Interview with Anthony Rayson |

By, Christopher Preciado
Interview With Anthony Rayson

By, Christopher Preciado

1. Offering (story, piece of art, etc. and your explanation
of why it's important) to inspire people to do good in
the world.

Answer: Alright, T'l recount an experience of mine. When I
was eighteen, I dropped out of college in my second semester
of my freshman year (1972). Nixon & Kissinger invaded
Cambodia (again!) and all the schools went on strike. Our
strike lasted one day, but 1 stayed on strike and took off from
there within a couple of weeks, leaving all my stuff there.

1 was basically on the road for two years, experiencing a
ot of “real” life situations, without resources, etc. 1was at
the mercy of the kindness of others. It was an extremely
important learning experience for me.

At one point, I was living in a cheap dump in Starks,
Nevada working as a dishwasher at Harrah's Club. 1 moved to
another dive across the street. As 1 came back to my earlier
place, 1o get my things, several police officers surrounded me
with drawn guns and immediately rifled through my
possessions. They found a ¥ nickel of ditch weed that I
couldn't give away (I tried!) 1 heard that the cop who was
the slumlord for the place was robbed. The robber was 62"
with a green coat. I'm 5'7” but I had a green coat on. 1 soon
found myself in a cell facing six years in prison for possession

1 called my parents and they basically said 1 was on my
own with this one. Soon, an older black prisoner befriended
me and offered me counsel on my case, how to deal with
prison life and other important things it was imperative that 1
learn about. My Dad finally did get me a lawyer and a plea
deal was brokered. I was to plead guilty, be contrite and 1'd
only get two years probation. Had 1 so much as smirked, I
believe the judge would have thrown the book at me. 1 had
to take a Greyhound bus from Chicago the next two years to
check in with a parole officer, who could not have cared less
about me. Al for some shit that couldn't get a dog high!
This always stuck in my craw, as I really hadn't done
anything that was genuinely “criminal.” If I didn't have a
lawyer, 1 could have been sent down the rabbit hole of prison.
What would happen if 1 was not so-called “white?” But my
black brother in jail went out of his way to help me and I
appreciated it enormously. 1 vowed to give back someday,
someway. So, it's kind of no wonder I focused on prison.

There are a lot of genuinely evil people in'this world and
part of their evil is lying to people and instilling fear to gain
acquiesce for their really evil behavior (mass-murder & etc.)
People are unlike other animals in that their “instincts” such
as self-preservation, do not inform them of the dangers that
coercive society engenders. We use our reasoning, cognitive
abilities. If these have been manipulated to produce the
result those doing the manipulating are looking for (cowed
public, willing soldiers, etc.) then our efforts are side-tracked
into being accomplices to these bastards. This hurts all of us,
including our close family members and the future
generations. Think of the dozens of millions of family
members fucked over by the marijuana laws. Now,
corporations are raking it in, selling this innocent, yet highly
impressive plant! Still, people rot in cells for possession!

So doing solid humanitarian work is essential for our
collective survival, as those in power do not care about our
lives, our future - or even the future of their own children!

As well, as my little story would suggest, when you do
someone a good turn, without any strings attached, they
remember it! They want to return the favor - and then
some - either to you or to other people. Like a baby who
wants to share her food with you, people are caring at heart.
Unless, of course, they've been ruined, one way or another.
It is psychologically healthful to help other people for the
person going out of their way to do it.

Think of owning a dog. If you treat that dog with love,
she will forever pay you back tenfold. Mistreat a dog or train
them to be mean, you have a snarling poliée dog that is a
danger to anybody but their controllers. People are social
animals and cooperation is basic for the sustaining of life. All
animals share this with their species.
Human beings have long since been victims of coercive 1
authorities, who use many vile methods to keep those under
their thumbs ignorant and intimidated, making it easier to
enslave them and sustain wealth and power for themselves.
Now, more than ever, people are dummy-downed,
impoverished and chock full of dreadful ideas shoved down
their throats at every turn, every day. Humanity desperately
needs many people who genuinely have their interests at
heart, and be willing to cross the “fear line” and provide
useful information and services that are otherwise lacking or
only available to “white” people with plenty of money.

2. Tell us about your early influences in anarchist thought
or about individuals who inspired you to be involved in
the movement.

Answer: Well, T was born in 1953, so 1 came of age in the
explosive sixties. As 1 became a teenager, 1 was aghast at
the monstrous action of the U.S. government, who were
murdering an average of 1,000 Vietnamese per day. They
showed stacks of bodies ("body count”) with smiling G.Ls
next to them. It was horrific on a daily basis. Vietnam was
not the only place. In 1965, the U.S. orchestrated the
slaughter of 500,000 Indonesian “communists.” The
government even seemed to be at war with young people,

/ here at home. 1was driven into the arms of the
Counterculture. Cool rock bands, weed, demos, underground
papers, etc. Some people had a brain that was functioning!

But, before that 1 was a paperboy and actually had three
routes, a morning, afternoon and Sunday. 1 was an avid
reader of the papers and of books, which my parents had
many of. I'd read all kinds of books - even during class.

My father, Leland Rayson, was a progressive politician and
took us to demonstrations and meetings. 1 actually was at
Martin Luther King, Jr's march in Cicero, where he was
stoned. 1 was thirteen. We went up to Milwaukee to march
with Father Groppi, a radical Catholic priest, who had Dick
Gregory there, on a 43-day hunger strike. My Dad was an
early anti-war activist, a freedom rider supporter and for a

while, the state’s main abortion rights advocate. He got
death threats all the time.

As the sixties moved on, social strife increased and 1 went
to many demonstrations and meetings with activist groups,
while I was still in high school. 1 started organizing with kids
from other schools, specifically with YAWF (Youth Against War
and Fascism.) My older brother hooked up with YSA (Young
Socialist Alliance) and 1 tagged along with him some. In
1969, 1 went to the Moratorium in Washington with an SDS
group. This was the Maoist Progressive Labor group. They
were splitting with the Weathermen. We went to a raucous
conference in Washington, where these two factions battled it
out. 1 grabbed all the literature I could get, as 1 did at every
demo, conference and meeting.

We had a rally at the Department of Labor in support of
the then striking General Electric workers. While we did this,
10,000 maniacs (Yippies) went by on their way to do battle at
the Justice Department. 1 was swept up in the excitement
and followed for a few blocks, but had to turn back to make
sure 1 could make the bus back home. Heady stuff! Twas
reading Marx, Lenin, Mao and Trotsky. 1 appreciated their
clear class analysis, but could never stomach their
dictatorship worshiping and their authoritarian manners.

My best friend had a brother going to school in Dekalb and
he ran a grotto. He had the underground papers and comix
from around the country - and porn, to make ends meet. 1
appreciated guys like Abbie Hoffman, who had courage and
intelligence and was a kind of anarchist. Now, there was no
internet then and no AK Press. There was no literature at all
that you could find that could be called “anarchist thought.” 1
had heard about Mikhail Bakunin, but didn't really know what
he had written.

In my reading, 1 was blown away by Dostoevsky, Harriet
Beecher Stowe, history in general and the existentialists. 1
read Sartre, Camus, R.D. Laing - stuff like that. 1 adored
Claude McKay, who was a black communist. 1 got radical
books and magazines, but knew nothing of “zines” - although
when 1 returned to Illinois, at age twenty, I set to work
furiously on a zine, 1 titled it “Peoples’ Polar Express.” | made
fifty copies, showed it to my friends, who enjoyed it and
thought I was crazy. This was in 1974. b

Later, 1 read an interview with Noel Ignatiev in the
Progressive magazine. This was big epiphany for me. 1
thought “finally - someone who tells the goddamn truth!” 1
wrote a letter to Race Traitor, a journal he was co-editor of.
They printed it and 1 met with a Chicago connection to it, a
professor named Kingsley Clarke.

1 also got hooked up with the zine underground and
ordered all kinds of zines, like The Match, by Fred Woodworth.
1 went to a meeting at the University of Chicago, where
students put together a solid publication. 1 asked "where can
1 meet anarchists?” They told me to “go to the A-Zonel” A
black lady took me to a Black Musiim restaurant. 1 did go to
the A-Zone and started to go to meetings.

1 started writing articles and sending them far and wide
into the zine and progressive world, looking for like-minded
writers to collaborate with. 1 had a job that allowed me to
read and write, while on the clock and 1 took extreme
advantage of it! 1 met some amazing anarchists, like Lorenzo
Komboa Ervin and his mate, JoNina Abron. Sam Mbah from
the Nigerian Awareness League came to speak at the A-Zone.
1 met several solid Chicago A's, such as Gale Ahrens (aka
Jane Doe), Mike Durschmid, Bill Burns & Camille, Ken Wong,
Darrell Gordon, Jeremy & Jason Hammond and others as well
25 many others from around the country, inside and outside
of prison. 1 started reading real anarchist literature from
books, zines, letters, etc. 1 finally felt empoweted to do what
1 always wanted.

a. What was your early environment like?
(Community, family, etc.)

My early years were lived in Tinley Park, which was then a
small suburb in the southwest suburbs. 1-57 wasn't even
built, yet. It was named after the Tinley brothers, who were
railroad men. 1 was the fourth child out of seven, born on my
sisters birthday. A lot of our neighbors had a lot of kids, too.
So, we would sort of float from yard to yard or house to 1
house and rampage around town. We all had bikes and
played a lot of baseball, football, tennis, went swimming, etc.

Tinley was an all-white, racist place of mostly German
people, at that time. The grade-school boys would go around
the school chanting racist slogans during recess. Meanwhile,
my Dad would have black activists over tothe house for
strategy meetings and they sent us to the Harvey YMCA every
Saturday, where we could actually mingle with black kids.

1 had five brothers and one sister. 1 didn't like being
bullied by my older two brothers, 5o T kept to myself a ot and
read voraciously. I tried to look after my younger siblings.
My Mom was a stay-at-home Mom until 1970 or so, when she
went back to grad school and became a psychologist. One of
my uncles, Delwyn, my Dad's brother, had been a minister in
Hawali, when he decided it was all a sham and became a
socialist. He was sympathetic to me, when all hell broke
loose and 1 was seriously alienated from pretty much
everything. To this day, the people 1 grew up with (who
aren't already dead) are still, mainly racists.

3. Can you tell us about how the movement differs now
from the time you first got involved?

Answer: My first effort at organizing was with my brother’s
girlfriend, Patty. We tried to change the school's rules that
girls must wear a skirt - even in the winter. Why should they
freeze? It seemed so stupid! Eventually, they were allowed
to wear culottes. Mostly, we took the train downtown for the
big anti-war demos and so forth. People we knew, neighbors,
had gotten sucked into the military and some died and some
came home shattered. Some we got weed from. People who
could, went to college to avoid the draft. High school was
divided into various groups, which we called socialites,

hippies, jocks and greasers.
But, it was an explosion of issues that concerned me. 1

wanted the whole thing scrapped and society to become
something genuinely humane to replace it with. But, we were
ignorant, conflicted and naive. 1 was still quite young. We
held meetings to discuss strategy, but they were controlled
affairs, led by white men, almost invariably. 4

In 1968, when the Democrats held their convention in
Chicago, my Dad was actually a delegate. Didn't matter. He
got gassed, too! 1was too young (fourteen) to go down
there, but my brother and Mother did. 1 was transfixed by
the TV coverage. It sent chills down your spine hearing “The
whole world’s watching!” The highly suspicious assassinations
of the Kennedy’s, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther
King, Jr. underscored this decade. I followed coverage of Che
Guevara’s adventures in Bolivia. It was in the papers! Soon
after his murder, a book of his diary came out, published in
Cuba and available at the Rexall Drugs store! Shortly after
the 1969 Moratorium, Fred Hampton and Mark Clark were
gunned down by the Chicago pigs. On the "L" I met a couple
of brothers who said they knew him and would introduce me
to him. 1 went to visit them in the *hood, too!

After 1 got back from hitch-hiking, 1 was ready to “join the
revolution” but 1 had no idea who to contact or anything. My
friends were just moping around getting loaded, with crappy
jobs. And, when in 1973, the draft was ended, it seemed like
the air went out of the balloon, as far as mass action was
concerned. It was quite depressing, as everyone got hung-up
on disco music, which I hated. So, 1 did what 1 had to do to
transition into adulthood, such as getting a job and trying to
find a mate. I was a frustrated writer and a lowly peon. 1
knew that 1 wouldn't be able to make a living writing what 1
wanted to write, so 1 had to settle for what I could get.

One big difference from then and now is that there was a
strong prisoner support movement. We were all in on the
“Free Huey” movement and it eventually worked. The
Panthers were quite visible and growing and doing some good
things for their community, had a national newspaper and an
international presence - until they were destroyed by the
government. The few “reforms” were soon reversed bigtime
and harsh mass incarceration would soon be upon us. For a
time in the mid-1970’s most of the U.S. prisoners were
Vietnam Vets. Welcome home, boys! Enjoy homelessness
and prison! 1 had a few neighbors who came home in coffins

9

a. Any pitfalls today that didn't exist in the past?

Answer: Well, yes 1 would say so! We now live in basically a
fascist surveillance state, where technology has enabled our
oppressors to pretty much know where each hair on our butts
is located! Cameras everywhere, all our information known to
them, from our phones and computers, cops once bumbling
idiots, now armed with sophisticated tracking devices, all
kinds of deadly weapons, etc. Big Brother, indeed!

When I was young, we could “get away” with stuff
because there were so many of us and a lot of the nasty
bastards were in Southeast Asia menacing those people.

Now, my generation is composed of the worst nazis in our
history and (almost) all of the progressive “heads" are either
dead, in prison, in ill-health or despairing. Obviously, we
failed miserably in creating a better world!

1 was so happy to see the Occupy Movement of 2011 and
the outraged wave of actions throughout the country in 2020
in the wake of the televised George Floyd murder. People
now do have access to intelligent (and some confusing)
anarchist literature, actual groups that can be easily accessed
and young people who are a helluva lot more aware and
caring about what is going down, than the schiubs I grew up
around. Of course infiltration, disinformation, and repression
has also grown to all-encompassing levels.

A lot of things remain the same, only worse! Racism,
sexism, homophobia are still rampant, the gap between rich
and poor is now gargantuan, endless wars are even more
ubiquitous and future-ruining, the prisons are bursting and
uber-repressive and the brainwashing is suffocating. From
only 3 or 4 TV stations, we now have hundreds, but the
shows and movies all still suck and are violence-glorying
testaments to how low people will go toWhore for this
despicable country. The fate of Earth herself is in a death
spiral before our very eyes, which many people have zero
concern for. T have two sons and two grandsons.

People have been so manipulated that they don't seem to

care to learn the truth about things, but just exist in a fantasy

coma of comic book heroes and cell phone usage. The

prisons used to disallow TV's, but since they have been totally

cowed, they are used as guards and mind-drainers. i

4. Prisoner support. Why did you get involved? Why
should anarchists get involved in prisoner support if
they are not?

Answer: Once I started outreaching to other folks spreading
my writings around looking for feedback with the goal of
finding comrades to network with, it became more and more
obvious that the people giving the most serious look and
response to my work, were prisoners. This was around
1996-97. 1 s0on began my own personal zine, “Thought
Bombs.” 1 made 33 issues of that, each about 64 pages.

s well, in 1998 1 had a very big year. 1 co-founded
STAND (Shut This Airport Nightmare Down!) to fight the
proposed Peotone Airport in Eastern Will County, where we
moved to in 1990. 1 became the Secretary and helped to
conceive actions, as well as do argument crafting, which we
used to educate people about the myriad issues surrounding
this threatening politician/corporate boondoggle. 1 started
writing zines and collected other information about the
dangers that this project would create. I even got to writing
a quarterly newspaper, with tens of thousands of issues we
Spread all around this area. 1 even got the local printers to
print up prison abolition anarchist newspapers!

1 also started a South Chicago ARA (Anti-Racist Action)
group in the south suburbs. 1 went to an ARA conference in
Columbus, Ohio and saw other groups from around the
country and Canada, who had little literature tables. 1
thought ‘wouldn't it be nice if this literature was available
from one source? Others agreed, but it soon became
apparent that if this was to happen, it would be me who
Would do all the work. So my distro started out as an
ARA/ABC distro.
1'd seen distros out there, usually done by punk band
enthusiasts. 1 soon focused aimost exclusively on the "
prisons, as it seemed to me that ARA literature was somewhat
limited and easily dated, but the massive American gulag
system was basically the black hole of society and woefully
ignored by many. 1 wrote back to prisoners who 1 felt made
intelligent points in other publications and started to acquire
Prisoner support publications and develop relationships with
prisoners and their supporters. Then I self-taught myself how
to make nice digest-sized zines and started working up
prisoners’ material. My first prisoner zine was called
Decidedly Radical, by Frank J. Atwood, a lifer.

Soon, T ran across a wonderful mentor - Sean Lambert, a
self-described bisexual prison abolitionist anarchist, who did
lengthy prisoner zines, in tiny print mixed with his own
anarchist punk band lyrics, graphics and other contributions.

So the South Chicago ABC Zine Distro was launched. 1
got a P.O. Box in Homewood, Iilinois and I've kept it going
ever since. 1 put ads in several zines and leftist journals and
magazines offering to collaborate with prisoner writers and
artists. The response was beyond my wildest imaginings.

Well, T guess 1 opened up a can of worms because once I
started to understand and delve into this whole prison mess, |
came to realize that genuine anarchist-driven information and
polemics was also a serious need in this country, not just for
prisoners, but for everybody. So, although prisoner writings
and analysis were very important for other prisoners, they
and many other people on the “outs” also had important
things to say which 1 felt people needed to know, and so
should be part of this distro, too.

Very few other prisoner support groups did this type of
one-on-one collaboration with conscious prisoners, nor would
they even think of doing all the work to create these types of
publications, much less make them freely available.

Since it took until 1 was forty years old to consider myself
an anarchist, T thought “shiti” Why did it take me this long to
realize this? 1'd been reading forever and basically, been an
anarchist without knowing it, my whole life. Obviously, or so

1 told myself, anarchists had been doing a poor job of getting
the word out and doing serious and useful work with the most
downtrodden of our brothers and sisters. 12

People in general are woefully uneducated about politics
and pretty much all other important subjects - deliberately
maleducated! Also, 1 was a self-taught writer and I could
make myself an editor, a publisher and a distributor. As a
serious and reliable anarchist, by supplying useful information
on many topics hungered for by prisoners, freely through the
mails, 1 could also flavor this work with my own anarchist
rants and analyses.

Prisoners are wary and understandably so. Many alleged
supporters are fly-by-night operations, who crow about their
own work, but rarely give prisoners the time of day as far as
spreading their opinions is concerned. Doing this consistently
for the last 25 years has given me a lot! I've learned an
enormous amount, collaborated with brilliant and talented
prisoner writers, activists and artists and gained their trust.
T've gained incredible friendships and assistance in this work
from prisoners, other support people and their family
members. 1 now have over 1,300 zines which I make freely
available. I've been hellbound for leather for a long time!

Every year, 1 make a catalog, so people can let me know
what they want. It's extremely rewarding,
nose-to-the-grindstone work! 1've done interviews with some.
of the most prominent political prisoners and many, many
Zines with them and really, some brilliant anarchist prisoners
1ot that well known. My thing is, if 1 think what is presented
to me can genuinely benefit someone else (ustially a prisoner,
but not exclusively) then I'll work the material up into a zine
and stick it in the distro. Once a zine is “in the can” it can
theoretically live forever! I don’t need a mainstream
publisher or barcode or price tag!

Being free and made available is my contribution o the
struggle, 1 think it also gives the idea of anarchism a front
row seat in the battlefield of ideas and is something no other
belief system would do. Zines fall in the cracks of prison
censorship. Religious groups send their "bibles” and whatnot,
but they have an agenda. They want people to join their
particular sect. 1 have material from several different strains
of radical thought. 1 don't tell them they have to become
anarchists to receive anything. 1 think we can out-argue all
the other belief systems, but I feel they can make up their
own minds on what and how to think about things. I offer
many choices, plus my own take on things, That's solidarity
‘& mutual aid to me! My entire archive of zines and prisoner
artwork is also housed at DePaul's Special Collections Library.
The curator sends these zines to prisoners, too! They use
them in class studies, at conferences, etc. 13

Just because a person considers himself or herself an
anarchist doesn't mean they should stop learning. Who
better than prisoners can hip us to what dastardly deeds are
being done to people by the government? Often, they have
helped me in areas of research, providing graphics for my
grassroots efforts and sending me in useful directions,
contacts wise. When I'm down, due to say, the death of one
of my family members, prisoners provide the comfort and
solace 1 need - even more genuinely than my own family!
Anarchists need love, too! They have my back like no one
else. Another interesting point is that prison writings, such as
poetry, essays, rants, stories, documentation and letters are a
unique (usually) extremely clear-minded and to-the-point
type of literature - as is their amazing artwork. To be a part
of this project, many brilliant prisoners are made to suffer
terribly. It's extremely important to them - and it sure as hell
should be to any self-respecting anarchist, too!

For, anyone can do this. To become @ publisher, all you
have to do is make up a name, have a stamp made and get a
P.O. Box. Use the stamp for the return address on an
envelope and on the last page of each zine and BAM! - you're
a publisher. You don't have to get a degree or pay a fee.
Plus! The material is only edited by you - not some stuffy
board of gutless people looking to maxjmize a profit.

1 tell prisoners my zines are free because ideas should
always be free and I'm an anarchist! I've already paid for all
this with a lifetime of time, money and effort. So no one

needs to pay for it again, do they? And if you can't pay me
back somehow (usually 1 ask for essays or artwork or stamps)
help the brothers and sisters around you. Share the zines
and spread mutual aid and solidarity wherever you got
‘Anarchists, in my opinion, need to go where the suffering is
the worst and the help needed is the greatest! Remember
Katrina? Who came to help those people? Anarchists!!

5. Recommendations or thoughts for how we should use
or not use chip-based technology (like computers) as a
medium between us or in our lives.

Answer: Well, personally I'm a computer dumbass and I
don't really like it. It's been taken over by businesses, mainly
and poor people and prisoners don't really have access Lo it,
even nowadays. Back in the day, I didn't even like PacMan. 1
played pinball. 1 do think it is much better to write (and edit)
imaterial with than the good old Smith-Corona. Texting and
email can be useful, as is getting directions or information
quickly. But if you are at all *political” the snoops are all over
your computer and phone.

Make no mistake, Big Brother is all over the internet and
basically it knows almost everything ‘about anyone they care
to look into. 1 can't really speak for other people and what
they do with it. 1 know it is useful in situations such as calling
people to action or coordinating fluid situations. There are all
Linds of things you can do with it. 1 have no magic solutions
to keep people from being harassed due to smart phones or
computers. 1t easy to buy stuff from home, too.

What 1 do is not do anything remotely considered illegal.”
1 go by my real name and am very upfront with my work. 1
think being an anarchist is a very important responsibility that
1 take very seriously. Most of the time, I don't even use the
A" word as 1 talk and relate to people who don't have a clue
what it truly is about. 1t's a buzzword, like “gang-related.”

1 consider myself *Joe Normal” because to me, it seems
entirely appropriate that 1 am doing this type of work and am
puzzled why so few others are engaged init. We are
(allegedly) endowed by our white slave-owning “fathers” with
the *right” of free speech. Of course, this is being tossed into
the dustbin of history by today’s fascists. Personally, I think
the Constitution isn't worth the parchment it is written on, 2s
it allows for human slavery (of prisoners) to this day!

Many, many people need (and deserve) to lean the truth
that anarchists, guided by these excellent principles, can
Share with others. Can you use computers to do this? I'm
<ure you can. Personally, I prefer letters and zines, phone
conversations and personal meetings. What I tell people is
that 1 think they should pursue their talents and interests in
the service to humanity. This, to me, gives a person a sense
of self-worth and positive accomplishment. 1t's a life fully
lived - even amidst such a depraved environment.

6. What security dangers do anti-authority movements
face here in the USA? And how should anarchists
respond to these dangers?

Answer: Well, there are many dangers. We're all in danger,
whether you consider yourself an anarchist or not! I'm no
expert on this subject. I usually work alone or in close
collaboration with an individual. 1'm 69 years old now and
can't do much hell raising, anyway. I've always detested
Violence and guns and any type of bullying or coercion. There
are all types of ways anarchists can comport themselves, Just
like anybody else. Individuals or groups need to figure out
how best to accomplish what they feel is important in life.
You must do the research and adopt the tactics that are
deemed most suitable and safe. 1t's just like any other
situation. You drive a car, you put your seatbelt on, drive
carefully and arrive at your destination safely, whether alone
or in a group.

7. What are two important lessons hiave you learned for
yourself in life?

Answer: 1 tried for a while to live by myself and tried to learn
things that I thought were important, such as what is this
society really about? 1 learned a ot going about things in
such a manner, but later on, 1 realized I couldn't just conjure
up a legitimate or purposeful existence without having any
real means or any real stability (love) in my life. So,1 ] {
realized I would have to figure out a way to sustain myself,
which meant I had to get a job, like every other Joe Blow, and
try to find a companion who was willing to put up with me
and who I could relate to. 1 came to realize at around age
thirty (after having a brief marriage from age 23 - 26) that 1
wanted to have a “full” life, which meant me and my partner
would have children. So, once I came back to this area at
age twenty, 1 worked in restaurants and factories to begin this
process. 1 lived frugally and actually was able to have a small
house, as my first wife had $6,000 for a down payment.

After the divorce, T had to pay that all back with $1000 more
for furniture. That took five years. Then I sought a woman
who was smart and loving and would make for a wonderful
Mother and one willing to bear our children. Luckily, I was
able to find her and all my dreams came true!*

The other lesson was to never trust the government,
continue to hold the same attitude throughout life as 1 held at
age fifteen. Treat people with respect. Try to learn as much
as possible and keep striving to learn about everything I was
interested in and fulfill my early desires to become a writer
and try to do something positive, while alive on this planet.
Sometimes I was depressed and alienated and saw no way
forward. But, I kept a flicker of hope that never got
extinguished. Later, T was able to figure it out, but of course,
all our lives come with regrets that we cannot rédo. 1 spent
50 much time on this vast project, 1 believe I neglected my
wife and sons to the point of regret. I try to make it up to my
sons, my wife and our grandkids. It was hard because I was
very estranged from my own immediate family. 1 kept my
promise to myself, when 1 was sitting in that stupid cell in
Nevada - to get off my ass and DO something. We're all
flawed and imperfect, but even after being traumatized, we
can get up and do something marvelous, even if it seems
nobody really notices. For a long time, I was too afraid to
take this step. 1was even afraid to read my own writings.

When 1 finally did, 1 realized I wasn't “crazy” at all. The
society 1 was born, bred and lived in was the culprit. T

8. What important lessons would you like to impart to
others for the sake of being successful in building
Anarchy?

Answer: 1would say that A's need to get away from
Cloistering themselves together and expand from an insular
culture and deal with real life issues with those in their
communities. Find out what their issues are and begin to
work out some remedies. Any help we can provide is a
positive. People need help desperately. We live in a very
brainwashed society where up is down and truth is fiction.
We must have a solid anarchist educational component wi
everything we do. Read a lot and seek out genuine analysis,
whether it is openly anarchist or not. I just read a terrific
book entitied *Death of a Nation - 9/11 and the rise of
fascism in America” Read it! It's terrific. Is the author,
George W. Grundy an anarchist? No, he is not. What matters
is he provides a cogent 500 plus pages of distilled insight.

1t seems A's are far too preoccupied with subsisting amidst
a black-clad punk environment and not doing much of
anything. Serious anarchists should be unbelievably active in
their communities, not sort of hiding like a sort of group of
goths. 1 see no reason to hide our unusual thinking ability
from others. Yeah, we're demonized and vilified, but we have
accepted anarchist principles as useful tools to help guide our
life’s work with. T head these principles, No Master, No Gods,
Affinity Groups, Prison Abolition, Voluntary Cooperation,
Solidarity, Feminism, Anti-Racism, Direct Action and
Autonomy. Other A's have their own list, I'm sure.

We need to work hand in glove with oppressed groups,
struggle against racism, sexism and homophobia and strive to
be better human beings and social advocates. Their life and
death struggles are where the focus shBuld be. 1 think it is
crucial to have an educational component with everything we
do. Keep notebooks, pens and tape recorders handy.

Encourage others to write about their opinions and ¥
experiences. Put it all together so others can glean the truth
from what has and continues to happen.

Look at Spain in the thirties. Infoshops were everywhere.
Books, pamphlets and newspapers were avidly read,
discussed and meaningful. Children became literate from
these sources - and became anarchists. Don't be afraid to
take material from literature tables - and reproduce them.
Start your own literary co-op. Seek mentors to help you. Be
resourceful and find ways to make it happen. Dumpster dive
for the truth and make anarchist-driven material freely
available. Work on your own skills, constantly. Everything of
importance takes time and effort to learn how to do
effectively. 1t can be done! It takes personal resolve.
Everyone has unique and useful abilities and talents. Don't
let them lay dormant!

1 remember, 1 met a Dutch anarchist twenty years ago or
<0, by the name of Tomas Johansson, 1 think. He was going
to 'school at the University of Chicago. He was curious about
my distro. He asked something like “How can we get six or
eight infoshops in the south suburbs?” That's a great idea,
but how is this possible without the painful, cautious first
steps it takes to make even one happen? Last I knew he had
moved to South America, where the anarchist movement was
much stronger. It takes constant effort by A to will it to
happen, by focusing on it until it does happen. Black clothes
and vegan food? Ok, but work your asses off doing
productive work! 1 know! I'm just an old codger.

Don't burn yourself out, though. The task is extremely
daunting and the rewards seem few and far between. Take
care of yourself, personally and those around you. It's very
Graining work - a rollercoaster ride practically daily. Do your
best and give full effort in everything you do.

Y'm sure this sounds arrogant and preachy, but times are
awastin'. You can think I'm a jerk or some old coot and
You're probably right. But, just think - think for yourself,
Study the matter and decide for yourself what is true and
what is not and act accordingly. Trust yourself. There’s only
one person capable of being in your corner at all times -
yourself! Don't make yourself your worst enemy. Overcome
self-loathing by evolving into your best seff. Self-love is then
expressed by the good deeds you do for (and with) others.

9. What are mistakes you'd like others to avoid that you
wish would've been told to you? 9
!

Answer: Well, this society not only bombards us with a
blizzard of bullshit, fear, intimidation, coercion and a sick
Violence-glorying culture of hero worship for our oppressors
and their hired thugs, but it also wants to crush your spirit.
It wants you to detest yourself, to be self-loathing, depressed,
feeling isolated and hopeless. That's what bullies do. They
have no real arguments that are any good, o they rely on
threats, the threat of violence and most certainly real
violence. We can overcome these debilitating things.

1 was like that for a long time. 1 was very active in the
Sixties and the beginning of the seventies, but pretty much
cocooned throughout the eighties. 1 missed a whole fifteen
years because 1 felt so helpless and isolated. But, once you
get out there and make a genuine effort, solid people will
cross your path and they can help you navigate your way to
getting over that lethargy and sorrow. You will find you do
have talents and can develop them in a positive life-affirming
manner. Rely on your soul, your spiit, your mind and your
body to redirect your life from a sort of dreading listlessness
to an anarchist-driven engine of clear-minded action. It can
be done and only you can make it happen for yourself.

10. What features of an anarchist Ilinois do you see in
place at the moment or that you think we really need
to make special effort to build up?

Answer: Well, 'm down here, now in Kankakee County and I
work rather autonomously from most other A's in this state. 1
4o go to events now and then, around Chicago and the state.
But, being old and white-haired, 1 seem more like a curiosity

than a comrade. 1 don't wear black. 1was never a punk,
although 1 loved the Clash. 1 think some even look at me as
some sort of plant. That's ridiculous, but I'm sure there are
some! So, you tell me where all the anarchist activity is
happening. I'll write about it and turn it into a zine! 20

1 know you good people are out there, as the explosion of
people in the streets, not just in Chicago, but around the
country proved it! Occupy and the response to the murder of
George Floyd were mostly anarchist-driven, in my opinion,
even though the commies claimed credit. 1 remember seeing
knot of them sequestered near the Occupy area in Chicago
and I thought, they must be thinking, “How can we co-opt
this?”

Anyway, anarchist collectives can spring up anywhere -
someone’s apartment, an abandoned building. We don't have
to have an A-Zone, where rent is due all the time. College
students are often pretty radical and they have student
groups who focus on social issues and even get school
funding, sometimes. They have resources, like copying
machines. Use them to maximum capacity! Use their
auditoriums and libraries. My whole archive of material is
now a big part of DePaul’s Special Collections Library. Donate
your time and effort to groups involved in helping the
community. You can work with non-anarchist folks, yet retain
your autonomy. We can learn valuable skills from
experienced grassroots organizers who have more limited and
specific agendas than what anarchists wish would happen.
We don't have to battle the death ship all the time. We can
be involved in any number of ways that can slowly but surely
add new people to the anarchist movement. It takes a lot of
tedious effort. Working directly with prisoners offers a portal
to a world where a lot of people respect our beliefs. Many
comrades can be befriended, but it takes a willingness to get
off the dime and start doing it.

11. Atheism and metaphysics.

Answer: 1 do consider myself an atheist. 1was brought up
with a sleepy Methodist upbringing in Tinley Park. 1 never
liked it. We tried to avoid it and just watch Sky Pilot and the
Honeymooners. It was so boring. In the summer our 7 |
summer vacation was messed with by two weeks of pointless
Bible School. Reading the Bible seemed confusing and rather
divorced from our present lives. 1 never cottoned to the idea
that even though you have “free will” if you don't kowtow to
being meek and gullible, hideous things will-happen to you -
once you die. You'll go to hell forever! Or, you have to suffer
and be miserable your whole life, then you get to go to
heaven, also forever. What if heaven is boring? Maybe I
don't want to lie around eating grapes all the time.

1 remember, back in the day, Frank Zappa wrote a song
entitled, “The meek will inherit nothing.” 1 agree with him.
Being meek certainly hasn't helped the starving and dying
masses, has it? There are thousands of so-called religions,
yet they all claim they have the one true deal. Bullshit! The
“word of God” was written overwhelmingly by men looking to
control other people - not women - men! A lot of it is
contradictory, vague, bullying nonsense! 1t was historically
used to build power bases and assault other peoples. The
history of religions is a very bloody one. Ged is very coy. His
“word” means everything, yet no proof of even one syllable
by him (it's always @ quy, right?) being said by him, exists.
We're told to trust the shaman. We're supposed to believe he
created the infinite universe but just can never seem to get
over on that rascal, “the Devil.” Well, anyone can walk on
water - if it's cold and hard enough! No thanks!

Governments and religions go hand in hand. The more
reactionary the government, the more the dominant religion
is harped upon. It's a way to cloud peoples’ thinking and to
keep them more docile - more controllable.

A lot of people spend a ot of time thinking about
“religious” doctrine. 1 don't think anyone really knows
anything much beyond what transpires, here on earth. The
faws of physics and nature apply. No “miracles” happen.
There are major forces that keep things as they are. I see no
reason to waste my time worrying about something no one
has ever figured out. We only have a finite time here. We
should not waste our time, but deal with reality, as we come
to know it. Do good things, not to get a ticket to heaven, but
because it is good for you and others. It's not only good but
especially now, extremely crucial for sustaining life. It's our
responsibility as caretakers in the present and we're doing a
piss poor job of it 2>

1don't see a problem with meditation, calming thinking
about things and working out solutions. I do that every day
in the periods between wakefulness and sleep. But “praying
to god” once or five times a day, seems ike a cop-out.
Besides, maybe he’s busy several billion light years away and
can't be bothered.

As for metaphysics, I don't know. There are unexplained
phenomena, but scientists don’t know everything. 1 don‘t
believe a guy can bend a fork by just thinking about it hard.
really don’t concern myself with it. I don't even read much
fiction. 1 like to keep my feet on the ground - no snow or
water skies, no roller skates or skateboards or roller coasters.
1 don't like that feeling of having my stomach churned.

1 accept that gravity exists and stick to reality and
nonfiction. 1 don’t think T or anybody else has the cosmic
answers. 1accept the fact I'm just a dumbassed Earthling
and leave it at that. 1would think there are places in the
cosmos where beings are smarter, kinder and hipper than us.
After all, the bar is set low. You mean to tell me the universe
can't outdo Donald Trump? We have real issues down here
that need our full attention. Stick to what is doable, I say.

Metaphysics is said to be one of the four basic strains of
thought. It basically means the study of the fundamental
nature of reality. It's about the first principles of change,
space and time, cause and effect, necessity and possibility.
Einstein seems to have known more about it than anyone, it
seems. I never studied physics that much, although 1 do find
the study of the universe to be fascinating. It seems without
Question that this whole universe is composed of only around
one hundred elements and within the narrow band of ideal
conditions, such as we are fortunate to have on Earth, they
can combine into molecules in such a way as to create life,

which in turn is capable of evolving into various species of
living organisms divided into five families, those being 2.3
viruses, bacteria, fungi, plants and animals and not too long
ago, mammals were able to push forward Homo Sapien
Sapien which was able to develop the humans we see today.
We are beings with incredible potential. Einstein was said to
have used a mere five percent of his brain.

1t's an amazing reality, but the history of humankind is an
endless litany of coercive authority enslaving the vast
‘majority of people, which is repeated over and over again,
down through the many generations. It's a sad reality that
this is how we have used our collective intelligence. As well,
we've destroyed the lives and autonomy of all other life forms
and their future (except maybe the cockroach!) Ridiculous. 1
can't believe that other “intelligent” beings do not exist in this
universe. Life on Earth even exists even under the harshest
of conditions and the possibilities are so endless that it seems
statistically impossible that these one hundred atoms could
not have similarly recombined to create life and somehow
flourished. We're just too far away from it all to realize or
detect it - yet. 1don't see any type of Scotty beingable to
“beam us up.” We can't go fester than the speed of light. We
can go faster than sound, though. Whoopee! That's
astronomically slow. The universe started, what, fifteen
billion years ago? It's kind of late in the game to try to catch
these other worlds, as the universe is expanding at an ever
accelerating rate. It's too late to hook up with other
populated planets. The big bang was one mofo of a
i cracker! We'll have to get real and be satisfied that the
wondrous bounty and diversity of Earth is pretty much all
we're going to experience. Sure, we can look at pictures and
moon rocks, but folks, face facts, we are on our own!

Einstein theorized (and was pretty much proven) that time
and space “bend” and can be different than things on Earth.
Causes do have effects, change is inevitable. Necessity is rea
and without it people perish and the possibilities are literally
endless. Reality is an important realm to concentrate on and
amidst, even those in power spend enough amounts of time
and resources trying to obfuscate it. Our job s to untangle
the lies and mine the possibilities for the good of our 24,
continued existence. “Everlasting life” means how people
remember you by and what you have left for them to study,
that is at all relevant. We live a short time and die. After
that? Who the hell knows, except the bacteria consuming our
corpses. Being afraid to become our best selves is
self-defeating and a pointless waste of our abilities. It doesn't
help anybody. Bullies are basically miserable useless
cowards! Every generation needs guidance. Think about
George Orwell. He saw a problem (the fascist takeover of
Spain) and decided to get the fuck involved! DO something!
And guess what? He was a fuckin' “writer” Man! So, write!

When I was in high school, 1 was very good at math, but 1
didn't really like it, once it became complicated. 1 didn't see
the point of trying te solve an extremely difficult equation as
the goal was not the correct answer but rather, sticking to the
rules, somehow. 1 certainly didn't want my intelligence to be
sucked up into improving Amerikkka's nuclear arsenal or
something.

1 guess 1 felt like Sundiata Acoli, who was a brilliant
thinker who 1 believe worked for NASA at one point. the real
battlefield of ideas is not to work helping to make the mass
suppression of humanity easier, but to do the opposite
helping people understand the reality of their situation and
ways to make the lives of people transcend this despicable
model of slimeball assholes making decisions so they can
exercise extreme power while enjoyed unearned obscene
wealth, which is what we see - worse than ever - today. 1
throw my lot with the oppressed and have genuine love and
respect for life, not scorn, not contempt. 1 choose to love
myself and others instead of hate others just because some
sick Hitler-loving bastards have had their minds poisoned.

12. Liberation Theology experiences.

Answer: 1 mentioned a little bit about going to Milwaukee
and participating with the folks up there, led by Father Groppi
and his special guest, Dick Gregory. We marched through a
racist neighborhood chanting (among other things) “Police did
it. Burned down the freedom house. Police did it. Burned
down the freedom house.” The freedom house suspiciously
burned down the night before this march. Afterwards, we
came back to Groppi's church where we heard Dick Gregory
speak, were given a nice dinner and even received -shirts.

Another time, our father took me to a weekend event at
the Ecumenical Institute. This was a sort of radical offshoot
of some church on the west side of Chicago. We held a mass
meeting and were taken to our dorm rooms. T was only
fifteen and appreciated that I was allowed to smoke 2<
cigarettes. One of the people there said he thought I was a
high school teacher and not just a student. The guy who
seemed to look after me a lot was addicted to Coca Cola.

Early in the morning, a guy came around banging on a
gong, saying “Praise the Lord! Christ has risen. Praise the
Lord! Christ has risen.” Well, I guess it's time to get up, eh?

We went to several workshops all day and the next. One
had a big picture of Pablo Picasso's classic, “Guernica.” We
discussed its meaning for hours. Another workshop featured
the work of the White Rose and Bonhoeffer, who were
murdered during Hitler's reign for opposing Nazism.

At one point, 1 wandered into the nearby black ghetto and
was treated kindly. They warned us not to go there, which
seemed like an invitation to me.

1 met Kathy Kelly maybe twenty or 5o years ago at some
function and became friendly with her, ever since. She's a
tiny woman - a true dynamo! She’s affiliated with Catholic
Worker and has spent a lot of time in Iraq and Afghanistan
supporting the suffering and dying there.

And, of course, 1 read extensively about the Liberation
Theologians in El Salvador and elsewhere down there so often
menaced, tortured and murdered by the U.S.-trained Death
Squad monsters that Reagan and his ogres loved so much

2b
13. Are there any special messages you would like to

convey of any nature as a record for the future?
be it from you or from others who've passed and
no one knows about?

Answer: Well, 1 have a huge archive of dynamite material
that anyone can access by simply emailing me at:
anthonyrayson@hotmail.com or you can write to my P.O. Box
at: South Chicago ABC Zine Distro / P.O. Box 721 /
Homewood, IL 60430. As well, my entire collection is housed
at the DePaul Special Collections Lbrary, here in Chicago.
There are many brilliant anarchist writers and artists found in
this treasure trove. As well, the Anarchist Library has many
thousands of anarchist texts available to anyone with a
computer or smartphone. More and more information is
being made available and downloadable in zine form. One
must only look for these important sources of succinct
analysis.

Early on, like 2000, 1 met (through the mails) a dynamic
Irish anarchist prisoner, named Harold Thompson. Some
bastard murdered his wife, so he got his revenge. He was a
wonderful soul and I've a couple of his zines. He always
ended his letters with “They will never get us all” He was
assaulted in the law library at his prison by some stupid thug
sent by the authorities and died because of it.

We must realize that the hourglass is dwindling down on
all the creatures of Earth. Time is of the essence. It’s going
to take a tsunami of anarchist understanding and actual work
to have even a glimmer of a chance to stop this death spiral.
Know that we can stand on the shoulders of giants, but it'll
take genuine effort to overcome our fear and lethargy to find
these brilliant foremothers and fathers so we can adapt their
teachings to the ever changing reality of the present times.

As Van Morrison sang, "1t is in the doing that we find.”
Hey! No one knows when death occurs, unless they are
intent upon suicide. Do something useful and important
every single day, for it might be your last. 1was a day-to-day
do nothing schmoe for too long, until T was able to resolve
that, "Il be! I'm an ANARCHIST!" To this day, my personal
family can't dig or really accept this, but they still ke me.
But, many, many other people appreciate my efforts and have
used my efforts to provide such work to do as 1 have earlier
suggested - use your talents and interests in the service of
humanity. It makes for an extraordinarily thrilling life - even
amidst this degenerative fascist reality. And this mess of a
‘society is nothing new. It's always been a racist, genocidal
abomination, regardless of the lies told to us, since hour one.
WE can still create anarchy and enthuse others into being
able to do it, their own way. Life and love beat in our hearts.
Death, coercion, lies and violence... they have no argument.

He's now sixty-nine a -

2/ /2023 P
14. Do you have first or second-hand paranormal stories?

Answer: One night me and a few friends were driving around
out in the sticks smokin' pot and talkin’. We stopped
somewhere. 1don't even know where the hell it was.
Anyway, some sort of "UFO” appeared maybe a mile above us
and stuck around for perhaps, ten minutes. hen, it just shot
away, basically straight up and disappeared. We all saw it, so
1know it was for real? Aliens? Perhaps. U.S. government
snooping? Possibly? Whatever.

1was a child of the sixties and we lived to experiment.
Acid, mescaline, magic mushrooms - these substances
definitely changed our outlook and many strange things
happened, mostly in our minds. Also, dreams sometimes
seem to present significant epiphanies if we are lucky enough
to remember significant parts of them. I remember two
dreams in particular. One was 1 was flying by myself and it
was 50 vivid that you could actually feel it happening.

Another time, I was specifically visited by aliens, who
advised me about what the future would hold and my
particular involvement in it would be. It was like 1 was the
reason they embarked upon Earth from their distant land. It
was kind of scary, but also affirming to me. Wow! They must
have seen something important in me! Such is the vast reach
of ego, eh?

Now, it comes to pass that marijuana is not the “devil's
weed" at all but rather, highly medicinal. Psychedelics are
coming to be recognized as medicinal as well. It's the same
old story "All governments lie!” We must trust ourselves and
our own innate humanity to live a for real life. To me, that
means being responsible anarchists. Thanks, folks! Let’s go!

South Chicago ABC
Zine Distro
P.O. Box 721
‘Homewood, IL 60430