Heads up that the person who currently controls the former EFJBGC Telegram is the main former alt right extremist abuser in question. In order to post these things, she had to remove write access from multiple other members, including some of those who first founded Elm Fork JBGC, in order to gain sole control of the Telegram. CTJBGC, and RIJBGC are familiar with the situation, including the abuse, and can vouch that this group comprises the vast majority of Elm Fork. We are continuing to compile the details of the story and will share them when we are able, and have asked other groups who are "in the know" whether they are willing to also stand with us against abuse
EDIT: We have edited this statement to reflect that only the person directly behind AA is a former alt right organizer. We were overly quick to believe that another person had the same background due to his association with them and abuse of community members. Sharing information about dangerous behavior in our community is very serious, and it's important to get it right; we will not allow this to happen again. We have also edited this statement to to mention the physical danger posed by their unsafe handling of firearms
We're just gonna say it. If you're here in the DFW area, please do not join the DFW SRA. The same goes for Queers Bash Back DFW and Anarcho-Airsoftists. These groups are largely centered around the same small group of abusers and their apologists, including the former alt right extremist who 'changed sides' not too long before forming and running the latter group, AA, and who is central to the clique that runs most of these groups. They have a pattern of presenting themselves as experts in things like shooting or self defense as an easy way to gain authority and social power, which they use to threaten and attack more vulnerable community members who challenge them, while displaying extremely unsafe behavior, including with firearms. These people have been given many opportunities over the course of years to change their behavior in good faith, but every time, they've responded to criticism by attacking comrades, in many cases bullying vulnerable folks out of community and organizing spaces. We cannot, in good conscience, recommend any of these groups as safe spaces for marginalized people.
If you're already involved in one of these groups and you're surprised to hear this, consider taking a moment to reflect on why the people affected may not have felt safe coming to you, or why you might not have noticed these issues when not directly targeting you. If, on the other hand, you've been seeing these problems and have so far said nothing because of doubt, take this as validation that you're not alone.
If this is you, one of the best things you can do to show real solidarity with victims is speak up. Leave the groups that fail to deal with it, and loudly say why. Do not be passively complicit in abuse. If victims and the most vulnerable among us are unwelcome, then we go too. An injury to one is an injury to us all. Maybe it'll inspire others to do the same, but at the very least it'll show those targeted that they can trust you, that you're not all talk when it comes to standing with them and holding abusers accountable. Then create or participate in spaces that do not tolerate this behavior.
If you're not local, we ask that you unfollow these groups on social media and refrain from boosting their content. Abusers must be denied the platform and status they use to attract victims. We cannot fight oppression of the state without fighting it within our own communities, or while excluding the very people we claim to be in solidarity with by tolerating those who have harmed them.
"Abuse jacketing" is extremely harmful rhetoric packaged in vaguely leftist-sounding terms (a common abuse tactic is to co opt whatever socially acceptable terminology might make it sound convincing). Even if this person knew for certain there had been no abuse, you can tell a lot about someone, and about whether they care about abuse, by how they respond to claims they disagree with. By responding so aggressively, saying anything it takes to get their way, they just make it even harder for more victims to come forward, showing survivors they'll be met with hostility, and set a precedent of tearing down survivors you disagree with or don't like. Even if we 100% know a claim is false, it's extremely important to be mindful of how we communicate this so as not to harm survivors and perpetuate a culture of abuse
Feels about the right time to repost this article again too.
Why Misogynists Make Great Informants: How Gender Violence on the Left Enables State Violence in Radical Movements
"By not allowing misogyny to take root in our communities and movements, we not only protect ourselves from the efforts of the state to destroy our work but also create stronger movements that cannot be destroyed from within."
Just saw another thread with some info on yet another example of misogynists and abusers being tolerated in leftist spaces because people thought "accountability" and "restorative justice" were appropriate ways to handle seven separate people coming forward with how he had hurt them. As leftists, we're aware of and try to avoid "infighting," but while things like accountability work great for missteps, ignorance, and other smaller conflicts where everyone is acting in good faith, the first step to dealing with someone who repeatedly hurts others is to remove them immediately from your spaces and from every tool they can use to hurt others, which includes their position and influence in organizing spaces
Even if they do genuinely change one day, those who were targeted are never obligated to forgive them or feel safe with them again, and we need to prioritize support for them and their safety
While we (obviously) support and participate in leftist militancy, and getting armed has a place in that, there are also a lot of ways that the leftist "gun culture" we were formed from, and which has gained popularity over the last couple years, has just replicated the dangers present in right-wing gun culture
Unfortunately, as they are now, "community defense" spaces are incredibly attractive to abusive people and anyone who seeks to hold power over others, for a lot of the same reasons people are attracted to becoming cops. Guns, in themselves, create a power dynamic which can be leveraged by those with ill intent. Orgs and individuals setting themselves up as protectors also creates a power dynamic that can be abused. We've seen many, many instances of people who set themselves up in prominent positions in leftist gun spaces as a way of gaining influence to then manipulate and abuse others, whether it's as a self-proclaimed expert and teacher, as a gun store owner, or just as a central organizer who everything seems to depend on
Dave Strano of Redneck Revolt is a prime example of this, and we encourage those interested to search the internet or reach out privately for more information on his abuse so we can learn from it and do a better job of preventing similar issues
Getting armed only helps against a very specific subset of violence, whereas abuse is commonplace in our communities. If we truly care about community defense, THE single most important work we can be doing is to make our spaces utterly unattractive to abusive people, and make sure that both the abusers and the people they target know we won't tolerate their behavior under any circumstances. THAT is what will make people safer in their daily lives. Unfortunately, most existing leftist gun communities (including us in many instances) have utterly failed to even try to address this, and have failed to avoid idolizing the exact people who are only here to exploit that influence
Addressing abuse is not infighting. It is not drama. It is not gatekeeping or policing or any of the other leftist culture terms that will be twisted to try making the case that it shouldn't be done. It is a necessity for any community that truly gives a shit about keeping each other safe. You cannot fight authoritarianism on a large scale if you can't even challenge abusive power dynamics on a small scale
What would it take to get more people out here on the picket line? Do y'all need more info on what to expect? Parking? A space to organize rideshares? Do we just not have a lot of local followers here? If there are barriers that can be removed please speak up 💜
Lots of skilled martial artists have zero idea how to teach self defense or even give actively harmful advice. Look for: Simple and intuitive techniques that are easy to learn, honest discussion about the effects of adrenaline, recognition that there are no one size fits all answers. Unless you want to devote serious time to martial arts, avoid complex techniques that require muscle memory, overly prescriptive "if A then B" responses to scenarios, classes that focus too much on fighting
Armed militancy is an important part of radical leftism. But getting a gun is actually a pretty small part of self defense on an individual level. Like any weapon, it can actually make you worse off if you don't know how to use it, and a gun especially is only really applicable in very specific scenarios where things have already escalated to a certain point. Generally, your body is your best weapon, and good self defense training will make you less likely to be in those situations to begin with
You can't claim to uplift the anger of the oppressed against their oppressors if, in more personal contexts, you simultaneously expect those who have been mistreated to stay calm and rational as a prerequisite to being heard and supported. How can we stand in solidarity against oppression if we can't even do it in our own group chats? "But then you're stooping to their level" is no better on a small scale. The microcosm of abuse and authority is the macrocosm of fascism and oppression
@SocialistStan We can show you multiple examples of someone responding to a shooting without using small unit tactics, incl the Portland protest shooting a while back. Can you show us a single example of civilians successfully executing something like that? If you're someone who wants to know how to react to a mass shooting, know that it requires quick reactions and seeing an opportunity, not being some kind of wannabe operator. If you want to use small unit tactics, go play airsoft
In short, you as a radical will never be in a situation where four-person squad tactics or room clearing or whatever are the best way to accomplish the goals of community defense and liberation. Promise. There are much more important things to spend our time learning
@wednesday No, we appreciate you pointing that out and welcome criticism. We've been talking about this a lot recently. When we started, we were very clear anong ourselves that "gun club" was just the name, but really it was about community defense. That was probably before you or almost anyone had heard of us, when we were still wearing red bandanas and doing more mutual aid, as opposed to wearing plates and carrying rifles at drag shows
@wednesday The rest of this response comes from the admin of this account as an individual, not speaking for the group: We've had a lot of conflict internally around certain things recently, but largely around this. We as a group started to put way too much stock into the ideas and training of a single person because they were ex military and used that to gain credibility and end up in a position of authority in things related to training, organizing, and self defense
@wednesday At the time, that part of the name was our way of having a connection to other JBGCs doing good work and to show our belief in the idea that arming targeted people was part of breaking the state's monopoly on violence. We initially split off from the SRA, which does amazing work but can be very flawed in the ways we mentioned in this thread. As time went on, we became more and more focused on the guns, and mutual aid and community started to be neglected
@wednesday ADMIN: More recently I started to voice my concerns, and most of EFJBGC is in agreement with what I've said here, however we failed to actually resolve the conflict before reaching emotional burnout. As a result, most of us have left our group chats and other spaces, and we mostly decided to leave our socials and emails up for people who contact asking for advice. The majority of the artist formerly known as Elm Fork is working on something new that, I hope, will be more grounded
@wednesday ADMIN: We lost our grounding in community and the history of militant leftist organizing, and became a genuine "gun club" where much of the focus was on the type of training I'm criticizing in this thread, with little thought towards whether it was actually making people safer in real situations. As a more experienced organizer and self defense instructor who initially had little knowledge of guns when I joined, I saw the issue but didn't feel I could point it out
@wednesday ADMIN: tl;dr, I agree with you, we lost our way into gun culture, and I hope whatever takes shape next will be more focused on community defense including guns, rather than focused on being a gun club
That said, other JBGCs are doing amazing work, especially CTJBGC, RIJBGC, and PSJBGC that we know of. They have an approach and philosophy that hasn't lost its way the way we did, so don't be put off by the name, they're true community defense
The oppressive, hierarchical nature of the military is deeply embedded in the tactics themselves. Military tactics only work for their goals because you have small teams and chain of command, you can't just change the language and use it for liberation. Successful resistance has worked because it is decentralized and built around solidarity to work with massive crowds. E.g. it's common wisdom that a confrontational action or radical group shouldn't have a "leader" because this presents a target