In this thought-provoking discussion, the complexities of violence and resistance within antifascism take center stage. The hosts tackle the tough conversations surrounding non-violent versus armed responses, exploring how moral considerations often clash with strategic needs. They also examine the role of independent media amidst rising tensions and discuss the impact of spiritual bypassing on socio-political engagement. With references to historical movements and current events, the dialogue encourages listeners to reflect on their stances in the fight against fascism.
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Viral Nazi Punching Video
Matthew Remskoy shares an Instagram comedian's viral video.
The video humorously alludes to taboo thoughts about confronting Nazis, sparking widespread relatability.
insights INSIGHT
Taboo Questions of Violence
The comedian's video highlights society's discomfort discussing violence in self-defense and justice.
Matthew Remskoy discusses the questions raised by the video about how far one should go.
insights INSIGHT
Civility as Appeasement
Matthew Remskoy criticizes the pressure to maintain civility amidst injustice.
He cites examples like Therese Borenfall's removal from a town hall and Democrats' muted response to Trump's fascist speech.
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In 'At the Mind's Limits', Jean Améry shares his profound struggle to comprehend the horrors he faced during the Holocaust. Through five autobiographical essays, he delves into themes such as torture, identity, and the impossibility of being a Jew under Nazi rule. Améry's work is a powerful exploration of the psychological and moral impacts of extreme trauma.
Street Rebellion
Resistance Beyond Violence and Nonviolence
Benjamin S. Case
Street Rebellion argues that strategic nonviolence theory is misguided, using global protest data and interviews with rioters to advance the conversation on resistance. The book bridges academia and activism, offering a nuanced understanding of liberation struggles. It challenges the mainstream notion that riots are counterproductive, instead highlighting their contextual utility in social movements.
How to Blow up a Pipeline
Andreas Malm
First of Matthew's two-part examination of why the hell questions of force, non-violent resistance with and without force, unarmed violence and property damage, and armed violence are so incredibly hard to talk about in a culture thick with spiritual and political bypassing. Are we capable of understanding the difference between morality and strategy?
Part 1 focuses on philosophy and psychology while Part 2 focuses on definitions and tactics. Together, both parts will push back on conspiracism about the identities, motives, and methods of antifascists. Both will present slices of the rich discourse on violence and non-violence from antifascist history, including clarifying definitions of key terms. Both will open a space to think carefully about what intensities of self and community defense are both useful and tolerable in the fight against fascism.
Part 2 gets into the very thick weeds of how the “strategic nonviolence” research of Gene Sharp, Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan is framed as empirical, but may be way more about idealizing Gandhi than about facts on the ground. Drops Monday on Patreon.
Conspirituality 
