Toledo Tales

Left: United and committed to change

(Toledo, OH) The five members of the Toledo-area Workers' Solidarity Collective said that they are convinced that a workers' revolution is "only weeks or months away" after a demonstration this weekend in West Toledo.

"The people at the demonstration expressed their determination to act, instead of being passive sheep," said Mitch Bednarski, a member of the group. "Everyday people came to our Act-Out Session to link up with like-minded people and in search of answers to some deep questions about just exactly what is behind these dismal times of endless war and the culture of medeival mentalities that suppresses any questioning of the status quo. That, and this dude brought some vegan burritos that really hit the spot in that 25-degree cold."

Bednarski said that "over a dozen hardcore supporters" showed up for the event, and that passersby were "way geeked" about the impending uprising.

"Without a doubt, every person who took a flyer looked like they were down for a radical upending of the murderous capitalist system, but just didn’t know how to go about doing it," he noted. "We are seeing a critical mass of support among the proletariat, the emo kids, and Ray-Ray, this homeless dude who shows up at every event we hold for the free food. I suspect that Ray-Ray has a true revolutionary's heart under the six layers of clothing he wears, although his stench takes a little getting used to."

Bednarski added that the group is "totally committed" to worldwide revoltuion, and believes that Toledo is the perfect base for spreading revolutionary ideals.

"Face it - the perfect system of political rule is the dictatorship of the proletariat, and where better to make this happen than Toledo?" he declared. "And all this cannot happen without a vanguard of the proletariat to lead it in carrying out the complex and intense struggle to bring about changes in society and in the world. That vanguard is us, people, and we are going to make Toledo radiate revolution like a hundred thousand pillars of interstellar light. Or at least like a couple of those heavy-duty flashlights the cops carry, those lackeys of the capitalist state."

Labels: anarcho-feminism, anarcho-syndicalism, Toledo

Left: United and committed to change

(Toledo, OH) The five members of the Toledo-area Workers' Solidarity Collective said that they are excited about the launch of a springtime "consciousness-raising campaign."

"2007 will go down in history as the year in which the elimination of poverty and violence becomes seen as an attainable goal, by encouraging nation-states to harmonize their legal apparatuses," said Mitch Bednarski, a member of the group. "The world cannot survive many more decades of rule by violent gangs of armed males calling themselves governments. The situation is insanely suicidal, and we in Toledo will be lynchpins in sparking the Revolution, although maybe we shouldn't use the word 'lynch,' since it carries such obvious connotations of the post-Reconstruction South, or the word 'pin,' since it is such a glaring reference to the penetrating phallus."

Bednarski said that the group plans to "take the fight to the streets" with some innovative programs this spring.

"We have some awesome letter writing and petition campaigns, solidarity meetings, film screenings and tours by visiting activists," he said, licking stamps on some Earth-friendly, biodegradable envelopes. "Only those who rise up against capitalist, patriarchal authority with a fully developed revolutionary consciousness, and who are moved by the clear values of equality and freedom and endowed with an immaculate ethic are the true revolutionary vanguard. Not like Kyle, who took off with the $100 we raised for 'Food Not Bombs' and blew it on a sheet of acid. That was totally unrevolutionary-like."

Raising the wrong kind of consciousness

The group; however, is struggling with one "major structural barrier," said Bednarski.

"A motion was put forward in committee last week for the Collective to start issuing ID cards," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "At first Sheila said that only fucking cops demand IDs, since the pigs need to know who to watch in order to protect the social order, but I think it might be kind of cool to have, like, matching IDs and T-shirts. But the rest of the committee said I was a bourgeois wanker, and we dropped the question. But I still think we could get some matching hemp hats or something."

Labels: anarcho-feminism, Toledo, Workers' Solidarity Collective

Left: United and committed to change

(Toledo, OH) The five members of the Toledo-area Workers' Solidarity Collective said that they have been "pleased" with the results of their efforts to transform capitalist society through action by the working class on the industrial front.

"Without a doubt - the revolutionary libertarian concepts of class-struggle, federalism, direct economic action, local autonomy and mutual aid are all deeply rooted in American labor traditions," said Mitch Bednarski, a member of the group. "We are taking this message directly to the workers, and they have responded positively. I even got a good dialogue going about class conflict with this 14-year-old, until her mother yanked her away."

Bednarski said that the group conducted a "consciousness-raising session" at a local Wal-Mart store this morning.

"Workers and customers seemed very happy to hear the message," he said, adding that the group distributed over 300 self-published flyers on recycled paper with soy-based ink. "This was one of our most successful events to date, and we totally expect that our email box will be overflowing when we check it later."

Left: Consciousness-raising publication distributed at Central Avenue Wal-Mart


Contacted by Toledo Tales, Wal-Mart manager Bruce Greene said that the Workers' Solidarity Collective members were "well-behaved."

"When they pulled up, I thought: 'Uh-oh, another bunch of hippie freaks,' but they stayed out of the store, and didn't beat on drums or anything," he said. "But I gotta tell you - I'm pretty sure you aren't going to win any converts with the whole 'we-refuse-to-wear-deodorant' deal. Those folks had a Class-5 case of collective B.O. going, that's for sure."

Bednarski said that he is "totally convinced" the November elections are a sign that the revolution is near.

"Political rights do not exist because they have been legally set down on a piece of paper, but only when they have become the ingrown habit of a people, and when any attempt to impair them will meet with the violent resistance of the populace," he said. "But if the Bush regime's police state legislation is still law in 2008, the Democrats will only prove that they are similar agents of global capital. And - for the record - the natural odor of my armpits is beautiful. Thank you."

Labels: anarcho-feminism, capitalism