The Other America: Interviews with Anarchists in the United States

A tour through a country at war, something he was reminded of by the wrapper around every Greyhound ticket which might as well have read "If you broke or desperate enough to travel with us you might just join the army". A country at war abroad in Iraq and Afghanistan, at war at home with its own population, excluding the political ones he witnessed at least half a dozen different sets of arrests on his tour. He heard of schools taking students in shifts each morning because of the lack of buses, he saw bridges that had collapsed due to under funding, heard of the mass layoffs in state after state and in the rust belt saw the destroyed industries and homes of a previous generations dreams.

On his travels he used the opportunity to record interviews with many of the local anarchists who were organizing the meetings which he edited on the bus and posted to indymedia.ie once he hit his next wi-fi signal. We've collated these interviews below, over two hours of audio in all. All those interviewed are anarchists but apart from that they represent a section of the population of the United States ranging in age from perhaps 20 to nearly 70. Together they give an impression of 'the other America', that is the vast majority of the US population that is not visible in the election coverage or as characters on 'Friends' or 'Sex & the City'.

These interviews are a fragment of a picture, a selection of the hundred plus people Andrew had conversations with, the ones where there was enough time and enough quiet to allow him to flip open a five year old laptop and hit record. He couldn't always do that so there are many fascinating conversations that are missing including one from a visit to one of the 100+ political prisoners still incarcerated in the US.

He spent four days in NYC but the shortage of both time and quiet spots in that city where many work three jobs just to pay the rent means no recording from there--he was, however, able to interview New York City anarchist Ashanti Alston while in Sarasota, Florida. And then there were also the overheard conversations, on the train to Providence he listened to two recently returned Iraq vets compare their terror of camel spiders, in the Greyhound station in Springfield, Mass another vet screamed at a Bush broadcast on the TV.

• Providence, RI: Senia and Mark
• Boston, MA: NEFAC
• North Hampton, MA: Anne Marie
• Washington, DC: Alex
• Richmond, VA
• Syracuse,N and New Orleans, LA: Stephen and the Syracuse Solidarity Network
• Pittsburgh, PA
• Atlanta, GA: Capital Terminus Collective
• Miami, FL: Patrick
• Sarasota, FL: Ashanti Alston
• Gainesville, FL: James Schmidt
• Detroit, MI: Chris and Mike
• Minneapolis, MN: Kieran
• Seattle, WA: Rogue
• Olympia, WA: Christa
• Eugene, OR: Mark, Kate and Nathan of the IWW
• San Jose, CA: Amanecer