As 250 approaches – what is giving me hope in an otherwise age of despair. Summer of Ludd, People’s Republic of NYC ++
With a big 250 coming up this weekend, I thought I would write about what is actually making me hopeful about our country after a year and a half of a battering ram being taken to our institutions and people. There seems to be a general malaise/lack of enthusiasm about this milestone as best reflected in the sad “celebrations” happening in our nation’s capital.
I used to be a strong believer and participant in our country’s political process. When I was nine, my feminist mother would drag me to stuff envelopes for the NWPC – National Women’s Political Caucus. For the next eight years I got increasingly involved in political campaigns – culminating in becoming one of the lead precinct organizers/captains for a congressional candidate when I was 17. When that candidate lost, I reflected on all the politicians I had supported and realized that all of them had lost – and it seemed at that time the political system in the US was not meant for me – my beliefs were too far out of any mainstream. Two years later I discovered punk rock. What followed was years of suffering through Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton, Bush 2, and a very disappointing Barack Obama etc. and while I have continued to occasionally precinct walk and phone bank especially when the situation seemed most dire, for the most part I lost my faith in our political system.
But I have been fortunate to witness two movements here in NYC that have reinvigorated my belief that real change might actually be possible, even within the intense representational constraints our forefathers instituted.
Immediately upon moving, I canvassed for Zohran in the primary last year – through the group JFREJ – Jews for Economic and Racial Justice. But even with the excitement of living in the People’s Republic of NY, it wasn’t until the most recent primary elections in NYC that I was really able to experience the intense grassroots organizing happening here – which seems to be a microcosm of what is happening around the country. The enthusiasm, excitement and energy that I witnessed at Claire Valdez’ victory party (shared with four other DSA candidates) was thrilling and has really awakened me to the potential of people power in our country, and our collective ability to really fight back against the current trend to tech feudalism.
The second grassroots movement that I have been starting to track since moving here are the neo-Luddites. I love their Dadaesque/situationist inspired path toward change focusing on in-person events and engaging with other people! I spent many years documenting a similar situationist inspired group – Survival Research Laboratories and I’m lucky to know a couple of the organizers of the Lamp Club/SHITPHONE group that is partly responsible for actions here in NYC. NOTE: SHITPHONE=Scathing Hatred of Information Technology and the Passionate Hemorrhaging of Our Neo-Liberal Experience. In addition, many of their actions take place in Thompson Square Park which is right across the street from where I live.
There is a wonderful documentary on the movement in post-production The Luddite Clubby Amanda Hanna-McLeer. Take a look at their sizzle. Note – its not dire – its fun! I’ve done a bit of advising on the project (and they are looking for EPs hint hint LMK).
This week, from June 28th to July 5th, they are conducting their first Summer of Ludd. There is no online directory, but you can call their info hotline for the day’s activities: (347) 814-5194. For a taste of the sentiment, I was granted permission to reprint this from the Summer of Ludd – The Luddite’s Guidebook:
The original Luddites of the 1810s were skilled textile workers who resisted early forms of automation. The tech titans of the Industrial Revolution fractured the lives of workers, by replacing them with automated machinery. This upheaval inspired ten years of civil protest. As a last resort, facing starvation, the Luddites broke the machines, under the banner of their folkloric hero, Ned Ludd. Despite widespread support, the Luddite movement was crushed by the British Crown,and their leaders executed-all in the name of”progress.”
Today’s tech oligarchs — under the same guise of “progress” – accumulate obscene wealth and power at the expense of our agency, employment, privacy, and natural environment.
Currently, data centers waste fresh water during nationwide droughts. Al and social media companies sell our collected data for surveillance. Algorithms stunt our public imagination- our sense of what’s possible.
And so the Luddite spirit must persevere, ever widening beyond its original scope.
As Luddites, we can opt out of this cycle. We are building new social infrastructure away from surveillance. We are choosing direct action over passive consumption. We are dancing in reclaimed Public Space. We are reminding you of the agency you wield. What will you do with it?
You can pick up one of their guidebooks at Thompson Square Park or independent bookstores and coffeeshops. If you want to get a sense of the movement before committing or are not in NYC, I recommend this interview on “Gen Z Backlash to Big Tech” on Hassan Minhaj’s YouTube Channel. (you have to watch at least a couple of minutes).
I was able to catch Sunday’s “Luddite Recreations” en plein air play which tells the story of the original 19th Century Luddites (photo at the top and below) and the opening of the Luddite Conference at the New School, after which they created a direct action at Palantir. I helped connect them to the fabulous anti-AI film Ghost in the Machine. You can buy tickets for a rare screening of that film in NYC tonight at 8:30pm at DCTV (I’ll be there).
They also printed a tract “The Event Is The Medium”, which is a guidebook to create events to encourage people to engage and interact in person and not online. Quoting:
WHY SHOULD WE ALL GET OFF SOCIAL MEDIA AND HOST EVENTS IN PERSON
(…WILL THIS REALLY CHANGE ANYTHING?)
The digital spaces that exist are where our attention and data are stolen to line billionaire pockets. Passive consumption of media prevents us from acting to our full ability. By hosting events and public assemblies, we gain the agency we need to make change.
You know how much I love and promote in-person events for filmmakers to engage audiences. Carl Deal and Tia Lessen are starting to wind down their incredible theatrical release for Steal This Story, Please, which showed in over 200 theaters and approaching $700K at the box office (not that I am calling out the $ – but calling out the number of people who went to the theater to engage with this film).
Amy Goodman (subject of the film) was at a huge number of these events and she now calls arthouse theaters “Sanctuaries of Dissent”.
I love creating a participatory culture as a path to a better future. It gives me hope. Come join me at DCTV and I’ll hopefully see you at some events at Thompkins Square Park this weekend or at your local Sanctuary of Dissent! https://jonreiss.substack.com/p/welcoming-the-summer-of-ludd
