Alternative Library @altlib@kolektiva.social

Want to get some rad indie media in the mail while you’re quarantined?! Just send us $30 and we’ll send you a package valued at least that amount and including free shipping anywhere in the US!

Money can be sent via Venmo (@altlib ) or PayPal (Bellingham.alternative.Library@gmail.com ) along with your mailing address, and if you wish, three words to guide our picks 😎

Examples: (comix, anarchy, music) (queer, magick, gardening)

(5) The community here is still reeling, as many people try to rebuild amidst threats of further sweeps, and other members of City Council have been largely without a response.

Photos in this series were largely taken by Sattva Photo and Kai Rapa who each have documented this incident extensively.

(4) The Mayor and Police Chief were quick to hold a press briefing on Friday, justifying the violence of this action by citing fears of “violent agitators” coming from outside the city and “health risks” of possible Covid-19 outbreaks, however it is known that there is an ongoing outbreak within the Whatcom Sheriffs Department itself, and the myth of “outside agitators” is a known media fear tactic.

(3) The operations expense of this sweep was certainly immense, and offered nothing but militarized force. It’s impossible not to consider how this money could have been better spent to aid our homeless neighbors, rather than meet them and their supporters with brutality. For this we refer to the Defund BPD Campaign, which names an 11-point strategy to reallocate money from the police department to reduce violence and better aid our community health.

(2) It followed shortly from a unanimous decision by the city council to increase the police budget (already 1/3 of the city’s general fund) amidst citywide budget shortfalls, and demands from the community for housing and mental health services.

(1) On Thursday morning Bellingham Police Department coordinated a multi-department homeless encampment sweep with around 100 police, additionally including Whatcom County Sheriffs, WA State Troopers, and federal Border Patrol agents. The 100-tent encampment had been established on the City Hall and Public Library lawns and the sweep came a day earlier than had been announced. This plan was organized by BPD and approved by executive order of Bellingham Mayor, Seth Fleetwood.

We’re now carrying work from the rad UK-based publisher, Dog Section Press, with copies of each of their books being added to our permanent collection and some titles additionally available from our store 😁

If a paternalistic force can "take away your freedom" then it's not really freedom is it? It's privilege at best.
- @anarcho_anon

We must hold onto the lessons of the 2020 actions in support of Black lives, namely that the carceral system within racialized capitalism will always disproportionately target the most marginalized amongst us. We must be working here and now to support other solutions, and cannot be baited to call for incarceration when it momentarily focuses on our enemies, because we know it will again shift it’s gaze back to us.

“Imagine supporting the architect of mass incarceration and elevating him to the head of the most powerful anti-Black nation in the world while pretending to support Black lives?” - caption and image from @radical.seattle

As we’re starting to use this platform more, and in celebration of our 69th follower, we’re wondering where you lovely people found us?

Did you follow us here from Instagram?
Were you already on Mastodon and saw one of our posts?

Either way, thanks for joining us 🥰

Rally in Olympia, WA on Sunday to resist fascism! There will be a bunch of rad artists and performers doing their thing ~

We're a volunteer-run media collective focused on art books, radical culture, and independent media.

We maintain a lending library, community publication studio, and storefront in Bellingham, WA, on territory traditionally cared for by the Lummi and Nooksack people.

We are located at 1309 Billy Frank Junior St. and are open to visitors:
Wednesday-Saturday;
noon-5:00pm

We're maintaining the same hours through January and are taking requests for no-contact checkouts, and allowing a couple folks to browse at a time. More info on our website: www.altlib.org