Buffalo, NY: May Day Banners and Disruption of Islamophobic Speaker

We kicked off May Day at sunrise with two banner drops over the inbound 33: “POLICE + ICE = SLAVE PATROL” and “OUR LIVES, OUR STREETS, OUR COMMUNITIES ARE UNGOVERNABLE!”

Due to storm conditions, the “Unite and Resist” rally was rescheduled. In the evening, we gathered at UB North in solidarity with the Muslim Students’ Association, Sanctuary Movement, and other students to disrupt a far-right student invited lecture by Islamophobic, white supremacist SIOA (Stop Islamization of America), founder Robert Spencer. Flying black and red flags, and a banner “MUSLIMS WELCOME FASCISTS GET OUT,” we mercilessly heckled this joke of a lecture for over an hour. Other tactics included turning off the lights, group chants like “Who protects us? We protect us!” and using our voices to amplify students’ critical questions.

The joy of revolt reveals the contradictions of police -enforced free speech. Free speech does not propagate through a microphone from behind police protection. Contrary to mainstream media representations of the event, our heckling led to a a more joyful, robust, and decentralized political discussion. To ignore this is to ignore the plurality of voices present. Those appealing to “polite” and obedient debate give fascists a platform to manipulate and command. Community self-determination has no use for this top-down process. Failure to recognize the freedom and equality inherent to our methods is a failure to understand the principles themselves.

We do not ask permission to speak. We speak freely.

Communization Now!

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