A Gift Guide Wow
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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Willem Arondeus
10 min read
The article mentions a backpatch with his quote 'Let it be known that homosexuals are not cowards.' Arondeus was a Dutch artist and author who became a resistance fighter against the Nazis, famous for bombing the Amsterdam public records office to protect Jews. His final words before execution are the source of this quote.
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Enclosure
14 min read
The article references 'fighting against the enclosure of the commons' when describing The Defender's Almanac. The historical enclosure movement in England, where common lands were privatized, is foundational to understanding anarchist critiques of property and capitalism that permeate this gift guide.
I think I’m supposed to be cynical about gift-giving because of how it ties into a culture of over-consumption. But the thing is, I really like Christmas personally and I really like the idea of the amorphous “holiday season” more broadly. I like that December is the month where as many people as can really phone it in at work and barely do their jobs. I like how so many cultures decided that the darkest time of the year is the time we ought to cling to one another and give each other things.
I could do without the Christmas music. The only acceptable Christmas music is when it is sung by actual carolers or by families at a Christmas party. Recorded Christmas music can go to hell. This isn’t a moral statement, just an aesthetic one.
And I’m much more into “these are books that meant a lot to me this year” or “here are craft supplies” or “I found this silverware set in a secondhand store and I thought of you” than I am into like, buying each other TVs or whatever. But that sort of goes without saying.
Anyway, if you’re trying to buy some stuff, I’ve got some suggestions of stuff. I’ll start with things I like and then go into things by me. Most of this is books, which won’t surprise you.
Things Not By Me
Willem Arondeus Backpatch: Let it be known that homosexuals are not cowards. The backpatch I wear on my vest, that I made my friend design. For anyone who wants to sew a backpatch onto a vest or hoodie and embrace their inner punk.
Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness Hoodie: this is the hoodie I wear. Support collectively run publishing. For anyone who likes our publisher and wants to be a cool black hoodie kid.
Orso: Wartime Journals of an Anarchist: When the Italian anarchist Lorenzo Orsetti fell in battle against ISIS, his comrades smuggled his journals out of Syria. Available now in English. For anyone who supports the struggle for self-determination and internationalism and wishes to remember our dead.
How to Do it Anyway: a zine designed for mass dissemination (neither the publisher nor the author take any profit from it) that describes in detail how to self-manage an abortion. For anyone who wants to preserve forbidden information and help themselves or others take control of their own lives ...
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