A beginning: Direct Action & Biting Back against Bigots

"Direct action, having proven effective along economic lines, is equally potent in the environment of the individual. There a hundred forces encroach upon his being, and only persistent resistance to them will finally set him free. Direct action against the authority in the shop, direct action against the authority of the law, direct action against the invasive, meddlesome authority of our moral code...""I want freedom, the right to self-expression, everybody's right to beautiful, radiant things" Emma Golman, 1917
"I take the needle off the record/
and shove it in my arm/
anytime I feel life/
is coming on too strong"
Michael Franti & Spearhead "Crime to be Broke in America" 1994
Dance. Drugs. Direct-action. Welcome to my blog, which, in the tradition of the great movement organisers like Emma Goldman, recognises the struggle for control of our own bodies, minds & human spirit is a critical battleground in the fight for a better world.The drug war is rapidly taking on the scale of a holocaust. It is a social abomination that in a century or so our descendants will look back on with equal parts disgust and dumbfoundedness.It is, horribly, only one of dozens of atrocities spewed up by a rotten system upon humanity in every corner of the planet, and upon the living planet itself. But radicals, revolutionaries, activists have for far too long ignored the battle for our humanity, for the right to create, to build, to change our perceptions, to dance in the bush at sunrise. For the right to control what we do with our own bodies and minds. For me that's the most fundamental right, and it’s completely denied under the system of prohibition.But the sheer scale of the horrors of the drug war are creating conditions where resistance becomes inevitable - as in every arena the system gives birth to its own gravediggers.After a decade in the drug user movement, opposing prohibition, it starts to look like there is the spark of a real movement internationally, an acceleration towards critical mass.If we accept the prohibitionists' terminology, a war - the drug war - is raging.It’s fairly useful to accept their term, war: a declaration of hostilities and an indicator of the level of violence - economic, psychological, biological - the system is willing to employ, against both individuals and whole communities.Be it through coincidence or choice, I am a soldier in this war. Prohibition must end. This blog will provide regular accounts of issues taking place to users in my own community, in Victoria (Aus), In Australia, and across the globe.It will discuss the choices I make about consumption of substances and the reactions I obtained from them.And it will share with you the other key nutrient for me in the struggle: beats, rhymes, doof, and dance - what I'm listening to, what I've been playing on my radio show, parties I've partied at.To hear me on air tune to www.subfm.org Tuesdays 22:00-0:00 Aus Eastern Standard Time (GMT + 10) for Dissident Dance - revolutionary rhymes, political party-pulsing peakers, and just good hard dance. Tie the brackets up with short pieces of spoken word from the greats - Malcolm X, Angela Davis, Noam Chomsky, William Burroughs - and announcements on user issues, and a whole range of anti-corporate struggles.In coming weeks the show will have its own site with this blog, and I’ll be able to podcast so you can listen at your convenience. In the meantime, check out the live stream.