"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Food Not Bombs is possibly one of the most rewarding gateways into direct action. I am sure some of you have heard of this wonderful idea, considering it’s been around for nearly 40 years but if you have not, or have always wondered how to actually get involved and change the injustices in front of your eyes, Food Not Bombs is your best bet to start.
Let’s face it, poverty and hunger are some of the most violent results of our capitalistic societies. In a world where every household discards more food than we need, let alone mentioning our supermarkets and not even going into the overproduction of the agricultural industry for stock market price manipulation it is absolutely unethical and unnecessary for anyone to go hungry. Yet, too many do. Fuck writing a petition to your local authority to change this, poverty and hunger are a policy decision and being angry at all of our corrupt politicians won’t change a damn thing. There is, however, a wonderful solution to all this.
Food Not Bombs is not an organization but the basic idea of people getting together in public on a regular basis to cook and share free food. Despite there not being an HQ everyone involved adheres to these three principles: Consensus, Non-Violence, Vegetarianism/Veganism. Consensus is another way of saying non-hierarchical organizing, or in other words the bad “A” word that Trump/Fox/the Alt-Right Dorks got a recent hard on for. It is also not a charity with “us” giving food to “them”, as an anarchist organization, part of its purpose is to provide people the means to effect change in the own lives and to break through the barriers of class, race, gender, age, ethnicity and all other artificial boundaries that keep us separated.
Food Not Bombs is a practical hands-on protest against the violence of poverty and hunger. An empty stomach is as painful as a punch in the stomach, chronic hunger is as damaging as any form of torture. Providing food for free to those in need not only non-violently challenges the status quo, exposes the bankrupt morality of our politicians but also gives you ample opportunity to build consensual networks within your neighborhood aka organizing. The reason why we stick to vegetarian / vegan food should be clear as anything, it’s healthier, the meat industry is inherently violent and a massive destroyer of the environment and quite frankly, vegetables are often cheaper meaning resources can be stretched further.
If there is no Food Not Bombs group in your town, and you can get down with these ideas start one! If there is a group active in your town, join them! This link here takes you a short 7 step list to get started. Revolutions start by doing. This is a great way to do so.
Remind me again how you are going to vote out fascism?
Lastly, here is this weeks playlist for you, something for you to tune into over the weekend for some deep cuts, soothing tunes to help you along for another day.
That’s it for this week comrades. I wish you all peace, enjoyment and laughter.