An Open Letter to advocates of violence at the Oakland General Strike

To and regarding the violent actions of the Black Bloc, Anarchists and others on the evening of Wednesday November 2.
I will generously estimate your numbers at 200.
The general strike succeeded through the combined efforts and involvement of 5-10,000 citizens.

This means that 2-4% of our population was responsible for 100% of the damage… And 80% of the long-term news coverage.
Either:
a) This is a great victory for the cause of getting mainstream media attention.
or
b) this is a malicious and self-righteous appropriation of the cause for short sighted actions – actions which alienate the public, thereby undermining our movement.

These actions do not awaken the population to the justice of our cause.
They merely appeal to the primal frustrations of a people who see no other recourse than to lash out and destroy. When they are prevented from living in the world they desire, they attempt to clear the canvas through the shattering of windows, and the spraying of slogans. Broken glass must be cleaned up for safety. And sloppy slogans will just be scrubbed off. The lasting impact is a minor financial hit against the corporations and banks affected – and a major blow to the public relations of a movement.

In a day of action that is functionally devoid of police presence, we had the opportunity to demonstrate the type of people we could be – when freed from rules, oppression, and external mandates. The vast majority of the protestors showed a spontaneously benevolent, just, and festive society – with union leaders and everyday citizens directing traffic, guiding marches, and looking out for one another. While the other few, the violent few, showed that: in the face of no oppression… in the face of no antagonists… THEY would take matters into their own hands, and become the bullies against “the system”. That they would lash out at outposts of corporations, breaking windows and spraypainting in a symbolic gesture, The effect: it encourages the public at large to believe that they (and WE) could not be trusted. That the protest needs policing. That the movement and the people of the world need watchdogs.
You proved the very opposite of your intention.
It worked so effectively, against your cause and ours, that it may as well be orchestrated by governmental provocateurs, but I am (for better and worse) willing to believe that it was really just you. So I take issue with you.

What the public believes about the protesters affects me. And it affects us. And it is irresponsible and absolutely offensive that a few would seek to paint me in all-black. To paint me violent. To paint us all with a mark of aggression.
WE HERE TODAY, are NOT enough. We do NOT have the numbers to remake policy. We have the numbers to recruit. And to recruit, and to recruit. Until there is no stopping us.
200 people in black, breaking a few windows in the middle of the night… is not enough to create a mandate of positive public opinion.
The new public opinion is: This is not what the people want to sign up for.
And you, through your choices – actively keep us from recruiting the numbers which we need to achieve justice.

To those who advocate violence: I believe that you want justice. I know that you want justice, because you have a burning and overflowing visceral need to find it – by any means necessary. But when you stoop to the level of bullies, enforcers and antagonists – you Become UNJUST.

If it takes injustice to achieve an end – I do not want that end. That is what we are marching against. If you can not reflect on yourself, and make JUST decisions to achieve your end – do not take that out on US.
I will not hide behind a mask, and I will not stoop to violence. I understand full well the repercussions of showing my identity and face in a movement that goes against the status quo. If I can not take ownership over my beliefs, then it shows that my life is more driven by the fear of oppression, than by the belief in truth, beauty and justice.

I, Nicholas Strubbe, am a member of the 99%. I do not speak for all, and I ask you not to speak for me through violence, vandalism, or V for Vendetta masks.
Keep your ways if they feel true – but know that your choices affect me. And you need to own that. Then you’ll know what’s right.

One Third

Well, my trip is officially over-one-third-over.

One month and three days ago, I set out with family to brave a land of fog and drizzle.
Today’s forecast: still foggy.

At this current rate of correspondence, my total blog posts may number in the single digits…  But I’m committed to changing that!

I, Nikolas Strubbe, being of sound mind and body, do solemnly swear to blog about:

• Circus in Sheffield
• “Ginger Beer” Accents
• Edinburgh Fringe Festival
• The extent of the Scottish Riots
• Busking for Fun & Playing for Profit
• The Crop Circle adventures of 4 grand Strubbe’s

It may take some backtracking, and the timeline may waver, but I will send word around the globe about my travels – and might even throw in a video to boot!

For now, I’m heading back into the fray at the Fringe.

The Royal Mile

Take care friends, and I’ll see you in about two thirds!

We interrupt this regularly scheduled vacation-blog…

As many of you know, the UK has seen a wave of riots this month…

When considering travel to Eastern Europe, the Middle East or North Africa – a voice often spoke up (from within or without), wondering if that was really a sensible idea…  Even Greece and Spain have had their share of turmoil of late, but the odds of anything happening while I visit are very slim.  Yet the very day that I depart England for Scotland – class wore broke out in the streets of London!

Or, that is what initial reports seemed to claim.  A shooting had occurred, of a black man in the custody of British police – not unlike the murder of Oscar Grant back in Oakland in 2009.  I can’t claim to know the truth of what happened, nor will I say that anyone was in the right or the wrong, but the situation got complicated quite fast.  It appears that there was a shootout, and that a young man was killed.  But the details are not the key to what happened.  With no disrespect intended to the people whose lives were ruined that day, the riots could have been started by just about anything.

In the UK, as in nearly every country in the world, the “haves” and the “have-nots” detest one another.  One group looks at the other pityingly (or without pity) for their lack.  The other group looks at their “superiors” with loathing and longing, for their means.  Ideologies, ethnicities, and culture all play their role in creating self-imposed and societally enforced identities which keep some folks down and other folks up.  Every single person that is breathing has at least some reason to celebrate – yet so many find fault and complaint to be staples of their lives.  I am not claiming that the UK riots, the Oakland riots, the Middle Eastern protests and revolutions are merely a byproduct of people being under-grateful…  They are the outcomes of a long-accumulated imbalance caused by non-egalitarian structures of life where one party systematically disrespects another.

So why do I find it so hard to celebrate about these UK citizens rising up to find their voice?

Because here is what they had to say:

A rough transcript from one news story:
(Teenage rioters) “Everyone was just going to riot, just goin’ mad like, chucking things, chucking bottles, breaking into stuff, breaking into shops – it was madness – It was good though, good fun, ‘course it is!…  Free alcohol.”
(BBC Reporter) “You been drinking all night?”
(Rioters) “Yeah…  It’s the governments fault, I dunno, Conservatives, yeah well – whoever it is, I dunno…  It’s not even a riot, it’s showing the police we can do what we want…  and now we have.”
(BBC Reporter) “But these are like, local people.  Why is it targeting local people?  Your own people?”
(Rioters) “It’s the rich people.  The people that’ve got businesses.  And that’s why all of this has happened, because of rich people.  So we’re just showing the rich people we can do what we want.”
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14458424]

Granted – They were drunk.  In normal life, one can be forgiven a lack of articulation or eloquence, by virtue of being intoxicated.  One can not be forgiven for burning down your neighbors shop simply because you were drunk.

Imagine that you own a shop, of any type.  This shop is your leg up, out of poverty, or out of a hopeless lack of agency over your own life and economics.  This shop represents your dedication to providing for yourself, your family…  Maybe you are sending profits back home to take care of family members still overseas, so that they may come to a more economically bountiful place – or at least survive back in their country.
Now imagine that your neighbors, friends, and children of friends burned down your shop.  Burned down your dream, and chance at bettering your life and your community.  Some claim to have taken part to send a message, and to improve the standing of all lower class people…  while others destroyed what little you’ve built because, “It was good fun.”

Why is it that furious retaliation against injustice so often ends up damaging the oppressed more than the oppressors?  Is it because of “the system” itself – that it has been set up so meticulously that the oppressed have neither the resources, proximity or information to develop an informed strategy around their upheaval?  It breaks my heart to see, time and time again, the poor fighting the poor, or the poor demonizing middle-management or low-level shopkeepers…  These are not the people making life difficult.  These are, if anything, people placed unfortunately high among the lowest levels of society – so that they may stand out as targets – but not so high that they have any protection or recourse.

The damages incurred in less than a week of rioting total over £200 million…  a sum that will not be paid by the rich.  A sum that will not be paid by the government, but which will be paid by low and middle class tax payers.  A few folks made out with new trainers, plasma TV’s, bottles of booze, and miscellaneous electronics.  And everyone in the country will have to foot the bill for those, and burned out shops, and overtime pay for police, and on and on…

Perhaps some good will come from it, and some acknowledgement of class-differential.  For now, people just seem sad.  There is sadness over the lost opportunity for real change.  There is sadness over the destruction.  There is sadness over the horrendous hit-and-run murder of 3 community members who stood up to the mobs.  There is sadness over the mostly-forgotten firefight and lost life which catalyzed it all.

The world is full of upheaval and revolution, as people attempt to find their voice and scream out -
“ENOUGH!  No more!  We will not be walked on, be overlooked, be marginalized and loathed.  We will represent ourselves!”
…And we will look fashionable in our new track suit, while playing on a stolen iPad, well off the street, and out of the fray, with no concern for anyone but ourselves.

The illustrious and long-awaited first post!

On July 20, 2011 -
After an incredible marathon month of Summer Camp, Circus Boot Camp and Burlesque Theatre (campy?)…
Nikolas Strubbe hopped on a plane from San Francisco to London to begin 3 months and 3 days of adventure!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The First Leg:
In which 3 Strubbe’s converge in an airport, then fly 5371 miles to meet:
yet another Strubbe.
  Together these Strubbe’s would embark on a perilous journey, to be recounted here…

“The Fantastic Four”
“Strubbe Force Five”
“Four People Driving Around and Doing Stuff”
“The League of Extraordinary Strubbes”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“The Fan Man”

Bill Strubbe
codename:
“The Fan Man”
(my Father’s middle brother)

At the tail end of his most recent world tour, has traveled to Wiltshire, England, to write a magazine article about Crop Circles, and the folks who study them.  Bill acted as our point person and driver, and studied the local terrain for one month before the rest of the team arrived.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * *

"True Believer"

Anne Strubbe Wallace
codename:
“True Believer”
(my Father’s youngest sister)

20 some-odd years ago, Anne visited England with just a backpack and a friend.
Travel has gotten more complicated over the last few years, but with so much family around to keep things running smoothly, this was the perfect time to revisit England and witness the mystery along the way!  Anne has the supernatural ability to strike up a conversation with anyone, at any time.  This would prove invaluable in our quest for knowledge!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * *

"Mr. Nice Guy"

John Strubbe
codename:
“Mr. Nice Guy”
(my Father’s youngest brother)

Former screenwriter turned full-time housedad, John seized the opportunity to investigate Crop Circles in person, after years of study from afar.  John acted as our philosopher and photographer…  He was ever-ready to engage with aliens and orbs, or whatever strange beings we encountered.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * *

"Sir Hattalot"

Nikolas Strubbe
codename:  “Sir Hattalot”
(my Father’s youngest son)

Globetrotter turned Clown turned Kindergarten Teacher turned Detective turned Globetrotter.
Nikolas took leave of The History’s Mysteries Detective Agency to explore this paranormal mystery in person…  Special skills: the power to sleep in until quite late, eat whole containers of cottage cheese in one sitting, and he has a wide range of sneakers… for sneaking!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * *

Crop Circles: 'Holy Glyphs' or 'Wheat-y Graffiti'?

Our Mission:

To discover the origin and meaning behind these so-called “Crop Circles.”  Where did they come from?  Were they made by men and women of flesh and blood?  Or were they from a source more cosmic… even extraterrestrial?  Armed with only our powers of observation and a hatchback Peugeot, we set forth into the wilds of Wiltshire – taking refuge in a B&B / spiritual retreat centre…  Would we make it out of this Pub-dotted landscape alive?  Read on, dear friends, read on..!