This is huge news. The commune continues to exist, and Minneapolis continues to be radical over a year in. I think that there is real left wing experience emerging from Minneapolis, and it will allow us to become more powerful.
How is it that I haven’t even heard of this until now?
Was there an “American Spring” of CHAZ-style neighborhood takeovers all across the US that got censored or something?
Even the local paper, the Star Tribune, has only reported on George Floyd Square to say that the Mayor is planning to clear it out, always with quotes from the poor little local small business owners who are losing customers because no one walks.
The Star Tribune is owned by Glen Taylor, billionaire ghoul who owns the local sports teams (except the Vikings for now, must be out of his price range). Right wing paper only covering things like this if they have to. I remember the struggle to get them to cover anything related to Line 3.
There totally was, and it got censored and destroyed for obvious reasons. Remember, the capitalist establishment wants you to think that better things aren’t possible. There was one in my community that never got press, too.
Mine was only in my neighborhood, but never got any press at all. (I’m also not doxxing myself). There were several around the country, including Richmond, VA, Philly, NYC, Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis, Olympia, and Bellingham. These varied from full autonomous zones to occupied areas with demands. They all got press, but I’m certain there were many, many more.
there is a new 20 minute documentary about the one that happened in Atlanta: https://crimethinc.com/2021/05/19/we-are-now-the-story-of-an-armed-no-cop-zone-in-atlanta-a-documentary-film
Lol not in the least. Business owners have been complaining about it, and suburbanites have been complaining about it. Also city proxies like the Agape “Movement.” In general those actually living there and those living nearby support it.
These squares must be upheld, cringe as they are. We need to improve them and build them up. It’s like imperfect ML states but in smaller forms. DO NOT LET THEM BE DESTROYED. Criticize them, sure, but don’t give up our territory.
It is probably:
- Unstable. It is a commune, and that will bring in violence from everywhere. Reactionaries are drawn in to the square to cause chaos.
- Not particularly well organized. It’s obviously the best organized one because it’s still here, but these communes can be very chaotic and because of outside influence make the leaders very paranoid (see point #1)
Thus, leading to backlash from the local community. I think we should look and see how this managed to still stay so organized a year later. Remember Parentimix? Well, these communes are a smaller version of this.
The Non-Profit Industrial Complex effectively lures people, including BIPOC folks who are potential rebels, into salaried jobs that offer individual material security at the expense of the risks of pursuing collective liberation.
I hope this one doesn’t end up as a shitshow like chaz.
