In Defense of Looting
A Riotous History of Uncivil Action
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In Defense of Looting
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Narrated by:
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Caroline Hewitt
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By:
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Vicky Osterweil
About this listen
A fresh argument for rioting and looting as our most powerful tools for dismantling white supremacy.
Looting - a crowd of people publicly, openly, and directly seizing goods - is one of the more extreme actions that can take place in the midst of social unrest. Even self-identified radicals distance themselves from looters, fearing that violent tactics reflect badly on the broader movement.
But Vicky Osterweil argues that stealing goods and destroying property are direct, pragmatic strategies of wealth redistribution and improving life for the working class - not to mention the brazen messages these methods send to the police and the state. All our beliefs about the innate righteousness of property and ownership, Osterweil explains, are built on the history of anti-Black, anti-Indigenous oppression.
From slave revolts to labor strikes to the modern-day movements for climate change, Black lives, and police abolition, Osterweil makes a convincing case for rioting and looting as weapons that bludgeon the status quo while uplifting the poor and marginalized. In Defense of Looting is a history of violent protest sparking social change, a compelling reframing of revolutionary activism, and a practical vision for a dramatically restructured society.
©2020 Vicky Osterweil (P)2020 PublicAffairsListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about In Defense of Looting
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Will Bowers
- 09-07-22
A Thorough Dive into the History of the Term
I saw another (anonymous) user state here that the book is a black communist manifesto. Communism is a system of governance, and if there's one thing this book dislikes, it's opressive governance. If you want to give it a political label, it's very anarchocommunist, in that it discusses the (well known) racist history of American police as slave catchers, encourages mutual support, and is generally distrusting of the property-owning and political classes. This book is not so much a call to arms for a redistribution of wealth, but is pointing out that looting is direct action and the most efficient means for the redistribution of wealth.
It just so happens that this discusses racist practices in government, police, and media so much because it's a historical and sociological examination of mostly the USA. The history of the USA is predominantly the subjugation of black people as property and exploiting their labour, while wealthy white men tell poor whites that their enemy is anyone melanated. As long as you don't accept this, any honest history will look like pro-black propaganda to you.
Looting and rioting are historically loaded terms, despite 'looting' entering English from Hindi diru g the British Raj. This book unpacks the history rather well. There are many points in history where people and groups are lauded as having "done the right thing" and pushed for emancipation, despite it only being done resentfully and with a forced hand.
A very important distinction is made here too, between peacetime and wartime, successful operations, and failed operations. The only 'permissible' looting and rioting is successful sabotage in wartime.
Overall certainly worth a read, but lost on those without the accurate historical context to appreciate it.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Atle Andersen Bjelde
- 24-11-20
In my opinion
It reads as a communist manifesto, clearly baked into a history of black suppression in America to appeal to more people.
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3 people found this helpful