Three months ago, I was still flying high after my experiences in Europe. Nothing seemed like it would be able to nearly compare. America was already driving me nuts from the moment I stepped foot out of the airplane in Philadelphia. However, little did I know that this semester was going to bring a little bit of Europe back home.
Overshadowed in the mainstream media by swine flu, Obama deceptions, and recession talk; the world has been in all out war. Only, this is not a war that is fought between boundaries, it is a war that engages all of our minds and conscience. There is a lot of buzz going around about this whole "change" thing, but things sadly remain the same. The only things that have been changing are our ability to tolerate certain atrocities against human life.
Here, in Claremont, we organized our own insurrection. Well, it wasn't quite so extreme. But we took a far more proactive approach than usual to try to make a positive affect on the community. We definitely made a name for ourselves as well.
Final count:
4 banner drops
1 confrontation with Jim Gilchrest
2 cancellation of atrocious events due to simple threat of protest
2 benefit concerts
1 conference
1 zine
1 Food Not Bombs
1 checkpoint response
The college community here has been exposed to us as a group, and we are far more than just a social club. We thank all who have supported our endeavors.
On a more personal level, I have had quite an experience here in college this semester. School has been so far on the backburner, but this semester has been by far the most productive and enlightening of all. I have really expanded all facets of my life in terms of literature, art, action, and ideology. Here are some of the things that I have come to know and respect most:
Basque Culture:
http://buber.net/Basque/
Rolling Thunder #7:
http://www.crimethinc.com/rt/
George Orwell:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwell
Koldo Barroso:
http://www.koldobarroso.com/blog/
The Obama Deception:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=related
Among others.
Overshadowed in the mainstream media by swine flu, Obama deceptions, and recession talk; the world has been in all out war. Only, this is not a war that is fought between boundaries, it is a war that engages all of our minds and conscience. There is a lot of buzz going around about this whole "change" thing, but things sadly remain the same. The only things that have been changing are our ability to tolerate certain atrocities against human life.
Here, in Claremont, we organized our own insurrection. Well, it wasn't quite so extreme. But we took a far more proactive approach than usual to try to make a positive affect on the community. We definitely made a name for ourselves as well.
Final count:
4 banner drops
1 confrontation with Jim Gilchrest
2 cancellation of atrocious events due to simple threat of protest
2 benefit concerts
1 conference
1 zine
1 Food Not Bombs
1 checkpoint response
The college community here has been exposed to us as a group, and we are far more than just a social club. We thank all who have supported our endeavors.
On a more personal level, I have had quite an experience here in college this semester. School has been so far on the backburner, but this semester has been by far the most productive and enlightening of all. I have really expanded all facets of my life in terms of literature, art, action, and ideology. Here are some of the things that I have come to know and respect most:
Basque Culture:
http://buber.net/Basque/
Rolling Thunder #7:
http://www.crimethinc.com/rt/
George Orwell:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwell
Koldo Barroso:
http://www.koldobarroso.com/blog/
The Obama Deception:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw&feature=related
Among others.
The future has even more in store. I will take about a four month break from protesting Jell-o wrestling and debating famous political figures. Instead, I will be going on a trip through Europe with my friend Andrew Nino. We will be living out of backpacks for these months, and probably starve to death. That's not the plan of course. I will be presenting at a conference in Manchester in regards to Anarchist political theory and its validity as a global concept. But, for the 3 months prior, we will be gypsies. While in Europe, we will spending some amount of time in Basque country with everyone's favorite Euzkaldun: Cristina! We will also be in Italy for the G8 Summit, Greece to visit my family in Kefallonia, Rennes to visit Ben, and the Black Forest of Germany to meet with Kevin Grant.
First, however, I will be leaving for Oregon on 12 May 2009. We, the Pomona-Pitzer baseball team, have made it to the Western Regional for Division III baseball. Should we win that tournament, we will move on to the College World Series in Wisconsin. Go Cocks!
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