G.L.I.T.U.R.

On November 14^th, 2012, the nation state of Israel commenced a violent and murderous attack against the citizens of Gaza with an intensity that has not been seen in years. After the assassination of Ahmed Jabari, in a move that some have decried as politically motivated on the eve of  Israeli elections, missiles began raining down on Gaza City. At the time of this writing the exact body count is unknown and expected to grow, as the Israeli government is beginning the process of calling in reserve Army units in order to begin a land-based military operation in Palestinian land.

Titled Operation: Pillar of Cloud, a reference to the religious story in which God leads the Israelites out of Egypt into freedom, this action is clearly yet another step by the Israeli state to hasten aggression against the Palestinian people, long the target of Zionist efforts to segregate and exterminate opponents to Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. This is yet another action in a long history of imperialist and colonialist efforts on the part of Israel in the theft and occupation of Palestinian land and it must stop.

GLITUR opposes imperialism and occupation in all its forms. The genocide and apartheid enacted by the powerful, US-backed state of Israel must stop. As queers seeking total freedom and liberation from oppression, we stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine tonight and all nights to come; no Palestinian will be free until they live free of the threat of displacement and murder. As queer lovers of true freedom we say NO.

On November 15^th, 2012, members of GLITUR will stand with other Seattlites at 4:00 PM at the Federal Building in order to make our outrage known. Please join us to say:

END GENOCIDE!
END APARTHEID!
CEASE ALL VIOLENCE AGAINST THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE!

Solidarity,
the Grand Legion of Incendiary and Tenacious Unicorn Revolutionaries

On November 4, 2012 David Irving–Nazi apologist and holocaust denier– came to Seattle to give a reading from his new book, Hitler and I. Local anarchists and anti-racist organizers investigated and obtained the location, which was the Hilton on 6^th and University. In a cruel twist of irony, the room the reading was convened in was named after the Chinook, a Northwestern indigenous tribe.

About 20 anti-fascists arrived on location and, pouring out of the elevators on the 10^th floor, crowded around the open door of the event. A security guard barred the entrance and assaulted four protesters as chants of “Racist, Sexist, Anti-Gay, David Irving GO AWAY!” filled the hall. Curious seminar attendees for a separate event joined the raucous crowd, shouting their approval for anti-Nazi sentiment. Reading attendees were approximately the same in number, a group of dour white men glaring ineffectually behind Irving’s hired muscle, who called the angry anti-racists “Zionists.” Two of the protesters were also physical assaulted by a hotel employee.

Hotel staff announced that police had been called, and as the neo-Nazis’ fascist comrades rushed to the scene to protect Irving’s event, the antifa crowd dispersed and got to safety. No arrests were made.

If you would like to contact the Hilton’s general manager to voice your disapproval of them allowing this reading in their hotel, call 206-695-6026.

If you would like to contact David Irving to tell him that fascists are not welcome in our communities, call 877-442-7904. His e-mail is focalp@aol.com.

In a society that makes people feel ashamed of not fitting into gender-norms, or for not behaving like a “real man”, or for simply being born with a vagina, it has been very empowering to see the latest string of pro-queer, pro-femme, and anti-rape gorilla art around Capitol Hill. From “Sissies Rule” to GLITUR to Grrrl Army, radical feminists and queers are saying “fuck you” to a culture that says women are to blame for rape, not their attackers; to a society that tells us that any behavior other than hyper-masculine, hetero-normative behavior is wrong; to the mainstream gay culture that says that progress is assimilation and marriage; to a gay culture that shames effeminate males and gender non-conforming persons for being sissies; and to a society that celebrates the cis, white male over everyone else.

The first time I saw “Sissies Rule” scrawled across the side of a bus stop shelter I felt like there was someone else in the world who understood me, and I don’t even know who wrote it. I felt like it was speaking directly to me, while at the same time telling “real men” to fuck off. It was much like the feeling I had when I first became aware of GLITUR, which I would eventually become a part of. Seeing messages about fighting back against our oppressors gives me more hope than “it gets better” ever could. Now, Grrrl Army is spreading a message of empowerment to women and queers on a scale that makes it almost impossible for anyone to ignore, painting entire walls of buildings and light poles pink and filling them with messages against rape culture, sexism, misogyny, transphobia, and homophobia. This isn’t just graffiti or street art. It is a message to anyone who would oppress us that we are not to be fucked with.

We are Grrrl Army, we are GLITUR. We’re here, we’re queer, we’re unicorns, and we’ll fuck you up!

On Saturday, October 6th, comrades in the city of San Francisco took to the streets in order to protest the murder of indigenous peoples and the destruction of their lands at the hands of capitalists and the colonialist powers that enable them in a march referred to as a west-coast anti-colonial/anti-capitalist march. What began as an expression of sorrow and rage designed as part of the Decolonize the New World 2012 campaign instead turned into a pitched battle with the police, as San Francisco Police Department terrorized and beat marchers, to include those marching on the sidewalk. 22 arrests have been made, some of them protesters fleeing police violence and attempting to avoid repression from the State.

In the aftermath of the arrests, SFPD has released booking photos and sensitive information regarding arrestees to the press in a measure that can only be described as an attempt to intimidate and harass marchers exercising their ability to speak truth to power. A spokesperson for SFPD, Gordon Shyy, included unfounded allegations connecting the marchers to other “crimes” committed with no evidence and no basis in fact. Another newspaper released sensitive medical information as well as full names of those arrested, who have not yet been tried nor found “guilty.”

These acts on the part of the San Francisco Police Department and the local media are clear attempts to dissuade people from participating in free speech. One only need read the comments in the online news stories surrounding these activists to see that they are now exposed to threats of violence and retaliation from the American public. This is an attempt to wedge activists from the public who would benefit from actions against colonialism and capitalism. GLITUR condemns and denounces these tactics of oppression from the State, SFPD, and the corporate media, as should all people who hope for true liberation from oppression.

Queer liberation has always been an ideal and movement for true and total freedom. We urge fellow queers and fellow revolutionaries to stand and say NO to police oppression and NO to media-enabled harassment. We stand in solidarity with the arrestees and other attendees of the October 6th action, and now issue a demand that all charges be dropped and all media harassment end.

Please call the San Francisco District Attorney and demand that all charges be dropped, and that the arrestees be released immediately.

Last Saturday night, I went to meet some friends on Capitol Hill to go to a queer dance party in the street. I was excited to celebrate, dance and attempt to push the idea of pride weekend a little further away from its current state of corporate sponsored, assimilationist dismissal of all that is joyful, free and queer. I brought my bunny mask as it seemed like just the sort of occasion to wear it.

There was supposed to be a sound system, to dance to. However the people who brought it decided to take off at the last minute, because there were cops on every corner, in every alley, on every street. They were afraid their equipment would be confiscated, which is understandable. A few of us discussed going home, sad to not be able to celebrate in the way we felt was best. An anti-corporate, free, all ages, semi-spontaneous dance party in the street seemed like the perfect thing to do on Capitol Hill that night.

 From out of nowhere, we heard a saxophone wailing. I turned and saw a friend, a high school student, walking boldly down the street, playing his saxophone with wild confidence. Immediately, we all walked into the street, and joined him. We followed him down the road, clapping, banging on makeshift drums, and yelling.  A few minutes later, someone joined in with a small stereo and a megaphone. They played silly pop songs, and the crowd amplified them by singing/screaming along with them. We went on like this for about 30-40 minutes, it seemed.

 As we neared the blocked off streets of the “official” pride celebration, our path was barred by a line of riot police. They were guarding the edge of the real pride party. Dancing and carrying on with the police wandering through our crowd got old, pretty quick. So we decided to move on, and walked a block or two towards Madison street. In doing this, we lost half of the people due to the other crowds. We decided to move on anyway.

 When we rounded the corner, and started walking up the street, the police decided they had watched us have fun for too long, and saw that we were now more vulnerable, due to having fewer numbers. Without warning, they swerved their car in front of us, narrowly missing hitting the people in the front of the crowd. A few more cop cars pulled up next to the first to completely block off the street. As they jumped out of their cars, yelling, and aggressively swarming towards us, most instinctually moved out of the way. They yelled at us to get on the sidewalk, and started shoving people within arms reach. One person was shoved from behind while moving towards the sidewalk. She was forced to fall forward into three more cops, who immediately threw her to the ground and arrested her. It was very obvious to those around her, that she was thrown into a trap.

 I walked up onto the sidewalk and figured the party was over, it was time to leave. I joined a friend of mine named Hudson on the sidewalk, and we were just standing there, sort of frozen, watching the police overreact to the situation. I felt relatively safe, standing there on the sidewalk with friends nearby. I was proved to be very wrong seconds later. 

Immediately after this, I saw a cop quickly rush towards us, from 10 feet away or so, and come within a foot of my friend’s face. He was holding a huge canister of pepper spray, which he proceeded to deploy as much as he possibly could, directly into Hudson’s face and eyes. I was covered in the toxic spray as well. I was immediately disoriented and reached out to hold onto someone in front of me. A second later, I felt myself being pulled forward, and more chemical was sprayed, all over us, from every direction, it seemed. Every part of my exposed skin was burning with it.

My vision was pretty much gone after this moment. They were now upon us, and shoving violently in every direction. Eventually they must have effectively pushed us into the wall of the building behind us. I only knew this because I felt cold brick on my side, which felt comforting for a moment. Anything other than the anonymous ogre bodies, hitting us from every direction, was comforting. That was, until one of them grabbed me by the hair and slammed my head into the building. For the first time since the chaos started, I could see something clearly. They were pretty little yellow and white stars.

At this point there was clearly no escape. I felt myself get heavy and try to drop to the ground. I put my arms around my head, trying to protect my skull, and tried to pull myself to the ground. It was pretty easy, since they were also shoving me down at the same time. I curled up into a ball on the cement, with my back against the building, and just thought about surviving. Multiple bodies were upon me, knees and feet slamming into me and holding me down, pushing me further into the cement. Again came more of the pepper spray, this time directly into my ear. It was so close to my head when it was sprayed, that it was forced to travel deep inside my ear canal, filling my sinuses and impairing my hearing. 

I had taken my glasses off moments before I was surrounded, and was clutching them in my hand. One of the attackers stomped on my hand and crushed them into pieces. My other hand, which was pinned beneath me, was dragged out. My knuckles were bloodied by being scraped along the ground and handcuffs were placed around my wrists. I felt myself being dragged for at least 20 feet, off the sidewalk and back into the middle of the street. There they forced me up and made me walk. Everything hurt, I couldn’t see a thing and I could barely breathe.  Along with 5 others I was shoved into a van, where I quickly made some new friends. One of them did her best to wipe the pepper spray out of my eyes, which were swollen shut at this point. I was in such pain, that it was almost impossible to breathe normally or talk. The ear pain I experienced for the next 24 hours was like nothing I have ever felt. 

Around 1am we were moved to the East precinct, where we were held for about an hour or so. Hudson and one other person were held at the precinct for an additional 6 hours. This meant that they were handcuffed, cold and uncomfortable that whole time. I later learned that Hudson’s shirt and hoodie were ripped so badly in the police attack, that he was left shirtless in the cold cell. The rest of us spent the night in the holding cell at the jail, where we were unable to even lay down until we were booked around 7:30am. It wasn’t until 1:30pm on Sunday afternoon that I was released on bail.

 While leaving the jail, I realized that they didn’t give everything back that I came in with. They kept my phone, my car keys, my food stamp card, and my (very broken) glasses. When I asked about them, the jail staff said there was no record of them. According to them, I didn’t come in with those items. This was incredibly maddening. I had parked my car on Capitol Hill the night before, and needed to get home. Thankfully it was Sunday, and I had a spare set of keys at home. But I could have very easily had my car towed if this hadn’t been the case. Driving home with swollen eyes, and no glasses was not exactly the safest thing either. When I got home, I called the SPD evidence department  and asked about my missing items. They told me they had no record of any of these things being attached to my name. Told me to call back later, and maybe they would turn up.

So, effectively, the police stole my main mode of communication, transportation, food, and my vision.

The police are playing a game, and enjoying themselves. Trying to do their best to harass, intimidate, and destabilize anyone who stands up to them, and to the system that they protect. It is a common police tactic to accuse people of assault whom they have assualted, and accuse others of trumped up charges to legitimize their force. When brought to court, these charges are often dismissed by the judge or never even filed. Or worse, the charges stick. This is often due to poverty and discrimination within our court system, and people have to do time or go on probation because of it, severely interrupting their lives.

Hudson’s assault charge was dismissed almost immediately when he went to court. The judge scoffed at the SPD’s evidence on him, which soley consisted of a one sentence handwritten note. Myself and one other person are still facing charges from that night. I am being accused of “obstructing an officer”, and the other person is being accused of “pedestrian interference”, as well as “obstruction”. We start our trials next month. 

Earlier in the week, I attended a public meeting, in a public building and was arrested for “trespassing”.  It was a meeting between the mayor and the people of the Central District, at the Northwest African American Museum to talk about violence in the neighborhood. When the meeting turned into a discussion and calling out of the issues the mayor was ignoring, such as the privatization of the museum, and the idea that it should belong to the community, the mayor left, and the police kicked us out. After we were asked to leave, I was walking out of the building with the rest of the small crowd. A cop grabbed my arm, as well as a few other people around me, pulled us back into the building, and arrested us. I had to spend the night in jail, but when I went to court no charges had even been filed. 

One of the things that angers me the most about this, is that by the time the charges are dropped, the public has forgotten about it. So, in their minds, whatever the cops did to arrest us must have been justified. The average person doesn’t seem to understand that often, the police ARE making shit up, and using their power in all kinds of abusive ways. It is hard to see this, until you are face to face with it, and it JUST KEEPS HAPPENING. 

This was highlighted for me by my trip to the doctor’s office, the day after I got out of jail. I wanted to get my ear checked out, and document my other injuries (head trauma, abrasions, bruises, muscle strains, and chemical burns in a few places) with my regular doctor. This is a doctor who has on multiple occasions had very caring conversations with me about my mental and physical health. When I told her why I was there, and that I was assaulted by the police, she seemed confused, distant. She asked me what I did to make them do this to me. When I tried to explain what happened, she cut me off, multiple times. It was like she just couldn’t quite fathom how a cop could possibly do that without me deserving it somehow. This reminds me of a feeling I had when I was trying to tell someone about being sexually assaulted years ago, and not only did they not believe me, but they told me that I must have asked for it. This is a disgustingly common way of thinking.

One very important point to make here, is that this type of brutality (and much worse) happens every day to people of color, trans*, and homeless people. I am not any of these things. However, I am a queer who didn’t conform to the mainstream pride celebrations, and that has become enough of a reason for them to beat on me and think they can get away with it. The worst thing is, that many of those affected by police violence never get their voices heard when something like this happens. No one believes them, and no one cares.

 The police love to use this kind of collective denial to their advantage, and they want people to keep quiet about it. They’d like us to shut up, and carry on with our very regulated, permitted and planned out lives. There’s something wrong when anyone who wants to blur those lines, or question those regulations, are squashed and immobilized, even for just dancing in random places like we were that night.

Also, I lost my bunny mask during the arrest. So if anyone has it, let me know.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It was recently brought to our attention by members of the Black Orchid Collective that during the end of the Gay Pride weekend (6/24/12) LGBTQ youth organized an anti-racist and anti-heterosexist street dance party. This unpermitted gathering was assaulted by the Seattle Police Department (SPD), who unleashed unjustified brutality at the participants. Six young people were arrested.

Lt. Greg Calder was filmed pepper-spraying a youth at close range, and then physically abusing this young person. The victim was then arrested for assaulting the police despite video evidence that clearly proves the cop to be the aggressor. First off, we now know due to extensive documentation and experience that so-called “non-lethal weapons” (pepper spray, tasers, tear gas, etc.) have led to the death of far too many people. Secondly, the SPD in particular and the American police in general routinely blame the victim and frame up innocent people in these situations. The police only serve the rich and protect the conditions in which oppression thrives.

Down in the Bay Area, we have police departments that claim to be on the side of queer communities just as in Seattle. SPD’s actions on June 24th only prove what we should already know: police are not queer allies. Even if they are themselves gay, lesbian, or transgender, they are our queer enemies.

On April 29th in Oakland, a black trans-gender woman named Brandy Martell was murdered in Oakland in a homophobic hate crime. Police arrived on the scene and did nothing to help the dying victim. In fact they even turned an ambulance away while a passerby did CPR that he learned at Occupy Oakland’s medic training. As long as police attack people for dancing in the street for the cause of liberation, we can be guaranteed that they will stand idly by in the face of homophobic violence from the community.

We support all struggles motivated by love, striving for true freedom, and battling oppression, as these are the basic ingredients of a future society in which equal rights exist for all, and everything is provided for everyone. Radical queer movements will be amongst those advancing the struggle toward the society of the future. We can be assured that the police will be there every step of the way to try to prevent such a society from smashing out of the one we are imprisoned in today.

REMEMBER STONEWALL!

DROP ALL CHARGES AGAINST THE SIX PARTICIPANTS ARRESTED BY THE SPD!

QUEER STRUGGLE IS CLASS STRUGGLE!

6/27/2012– On Saturday, the 23rd of June, radical queer organizers convened in the streets of Capitol Hill in order to have a free, all-ages dance party designed to provide an alternative to corporate sponsored, profit-driven events that have made Pride less a celebration of queer liberation and more a money-centric spectacle. Happily, over 60 queers and their allies joined their friends in celebrating queer spirit. Unfortunately, Seattle Police Department chose to intervene in the event with sadly typical brutality and enthusiasm for pepper-spray, attacking the crowd and arresting six. Since, media outlets, community members, and queers all over the US have decried the attack as unnecessary, inappropriate, and despicable.

GLITUR and individuals from Guerilla Revolutionary Writings refuse to stand by and see armed thugs attack queers and community members without response. We will send a message to SPD that queer liberation requires no policing, and that the streets of our communities are not places for brutal attacks and indiscriminate pepper-spraying on the part of the servants of the State. Join us for a dance party in solidarity with victims of the Queers Fucking Queers police riot, at Seattle Central Community College at 8:00 PM on Friday, June 29th. The streets belong to the people, and instead of violence and savagery, we choose joy, liberation, and the revolutionary spirit that is at the core of queer identity.

In response to the SPD’s pepper-spraying and beating of queer folk participating in a in-the-streets dance party, and in remembrance of the Stonewall riots and those brave enough to stand up to the cops and change the course of queer liberation forever, there will be a rally at Seattle Central Community College on Friday, June 29th at 8PM.

For more information, see this facebook event page.

Contact: Ian Finkenbinder 216.236.4680
Email: ianfinkenbinder@gmail.com

5/19/2012– The Grand Legion of Incendiary and Tenacious Unicorn Revolutionaries is happy to announce that we and the fabulous Bearded Lady J hosting a radical queer dance party this Friday, June 22nd, at Waid’s Restaurant in Seattle. This event, far from your run-of-the-mill celebration during the Pride season, will feature alternative queer voices and local talent such as Honey Bucket and Sashay Supernova in a drag show and dance party designed to bring revolution back to queer liberation.

On the 22nd, instead of attending for-profit club events costing more than $20 to enter, GLITUR invites you to join us in coming together to strike back against popular assimilationist models of mainstream gay rights. We know that our work does not begin and end with the attainment of a gay marriage bill in WA State or with a begrudging presidential endorsement of it that seems more like a political strategy than real progress. And as long as ADAP is being cut, CeCe is behind bars for defending herself and anyone has to experience homophobia, transphobia, trans-misogyny, sexism or racism from the state or this capitalist society we will resist.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Occupy Seattle Media 206.552.0377
Email: occupyseattle.media@gmail.com

Occupy Seattle Announces Formation of GLITUR

5/19/2012– The queers of Occupy Seattle are pleased to announce the formation of a new group for queer and trans activists and their allies in future organizing efforts within our communities. After the Pink Bloc’s resounding success on May Day in utilizing our fabulous queerness and fierce feminism as an effective tactic, we have decided to form a new, radical organization known as the Grand Legion of Incendiary and Tenacious Unicorn Revolutionaries, or GLITUR.

GLITUR was formed with several goals in mind. We are here to announce the visibility of revolutionary unicorns here in Seattle, giving fellow radical queers a safe space for political organizing and creative expression. We aim to provide opportunities for sharing, learning and bringing light to the issues that affect our lives as LGBTQI peoples and to join in solidarity with other communities in their struggles with the systems and institutions that oppress us all.

GLITUR would like to invite all queers and their allies to participate in our future events and actions. We are an open group, and we are asking for people ready to have fun and help change the world for our queer and trans sisters and brothers.