#226 | Giving Way To Passivity & Despair: Americans, How To Not Win A Damn Thing w/ Alley Valkyrie
Intro: 7:47
In this episode, I speak with social critic, activist, writer, and textile artist Alley Valkyrie, co-founder of Gods & Radicals and author of ‘Of Monsters and Miso,’ “a bilingual book of delicious miso sauce recipes.”
Waves of protests have swept nations around the globe, with robust examples mass resistance in such places as Hong Kong (http://bit.ly/2Q2LtF8), Chile, and France, just to name a few. (http://bit.ly/2SFi8lX) Organized resistance against the neoliberal economic polices imposed by governments globally, and the authoritarian responses from these states towards their respective populations, has not only demonstrated the spirit of the times we are in, but just as importantly, what the nature of resistance looks like in our time of compounding crises. Among these numerous examples of civil unrest, there is one glaring exception: the United States. As Alley explains in this episode, there are numerous historical, cultural, and sociological reasons as to why US citizens continue to believe that the electoral process, petition signing, and the ongoing impeachment proceedings against President Trump in the House and Senate will lead to the changes needed to adequately respond to the massive systemic injustices Americans experience in their economic and social lives daily. Faith in these bureaucratic processes are certainly not enough, and in fact, works to deter the kinds of direct actions required to actually force the hands of the political elite to do anything besides steal from and undermine the majority of the population in their ability to live lives of dignity, good health, and social welfare.
Alley Valkyrie is a co-founder of Gods & Radicals Press and co-hosts the Empires Crumble podcast with Rhyd Wildermuth. She currently resides in Rennes, France.
Episode Notes:
- Purchase Alley’s book ‘Of Monsters and Miso’: http://bit.ly/39iH08M
- Read Alley’s article ‘Refugees and the Reflection of Empire’: http://bit.ly/2F2ejPC
- Much of Alley’s work can be found at her website and at Gods & Radicals Press: https://alleyvalkyrie.wordpress.com / https://abeautifulresistance.org
- Listen and subscribe to Empires Crumble: http://bit.ly/EmpiresCrumble
- The song featured in this episode is “Strt Srns” by Wise Blood from the + EP.
