Organizers in Seattle have announced a free political and cultural gathering scheduled for August 11-12. The Everything for Everyone Festival (#e4e) will be an outdoor event that features music, arts, workshops, debates and actions to “continue the spirit of resistance of 2011, and to develop it in new and meaningful ways,” according to the Festival’s Kickstarter page.
Black Orchid Collective has decided to endorse this event and assist in the preparation process. We recognize the need for debate and dialogue among rebels, radicals, and activists. In a time where the struggle has erupted in many unforeseen ways, these discussions are more necessary than ever, and E4E would provide a platform for this. It’ll also be a great opportunity to chill and kick it together, to form new friendships and celebrate the friendships we’ve built in struggle.
We might disagree with the politics of many of the participants, but the festival builds off the non-sectarian alliances that revolutionaries of different tendencies have been able to build as we have helped radicalize the Occupy movement here in Seattle and around the country. If Occupy has taught us anything, it is the need to build on our commonalities while being up front and clear about our differences.
The slogan Everything for Everyone reminds us the most basic aspect of Communism; that every human being should have control of the means of production in order to live a fulfilling life, in order to create everything for each other instead of working for corporate profit.
Far from being a utopian idea, we see that in the wake of technological and scientific advances in production, this has become an urgent necessity for our collective survival. Automation of various industries leaves more and more of us unemployed, replaced by machines, where those still employed have to work harder and harder to keep up. We need to replace this , to take over these technologies and revamp and recycle them, so that these advances and know how are used for the benefit of humanity and the earth rather than producing surplus value, ecological destruction, and private property.
In the wake of the Occupy movement we have seen a need for revolutionaries to intervene and engage with our fellow workers promoting revolutionary analysis. The power of Occupy has come with many attempts to channel its energy into Democratic Party pressure politics. We see this a bankrupt in many respects and limits the true potential of the movement. E4E may serve as a space for those weary of politicians, union leadership, and others who would simply channel that energy into legislatures and boardrooms possibly narrowing the scope, meaning, and potentialities of the current struggle.
We are excited to be a part of this project and ask the readers of this blog to take a few moments of their day out to look further into this festival and assist in the fundraising now taking place. Event organizers are working to raise $11,000 by May 12th on their Kickstarter page to support setting up a sound system and stage for the music portion of the festival, plus helping cover travel costs for speakers and performers who donate their time. They are also reaching out to a broad array of groups to solicit proposals that will help shape the content and format of the Festival. Please get involved early so you can make this festival what you want it to be.
In Solidarity,
BOC
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Black Orchid Collective 