Opinion
Editorial pieces from contributors and staff
Remi: Boston on Saturday was a police riot in defense of a group of homophobic nationalists and fascists
When medics rushed to help people who were pepper sprayed or injured, the police targeted us. They would rush forward to pepper spray the medics or attempt to arrest them. Or they would attack people who were already incapacitated and un...
Jerry Elmer: Vietnam’s National Day
Today, September 2, is Vietnam’s National Day – the Vietnamese independence day that is the equivalent of our Fourth of July. On September 2, 1945, President Hồ Chí Minh read Vietnam’s Declaration of Independence at Ba Đinh Square in Han...
The Uprising! August 30, 2019
A slower week gives me time to catch up on reading comics. I highly recommend Mind MGMT, an ersatz conspiracy thriller with all kinds of twists and turns. Deceptively simple art and a fast paced plot that genuinely surprises. Let's do th...
Jerry Elmer: 50 years ago today I turned 18, at the height of the Vietnam War
I turned 18 on August 30, 1969, at the height of the Vietnam War - that is, 50 years ago today. At the time, men turning 18 were legally obligated to register with the Selective Service System (the draft), fill out a variety of forms tha...
The dark art of defending domestic abusers’ right to a gun, Part II
"Berta’s family, friends, and the community deserve to know: How did Oscar have access to a firearm, despite having a domestic violence history?" Four years the Rhode Island General Assembly was considering a law that would prohibit "any...
The Uprising August 23, 2019
"...when you engage in that kind of civil disobedience, what you expect is to be handled professionally," said Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha. It was hard to avoid the ongoing repercussions from the "incident" at the Wyatt D...
The Uprising! August 16, 2019
Not a slow news week. Holy crap. 1a. The Pickup Truck People were expecting to be arrested during a peaceful protest outside the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, not run down by a pickup truck. But that's what happened when Cor...
Remi: A street medic at the Wyatt recounts their experience
"I grabbed the first person I came across who was blinded and walking with their hands out. After laying the individual on the ground, water was brought over to us. The corrections officers attempted to engage us to force us to leave, an...
Missak Melkonian: The mask is off: fascism is here
To many, the headline of this article is sensationalist and offers no real analogy to the social and political developments of our times. To others, they experience cognitive dissonance upon confronting the fact that the United States, s...
Bradly J VanDerStad: An angry Rhode Islander
I’m seething mad. I’m hopping mad. I have rage boiling up deep inside me and pouring out through the nasty looks I’m shooting at passers by this morning. While this is not the easiest time to condense my anger into words, I will for the...