looting

is a direct means of wealth redistribution and a practical, immediate way of improving life for the working class-- not to mention a brazen message to the police, the state, and an unjust society.

Looting--a crowd of people publicly, openly, and directly seizing goods--is one of the more extreme actions that take can place in the midst of social unrest. Even self-identified radicals distance themselves from looters, fearing that violent tactics reflect badly on the broader movement. However, in this deftly argued corrective, Vicky Osterweil argues that while looting is often maligned in today's society, it is, and has always been, one of our most powerful tools of dismantling capitalism and white supremacy. Stealing goods and destroying property are a direct means of wealth redistribution and a practical, immediate way of improving life for the working class-- not to mention a brazen message to the police, the state, and an unjust society.

is a commentary of the fact that all our beliefs about the innate righteousness of property and ownership are built on the history of anti-Black and settler oppression--meaning that belief in the right to own property is innately, structurally white supremacist.

is a powerful tool for dismantling white supremacy.

is, along with rioting, our most powerful tool of dismantling white supremacy.

Vicky OsterweilThinkers

Vicky Osterweil