Autumn Editorial

Most of us, not refugees have never lived through times like these. Our cities and towns are terrorized by masked armed and empowered thugs. People, targeted by race, are being assaulted and disappeared to horrendous prisons in poor countries. We are now living in a growing surveillance state, monitored by ubiquitous cameras linked into a national security apparatus, by online tracking and by personal data breaches. In September, a new decree, (NSPM-7), stated that anyone standing against fascism, racism, sexism, capitalism, ICE, or official policy could be targeted as a terrorist. It is now official; we are, to echo Jefferson Airplane, all terrorists in the eyes of Amerika -- and proudly so.

This collection embodies our state of mind at this ugly juncture of history, amid the continuing daily assaults on our ability to live and on our sanity and tolerance. We are horrified. We are outraged. And we are active in building resistance and fightback in this time of monsters. Monsters are a recurring theme in this issue, along with poems railing at enforced poverty, and our enslavement to terrible insecure jobs. Our alienation as a class and society are a prevalent theme, from a review of Carson McCullers' "The Jockey" by Ali Shehzad Zaidi to poems by Gene Grabiner and Mitch Valente.

In response to an essay on music to empower our struggle by Andrew Slipp, suggestions keep coming. The Poem "Charlie's Angels" by Burton Raabe suggests Bob Marley's song "War" inspired by a speech against racism by Haile Selassie. Another suggestion was the music of Jesse Wells, much like Bob Dylan or Phil Ochs but contemporary and powerful, was made by Ayler Roskos. It is with great sadness that we note Ayler's death since our last issue, succumbing to his condition. He died young at 28 but lived a full, active and creative life. His poetry continues in this issue.

The imposed terror of ICE thugs is also a theme running throughout this issue as is the continuation of slavery by the courts and prisons. There are ongoing efforts in this increasingly stifling time to silence us through fear and intimidation. Speaking out, speaking truth that can unite us, and saying what needs to be said is more important than ever. Our traditional sub-theme for the autumn issue has been of coming together, as we do in these short days, with family and friends. That coming together and building of unity is our best way of overcoming continuing crimes and tragedies imposed by a small cabal of racists and corporate criminals empowered by and for corruption.

The recent and continuing elections of progressive candidates; Zohran Mamdani in New York, Katie Wilson in Seattle and others around the country, demonstrate that a majority of us are increasingly appalled by both maga Republicans and corporate Democrats. Building a broad front coalition for real progress against endless wars, sexist and racist oppression, toxic nationalism, ecocide, and corporate dictatorship has rarely been more possible. Trump, by in his hateful blather, public crimes, and continuing assault on our country, people and world, is doing everything he can to help unite us against him. Together, we can push these sociopathic gangsters out and move toward building a sane and civilized working class democracy. We hope our journal adds to the struggle as outreach to build the necessary cultural consciousness of class solidarity out of our shared pain. We continue to be deeply grateful for those who speak out and who continue to send us poetry that matters.