Callout for Submissions ‘Identity is Crisis’

We find ourselves stuck inside a suffocating false dichotomy in the realm of (anti) politics as it relates to concerns around the topic of identity. On the one hand, we find that the desire to destroy civilization/society in its totality and to attack in the here and now, is occupied, claimed and recuperated by those only concerned in destroying the existent as long as such an existent does not include themselves. The denials of materialism and materialist reality ever present in the current insurrectionist and nihilist milieus, and the accompanying machismo, racism, rape culture and outright refusal to consider any identity based concerns. The branding of all identity based concerns and the accompanying trajectories as always and only liberal demands for recognition in the face of domination and the associated scathing critiques of all forms of organizing which draw any power from or relation to identity categories as ultimately worthless. On the other hand, the generalized rejection of insurrectional tactics, analysis, and praxis by many trans-feminist, queer, and identity based trajectories has lead to a transition from the simple desire to self actualize/articulate trans-feminism/queerness and its necessary demands ending in constructionist logics which hyper valorize, celebrate, and execptionalise the very identities in which our experience of oppression(s) is rooted. We experience a great degree of disappointment in this impasse- what we are searching is an (anti) politics, which both embraces and reckons with the every day realities and lived experiences of those who experience identity based oppression, whilst also squarely aiming our hostility at the totality of the world which creates them; we wish to present a critique which both acknowledges the very real consequences of identity in the here and now, and attempts to undo the entirety of its constructions. We agree, identity is entirely social constructed, it is the product of thousands of years of domestication, brutality, violence, domination, and one central building block of civilization; where we stray from the traditional insurrectional perspective is in rejecting the naivety of believing that by simply refusing to recognize identity or identity based concerns as important is enough to de-nature them as powerfully violent. Further we hold firm to the belief that fighting anti sexist/racist/colonial struggles is in fact a central field in war against ‘the existent’. The fact that identities are social constructs doesn’t mean they don’t need to be recognized and then destroyed- one cannot hope to destroy an enemy which one refuses to except even exists. When one declares war on society, one accepts the existence of society; our war on identity is inseparable from our war on society, from the war on civilization; but this takes understanding, recognition, and sometimes organization based around those very identities.’

We are hoping to bring together a series of texts, whose focus lies in the realm of identity abolition, but whose praxis is rooted in materialist understandings of and engagements with identity. We are searching for new and existing pieces which challenge readers to engage with the every day lived experiences of those who contend with identity based oppression(s), whilst also aiming hostility squarely at the identities themselves and the worlds which they create. Submissions can come in the form of texts, poems, artworks or any other medium you see fit and are not limited to a specific word count. Submissions should be in by the end of February 2020- and sent to downandoutdistro(at)riseup(dot)net; if selected, texts will be included in their entirety and not edited by us, though we reserve the right not to include any texts we feel do not fit the line of engagement we wish to highlight. The collection will include an editorial from D&O addressing our own understanding and critique of identity  as well as engagements with what we see as the failings in both insurrectional and identity based trajectories to deal with the topic. Other texts so far proposed  for the journal cover topics including migration, sex work, experience of racialised identities, and nihilist feminism.

Text can be Submitted in English, French, or Greek, though texts not in English will be translated by us and the Journal will only be available in English.

SEND US YOUR TEXTS 🙂

‘I Want to Kill Cops Until Dead’

 

 

We’re hyped to share (and to add to our distro) a new text sent to us from ‘Narcissa, KCBG et al’ (https://fckcps.blackblogs.org/) entitled ‘I Want to Kill Cops Until I’m Dead’. The text offers “an insurrectionist critique of policing, humanism, gender, and civilization” attempting to identify the many and intertwined ways in which policing and its logic enters our lives in both the material and psychic realms and develop strategies for their desolation.

Quotes From the Text:

“We understand that for many people (even among self proclaimed anarchist milieus) the word police refers generally to the state apparatchik standing between us and the proliferation of our destructive desire; the ‘thin blue line’ which prevents the breakdown of society, the stick in the carrot and stick motif. Through this discourse we conjure up the image of the cop as a blue uniformed target, carrying a gun, handcuffs, and radio, driving a squad car, and kidnapping our friends. Whist none of these analyses are necessarily incorrect we feel that they miss the bigger picture, ‘policing’ permeates the logic of every social relation, and frames our movement through this world. ‘Police’ is not a job title but rather a description of a series of social relations and actions, police is an act, a living breathing methodology, and a medium of communication. Police is something people do, are doing, have done, not something they are.”

“Destroying police will no just take mass murder, it will take a great undoing, a collaborative revenge aimed at those who have perpetuated the nightmare of police officering. It will mean showing up at the doors of dawdling grandpas with parade uniforms pinned up on their walls and letting off a 9mm in their face.”

“Towards the annihilation of police and the destitution of humanity.”

PDF Here: I Want To Kill Cops Until I’m Dead

‘Uncivilized, Exotic, Dangerous’

We’re super pleased to share our first collaboration with Breakdown Editions (a French Language Distro dealing in queer, insurrectional, and anti civilization literature- https://breakdown.noblogs.org).

Originally produced in French ‘Uncivilized, Exotic, Dangerous: reflections on the ‘beurette’ identity, against humanity – in pursuit of self-abolition’ is a critical reflection on the construction of the identity ‘buerette’- a french slang term referring to woman of Maghrebian and Arab decent and defined in the text thusly:

A French woman whose family originates from Maghreb
(North Africa). The term is ‘verlan'(french back slang) of ‘rebeue’ (slang for Arab).

-An informal word for a whore/ slut:
“ A Friend: ‘This bitch, she wears too much makeup’
Me: ‘Normal, she’s a ‘beurette’. ”

From here, the text moves, to a generalized assault against the forced constructions of racialized and gendered identities, with a view towards identity abolition, anti humanism, and anti civilization perspectives. Charting, a trajectory of colonial and neo colonialism the text attempts to deconstruct to forced categorization of individuals within the walls of civilization and advocates for categorizations abolition.

Quote from the text:

“What I want to draw here, are the lines of a project of hatred, revenge and destruction, of open war against modernity, civilization and the world. [. . . ] There is a thirst for revenge, and it’s this thirst that i propose to use as a weapon. It is neither a thirst that tempers, nor one which accommodates itself to changes, reforms, or apologies. This thirst is not a call to return to the past because it’s already too late. What is done is done”

PDF Here: uncivilized

Original text: Breakdown Editions

Translation: Down&Out Distro and Breakdown Editions