eco shenanigans

TW: (sexual) assault In the last couple of weeks, I’ve heard some things about assault within the radical communities I have been a part of over the last few years. Watching from the sidelines makes it difficult to make the right choices about how to react to these situations, and the cliquish nature of rad friendship groups doesn’t help, either. This brief piece is not meant to be an act of finger pointing at anybody or any group in particular, because from past experience I know that the cases I’ve come across recently are far too common in radical circles. I write this as someone who doesn’t know a lot about what’s happened, but in all cases, I’ve noticed a real lack of effective accountability structures, coupled with the expectation that organizations/collectives/cliques are capable of handling these challenges on their own when they clearly aren't. Having good politics and radical vision doesn’t remove you and yours from the very systems of violence and repression that p...

A lot of American friends have been asking me what's up with the referendum, especially now that the media is bombarded with predictions of economic Armageddon in the event of the yes vote. As a graduate of a Scottish university (a result of privilege and circumstance rather than merit, I would say), I have a deep and profound appreciation for the nation and its people. And so while I am not Scottish, I am definitely of Scotland , and it is on these grounds that I write now. Economics My friend Adam Ramsay, co-editor of OpenDemocracy, posted a brief entry in his Independence Blog this morning that captures a lot of the sentiment behind the youth “Yes” vote that is eclipsed in most media coverage of the referendum. I’ve posted it in full below (the bold text is my own emphasis). “When the Better Together campaign talks about uncertainty, it's important to remember this. For a huge chunk of the population, including a significant portion of young people, ou...