Direct Action: Reflections on Armed Resistance and the Squamish Five
By Ann Hansen

Format: MP3
Bitrate: 32 Kbps


May 31st, 1982: a bomb destroys the nearly completed Cheekeye-Dunsmuir Hydro substation in rural B.C. A group called Direct Action claims responsibility.

October 14th, 1982: a truck explodes outside the Litton Industries plant in Rexdale, ON, where guidance systems for the cruise missile were manufactured, resulting in millions of dollars in damages. Direct Action again claims responsibility.

November 22nd, 1982: three locations of Red Hot Video - a store specializing in violent bootleg pornography - were firebombed. A group calling themselves the Wimmin's Fire Brigade claims responsibility.

Ann Hansen, along with four others, who became to be known as the Squamish 5, eventually stood trial for these acts and was sentenced to life in prison. She served seven years.

Recorded in October 2002, Ann Hansen reflects on the successes and failures of the bombings, and dispels some of the common myths surrounding not only her actions, but armed struggle in general. She also explores the differences between direct action and terrorism as means of affecting social change; laying the groundwork for defining what direct action means, what its guiding principles are, and how it can be applied successfully and meaningfully in today's political climate.

Running Time: 55:00

1  One Struggle, Many Fronts 
2  Basic Principles of Direct Action
3  Terrorism in the Age of Double-Speak
4  Many Shades of Grey
5  Capitalism & Control of Society
6  Property Destruction
7  The Urgency of the Movement
8  Direct Action and Other Models
9  The Litton Bombing: Results, Reactions
10 The Wimmin's Fire Brigade
11 By Any Means Necessary
12 "Collateral Damage?"
13 Reflections on Prison
14 Organizing in Prison
15 Prisoner Support Network
16 The Trial
17 Why Should We Care?
18 Counter-Productive?
19 Guiding Principles for Direct Action
20 Can Assassinations Be Justified?
21 Repression as a Catalyst for Action
22 Disclaimer
23 Weaknesses of the Vancouver 5
24 What Can We Do?
25 Self-Defence
26 The Red Hot Video Arrests
27 Working Within the System
28 A Question of Consent
29 A Final Reflection on Tactics
 
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