Ron Jacobs

Burlington

Freelance Contributor at Freelance

writer, retired library worker and stuff

Articles

An Angry, Not Anguished, Cry From the Place They Call the Periphery

2 weeks ago | counterpunch.org | Ron Jacobs

Recently, Verso Books published a translation of Louisa Yousfi’s Rester barbare, giving it the English title In Defense of Barbaraism: Non-whites Against the Empire. Some would call this text a brutal, crude, even savage book. My response to that charge is simple. That is part of its intention. In Defense of Barbarism is a compact punch to the gut of western colonialism and its detritus.
A Beginning, Not an End: Hands Off What?

2 weeks ago | counterpunch.org | Ron Jacobs

The numbers are coming in, and as always, the estimates vary widely. Let’s just say there were more than a million people across the United States in the streets protesting the excesses of the Trump administration since January 20, 2025. Also, like always, the demands of the organizers (who went by the name Hands Off) were often transcended by the intentions of those actually attending the rallies, marches and other manifestations of discontent.
The Rebellion of the Hippie Lumpen in Capitalist Berlin

3 weeks ago | counterpunch.org | Ron Jacobs

West Berlin—the capitalist side of Berlin during the Cold War, was a city of radical ferment, especially in the 1960s into the 1980s. Groups calling themselves communist mixed with counterculture radicals, anarchists and varying combinations of any and all of the above. One of the best known of these groups called themselves the 2 Juni Bewegung—the 2nd of June Movement. Many of its members had previously been part of a loosely-knit band of provocateurs calling themselves Hasch Rebels.
Resisting Trumpism 2.0

4 weeks ago | counterpunch.org | Ron Jacobs

Millions of people are disappointed that Donald Trump is back in the White House. Many of those millions are indeed quite angry about this fact. Some of us are—dare I say—just plain pissed off. From these tens of millions, there are many responses. Let me do my best to list the primary reactions I have heard. Firstly, there is the question how did this happen? Quite often, the next turn in the unfolding conversation is to blame someone.
Behind the Numbers Lies Austerity and Authoritarianism

1 month ago | counterpunch.org | Ron Jacobs

The Trump administration likes numbers. Numbers of dollars spent on his campaign and numbers of federal workers fired. Numbers of dollars the rich will get back after tax cuts and numbers of dollars that will be saved by throwing people off their health insurance (Medicaid) and food subsidies(SNAP). Then there’s the numbers regarding immigrants being rounded up and sent away.
Challenging the Dominant Paradigm

1 month ago | counterpunch.org | Ron Jacobs

In a time when racism in the United States is being loudly denied by the White House and employees of government agencies are being dismissed wholesale by white supremacists solely because their employment is the result of laws designed to increase equity in federal hiring practices, David Roediger’s memoir becomes an even more important book than it already was.
Washita Love Child

1 month ago | counterpunch.org | Ron Jacobs

Like many other music aficionados, I first heard of guitarist Jesse Ed Davis when I read the liner notes to Taj Mahal’s 1968 albums Taj Mahal and Natch’l Blues. I first saw Davis in the 1971 film Concert for Bangladesh. Although he was called in just in case the ailing Eric Clapton was unable to play the concert, Davis presence onstage was happily received by the pantheon of artists playing the show.
With Aid Agencies Like This, Who Needs Enemies?

1 month ago | counterpunch.org | Ron Jacobs

I believe it would be a good thing if Trump and his crew of fascists, fools and billionaires cut the military budget in half. If USAID does actually get shut down, I would also be fine with that. After all, both of these entities—especially the military—are major parts of US imperialism and why the US has been at war for the last eighty some years without pause. Does this mean I am fine with cutting all the food and medical programs USAID ran around the world? Of course not.
You Can’t Murder Liberation

2 months ago | counterpunch.org | Ron Jacobs

A revolutionary is not a victim. In fact, a revolutionary fights against victimhood past, present and future. When a movement fighting the racism and brutality of police forces uses a slogan like “Hands up, don’t shoot” it is emphasizing its potential victimhood and denying its power. Without power, there can be no long-term victory in the struggle against police brutality, police murders and the white supremacist system police in the US are enlisted to protect.
Funding the Revolution, Beating the Banks

2 months ago | counterpunch.org | Ron Jacobs

Bank robberies have been a means to gather funds for revolutionary organizations for more than a century. From the Russian narodniks to the Bolsheviks to the Black Liberation Army and countless others similarly inspired, the expropriations of funds from capitalism’s reservoirs of wealth have funded numerous acts of rebellion and ongoing revolutionary movements.