WEBVTT 00:00:06.410 --> 00:00:08.030 This episode of 00:00:08.030 --> 00:00:09.080 It's the End of the World 00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:10.390 as we Know it and I Feel Fine 00:00:10.390 --> 00:00:12.360 was made possible by contributions 00:00:12.360 --> 00:00:13.639 from slaves like you. 00:00:13.639 --> 00:00:15.019 Spank you very much! 00:00:15.019 --> 00:00:16.019 I-I am paying you. 00:00:16.019 --> 00:00:18.363 You-you work for me-- 00:00:18.363 --> 00:00:20.513 You're trying to run my life here! 00:00:20.521 --> 00:00:23.681 Wallace, Wallace, Wallace... 00:00:23.699 --> 00:00:28.005 You are paying me to make you a new life! 00:00:28.005 --> 00:00:30.565 Politics! And in order for me to do that, 00:00:30.565 --> 00:00:32.115 I gotta be in charge of all the elements 00:00:32.115 --> 00:00:33.285 that go into it. 00:00:33.285 --> 00:00:35.285 It's the only way I work. 00:00:35.294 --> 00:00:37.576 That means, framing the overall strategy 00:00:37.576 --> 00:00:40.026 as well as deciding all the specifics. 00:00:40.026 --> 00:00:41.666 The look of the campaign 00:00:41.666 --> 00:00:43.706 the look of the billboards. 00:00:43.706 --> 00:00:44.706 Bumper stickers 00:00:44.706 --> 00:00:46.259 what colors they're going to be? 00:00:46.259 --> 00:00:47.629 It means the polling, it means the ads, 00:00:47.629 --> 00:00:49.519 radio, TV, newspapers. 00:00:49.519 --> 00:00:51.319 It means coordinating every piece 00:00:51.319 --> 00:00:52.887 of information out of this office 00:00:52.887 --> 00:00:53.707 to make sure it fits 00:00:53.707 --> 00:00:55.009 with what our polling tells us 00:00:55.009 --> 00:00:55.827 the people out there 00:00:55.827 --> 00:00:56.845 are worrying about. 00:00:56.845 --> 00:00:58.294 Or what they're feeling good about! 00:01:04.693 --> 00:01:06.533 Goooooooooood morning slaves, 00:01:06.533 --> 00:01:08.241 and welcome to another sedition of 00:01:08.241 --> 00:01:09.891 It's the End of the World as we Know it 00:01:09.891 --> 00:01:10.991 and I Feel Fine 00:01:10.991 --> 00:01:12.291 the show where the only peeps 00:01:12.291 --> 00:01:13.611 “feelin' the Bern” 00:01:13.611 --> 00:01:15.131 are the motherfuckin pigs. 00:01:16.084 --> 00:01:17.054 I'm Bernie Sanders 00:01:17.054 --> 00:01:18.858 and I approve this message. 00:01:18.928 --> 00:01:20.692 I am your host the Stimulator, 00:01:20.692 --> 00:01:22.732 and despite what your racist uncle says, 00:01:22.732 --> 00:01:23.802 I know he's crazy, 00:01:23.802 --> 00:01:25.785 but Donald Trump sure makes a lot of sense 00:01:25.785 --> 00:01:26.798 about those immigrants. 00:01:26.798 --> 00:01:28.772 being a so-called "illegal immigrant" 00:01:28.772 --> 00:01:30.932 isn't all it’s cracked up to be. 00:01:30.932 --> 00:01:32.632 While the right-wing media often depicts 00:01:32.632 --> 00:01:35.342 undocumented migrants as lazy free-loaders 00:01:35.342 --> 00:01:37.012 in the real fucking world, they make up 00:01:37.012 --> 00:01:38.798 some of the hardest working, 00:01:38.798 --> 00:01:40.228 and most ruthlessly exploited 00:01:40.228 --> 00:01:42.038 members of society. 00:01:42.128 --> 00:01:43.738 Many have risked their fucking lives 00:01:43.738 --> 00:01:45.688 to cross heavily militarized, 00:01:45.688 --> 00:01:47.778 yet entirely make-believe fucking borders, 00:01:47.778 --> 00:01:50.778 all in an attempt to escape horrific wars, 00:01:50.778 --> 00:01:52.938 or just provide a slightly more secure 00:01:52.938 --> 00:01:54.458 and dignified life for their families 00:01:54.458 --> 00:01:56.418 and loved ones back home. 00:01:56.418 --> 00:01:57.418 And even if they manage 00:01:57.418 --> 00:01:58.808 to cross the border, 00:01:58.808 --> 00:01:59.808 land a job that pays 00:01:59.808 --> 00:02:01.648 less than minimum wage, 00:02:01.648 --> 00:02:03.188 and stay two steps ahead of 00:02:03.188 --> 00:02:04.648 the immigration officials 00:02:04.648 --> 00:02:06.018 looking to deport their ass... 00:02:06.018 --> 00:02:06.828 We're here today because 00:02:06.828 --> 00:02:07.974 we're going to take you into custody 00:02:07.974 --> 00:02:09.471 and put you into deportation proceedings. 00:02:09.471 --> 00:02:11.121 These people still have to deal 00:02:11.121 --> 00:02:12.848 with being yelled at, spat on, 00:02:12.848 --> 00:02:14.088 and violently attacked 00:02:14.088 --> 00:02:16.330 by racist fucking dipshits, 00:02:16.330 --> 00:02:18.340 who are too fucking ignorant to realize 00:02:18.340 --> 00:02:19.830 it’s their own government, 00:02:19.830 --> 00:02:21.840 and their rich corporate backers 00:02:21.840 --> 00:02:23.760 that are ultimately to blame 00:02:23.760 --> 00:02:25.350 for the fact that they’re broke, 00:02:25.350 --> 00:02:26.760 scared and confused. 00:02:26.864 --> 00:02:28.634 First the money started goin'... 00:02:28.634 --> 00:02:31.054 and now everyone's gettin laid off work! 00:02:31.054 --> 00:02:33.049 They took our joooobs! 00:02:33.049 --> 00:02:34.139 For months now, 00:02:34.139 --> 00:02:36.339 a toxic fucking brew of Islamophobia, 00:02:36.339 --> 00:02:38.929 and generalized anti-immigrant sentiment 00:02:38.929 --> 00:02:40.409 has been boiling over in Europe 00:02:40.409 --> 00:02:42.159 and in the United Snakes. 00:02:42.563 --> 00:02:44.223 They're bringing drugs... 00:02:44.223 --> 00:02:45.739 they're bringing crime... 00:02:45.739 --> 00:02:46.606 they're rapists. 00:02:46.606 --> 00:02:47.986 Last summer there was 00:02:47.986 --> 00:02:50.093 a brief moment of collective reflection 00:02:50.093 --> 00:02:52.653 and human fucking decency in the west, 00:02:52.653 --> 00:02:55.423 as millions of people were genuinely moved 00:02:55.423 --> 00:02:57.613 upon seeing the heart-wrenching photos 00:02:57.613 --> 00:03:00.733 of 3 year old Alan Kurdi's drowned body, 00:03:00.733 --> 00:03:02.213 washed up on a Turkish beach. 00:03:02.563 --> 00:03:03.563 Buuuuuuuuuuuuuut 00:03:03.563 --> 00:03:05.613 it seems like that moment has passed. 00:03:05.743 --> 00:03:06.923 Mass shootings in Paris 00:03:06.923 --> 00:03:08.543 and San Bernadino California, 00:03:08.543 --> 00:03:10.713 combined with state mismanagement 00:03:10.713 --> 00:03:12.263 of the refugee crisis and 00:03:12.263 --> 00:03:14.833 mutual distrust between European nations 00:03:14.833 --> 00:03:16.843 have helped create a self-perpetuating 00:03:16.843 --> 00:03:18.326 cycle of human misery, 00:03:18.326 --> 00:03:20.297 and reactionary racist violence. 00:03:20.297 --> 00:03:22.429 Refugees are not animals. 00:03:22.429 --> 00:03:24.319 We are people... we are Muslim. 00:03:24.319 --> 00:03:25.799 We want to go to the UK... 00:03:25.799 --> 00:03:26.949 ... not live in Calais Jungle. 00:03:26.949 --> 00:03:29.389 Just outside the French port city Calais 00:03:29.389 --> 00:03:31.599 a sprawling makeshift refugee camp 00:03:31.599 --> 00:03:32.769 known as the Jungle, 00:03:32.769 --> 00:03:34.449 has become one of the flashpoints 00:03:34.449 --> 00:03:35.766 for this growing unrest. 00:03:35.766 --> 00:03:38.196 The camp, largely populated by migrants 00:03:38.196 --> 00:03:40.036 from Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, 00:03:40.036 --> 00:03:42.096 Sudan and Eritrea, 00:03:42.096 --> 00:03:44.755 has now swelled to around 6,000 peeps, 00:03:44.755 --> 00:03:46.435 with similar camps popping up 00:03:46.435 --> 00:03:48.255 along France's northern coast. 00:03:48.255 --> 00:03:49.865 Many of these residents have endured 00:03:49.865 --> 00:03:50.738 months of traveling 00:03:50.738 --> 00:03:52.361 through numerous European cities, 00:03:52.361 --> 00:03:54.635 in hopes of reaching the UK. 00:03:54.965 --> 00:03:56.485 Now, with their long awaited 00:03:56.485 --> 00:03:58.561 destination finally in view, 00:03:58.561 --> 00:03:59.861 they find themselves blocked 00:03:59.861 --> 00:04:01.350 by French riot cops. 00:04:01.350 --> 00:04:03.400 The UK's prim and proper PM, 00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:05.660 David Cameron, for his part, 00:04:05.660 --> 00:04:06.990 has made it clear that 00:04:06.990 --> 00:04:08.680 his government will do everything 00:04:08.680 --> 00:04:09.800 it can to keep migrants 00:04:09.800 --> 00:04:11.176 from reaching Britain. 00:04:11.176 --> 00:04:12.711 We need to protect our borders 00:04:12.711 --> 00:04:14.491 by working hand in glove 00:04:14.491 --> 00:04:15.921 with our neighbours, the French. 00:04:15.971 --> 00:04:17.351 "Yo Stim… 00:04:17.351 --> 00:04:18.621 isn't that the guy who once 00:04:18.621 --> 00:04:20.371 skull-fucked a dead pig?" 00:04:20.601 --> 00:04:22.431 Indeed he is, Agitator. 00:04:22.436 --> 00:04:23.771 Indeed he is. 00:04:23.771 --> 00:04:25.427 That's exactly the point... 00:04:25.427 --> 00:04:27.407 to make love to a pig. 00:04:30.667 --> 00:04:31.847 The French government's solution 00:04:31.847 --> 00:04:33.567 to this clusterfuck has been 00:04:33.567 --> 00:04:34.567 to announce the construction of 00:04:34.567 --> 00:04:37.487 temporary housing for 1,500 people 00:04:37.487 --> 00:04:38.487 made out of re-purposed 00:04:38.487 --> 00:04:39.747 shipping containers 00:04:39.747 --> 00:04:40.927 and the eviction and destruction 00:04:40.927 --> 00:04:42.337 of the current camp. 00:04:42.527 --> 00:04:43.977 Migrants seeking to access 00:04:43.977 --> 00:04:45.467 these glorified garbage bins, 00:04:45.467 --> 00:04:47.127 will first need to submit 00:04:47.127 --> 00:04:49.367 to biometric testing and fingerprinting, 00:04:49.367 --> 00:04:50.587 and many are wary to go live 00:04:50.587 --> 00:04:51.587 in something that they say 00:04:51.587 --> 00:04:53.587 looks and feels like a prison. 00:04:53.587 --> 00:04:54.657 The razing of the Jungle 00:04:54.657 --> 00:04:56.837 has been proceeding apace for weeks now, 00:04:56.837 --> 00:04:59.106 and has produced a barren security zone 00:04:59.106 --> 00:05:00.106 ringed with mounds of dirt 00:05:00.106 --> 00:05:02.296 and razor wire fencing, 00:05:02.296 --> 00:05:03.296 that looks like something out of a 00:05:03.296 --> 00:05:05.356 dystopian science fiction movie. 00:05:05.356 --> 00:05:06.536 On January 23rd 00:05:06.536 --> 00:05:08.086 residents of the Calais Jungle 00:05:08.086 --> 00:05:09.336 were joined by hundreds of anarchists 00:05:09.336 --> 00:05:11.362 and other shit-disturbers from Britain 00:05:11.362 --> 00:05:13.352 and other surrounding countries 00:05:13.352 --> 00:05:15.422 who heeded the call to support residents 00:05:15.422 --> 00:05:16.662 resisting the eviction. 00:05:16.662 --> 00:05:18.472 A demonstration of 2000 peeps 00:05:18.472 --> 00:05:20.462 quickly escalated into a riot, 00:05:20.462 --> 00:05:22.522 and around 1000 migrants and supporters 00:05:22.522 --> 00:05:23.942 rushed the nearby port, 00:05:23.942 --> 00:05:25.072 and occupied a ferry, 00:05:25.072 --> 00:05:27.142 aptly named “the spirit of Britain”. 00:05:27.142 --> 00:05:28.942 During the fracas, a statue of 00:05:28.942 --> 00:05:30.552 France's venerated war criminal 00:05:30.552 --> 00:05:31.442 Charles De Gaulle 00:05:31.442 --> 00:05:33.262 was vandalized, causing an uproar 00:05:33.262 --> 00:05:35.064 in the right-wing UK and French press. 00:05:35.203 --> 00:05:37.123 SAY IT LOUD... SAY IT CLEAR 00:05:37.123 --> 00:05:39.144 REFUGEES ARE WELCOME HERE! 00:05:39.144 --> 00:05:39.884 Meanwhile, 00:05:39.884 --> 00:05:41.564 on the other side of the Channel 00:05:41.564 --> 00:05:43.304 in the English port city of Dover, 00:05:43.304 --> 00:05:44.964 violent street clashes broke out 00:05:44.964 --> 00:05:46.234 on January 30th 00:05:46.234 --> 00:05:47.834 when British anti-fascists 00:05:47.834 --> 00:05:49.984 attacked an anti-immigrant demo 00:05:49.984 --> 00:05:52.060 organized by a the resurgent fascist group 00:05:52.060 --> 00:05:53.050 National Front. 00:05:58.777 --> 00:06:00.217 These ugly scenes, 00:06:00.217 --> 00:06:01.957 reminiscent of the social turbulence 00:06:01.957 --> 00:06:03.957 of the 1920s and 1930s, 00:06:03.957 --> 00:06:04.957 are going to become 00:06:04.957 --> 00:06:05.957 much more common occurrence 00:06:05.957 --> 00:06:07.767 in the coming months and years. 00:06:07.767 --> 00:06:09.877 And if we're going to avoid a recap 00:06:09.877 --> 00:06:11.767 of what happened last time around, 00:06:11.767 --> 00:06:13.367 the motherfuckin' resistance 00:06:13.385 --> 00:06:14.775 is gonna have to up our game. 00:07:13.463 --> 00:07:15.283 As the media-fueled spectacle 00:07:15.283 --> 00:07:16.903 of election season heats up 00:07:16.903 --> 00:07:18.443 in the United Snakes 00:07:18.443 --> 00:07:19.603 many anarchist 00:07:19.603 --> 00:07:21.523 and anti-authoritarian comrades 00:07:21.523 --> 00:07:23.245 are experiencing a serious case 00:07:23.245 --> 00:07:24.465 of deja-fucking-vu. 00:07:25.436 --> 00:07:26.766 We're gonna start with that upset... 00:07:26.766 --> 00:07:27.916 that took place in Iowa. 00:07:27.916 --> 00:07:30.306 Donald Trump losing to Ted Cruz 00:07:30.306 --> 00:07:31.856 in this year's caucuses. 00:07:31.856 --> 00:07:33.206 With presumptives showing... 00:07:33.206 --> 00:07:34.566 Hillary Clinton in a deadlock 00:07:34.566 --> 00:07:35.467 with Bernie Sanders. 00:07:35.467 --> 00:07:37.508 Once again, we find ourselves engaging 00:07:37.508 --> 00:07:38.808 in the same stupid fucking debates 00:07:38.808 --> 00:07:40.248 with liberals, 00:07:40.248 --> 00:07:41.738 so-called “progressives” 00:07:41.738 --> 00:07:43.822 and other fair-weather radicals 00:07:43.822 --> 00:07:46.232 about the pitfalls of electoral politics 00:07:46.232 --> 00:07:48.372 all while being talked down to 00:07:48.372 --> 00:07:49.782 as though we're just naive 00:07:49.782 --> 00:07:51.302 contrarian ideologues, 00:07:51.302 --> 00:07:52.772 who don't know what the fuck 00:07:52.772 --> 00:07:53.719 we're talking about. 00:07:53.719 --> 00:07:56.149 What you're describing is anarchy. 00:07:56.149 --> 00:07:57.319 Are you an anarchist? 00:07:57.319 --> 00:07:59.159 If I can be real with y'all… 00:07:59.159 --> 00:08:00.789 this is seriously fucking annoying 00:08:00.789 --> 00:08:01.879 to keep having to do 00:08:01.879 --> 00:08:04.389 despite being repeatedly proven right. 00:08:04.739 --> 00:08:06.629 Time and time again 00:08:06.629 --> 00:08:08.809 once politicians get into office, 00:08:08.809 --> 00:08:10.709 they inevitably reveal themselves 00:08:10.709 --> 00:08:12.239 to be the capitalist meat-puppets 00:08:12.239 --> 00:08:13.255 they truly are. 00:08:13.255 --> 00:08:14.795 When the money's coming your way 00:08:14.795 --> 00:08:16.155 you don't ask any questions. 00:08:16.155 --> 00:08:17.155 Buuuuuuuut 00:08:17.155 --> 00:08:19.515 rather than learn their fucking lesson, 00:08:19.515 --> 00:08:20.295 the cheerleaders of 00:08:20.295 --> 00:08:22.075 revolution by the ballot box 00:08:22.075 --> 00:08:23.515 always manage to find 00:08:23.515 --> 00:08:25.855 a new leftist rockstar to root for, 00:08:25.883 --> 00:08:27.463 I love being a part of this. 00:08:27.463 --> 00:08:28.563 This is what it's all about... 00:08:28.563 --> 00:08:29.719 the political revolution. 00:08:29.719 --> 00:08:30.605 It's a trap! 00:08:30.645 --> 00:08:33.252 And the whole fucking cycle begins again. 00:08:34.569 --> 00:08:35.679 But that Bernie Sanders 00:08:35.679 --> 00:08:37.514 was able to tie Clinton... 00:08:37.634 --> 00:08:38.394 So… 00:08:38.394 --> 00:08:41.314 despite the fact that it pains me to do so 00:08:41.314 --> 00:08:43.084 I'm gonna have to break it down for y'all 00:08:43.084 --> 00:08:44.436 one more time. 00:08:45.736 --> 00:08:48.216 Anarchists are against the state, 00:08:48.216 --> 00:08:50.186 and elections are intentionally designed 00:08:50.186 --> 00:08:51.786 by the powers that be 00:08:51.786 --> 00:08:53.266 to channel peeps' anger 00:08:53.266 --> 00:08:55.566 into reinforcing state power. 00:08:55.566 --> 00:08:57.306 What makes representative democracy 00:08:57.306 --> 00:09:00.106 such an efficient system of social control 00:09:00.106 --> 00:09:02.392 is the fact that it’s highly dynamic 00:09:02.392 --> 00:09:03.852 meaning that it allows the state 00:09:03.852 --> 00:09:05.635 to constantly reinvent itself 00:09:05.635 --> 00:09:06.958 Fuck Ronald Reagan! 00:09:06.958 --> 00:09:08.733 in order to adjust to changes 00:09:08.733 --> 00:09:10.097 in the political environment. 00:09:10.097 --> 00:09:11.115 Under capitalism, 00:09:11.115 --> 00:09:12.520 this is generally a euphemism 00:09:12.520 --> 00:09:13.646 for class war 00:09:13.646 --> 00:09:15.322 and other associated tensions, 00:09:15.322 --> 00:09:16.762 such as nationalism, 00:09:16.762 --> 00:09:18.662 anti-colonial resistance, 00:09:18.662 --> 00:09:20.662 religious and ethnic sectarianism, 00:09:20.662 --> 00:09:22.832 and struggles against patriarchy, 00:09:22.832 --> 00:09:23.962 heterosexism 00:09:23.962 --> 00:09:25.572 and white fucking supremacy. 00:09:26.042 --> 00:09:27.012 Basically 00:09:27.012 --> 00:09:29.172 representative democracy works 00:09:29.172 --> 00:09:31.632 like a complex system of pressure valves. 00:09:31.632 --> 00:09:33.432 When shit is popping off 00:09:33.432 --> 00:09:35.682 calling an election is often the easiest, 00:09:35.682 --> 00:09:37.342 and most effective way 00:09:37.342 --> 00:09:39.912 of chilling peeps the fuck out. 00:09:40.262 --> 00:09:41.842 Often, those in power 00:09:41.842 --> 00:09:44.342 will just roll out a shiny new puppet, 00:09:44.342 --> 00:09:46.562 or pick a leader from the social movements 00:09:46.562 --> 00:09:48.602 who can be counted on to do their dirt. 00:09:48.602 --> 00:09:51.028 This new puppet can then claim that 00:09:51.028 --> 00:09:54.028 if elected, they will use political power 00:09:54.028 --> 00:09:55.215 to fight on behalf of 00:09:55.215 --> 00:09:56.343 the peeps in the street. 00:09:56.343 --> 00:09:58.603 I will introduce legislation 00:09:58.603 --> 00:10:00.653 that will make every public college 00:10:00.653 --> 00:10:02.173 and public university 00:10:02.173 --> 00:10:03.549 tuition free. 00:10:03.549 --> 00:10:06.215 There is something so familiar about this 00:10:06.215 --> 00:10:08.592 This moves struggles out of the real world 00:10:08.592 --> 00:10:10.862 and into the realm of electoral politics, 00:10:10.862 --> 00:10:12.802 which can then be more easily managed 00:10:12.802 --> 00:10:14.862 by corporate and state media outlets, 00:10:14.862 --> 00:10:15.862 PR firms, 00:10:15.862 --> 00:10:18.502 and greasy fucking campaign managers. 00:10:18.502 --> 00:10:20.312 "But, aside from the campaign themes 00:10:20.312 --> 00:10:21.372 I want to address 00:10:21.372 --> 00:10:22.552 some of my long-term plans!" 00:10:22.552 --> 00:10:23.982 "Yes, I'm sure they're great... 00:10:23.982 --> 00:10:25.132 but they're not important. 00:10:25.132 --> 00:10:26.552 See, my job is to get you in. 00:10:26.552 --> 00:10:27.712 Once you're there, 00:10:27.712 --> 00:10:29.613 you do whatever your conscience 00:10:29.613 --> 00:10:30.677 tells you to do." 00:10:30.677 --> 00:10:32.590 Elections give peeps the illusion 00:10:32.590 --> 00:10:34.285 of control over the direction of society 00:10:34.285 --> 00:10:35.897 Because I'm voting for pizza too! 00:10:35.897 --> 00:10:36.872 It's unanimous! 00:10:38.052 --> 00:10:38.753 When in fact 00:10:38.753 --> 00:10:40.492 the whole fucking system is rigged. 00:10:40.492 --> 00:10:42.124 The B-52 bomber has a piece of it 00:10:42.124 --> 00:10:43.872 made in every single state 00:10:43.872 --> 00:10:46.076 to make sure that if you ever tried 00:10:46.076 --> 00:10:47.622 to phase that project out 00:10:47.622 --> 00:10:49.677 you will get howls from among 00:10:49.677 --> 00:10:51.278 the most liberal members of congress. 00:10:52.788 --> 00:10:54.174 No matter who wins an election 00:10:54.174 --> 00:10:55.657 the real winner is the state. 00:10:55.657 --> 00:10:58.127 And individual states exist within 00:10:58.127 --> 00:10:59.191 the incredibly powerful 00:10:59.191 --> 00:11:00.451 and all-consuming matrix 00:11:00.451 --> 00:11:02.168 of globalized capitalism. 00:11:02.168 --> 00:11:04.192 The United Snakes is the world leader 00:11:04.192 --> 00:11:05.730 in running this con… 00:11:05.730 --> 00:11:07.084 which shouldn't be a surprise, 00:11:07.084 --> 00:11:08.955 since they fucking invented it. 00:11:08.955 --> 00:11:10.264 Despite American politicians 00:11:10.264 --> 00:11:12.740 constantly preaching democracy abroad 00:11:12.740 --> 00:11:14.917 state institutions like the CIA, 00:11:14.917 --> 00:11:17.765 the NSA, and the US fucking military 00:11:17.765 --> 00:11:19.966 are always ready to intervene 00:11:19.966 --> 00:11:21.138 anywhere in the world 00:11:21.138 --> 00:11:22.769 to make sure that said democracy 00:11:22.769 --> 00:11:24.232 doesn't threaten the interests 00:11:24.232 --> 00:11:26.030 of the multinational corporations 00:11:26.030 --> 00:11:27.771 who fund their campaigns. 00:11:27.771 --> 00:11:28.709 Gangsta-capitalists 00:11:28.709 --> 00:11:30.592 use their political pets to launch wars 00:11:30.592 --> 00:11:32.383 trade embargoes, assassinations, 00:11:32.383 --> 00:11:34.137 and coup d'etats abroad 00:11:34.137 --> 00:11:36.423 and yet peeps still cling to the belief 00:11:36.423 --> 00:11:38.658 that these same evil fucks 00:11:38.658 --> 00:11:40.405 would ever allow their control 00:11:40.405 --> 00:11:42.620 over the state apparatus that they use 00:11:42.620 --> 00:11:43.910 to maintain their domination, 00:11:43.910 --> 00:11:45.111 to be challenged 00:11:45.111 --> 00:11:47.436 by something as random as a vote? 00:11:47.436 --> 00:11:48.918 Who's fucking naive now? 00:11:50.474 --> 00:11:51.073 Anyway… 00:11:51.073 --> 00:11:52.426 to get a bit more perspective 00:11:52.426 --> 00:11:54.675 on why peeps keep falling for this shit, 00:11:54.675 --> 00:11:56.751 I recently caught up with scott crow, 00:11:56.751 --> 00:11:59.430 an American anarchist from Austin, Texas, 00:11:59.430 --> 00:12:00.399 and author of 00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:02.847 Emergency Hearts, Molotov Dreams. 00:12:03.005 --> 00:12:05.428 Hey scot, how the fuck are ya? 00:12:05.428 --> 00:12:07.207 Man, I'm actually really good. 00:12:07.207 --> 00:12:09.604 The 2016 election is starting to heat up. 00:12:09.604 --> 00:12:12.367 So… are you voting for Bernie, or Hillary? 00:12:12.511 --> 00:12:14.832 I'm actually voting for us - the people. 00:12:14.832 --> 00:12:17.479 Because electoral politics is just a bunch 00:12:17.479 --> 00:12:18.661 of pomp and circumstance. 00:12:18.661 --> 00:12:19.713 It always has been.... 00:12:19.713 --> 00:12:20.928 and I've been within the system 00:12:20.928 --> 00:12:22.626 and outside of the system 00:12:22.626 --> 00:12:24.085 for many decades. 00:12:24.085 --> 00:12:26.223 And it really is just a pageantry 00:12:26.223 --> 00:12:28.057 that distracts us from the real work 00:12:28.057 --> 00:12:30.455 and the real problems and real solutions 00:12:30.455 --> 00:12:31.675 that we might come up with 00:12:31.675 --> 00:12:33.068 in the United States 00:12:33.068 --> 00:12:34.282 for at least two years 00:12:34.282 --> 00:12:35.589 before an election happens. 00:12:35.589 --> 00:12:37.830 Up here in Klanada, electoral politics 00:12:37.830 --> 00:12:39.253 are a serious fucking problem 00:12:39.253 --> 00:12:40.515 for radical movements, 00:12:40.515 --> 00:12:42.382 but elections themselves 00:12:42.382 --> 00:12:44.130 only last a few weeks. 00:12:44.130 --> 00:12:45.393 In the United Snakes, 00:12:45.393 --> 00:12:47.057 y'all spend motherfuckin years 00:12:47.057 --> 00:12:48.688 on picking a new president. 00:12:48.688 --> 00:12:49.345 What's up with that? 00:12:49.345 --> 00:12:50.763 Well, because it's just spectacle, right? 00:12:50.763 --> 00:12:53.198 It's like watching reality TV. 00:12:53.198 --> 00:12:55.647 The Kardashians... it's the Clintons, 00:12:55.647 --> 00:12:56.837 it's the Bushes... 00:12:56.837 --> 00:12:58.347 It's like these dynasty things. 00:12:58.350 --> 00:12:59.943 It's all spectacle, right? 00:12:59.943 --> 00:13:02.292 And I think we actually try to take it 00:13:02.292 --> 00:13:03.246 seriously, 00:13:03.246 --> 00:13:04.709 just like people take seriously 00:13:04.709 --> 00:13:07.750 the Bachelor TV show, 00:13:07.750 --> 00:13:10.804 or that stupid show that Trump was on. 00:13:10.804 --> 00:13:12.836 And I think that it gives us a distraction 00:13:12.836 --> 00:13:14.268 from really dealing with the things... 00:13:14.268 --> 00:13:15.725 the fact that we have drones 00:13:15.725 --> 00:13:17.284 that are killing children and families 00:13:17.284 --> 00:13:18.233 all around the world, 00:13:18.233 --> 00:13:20.163 the fact that immigrants are being 00:13:20.163 --> 00:13:21.912 denied access... that... you know, 00:13:21.912 --> 00:13:23.665 that are fleeing war-torn countries, 00:13:23.665 --> 00:13:25.046 the fact that schools are crumbling 00:13:25.046 --> 00:13:25.829 in this country. 00:13:25.829 --> 00:13:26.844 Because it's a spectacle, 00:13:26.844 --> 00:13:28.104 and everybody wants to be a part of it. 00:13:28.104 --> 00:13:29.526 It's like sports teams, where everybody 00:13:29.526 --> 00:13:31.365 gets to vote on something. 00:13:31.365 --> 00:13:32.543 So their team can win: 00:13:32.543 --> 00:13:33.673 blue team, red team... 00:13:33.673 --> 00:13:35.941 But there's a lot of it for those who 00:13:35.941 --> 00:13:36.936 hold power, right? 00:13:36.936 --> 00:13:37.714 The culture makers, 00:13:37.714 --> 00:13:40.284 the media... the politicos. 00:13:40.284 --> 00:13:41.172 Lots of peeps 00:13:41.172 --> 00:13:42.316 have been following the elections 00:13:42.316 --> 00:13:43.365 because of Donald Trump. 00:13:43.365 --> 00:13:44.799 Are you worried about what 00:13:44.799 --> 00:13:46.563 a Trump presidency would look like? 00:13:46.563 --> 00:13:47.611 And why do you think it is that 00:13:47.611 --> 00:13:49.285 he's been doing so well in the polls? 00:13:49.285 --> 00:13:51.683 Well I think that Trump is doing so well 00:13:51.683 --> 00:13:53.666 because he has hit a nerve. 00:13:53.666 --> 00:13:56.610 You know, racism, misogyny.. 00:13:56.610 --> 00:13:58.966 all of these things run undercurrents 00:13:58.966 --> 00:14:00.876 in the United States, all the time. 00:14:00.876 --> 00:14:02.559 But what he's done, is 00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:03.690 he's just pieced the veil. 00:14:03.690 --> 00:14:05.390 I think having a Black president 00:14:05.390 --> 00:14:07.347 for 8 years, even if he is totally 00:14:07.347 --> 00:14:08.698 part of the establishment, 00:14:08.698 --> 00:14:12.081 to many white men in this country, 00:14:12.081 --> 00:14:15.495 Trump and Obama represent 00:14:15.495 --> 00:14:17.162 two polar opposites to them 00:14:17.162 --> 00:14:19.269 even if they are more on the same page 00:14:19.269 --> 00:14:20.901 than they realize in some ways. 00:14:20.901 --> 00:14:21.847 I think that he's just really 00:14:21.847 --> 00:14:23.721 struck a nerve with a lot of people. 00:14:23.721 --> 00:14:25.232 There's a lot of discontent, 00:14:25.232 --> 00:14:27.632 and just like in Germany in the 20s 00:14:27.632 --> 00:14:29.708 and 30s, when fascism was rising, 00:14:29.708 --> 00:14:31.621 he is tapping into something... 00:14:31.621 --> 00:14:32.787 this anger and resentment 00:14:32.787 --> 00:14:34.509 of failures of electoral systems, 00:14:34.509 --> 00:14:37.199 failures of cultural systems 00:14:37.199 --> 00:14:39.242 and political and economic systems 00:14:39.242 --> 00:14:40.990 of many people 00:14:40.990 --> 00:14:42.047 - not just in the United States 00:14:42.047 --> 00:14:43.026 but around the world. 00:14:43.026 --> 00:14:44.574 But he's tapping it 00:14:44.574 --> 00:14:45.997 in this reactionary way 00:14:45.997 --> 00:14:47.212 instead of a way of, like, 00:14:47.212 --> 00:14:49.209 "how can we solve these problems together" 00:14:49.209 --> 00:14:50.991 because he wants to be a dictator. 00:14:50.991 --> 00:14:52.464 After Syriza pissed in the face 00:14:52.464 --> 00:14:53.886 of leftists worldwide, 00:14:53.886 --> 00:14:55.682 siding with the so-called Troika 00:14:55.682 --> 00:14:58.160 over the clear demands of peeps in Greece, 00:14:58.160 --> 00:14:59.909 you'd think that those calling for an 00:14:59.909 --> 00:15:01.013 an electoral solution 00:15:01.013 --> 00:15:02.808 to neoliberal capitalism 00:15:02.808 --> 00:15:04.911 would have learned their fucking lesson. 00:15:04.911 --> 00:15:07.147 Yet lots of these same people 00:15:07.147 --> 00:15:08.535 have just moved on to supporting 00:15:08.535 --> 00:15:09.713 Syriza-like parties 00:15:09.713 --> 00:15:12.442 such as Podemos in Spain, and candidates 00:15:12.442 --> 00:15:14.192 like Jeremy Corbyn in the UK 00:15:14.192 --> 00:15:17.004 and Bernie Sanders in the US. 00:15:17.004 --> 00:15:17.848 What the fuck? 00:15:17.848 --> 00:15:20.142 I don't fault people for that. 00:15:20.142 --> 00:15:22.580 The truth is, it's familiar. 00:15:22.580 --> 00:15:24.333 It's what we're all raised in. 00:15:24.333 --> 00:15:25.678 It's what we are known. 00:15:25.678 --> 00:15:27.760 It's like, indoctrination to a degree. 00:15:27.760 --> 00:15:29.100 And I don't even like to use that word, 00:15:29.100 --> 00:15:30.648 because I think it's more cultural. 00:15:30.667 --> 00:15:32.015 It's in there. 00:15:32.015 --> 00:15:34.388 And familiarity is the place we jump from. 00:15:34.388 --> 00:15:36.531 When we start talking about ideas 00:15:36.531 --> 00:15:38.988 of anarchy and collective liberation, 00:15:38.988 --> 00:15:42.110 these are abstracts to many people 00:15:42.110 --> 00:15:43.407 because they don't even know what it is. 00:15:43.407 --> 00:15:45.566 We have to realize our own powers 00:15:45.566 --> 00:15:46.726 as individuals first, 00:15:46.726 --> 00:15:48.385 then our regional power 00:15:48.385 --> 00:15:49.155 - our collective power 00:15:49.155 --> 00:15:50.215 like in our neighbourhood, 00:15:50.215 --> 00:15:51.102 and our communities 00:15:51.102 --> 00:15:52.694 ... and then begin to build from that. 00:15:52.694 --> 00:15:56.081 But electoral politics is easy to fall in. 00:15:56.081 --> 00:15:57.588 In the past, you have talked about 00:15:57.588 --> 00:15:58.812 how radicals need to 00:15:58.812 --> 00:16:00.728 focus on building dual power. 00:16:00.728 --> 00:16:02.643 What exactly do you mean by that? 00:16:02.643 --> 00:16:04.272 I mean an anarchist interpretation 00:16:04.272 --> 00:16:06.352 of dual power - which is that we resist 00:16:06.352 --> 00:16:07.492 on one hand. 00:16:07.492 --> 00:16:10.260 We resist exploitation on one hand, 00:16:10.260 --> 00:16:11.807 which is what we do in radical, 00:16:11.807 --> 00:16:14.124 anarchist, and leftist communities a lot. 00:16:14.124 --> 00:16:16.524 But at the same time, we must build 00:16:16.524 --> 00:16:18.440 our own power, from below. 00:16:18.440 --> 00:16:19.704 My individual power... 00:16:19.704 --> 00:16:20.999 our collective power... 00:16:20.999 --> 00:16:22.347 our organizational power.... 00:16:22.347 --> 00:16:23.414 and recognize that we have it. 00:16:23.414 --> 00:16:26.182 We have to do these both at the same time. 00:16:26.182 --> 00:16:30.011 So, to me it's irrelevant who get elected 00:16:30.011 --> 00:16:33.474 or if there's policing, or police systems 00:16:33.474 --> 00:16:34.734 and things like that... 00:16:34.734 --> 00:16:35.709 except in the way 00:16:35.709 --> 00:16:37.060 that we want to resist them. 00:16:37.060 --> 00:16:39.742 At the same time, we need to open spaces 00:16:39.742 --> 00:16:41.042 and like the Zapatistas say, 00:16:41.042 --> 00:16:42.993 we need to open the crack in history 00:16:42.993 --> 00:16:45.167 to ask "what is it that we can do 00:16:45.167 --> 00:16:46.995 to build our power from below?" 00:16:46.995 --> 00:16:49.931 And I think dual power is a framework 00:16:49.931 --> 00:16:50.988 to think about that. 00:16:50.988 --> 00:16:53.314 And so, any action that we would engage in 00:16:53.314 --> 00:16:58.119 should not be taken, unless it has 00:16:58.119 --> 00:17:00.923 this framework of resisting and building 00:17:00.923 --> 00:17:02.873 and creating at the same time. 00:17:02.873 --> 00:17:05.078 Thanks scot, and that about does it 00:17:05.078 --> 00:17:06.857 for this sedition of It's the End of 00:17:06.857 --> 00:17:08.572 the World as we Know it and I Feel Fine. 00:17:08.572 --> 00:17:10.980 To hear my entire interview with scot crow 00:17:10.980 --> 00:17:14.190 or for your chance to win a subMedia.tv 00:17:14.190 --> 00:17:16.059 T-shirt, just visit my fuckin website: 00:17:18.245 --> 00:17:20.085 I also wanna give a quick shout-out to 00:17:20.085 --> 00:17:21.834 a good friend and comrade of the show. 00:17:21.834 --> 00:17:24.133 An antifa troublemaker who's set 00:17:24.133 --> 00:17:25.477 to be released from the clink 00:17:25.477 --> 00:17:26.906 any fuckin day now. 00:17:26.906 --> 00:17:28.298 Welcome back Kimbo... 00:17:28.298 --> 00:17:30.425 No Pasaran mothafucka. 00:17:30.715 --> 00:17:33.276 With that said, this show is made entirely 00:17:33.276 --> 00:17:35.226 from small donations from slaves like you. 00:17:35.226 --> 00:17:37.634 This month, the following workers shared 00:17:37.634 --> 00:17:39.503 the fruits of the labour with me, 00:17:39.503 --> 00:17:40.763 to keep shitting on elections. 00:17:40.763 --> 00:17:43.780 So, merci beaucoup to Jonathan, Etienne, 00:17:43.780 --> 00:17:46.262 Max, Martin, John, Chris, Jennifer, 00:17:46.262 --> 00:17:48.463 Gregory, Sarah, Primadasi, Scott, 00:17:48.463 --> 00:17:50.668 Joseph, Mason, Chris, Andrew, Ricky, 00:17:50.668 --> 00:17:53.228 Tavish, Alexandria, Yvan, Sebastien, 00:17:53.228 --> 00:17:55.625 Treto, Dylan, Jeremy, Thomas, Renzo, 00:17:55.625 --> 00:17:57.504 Gerrard, Willy, Gavin, Kirk, Michael, 00:17:57.504 --> 00:17:59.374 Phillip, Joseph, Marisol, Lauren, 00:17:59.374 --> 00:18:01.090 and Andrew. 00:18:01.090 --> 00:18:02.063 Nopales! 00:18:02.163 --> 00:18:04.108 I also would like to welcome the newest 00:18:04.108 --> 00:18:05.572 members of the Taconspiracy: 00:18:05.572 --> 00:18:07.653 Jack Squat and Sebastien. 00:18:07.653 --> 00:18:09.156 Guajalotes! 00:18:09.156 --> 00:18:10.693 And finally, a quote from American 00:18:10.693 --> 00:18:12.255 anarchist Emma Goldman: 00:18:12.255 --> 00:18:14.250 If voting changed anything.... 00:18:14.250 --> 00:18:16.241 they'd make it illegal. 00:18:16.241 --> 00:18:17.466 See you next time suckers!