A-Infos (en) US, ILLNOIS, Chicago Anarchists of Color Tactically Unifying Struggles APOC Groups in the United States

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CACTUS is a collective composed of and fighting for the struggles
of people of color. Our aim is to bring together various communities
to unite in the struggle against oppression without compromising
the identity and specific needs of the community or individual(s).
We are for dismantling society-imposed borders of fear, including,
but not limited to; race, nations, culture, caste/class and politics.
We believe that in a grassroots, self-endowed, community
organized anarchist society, we can explore an existence free:
from white supremacy, and toward the liberation of our own
communities.

Our indigenous, displaced and immigrated cultures have been
ripped away from us and sold back in a form we cannot readily
recognize. In schools, forced or public, our children and we are
constantly being taught lies as truth, and tested for the success of
their conditioning and their ability to regurgitate said information.
Those who complain about current situations are often given or
forced to take mind-numbing and oftentimes addicting or
experimental/unsafe psychiatric drugs. Those who reject the
system often find themselves labeled as a danger to themselves
and/or others, and imprisoned either within the mental system or
the prison industrial complex.

of class and communalist restrictions.

Within our various communities of color, we are commonly held up
against the preconceived notions of the ruling white, upper/middle
class, heterosexist male hegemony and expected, not only to put
up with these standards, but to adopt them for ourselves. Culture
and class struggle are commodified as "exotic" or a "special
interest", something to theorize idly about, and safely packaged for
mass marketing to members of the same oppressive factions, who
can then claim a special understanding. Meanwhile, these notions
become so ingrained in the consciousness of everyone, that anyone
who doesn't adhere to them, however misconceived or ill-informed
they may have been in the first place, is considered an oddity or
outsider.

to question/rebel against sexual and gender conditioning.

Men stuck in machismo, women stuck in femininity, deny people
the freedom to reach their full potential. Prescribing specific
behaviors for genders ignores and harms those who would like to
reach past these stereotypes, and embody (or do not) any or all of
these qualities. It conforms people to a rigid sexuality, ignoring
queer and gender liberation- in many of our communities' queers are
often ignored for the sake of 'culture' and 'tradition'. While we
support the struggles of cultures trying to re-assert themselves
while fighting the mainstream american ideas on race, we do not
support any practice that interferes with personal rights. We see
this as harmful, dangerous and sometimes deadly- sexual
stereotypes and virgin/slut dichotomies have lead many women and
queers but few straight men to their deaths. Women are attacked
on the streets for racial-influenced ideas on sexuality and beauty
standards- the lighted skinned jezebel, the hoochie mama, the
harem girl. We support reproductive rights and the right to bear
children, or not to. We will confront and stop such racist, sexist
and economically motivated abuses such as forced sterilization of
women and men, rape (whether within our own communities or
government and society sanctioned), genital mutilation, arranged
marriages, and the eroticism of non-white bodies.

for the dismantling of borders and hierarchy, which lead to WAR.

As long as there is a ruling class, there will be the notion that
"might makes right"; that any abuse of any group of people by this
ruling class is wholly justifiable, and the idea that any rights
individuals who are not a member of this group have must be given
to them, not something one is born entitled to. With the division of
people by arbitrary borders, the stratification of classes becomes
more apparent, and fuels the nonexistent need for asserting power
over each other, and so-called ownership of a section of land,
dictating who does and does not belong there. This, quite
obviously, diverts all involved from unifying themselves in the more
necessary struggle for complete self-determination and racial,
sexual and economic liberation.

We invite any and all persons of color, from those who agree with
these statements, are interested in more, or would just like to talk,
to come to our meetings. We will be discussing the future of
CACTUS, what types of actions, ideas and information we should
follow up with. All those identified as people of color whether red,
brown, black, yellow, biracial or those who do agree with using
colors us a tactical unifier, feel free to drop in. We ask that all
white privileged individuals to respect our autonomy and do not
come.


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