RE: Portl(a)nd State University’s ‘L(A)W and Disorder Conference’

“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.” -(A)narchist Mantra-

(“It’s easy to disparage working with the gendarmes when it’s not you getting assaulted or receiving death threats.” -anon-)

Since when have the violent street elements calling themselves (A)narchists respected the rights of others to free speech or any other 1st Amendment principle, for that matter? It’s not surprising those who advocate ‘smashing the state’ utilize state sponsored college campuses for their platforms/events, even drawing (in the case of professors within their ranks) salaries from the state…or that a crowd of onlookers gawked during the assault. It’s been perfectly clear to many photojournalists for some time these elements are not only enemies of the state they loathe, but the rights of others in general. (See: TESC 4-20-13 Strong (A)rm Robbery-Assault on Photojournalist)

That these self appointed Brown Shirts of political rectitude reject the notion of ‘rights’ ab initio doesn’t alter the fact. Fewer people will consider coming to their advertised events to avoid being caught up in mob psychology or trapped in a virtual battle zone between warring gangs/factions. Rather than being genuine agents for social/political revolution, what many of the more delinquent youthful members of this group seek is an excuse to turn public events/rallies into a Punk inspired ‘mosh pits’. But, a group/individuals openly professing being at war with the state and society itself must be managed not as petty ‘criminals’, but as petty traitors. i.e. They should be taken at their word. The society and state they openly declare war against will, unsurprisingly, hunt them down. This process is, obviously, already afoot. The strongest evidence against these harbingers of the Apocalypse is offered by themselves, such as the instant story above. They will be excised like any other cancer.

From the GenderTrender website comes the following news:

Feminists assaulted in Transgender Attack at Portland conference for Social Change: Women’s books destroyed and bodies defaced with permanent magic markers (5-13-13)

(A)fter The (A)pocalypse

Breaking News: In what has been described as a “horrifying” incident two women were attacked  by a group of men who identified themselves as “transgender women” at the Portland State University “Law and Disorder Conference” which billed itself as a “provocative space for comparative critical dialogue between activists, revolutionaries, educators, artists, musicians, scholars, dancers, actors and writers”.

The women were attacked in a coordinated assault as they sat at a table which sold feminist books and literature. The men destroyed the books and marked up the table display with permanent markers. One of the women was also marked up by the men. Predominantly male conference onlookers by all reports allowed the attack to take place, watching in stunned silence. Two males affiliated with the same group as the feminists –Deep Green Resistance– were also in attendance and the “trans women” threw a projectile at the head of one of them.

According to reports, the transgender males or “trans women” took issue with the feminist content in the Deep Green Resistance materials. Specifically, a portion of the materials reflected the feminist position that social roles based on sex are undesirable and harmful to women.

The transgender males believe that social roles based on sex are natural and innate and that it is instead the unchanging nature of biological sex that is undesirable. They believe that women should not criticize social roles based on sex, in deference to the feelings of men like themselves who embrace such roles. The men reportedly stated that all feminist writing and voices should be silenced by males with force if necessary, and they then proceeded to do just that.

Conference organizer Brandon Speck posted a statement on Facebook today following yesterday’s attack. He claimed that women should not be able to disseminate materials that might offend those men who support sex-roles. He claimed that the women deserved to be attacked for offering materials that contained feminism. He stated that no feminists should be permitted to sell books that men might not like. He said that as a man he had no authority to dictate the behavior of other men who might choose to assault women who offend them. Here is his statement:

Conference statement condoning attacks

Here is the link to the page where his statement is posted:

https://www.facebook.com/lawanddisorderconference?ref=stream&hc_location=timeline

The attached comments include threats by transgender activists to continue violent attacks against women who promote feminist thought.

I am withholding the names of the women who were attacked until they issue a public statement, which will be published here. The feminists are reported to be terrorized but did not require medical care. No arrests have yet been made. Stay tuned for updates.

*UPDATE* the statement and thread referenced above have been deleted. Here’s a link to the page where the former statement was posted:

https://www.facebook.com/lawanddisorderconference

Comments:

• GallusMag Says:

  May 13, 2013 at 3:26 am Welcome to the 21st century violent roll-back of women’s rights.

•  michelle Says:

  May 13, 2013 at 4:59 pmLitigation of a civil rights claim is next to impossible against an individual…those tend to be more effective against agencies based upon how the statutes are usually written in the States (no matter whether filed as a State claim or as a federal claim). Then there is the whole problem of collecting on any damages that are awarded…even if you prevail, you can find yourself having gone through a lot of time and energy and money in the course of litigation to wind up with little more than a piece of paper that says you won. Litigation is not a cheap endeavor…our last significant case in federal district court saw us awarded roughly a quarter-million in fees for our efforts. And that was on a case involving ONE client (filed against a State agency).

  Reply
  • Bob Says:

    May 13, 2013 at 9:13 pmI would think that destroying property and assault would warrant police action. What blows my mind is the number of people think the attack was justified.

•  Derrick Jensen Says:

  May 13, 2013 at 10:10 pm The labeling of the “trans boys” as Taliban in a skirt got another piece of validating evidence today, as they called for members of DGR to be lined up and beheaded.

LAW & DISORDER TALKS BACK:

Any critique of this article should be directed toward the author “Trashy,” whose manner and tone do not reflect Earth First! as a whole. Furthering infighting and divisions only benefit the ones destroying the planet.

DGR in Trouble

At the annual Law and Disorder Conference, radical ecology group Deep Green Resistance (DGR) was confronted by trans-women. In the aftermath, books were destroyed, verbal assaults were exchanged, organizers declared regret about inviting DGR in the first place, and a DGR lawyer accused the trans-women of the Class A Misdemeanor offense of “Menacing.”

No salmon were harmed in the process.

Law and Disorder

The Law and Disorder Conference is a relatively large gathering of radical-minded folks in the Cascadia bio-region in its fourth year. This year’s roster of speakers and panels included Rising Tide, eviction defense activist, Ajhamu Umi, awesome eco-defense lawyer Lauren Regan, the Jericho Movement, and more. The community event also hosted interesting tables for groups like PM Press, Jericho, the Portland Radical, and Deep Green Resistance.

DGR’s relationship to the radical community was put to the test during the three days of events. In one tense moment, a grand jury resister, who is also a trans-person, was present as a conversation about gender disintegrated into an argument wherein the DGR table expressed total opposition to a critical analysis of cis-gender identity.

Burritos flew when, on a totally different occasion, a similar argument blew up between an anarchist and a DGRer.

The RadFem Controversy 

DGR has been criticized for the “Radical Feminist” views of one of its leaders, Lierre Keith. Radical Feminism views trans-women as men who, at best, cannot possibly understand femininity and, at worst, are misogynists intent on undermining and subverting the feminine. The controversial essentialization of gender (penis = men) led to a large campaign against the RadFem 2012 conference in London, and its eventual cancellation by the venue, Conway Hall, on the grounds that speakers “actively discriminate” and “foster hate” against trans-people.

DGR is also outspokenly anti-anarchist, and their literature repeatedly attacks anarchism. Experts note that this is a new trend in the writing of some of their leaders, particularly Derrick Jensen who wrote persuasively in favor of black bloc militancy before  collaborating with Chris Hedges to malign the black bloc as “the cancer in Occupy.” Jensen tells Hedges, “[black bloc] attacks on cops are simply a means to an end, which is to destroy a movement that doesn’t fit their ideological standard.”

Questions have been raised in the past about DGR’s participation in an event about radical responses to law enforcement, since the leaders of DGR have actively participated with and collaborated with law enforcement. On at least two occasions, Lierre Keith has worked with police officials. Jensen collaborated with the FBI to track down an emailed death threat.

Tensions Escalate

Tensions at Law and Disorder escalated to a head when, on the final day of the conference, a confrontation between two trans-women and two cis-women tabling for DGR turned to vandalism. As the cis-women denied the trans-women’s identity, the trans-women took out a black marker and proceeded to draw on DGR’s text books. One of the cis-women stretched her hand out to protect the valuable words of their leaders, and the marker grazed her hand.

After reporting the “assault” to the organizers of the conference, the Law and Disorder organizers resolved to post a public response on their Facebook page. Insisting that the conference appreciates safer spaces policies and listens to everyone who makes claims about disruptions, the organizers declared that DGR does not fit their safer space policy, and will not be asked back in the future. The thread was immediately packed with more than 80 comments, which became so blatantly trans-phobic that the organizers finally removed it from Facebook.

Among the Facebook commentators was Derrick Jensen, himself, who was also found recently on the comment section of the EF! Newswire arguing that EF! hates women and accusing a moderator of being a rape apologist. On the Newswire, Jensen declared that he will be writing a new article attacking queer-theory and (A)narchists as misogynistic.

What is to be done?

Many activists feel that local DGR activists are different from their ideological leaders, and deserve inclusion in the radical community. Others insist that DGR is based on an authoritarian-hierarchical model wherein “autonomous” local chapters are suborned to an informal ranking that accumulates in central ideological figureheads, much like Maoism in the late 1960s or even Scientology.

The confrontation at Law and Disorder may set back relations between local DGR activists, the ideological leaders of DGR, and the radical community for some time. Activists in other groups around Portland are currently contemplating how to address “solidarity” from DGR in the future.

Upon leaving the conference, some wild-eyed radicals were heard to say, “We did it! We finally won!” When asked what it was that they won, the young ferals shrugged their shoulders and walked away.

Derrick Jensen is a leader of DGR