Raggedy Anarchy’s Guide to Vegan Baking and the Universe (1989? Carmichael, CA)

Consumer culture is rampant in its appropriation and assimilation of radical ideas, taking things that were once revolutionary (including the word “revolutionary” itself!) and turning them into products to be purchased or new forms of advertising. DIY Skater culture became a vehicle for hocking Mountain Dew, Tylenol, and Nike shoes, hardcore music influenced the crappy, commercial “now I’m singing, now I’m yelling” garbage heard on the radio today, and in a world where sorority girls have knuckle tattoos and think Discharge is a clothing brand, can punk still be a threat? These subcultures may have never truly threatened the system, but at one time they provided a safe space from it, and in that space some truly liberatory ideas flourished.

If you have grown up in a world where vegan cookies are sold at supermarkets and every animal free product imaginable can be bought on the internet, veganism might just seem to be one more compartment in the consumerist toolbox. But there was a time when this wasn’t so. In the early days of veganism you had to be seditious to even consider such a thing. It was unheard of, and given cultural resistance to the changing of food choices, it was also rebellious. While many health oriented and religious groups had advocated an animal free diet, animal rights oriented veganism was uncharted territory. (And at times unwelcome in the animal rights community! Many New Zealand anti-vivisection societies ran newsletter articles in the late 70′s and early 80′s warning of possible “infiltration” efforts by vegans!) On it’s path to mainstream acceptance, the first pioneering steps were taken by very often by punks, hardcore kids, and others existing on the fringes.

Because being a vegan was such a new concept at the time, people simply did not know how to do it. Recipes and helpful hints began spreading through album liner notes, self published cook-zines, and the network of all ages venues that began springing up in the late 1970s. Making veganism accessible to the young and poor brought animal rights into communities that were already resistant to cultural norms, and soon animal liberation joined the roster of causes tattooed on the hearts of misfits everywhere. Diets were changed, but more importantly, action was taken. For proof we present Raggedy Anarchy, an amazing cook-zine that was hugely influential on the likes of Isa Moskowitz and others, written by a young punk and hunt saboteur from California.

Raggedy Anarchy will help you make delicious cakes, but it will also spark your desire to subvert the omnicidal paradigm! Sometimes funny, sometimes introspective, and always inspiring, we post this classic in the hopes of making Snacktivism a threat again and convincing our readers to “bake for themselves what tomorrow never brings!”

Tags: 1980s, Anarchism, Earth First!, Hunt Sabotage, Intersectionality, Situationist, Snacktivism

In Defense of Animals spring 1990 (Mill Valley, CA)

A few years ago when SHAC 7 defendant Jake Conroy was being released from prison he was trying to set up a job in the outside world, not always an easy thing for a felon to accomplish. Luckily, some old friends knew the folks at In Defense of Animals, once one of the largest animal rights groups in the country. They were initially interested in hiring Jake, but after one staff member, Hope Purplehorse, heard about his possible employment soon a campaign was started within the office focused around rhetoric of “violence” and “terrorism” that almost could have come from an animal abuse industry handbook. The job offer was rescinded and Jake, a dedicated and brilliant activist with more than 15 years of experience, had to find work elsewhere.

If you are new to the animal liberation movement this won’t surprise you. National organizations almost seem to trip over their own feet these days to prove to our opposition and an apathetic public how reasonable and “mainstream” they are. This wasn’t always the case though. In Defense of Animals, for example, was founded after it’s president, a veterinarian by the name of Elliot Katz, sat down to dinner with Jonathan Paul and Cres Velluci, both of whom have served time for animal liberation activity. They recommended that he start an organization along the lines of Last Chance for Animals in Los Angeles, and Katz agreed. In the early days of IDA the group participated heavily in civil disobedience actions and organized mass demonstrations where disruptions and building takeovers were often par for the course. Later into the 90s they gave money to groups that utilized aggressive pressure tactics, such as Animal Rights Direct Action Coalition and Coalition to Free the Langur Monkeys, and also sponsored media stunts like the banner hangs at UC Berkeley carried out by Josh Trenter and Mike Kennedy.

The early energy of the group strengthened the movement, increased excitement among In Defense of Animals membership, and produced excellent results for non-humans. IDA was far from unique- in their early years PETA, Fund for Animals, Trans-Species Unlimited, Last Chance for Animals, and many others shared a similar radicalism, some even going so far as to openly support lab break ins and property damage. Unfortunately, as some underground groups carried out actions that were altogether unsupportable, and industry groups got more savvy, a wedge was driven between direct action oriented individuals and national organizations.

Conflict Gypsy would like to explore the history and process of national organizations withdrawing their support from radicalism and it’s consequences for the movement and the animals. We are seeking early issues of PeTA’s Animal Times, In Defense of Animals newletters, and similar publications for an upcoming series of posts. If you have these publications please contact us at conflictgypsy(at)gmail(dot)com

Tags: Civil Disobedience, Cres Velluci, In Defense of Animals, Jonathan Paul

Why You Gotta Bring Up Old Shit?

Yesterday Humane Watch, an industry AstroTurf front monitoring HSUS, posted a piece linking to our archive of Do Not Consider Yourself Free. In their typically comical fashion the group attempts to tie Pat Kwan, the Humane Society’s New York director, to “terrorism” based on his work with Animal Defense League New York and an old arrest in Massachusetts. Not mentioned in the article is the fact that Kwan was not convicted in the Mass case, that his activism with ADL NYC took place in his early teenage years, or that the change of heart he had with his later activism was criticized by the very radicals that Humane Watch attempts to tie him to. Similar obfuscations are peppered throughout the blog, but such behavior can be expected of people who publicly defend un-anesthetized castration, intensive confinement, debeaking, and other acts of brutality against non-humans.

Because this article made the rounds on social media and stirred up a fair amount of commentary the staff of Conflict Gypsy would like to respond to some of the points raised by our friends in the movement.

First, some readers of the article were upset that Conflict Gypsy makes such material available to begin with, others have asked that we remove it. For the record, Conflict Gypsy will never omit a piece of our movement’s history from it’s archives. The changing path taken by some activists is an important part of our struggle, and it can inform current and future tactical choices. While a person may not remain forever proud of the politics of their youth you cannot remake the past by simply erasing old articles. A better path would be to explain the reasons you altered your course, and if anything the Humane Watch article gives apologetic ex-militants the perfect opportunity to do so. Our opponents will call those explanations insincere, but they will call you whatever they are paid to regardless of the truth.

Second, a few people mocked what they saw as the “selling out” of 90s era grassroots radicals who now work for groups like PETA and HSUS. Those of us who have been around for a while have seen the departure of hundreds and hundreds of once staunchly aggressive activists who now do nothing at all for non-humans. That is selling out. Our friends who carry on the fight, even when we don’t see eye to eye on tactics, should be admired for their longevity instead of harangued for thinking differently. The staff of Conflict Gypsy believe that there is a need for underground, illegal strategies in furtherance of animal liberation, but we are not a cult. Our strength lies in a diversity of thought, action and scale, not in the lockstep marching of cloned henchmen. We find it regrettable that some good activists now disapprove of groups like the Animal Liberation Front, but we love our comrades regardless and recognize them as dedicated allies in this struggle.

Our cause is already weakened by deep factionalism, to let groups like Humane Watch drive further wedges between us is counter productive to the goal that we all share regardless of group affiliation or tactical preference: an end to domination of all life on earth by a single species. Reaching that goal will require a broadening of our coalitions and a minimizing of internal conflict.

Tags: Animal Defense League, HSUS, Miyun Park, Pat Kwan, Paul Shapiro

Animal Liberation: The Movie (1992, England)

An early and wonderful example of DIY video production and anonymous distribution, Animal Liberation: The Movie was brought to the US by Freeman Wicklund in the early 90s. Often sold on the same tape as the moving Kieth Mann documentary “Angels of Mercy,” it quickly became a must have in the video collection of activists everywhere.

Documenting the high-water mark of daylight raids, department store arson, hunt sabotage, and undercover investigations in England, this sub-rosa video remains one of the best catalogs of direct action in the 80s and early 90s.

Tags: 1980s, 1990s, Animal Liberation Front, Animal Liberation Investigation Unit, Animal Liberation Leagues, Boots campaign, Department Store Incendiary Campaign, Dingles Arson, England, Freeman Wicklund, Oxford Farm Cat Raids, Park Farm Raids, Scandalously Revealing Masks!, Video

In memory of Jill Phipps.

On February 1st of 1995 our movement lost one of it’s shining lights to the tires of a truck transporting baby cows to slaughter. Jill Phipps, a former member of the Eastern Animal Liberation League, was trying to block the road to prevent the murder of those young calves when the driver chose to run her over.

Across the world people were outraged, and even mainstream publications in England ran articles with headlines proclaiming Jill a martyr- but to think of her in that light is an over simplification. Jill was the smiling face at street stalls who introduced many people to the concept of animals rights, a second generation militant in a family of deeply committed liberationists, a participant in raids that caused economic damage to those who harmed non-humans, and a mother who stood trial for ALF activity while she was still pregnant. By all accounts she was a sincere, friendly, and inspiring person whose willingness to sacrifice for the oppressed knew no bounds. If we are ever to bring about Jill’s dream of a world free from speciesism we must all aspire to emulate her level of commitment, passion, and caring.

Every year on the first day of February animal rights activists all over the world remember Jill, but remembering is not enough. A faithful tribute to our fallen comrade requires action, and we ask that our readers dedicate their activism and resistance this month to Jill Phipps.

Tags: Jill Phipps

Do or Die #7 (1998, Brighton, England.)

The genesis of Conflict Gypsy came from our founder’s desire to collect and preserve a complete set of Do or Die, the classic British Earth First! publication. While we still have not found copies of issues 1-4, our posting of these book sized epics continues with issue #7.

Do or Die was always reasonably free of the acritical cheer leading of it’s many American counterparts, and this issue manages an honest examination of the limitations and capabilities of direct action campaigns from Poland to Brazil to Mexico. As always, there is a bittersweet mixture of inspiration and despair while reading about the clashes between the oppressed and the powers of the state and industry, but there are enough victories contained in this volume that elation prevails! You will cheer as the black bloc escapes arrests in Derbyshire by switching into hippie clothing and shouting “no violence” as the police roll in (An activist in England nearly pissed themselves telling me that story one night!) and as wild boars recruit domesticated pigs for non-human resistance to domestication. The power of villagers in India to stop dams lessens the pain of reading about the paramilitary massacres of people in Acteal, and other articles will have you thinking deeply about our movements DIY media efforts, prison support, and coalitions with labor groups. All in all, another must read from one of the most exciting periods of resistance in the 20th century.

Tags: 1990s, A320 Campaign, Acteal murders, Anti-Roads, British Police State, Crucial, Derbyshire Daylight Sabotage, DIY Media, Earth First!, Enviro-Labor Coalitions, Farmaggedon Campaign, GANDALF Trial, Global Warming, International Actions, Movimento sen Terra, Newbury Campaign, No Opencast, Non-Human Direct Action, Philosophy of Direct Action, Prison Support, Reclaim the Streets, Sexism in the Movement, Swampy, Undercurrents, Woodland Awareness and Network of Defense, World Wildlife Fund Displacement of Idigenous Peoples, Zapatistas

Spirit of Freedom: The Newsletter of the North American Earth Liberation Prisoner Support Network (Dec 2000 through Spring 2002, Eugene, OR)

As the boom of environmentally motivated arson and sabotage accelerated at the turn of the century it quickly became clear that the government, on behalf of their corporate sponsors, had a crackdown in the works. Unable to catch those responsible, the heat was turned up on support networks, spokespeople, and peripheral figures in the anarchist and radical wilderness defense communities. Grand jury subpoenas, congressional hearings, and new legislative efforts at repression seemed constant. British activists, having long dealt with similar threats, began urging radicals in the US to start a support network for the inevitable arrests and imprisonment of eco-warriors.

Working closely with Noel Molland (AKA Rabbix, publisher of R@T and Eco-Vegan) a young anarchist and former member of ADL New York named Daniel McGowan helped found The North American Earth Liberation Prisoners Support Network. Their publication, Spirit of Freedom, soon became one of many excellent prisoner support zines coming out of the Northwest. Covering all aspects of the movement and lending solidarity to a wide variety of struggles, Spirit of Freedom was a consistent source of revolutionary news and crucial support for our jailed comrades.

As the decade progressed Daniel found himself needing the very type of support offered by the NAELPSN. Arrested during the “Green Scare” (Ironically, a term Daniel coined on an early cover of Spirit of Freedom) Daniel is now serving a 7 year sentence in a Communications Management Unit in Indiana. Please visit his support site at www.http://www.supportdaniel.org/ for more information.

Tags: 2000s, Allison Lance, Andy Stepanian, Animal Liberation Front, Coalition to Save the Preserves, Connor Cash, Craig "Critter" Marshall, Craig Rosebraugh, Crucial, Daniel McGowan, Dave Blenkinsop, Earth Liberation Front, Earth Liberation Prisoners Support Network, Elaho Valley Campaign, Frank Ambrose (Snitch), George Mashkow III (snitch), Helen Woodson, Jeff Luers, Jeremiah Rush Bowen, Jose Bove, Josh Harper, Justin Samuel (snitch), Marco Camenish, Mark Sands, Matt Whyte, PATRIOT Act, Peter Schnell, Peter Young, Prison Support, Rob "Los Ricos" Thaxton, Standing Deer, Use of RICO

Things We Are Not Allowed To Show You, Part 1 (Various Dates And Locations)

Since it’s very inception the United States has fought hard to take away, or manage into pointlessness, the rights “guaranteed” in the constitution and bill of rights. For proof one needs look no further than the first amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” A thinking person could instantly rattle off any number of laws (and extra-legal government activity) that make nonsense of these words, particularly as they apply to free speech, the press, and the right of people to peaceably assemble!

Take for example 18 U.S.C. 842(p), the federal law concerning the distribution of texts involving explosives. Advocacy of armed action and violent revolution, even when intended to incite (but not likely to do so) is allegedly protected by the first amendment, but this law makes certain texts and websites illegal if the material therein is provided with knowledge or intent that the information will be used to commit a federal crime. Sounds reasonable right? Well, first one must consider the idea of intent, how it is proven, and how a person’s politics might be used to prejudice a jury against them. Second, one must consider that the Patriot Act provides considerable sentencing modifiers to any activity the government deems to be terrorism- even speech. The threat of twenty or more years behind bars could sway someone to self-censor (or plea to a lesser charge, even when they are innocent) when their “intent” could easily be misrepresented by a prosecutor.

Conflict Gypsy exists to archive rare and relevant publications of interest to militant animal and earth liberationists. Controversy is integral to the texts and images that we preserve and discuss, and in an ideal world we would be able to share all of the materials available to us. But, as it stands, we do have to worry about the dozens and dozens of state and federal laws that restrict free expression and sharing of ideas. Here is a small sampling of some of the covers of various publications that have at one time or another been distributed in radical non-human protection movements. We wish that we could share them in full and apologize to our readers that we do not live in a country where such liberty is afforded us.

Tags: Armed Struggle, Guerrilla Warfare, Primer/How-To, Violence Debate

Arkangel #4,5,7 (1990-1991. London, England)

Our posting of the complete Arkangel continues into the 90s with issues 4, 5, and 7. The omission of issue 6 is not an oversight- it was never printed. Arkangel was founded by Ronnie Lee, who was serving a 10 year sentence during the magazines early years, and edited by Vivien Smith, who found herself in a jail cell by the time issue #6 was scheduled for release. Sensing the possibility of shutting down this crucial publication, law enforcement in England ransacked the Arkangel office just before the layout of issue #6. It was lost to the ages, and with Vivien facing serious charges a new team of interim editors anonymously produced Arkangel #7, causing a slight decline in the publication’s overall quality.

The history covered by these three issues is tremendous. The death of Mike Hill, Animal Aid’s disastrous labeling of direct action as “terrorism,” and the return of the ALF Press Office are all reported upon, along with updates from groups around the world. Amidst the columns reporting on the actual work of activists though is a disturbing amount of debate, much of it centered on whether animal rights groups should allow participation by racists, nationalists, and separatists. The back and forth articles from one issue to the next mostly fail to recognize the most offensive nature of the argument – that there should even be an argument! It boggles the mind that anyone could see a benefit to taking on the baggage of these far right lunatics and their disgusting politics. During a decade where skinhead violence claimed the lives and dignity of so many it is particularly disheartening that some in our movement saw fit to offer these thugs a place at our table.

Tags: 1990s, Abortion Argument, Animal Aid Anti-Terror Pledge, Animal Liberation Front, Animal Welfare Exposed, Crucial, Diary of Actions, Hunt Sabotage, Hunt Saboteurs Association, International Coverage, Intersectionality, Jamie Hepburn, Mike Hill, Nancy Phipps, Nationalist/Fascist/Separtist Political Entryism, News Clippings, Philosophy of Direct Action, Racism/White Privilege, Richard E. King, Robin Lane, Robin Webb, Ronnie Lee, Sea Shepherd, Simon Russell, Sue Merrikin, Violence Debate

Underground #17 (The rare ACTUAL final issue!) (2002, WIllowdale, ONT, Canada.)

Several months ago we posted Underground #16 along with the all caps tagline, “THE RARE FINAL ISSUE!” Boy, is our face red. The final issue of Underground is actually issue 17.

Much of what was said in our post about issue 16 is also true of 17- the news was late, the supporters groups was constantly dealing with the problems of rotating volunteers, and as print media was being challenged by the internet, Underground also seemed to be declining in quality. The final issue did contain some important bits of forgotten history though, like the joint resignation letter from ELF press officers Craig Rosebraugh and Leslie James Pickering, or the tiny article about Belgian animal liberation super-arsonist Geert Waegemans additional charges. There is also a wonderful transcription of Mirha-Soleil Ross’ radio interview with Rod Coronado, former ALF Press Officer (and current snitch apologist) David Barbarash’s 2001 Year End Direct Action Report, and a reprinting of the ever popular “Staying Free By Shutting the Fuck Up!”

Tags: 2001 Direct Action Report, Andy Stepanian, Animal Liberation Front, Animal Liberation Front Supporters Group Canada (Toronto), Barry Horne, Canada, Connor Cash, Craig Rosebraugh, Diary of Actions, Earth Liberation Front, Geert Waegemans, Harold Thompson, Jeff Luers, Leslie James Pickering, Matt Whyte, Mirha-Soleil Ross, Newchurch Campaign, Peter Schnell, Rod Coronado, Security Culture, SHAC Campaign