. I know that sounds like a lot of hatin’, but I challenge you to spend an hour reading about Jensen, Keith, and even just reading their own goddamn website, before trying to tell me that I’m wrong. It’s some Larouche quality shit.
It’s nice to finally see something critical of DGR on here after all the pro-DGR junk that has been posted here, the promotion of DGR as an eco-action group in the Journal, and the printing of the DGR insert.
When I saw this article, I thought that maybe the folks doing this site finally realized that everything about DGR sucks, but after reading this, I’m not so sure. In all the DGR articles that were posted in the past, you never once gave a disclaimer suggesting that they weren’t reflective of EF! as a whole but then ya do with the only negative one?
Also, why reduce criticism down to “infighting” and say that “divisions only benefit the ones destroying the planet”? That’s just a way to gloss over debate and differences for the sake of (false) unity. And when it comes to having some kind of relationship with DGR, downplaying their transphobia for the sake of alliances or whatever is upsetting (to say the least).
I think the reason there is no disclaimer on the DGR articles is because it’s a news wire. There are no disclaimers on the articles/communiques by Individualists Tending Toward the Wild despite the fact that many of us are not individualists and probably some people also object to blowing up nanotechnicians. It’s a repost from another site, not original content, that’s the disclaimer. Internally and at public events there has been much critique of various aspects of DGR but I think attempting to avoid horizontal hostilities (call it critique or disclaimer but let’s be real, the function is the same) in a place as public as the newswire has been a priority for EF and I applaud that. When the Journal published the DGR insert the transphobia and anti-anarchist stuff hadn’t dropped yet. Different factions of Earth First have worked with a wide variety of groups from MOVE to rural ranchers who have regressive beliefs and as long as those beliefs are not at the forefront of what that group does, one may collaborate in limited ways. DGR has chosen to make the regressive aspects of their ideology an increasingly large part of their public presence, making them impossible to collaborate with any longer.
Trust me, the transphobia and anti-anarchist stuff were issues with DGR way back then too. They just weren’t quite as public about it.
I understand the point about the disclaimers, but it isn’t really consistent with how things are done here (so it seems). Original content doesn’t get disclaimers on here as best I can tell (for example, see the review/interview with Chris Crass regarding his book — a “controversial” figure to some for his role in the Oscar Grant riots).
Also, the stuff about DGR was known to many folks before EF! decided to print that insert. It was already well-known by mid-2011. Definitely the anti-anarchist stuff, if not the transphobia. Both the anti-anarchist and transphobia were well-known when the newswire started to start reprinting DGR stuff earlier this year and both were well-known when they started to list Deep Green Resistance as an eco-action group.
i realize this isn’t an anarchist site, but here is the perspective of one anarchist:
everything i have read about dgr makes me want to blow up a dam – with all the dgr “leaders” on it. snitching, law-loving, state-supporting, anti-libertarian, condescending, hierarchical, oppressive, dogmatic, transphobic, …, media whores.
some of derrick’s earlier writings were actually not bad. i wrote a review of “welcome to the machine” back when it was coming out, and i thought it had some really good stuff in it. that was when he semi identified as an anarchist. at some point he gave up whatever radical perspective he had, and became yet another by-the-dots leftist. BORING.
Violently inclined street radicals calling themselves (A)narchists and their supporters have tarnished whatever luster the label bore. These same criminal elements assault journalists, openly declare war on the state and society, reject the very notion of ‘rights’ and laws while victimizing those they do not view as ideologically pure. They should be managed by being treated not as petty criminals, but as petty traitors. i.e. They should be taken at their word.
See: (A)narchists Eat Their Children on College C(a)mpus
“openly declare war on the state”
Duh?
The “openly declare war on the state” I have to say sounds not so bad though 🙂
Sundazed, ‘not so bad’? Maybe, until they jacket YOU as a snitch, find they’re no longer welcome to hold events on public college campuses, decide YOUR car is too ‘nice’ and deserves to have its tires slashed, stalk YOU to your home to vandalize it and your vehicle in the dead of night, steal YOUR stuff, assault YOU for exercising the same rights they demand. There’s a lot of room under ‘not so bad’, but it’s bad enough.
-amicuscuria.com/wordpress-
pinbalwyz is that blogger in Olympia who tried to photograph anarchists at one of their gatherings and had his camera destroyed for it.
He’s a photojournalist who works for Soul Snatcher, Productions that insists on taking photos at public events and has been threatened, bullied, and assaulted for exercising the same 1st Amendment principles the violent street elements do. But then double standards aren’t exactly their strong suit. He continues to photograph public events and public venues such as the 5-6-13 Seattle jail/courtyard vigil for those arrested in the most recent May Day incidents there.
He, et ux, are looking for those responsible. He’s posted the audio of the Strong (A)rm Assault-Robbery and has published many photos. Information leading to accountability is welcome. The crime was the reason TESC shutdown the weekend event completely. Some attending say they moved it to a ‘private’ venue/home where they spent the remainder of the weekend drinking and getting high. It was claimed this was more fun than planning on how to ‘smash the state’ at a State college campus where booze and drugs weren’t on the menu.
More detail and the audio of those participating in the assault can be heard at:
http://amicuscuria.com/wordpress/?p=9505
Again, though more vicious, it was cut from the same warp & weave as the women assaulted at the Portland University of Oregon. It’s also an example of the kind of world street thugs propose: Journalism=snitching, laws=evil, state=bad, chaos=good, might=right, rights=fiction, justice=trial by combat, society=enemy, theft=liberation, treason=virtue, vandalism=peaceful protest, victims=snitches, (A)narchist jargon=1984 doublespeak.
so, women with penises are anarchist heroes when words are an excuse for vandalism and intimidation of cis-women. Way to make the world more securely in the hands of white men 😦 … nice seeing other wise words here : an early life of male socialization and male privilege = a human that needs to work on their shit even after they begin identifying as a woman. Many with a vagina, socialized and treated as “femail”, have an experience that is different from trans-womyn and their uneasiness with those originally socialized male (though not all trans-womyn are) and bearing a penis.The inverse is also true. The power dynamic is complicated. Many cis-women are raised with privileges that are wielded over trans-folk. These would make great discussions.
Its a shame however that DGR and EF! and Anarchists and Feminists and Queers have so effectively dis-empowered each other as to make those they most need to be fighting roll over in their chairs with great belly laughs and happiness that they don’t have to do much to disrupt radical movements. Bravo to EF! and DGR. Bravo to this writer and Lierre Kieth.
Sal May 13, 2013 at 4:54 pm #
“In the aftermath, books were destroyed, verbal assaults were exchanged”
“Burritos flew when, on a totally different occasion, a similar argument blew up between an anarchist and a DGRer.”
Holy non-agent actions, Batman!
Think you could lay the blame for the BOOK DESTROYING on the people who did that, and while you’re at it name the BURRITO THROWING person and who they threw their burrito at? Burritos do not fly on their own and books do not destroy themselves.
Whoever did that stuff is wrong, and I’m guessing from the sketchy write-up that it was the men wearing dresses (nothing wrong with that) who destroyed feminist books and that it was a man’s hand that threw an object at someone they disagreed with.
weaksauce May 13, 2013 at 5:19 pm #
Thanks for this story. I wanted a little more details than the transphobes’ side of things. Which got reposted over on anarchist news.
Hari B. May 13, 2013 at 5:40 pm #
That piece was truly idiotic and I really don’t understand why you published it. It was utter nonsense in every way. Criminy, were you that desperate for copy? I can’t even dignify it with a more elaborate list of criticisms, it was that bad.
Jeff Anderson May 13, 2013 at 5:44 pm #
Horizontal-hostility…is the bane of the left. . . .
It’s bullshit like this, that keeps the left perpetually ineffective. We radicals will never get anywhere…if we can’t put aside our differences and focus on the institutions and people who control the planet, humans, and non-humans.
I love how Derrick Jensen can co-author an article denouncing a broad spectrum of people as a “cancer” to the Occupy movement and go on to straight up fabricate lies about anarchists; Lierre Keith can give a talk denouncing ELF and ALF participants as “juvenile” and to literally advocate for violence against transwomen; yet anytime someone levies any criticism towards DGR it’s renounced as “horizontal hostility”. Now DGR and their defenders have the nerve pretend they want unity? It seems like DGR can dish it out, but can’t take the heat when it’s thrown back in their faces. DGR embodies some of the worst political opportunism and sectarianism that would make even the most Orthodox of Trotskyists cringe.
Hey could you post quotes and links of literal threats of violence against transwomen?
I think the videos in this article sum it up: http://www.decolonizingyoga.com/how-derrick-jensens-deep-green-resistance-supports-transphobia/ They are quite telling of the way DGR organizers carry the transphobic message we’ve all read from Lierre forward into their organizational presentations…
While I’ve long considered DGR to have some value to Earth First! discussions, and even supported, as a member of the editorial collective, the printing of the DGR insert in the Journal as a piece to garner conversation about other radical environmental positions, I certainly do not support the organization based on their stance against transfolk. Either through complete acceptance or silence they’ve effectively drawn a line against transfolk and like so many others have targeted transfolk.
Fortunately, Aric McBay knew bullshit when he saw it and got out of DGR. I was happy to find this quote by him: “I find these transphobic attitudes to be disgusting and deeply troubling, and it bothers me a lot to have any past association with people promoting transphobia. For me, trans rights and trans inclusion are fundamental to building effective movements and to building a world worth living in.”
I’ve heard much of the same transphobic bullshit come out of the mouths of some Earth First!ers and there is a great deal of this shit in our movement too. That is shit every Earth First!er reading this article needs to remember too. Transphobia runs deep in our culture. However, if there is something that separates us from DGR it is that those sorts of comments are discussed, argued and vetted and never make it to a fucking party-line. They aren’t silently acknowledged either.
That all being said, not sure why somebody would go and destroy books. I mean, is that really how you kill a stupid idea? I’m not so sure. Seems like stupid ideas just compound into impotent rage and most of us are just playing at radical.
And seriously, flying burritos? Wasting perfectly good beans and tortillas seems like some gringo privilege to me.
Lastly, its hard to grasp what really happened from this article. Were women assaulted at the event? That’s pretty fucked.
We all need to check ourselves.
Its not even “pretty fucked” its a disgrace and whoever did that should get the hell off this planet and take all their 1% friends and other patriarchal friends along with them.
“Anarchist” seems to have more than one definition. One is “We can take responsibility for our own actions and how they affect life on this planet.” Another is “do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.” Derrick’s displeasure is with the latter.
Easy to diss working with the gendarmes when it’s not you getting assaulted or receiving death threats.
Amen!
The whole do what though wilt shall be the whole of the law thing is exactly the problem I have with some peopel that calls themselves anarchists. It feels more like something men in certain groups wanna feel is cool and right and try to normalize that so they can continue being bullies. Pretty much behaving like the 1% that seems to live by that notion 24/7.
But I must also point out that it seems to be a pretty huge difference between Europan anarchist groups and American anarchist groups in terms of how individuals in them behave towards others.
Anarchist here who also dislikes DGR for authoritarianism as well.
The whole “debate” around trans* and feminists is ridiculously dishonest on part of the trans* community. Have you ever noticed that it’s always the MtF’s who are attacking radical feminists? Have you seen the death threats trans*women give to radical feminists? Talk about male socialization. Fuck bigoted masculine people who can’t tolerate feminism and feel entitled to draw on people’s books when they disagree. Why do “anarchists” defend marginalized folks like MtF and not women? Have we forgotten about patriarchy in this decadent postmodern culture? “Patriarchy doesn’t exist any more, only cis privilege does”? Even though I don’t like DGR, I’m in support of them against these male-socialized attacks and the cowardice of Law and Disorder legitimizing masculine behavior in the anarchist community.
Asher Bauer would like to have a word with you.
ftm are called “gender traitors” and “handmaidens of patriarchy” and accused of trying to acquire male privilege
What are violent thugs who declare war on the state, society itself, reject the notion of ‘rights’/laws designed to prevent force & fraud, even the concept of ‘democracy’ who seek to deny the commons to all but those they deem politically pure called? Petty criminals, or petty traitors?…or both? The mainstream seems at a loss as whether to spank them…or hang them. Some believe when such elements openly declare war on the state/society, boasting of how dangerous they are, they should be taken at their word.
All (A)narchist may, to varying degrees, be anti-hierarchal by definition, and thus, anti-statists, but not all are violent misanthropes or anthrophobes. That the ‘anarchists convergence’ scheduled for the weekend of 4-20-13 was evicted from the TESC campus was of its own doing. (A)narchists have typically always been their own worst enemy. The photojournalist who was assaulted & robbed actually urged the college administration NOT to cancel the event. The school did so for public safety and liability reasons, not to mention the impertinent response they received when they sought out the organizers to demand accountability/cooperation.
It has become common for the (A)narchist mantra to be:
“The only law shall be every man to do as he/she wilt.”
This giant step backward to ‘might makes right’ and justice amounting to ‘trial by combat’ has resulted in the elimination/matyrdom of hard core (A)narchists, historically, when a more fixated organized faction of extremists have seized the reins of political power or rushed to fill a political vacuum. Recognizing violent (A)narchists as a threat/challenge, these extremists are quick to pluck out the eye which offends them. i.e. For (A)narchists to ‘succeed’, (at least the most violently inclined ones) they must first sign their own death warrants.
All this is based on a weak premise: That most (A)narchists are politically serious, astute, and dedicated to their own vocalized propositions. However, experience shows most are very young dilettantes attending school on the state’s/parent’s dime in route to becoming bourgeois or acting as extensions of Punk culture, not political enlightenment. This brand of rebellion/gratuitous violence is little more than ‘devil take the hindmost’, an essentially extreme right-wing leaning rather than progressive or ‘left wing’. Like any plague, it periodically burns itself out because it kills/destroys the hosts.
Fuck off
DGR has always reminded me of an uncle at family gatherings that does
neat things like make his own handcrafted tobacco pipes and knows how to
put a worm on a fishing hook really well but then by the end of the
afternoon you regret you’re related to the guy and you’re worried
someone’s gonna observe you awkwardly smiling and nodding to the
racist/sexist shit that you just knew was coming all along.
The moral of the story is I only talk to my uncle Bob like twice a year.
I’ve always felt like Ted K was that uncle, I think DGR just crossed into “Aunt and uncle who converted to Jews for Jesus and, at Passover, tried to convert all the kids when the other adults went to a movie.” I haven’t seen them since. Not welcome.
You got it Crunk Ape. Dunno why anyone is surprised by the DGR position on trans*, as they’ve been open about that. What hasn’t been so open or admitted to is how thoroughly white and white led the group is. Everyone can see their dgr game is top-down, not grassroots. The few tokens they got have been put on display but all the power is in the hands of a small group of white people. Not sure how mistreating and disregarding POC is going to save the planet, unless it’s just to save it for white folks.
Well, Bob’s your uncle!
Smudgate or Burritogate. Either way its pretty funny. Ratfems are on the nose and should never be included in such events.
Why is assault being conflated with who’s politically correct here? The women were assaulted, regardless of their political views. Nobody intervened or defended them against the assault. Injury, or even bodily contact, isn’t necessary to meet the definition of assault. It turns on the perpetrator attempting to provoke/inspire fear in the victim. But then, blaming the victim has become America’s favorite sport.
Lot of folks (including me) bristle at authoritarian organizations. But most people/groups are mixed bags. It DGR is truly ‘deep green’, I’d support the Devil himself if it would save the planet. I grew bored with ‘crotch debates’ many years ago and am too old to care. I do, however, care a great deal about the pernicious effects of capitalism on the environment, climate crisis, and the fate of humankind. We’re all air breathers. Those who destroy the air, pollute our fresh water, subjugate wage slaves in death traps are purveyors of crimes against humanity. I’m not about to take issue with my Jewish friend over whether he/she is a Democrat/Republican when they’re being grilled by a Nazi. Pick your battles. There’s no sense in petty differences while Rome/Earth is burning. It’s like watching a couple of antagonists fighting over a pair of tennis shoes while the life boat they’re in is sinking.
-amicuscuria.com/wordpress-
That wordpress blog is the website of the asshole that tried to do a hit job on that Anarchist conference at Evergreen and got his shit thrown off a balcony.
Blah forgot to include the little matter of theft which was included in the Strong (A)rm Robbery-Assault. It was more vicious than the incident in controversy here, but cut from the same warp and weave, featuring some of the same violent actors. It’s a pattern: Vilify a Fascist system, but make it look tame by exceeding its excesses/violence in settings that should be as innocuous as workshops/presentations on a public college campus.
-http://amicuscuria.com/wordpress/?p=9505-
ah – cus it wasnt assault. unless you wanna call a heated argument and underlining/defacing a book ‘assault.’ …here’s an actual account from someone who was there, instead of the spin-article that claimed women were assaulted….
On the first day of the Law and Disorder Conference in Portland, two anarchist genderqueers* approached the Deep Green Resistance Table to inform the two women of Lierre Keith’s rampant transphobia. The people who confronted DGR were met with transphobic claim after transphobic claim, upholding the gender analysis held by their leaders. An argument ensued in which members of DGR denied the validity of trans identities. Offended by this, one of the genderqueers took a paint pen out and defaced the official Deep Green Resistance book written by Aric McBay, Lierre Keith and Derrick Jensen. While said person was marking the book, a member of DGR grabbed the book back and was smudged by the pen. The person with the pen, knowing that DGR members are known for snitching (see Derrick Jensen & FBI and Lierre Keith & the pieing incident) and grabbed a stack of Lierre Keith zines and was not seen again.
Later that day, three anarchist genderqueers were sitting in the lobby of the Smith Memorial Hall of PSU laughing about how those transphobes got their book fucked up. While the queers were loling, a member of DGR** approached and started arguing with them. The DGR member even asserted that DGR believes that transpeople do not experience violence based on their trans identity. When he was challenged and given the tragically long list of transwomen murdered at the hands of transphobes, he had no retort. While he was walking away a burrito and some trash sailed through the air and landed on his head. Someone started a chant “DGR ARE TRANSPHOBES” and a dozen or so joined in. Laughter ensued!
The next day, near the end of the conference, a group of about 15 to 20 people approached the same two women from the first day and started a discussion about transphobia espoused by the group and it’s leaders. Some people yelled, others wrote down lists of zines and books to read so the members of DGR could educate themselves about the validity of transpeople and the daily oppression of transpeople. The DGR members decided to pack up their table at that point and go home. The DGR women proceeded to call Comczar Jensen and High Counselor Keith about their hurt feelings.
DGR, transphobes should always be confronted and NEVER WELCOME in anarchist spaces.
*We do not believe that only trans people can confront transphobia. If the fact that the people who confronted them were genderqueer brings more legitimacy to the confrontation, then so be. DGR should be confronted by people of many identities in many ways for a multitude of reasons.
**This cult member was not one of the two women who were originally confronted at the DGR table.
I need to ask as a non-usa citizen. Is any of you enviromental groups doing anything else than NOT listetning to eachother and only fighting ? Its a fucking joke and meanwhile the world burns.
Maybe you don’t care about life on this planet but there are others out in the world that do.
Bring yourself togheter!!
here is an official statement from DGR Portland and I shall pount out that I am not a member of DGR but I can safley say that their use of words are way more respectful to the whole incident than this piece here.
That’s very nice that they realized that their first report back, where they referred to to transwomen as “Men in dresses” didn’t go over well and is sinking their organization so they’ve decided to put out a “Let’s play nice” version.
Where did they say that ? At the event ? did those women that were attacked refer too them as “men in dresses” ?
http://gendertrender.wordpress.com/2013/05/13/feminists-assaulted-in-transgender-attack-at-portland-conference-for-social-change-womens-books-destroyed-and-bodies-defaced-with-permanent-magic-markers/
Here is where you can find them.
Long Time Comming: Thank you! Well, I guess I gonna be jumped and bullied myself now but I did not find that article over the top offensive to be honest. Its written by someone that seems a bit in the unclear in how to adress transexuals but where does that give any person that is born biologaclly male to intimidate biologically born females like these two people did ?
I begin to wonder what was their ultimate goal ? Was they making some kind of point that if you are born biologically male, you can do whatever you want but if you are born biologically female you should shut the fuck up and be happy with life ?
@Sundazed, You’re either delusional or duplicitous. That DGR reportback was clearly written by someone who understands that transgender women identify as women (or “women,” scare quotes and all, from the writer’s/s’ perspective) and yet proceeds to identify them as “men.” That’s where the “offense” starts.
Also:
“Its written by someone that seems a bit in the unclear in how to adress transexuals but where does that give any person that is born biologaclly male to intimidate biologically born females like these two people did ?”
^ Anybody ever heard of a strawman argument? You’re deflecting away from the culture of transphobia to which DGR very actively contributes and onto your assigned-gender-determinist view of what’s actually relevant here.
Speaking of offense, your “Bring yourself togheter!!” i.e. “Your issues aren’t as important as my false concept of revolutionary unity to which you must submit!” shtick isn’t very effective.
SALMON FUCKERS!
Gotta go with sundazed and others here…….the world is burning, people. Lets all take a deep breath and let it go.
No disrespect to trans folk at all, but in the total scheme of things, since the planet is, you know, burning, it might be good to focus on that instead of who has what parts.
Then it should be no problem for DGR people to stop their pushing of anti-trans bullshit for no apparent reason.
I would like to share the whole living community of this wonder planet with you! 🙂
Last time I bothered to check, it didn’t seem to be trans people that said “Hey DGR! Why don’t you make transphobia and cissexism part of your platform so we can have something to complain about and derail your movement”
If you’re so concerned about the world burning, tell it to DGR, who is diluting their own purpose by adopting TERF ideology.
Or better up, we that are concerned about the world burning, might actually stop civilisation from further killing the planet and hopefully haters will go down with it.
Danah, that may be true. Still, investing much in the controversy surrounding how admissible/eligible ‘trans’ folk are to certain organizations (e.g. DGR) or their meetings is problematic. Assaulting (no matter how much it’s trivialized) women for not toeing any given set of ideological pedagogy is a violation of fundamental rights. And while socially/politically rejecting anyone for reasons of bigotry is repugnant, it doesn’t rise to the level of crimes against another. Assault DOES! What’s most alarming is the apparent mental disconnect between the anger acted out by ‘trans’ assailants (as well as the support of some anarchists for doing so) over being denied access to an organization/meetings and the routine assaults, injuries, threats, ‘fatwas’, bullying, and intimidation against photojournalists to deny them access to public events.
DGR may be repugnant for its hierarchy and an oxymoron for attempting to tell women what to do/say, but being an @sshole is a human right–every person has one (at least healthy people). Finger pointing polemics justifying assaulting @ssholes is a moron’s game plan. (w/apologies to certifiable morons). Perhaps sociopath’s game plan would be a better reference.
Thanks for this article. Helpful clarification for those of us who weren’t there.
Have been loking thru the transexual community on the web a bit now and I must say that some of them behave like extreme right-wingers with the worst possible attitude out there.
When you enter into some sort of trolling stage online I can’t but think that you become part of the worst possible human beings out there. Seriously, this ridiculing and bullying that is on some websites is beyond words.
Its like going all thru school again when the tough guys picked on the “not so tough” guys or people wearing glasses and so on.
I can’t wait enough for industrial civilisation to crumble and I hope every bully, no matter what group they claim to belong to, goes down with it fast as a bullet.
Oh, and do I even have to mention that the most over the top sentences out there is written by biologically born males ?!
This is not an inability to interact, it is an ideological split but with real life consequences. The myth that DGR has a variety of individual views on this issue is easy to debunk, one need only watch Rachel Ivey talking about it as “DGR’s official policy which is not up for debate” on a youtube video which is easy enough to find. This idology comes out of a milieu/movement called radfem. They have a bunch of wordpress blogs which one can go to to see that they believe trans does not exist or simply see trans people mocked and degraded you can check out privilegedenyingtranny.wordpress.com the person who runs this page (which is not neccessarily the most offensive, but certainly the most flip, heartless and mean-spirited characterization of trans folk I’ve seen). The person who runs that blog is a regular contributer/commenter/cross poster on other pages within the radfem blogosphere.
Hey, Sundazed — if you’re going to play the role of reasonable, moderate person here you might want to change your handle. Otherwise people might happen to come across your transphobic rants on other wordpress articles and realize what a fraud you are. Just a bit of advice.
The violent attack against the DGR reps (aka women) were preplanned. Follow the link at the bottom and read the comments.
Which leads me to wonder why people that consider themselves to be women are using stereotypical male violence against other women to shut them up? Is it because of their socialization as males in the first place? They really did a perfect job of discrediting their own view point by acting like a bunch of male a** h***’s.
So how about you put all that energy into destroying infrastructure versus attacking easy targets like women who hold a different perspective than yours. Unless of course you’re just looking for a quick boost to your frail male ego, because that’s what this kind of violent behavior typifies. Just goes to show you can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Peace all,
Scott
gender essentializing, much?
http://latfmanarchists.tumblr.com
Not to put too fine a point on it, but the (A)narchists who advocate assault on DGR women who maintain a disaffinity toward ‘trans women’ (rejecting the ‘trans’ folk from their organization/meetings) are the 1st to support assaulting, injuring, robbing, threatening, bullying, intimidating photojournalists to deny them access from public events. The inconsistency doesn’t bother these (A)narchists. They maintain the assaults, ‘fatwas’ against photojournalists, etc. are necessary for security reasons or, to enforce political purity? i.e. Violence, so long as it’s their own, is justified, but that which targets themselves is not. These are the same people who’d sell you a bridge in Brooklyn.
Check out http://amicuscuria.com/wordpress/?p=9505 for more details.
For more evidence of the typical bullying, threats, and intimidation from their own organs of propaganda, check out:
http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/content/may-day-2013-snitch-solicitation-page
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