this dream people call human life

When we say political education, we mean education that is grounded in the history of working class struggle and builds towards a working class, internationalist horizon.

In the world we live in today, the majority of education we receive is created by the oppressors. The ideology we are fed in most schools and institutions is ruling class ideology, and this does not further our struggle or serve the needs of the working class. When we say political education, we mean education that is grounded in the history of working class struggle and builds towards a working class internationalist horizon.  Political education has a purpose. Political education is “all efforts of mobilization, organization and training that prepare people to exercise the power which they must necessarily conquer” (Paulo Freire). It is, therefore, a tool of people’s movements that help elaborate and establish strategy.

We know that we need political education for the survival of our people. We need political education to arm our people for class struggle. We need political education for liberation!

i’m going to try to make my case here, and i have no doubt there will be gnashing of teeth from people arguing the letter of the law over the spirit of it but i will address that as well. the “damage” done to publishers was near nonexistent but in exchange the publishers who have filed the lawsuit are willing to destroy the archive under the crushing weight of monetary punishment.

the Internet Archive is literally an online library and is recognized as a library by the state of california. it is not a pirate site.

you cannot download the books on the internet archive website. the only book available for download are those in the public domain. all other books can be checked out the same as you would check out any other e-book at any other brick and mortar library. you can borrow the book for 14 days. the books are protected with DRM and copyright protection to prevent theft.

the books online are purchased or donated, and then scanned. you can only borrow as many books as there are physical copies available at the library. so if there is one copy of war and peace  available as an e-book and i check it out, you will have to wait until i’m done with it to check it out yourself. this is slightly different than how regular libraries do it, but regular libraries are currently at war with publishers over e-books and how they fit into libraries.

the national emergency library was temporary. it was slated to last from march 24th to june 30th. it was made specifically in response to the pandemic.

the only change to the current process of book lending was the suspension of wait-lists. this means that for 3 months, multiple people could check out the same book for 14 days. they were able to accomplish this by using the collections from the phillips academy andover, marygrove college, and trent university. the statement from the Internet Archive includes this information:

During the waitlist suspension, users will be able to borrow books from the National Emergency Library without joining a waitlist, ensuring that students will have access to assigned readings and library materials that the Internet Archive has digitized for the remainder of the US academic calendar, and that people who cannot physically access their local libraries because of closure or self-quarantine can continue to read and thrive during this time of crisis, keeping themselves and others safe.  

… Public support for this emergency measure has come from over 100 individuals, libraries and universities across the world, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  “Ubiquitous access to open digital content has long been an important goal for MIT and MIT Libraries. Learning and research depend on it,” said Chris Bourg, Director of MIT Libraries. “In a global pandemic, robust digital lending options are key to a library’s ability to care for staff and the community, by allowing all of us to work remotely and maintain the recommended social distancing.”

… A final note on calling this a “National Emergency” Library.  We lend to the world, including these books. We chose that language deliberately because we are pegging the suspension of the waitlists to the duration of the US national emergency.  Users all over the world have equal access to the books now available, regardless of their location.

ok, there are 2 things i want to address now:

the argument that by supporting this writers don’t make money: the fault for this does not and will never lay at the feet of librarians. after reading all of the above, i would find it very difficult to sincerely believe that an author’s royalty money was severely impacted by three months of 14 days library checkouts. we really cannot allow ourselves to start declaring libraries as our financial enemies because they allow the poor to access things they otherwise would not be able to access. institutions that make information freely available to the public need to be preserved at all costs (source: was librarian).

this is a fault in the publisher. the publisher is the one who profits the most from a book sale and the publisher is the one who is filing the lawsuit. the publishing industry is a group of leeches that cling to you as you slowly attempt to make a living.

a library does not hurt profits. a library is a public service.

even if you want to adhere to the letter of the law, i find it extremely difficult to condemn the actions of the internet archive. there was no financial reason for what they did, no malice and no ulterior motive. their national emergency library was a response to brick and mortar libraries being closed in the wake of a pandemic and shutting off a stream of information to people who needed it (especially students!). in response to catastrophe they stepped up and offered a solution. to condemn them under false pretenses (as many did, by calling it a pirate site and weirdly claiming you could download books an unlimited amount of times [?]) has been calamitous.

this was a huge post lol. if you really read this thank you. i hope it made sense. my motive for writing this is not bc i think writers should be poor and should work for free so don’t get it twisted (i draw a dumbass webcomic so i Get It). i just really like libraries and am really upset at the smear job this one got.

40 million people unemployed and we get a measly 1k while corporations are getting like billions. You remember that trillion dollars they just injected into the stock market that disappeared in a flash? Why couldn’t that have been used to properly shelter houseless people? Why couldn’t that be used to feed people? Why is there still NO RENT FREEZE?

People would be restless in quarantine regardless but we have to worry about all this added shit as well - while we are still being murdered by the police at the same rate as if we were not in quarantine. How are we protesting so many police murders when most people are stuck at home? What’s the maffs on that?

So of course people are taking to the streets to demand justice for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and Tony McDade and the countless others murdered by the police. But its only natural that in a police state everything is affected by the police.  As areas get gentrified, there is an increase in policing to either imprison or murder the people who are being displaced. Food Not Bombs is arrested for feeding houseless people in miami. Speaking of, where exactly are houseless people supposed to go during curfew when police violence is unmitigated? Everything links back to the police in a police state. This is why we say Abolish The Pigs

As for looting. stop pearl clutching over replaceable, insured things. Lives cannot be replaced nor brought back. If you care more about stores than lives fuck you.

So when Target refused to let the people of Minneapolis buy supplies to neutralize pepper spray, Target was no longer a part of the community. So Minneapoians  looted it and burned it. They don’t need a mega corporation in their community if it doesn’t do the will of the community. And what did they do with that loot? They dispersed it to people who needed it. Food for those who needs it, water for the protestors, first aid to those injured.

Please consider dontating to her venmo is: BrigetteBrantley-1 or  her GoFundMe linked here.

You can follow her on twitter here for more updates. Shouts out to @chaneajoyyy​ for the tip

Why aren’t they hesitant? Why are cops openly shooting people in the face on national television? They aren’t afraid. They no longer need the mask decorum or civility to operate.

Last decade we saw consistently two things happen re: filming the police that have emboldened the pig’s ambivalence to being filmed.

1. Filming pigs has not deterred them from murdering civilians becasue

2. Filming pigs has not brought justice. How many cops havent even arrested? 3 of the murderers of George Floyd are still not arrested. Breonna Taylor’s murderous pigs have not been arrested. pretty sure Philando Castile’s murderers haven’t been arrested.

A decade of police killing with impunity and reward and glory leads to the moment now where pigs are shooting people on live national television. shooting and arresting the media live on air.

The two major reasons why filming pigs became popular: to prevent murder and as evidence in pursuit of justice are ineffective. These don’t affect cops anymore. And they know it. They goad you into filming them. They revel in their 15 minutes of fame becasue it could lead to a million dollar interview or gofundme.

But there is a tertiary reason for filming pigs: raising awareness. Idk about the efficacy of that. I think a lot of people’s (including black ppl’s) response to seeing the videos show the precariousness of empathy. Only in the most brutal and spectacular ways can we see that you’re hurting. that isn’t sustainable in coalition building.

On the other hand, I think people seeing the disparity between the rapidity of pig mobilization (Border patrol, army, national guard in less than a day!) vis-a-vis pandemic prevention and wellness puts into relief where our priorities are. which to some degree relies on the spectacle of seeing war machinery in your neighborhood (which has certain class and american -uh- privilege for lack of a better word)- is affecting how people see the police.