I would like to acknowledge that using this space to editorialized my personal opinions about the activities of other people may represent an abuse of my position as owner of this website and the influence I hold within the DIY community. More than anything, I would like open and free dialogue to take place that encourages participation and a deeper investment in the kinds of movements, struggles, and activities that help make this a world we’d like to live in, and my criticisms did not reflect that desire. Therefor, I am retracting my criticisms made about the April 9th protests, though I would like to retain one important part of that post.
Not only am I financially and legally responsible for the content on this website, but I’m ethically responsible for the decisions that I make as editor, moderator, and administrator of this website, and additionally as but one member of a collective. This being the case, I would like to state that SeattleDIY.com is not associated with or endorse the pamphlet “Some People Shoot Back”, despite being listed on the pamphlet as a resource. Members of the SeattleDIY Collective were not consulted in our inclusion in the pamphlet, though likely we were listed because we are a source of information about news and upcoming events.
I hope we can all continue to contribute to a culture and community that lifts each other up and provides earnest support for each others’ endeavors, as well as holding one another accountable for our statements and actions. This effort requires each of us to be more responsive, not reactive, and to allow the critical eye to turn inward, not just outward.
SeattleDIY.com will continue to publish information about how to support and show solidarity for the people who were arrested on April 9th, as well as further activities of activists who fight for social justice. This is but one part of the large and diverse DIY culture and movement, and we will of course also be promoting and sharing information about events and activities that are less overtly political in nature. Remember that our event calendar is open source, and that we try to have the blog posts here represent a variety of voices from within the community. If you would like to be a contributor to this blog (for event and project promotion, not “editorializing”), contact us at sdiycollective at gmail dot com.
I’ll be posting my personal opinions about the protest in the near future on a more appropriate forum, my blog.
A friend related to a member of the Arctic Circle that, because of a tone that has been set in the discourse following the April 9th demonstration against the police, some people feel discouraged to engage in discussion and criticisms of the action. I want to acknowledge the Arctic Circle’s contribution to this tone and state that it was not our intention to stifle responses and critiques. Rather, our aim was to respond to inaccurate claims about the demonstration that a well-known, very visible member of our community voiced in a public manner that was damaging to our movement and potentially harmful to our friends facing criminal charges. To the contrary, we think that the action must be analyzed, critiqued, and debated as a way of moving on—that is to say, maintaining and building momentum.
We do not, however, believe that there is a singular way forward from our situation, but rather a multitude of situations to be created and connected by diverse, autonomous individuals and groups. We can only achieve this through dialogue. Members of the Arctic Circle are looking forward to participating in upcoming face-to-face conversations about what happened, and what’s happening, and what will happen. Personally, one point I am looking forward to discussing is the lack of participation (for a variety of reasons) in coordinating April 9th, and proposals on how we can strategize together more effectively in the future.
More: http://arcticcirclecollective.info/articles/6/nebulous-trajectories-potentials-for-moving-on-not-forward