#AutonomousCommunitiesAreBeautiful

Cindy Milstein (they)If May Day, among other things, is about sharing the “wealth” (aka abolishing capitalism), there’s nothing quite like going to a small but sweet Really Really Free Market on this May 1 and being gifted a sheet of freshly printed stickers that feel just right for these suddenly rebellious times. (After all, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AllComradesAreBeautiful" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#AllComradesAreBeautiful</a>!) Then, soon after, redistributing that “wealth” to others at a nearby May Day rally, made merry because of the danceable tunes of @brassyourheart (which may now have some tiny water jugs on a drum or two because this marching band can <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AlwaysCarryABeat" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#AlwaysCarryABeat</a>!). There are so many others reasons, of course, to wear one’s <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ACAB" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#ACAB</a> on their sleeve (or water bottle) this May Day, when so many universities and colleges are liberating spaces of solidarity for Gaza, and in the process, powerfully demonstrating that <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AutonomousCommunitiesAreBeautiful" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#AutonomousCommunitiesAreBeautiful</a>. And likewise, so many police are painfully demonstrating that <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AllCopsAreBrutal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#AllCopsAreBrutal</a>—underscoring that cop cities (aka policing) everywhere must be abolished, from every river to every sea, just as the Haymarket martyrs also fought and alas died for, in part.Next May Day, in liberation!<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CareNotCops" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#CareNotCops</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CommonsNotCapitalism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#CommonsNotCapitalism</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SolidarityNotStates" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#SolidarityNotStates</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TryAnarchismForLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#TryAnarchismForLife</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/UntilAllAreFree" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#UntilAllAreFree</a>(Ongoing love+solidarity to the brave+bold folks at @occupycalpolyhumboldt for gifting the world the joy of a humble water jug vs. cop during their occupation)

Cindy Milstein (they)There is so much I want to say—ranging from the refreshed inspiration I feel, to the joyous bonds of connection and solidarity that collective encampments make possible, to all the ways that “radical” reformers limit the horizons of social transformation within such moments of palpable potentiality.But all the hours over the past few days have been overfull with being fully present in the face-to-face real life of the UPitt encampment.So for now, a quick note of friendly anarchist encouragement:If you’re “liberated zone” includes a rule saying “don’t talk to the police” and messages like <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FTP" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#FTP</a> on tents (pictured here) … actually, truly DO NOT talk to the police (including behind the scenes chats by self-appointed “leaders” to negotiate with the cops) and don’t create your own “peace police” force within your camp. Neither point toward liberation, much less abolition. And both do not keep us safe.Only we keep us safe(r). Be like water (bottles). Think and act for yourselves, together, in collective self-defense and collective prefiguration of the liberatory self-governed and autonomous spaces we all deserve.<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AutonomousCommunitiesAreBeautiful" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#AutonomousCommunitiesAreBeautiful</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ACAB" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#ACAB</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CareNotCops" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#CareNotCops</a> (including yellow-vested ones) <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/UntilAllAreFree" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#UntilAllAreFree</a>

Cindy Milstein (they)Clearly someone has many big feelings about and against cops, which is as it should be. Or else they simply wanted to drive the point home to each and every passerby on these stolen, surveilled, policed lands of Tio’tia:ke/Montreal. Or maybe they want to extra annoy any cop who drives by. Or perhaps they believe that “three’s the charm” to cast the spell of abolition.No matter the reasoning, including that maybe they were using up the last bits of various cans of different-colored spray paint or were practicing different lettering styles, it’s always a good day to publicly declare <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AllCopsAreBad" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#AllCopsAreBad</a>. That is, until this acronym only means, plainly and daily, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AutonomousCommunitiesAreBeautiful" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#AutonomousCommunitiesAreBeautiful</a> because policing is obsolete.For now, don’t be on the fence about police (unless you’re tagging it with <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ACAB" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#ACAB</a>). <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WhichSideAreYouOn" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#WhichSideAreYouOn</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CareNotCops" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#CareNotCops</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TowardAWorldWithoutPolice" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#TowardAWorldWithoutPolice</a>

Cindy Milstein (they)I’m delighted to announce the dates for the next Salon du livre anarchiste de Montréal | Montreal Anarchist Bookfair (<a href="https://kolektiva.social/@anarchybookfair" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@anarchybookfair</a>), started almost 25 years ago and still going strong: May 27–28, 2023. Its longevity speaks to many decades of often-imaginative anarchist(ic) resistance and many generations of anarchists here in Tio’tia:ke, not to mention far more continuity between people, projects, spaces, uprisings, strikes, and so on than in most North American cities. Plus the bookfair is always like an enormous anarchist family reunion, filled with all sorts of events as part of the “Month of Anarchy” here, including the Festival International de Théâtre Anarchiste de Montréal | International Anarchist Theater Festival. And Montreal in May is rebelliously romantic!So here’s my encouragement, as a collective member who has a longtime diasporic and loving relationship with Montreal, to apply to table at this large, beautiful two-day bookfair and/or propose an event (talks, panels, debates, skill share, care or kidz zone offerings, music, art, performance…). Or *simply* plan to come to the bookfair that weekend! I don’t know about you, but after three pandemic years of too much isolation and fragmentation, the more that a whole bunch of us can gather, socialize, grieve, process, gossip, laugh, play, learn, and so much else together in joyous spaces of our own making, the better! For tabling and event applications, see www.salonanarchiste.ca (French-language version) or www.anarchistbookfair.ca (English-language version). Deadline for applications is March 15, 2023.You’ll find other info at our bilingual website too, including that we’re asking everyone to mask up when indoors at the bookfair—because <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AllCOVIDsAreBad" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#AllCOVIDsAreBad</a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AllCaretakersAreBeautiful" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#AllCaretakersAreBeautiful</a>.I’d also greatly appreciate it if you’d circulate these infographics, via my post or by making your own, on your Instagram, other social media, email lists, Signal chats, and other places.Hope to see many, many, many of your faces (and masks) there!<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AlwaysCarryABook" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#AlwaysCarryABook</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AutonomousCommunitiesAreBeautiful" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#AutonomousCommunitiesAreBeautiful</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ReadWriteRebel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#ReadWriteRebel</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MontrealAnarchistBookfair" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#MontrealAnarchistBookfair</a>

Cindy Milstein (they)By way of celebrating my new book “Try Anarchism for Life” being in print and out in the world, and because I have a backlog of photos of circle As in the wild, plus to honor and thank the folks who took the time and care to write blurbs for this book, here’s a trifecta of what I hope are some beautiful expressions of anarchism: street art + the book’s cover + a blurb.“‘Try Anarchism for Life’ is part manifesto, part prayer, part devotional—a rousing collection of vignettes and micro essays that inspire and incite. Read it to be warmed, guided, and changed. Accompanied by a wildly diverse set of illustrations of the anarchist logo, each essay offers a thoughtful meditation on how to do and think about anarchism in our world today. Full of love for the possibilities of the world to come. ‘Try Anarchism for Life’ is a refreshing and necessary addition to the repertoire of anarchist literature.” (—Rivers Solomon, author of “An Unkindness of Ghosts”)Or as the back cover describes it:“‘Try Anarchism for Life’ revolves around a thought experiment: What are some of the many beautiful dimensions of anarchism? In reply, it blends gorgeous circle A drawings by twenty-six artists with Milstein’s words, forming picture-prose that are at once inviting and playful, poignant and dreamy. The pieces encourage us to notice and expand on liberatory practices, especially in a time when so much feels impossible. In depicting how anarchism gifts us lives worth living, this book warms ailing hearts and offers tender succor.”Copies of the book are available from the publisher, Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness, at www.tangledwilderness.org (for folks in and outside of the US too), AK Press at www.akpress.org, or your favorite anarchist(ic) bookstore, and with luck soon, libraries.(photos: beautiful circle by my beautiful friend <a href="https://kolektiva.social/@nobonzo" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@nobonzo</a> as seen in mid-October at the anarcho-beautiful entrance to @defendatlantaforest; strikingly beautiful book cover, designed by @eff_charm with circle A by @landonsheely, with gorgeous photo courtesy of the good folks at @bookspace_columbus)<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TheBeautyOfOurCircle" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#TheBeautyOfOurCircle</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FlowersNotFascism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#FlowersNotFascism</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AutonomousCommunitiesAreBeautiful" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#AutonomousCommunitiesAreBeautiful</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WeAreAllWeNeed" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#WeAreAllWeNeed</a>

Cindy Milstein (they)Because I have way too many <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ACAB" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#ACAB</a> photos on my phone that need sharing…You don’t hate Mondays, you hate capitalism. And cops too. <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CommonsNotCapitalism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#CommonsNotCapitalism</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CareNotCapitalism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#CareNotCapitalism</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AllCopsAreBad" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#AllCopsAreBad</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AutonomousCommunitiesAreBeautiful" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#AutonomousCommunitiesAreBeautiful</a>(photo: sticker seen in October 2022 on the redecorated gazebo at the entrance to <a href="https://beta.birdsite.live/users/defendatlforest" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@defendatlforest</a> aka <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/StopCopCity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#StopCopCity</a>)

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