Festival of Resistance in DC, January 20
The last of next week’s Catharsis reunion shows will take place at the conclusion of a full day of performances, discussions and tabling in Washington, DC, the day before the Presidential Inauguration. This festival of resistance will offer a venue in which to envision a world without capitalism or hierarchy and to strategize about how to get there.
Global Crisis & Global Resistance!
A Conference on Organized Resistance to Capitalism and the State on the Eve of the 57th Presidential Inauguration
The Warehouse 645 New York Avenue NW Washington, DC 20001
See: frontlinesofnowhere.com for updates & more info.
-Free Entry-
12pm-12:30pm: Revolutionary Puppetry Performances by the Mysterious Rabbit Puppet Army
Myseterious Rabbit Puppet Army (MRPA) will be performing their newest puppet production, “Donny Quixote!”–a humorous adaptation of the story of Don Quixote, that presents a scathing critique of “green” capitalism and technology. MRPA will present two other fun shows as well. All shows are rated PG. For more information: mrpuppetarmy.wordpress.com
12:30pm-1:30pm: Anarchy and Democracy: What’s the Difference?
A Discussion between Peter Gelderloos and Cindy Milstein
What is the difference between anarchy and democracy? Is “direct democracy” what anarchists want? If we don’t want democracy, what do we want instead? And how should these questions inform how we engage with representative democracy and the political process? In this discussion, well-known authors and organizers Peter Gelderloos and Cindy Milstein will grapple with these questions on the eve of Obama’s second inauguration.
1:30pm-2:30pm: An overview of State Repression of Social Movements in the U.S. and What We Can Do About It
By Will Potter and a member of NYC Anarchist Black Cross
Activists across the country, including Occupy protestors, anarchists, animal rights and environmental activists and others are being increasingly targeted by authorities for political organizing and protest activity. We will discuss current cases, grand juries targeting anarchists in the NW, the status of several political prisoners and other active cases and what activists can do to prevent, resist and organize against state crackdowns on social movements.
Will Potter is an award-winning journalist, author, and public speaker based in Washington, D.C. who has become a leading voice on repression of the animal rights and environmental movements, and civil liberties issues post-9/11.
NYC Anarchist Black Cross is a collective focused on supporting US-held political prisoners and prisoners of war and opposing state repression against revolutionary social justice movements.
2:30pm-4:00pm: Films on Global Uprisings in the Age of Austerity
By Brandon Jourdan and Marianne Maeckelbergh
Video dispatches from the front lines of movements in Spain, Greece, and Portugal
Since the dawn of the most recent crisis of capitalism in 2008, there have been uprisings all over the globe. Around the world, advocates for a different world and different social relations have engaged in strikes, riots, and occupations, while simultaneously creating networks of solidarity and mutual aid.
Filmmaker Brandon Jourdan and researcher Marianne Maeckelbergh have been documenting these revolts as they unfold, reporting from Greece, Spain, Portugal, Egypt, the UK and the US as part of their online film series at http://www.globaluprisings.org.
4pm-5:00pm: From Plaza Occupations to General Strikes: The Barcelona Experience
Spain had the movement of the plaza occupations months before Occupy Wall Street took off, foreshadowing the form of protest that was about to spread around the world. Since then, Spain has seen multiple general strikes and increasingly generalized social revolt. Two comrades from Barcelona, the epicenter of these struggles, describe what people in the U.S. can learn from them.
6pm: Counter-Inaugural Ball
This is a benefit show to raise money to benefit the homecoming fund for political prisoner Daniel McGowan and The Rosenberg Fund for Children. The bands, in reverse order of appearance, are:
Catharsis (final reunion show) Magrudergrind (ten year anniversary) Trophy Wife (Philadelphia) Dead in the Dirt (Atlanta) Los Gatos Negros (back from the dead!)