Ruckus Society
Encyclopedia
The Ruckus Society is a nonprofit organization that sponsors skill-sharing and direct action
training camps for activists from impacted communities working on social justice
, human rights
, and environmental justice
. Ruckus was founded by Mike Roselle
and co-founded with Twilly Cannon and JR Roof to specialize in environmental
activism
and guerrilla communication
.
The Ruckus Society's mission is to provide training in classic civil disobedience
tactics as well as non-traditional and specialized skills such as urban rappelling
and "locking down." The organization designs custom training camps based on the specifics of the activists, and uses popular education techniques to allow participants to discover the direct action knowledge they already possess.
effort with the War Resisters League
, and the Indigenous Peoples' Power Project (IP3), bringing together indigenous youth organizers from all over the country. In 2006, Ruckus teamed up with Working Assets
for an Election Protection project. Together with Global Exchange
and Rainforest Action Network
, they worked against Ford Motor Company
and later other auto-manufacturers. The Ruckus Society is a member of numerous coalitions efforts, and have performed actions for Wal-Mart Watch
and others. The group has provided training to Greenpeace
, Patagonia, Inc.
, the California Faculty Association
, United Students Against Sweatshops
, Students for Bhopal
, Student Farmworker Alliance, the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
, Students for a Free Tibet
and Detroit Summer.
protests in Seattle in 1999, the creation of IP3 and NYS and his own $2 million bail. Adrienne Maree Brown came on as executive director in 2006, the first woman of color to lead the organization.
even specialize in providing training in activism and varying forms of civil disobedience. There are many resources freely available to teach interested anarchists how to conduct surveillance, prepare for protests, climb and descend, build shields, and craft weapons. The legality of the proposed actions is secondary to their perceived effectiveness. Some manuals and instructional resources limit themselves to nonviolent tactics; others do not."http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=randy_borum&sei-redir=1#search=%22+%22Ruckus+Society%22++ruckus++society+~anarchist%22 In a 2000 interview with the magazine Mother Jones
, John Sellers said: "I make a distinction between violence and destruction of property. Violence to me is against living things. But inanimate objects? I think you can be destructive, you can use vandalism strategically. It may be violence under the law, but I just don't think it's violence."http://motherjones.com/politics/2000/09/hellraiser-john-sellers
Direct action
Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
training camps for activists from impacted communities working on social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
, human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, and environmental justice
Environmental justice
Environmental justice is "the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, sex, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies." In the words of Bunyan Bryant,...
. Ruckus was founded by Mike Roselle
Mike Roselle
Mike Roselle is an American environmental activist and author. Roselle is one of the co-founders of the radical environmental organization Earth First!, as well as of Rainforest Action Network, the Ruckus Society, and Climate Ground Zero....
and co-founded with Twilly Cannon and JR Roof to specialize in environmental
Environmental movement
The environmental movement, a term that includes the conservation and green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues....
activism
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
and guerrilla communication
Guerrilla communication
Guerrilla communication and communication guerrilla refer to an attempt to provoke subversive effects through interventions in the process of communication....
.
The Ruckus Society's mission is to provide training in classic civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
tactics as well as non-traditional and specialized skills such as urban rappelling
Abseiling
Abseiling , rappelling in American English, is the controlled descent down a rock face using a rope; climbers use this technique when a cliff or slope is too steep and/or dangerous to descend without protection.- Slang terms :...
and "locking down." The organization designs custom training camps based on the specifics of the activists, and uses popular education techniques to allow participants to discover the direct action knowledge they already possess.
Services and collaborations
Ruckus co-sponsors the Not Your Soldier Project (NYS), a counter-recruitmentCounter-recruitment
Counter-recruitment is a strategy often taken up to oppose war. Counter-recruitment is an attempt to prevent military recruiters from enlisting civilians into the military. There are several methods commonly utilized in a counter-recruitment campaign, ranging from the political speech to direct...
effort with the War Resisters League
War Resisters League
The War Resisters League was formed in 1923 by men and women who had opposed World War I. It is a section of the London-based War Resisters' International.Many of the founders had been jailed during World War I for refusing military service...
, and the Indigenous Peoples' Power Project (IP3), bringing together indigenous youth organizers from all over the country. In 2006, Ruckus teamed up with Working Assets
Working Assets
CREDO is an American for-profit company that offers mobile and long distance phone service. Based in San Francisco, California, Working Assets has raised over $65 million for nonprofit organizations such as GreenPeace, Planned Parenthood, Democracy Now etc.-History:Working Assets was founded in...
for an Election Protection project. Together with Global Exchange
Global Exchange
Global Exchange is an advocacy group and non-governmental organization , based in San Francisco, California, United States. The group's mission is to promote human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice around the world.-History:...
and Rainforest Action Network
Rainforest Action Network
Rainforest Action Network is an environmental organization based in San Francisco, California, USA. The organization was founded by Randy "Hurricane" Hayes and Mike Roselle in 1985, with the financial help of Fund for Wild Nature....
, they worked against Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
and later other auto-manufacturers. The Ruckus Society is a member of numerous coalitions efforts, and have performed actions for Wal-Mart Watch
Wal-Mart Watch
Walmart Watch, formed in the spring of 2005, is a joint project of the Center for Community and Corporate Ethics, a non-profit organization studying the impact of large corporations on society and its advocacy arm, Five Stones.-Backers and funding:...
and others. The group has provided training to Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
, Patagonia, Inc.
Patagonia (clothing)
Patagonia, Inc. is a Ventura, California-based clothing company, focusing mainly on outdoor clothing. The company is a member of several environmental movements. It was founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1972....
, the California Faculty Association
California Faculty Association
The California Faculty Association is a labor union in California, United States. It represents lecturers, professors, counselors, librarians and coaches from the 23 campuses of the California State University . While faculty may choose to join the union or not, it is the exclusive collective...
, United Students Against Sweatshops
United Students Against Sweatshops
United Students Against Sweatshops is a student organization with chapters at over 250 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. In April 2000, USAS founded the Worker Rights Consortium , an independent monitoring organization that investigates labor conditions in factories that...
, Students for Bhopal
Students for bhopal
Students for Bhopal is an international network of students and supporters working in solidarity with the survivors of the Bhopal disaster – the world’s worst-ever industrial catastrophe - in their struggle for justice...
, Student Farmworker Alliance, the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition , is a San Jose, California based research and advocacy group that promotes safe environmental practices in the high tech industry...
, Students for a Free Tibet
Students for a Free Tibet
Students For a Free Tibet is a global grassroots network of students and activists working in solidarity with the Tibetan people for human rights and freedom. The group uses education, advocacy, and nonviolent direct action with the goal of achieving Tibetan independence...
and Detroit Summer.
Leadership
John Sellers was the executive director of the organization for 8 years, through the World Trade OrganizationWorld Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
protests in Seattle in 1999, the creation of IP3 and NYS and his own $2 million bail. Adrienne Maree Brown came on as executive director in 2006, the first woman of color to lead the organization.
Controversy
The Ruckus Society has been described by many reliable sources as an anarchist organization that played a major role in inciting property damage and vandalism during the Seattle WTO protests in 1999.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9248.2006.00629.x/fullhttp://www.informaworld.com/smpp/ftinterface~content=a782206495~fulltext=713240930~frm=contenthttp://www.informaworld.com/smpp/ftinterface~content=a781482484~fulltext=713240928~frm=contenthttp://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&num=100&q=%2B%22Ruckus+Society%22+seattle+%22property+damage%22+OR+%22property+destruction%22&btnG=Search&as_sdt=0%2C5&as_ylo=&as_vis=0 According to a 2005 article by Randy Borum and Chuck Tilby, in Studies in Conflict & Terrorism: "Some organizations such as Ruckus Society and Anarchist Black Cross FederationAnarchist Black Cross Federation
Anarchist Black Cross Federation was created in 1995 when the North American Anarchist Black Cross collectives from Paterson , Bronx , and Washington DC merged into a federation...
even specialize in providing training in activism and varying forms of civil disobedience. There are many resources freely available to teach interested anarchists how to conduct surveillance, prepare for protests, climb and descend, build shields, and craft weapons. The legality of the proposed actions is secondary to their perceived effectiveness. Some manuals and instructional resources limit themselves to nonviolent tactics; others do not."http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=randy_borum&sei-redir=1#search=%22+%22Ruckus+Society%22++ruckus++society+~anarchist%22 In a 2000 interview with the magazine Mother Jones
Mother Jones (magazine)
Mother Jones is an American independent news organization, featuring investigative and breaking news reporting on politics, the environment, human rights, and culture. Mother Jones has been nominated for 23 National Magazine Awards and has won six times, including for General Excellence in 2001,...
, John Sellers said: "I make a distinction between violence and destruction of property. Violence to me is against living things. But inanimate objects? I think you can be destructive, you can use vandalism strategically. It may be violence under the law, but I just don't think it's violence."http://motherjones.com/politics/2000/09/hellraiser-john-sellers