Capitalism, it's what's for breakfast! Let them eat genocide? Idk...It's all so sick. Our rulers clearly care only for profits. Human life? Human suffering? Education? Healthcare? Housing? Childcare? The right to exist? None of it matters one iota...Unless it can be monetized and turned into profits. ...But, as Joe Hill (who was murdered by the state on this day in 1915) famously said on the eve of his execution: Don't mourn, Organize! #workingclass #LaborHistory #war #imperialism #classwar #organize #joehill #banksy #capitalism #exploitation #genocide

Today in Labor History November 17, 1983: The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (AKA: EZLN, Zapatistas) was founded in Mexico by former members of the National Liberation Forces (FLN), allied with indigenous leaders from Chiapas. However, the indigenous Chiapans did not go for the Marxist-Leninist vanguardist approach of the FLN, leading to a more libertarian-socialist orientation for the EZLN. The Zapatistas, named after revolutionary indigenous leader, Emiliano Zapata, have been at war with the Mexican government since 1994. However, in recent years they have avoided military conflict, focusing, instead, on local and international organizing for indigenous rights. They continue to control large amounts of territory in the southern state of Chiapas. #workingclass #LaborHistory #zapatistas #zapata #chiapas #indigenous #mexico #socialism #anarchism #marxism

Today in Labor History November 12, 1991: The Indonesian Army opened fire on a crowd of student protesters in Dili, East Timor, killing over 250 people in the Santa Cruz massacre. Many foreign journalists witnessed the massacre, including journalists Amy Goodman (Democracy Now) and Allan Nairn, who were badly beaten, as they attempted to serve as human shields to defend the Timorese from attack. British cameraman Max Stahl filmed the massacre and smuggled it into Australia. The footage was used in the documentary: In Cold Blood: The Massacre of East Timor (1992). Stahl's footage, and the testimony of Nairn and Goodman, caused outrage around the world and led to mass organizing to support the Timorese independence movement. Between 1975 and 1999, the Indonesian military slaughtered up to 300,000 East Timorese, in a genocide that wiped out as much as 44% of the total population. #workingclass #LaborHistory #genocide #massacre #EastTimor #indonesia #journalism #dili

Today in Labor History November 11, 1919: Armed "patriots" from the American Legion attacked and destroyed the IWW labor hall in Centralia, Washington, killing five. They then kidnapped, tortured, castrated and lynched Wesley Everest, a WWI veteran and an IWW organizer. No one was ever prosecuted for Everest’s murder, but 6 Wobblies (IWW members) were convicted of killing an American Legion and spent the next 15 years in prison, as a result. #workingclass #LaborHistory #IWW #union #wwi #antiwar #lynching #murder #prison #washington

I should point out that 28 years ago, when I completed my teacher training program, there was a teacher shortage and the federal government was forgiving student loans if you took a job in an inner city school, or taught STEM or Special Ed, the areas with largest teacher shortages. I ended up not having to pay a penny of my student loans back. Today, the teacher shortage is far worse and they're offering nothing in debt relief to new teachers. #acab #teacher #workingclass

Today in Labor History November 10, 1995: The Nigerian government executed playwright and environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, along with eight other members of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Mosop). Saro-Wiwa led a nonviolent movement protesting the despoiling of Ogoniland by Royal Dutch Shell. Beverly Naidoo’s 2000 novel, “The Other Side of Truth,” is based on Saro-Wiwa’s execution, as is Richard North Patterson’s 2009 novel, “Eclipse.” His execution sparked international outrage. And the Commonwealth of Nations briefly expelled Nigeria (for 3 years). The Ogoniland flood plain, home to 20 million people and 40 different ethnic groups, is Africa's largest wetland, with one of the highest concentrations of biodiversity on the planet. Some have called the environmental destruction of this region ecocide. In the last 10 years, Nigeria has had 9,343 oil spills, and spends $758 million per year for the cleanup. 75% of these costs are borne by local communities, not the government. By comparison, the European Union has had only 10 oil spills in the past 40 years. Some estimate that over 100 million barrels’ worth of oil have been spilled in the Niger Delta between 1960 and 1997. #workingclass #LaborHistory #KenSaroWiwa #ogoni #shell #bigoil #nigeria #repression #deathpenalty #ecology #nonviolence #activism #environmentalism #protest #playwright #novel #books #writer #author #BlackMastadon @npub1wceq...lzu8

Today in Labor History November 10, 1975: United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 3379, determining that Zionism was a form of racism. The vote came soon after the UN resolved that Palestinians had the right to self-determination (Resolution 3236). Mexico’s support for the resolution led to a boycott of that nation by American Jews. In 1991, Israel forced the UN to remove the declaration as a prerequisite to their participation in the Madrid peace talks. George H. W. Bush called Resolution 3379 a mockery of the principles upon which the UN was created. He, of course, was an expert in making a mockery of the UN’s principles. The UN declaration focused on the ways in which Zionism is racist toward Palestinian Arabs. Counterintuitively, however, it can also be antisemitic or racist towards Jews, such as when Zionists proclaim that Israel represents all Jews; or that all “good” Jews necessarily support Israel; or that Jews who criticize Israeli government policy or who support Palestinians’ right to self-determination are self-hating, or antisemitic. #workingclass #LaborHistory #zionism #racism #israel #unitednations #boycott #judaism #freepalestine #EndTheOccupation #censorship

Today in Labor History November 10, 1898: White supremacists launched a coup d’etat in Wilmington, North Carolina. The Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 is the only instance of a municipal government being overthrown in U.S. history. The local white press declared it a race riot, caused by blacks, but it was actually a coup by members of the state's Democratic party, who conspired and led a mob of 2,000 white men to overthrow the legitimately elected biracial government. They deported opposition black and white political leaders from the city and may have killed over 300 people. They destroyed black property and businesses, including the only black newspaper in the city. And they got away with it, too. Charles Aycock, one of the main organizers, went on to become governor of North Carolina. Rebecca Felton, a feminist who supported equal pay for women and the lynching of black residents, went on to become the nation’s first female senator. Numerous other coup leaders and supporters went on to hold state and federal offices. #workingclass #LaborHistory #whitesupremacy #racism #insurrection #racism #massacre #NorthCarolina #coup #journalism #freespeech #BlackMastadon #blm