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This episode of
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It's the End of the World
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as we Know it and I Feel Fine
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was made possible by contributions
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from slaves like you.
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Spank you very much!
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I-I am paying you.
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You-you work for me--
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You're trying to run my life here!
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Wallace, Wallace, Wallace...
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You are paying me to make you a new life!
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Politics! And in order for me to do that,
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I gotta be in charge of all the elements
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that go into it.
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It's the only way I work.
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That means, framing the overall strategy
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as well as deciding all the specifics.
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The look of the campaign
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the look of the billboards.
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Bumper stickers
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what colors they're going to be?
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It means the polling, it means the ads,
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radio, TV, newspapers.
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It means coordinating every piece
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of information out of this office
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to make sure it fits
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with what our polling tells us
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the people out there
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are worrying about.
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Or what they're feeling good about!
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Goooooooooood morning slaves,
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and welcome to another sedition of
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It's the End of the World as we Know
it
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and I Feel Fine
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the show where the only peeps
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“feelin' the Bern”
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are the motherfuckin pigs.
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I'm Bernie Sanders
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and I approve this message.
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I am your host the Stimulator,
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and despite what your racist uncle says,
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I know he's crazy,
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but Donald Trump sure makes a lot of sense
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about those immigrants.
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being a so-called "illegal immigrant"
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isn't all it’s cracked up to be.
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While the right-wing media often depicts
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undocumented migrants as lazy free-loaders
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in the real fucking world, they make up
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some of the hardest working,
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and most ruthlessly exploited
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members of society.
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Many have risked their fucking lives
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to cross heavily militarized,
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yet entirely make-believe fucking borders,
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all in an attempt to escape horrific wars,
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or just provide a slightly more secure
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and dignified life for their families
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and loved ones back home.
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And even if they manage
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to cross the border,
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land a job that pays
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less than minimum wage,
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and stay two steps ahead of
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the immigration officials
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looking to deport their ass...
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We're here today because
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we're going to take you into custody
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and put you into deportation proceedings.
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These people still have to deal
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with being yelled at, spat on,
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and violently attacked
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by racist fucking dipshits,
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who are too fucking ignorant to realize
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it’s their own government,
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and their rich corporate backers
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that are ultimately to blame
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for the fact that they’re broke,
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scared and confused.
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First the money started goin'...
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and now everyone's gettin laid off work!
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They took our joooobs!
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For months now,
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a toxic fucking brew of Islamophobia,
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and generalized anti-immigrant sentiment
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has been boiling over in Europe
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and in the United Snakes.
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They're bringing drugs...
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they're bringing crime...
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they're rapists.
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Last summer there was
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a brief moment of collective reflection
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and human fucking decency in the west,
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as millions of people were genuinely moved
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upon seeing the heart-wrenching photos
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of 3 year old Alan Kurdi's drowned body,
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washed up on a Turkish beach.
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Buuuuuuuuuuuuuut
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it seems like that moment has passed.
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Mass shootings in Paris
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and San Bernadino California,
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combined with state mismanagement
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of the refugee crisis and
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mutual distrust between European
nations
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have helped create a self-perpetuating
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cycle of human misery,
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and reactionary racist violence.
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Refugees are not animals.
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We are people... we are Muslim.
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We want to go to the UK...
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... not live in Calais Jungle.
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Just outside the French port city Calais
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a sprawling makeshift refugee camp
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known as the Jungle,
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has become one of the flashpoints
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for this growing unrest.
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The camp, largely populated by migrants
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from Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan,
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Sudan and Eritrea,
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has now swelled to around 6,000 peeps,
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with similar camps popping up
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along France's northern coast.
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Many of these residents have endured
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months of traveling
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through numerous European cities,
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in hopes of reaching the UK.
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Now, with their long awaited
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destination finally in view,
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they find themselves blocked
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by French riot cops.
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The UK's prim and proper PM,
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David Cameron, for his part,
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has made it clear that
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his government will do everything
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it can to keep migrants
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from reaching Britain.
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We need to protect our borders
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by working hand in glove
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with our neighbours, the French.
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"Yo Stim…
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isn't that the guy who once
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skull-fucked a dead pig?"
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Indeed he is, Agitator.
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Indeed he is.
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That's exactly the point...
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to make love to a pig.
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The French government's solution
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to this clusterfuck has been
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to announce the construction of
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temporary housing for 1,500 people
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made out of re-purposed
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shipping containers
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and the eviction and destruction
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of the current camp.
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Migrants seeking to access
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these glorified garbage bins,
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will first need to submit
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to biometric testing and fingerprinting,
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and many are wary to go live
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in something that they say
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looks and feels like a prison.
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The razing of the Jungle
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has been proceeding apace for weeks now,
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and has produced a barren security zone
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ringed with mounds of dirt
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and razor wire fencing,
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that looks like something out of a
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dystopian science fiction movie.
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On January 23rd
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residents of the Calais Jungle
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were joined by hundreds of anarchists
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and other shit-disturbers from Britain
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and other surrounding countries
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who heeded the call to support residents
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resisting the eviction.
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A demonstration of 2000 peeps
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quickly escalated into a riot,
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and around 1000 migrants and supporters
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rushed the nearby port,
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and occupied a ferry,
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aptly named “the spirit of Britain”.
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During the fracas, a statue of
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France's venerated war criminal
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Charles De Gaulle
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was vandalized, causing an uproar
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in the right-wing UK and French press.
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SAY IT LOUD... SAY IT CLEAR
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REFUGEES ARE WELCOME HERE!
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Meanwhile,
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on the other side of the Channel
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in the English port city of Dover,
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violent street clashes broke out
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on January 30th
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when British anti-fascists
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attacked an anti-immigrant demo
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organized by a the resurgent fascist group
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National Front.
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These ugly scenes,
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reminiscent of the social turbulence
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of the 1920s and 1930s,
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are going to become
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much more common occurrence
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in the coming months and years.
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And if we're going to avoid a recap
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of what happened last time around,
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the motherfuckin' resistance
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is gonna have to up our game.
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As the media-fueled spectacle
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of election season heats up
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in the United Snakes
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many anarchist
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and anti-authoritarian comrades
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are experiencing a serious case
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of deja-fucking-vu.
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We're gonna start with that upset...
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that took place in Iowa.
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Donald Trump losing to Ted Cruz
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in this year's caucuses.
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With presumptives showing...
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Hillary Clinton in a deadlock
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with Bernie Sanders.
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Once again, we find ourselves engaging
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in the same stupid fucking debates
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with liberals,
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so-called “progressives”
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and other fair-weather radicals
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about the pitfalls of electoral politics
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all while being talked down to
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as though we're just naive
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contrarian ideologues,
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who don't know what the fuck
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we're talking about.
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What you're describing is anarchy.
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Are you an anarchist?
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If I can be real with y'all…
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this is seriously fucking annoying
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to keep having to do
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despite being repeatedly proven right.
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Time and time again
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once politicians get into office,
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they inevitably reveal themselves
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to be the capitalist meat-puppets
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they truly are.
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When the money's coming your way
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you don't ask any questions.
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Buuuuuuuut
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rather than learn their fucking lesson,
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the cheerleaders of
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revolution by the ballot box
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always manage to find
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a new leftist rockstar to root for,
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I love being a part of this.
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This is what it's all about...
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the political revolution.
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It's a trap!
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And the whole fucking cycle begins again.
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But that Bernie Sanders
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was able to tie Clinton...
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So…
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despite the fact that it pains me to do so
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I'm gonna have to break it down for y'all
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one more time.
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Anarchists are against the state,
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and elections are intentionally designed
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by the powers that be
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to channel peeps' anger
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into reinforcing state power.
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What makes representative democracy
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such an efficient system of social control
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is the fact that it’s highly dynamic
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meaning that it allows the state
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to constantly reinvent itself
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Fuck Ronald Reagan!
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in order to adjust to changes
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in the political environment.
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Under capitalism,
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this is generally a euphemism
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for class war
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and other associated tensions,
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such as nationalism,
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anti-colonial resistance,
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religious and ethnic sectarianism,
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and struggles against patriarchy,
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heterosexism
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and white fucking supremacy.
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Basically
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representative democracy works
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like a complex system of pressure valves.
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When shit is popping off
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calling an election is often the easiest,
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and most effective way
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of chilling peeps the fuck out.
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Often, those in power
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will just roll out a shiny new puppet,
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or pick a leader from the social movements
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who can be counted on to do their dirt.
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This new puppet can then claim that
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if elected, they will use political power
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to fight on behalf of
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the peeps in the street.
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I will introduce legislation
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that will make every public college
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and public university
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tuition free.
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There is something so familiar about this
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This moves struggles out of the real world
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and into the realm of electoral politics,
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which can then be more easily managed
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by corporate and state media outlets,
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PR firms,
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and greasy fucking campaign managers.
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"But, aside from the campaign themes
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I want to address
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some of my long-term plans!"
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"Yes, I'm sure they're great...
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but they're not important.
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See, my job is to get you in.
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Once you're there,
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you do whatever your conscience
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tells you to do."
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Elections give peeps the illusion
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of control over the direction of society
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Because I'm voting for pizza too!
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It's unanimous!
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When in fact
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the whole fucking system is rigged.
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The B-52 bomber has a piece of it
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made in every single state
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to make sure that if you ever tried
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to phase that project out
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you will get howls from among
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the most liberal members of congress.
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No matter who wins an election
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the real winner is the state.
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And individual states exist within
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the incredibly powerful
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and all-consuming matrix
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of globalized capitalism.
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The United Snakes is the world leader
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in running this con…
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which shouldn't be a surprise,
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since they fucking invented it.
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Despite American politicians
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constantly preaching democracy abroad
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state institutions like the CIA,
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the NSA, and the US fucking military
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are always ready to intervene
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anywhere in the world
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to make sure that said democracy
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doesn't threaten the interests
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of the multinational corporations
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who fund their campaigns.
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Gangsta-capitalists
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use their political pets to launch wars
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trade embargoes, assassinations,
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and coup d'etats abroad
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and yet peeps still cling to the belief
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that these same evil fucks
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would ever allow their control
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over the state apparatus that they use
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to maintain their domination,
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to be challenged
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by something as random as a vote?
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Who's fucking naive now?
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Anyway…
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to get a bit more perspective
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on why peeps keep falling for this shit,
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I recently caught up with scott crow,
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an American anarchist from Austin, Texas,
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and author of
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Emergency Hearts, Molotov Dreams.
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Hey scot, how the fuck are ya?
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Man, I'm actually really good.
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The 2016 election is starting to heat up.
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So… are you voting for Bernie, or Hillary?
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I'm actually voting for us - the people.
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Because electoral politics is just a bunch
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of pomp and circumstance.
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It always has been....
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and I've been within the system
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and outside of the system
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for many decades.
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And it really is just a pageantry
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that distracts us from the real work
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and the real problems and real solutions
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that we might come up with
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in the United States
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for at least two years
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before an election happens.
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Up here in Klanada, electoral politics
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are a serious fucking problem
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for radical movements,
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but elections themselves
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only last a few weeks.
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In the United Snakes,
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y'all spend motherfuckin years
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on picking a new president.
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What's up with that?
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Well, because it's just spectacle, right?
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It's like watching reality TV.
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The Kardashians... it's the Clintons,
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it's the Bushes...
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It's like these dynasty things.
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It's all spectacle, right?
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And I think we actually try to take it
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seriously,
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just like people take seriously
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the Bachelor TV show,
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or that stupid show that Trump was on.
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And I think that it gives us a distraction
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from really dealing with the things...
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the fact that we have drones
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that are killing children and families
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all around the world,
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the fact that immigrants are being
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denied access... that... you know,
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that are fleeing war-torn countries,
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the fact that schools are crumbling
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in this country.
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Because it's a spectacle,
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and everybody wants to be a part of it.
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It's like sports teams, where everybody
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gets to vote on something.
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So their team can win:
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blue team, red team...
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But there's a lot of it for those who
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hold power, right?
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The culture makers,
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the media... the politicos.
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Lots of peeps
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have been following the elections
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because of Donald Trump.
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Are you worried about what
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a Trump presidency would look like?
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And why do you think it is that
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he's been doing so well in the polls?
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Well I think that Trump is doing so well
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because he has hit a nerve.
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You know, racism, misogyny..
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all of these things run undercurrents
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in the United States, all the time.
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But what he's done, is
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he's just pieced the veil.
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I think having a Black president
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for 8 years, even if he is totally
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part of the establishment,
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to many white men in this country,
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Trump and Obama represent
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two polar opposites to them
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even if they are more on the same page
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than they realize in some ways.
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I think that he's just really
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struck a nerve with a lot of people.
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There's a lot of discontent,
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and just like in Germany in the 20s
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and 30s, when fascism was rising,
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he is tapping into something...
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this anger and resentment
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of failures of electoral systems,
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failures of cultural systems
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and political and economic systems
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of many people
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- not just in the United States
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but around the world.
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But he's tapping it
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in this reactionary way
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instead of a way of, like,
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"how can we solve these problems together"
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because he wants to be a dictator.
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After Syriza pissed in the face
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of leftists worldwide,
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siding with the so-called Troika
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over the clear demands of peeps in Greece,
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you'd think that those calling for an
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an electoral solution
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to neoliberal capitalism
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would have learned their fucking lesson.
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Yet lots of these same people
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have just moved on to supporting
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Syriza-like parties
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such as Podemos in Spain, and candidates
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like Jeremy Corbyn in the UK
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and Bernie Sanders in the US.
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What the fuck?
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I don't fault people for that.
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The truth is, it's familiar.
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It's what we're all raised in.
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It's what we are known.
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It's like, indoctrination to a degree.
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And I don't even like to use that word,
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because I think it's more cultural.
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It's in there.
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And familiarity is the place we jump from.
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When we start talking about ideas
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of anarchy and collective liberation,
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these are abstracts to many people
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because they don't even know what it is.
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We have to realize our own powers
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as individuals first,
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then our regional power
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- our collective power
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like in our neighbourhood,
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and our communities
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... and then begin to build from that.
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But electoral politics is easy to fall in.
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In the past, you have talked about
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how radicals need to
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focus on building dual power.
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What exactly do you mean by that?
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I mean an anarchist interpretation
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of dual power - which is that we resist
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on one hand.
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We resist exploitation on one hand,
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which is what we do in radical,
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anarchist, and leftist communities a lot.
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But at the same time, we must build
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our own power, from below.
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My individual power...
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our collective power...
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our organizational power....
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and recognize that we have it.
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We have to do these both at the same time.
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So, to me it's irrelevant who get elected
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or if there's policing, or police systems
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and things like that...
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except in the way
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that we want to resist them.
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At the same time, we need to open spaces
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and like the Zapatistas say,
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we need to open the crack in history
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to ask "what is it that we can do
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to build our power from below?"
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And I think dual power is a framework
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to think about that.
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And so, any action that we would engage in
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should not be taken, unless it has
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this framework of resisting and building
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and creating at the same time.
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Thanks scot, and that about does it
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for this sedition of It's the End of
-
the World as we Know it and I Feel Fine.
-
To hear my entire interview with scot crow
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or for your chance to win a subMedia.tv
-
T-shirt, just visit my fuckin website:
-
I also wanna give a quick shout-out to
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a good friend and comrade of the show.
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An antifa troublemaker who's set
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to be released from the clink
-
any fuckin day now.
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Welcome back Kimbo...
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No Pasaran mothafucka.
-
With that said, this show is made entirely
-
from small donations from slaves like you.
-
This month, the following workers shared
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the fruits of the labour with me,
-
to keep shitting on elections.
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So, merci beaucoup to Jonathan, Etienne,
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Max, Martin, John, Chris, Jennifer,
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Gregory, Sarah, Primadasi, Scott,
-
Joseph, Mason, Chris, Andrew, Ricky,
-
Tavish, Alexandria, Yvan, Sebastien,
-
Treto, Dylan, Jeremy, Thomas, Renzo,
-
Gerrard, Willy, Gavin, Kirk, Michael,
-
Phillip, Joseph, Marisol, Lauren,
-
and Andrew.
-
Nopales!
-
I also would like to welcome the newest
-
members of the Taconspiracy:
-
Jack Squat and Sebastien.
-
Guajalotes!
-
And finally, a quote from American
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anarchist Emma Goldman:
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If voting changed anything....
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they'd make it illegal.
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See you next time suckers!