Robert Thaxton - aka Rob los Ricos
- Robert Thaxton: Who He is and the Struggle He is Part of
by Wolfi
- Anarchist
Rob los Ricos Sentenced to 7 Years In Prison For Throwing Rock
At Cop
- Anarchist guilty in rock-throwing
incident
- Protest rights violations
- Assault,
riot trial begins for anarchist in Eugene
- An Urgent Call For Support And Action
Robert Thaxton:
Who He is and the Struggle He is Part of
by Wolfi
"I must rise in revolt to rise in the world."
-Max Stirner, from The Ego and Its Own
The October 13 verdict of seven years and four months in prison
for Robert Thaxton was no surprise to anarchists here in Eugene,
and elsewhere for that matter. Anarchists, the true enemies of the
state should expect no leniency from the judge's gavel, no favors,
no warm feelings from those who uphold authority. No surprise at
all. For that is just one of many reasons why we are anarchists,
why we foster the desire to live our lives to the fullest extent
possible, to experience love, beauty, nature, feasts, all unhindered
by authority that is not our own.
The state of the planet is not a welcome one as nature continues
to be paved over and shit upon and our daily life represents more
and more that of a machine. How drab and monotonous so many lives
have be come. Yet there are those who refuse to be made into machines,
who refuse to become one of the living dead. And in this refusal,
they experience real adventure and come closer to owning their own
lives, and living them to the fullest, the way we were intended
to do.
The June 18th riot in Eugene was just
one more collective refusal. The leftist spin put on the day of
protest against capital couldn't contain the emotions that so many
felt, and the cops efforts to quell those emotions only fanned the
flames. Protesters did not play by the rules that day and outflanked
the cops on a few occasions. But for all the excitement and victories
that were had on that day, there were some losses. Twenty people
were arrested, the stiffest sentence thus far has been handed to
Rob. Another person arrested on that day, Christopher Smith, was
con victed of riot and has yet to be sentenced.
That day has been highly controversial in Eugene. Even anarchists
have mixed feelings about it. But as many still continue to sit
around and bicker about whether the riot was good or bad, death
is still outrunning life.
Sgt. Larry Blackwell is known throughout the Whitaker neighborhood
as a menace, specializing in threats, racism, and intimidation.
HQ joined the Eugene Police Depart- ment directly from the LA County
Sheriff's Dept after the 1992 rising. "I got to shoot some of those
motherfuckers," is one of his utterances in reference to Hispanics
in L.A.
Toward the end of "Reclaim the Streets" on June 18 he charged
Rob Thaxton, who threw a rock at him in an effort to get away. Blackwell
had made no order to stop or any other comment and was coming at
Thaxton with obvious violence, against one with no record of violence.
In a two-day trial marked by outrageous prejudice from the bench
toward the defendant, he was convicted July 3 of Assault 2 and Riot
and acquitted of Attempted Assault 1. Sentencing occurred on October
13 when Rob was sentenced to seven years and four months in a penitentiary
(because of a mandatory minimum of 70 months in the Assault 2 conviction).
Judge Beard distinguished herself by consistently siding with the
prosecution and denying every defense motion. She refused to acknowledge
the stated bias of several jurors against anarchists--seating them
anyway, having already refused defense counsel's (Charlie Porter)
request to be allowed to interview prospective jurors indi- vidually.
Also denied was a defense motion to admit into evidence material
on Blackwell's personal record or allow any witnesses about his
behavior or character. Two witnesses were going to discuss the historical
record and nature of anarchism, to address the bias against Thaxton
as an anarchist. This, too, was not allowed.
Slurs about anarchists, however, were permitted by Prosecutor Gorham,
who also brought in extraneous, unsupported charges (e.g. that Thaxton
also threw a bottle at Blackwell) and committed other irregularities.
The local injustice system went all-out to make Rob an object lesson
in what to expect. This one-sided affair was a total sham. An appeal
of his conviction is underway.
Please write to comrade Rob Thaxton at:
Robert Lee Thaxton #12112716
O.S.P.
2605 State St.
Salem, OR 97310.
All mail sent to Rob must have a return address. All donations
to Rob's legal defense should be sent to:
Anti-Authoritarians Anonymous
POB 11331
Eugene, OR 97440
Checks should to be made out to "John Zerzan."
Donations to Rob personally must be sent in the form of money orders
only mailed to:
Department of Corrections Central Trust 2575 Center St. NE Salem,
OR 97310
They must be made out to "Department of Corrections Central Trust
for Robert Lee Thaxton #12112716."
Letters should be sent separately from literature and all literature
must come directly from the publisher or a bookstore. Zines, in
this instance, should have the same address printed on the envelope
(if any is used) as is printed on the zine itself.
Who is Rob Thaxton?
I first met Rob Thaxton--better known to his anarchist comrades as Rob los
Ricos--in 1991 in Austin, Texas. For as long as I have known him,
he has been involved in anarchist activities. In Texas, he had connections
with Earth First! and helped to organize anarchist gatherings in
Houston and Austin. While living in Portland, Oregon a few years
ago, he was involved with the anarchist infoshop that existed at
the time. This past winter, he lived in Columbia, Missouri helping
to publish Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed and Alternative
Press Review, as well as working on book projects of the Columbia
Alternative Library Press. Rob has also shown interest in indigenous
and Chicano issues, being Chicano himself. He spent the summers
of 1997 and 1998 on a piece of land in southern Oregon where several
people, including some anarchists, are experimenting with natural,
low impact gardening techniques, permaculture, eco-friendly architecture
and low-tech living. Rob views this project as a part of becoming
a person more capable of living without the industrial monster,
and so better able to fight it. He had planned to stay on the land
again this summer and had been there one month before his arrest.
He had spoken of settling there long-term to really learn the skills
he wanted to gain. Rob also has a 3-year-old daughter who is living
with her mother in Portland. He views his revolutionary activity,
as well as his experiments in low-tech living, as in part, a gift
to his daugh- ter whom he loves dearly.
Rob has no desire to be a martyr. He wants and, to the best of
his ability, acts toward anarchist revolution for himself and those
he loves. But the police and prosecutors wanted a scapegoat for
June 18. Rob was not a local. The authorities believed he was a
transient. Add to this that Rob was a Chicano, and that one of his
arresting officers, Larry Blackweil, has been heard to make slurs
and threats against Chicanos, and Rob begins to look like the perfect
scapegoat. So after being beaten to the ground, his nose broken,
his eye blackened, his scapulae injured, his brain concussed, he
found himself facing charges of rioting, first-degree assault and
second degree assault. This last sentence has a required 6-year
minimum sentence. His bail was set at $240,000, keeping him from
the land he loves and the friends he loves.
Revolutionary Solidarity
With a friend and comrade in a situation like Rob's, of course, basic support
work is necessary--building a defense, getting to gether funds for
a lawyer, all the banalities that come up in such a situation. But,
from an anarchist perspective, revolutionary solidarity is equally
or even more essential.
Revolutionary Solidarity is expressed through the continuation
of the struggle against this society, the continuation of the attack
against the institutions which judge and imprison ourselves and
our comrades. So, although we will certainly not deny Rob all the
tools he can use to defend himself, we will not let our struggle
be deflected into petitions to the authorities. Rather we will battle
the authorities with all means that can be used in an anarchist
way.
As anarchists, we have no interest in the justice system. Rob says
he did not commit the crimes of which he was accused, and we will
certainly do what we can to prove this. But from an anarchist perspective,
the guilt or innocence of a comrade is not important in determining
our solidarity with him or her. This concept of guilt and innocence
is just another aspect of the democratic system of justice and law
which we reject.
The justice system, justice as it exists in the present society,
is a system of judgement, a system which allows certain people to
determine that others--whom these judges have never met and know
nothing about--should be locked up, forced to give up certain free
doms, even killed. Such a system is beyond any sort of reform that
could be acceptable to an anarchist, because at its heart it is
authoritarian. Thus, an expression of revolutionary solidarity with
an imprisoned comrade would be a struggle aimed at the destruction
of the justice system.
This requires an understanding of the justice system. It is courts,
judges, prosecutors, the entire trial process; but it is also prisons,
police, and laws. There is no use in pursuing prison reforms. No
matter how gentle and homely a prison becomes. it remains a prison,
a place for locking up one who offends the law. Nor are better behaved
police of interest to us. No matter how well behaved the cop is,
he or she remains the armed protector of state power and private
property, both of which the anarchist seeks to destroy. And better
laws only reinforce state power. Their purpose is to protect the
present social order, to maintain social peace. And social peace
is based in the violence of domination and exploitation, the violence
of power.
So our struggles in solidarity with specific prisoners such as
Rob base themselves in our struggle against the social order. They
use the anarchist methods of attack against that social order, not
the democratic methods of accommodation and negation. This does
not mean that we won't use every weapon we can to get Rob free.
But we will leave it to the lawyer to battle on the terrain of law--an
appropriate terrain for liberals and civil libertarians whose interest
is "justice." Our interest is the destruction of the present social
order and the flowering of individual freedom in the context of
equal access of all to the condition of life and free creation--this
calls for another sort of struggle, a destructive upheaval against
all the institutions of power.
The True Nature
of the Justice System
The democratic justice system is intended to maintain social peace. It does
this through the use of institutionalized terrorism. The acceptance
of state and corporate power, of private property and of every other
form of domination and exploitation upon which social peace is built
can only be maintained by the patrol of armed thugs with the right
to abduct anyone they think is not conforming to the needs of society.
The abductee is then brought before a court which puts a veneer
of social consensus over this terrorism while deciding how to violate
the abductee. Since terrorism is the systematic use of terror in
the form of violence or threats of violence to coerce conformity
to the terrorists' will, this system must be considered straightforward
terrorism.
Master terrorist Bill Clinton has said "There can be no compromise
with terrorists." As a master of that art, he should know, and we
should take him at his word. If we are interested in the freedom
to live our lives to the full, we cannot accommodate to a system
of terror intended to turn us into cogs in the social machine. There
is no room for negotiation. Only in attack against this monster
can the struggle have a chance.
June 18th and
the Nature of the Riot
When the street party of June 18th stepped up a notch to become a riot, this
was not a matter of anyone lying to the pigs about what was going
to happen. The riot of June 18th, like most riots, was a spontaneous
expression of rage and rebellion. There is no place for apologies
when such events happen. Rage and rebellion are healthy responses
to the present social order, and apologies simply play into the
hands of the authorities. When laws are broken, as they will be
in such an uprising, apologies are a kind of confession, a way of
telling the authorities (whose conceptions of right and wrong anarchists
reject) that "we" did wrong. Furthermore, since the actual perpetrators
of illegal acts are rarely the ones to apologize, the apologies
also amount to authoritarian auto-delegation of the right to speak
for others to oneself and a form of snitching. I know its harsh
in this world of tact and good manners to call things by their real
name, but as long as we continue to euphemize, we will continue
to be ignorant of the real significance of our acts.
So-called radicals in this country, including most "anarchists,"
prefer to keep insurrection at a distance. Even people who are not
ethical pacifists prefer that we remain safely nonviolent, using
tactics which guarantee the continuance of their role as "opposition"
(is this why even the most militant of this sort of activist prefer
to talk of resistance rather that attack?). So they relegate insurrection
to exotic lands like Palestine or Chiapas, or distant times like
Paris, 1871 or Catalonia, 1936. This keeps the violence of such
events distant and abstract, and allows them to believe that we
can remain nice, polite, moderate people and still be radical because
we give verbal support to the right causes.
But anarchist revolution has its basis in uprisings against authority,
in insurrectional attacks on the present social order. Willingness
to apologize for such events indicates a willingness to compromise
and for us, com- promise is defeat. We do not have the upper hand
against power. and every time we com- promise it is a step forward
in power's control and a step backward for us.
What is Anarchy?
Behind the willingness to apologize and to accommodate that far too many so-called
anarchists exhibit, is a fear for the good image of anarchy. This
is laughable because anarchy has never had a good public image.
The state and capital control the image-making apparatus and would
never allow a truly good (in the sense of both positive and in-
spiring to action) image of anarchy to exist. But this desire for
a good image is most troubling because it reflects a lack of understanding
of the nature of anarchy.
Anarchy is not a religion or a god to which we want to convert
people. Its essence is not idealistic in the Platonic sense--that
is, it is not an ideal above us to which we aspire. A nice, clean
image, a pie-in-the-sky vision is of no practical use to us since
our purpose is not to convert. All such attempts to transform the
world are schemes which guarantee that real transformation never
happens because that would destroy these ideologues' comfortable
role as loyal opposition in the present world.
Anarchy is not a product to be sold, another flat opinion in the
ideological marketplace. A media-palatable image of anarchy is,
thus, an unworthy goal. Mass media serves the state in two ways
which make it useless to anarchists. It is the processor of democratic
opinion. It takes any idea presented to it, however vital and dynamic,
and flattens it into just another opinion separated from life, another
of the many ideologies that democratic discourse can allow to be
discussed. For this reason trying to make a media-palat- able version
of anarchist thinking upholds the present social order by reinforcing
the image of our tolerant democratic institutions. The other task
of mass media is to create images for consumption. When anarchists
play into this, they merely become another one of the many sub-groups
of this society, separated from the general mass and put on stage
to perform. Such performance doesn't inspire. It simply entertains
and enforces passivity.
The best image the media has ever granted to anarchy is that of
an eccentric, anachronistic philosophy. Even this image is only
granted so long as anarchists remain impotent. Apologies and a willingness
to accom- modate one's enemies are signs of impotence. A strong
anarchist movement, no mat- ter how small, will always be vilified
in the mass media. The alleged horrors of every uprising will be
trumpeted as this institution does its job of helping to maintain
social peace and the state monopoly on violence.
But for those who are ready to rebel and struggle against their
oppression, exploitation and alienation, those who are enraged and
ready to act on their rage, there is no need to paint a clean, prettified
picture of anarchy. It is precisely the rage, the violent passion
of anarchy to which they can relate. The number of people who fit
this description is rising. One need only look at the letters to
the editor in the Register-Guard or the Eugene Weekly
that were sympathetic to the June 18th riot...- or the recent editorials
in the Portland homeless paper...or listen to the anger expressed
at the August 24th People's Forum in Eugene. In southern Oregon,
where I live in the summers, anti-government sentiment is strong
and sympathy for outlaws high. Some even refer to Ted Kaczynski
as a hero. The rage is there; the hatred of authority is there.
What do anarchists actually have to offer?
To figure this out, we must figure out what anarchy is. It is,
in part, a utopian idea, a vision of a world in which there are
no institutions of power, domination and exploitation, and individuals
are free to explore all of their capabilities and fully develop
themselves as they desire. But such visions, such ideas, are only
useful to the extent they move one to act. So anarchy must also
be a personal ethic: to refuse to delegate one's life away, to project
one's life for oneself, to refuse ever to be ruled or to rule. The
refusal to be ruled is particularly important as this is the real
source of our strength in the struggle. But, most importantly, as
a tool to be used by insurgent people, anarchy is a methodology
for strug gle. This methodology is an insurrectional methodology
incorporating a few essential elements:
1) Direct action--The struggle against the institutions of power,
in order to be effective, cannot use petitions to any authority.
Rather, those in struggle act directly to realize the objective
they have chosen.
2) Autonomy--Those in struggle refuse to delegate decision-making
to any formal organization such as unions, parties and the like.
Specific organizations for a particular struggle with a clear aim
that dissolves once the aim is met and that serve only as a means
for coordinating the autonomous efforts of individuals and small
groups based on real affinity, not as a decision-making bodies.
3) Permanent Conflictuality--Those in struggle have to recognize
the reality of their conflict with the exploiters, and always act
against them. The struggle needs to consist of constant and effective
action against the authorities aiming toward the specific objec-
tive that has been chosen. The terrain of capital and the state
is everywhere, so there are targets everywhere. Thus, we can be
doing small actions that can be easily imitat- ed across the social
terrain, keeping the pressure on and building insurrection without
recourse to leaders or vanguards.
4) Attack--There is no place for compro- mise or accommodation
with the state and capital in any aspect. They are our enemies and
we are out to destroy them. This is reflected in our actions by
our practice of attack against the specific physical manifestations
of power.
This methodology is anarchist in its refusal of any form of authority,
but can be used by all in struggle whether they call themselves
anarchist or not. It prevents the recuperation of the struggle by
any power structure and strengthens those who use it.
What Is Revolution?
Anarchists hope that the struggle for spe- cific aims using the methodology
outlined above will expand and lend to a revolutionary break. Revolution
is not something that drops from the sky, but rather something that
develops from real struggles as the aware- ness of the need to destroy
the present social order becomes increasingly conscious in the course
of struggle. The insurrectional anarchist methodology has within
it the seeds of such an awareness.
Although revolutions are not spontaneous eruptions, they tend to
catch us by surprise. It is in this light that we need to be aware
of the nature of revolution. There is no such thing as a non-violent
revolution, any more than there can be a non-violent storm. A revolution
is an upheaval of social conditions, the chaotic opening up of the
unknown. An anarchist revolution would involve the de struction
of all institutions of power, an up heaval of social relationships
comparable to the natural upheavals brought about by tornadoes,
hurricanes and earthquakes. Even if no blood were shed, such an
upheaval would have violent effects, destructive effects. Those
who are afraid of this would do well to avoid anarchist ideas and
practice.
But the upheaval of revolution is necessary to bring about the
end of the present social order which is, by its nature, a constant
upheaval forced upon all of those without power by the forces of
the state and capital. This constant upheaval fucks over most of
us leaving us to feel like unhappy puppets of a hellish fate. The
upheaval of anarchist revolution places people's lives into their
own hands, making people the creators of their own destinies. This
is the case because anarchist revolution can only grow out of struggles
which use an anarchist methodology and that methodology bases itself
in the autonomy of individuals and small groups, and their increasing
ability to act for themselves. Thus, the upheavals of anarchist
revolution are intentionally created by those in struggle in order
to destroy the institutions that enslave them.
This essay is reprinted from Rob the Rich! Jailhouse Writings
by Political Prisoner Robert Thaxton aka Rob los Ricos. All
proceeds from distribution of the Rob the Rich! pamphlet
will go towards Rob's legal defense. For copies of the pamphlet,
or for more information on Rob Thaxton, Anarchy, Revolutionary Solidarity
and related topics please contact Anti-Authoritarians Anonymous,
POB 11331, Eugene, Oregon 97440.
From Anarchy: a journal of desire armed,
#48, Fall-Winter 1999-2000
### An Urgent Call For Support And Action ###
After Two months,
Anarchist Robert Thaxton remains in Jail around charges stemming
from the June 18th Reclaim The Streets
Event in Eugene, Oregon. During his
arrest after Reclaim The Streets, Robert was severely beaten. Eugene
police have made an effort to cover-up this beating and continue
to deny Robert's lawyer some access to Robert. Robert has been singled
out for prosecution because of his anarchist beliefs and as an effort
by the Eugene police to put the June 18th event on trial.
Robert is 36, has a two year old daughter, and is a committed anarchist
who has made many positive contributions to the movement over a
considerable period of time - most recently writing for Anarchy,
A Journal Of Desire Armed. Robert is hanging tough and will
not be hiding his beliefs during his trial. The claim that Robert
threw a rock at a police officer is false. The only evidence for
this the report of the officer who beat Robert and who is known
for harassing and singling out activists. Robert acted as a peace-maker
during the event but likely was singled out because he was active
in the event.
All struggles are linked. Through his web site, Robert provided
considerable support for Leonard Peltier and other American political
prisoners. It is important for all partisans of the class struggle
to see the link of different struggles and different political prisoners.
Eugene has been the site of an extremely militant and effective
anti-gentrification struggle - even as much development and speculation
continues. The prosecuation of Robert is an effort to increase repression
in Eugene and could an effect through-out the country. .
Robert most needs funds for his legal defense. He would also appreciate
people writing to him in jail.
Rob can be written to at:
Robert Thaxton #1370036 101 West 5th Eugene, OR 97401
Jail letter restrictions are demanding and arbitrary. Paper should
be new and perfectly clean (for some reason). All books sent should
come from the publisher - although even books from AK press have
been rejected.
All donations should be sent to Anti-Authoritarian Anonymous PO
Box 11331 Eugene OR 97440
Send check, money order or cash. Any checks and money orders should
have the payee left blank.
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