Massive storms and cold fronts have knocked out power for millions of people across the US
and led to the deaths of almost 25 individuals. One of the hardest hit
regions has been the state of so-called Texas, where failing electrical
infrastructure has resulted in many people being stuck without power for
over 24 hours. The collapse of the electrical grid has also caused many
people’s pipes to freeze and burst and some water treatment plants have
also begun to fail; with city governments issuing “boil water notices” in order to “ensure destruction of any harmful bacteria” as water treatment infrastructure comes back online.
Poor, working-class and houseless people have been hit the hardest by
the storms and so-called local leaders have made it clear just how they
feel about their constituents caught between sudden death and ice-cold disaster:
But
when Colorado City’s [of Texas] mayor chimed in, it was to deliver a
less-than-comforting message: The local government had no responsibility
to help out its citizens, and only the tough would survive.
“No one owes you or your family anything,” Tim Boyd wrote on Tuesday in a now-deleted Facebook post, according to KTXS and KTAB. “I’m sick and tired of people looking for a damn handout!”
Boyd
suggested that residents without electricity should simply “step up and
come up with a game plan.” Those without running water could either
deal with it, or “think outside of the box to survive and supply water
to your family.” He did not offer any further guidance, such as where
safe drinking water or reliable electricity could be found. “Only the
strong will survive and the [weak] will perish,” he wrote.
“Folks, God [h]as given us the tools to support
ourselves in times like this,” he wrote, claiming that those who
expected the city to come to their aid were “sadly a product of a
socialist government.”
As millions huddle in the dark, autonomous mutual aid groups are
mobilizing in cities across Texas and beyond. Check out their
initiatives below and see how you can plug-in and help.
this is by no means complete, but given how things are developing just now almost everywhere I thought I’d share a collection of practical n theoretical zines and newspapers from the UK underground anarchist press during similar struggles at the end of the last century
INSURRECTION MAGAZINE - an anarchist magazine from the 80s edited by Jean Weir which introduced the ideas of the insurrectionists in Greece and Italy to the UK
The ANGRY BRIGADE DOCUMENTS & CHRONOLOGY - Shows
some extent of the armed struggle that was carried out in Britain in
the late sixties and early seventies, reproposing the validity of armed
attack against capital in all its forms.
Tame Words From a Wild Heart - a collection of essays by Jean Weir (not actually from last century at all, from 2016 but a good one to read if you’ve enjoyed what’s above)
