The Protest Has No Clothes: Regarding the Recent Actions in Sacramento

 “[T]he income gap between the rich and poor is wider than at almost any time in history and magnified by sudden wealth and lavish living of a growing elite.” – Los Angeles Times[i]

Protesters face arrest at the capitol.

          Less than a month ago, marchers from the bay-area descended on the Central Valley under the slogan, “march, strike, occupy.” Was the revolution here? Was massive change just around the corner? Why had people from across California taken up such a radical slogan (alright, it was originally ‘Strike, Occupy, Takeover'), that before was only found within the student movement? The goal of the marchers: to bring a Wisconsin-style occupation to the steps of the state capital. While we were perplexed as to why you would announce such plans to the police ahead of time, we couldn't help but be intrigued. However, after the symbolic arrests were made, protesters cleared from the capitol grounds, and the union leaders finished giving their speeches – it was clear that the recent ‘occupation’ at the state capitol was simply more of the same. It was an attempt to get those in power to listen; to act on our demands. But if the police hauling you away wasn't clue enough as to how this system works…  

          The solution to the current budget crisis is not more taxes or taxing the right or even the richest people. These are all attempts at managing capitalism better; of “managing the disaster.” We are not interested in slightly less border patrol guards and more taxes for schools from BP, we are interested in a social revolution in which people and communities take back the land on which they live and create a completely new relationship with it. Whereas human labor is directed towards needs and not sold to those that own property for the sake of profit. The solution to the problems brought on by austerity is attacking the problem at its source: the capitalist system. The crisis isn’t brought on by a lack of “money;” the corporations have never had it this good, as Wal-Street reports the highest gains in decades. The crisis was created by the constant boom and bust cycle of capitalism – a cycle that we constantly take the fall for and in the end, pay for.

Those who parade around as ‘our’ leaders want to smash organized labor and lower wages, they want to divide the working-class and further criminalize migrant workers, they want to drive up the costs of education and privatize it completely, they want to destroy every safety net and social program that currently exists. With the financial crisis, they have their context. Thus, they tell us that “we all need to bleed,” while we become shriveled and they sit fat and torpid at the blood bank. Ultimately, they have the power of the law, the police, and the military on their side – we only have each other and our ability to get organized and collectively fight back. The question is: will we try and beg for a more ‘kinder, gentler’ system, or will we finally shovel the last bit of dirt onto the bourgeoisie and bury them for eternity?

Everywhere the assault on poor and working people across the globe is becoming more naked and brutal. Opening up the Modesto Bee, all one seems to read about is rising costs, the closure of schools, and laid-off workers. But it’s not just here in the Central Valley, but across the United States that schools are shutting down, services are being slashed, and access to benefits and programs are drying up. Meanwhile, we see privatization being touted as the best alternative and the unions, where they still exist, doing nothing but trying to hold onto their dues money and their power. They are not interested in resisting; they’re interested in keeping their power and managing their business: the union itself.

While corporations gain the highest revenues in decades, real wages are frozen and the cost of living continues to rise. Recently, Jerry Brown’s administration proposed that the remaining budget deficit be covered by even more cuts to public education, low-income medical coverage, and social welfare programs.[ii] What’s more, the Obama administration is proposing to ax $100 billion dollars from the federal budget. This decision would have a massive impact on working-class students, because it would deny access to Pell Grants based on need.[iii] States such as Wisconsin are also passing or attempting to pass laws that make certain strike actions illegal, curtail the power of public-service unions, and reduce pay and benefits for employees. It’s not just Republicans like Wisconsin’s Walker who is leading the charge against union members either. According to Labor Notes:

Politicians of both parties have been tough on public employees in this recession, balancing state and city budgets through layoffs, wage freezes, furloughs, and benefit cuts. But rarely have labor-backed Democrats targeted the very right of public employees to collectively bargain. That’s now changing. In Massachusetts, New Jersey, Illinois, and Connecticut, Democratic legislators, eager to save money, are betting they can cut into public employee bargaining rights and still win union backing at election time.

At the same time, many states are also trying to pass anti-migrant worker legislation that would make it easier for the state to deport migrant workers. Centers like Planned Parenthood lose funding and close down, placing even more burdens on poor and working-class women. Everywhere there is social war; all across the terrain. We are partisans in a global struggle between the working class and the elites. So then, where are our weapons?

Led away by the fuzz.

The (oh-so) ‘loyal’ opposition, the Democrats and the trade unions, have done nothing to stop this assault. And of course, it is Brown’s administration which has helped push through so much of these cuts and the union officials which have supported him. While much of the Left prepares for Obama’s next electoral battle, they are also attempting to keep our anger firmly within realm of the ballot box and tightly controlled demonstrations. The unions helped launch Brown into office by portraying him as a ‘friend of the workers,’ but it is both parties which are helping to destroy services and programs that workers and those in poverty depend on.

According to the major labor unions and the Democrats, our greatest current “hope” lies in the proposed tax extensions (which are simply continuations from Arnold’s increased sales, income, and vehicle taxes) that will help stop cut from becoming deeper. As Dan Brown and David Conway wrote:

The governor’s tax proposals, like the austerity measures, have been supported by the trade unions. The California Teachers Association launched a campaign for the tax increases that culminated in “state of emergency” protests earlier in the month. The unions have repeated the line from Brown that the only alternative to the regressive taxes, mainly targeting working people, is massive cuts in K-12 education funding.

          The message from both the unions and the government is the same: you pay either way, either through increased taxes or further budget cuts. This isn’t a solution – it’s a threat! We are forced to choose between taxes and further cuts, yet the real question is: will we revolt or do nothing? And, even if the tax extensions are extended, Brown and the rest are already continuing to cut education, health-care, and all social services. The cuts that have already happened stay on the books and more cuts will keep coming.

Tax or abolish?...

There are others that proclaim that instead of simply more taxes, we should instead tax the richest people within society. It is these people that made up the coalition of Leftists who came to the state capitol in early May. They are calling for higher taxes on the rich and a re-shifting of priorities on what tax-money is spent on. Large non-profit activist groups such as Code-Pink, socialist political parities like the Peace and Freedom Party, and ‘peace’ talking-heads like Cindy Sheehan have helped to organize this ‘May Strike and March’ from the bay area to Sacramento which also coincided with a week of demonstrations by unions designed to promote the tax extensions.[iv]

The march started in the bay area and snaked its way east towards the valley, stopping in various towns along the way to hold banners and small protests. Upon reaching the capitol, the plan was that the group would convene in front of the capitol and then go in and ‘occupy’ the building, gaining numbers from the union demonstration. Both camps were united in agreeing that the ‘democratic process’ was capable of meeting their demands and that if they could just get the politicians to listen or pressure them enough, things would change.    

On May 9^th, these demands fell on deaf ears. After the marchers had arrived and listened to a parade of union official’s speeches, about 70 people were arrested inside the Sacramento capitol rotunda after refusing to leave. When the police made the announcement that arrests were immanent, many people got up and headed for the door as the arrests were purely symbolic. The capitol had already been closed and ‘politics-as-usual’ had already gone home to their mansions.[v] In the coming days, the CTA (teacher’s union) also conducted several pre-staged media stunts that resulted in 26[vi] people getting arrested.[vii] The next week, Brown also released his proposed budget plan which included the continued sweeping attacks on education, social-services, and medical care. At this point, it remains unclear as to if Republicans will be able to block the tax-increases on the ballot during the summer.

The coming Wisconsin?

The Leftists involved with organizing the May Strike and March, proposed that they would “occupy” and camp out at the capitol until “their” legislature agreed “to fund education, schools, and teachers.” In doing so, they reasoned that they would “bring Wisconsin to Sacramento.” Looking back at our recent interview with someone involved in the Wisconsin occupation on this blog, we can see that this is clearly not the case. Workers and students in Wisconsin began actions in the face of Walker’s proposed bill attacking public employees by launching wild-cat strikes, walkouts of schools, and calling into work sick en mass. All of these actions were discouraged against by the labor-unions officials. Soon, people were occupying the state capitol of Wisconsin in an attempt to block the passing of the bill. As our interviewee noted, this wasn’t an exercise in democracy, but instead one of working class power. As prole.info wrote: “This is not the ultimate form of democracy. We are imposing our needs on society without debate—needs that are directly contrary to the interests and wishes of rich people everywhere. There is no way for us to speak on equal terms with this society.”

Despite the actions in Wisconsin, Walker passed the bill, leading to the second occupation of the capitol building as some workers began to talk about the need for a general strike: a massive strike of all workers, regardless of industry or profession. The union leaders responded by instead calling for everyone to end the occupation and return to work. Instead they claimed, people should push for a recall of Walker. Let the lawyers and professional activists handle it, they cried. Let us lead you, they begged.

But it was the ordinary people of Wisconsin who had started things, not the union apparatus. And thus, any talk by Leftists of ‘bringing Wisconsin to Sacramento’ is false. They were not interested in self-organized and autonomous working class action - they were interested in lobbying and begging those in power to change.

GET IT IN.

We locate ourselves within the revolutionary camp. We do not think tax-extensions are the answer; they are based on the same idea that we should pay for the crisis. Taxes themselves are just ways in which those above us suck like parasites from our wages; taking that money and hiring more cops, launching more wars, and keeping their system running. Fighting for something like tax-extensions distracts us from the real battle of attacking the capitalist system. Nor do we think that slightly more taxes for the rich or less money spent on things like the military or wars will create the kind of revolutionary change that we want or need. None of these things change the full nature of a system that makes a few rich through controlling property while the rest of us are wage-slaves. Further still, the elite class will not give up their power without a struggle.

          We need to recognize the protests in Sacramento and others like as purely symbolic; as not having the ability to give us any sort of power. Along with the failed “occupation” at the capitol, there have also been sit-ins at banks, protests against bailouts, and disruptions at against shareholders meetings all organized by similar large non-profit and union groups. While we certainly are happy that working-class people are taking action, we feel that this mode of activism, or the focusing on issues and trying to get those in power to respond to our concerns is useless. If we understand ourselves to be a we with shared conditions, then we can begin to act on our needs regardless of the laws or edicts of other classes.  

Build power.

          But what are the ways that we can act and organize that build power instead of give it away? How can we resist so that it prefigures the world we want to live in and meet our needs now instead of placing faith in politicians? Capitalism blocks access to things that all of us need based upon violence and centralizes resources in the hands of a ruling class. The current austerity measures attack the safety nets that seek to make this reality less brutal – in a sense, making the lack of access that we all have to food, clothes, shelter, health-care, and security even more deep.

First, we can begin to think about ways we can act that reverse this process, and open up access to resources we all need and return them to the neighborhoods and communities that use them. Or, we can shutdown and occupy the infrastructure of our enemies and make it work for us. Have they shut down a day-care center at your Junior College? Occupy it or another vacant building and have free day-care for all. Is a vacant lot sitting unused? Take it over and plant gardens. Takeover vacant houses and turn them into meeting centers or housing for those foreclosed on or evicted. The process of taking things out of the hands of those in power and liberating them back into the hands of the people for our own purposes has been called, “communization.” 

          Second, we must normalize collective confrontation with the state and its police when we are attacked. With the crisis comes increased repression. In countries like France, police murders are often met with nights of rioting, the looting of businesses, and clashes with police. We need to begin this practice as well. Furthermore, we can normalize other actions as well. When prices are raised on say, public transportation, we can collectively refuse to pay. We can also begin to loot en-mass, take over property, and begin the practice of meeting together to discuss our actions and how to proceed. We can promote walkouts, general strikes, sabotage, and occupations – actions which refuse to give anything to those in power. All of this comes along with a rejection of a belief in ‘democracy,’ or the working class giving the ruling class power, and instead puts faith in our own abilities and actions.

Occupation at Glen Cove.

          Third, we must generalize struggles and break down the barriers that divide us. As this piece is written, several large labor struggles are boiling in Southern California. Grocery workers at several major chains are on strike and nurses have also walked out. We need to expand these strikes from beyond these industries and push them into general strikes. If one neighborhood, community, or workplace takes up a struggle, we should show solidarity with it as much as possible. And by solidarity, we do not mean hitting the "like" button on facebook, we mean showing physical solidarity in ways that help that struggle. The recent indigenous occupation of Glen Cove in Vallejo, California has brought hundreds, if not thousands of people out to the over month long occupation. There, indigenous warriors have occupied the land to stop development of a sacred site. In times like these, these spaces act as a commune and a base of power in which rebels can come together to meet each other and discuss strategy; forming bonds and making plans.  

          The crisis will get worse next year – much worse. We will see continued battles in public education as well as more and more labor struggles. Everywhere we must seek to make the connections within the working class; immigrants, students, workers, the unemployed…We must resist those that want simply a new version of this system and push forward towards the world that we truly want to see.  

---

[i] http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/mar2000/cali-m07.shtml

[ii] http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/may2011/cali-m23.shtml

[iii] http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/may2011/high-m21.shtml

[iv] http://castateofemergency.com/

[v] http://www.ocregister.com/news/few-299792-occupation-capitol.html

[vi] http://sfist.com/2011/05/13/26_teachers_arrested_in_sacramento.php

[vii] http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/05/15/18679771.php

'Radical Mental Health Meetings' Address Problems at Grassroots

Stanislaus County Radical Mental Health is starting to organize weekly meetings for people looking to discuss mental health and depression issues in the Modesto area. The meetings are based off of the Icarus Project's framework. They describe themselves as such:

"The Icarus Project envisions a new culture and language that resonates with our actual experiences of 'mental illness' rather than trying to fit our lives into a conventional framework. We are a network of people living with experiences that are commonly labeled as bipolar or other psychiatric conditions. We believe we have mad gifts to be cultivated and taken care of, rather than diseases or disorders to be suppressed or eliminated. By joining together as individuals and as a community, the intertwined threads of madness and creativity can inspire hope and transformation in an oppressive and damaged world." 


Meetings Start Wednesday, May 18th, 12 Noon
800 Scenic Ave, 
In the Sunset Room/Bldg #4 Modesto, CA


For more info, check out SCRMH

Modesto Needle Exchange Case Ends: Interview with Volunteer

Modesto Needle Exchange banner.

In April of 2011, the ‘Mono Park 2;’ the two defendants given misdemeanor charges for their participation in the Modesto Needle Exchange had all charges against them dropped. Robert Stanford (current Mayoral hopeful), the man who set this legal battle in motion which cost tax-payers in Stanislaus County thousands of dollars, never got his wish to see the Mono Park 2 “go to jail.” With the DA dropping charges, this brought an end to a two year battle in which supporters demonstrated outside the courthouse, packed the courtrooms, distributed educational information, organized benefits, and also conducted needle clean-ups in various parks and neighborhoods. 

In the Spring of 2009, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department launched a sting operation against the Modesto Needle Exchange Program. The SCSD had been tipped off by Robert Stanford, a self-described “civil-rights” activist. In a letter to the District Attorney, Stanford stated that the needle exchange program was doing everything from simply giving needles away to giving them to young children. He also claimed that it was organized by the “terrorist group,” Modesto Anarcho. While before the sting Stanford was a vocal opponent of head Sheriff Adam Christianson, they both appeared together before the Board of Supervisors during the time of the sting claiming that they would end the needle exchange at Mono Park in order to clean out the “junkies and anarchists.” In the police report after the shut-down of the of the exchange, Sheriffs made note that copies of Modesto Anarcho were being distributed and that one of the volunteers was wearing a t-shirt with an anarchist symbol.

Supporters rally at court.

For politicians in waiting like Stanford, the case offered him a chance to tout something that he had done – gotten the needle-exchange shut down while he ran (and lost) his race for a council seat. For the police, the case represented a chance to legally go after community organizers and anti-authoritarians in the city that they saw as a threat.

However, while the politicians and police hoped that those arrested would plead out quickly and stop their community work, instead the Mono Park 2 continued organizing. In the end, it was the determination of the Mono Park 2 to fight the charges that forced the DA to drop them. This interview was conducted to document the true nature of the work that the needle exchange was doing in order to clean the streets of dirty needles and stop the spread of Hep C and HIV in our neighborhoods.

The Mono Park 2 are working class heroes. They are regular people who saw government inaction and indifference in the wake of a massive problem – and they took direct action. In doing so they faced repression, but they also discovered solidarity from hundreds who stood behind them. It also shows us the lengths in which the government and their police will go to stop grassroots efforts to fight and deal with drug addiction and disease in working-class and poor communities in the Central Valley. Let us remember that they stood up, and let us also remember who tried to make them fall.      

MA:     What is a needle exchange?

A needle exchange or NEP/SEP (Needle/Syringe Exchange Program) is a place where Intravenous (IV) drug users and diabetics can get free access to clean syringes in exchange for used (“dirty”) ones. That would include anything one could break down their product with. That includes water, a cooker (or spoon), a match or a lighter. Anything from prescription pills to street based narcotics like methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine/crack, ect…It’s also a place where one can get access to everything sterile, cobra’s/cookers (the little tin metal caps that looks similar to the twist off caps on 40 oz beer bottles and the cobra term is referred to a paper clip manipulated into the shape of a snake to hold the cooker for easy access to cook one’s product), tourniquets, sterile water containers, bleach bottles, cotton pellets or balls, condoms, sterile crack pipes and brillo pads for filters (aka “rose bud” glass containers like the ones you see in liquor stores with a fake rose stem in them), meth pipes (similar to rose bud stems), safe injection information on hepatitis, HIV, and safety pamphlets are usually what is supplied at needle exchanges. Sometimes wound care, hepatitis testing, and sex worker outreach is also available. Sometimes these exchanges take place at clinics, other times they are street based sites or mobile delivery services. Some are legal and some aren't. Each individual exchange does similar things, but each one is different in its creativity.

Mono Park aka 'Heroin Park.'

So the question would be: why do we supply all these materials? The answer is simple. People are going to use narcotics regardless of what we say. Poor folks with diabetes often can’t afford clean syringes and other materials. The concept here is to reduce the harm on the individual by sharing needles with others. The hepatitis C virus can live outside the body for up to 4 days. However, many experts think it usually survives up to 16 hours at room temperature. It’s transmitted by blood to blood contact and seldom through sex without condom. That explains contagious blood on a tourniquet, cotton ball, in or on a syringe, cooker, broken crack or meth pipe, or even someone’s shirt.  We provide sterile water because injecting tap water could lead to contamination. The bleach bottle is an old school method of reducing harm by drawing up bleach through used syringes before sharing. This has been proven NOT 100% effective in reducing disease spread, but some exchanges still give them out. No harm in having access to all safe precautions. A clean needle IS 100% proven effective though.

MA:     What is harm reduction?

One could say that Harm Reduction (HR) is an old idea but a new movement. Indigenous tribes all over the world have been experimenting with mind altering earth based plant species like marijuana, Iboga (Ibogaine), mushrooms, and peyote since the beginning of time. Even some American indigenous reservations still practice with psychotropics to get off other such drugs like methamphetamine and alcohol. Harm Reduction is a philosophy, a way to live one’s life, an effective alternative tool to the current disease model. Harm Reduction is strapping on a seat belt, not because it’s a law, but because it could help save one's ass from a possible accident. Collectively it means dealing with where one is at in the moment, rather than telling people where they need or should be. HR is a compassionate approach. Two things I very much embrace are HR and Autonomy. Individually and collectively speaking.

MA:     Why did people in Modesto decide to start a needle exchange program?

Dirty needles cleaned up by volunteers.

I got word that an above ground attempt to get an exchange running was in the works. It was soon after voted 4-0 by the Board of Supervisors against it. Overall I found it to be a poor effort put together by citizens, our public health department, and bureaucrats. I started getting some training and going to workshops on how to start a Needle Exchange Program (NEP). I started exchanging with two associates I knew that were IV users. I didn’t have a cell phone at the time and found it hard to navigate the exchange that way. So I decided to pick a location and started talking with street folks. They directed me to a park called Mono on Mono Dr. in the Airport District of Modesto. I checked it out and the day I went I witnessed a person drawing up water out of a puddle into their syringe to do their fix. This screamed PROBLEM! Support from all over donated materials for us to start the exchange. I made a banner and soon after the exchange started as a street based site at Mono Park.

The history of NEP’s in our country started by self-organized efforts regardless of laws. They date back to the times of early Food Not Bombs arrests (late ‘80’s-early 90’s). There have been plenty of arrests and court battles for doing so. This is nothing new, just new to Modesto. In the Central Valley area, Sacramento went through several NEP cases. It’s now been legalized in the city but not in some parts of Sacramento County. Fresno started in 1994. There were 2 arrests in 18 years of dedicated needle exchanging. Both times the cases were dropped. The pressure by people putting them selves on the line is what is the driving force behind public health policies to change. Much similar to folk’s opinion of the Oscar Grant riots in Oakland pushing those bureaucrats to hold the BART cop accountable for his murderous actions in killing Oscar. May not of been the result folks were looking for but you catch my drift. In other words, those Oakland rebellions forced the power structure to recognize the power the people hold.

MA:  What were some of the conditions in Modesto that the needle exchange sought to change or combat?

Banner dropped in solidarity.

The spread of Hepatitis C and HIV. The spread of any diseases for that matter. Modesto is an indeed hot spot on the map in our nation. It’s estimated somewhere roughly between 60-90% of IV users in Stanislaus County are Hep C. C infected. That’s above 50%. Again, this screams problem! I can't count how many users that came to the exchange telling me they were Hep C positive. One person was HIV and Hep C. positive. Needle Exchanges are proven scientifically that they reduce the spread of disease. It’s fact! The research and evidence is there. I also wanted to build a compassionate trust relationship with users too. To let users know they aren’t being ignored. This system has us reliant on the fact that we're dumb and not capable of taking care of each other unless there’s a law that says so, that insinuates I don’t have a conscious, that it’s not “professional enough”, that we need a doctors note, a bosses permission, the strict authoritarian guidelines were are all to familiar with. To also say enough is enough. We don’t need permission to help others. The fact that our city neglects to tackle this issue breeds violence in itself. They say were encouraging their drug use. We say, no, we were not. How the hell does a clean syringe encourage drug use? Syringes don’t get you high! It’s like the gun or the person with the gun argument.

MA:     What was the response from the surrounding community towards the needle exchange?

That was actually a complicated part in starting this exchange. Here I am coming onto their turf with clean needles. I imagined if I were in their shoes, that this might look a little odd or make them think it was a trap or that I had bad motives or something. Little did I know that right away I would be accepted? They gave me props. They told me it was about time. They said they were glad to see me, because a day earlier they just happened to look out their window and saw two men sharing a rig out in broad daylight in Mono Park. On the other hand you had cops driving by slowly to see what was going on. Over all though. I witnessed more positive than negative feedback.

MA:  What happened when the needle exchange was stopped by the Sheriff's Department?

Benefit event.

The day Modesto Needle Exchange was shut down, two undercover cops received clean syringes from us and about 15-20 minutes later unmarked sheriff cars rolled up on us. They set up a sting operation to have us shut down. We went through the general procedure one goes through. They took pictures of us, all the materials on the picnic table and confiscated 178 clean syringes and left us with the hundreds of dirty ones. The police report later verified it was all surveillance on video and the undercover sheriffs were “tapped” with an audio wire. Also, two “clients” of the exchange were stopped, detained, searched, and one was picked up on parole violation, assuming for possession of drug paraphernalia at this point. Supposedly an officer was propositioned for a narcotic at some point before the shut down. Evidently, nothing came out of that. They were obviously there to shut down the exchange and not get the “drug dealer."

MA:  Can you explain the involvement of the snitch in all of this?

Robert Stanford.

He’s not someone to trust, that’s for sure. For those reading this, his name is Robert Stanford and he works or has worked with anyone from law enforcement to the local chapter of our ACLU.  He’s plugged into every pseudo-liberal agenda that’s going on in the community. He can’t keep his nose out of anything. When one side of him you would see a general caring person that you could probably agree on many levels with, another minute he is ruining the lives of others that generally care too, doing honest direct service to the community regardless of laws or what legal term overrides simple compassion and conscious decision making. His slander and abuse has included him mostly blogging about us online. Anything from calling me/us a bunch of delinquent young skater punks, to lying about that no dirty needles were coming in, to saying we were giving out syringes to kids or under-agers. Lets make this clear again. A clean syringe doesn’t get one high. It’s what could possibly go in the syringe. People's “sweep it under the rug” mentalities will not stop the sharing of syringes. They will do it regardless. One has to come to where the person is at in their lives, rather then tell them what they should be doing. I can’t stop a user from using. I wasn’t there to counsel, I.D. people, or get into other personal detail. The mission of the Modesto Needle Exchange was simply to provide clean syringes so they wouldn’t share and regardless of how many go out at a time. Another complaint by “Blogger Bob” was that we were giving out 20 syringes for every 2 weeks. Fresno NEP gives out 21 a week. The estimated use by a User is 3 needles a day.

MA:  What has the result of the sting operation been on the needle exchange volunteers?

I can’t speak on behalf of my partner in the (post) case cause there are still some loopholes they have to go through in order to get their life back together... Let’s just say they were screwed over economically in every way imaginable. It’s been fucked up both mentally and emotionally for both of us. I had to leave my job as a care-provider for a client I had with cerebral palsy for more than 6 years because the stress became too unbearable as I new some form of punishment was hanging over my head and it wasn’t fair to me or him to continue working.

MA:  The Stan County Sheriffs Dept. has made a large deal about this being an ‘anarchist project.’ Why do you think this is?

The intention wasn’t at all to be an “anarchist or a non-anarchist project.” Sure, it had radical sway and tendencies. Things are usually defined as radical when one steps outside the box to take concern regardless of laws or reason for laws. It was a concern for local public health neglect in our community. What better way to get out there and do something about a situation when public health decides what they think public health should or is. It’s just easy to target it as an anarchist project. Especially when there is an anarchist presence in a small city like Modesto, too. I don’t need to tell any anarchist out there that historically they get this kind of treatment. At the same time though, what does one expect when the mainstream slant on anarchism or anarchy means 'blowing shit up.' Stanislaus County communities don’t really know what anarchism is or they get misguided ideas of what it means by big media outlets, the government, etc…

MA:  Some people have stated that the exchange was 'giving needle to children,' and 'simply giving needles away.' How would you respond to this?

It’s bullshit. Robert (the snitch) Stanford stated that on his online blog about us. My answer to that is simple. Sure, maybe there “could” have been questionable ages at the exchange. My duty and dedication didn’t include picture Idling people; at the same time, we weren’t encouraging kids to come to the exchange, nor did we encounter anyone who came out to the exchange that appeared to be under 18. We had a log sheet that asked everyone anonymously what age they were, how many needles were going out, coming in, if they were homeless or not, race, sex, and that was it. We weren’t there too make “clients” more nervous than they already were for being at the exchange (which was the case a lot of the time). For example: I had a women at the exchange approach me crying who told me that she was both Hepatitis C and HIV positive, and that she had just found that she was infected recently. All I could do was listen to her and show compassion, being that I was not someone that could help with her emotional issues and trauma from being infected.

MA: How have people supported you leading up to the trial? 

Needle exchange benefit.

We never went to trial. After nearly 2 years in court, countless court dates, the judge denying us medical reasoning for why we were doing the exchange, and approximatively a week before trial the DA (District Attorney) finally gave us a deal that wouldn’t involve any conviction on our records. We took a 6-hour drug diversion class that would open the doors for others. According to the latest in propositions this type of statewide diversion would help folks with similar charges avoid jail time. The class was amusing though. In the class there was even a prostitute and a guy busted for trying to pick up a prostitute. What does that have to do with drug diversion? Though we weren't pleased with being punished or labeled as "selling" or "giving" away drugs, at the same time, we were not martyrs for Needle Exchanges, but rather concerned with the neglect of the local public health departments duty. We know it doesn't take a genius to self-organize. Being that the bureaucrats have framed this whole case political, we were just doing conscious Public Health work. It doesn't take a "professional" to know there is a way to educate people the simple concept of the harms of sharing needles and the steps in preventing the spread of diseases. A statewide legalization on emergency impacted area's (including Stanislaus County being on that list) is closely approaching. We all might just get what were hoping for by the end of the year.

MA:  Anything you would like to say in closing? How can people contact you?

Get Harm Reduction and NEP training. Start a NEP in your area. Just be cautious of your surroundings if you’re doing it underground. Get hip to your county laws. Go mobile. Use your cell phone for exchanges. Do the above ground work, but don’t ignore the power in self-organizing your own exchange individually or collectively.

I wanna first and foremost thank my partner in this case for being down enough and being the Braveheart that they are to get involved. It was a crazy and bitter process but we both learned a lot from it. I wanna thank all of our supporters, local and abroad. All my friends that stood by us in court. The folks that donated funds. The Longhaul Infoshop in Berkeley, David with Bound Together Bookstore Collective in San Fran., Mary Howe with SF Needle Exchange, Celeste with Free Mind Media of Santa Rosa, Points of Distribution in Oakland, Rachel, Lynell, and all the folks with S.A.N.E., Modesto Anarcho, Bobby B. with Richmond Exchange, The Revolutionary Hip-Hop Report, Modesto Copwatch, Dallas and Ashley with Fresno Needle Exchange, the Oasis Clinic folks of Oakland, my sister and mentor Rachel Jackson, Patt Denning and Tara Klien at Harm Reduction Therapy Center in Oakland for emotional support, Hilary and staff (gone and present) at Harm Reduction Coalition, The Harm Reduction Institute for all the trainings, and anyone else I may have forgotten. It’s been a long two years.

In the words of Blackfire ~ “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over!”

Contact: stancountyrmh@gmail.com

Interesting Reads : In some countries, needle exchange programs have proven to be successful at reducing the harm caused by drug addiction. Still, drug addiction centers are very much needed to combat drug addiction itself.

Kari Abbey Arrested: Shows Network of Corruption, Drugs, and Illegal Evictions

Kari Abbey, murderer.

On Monday, Stanislaus County Sheriff Kari Abbey was arrested and put on $300,000 bail (which was then quickly paid) and charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. Abbey is charged with the murder of Rita Elias, a mother and resident of West-Side Modesto. Elias was murdered by Abbey in September of 2010 during an argument in which Abbey attempted to evict Elias from her property. Abbey's parents are landlords and according to documents released from the investigation, Kari along with other law enforcement officers have helped illegally evict people. Abbey is also charged with conducting this "family business" all while on the clock as a Sheriff. She was charged by the District Attorney's office after witnesses came forward about the shooting, although it appears that the Sheriff's Department has known of these witnesses and their testimony for a long time. According to the Modesto Bee:

In court documents, the Stanislaus County district attorney's office said Abbey abused tenants at her rental properties, used fellow deputies to serve eviction papers while they were on duty and conducted her business on county time. In addition, a March 30 search of the home and outbuildings she shared with her husband and father yielded a sophisticated marijuana growing system, several weapons, counterfeit bills, steroids and items from the Hayward Police Department. Abbey's husband, Bennie Taylor, worked for the Hayward police until last year. Investigators said Abbey and Taylor trespassed on properties they owned and managed, harassing and intimidating tenants, assaulting at least one of them.

One tenant called police after Taylor hit him, the affidavit said. Witnesses said the Modesto police officer who responded to the call seemed familiar with Abbey, hugging her and shaking Taylor's hand.

We live in a town where the Sheriff's Department has officers that are illegally evicting people as Modesto Police and the top cop brass back them up. Only until recently was Sheriff Adam Christianson calling the murder of Elias totally justified, even though he knew that witness testimony proved otherwise. It is only now, after all the dirty laundry has been cleared, that he and Mike Harden are back-pedaling in attempts to reassure the public that " this is not going to happen again." What's also clear is that both institutions back each-other up and act as a unit. When renters complained to the police about Abbey's treatment, police did nothing and made is extremely clear that Abbey was a friend. Lastly, through both the Modesto and Hayward police departments, Abbey had access to drugs, counterfeit money, steroids, and weapons. This finding comes hot on the heals of a Modesto Police officer Tony Trock getting caught taking drugs from evidence and Stockton Police officer Darrin Fagundes being caught in a steroid sting operation. Clearly, the charges leveled against Abbey are just scratching the surface, but we can begin to see the depth and widespread corruption and brutality which make up day-to-day life in the Modesto Police and Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department.

What we can begin to see is not a problem of 'bad-apples' but instead institutions which are completely corrupt and protected by a well-funded hierarchy and a blue-wall of silence. Just yesterday, Police Chief Harden and Sheriff Adam Christianson released a statement in the Modesto Bee stating that: 

As Chief and Sheriff, we are accountable to you, the people. We are committed to leading organizations that pride ourselves on service, sacrifice, honor, integrity and above all, honesty. We serve in open accessible roles, working tirelessly to build and strengthen your trust in us...[W]e are swift to take corrective action to protect your trust. We're responsible for the conduct, behavior and performance of those who work for us and we will hold those employees accountable when they commit misconduct.

Hail to the Chief?

Of course, none of this has ever happened, not now, not ever. The police are not accountable to the people; in no way, shape, or form. Police are accountable to their superiors, who are accountable to local politicians. The police are in fact protected by the "Police Bill of Rights," which prevents the public from finding out basic information on officers and protects police from investigations. If the police are accountable to the people then why haven't the people that murdered Fransisco Moran been held accountable? Have the guards that killed Craig Prescott or others within the Stanislaus County Jail been held accountable? Has Sheriff "Chip" Huskey been held accountable for raping and molesting his daughter? The Modesto Police for shooting Brian Reed? What about the police who use "beat and release" as a way of crowd control? Of course not. For the police, all of this murder, cover-ups, and corruption are justified because they're holding all the guns.

The words of Christianson and Harden slide out into the air like the tongues of snakes. They are worthless attempts at pacifying a population that more and more is waking up to the reality of what the police in our area really are and our need to confront the violence and corruption that they represent.

We cannot put our "faith" in stopping police terror in the hands of the police themselves, time and time again they've done nothing and they will continue to do nothing but pile up more dead bodies. Furthermore, we cannot put our faith in "investigations" by outside lawyers to bring change to organizations which funnel our tax-dollars into their pockets to buy a stamp of accreditation. The only way to change the police is to confront and destroy the power that they hold. On the streets, in our communities, and over all our lives. 

Students Occupy CSU Sacramento

CSU Sacto Students occupy.

One story that we missed last month was the occupation that took place at CSU Sacramento. According to Occupy California:

Students and faculty at around 4 California State University campuses held sit-ins today in administration buildings. Sit-ins and marches to administrative offices took place at: CSU Fresno,Monterey, Sacramento, East Bay, Long Beach, Pomona, Northridge,San Francisco State University, and San Jose State University. Rallies, marches and teach-ins were scheduled at all 23 CSU campuses today as a part of a day of action. AP estimates more than 10,000 participated.

...[A]round 1000 students and faculty at CSU Sacramento marched from the library quad to an administrative building to deliver a set of petitions, and around 100 demonstrators staged a sit-in demanding the resignation of the CSU Chancellor.

Students begin occupation.

According to the CSU Sacramento Occupation blog:

The CSU system is failing, plain and simple. Chancellor Reed and the Board of Trustees continue to raise tuition (a rumored 18% increase for next Fall), cut classes, and increase class size. Tuition has been increasing unpredictably since 2002, and by cutting classes students have to postpone graduation, and by increasing class size they are decreasing the quality of our education. We, as students, are tired of it!! 

Riot police inside CSUS.

On April 13 students in the CSU system showed our administration that we are fed up with ‘business as usual’. Every CSU campus had a demonstration of some kind, be it a rally, march, or sit-in. At California State University, Sacramento we had a walk out at 12:20pm and a rally at 12:30pm. We had 1,500 students show up at the rally and voice their dissatisfaction with our administration. Those 1,500 students then marched as one to our administration building, Sacramento Hall, and occupy it.

Sac students face legal battle.

Students demanded that there be a freeze on managerial raises and began talks with the President of the CSU. However, after a few days those in power called out their trusty friends, the police, and soon the occupiers were facing down an army of riot police. Students were faced with arrest and soon were led out of the building. Currently, four students are facing charges from their involvement with the occupation. View the flyer here. We stand in solidarity with those arrested and commend the students brave enough to occupy their campus, however we hope that they have learned that those in power, (like the CSUS President) cannot be 'on their side.' Their job is to implement austerity, not fight it. Our class interests are completely different and in the end, those in power control and direct the police, not us. As the struggle against austerity boils over into a battle against capital itself, hopefully those in Sacramento can use the skills they have learned in the struggles to come.