A Few Words About the CLASH Collective
We are activists, involved in many struggles within the Hartford area. Week in and week out, we sit in meetings with people who genuinely care about what's going on in the world, here and abroad. But whether we're against the war, government repression, or discrimination, we can't help but think that what we've been doing is simply not working. We're not so naive to think that we can stop the war tomorrow just by doing something differently, but surely, another protest in DC or New York isn't going to bring it to an end any sooner.
We believe that the movements for peace and justice are stagnating in the boring old pool of activism, and that we have everything to gain by jumping into the global stream of resistance that has brought down regimes, summits and foreign occupations without seizing power, without becoming corrupt and stale, and instead by creating the world we want tomorrow in the now in our daily lives, rather than waiting for somebody or something to give us the go-ahead.
In our bi-weekly zine, we'll bring news, opinions and updates straight from the frontlines of the global and local struggles that make up the movement that is changing the world without taking power.
What we do: Education Spreading our ideas and keeping an open dialogue with others through distribution of publications, pamphlets, and creating other forums for resistance. Organization Organizing around issues, involving ourselves with various struggles and helping to build other radical organizations and campaigns to deal with local and global problems. Action Holding protests, action trainings, and coordinating and taking part in creative, innovative forms of action. Peoples' Global Action Hallmarks On March 16th, we consensed to endorse the PGA (http://agp.org) Hallmarks:
1. A very clear rejection of capitalism, imperialism and feudalism; all trade agreements, institutions and governments that promote destructive globalisation.
2. We reject all forms and systems of domination and discrimination including, but not limited to, patriarchy, racism and religious fundamentalism of all creeds. We embrace the full dignity of all human beings.
3. A confrontational attitude, since we do not think that lobbying can have a major impact in such biased and undemocratic organisations, in which transnational capital is the only real policy-maker;
4. A call to direct action and civil disobedience, support for social movements' struggles, advocating forms of resistance which maximize respect for life and oppressed peoples' rights, as well as the construction of local alternatives to global capitalism.
5. An organisational philosophy based on decentralisation and autonomy.
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