A radical argument for why rioting and looting are our most
powerful tools of dismantling white supremacy.
Looting–a crowd of
people publicly, openly, and directly seizing goods–is one of the
more extreme actions that take can 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.
However, in this
deftly argued corrective, Vicky Osterweil argues that while looting
is often maligned in today’s society, it is, and has always been,
one of our most powerful tools of dismantling capitalism and white
supremacy. Stealing goods and destroying property are a direct means
of wealth redistribution and a practical, immediate way of improving
life for the working class– not to mention a brazen message to the
police, the state, and an unjust society. All our beliefs about the
innate righteousness of property and ownership, Osterweil explains,
are built on the history of anti-Black and settler oppression–meaning
that belief in the right to own property is innately, structurally
white supremacist.
From the slave
revolts that started a social revolution in the South to the more
recent #BlackLivesMatter and climate change movements, 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 radical activism; and a
practical vision for the redistribution of wealth, a new relationship
to property, and a radically restructured society.
