Maximum Rocknroll Solidarity Statement
MRR is in full support of the uprising happening all over the United States and across the globe.
George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Freddie Gray, Mike Brown, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, Tony McDade, Antonio Williams, and so many others, all murdered by police for being Black.
And Ahmaud Arbery and Trayvon Martin murdered by vigilante terrorism that is approved by white society. Black Lives Matter, and beyond, Black lives are amazing, important, beloved, powerful, worthy, and important to fight for (and with).
It’s important during these exciting times to keep our hearts in the right place. MRR isn’t about reforming a corrupt and racist system. We support full abolition of the police and prison system.
These cries for “defunding” the police are wonderful to see spreading, but what does that mean? Reforms that mean well can often just funnel more resources to the police, body cams, more training (in the form of anti-bias, etc), and rules they break anyway just strengthen the system.
Defunding is a great step towards abolition but in the hands of weak liberal theory can quickly be watered down to meaningless slogans if we aren’t careful. Right now MPLS city council is moving towards disbanding the police force, but will likely just replace it with different police. That idiom about bad apples? They spoil the whole barrel! We don’t want a new/better barrel. We want abolition.
MRR follows the lead of decades worth of Black radical thought that has already laid forth a plan/imagined a better future. Here are some resources to consider for education, so you too can better understand the fight. Here are also some organizations that we think would be a great place to donate to, and to share with your friends and family if they are looking for good places to support.
8toabolition.com
antipoliceterrorproject.org
mpd150.com
blackvisionsmn.org
The small group of us volunteering at MRR have been thinking about how best to use our online platform to amplify radical black voices and abolish the police. For us, it always comes back to community, and we want to hear from and talk with you.
- Are you an organizer? We offer you the opportunity to write a column on our site. Your column can be about anything related to BLM, police abolition, and/or community health. If you’re nervous and/or new to writing, we’re happy to help you think of ideas.
- Have you been protesting or providing mutual aid? We want to share your report backs on our site and in our feeds. What changes have you seen in your community as more people become open to shifting their perspective? What’s working and what’s not? How has the media been representing your community?
- Are you an international member of our community? What is confusing or resonating with you as news comes out of the US? Do you have tips for us as we navigate this?
- What can we do better? We’re always open to suggestions. We’ll be prioritizing black voices, but we want to hear from everyone. And, if you have questions, we’re here to help you find answers.
We’ve, hopefully, got a lot of conversations and calls to action ahead of us. In addition to original content, we’ll be regularly highlighting actionable, radical resources. The first batch can be found on our social media, with more coming to the site soon.
To remind punks the world over that they are not alone we will be continuing to post our radio show and reviews, we hope you’ll take comfort in those things as we navigate these times.
Whether you’re listening when you can’t sleep at 2 am or on your way to a protest or to provide mutual aid, we want to try our best to be here for you and help you be here for each other.