Before Another Boat Isn't Blocked:

Musings on inoculation against recuperative counter-insurgency

It is a testament to the successful proliferation of radical politics that we are faced with such persistent forces of recuperation. Everywhere we can see efforts to commodify decolonization & abolitionist rhetoric, or to turn protests into money-making opportunities.

We must study these recuperative forces, as they are a valid part of counter-insurgency whether unintentional or otherwise. How can we better inoculate ourselves so that we do not fall prey to these forces? The following three concepts are what we have returned to time & again.

Information literacy; we must develop our ability to analyze the source, logic, & implication of any information that we are presented. How does the information fit into existing frameworks & narratives; who may benefit or suffer from its implications or spread?

Historical literacy; “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.” What information is available about relevant situations & actors? How have previous, exposed counter-insurgency operations functioned in relation to our geography, ideology, & identity?

Holistic thinking or interdependence or dialectical materialism; we cannot approach information or situations as if they occur in a vacuum. We must be able to extrapolate transferable principles. What are the various ways that any multiple points may be connected?

We hope this has been useful in priming you & your comrades to some productive conversation or study. With a foundation of information literacy, historical literacy, & holistic thinking we are better equipped to subvert the machinations of recuperation whether they be manifest as political party, nonprofit, or otherwise.