Protest

Isyan

The participation of the radical left in the Gezi Park protests

September 1, 2013 | The Platypus Affiliated Society

ON MAY 28, 2013, a group of environmental activists gathered to protest the demolition of Gezi Park, a small, urban park in central Istanbul. As the municipal authorities intensified their efforts to evict the activists, the number of demonstrators began to grow. On the morning of the 31th, police raided the demonstrators’ camp and resorted to violence, resulting in more than 100 civilian injuries. Even Sırrı Süreyya Önder, a MP, was hospitalized after being hit by a tear gas canister. [Read More]

Turkey Protest

The movement as an end-in-itself?

January 31, 2012 | The Platypus Affiliated Society • Other languages: Ελληνικά

ON DECEMBER 16, 2011, Ross Wolfe interviewed David Graeber, Reader at Goldsmiths College in London, author of Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology (2004), and central figure in the early stages of the #Occupy Wall Street Movement. What follows is an edited transcript of the interview. Folk singer Tea Leigh at the #Occupy site Ross Wolfe: There are striking similarities between the #Occupy movement and the 1999 anti-WTO protests in Seattle. [Read More]

Anarchism David Graeber Occupy Occupy Wall Street Protest neoliberalism

Aesthetics in Protest

March 19, 2011 | The Platypus Affiliated Society

A panel discussion organized by the Platypus Affiliated Society, held on March 19, 2011 at Left Forum, Pace University. Audio Recording Your browser does not support the audio element A transcript of Chris Mansour’s remarks appears in Platypus Review #39 Panelists Chris Mansour - Parsons School of Design, Platypus Affiliated Society Jamie Keesling - 491 Laurel Whitney - Yes Men Marc Herbst - Journal of Aesthetics and Protest, Reclaim the Streets [Read More]

Left Forum Left Forum 2011 Aesthetics Journal of Aesthetics and Protest Protest Reclaim the Streets Yes Men

Why is it that nobody understands me, yet everybody likes me?

The ambivalence of the current German student movement

March 15, 2010 | The Platypus Affiliated Society

“DIESER HÖRSAAL IST BESETZT!” (“This lecture hall is occupied!”) In November and December 2009, signs bearing such slogans were found on doors at over 60 German universities. For the second time that year, a broad student movement managed to gain public attention for its demands. Protests at the University of Vienna kicked off what became a Europe-wide solidarity wave. In Germany, the Viennese protest first triggered occupations in Heidelberg, Münster, and Potsdam, after which students at many other institutions also became involved. [Read More]

Bologna Process Capitalism Germany Human rights Max Horkheimer Michael Burawoy Nationalism Occupation Protest Red-baiting Reform Strike Students Student politics Student Left

The sport of protest

Resistance to the Olympics coming to Chicago

September 20, 2009 | The Platypus Affiliated Society

NO GAMES CHICAGO WAS FOUNDED in the summer of 2008 when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that Chicago was among the bid cities for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The group’s aim is to prevent Chicago from hosting the games – nothing more, nothing less. The reason for this opposition is No Games Chicago’s claim that, if Chicago wins the bid to host the Olympics, the city’s working class would bear the bulk of the costs. [Read More]

Chicago Profiles Protest Reflections

Red-baiting and ideology

The new SDS

December 1, 2008 | The Platypus Affiliated Society

TO THE EDITORS OF THE PLATYPUS REVIEW: I am not now, nor have I ever been, either a Maoist or sympathetic to Maoism. I am also not a member of SDS. I was outraged however, by the blatant red-baiting of Rachel Haut in a recent Platypus Review Interview and disturbed that it seems to have gone unchallenged by PR. Rachel Haut was quoted as saying: “To say that the Maoists can be part of the ideological debate would mean to condone them being in this organization, which is something I don’t do. [Read More]

Anarchism Anti-intellectualism Democracy Exchanges Ideology Laurie Rojas Maoism Marxism New SDS Organization Politics Protest Red-baiting Revolution Richard Rubin Stalinism The Left Student Left

The Hundred Days campaign: the present and future of SDS

September 1, 2008 | The Platypus Affiliated Society

FROM JULY 24 UNTIL JULY 28 2008, the new Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) had its third annual national convention in College Park, Maryland. At the convention, national campaigns were presented and voted on by the attendees. A major campaign introduced at the convention was the Hundred Days campaign, which seeks to organize and engage newly politicized Americans in politics beyond the campaign season. During the first one hundred days of the next administration the campaign will organize two nationwide weeks of action to ensure that the people remain involved in politics after the election cycle. [Read More]

Anarchism Anti-capitalism Ben Shepard Capitalism Chicago Dave Shukla Democracy Democratic society FRSO Hope Hundred Days campaign Ideology Left Forum Liberalism Maoism Marxism Movement New SDS New York Barack Obama Organization Power Process Protest Sectarianism Socialism Split Structure Students The Left