On this day 136 years ago, was the Haymarket Riot in my hometown of Chicago. The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada held a labor demonstration at Haymarket Square, fighting for the eight-hour workday. As speaker Reverend Samuel Fieldman finished, the Pinkertons in blue showed up to tell the demonstrators to leave; apparently the 1st Amendment does not extend to the fight for workers’ rights. A bomb went off, killing a cop. The ensuing chaos left four protesters and six more cops dead, with another cop dying about two years later, attributed to his injuries. At the kangaroo court of a trial, the state, in its capacity of defending the tyranny of the bourgeoisie, convicted eight organizers of “conspiracy” (read: organizing), sentencing one, Oscar Neebe, to 15 years and the other seven to murder. Of the seven, Louis Lingg denied the state the pleasure by doing it himself with a blasting cap on November 10, 1887; Governor Richard James Oglesby commuted the sentences of Fieldman and Michael Schwab to life, also on November 10, 1887; and the state ruthlessly, unjustly lynched George Engel, Adolph Fischer, Albert Parsons, and August Spies on November 11, 1887. The newspapers at the time, in their role of the propaganda of the bourgeoisie as they are today, hooped and cheered and hollered for proletariat blood all the way. Remember the labor martyrs of today.

And as I’m from Chicago and it’s an election year, if you’re registered to vote in Chicago, vote against John Catanzara. As a former police “union” leader (already not deserving any role in leadership as far as I’m concerned), he supported Trump and the associated far-right authoritarianism that came with him and opposed COVID restrictions, putting numerous officers and Chicagoans at risk. If you’re registered to vote in Illinois but not Chicago, vote against Richard Irvin; his “Back the Blue” and “All Lives Matter” nonsense translate to “further militarize the police than they already are, and never hold the police to account whenever they murder a black man,” especially whenever he scaremongers about AntiFA and other leftist organizing to trick us into conditionally-free speech. Additionally, his desire to crush welfare programs will spell the end for millions of Illinoisans struggling to make ends meet in these uncertain times. If for whatever reason you can’t vote in Illinois, spread the message about these jack boots and keep demonstrating against them; tell Catanzara and Irvin their boot heels are not welcome.

I fully expect those "Don't tread on me" clowns to mass flag and cancel this.