#willem van spronsen

[jonasgoonface]

Happy anniversary of Willem Van Spronsen's attack on the Tacoma ICE detention center. Here's a thing I drew a while back. Here's a manifesto that he wrote, it's v good. ------

What follows is the written manifesto of Willem Van Spronsen:

there's wrong and there's right. it's time to take action against the forces of evil. evil says one life is worth less than another. evil says the flow of commerce is our purpose here. evil says concentration camps for folks deemed lesser are necessary. the handmaid of evil says the concentration camps should be more humane. beware the centrist.

i have a father's broken heart i have a broken down body and i have an unshakable abhorrence of injustice. that is what brings me here. this is my clear opportunity to try to make a difference, i'd be an ingrate to be waiting for a more obvious invitation.

i follow three teachers: don pritts, my spiritual guide, "love without action is just a word." john brown, my moral guide, "what is needed is action!" emma goldman, my political guide, "if i can't dance, i don't want to be in your revolution."

i'm a head in the clouds dreamer, i believe in love and redemption. i believe we're going to win i'm joyfully revolutionary. (we all should have been reading emma goldman in school instead of the jingo drivel we were fed. but i digress.) (we should all be looking at the photos of the YJP heroes should we falter and think our dreams are impossible, but i double digress. fight me.)

in these days of fascist hooligans preying on vulnerable people on our streets, in the name of the state or supported and defended by the state,

in these days of highly profitable detention/concentration camps and a battle over the semantics, in these days of hopelessness, empty pursuit and endless yearning,

we are living in visible fascism ascendant. (i say visible, because those paying attention watched it survive and thrive under the protection of the state for decades [see howard zinn, "a people's history of the united states.") now it unabashedly follows its agenda with open and full cooperation from the government. from governments around the world.

fascism serves the needs of the state serves the needs of business and at your expense. who benefits? jeff bezos, warren buffet, elon musk, tim cook, bill gates, betsy de vos, george soros, and need i go on? let me say it again: rich guys, (who think you're not really all that good,) really dig government, (every government everywhere, including "communist" governments,) because they make rules that make rich guys richer.

simple. don't overthink it.

(are you patriots in the back paying attention?)

when i was a boy, in post war holland, later france, my head was filled with stories of the rise of fascism in the 30's. i promised myself that i would not be one of those who stands by as neighbors are torn from their homes and imprisoned for somehow being perceived as lesser. you don't have to burn the motherfucker down, but are you just going to stand by?

this is the test of our fundamental belief in real freedom and our responsibility to each other. this is a call to patriots, too, to stand against this travesty against everything that you hold sacred. i know you. i know that in your hearts, you see the dishonor in these camps. it's time for you, too, to stand up to the money pulling the strings of every goddamn puppet pretending to represent us.

i'm a man who loves you all and this spinning ball so much that i'm going to fulfill my childhood promise to myself to be noble.

here it is, in these corporate for profit concentration camps. here it is, in brown and non conforming folks afraid to show their faces for fear of the police/migra/proud boys/the boss/beckies... here it is, a planet almost used up by the market's greed.

i'm a black and white thinker. detention camps are an abomination. i'm not standing by. i really shouldn't have to say any more than this.

i set aside my broken heart and i heal the only way i know how- by being useful. i efficiently compartmentalize my pain... and i joyfully go about this work. (to those burdened with the wreckage from my actions, i hope that you will make the best use of that burden.)

to my comrades:

i regret that i will miss the rest of the revolution. thank you for the honor of having me in your midst.

giving me space to be useful, to feel that i was fulfilling my ideals, has been the spiritual pinnacle of my life.

doing what i can to help defend my precious and wondrous people is an experience too rich to describe.

my trans comrades have transformed me, solidifying my conviction that we will be guided to a dreamed of future by those most marginalized among us today. i have dreamed it so clearly that i have no regret for not seeing how it turns out. thank you for bringing me so far along.

i am antifa, i stand with comrades around the world who act from the love of life in every permutation. comrades who understand that freedom means real freedom for all and a life worth living.

keep the faith! all power to the people! bella ciao

don't let your silly government agencies spend money "investigating" this one. i was radicalized in civics class at 13 when we were taught about the electoral college. it was at that point that i decided that the status quo might be a house of cards. further reading confirmed in the positive. i highly recommend reading! i am not affiliated with any organization, i have disaffiliated from any organizations who disagree with my choice of tactics. the semi automatic weapon i used was a cheap, home built unregistered "ghost" ar15, had six magazines. i strongly encourage comrades and incoming comrades to arm themselves. we are now responsible for defending people from the predatory state. ignore the laws of arming yourself if you have the luxury, i did.

#willem van spronsen #terrorism #ICE #abolish ICE #no borders #anarchy #power puff girls #manifesto #long post

[radiofreederry]

Happy birthday, Willem van Spronsen! (July 14, 1950)

A Dutch-born carpenter, musician, anarchist, and committed antifascist, Willem van Spronsen was a fixture in the left-wing activist scene of the greater Seattle area, having been a veteran of the Occupy movement and labor organization, and active in the Puget Sound chapter of the John Brown Gun Club as its second member. In particular, van Spronsen was militantly opposed to United States immigration policy and in particular the policies of indefinite detention and family separation at the border, which he identified with the rise of fascism in his parents' generation. On July 13, 2019, van Sponsen took matters into his own hands in a one-man assault on the Northwest Detention Center, a privately-owned facility used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for indefinite detention of undocumented immigrants. Van Spronsen was armed with a semi-automatic rifle and several homemade firebombs, which he used to set alight his own car and several ICE vehicles, before being gunned down by police. Though decried as a terrorist by politicians and in the media, van Spronsen became a martyr to the left. He left an indelible mark on those who met him and remains fondly remembered by his comrades.

"When I was a boy, in post-war Holland, later France, my head was filled with stories of the rise of fascism in the 30's. I promised myself that I would not be one of those who stands by as neighbors are torn from their homes and imprisoned for somehow being perceived as lesser. You don't have to burn the motherfucker down, but are you just going to stand by?"

#birthdays #willem van spronsen

[crimethinc]

On July 13, 2019, Willem Van Spronsen was killed by police while attempting to disable the fleet of buses serving a private immigration detainment facility. This forced ICE to cancel a wave of raids ordered by Trump.

Read his final statement:

https://crimethinc.com/willem

[xdirtyfingers]

RIP Willem Van Spronsen

#anarchism #anarchy

[dickvanas]

Koninklijke vrijwilligers steken handen uit voor NL Doet

Koning Willem-Alexander die bomen snoeit, prinses Beatrix die speelmateriaal in elkaar boort of koningin Máxima die een stal uitmest: in twintig edities NLdoet heeft de koninklijke familie tal van keren de handen uit de mouwen gestoken. De grootste vrijwilligersactie van Nederland, die vrijdag van start is gegaan, zorgt ook ieder jaar weer voor een boost in het aantal vrijwilligers. Dat is broodnodig gezien de dalende trend. „De familie doet het niet alleen voor de show.”

Met een grote emmer voer in haar hand stapt prinses Beatrix vrijdagmorgen vol zelfvertrouwen het schapenhok in op Stadsboerderij Eilandsteede in Utrecht. De dieren snellen naar de prinses toe en steken hun kop enthousiast in de emmer, waarop zij lachend maar ook strikt de dieren meedeelt even geduld te hebben.

Het hele tafereel zorgt voor gegrinnik bij de vrijwilligers van zorgorganisatie Reinaerde, die haar deze ochtend helpen op de boerderij. „Ze vinden u leuk. Dat doen ze bij ons nou nooit”, merkt één van hen op. Na het verzorgen van de schapen helpt prinses Beatrix ook bij het beitsen van de ezelstal, het voorzaaien van schooltuintjes en het planten van een boom.

’Keihard aan het werk’

„Buitenstaanders denken soms dat ze alleen maar vijf minuutjes voor de foto komen. Maar ze zijn echt keihard aan het werk”, vertelt Marinka Peerdemann van het Oranje Fonds. „Het is zelfs zo dat wij weleens denken: het is koud, het regent, moeten ze niet even binnen staan? Maar nee hoor. De koning baggert zonder te klagen met zijn laarzen door de blubber om in de stromende regen paaltjes in de grond te slaan. Ze zijn echt heel betrokken.”

Dit jaar is de twintigste keer dat NLdoet georganiseerd wordt. Het vrijwilligersevenement werd in 2005 door kennisinstituut Movisie naar Nederland gehaald in opdracht en ter ere van het 25-jarig regeringsjubileum van toen nog koningin Beatrix. Destijds heette het ’Make a Difference Day’, wat in de Verenigde Staten en het Verenigd Koninkrijk al langer bestond.

„Vanuit Movisie moest ieder jaar opnieuw fondsenwerving gedaan worden om het project uit te kunnen voeren”, vertelt Marcel van Spronsen, die eerst namens Movisie en later namens het Oranjefonds betrokken is geweest bij de organisatie van NLdoet. In 2009 kwam het project daarom onder het Oranje Fonds te staan. Dat fonds werd in 2002 aan Willem-Alexander en Máxima gegeven als huwelijkscadeau van alle Nederlanders.

„Het Oranje Fonds vindt vrijwilligerswerk enorm belangrijk en wilde het evenement nog groter maken. Maar dan wel onder de vlag van het Oranje Fonds”, legt Van Spronsen uit. „Sindsdien organiseert het fonds NLdoet, met een campagne, een website en met financiële ondersteuning van de deelnemende organisaties.”

Klussen in de lente

Toen NLdoet naar het Oranje Fonds ging, werd de dag ook verplaatst van november naar maart, omdat dan juist veel initiatieven klussen hebben voor de lente. In die overgangsperiode vond NLdoet daarom een keer extra plaats, waardoor 2024 niet het twintigste jaar, maar wel de twintigste editie is.

Tijdens de eerste editie waren er zo’n 400 activiteiten door het land. In 2024 zijn bijna 7000 activiteiten aangemeld, verdeeld over twee dagen. Ook op de zes eilanden in het Caribisch deel van ons koninkrijk wordt gelijktijdig meegedaan met de actie, onder noemers als BON DOET en CURA DOET. „Het hele koninkrijk doet”, glundert Peerdemann.

Bij het Oranje Fonds beseffen ze maar al te goed dat hulp van vrijwilligers anno 2024 een stuk lastiger te verkrijgen is dan vroeger. „Er is steeds meer behoefte aan flexibel vrijwilligerswerk, zeker bij jongeren”, weet Oranje Fonds-directeur Sandra Jetten. Dat blijkt ook uit onderzoek van NLvoorelkaar.nl, het grootste platform in Nederland voor vrijwilligers.

Zij zagen voor het eerst sinds 2011 een daling in het aantal nieuwe vrijwilligers dat zich aanmeldde op hun platformen. Gelijktijdig zagen zij de nood voor hulp toenemen. Wat verhoudingsgewijs echter ook toenam was het aantal jonge vrijwilligers. Wel lijkt hun focus te liggen op diversiteit en flexibiliteit.

„Voor organisaties die vrijwilligers nodig hebben voor langere periodes of veel uren per week wordt het steeds lastiger”, weet Jetten. Ook NLdoet heeft door corona een paar moeilijke jaren achter de rug. „Maar inmiddels zit er weer een stijgende lijn in. Dit jaar zullen naar verwachting zo’n 65.000 mensen actief zijn.” Uit onderzoek blijkt dat een kwart van de NLdoet-deelnemers naderhand actief blijft als vrijwilliger.

Manege voor kinderen met beperking

Ook de koninklijke familie doet soms meer dan alleen die ene dag NLdoet, weet Peerdemann. „Zo heeft prinses Beatrix ooit geholpen op een manege voor kinderen met een verstandelijke beperking. In de paardenbak waar zij rijden hangen in de hoeken plaatjes, zodat ze tegen de kinderen niet hoeven te zeggen ’ga naar links of rechts’, want dat is lastig voor hen, maar bijvoorbeeld: ’ga naar de bloem’. De prinses had daarvoor tekeningen geschilderd. Alleen was het heel koud en droogde de verf niet. Ze kreeg het daarom niet af in de tijd die ervoor gepland stond.”

Het schetste dan ook de uiterste verbazing van manegemedewerkers toen de prinses een dag later weer voor de deur stond. „Of ze alsjeblieft die tekeningen mee naar huis mocht nemen om ze daar af te maken. Een paar dagen lager heeft ze de tekeningen met een heel lief kaartje teruggebracht.”

Volgens Van Spronsen vindt de koninklijke familie het dan ook vooral belangrijk om aanwezig te zijn bij projecten die ’midden in de samenleving’ staan. „Daarbij is prinses Beatrix gek op dieren. Dat merk je ook echt als ze bij een project met bijvoorbeeld honden betrokken is. Maar ze kunnen natuurlijk niet élk jaar hetzelfde doen”, lacht hij.

(Door Dick van As)

[greatamericansatan]

still mad about it

Still mad about those punks from the other day. You fucks like to paint everybody who says voting matters as if we're "liberals."

Bitch, the main problem I had with Jan 6 is that they were nazis instead of leftists. Do direct action with guns and pipe bombs if you wanna be like your old school heroes; depending on how shit goes down, I might pour one out for you. If I didn't have people depending on my sanity and stability, I'd be willem van spronsening it up with nail bombs for my local boneheads. Death to ameriKKKa, big time.

I don't RB stuff from actual liberals the same as I don't RB from you, because trying to paint dems as genuinely good is genuinely distasteful to me. You wanna say we're all too foolish to know what's up, we're all dick-riding for genocide, because we care that dems aren't actively making things worse for people here in quite as many ways as republicans?

You're just a bunch of hipster edgelord posers, just trolling us with your attitude, or we'd be seeing a lot more of your asses in the news. You like anarchy so much, make it happen. Put up or shut up, fuckos.

#fucking democrats suck #but still #VOTE

[hentaidad69]

Their name was Willem Van Spronsen/ Emma Durutti. People are spreading misinformation about them attacking the center itself with the prisoners still inside. Instead they were actually attempting to blow up buses in the nearby parking lot, which was confirmed by La Resistencia, they were "targeting the detention center’s parking lot, which includes a fleet of buses that transports immigrants to the Yakima airport, where they are deported".

Rest in power comrade in arms, if only you had more of us to support you. ✊

Edit: Due to conflicting reports about their gender identity and the fact the information is still coming out about them, I've edited the OP to be gender neutral and include both their name used in the media and their name used online. Will edit for further clarification when possible.

#ICE #concentration camps #emma durutti #seattle #la resistencia #activist #tacoma #northwest detention facility #washington #manifesto #GEO group #willem van spronsen

[anarchopuppy]

Willem van Spronsen lies a mold’ring in his grave, Willem van Spronsen lies a mold’ring in his grave, Willem van Spronsen lies a mold’ring in his grave, But his soul is marching on.

Solidarity forever, Solidarity forever, Solidarity forever, His soul is marching on

#willem van spronsen #emma durruti #antifa #anarchism #fuck ice #two years as of today

[kropotkindersurprise]

This is Part 8 of my list of Antifascism related articles. Check out [Part 1], [Part 2], [Part 3], [Part 4], [Part 5], [Part 6] and [Part7] for loads more articles.

Video: Anti-fascist Organizing in a Time of Crisis

How to Fight Fascism While Surviving a Plague

On the anniversary of Christchurch, thank your anti-fascist researchers

Brighton Antifascists interview Rose City Antifa

A growing anti-racist network takes on the rise of far-right politics in Germany

Antiracism and the Cuban Revolution: An Interview with Devyn Spence Benson

The Walls are Alive - A How-To Graffiti Guide

On Willem Van Spronsen & His Final Statement

Interview with a Russian Skinhead

#antifa #antifascism #antifascist action #resources #ref #to read #reference #articles #theory #organising #tactics #new zealand #russia #graffiti #willem van spronsen #us #rose city antifa #cuba #germany

[fuckyeahanarchistposters]

“What we need is action. Smash ICE

Willem Van Spronsen, Rest in Power”

Will Van Spronsen was a 69-year-old anarchist who was killed by police while firebombing ICE transit vehicles at a migrant detention facility in Tacoma, Washington on the 13th of July, 2019.

#willem van spronsen #will van spronsen #emma durruti #anarchy #anarchism #anarchists #sabotage #propaganda by the deed #tacoma #washington #end ice #abolish ice #immigration #chinga la migra #immigration and customs enforcement

[radicalgraff]

“Rest in Peace Will Van Spronsen + and Sean Kealiher

Orange County Antifa”

Memorial graffiti for two US anarchists who were killed in recent months.

Will Spronsen was shot dead by police on July 13, 2019 as he firebombed ICE transit vehicles, in the carpark of an migrant detention center in Tacoma Washington.

Sean ‘Armenio’ Kealiher was a 23 year old anarchist was killed in a hit-and-run car crash outside the Portland Democrat Party office on October 12, 2019. The driver reportedly abandoned the car and fled the scene.

#sean kealiher #will van spronsen #anarchism #afa #antifa #orange county #graff #graffiti #vandalism #vandals #willem van spronsen #armeanio lewis #submission

[cleantrashtm]

Bella Ciao 

#Willem van Spronsen #abolishice #abolish ice #manifesto

[ml-pnp]

#willem van spronsen

[thatheathen]

olympia, wa

#thatheathen #willem van spronsen #rest in power #proud boys not welcome #olympia washington #we will roast proud boys #antifascist

[postromanticqueerwave]

Willem van Spronsen was a 69 year old anarchist and antifascist who was shot and killed by Tacoma Police yesterday morning, 13.07.19, while setting fire to transport vehicles outside Northwest Detention Center, which houses hundreds of immigrants awaiting hearings or deportations, so-called USA.

Poster text: Willem Van Spronsen is Immortal

"i have a father’s broken heart i have a broken down body and i have an unshakeable abhorrence of injustice.

detention camps are an abomination. i’m not standing by. i really shouldn’t have to say any more than this.

i set aside my broken heart and i heal the only way i know how - by being useful. i efficiently compartmentalize my pain… and i joyfully go about this work.

i’m a head in the clouds dreamer, i believe in love and redemption. i believe we’re going to win. i’m joyfully revolutionary.

i am antifa, i stand with comrades around the world who act from the love of life in every permutation. comrades who understand that freedom means real freedom for all and a life worth living.”

Abolish ICE, Fire to the state, it's prisons and it's borders. Read the full transcript of Will’s final statement here: https://anarchistsworldwide.noblogs.org/post/2019/07/14/usa-final-message-from-anarchist-antifascist-fighter-will-van-spronsen-killed-in-combat-on-13-07-19/ Here's the link to download a hi-res PDF: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3xsocmyan8j3uzc/Willem%20Van%20Spronsen%20is%20Immortal.pdf?dl=0 Read a statement by Will’s comrades here: https://pugetsoundanarchists.org/we-are-the-fire-that-will-melt-ice-rest-in-power-will-van-spronsen-olympia-wa/

#Willem van Spronsen #abolish ice #abolish prisons #abolish borders #anarchy #antifa #direct action #fire to the state

[stopmakingliberalslookbad]

Willem Van Spronsen is not a hero or a martyr

#terrorism #willem van spronsen #immigration #ice #mine