Portland, OR: #DefendJ20 Solidarity

On the last day of the International Week of Solidarity with J20 Defendants, Portland, OR anarchists tabled rad zines and J20 info at the Last Thursday Art Walk on Alberta St.

We had so many constructive conversations and to our surprise zero negative interactions. We did outreach for some other local anarchist projects coming up this month like the August 26th Anarchist potluck picnic and a benefit show for the DC J20 defendants and an April 2nd arrest group from a counter demonstration at a Trump rally in Washington. These events are being organized off social media by word of mouth and flyering in friendly spaces. Keep an eye out for more info if you’re in the Portland area.

We passed out J20 info and anarchist zines, made some buttons and patches that read acab and ni dieu, ni maître. We gave out many zines for free sometimes stuffing them in to peoples hands and other times having to reassure people who couldn’t choose just a few that they could take as many as they would like. We more than recouped our losses through donations and are excited to know that we will be able to maintain our printing and zine distro projects while also being able to raise funds for comrades and to expand to other anarchist outreach and education projects.

We were often asked who we are organizing with, what’s our name? I think this is a great opportunity to plug direct action without having to name it. I like to make sure to explain to people that we are just a few friends, individuals, who are eager to share our ideas and resources in hopes of empowering others in our community to join us in our resistance to all forms of oppression, exploitation, and domination.

Speaking for myself, I had a blast at this tabling event. It was so nice to have had the opportunity to talk about anarchy with people who have professedly always held negative connotations for it – and to see their faces when they start to understand how much larger the picture is than property destruction. I strongly recommend this type of action if people are looking for ways to connect with other rad folk and to practice speaking about anarchy and this backwards world with the people in their community who aren’t exposed to it except through intentional misrepresentation in the mass media, and of course make sure to take safety into consideration when operating publicly.

IN SOLIDARITY WITH J20 DEFENDANTS
love from the pnw