Greetings,
This message is to inform you that I met Thomas Bruso, aka Epic Beard Man yesterday. There has been a huge outpouring of support for him and I would like to thank everyone for showing your concern for what he had to go through.
As you probably know there are a ton of new websites selling Epic Beard Man merchandise and various websites that claim to be created as his legal defense fund or a place to send him donations. Â Tom is not associated with these websites and websites that claim to be made by him and soliciting donations are scams.
The only website that I can confirm has said they will send a portion of the proceeds is iamamotherfucker.com
Attached is a picture of a slightly edited voided check Tom gave me. To send a donation to him please ONLY send a check to that address.
For clarity that address is:
Thomas Bruso
1720 MacArthur Blvd. Unit 507
Oakland, CA 94602-1777
I can tell you that interacting with Tom is quite an experience and on public transportation and walking on the street he loves to talk with his fans. I would suggest sending him a short note of why you are writing and include a stamped self addressed envelope so that he can send you a note of appreciation in return. Â I will mention that thanks to generous donations from his fans he has been able to get the money he needs to attend his moms funeral.
A couple people have asked about who I am and I'm a San Francisco activist involved with various community organizing groups that do things like help the homeless and charity fundraisers. Â I'm not associated with anyone selling EBM merchandise and like you wanted to show my concern for what he had to go through with this ordeal.
Last but not least feel free to forward this information along to others. If you have any questions or concerns please let me know.
Thanks!
Andrew Yeoman
Monday, March 15, 2010
Calling it Quits
By Andrew Yeoman
There comes a time in the career of every activist when they want to give up. Luckily I was somewhat prepared for these feelings of resignation from my experiences with activists in the anti-globalization movement who devoted years to protests and organizing to see not one of their issues being successfully implemented. I knew what the dejected distant look of a persons eyes whose enthusiasm for life has been all but burned out. I felt that what we were trying to do was going to be just as useless as the anti-globalization movement. At most it would be a letting out of steam of peoples conscious, aware but hopeful that one day a critical mass would care about these issues and change would happen.
That, essentially, we were casting pearls before swine and if our truths had no one capable of actively supporting us then damn it all to hell.
Of the preciously finite amount of time we have on life it would seem far more rewarding and better spent pursuing baser interests. Besides, who would like to have the investment in time, effort, energy, money, sacrifice, the personal risk simply far outweigh any perceived benefit from continuing to stay active? Our tasks are seemingly so gargantuan as to be beyond the reach of any small group of people. The rational mind can justify any number of more rewarding pursuits. To making money, hobbies, or relationships that although transient, seem to satisfy human needs more then an impossible mission of changing the status quo. I recently went through such a test. Leading members of BANA and I were so dismayed by recent developments we seriously considered formally dissolving BANA.
We were mortified to see three hard years of lessons learned, strategies, and tactics used by BANA and other groups completely ignored by our target demographic for opportunistic forays. Long time readers will know the key principles that have motivated us to taking not a new approach to politics but in some ways more profound one. For example, instead of abandoning traditional community outreach programs like helping the homeless or fighting diseases we embraced these as our own. Instead of abandoning street protests to groups who hold no esteem for our people we reclaimed the streets of our forefathers. In 2008 we saw the massive and wasteful efforts of radical conservatives and liberals on Ron Paul and Green party candidates with no chance at all to make a challenge to the system but instead reaffirm it's legitimacy.
This was the mental state in which I languished. Demoralized at the prospects of failure. Heartbroken at abandoning the trust our people have given BANA to represent them. This crisis was not such a rational mental one following the apathy of our tribes future but a spiritual one haunting the fate our people are unconsciously choosing to fulfill. I think it is possible to feel the mortality for a people in the agony of dissolution. And I feel that every day upon awakening and being unable to avoid the stark ugly reality of what the world around us looks like today.
If not consciously, I had morally decided to call it quits. Perhaps I thought the record of BANA had done would be an inspiration to others at a later date. That leaders and activists more capable then what we were able to accomplish would somehow learn from our successes and our failures and translate that into a real victory. Perhaps our efforts wouldn't be as transient and meaningless as they appeared to have been,
I wrote my mentor, Welf Herfurth on my feelings: "I am depressed that most people care more about people like ... or the built to fail ... then what we have been doing. I know this because if they did care they would be talking about us and not snake oil salesmen of these other groups. Almost all the lessons that we have been promoting and other people have discussed are not being used by other people. Like the Christians say we are basically "casting pearls before swine... After much consideration I believe I can no longer prop up BANA to be something that it is not and will I will be consulting with P about formally dissolving the organization. It is my hope that others take notice of this and it inspires to take off where we stopped. I would rather see BANA end on a high note then continue the downward cycle of death it has been in for quite sometime. Although we continue to gain positive exposure, the lack of any tangible support from the public or our supporters has led me to believe that tribalism must grow organically, I am not good enough of a leader to make it happen, and that the culture of our people makes realizing National Anarchism, in any real tangible way, an impossibility given the resources that we have. I do not have the inclination to help a race that does not care about itself and I do not care to lead a tribe that does not care about it's existence. Had the people that supported us behaved differently there would be no reason to call it quits. I no longer desire to be Andrew Yeoman and will most likely be retiring from any further political activity. I have done everything that could be done,"
After some time I received a reply. "Let me first make it very clear that, if this is your decision, I support you 100% and you will not get any grief from me. Your decision is your decision and one has to do what is the best for one personal. I will not come along and tell you what most 'right-wingers' would tell you like that you have the duty to your people to continue or that you are selfish and give up to easy. I was told these things, mostly by people who couldn't get their bum from behind the PC or from the comfort of their couch. You know that it is much easier to push other people then yourself. And if you consider that people like you and me don't really have the 'Everybody wants to be the leader syndrome and we just do things because they have to be done without expecting any laurels or glory it makes it hard to see these PC commandos criticizing you.
Can I say that I would be disappointed - yes I think I can as I saw your group as the spearhead of the worldwide NA movement that made the most inroads into the morbid radical politic scene, might it be 'left' or 'right'. What you have achieved in the last two years is nothing more then spectacular and, if I may say so, you rattled the political cage of a lot of people.
You started as a one man band in a garage two years ago and now you have one of the most active and sizable groups in the US.
And that is rather impressive and made me proud considering that I had a little bit to do with that.
But this is not about me; it is about you and your dissolution about how things are going right now. I can understand how you feel when you organise an event and only half the people who promised to show up show up. And there is nothing more frustrating then having to see that all your efforts and work is getting unrewarded while piss heads and scum is getting all the financial support and help they need. Or even worst when people tell you they don't have a cent for the cause, but enough to get drunk every night.
What must be the most frustrating thing are the people in our tribe that couldn't care less, and are often the most vocal opponents, about what we do. And you are right in asking yourself the question if all the work and efforts we are pouring into the struggle is worth it if the masses don't give a shit. On the other hand, can you blame them? Centuries of brain washing, the power of the media, the peer pressure of being good little consumers and materialists have to leave a mark on society and its people. And that is what we are against; not so much the people but the system. The people are the symptoms, the system is the source. And to fight the source is an incredible struggle.
Andy, you are doing this fight now since two years and I can complete understand that you are worn out and had enough. I can read between the lines about your disappointment and frustrations. But what did you expect? That thousands of people will flock around your idea in an instant (and lets be clear about it that two years might seem like a long time, but in reality it is nothing) and start considering themselves as a tribal member?
From my experience, and I am in the game now since nearly 30 years, it takes a long time as well as some sociological luck, to establish a successful group and be able to give the right impulses to the community. Look at the Hippie movement in the 60's and 70's. They came and established themselves for a while in a certain life style, but physically not longer then 10 years, but their legacy lives on in the liberal democratic system we have now in the western world. Governments are run by neo-cons, who were in their youth the dope smoking hippies that realised later in life that their economic platform is far removed from reality and so they mixed their social believes with economic capitalism.
So what I try to say is that political change in a materialistic and egoistic world is a painful and long road. And if you don't have the support of people and the manpower to help you in your projects, then it is an even harder struggle.
But considering the short time you have been doing this, the amount of changes you achieved are very considerable. The lefties world wide see you as a source of concern and fight you with tooth and nail; they rightly believe that your approach to the political struggle is a danger to them and their dogmatic stands. Look what they wrote about you and how they attack you. That shows that they are intimidated by what you are doing. Remember the old anarchist we meet at the coffee shop last time I was in San Fran? Man that was gold what he said. And he meant it as well."
I am naturally an introverted person. Speaking in public, being filmed on camera, addressing groups of people, all these things do not come easy for me. But reflecting on sincere and emotionally meaningful ideas does. I reflected on my doubt. I analyzed my insecurities. I weighed the folly of continuing with politics, my feelings, and what the choice my actions would have on the future of my life. On the future of my tribe. On the future of my race. I took a deep breath and replied.
I'm not quitting. Not now. Not ever.
There comes a time in the career of every activist when they want to give up. Luckily I was somewhat prepared for these feelings of resignation from my experiences with activists in the anti-globalization movement who devoted years to protests and organizing to see not one of their issues being successfully implemented. I knew what the dejected distant look of a persons eyes whose enthusiasm for life has been all but burned out. I felt that what we were trying to do was going to be just as useless as the anti-globalization movement. At most it would be a letting out of steam of peoples conscious, aware but hopeful that one day a critical mass would care about these issues and change would happen.
That, essentially, we were casting pearls before swine and if our truths had no one capable of actively supporting us then damn it all to hell.
Of the preciously finite amount of time we have on life it would seem far more rewarding and better spent pursuing baser interests. Besides, who would like to have the investment in time, effort, energy, money, sacrifice, the personal risk simply far outweigh any perceived benefit from continuing to stay active? Our tasks are seemingly so gargantuan as to be beyond the reach of any small group of people. The rational mind can justify any number of more rewarding pursuits. To making money, hobbies, or relationships that although transient, seem to satisfy human needs more then an impossible mission of changing the status quo. I recently went through such a test. Leading members of BANA and I were so dismayed by recent developments we seriously considered formally dissolving BANA.
We were mortified to see three hard years of lessons learned, strategies, and tactics used by BANA and other groups completely ignored by our target demographic for opportunistic forays. Long time readers will know the key principles that have motivated us to taking not a new approach to politics but in some ways more profound one. For example, instead of abandoning traditional community outreach programs like helping the homeless or fighting diseases we embraced these as our own. Instead of abandoning street protests to groups who hold no esteem for our people we reclaimed the streets of our forefathers. In 2008 we saw the massive and wasteful efforts of radical conservatives and liberals on Ron Paul and Green party candidates with no chance at all to make a challenge to the system but instead reaffirm it's legitimacy.
This was the mental state in which I languished. Demoralized at the prospects of failure. Heartbroken at abandoning the trust our people have given BANA to represent them. This crisis was not such a rational mental one following the apathy of our tribes future but a spiritual one haunting the fate our people are unconsciously choosing to fulfill. I think it is possible to feel the mortality for a people in the agony of dissolution. And I feel that every day upon awakening and being unable to avoid the stark ugly reality of what the world around us looks like today.
If not consciously, I had morally decided to call it quits. Perhaps I thought the record of BANA had done would be an inspiration to others at a later date. That leaders and activists more capable then what we were able to accomplish would somehow learn from our successes and our failures and translate that into a real victory. Perhaps our efforts wouldn't be as transient and meaningless as they appeared to have been,
I wrote my mentor, Welf Herfurth on my feelings: "I am depressed that most people care more about people like ... or the built to fail ... then what we have been doing. I know this because if they did care they would be talking about us and not snake oil salesmen of these other groups. Almost all the lessons that we have been promoting and other people have discussed are not being used by other people. Like the Christians say we are basically "casting pearls before swine... After much consideration I believe I can no longer prop up BANA to be something that it is not and will I will be consulting with P about formally dissolving the organization. It is my hope that others take notice of this and it inspires to take off where we stopped. I would rather see BANA end on a high note then continue the downward cycle of death it has been in for quite sometime. Although we continue to gain positive exposure, the lack of any tangible support from the public or our supporters has led me to believe that tribalism must grow organically, I am not good enough of a leader to make it happen, and that the culture of our people makes realizing National Anarchism, in any real tangible way, an impossibility given the resources that we have. I do not have the inclination to help a race that does not care about itself and I do not care to lead a tribe that does not care about it's existence. Had the people that supported us behaved differently there would be no reason to call it quits. I no longer desire to be Andrew Yeoman and will most likely be retiring from any further political activity. I have done everything that could be done,"
After some time I received a reply. "Let me first make it very clear that, if this is your decision, I support you 100% and you will not get any grief from me. Your decision is your decision and one has to do what is the best for one personal. I will not come along and tell you what most 'right-wingers' would tell you like that you have the duty to your people to continue or that you are selfish and give up to easy. I was told these things, mostly by people who couldn't get their bum from behind the PC or from the comfort of their couch. You know that it is much easier to push other people then yourself. And if you consider that people like you and me don't really have the 'Everybody wants to be the leader syndrome and we just do things because they have to be done without expecting any laurels or glory it makes it hard to see these PC commandos criticizing you.
Can I say that I would be disappointed - yes I think I can as I saw your group as the spearhead of the worldwide NA movement that made the most inroads into the morbid radical politic scene, might it be 'left' or 'right'. What you have achieved in the last two years is nothing more then spectacular and, if I may say so, you rattled the political cage of a lot of people.
You started as a one man band in a garage two years ago and now you have one of the most active and sizable groups in the US.
And that is rather impressive and made me proud considering that I had a little bit to do with that.
But this is not about me; it is about you and your dissolution about how things are going right now. I can understand how you feel when you organise an event and only half the people who promised to show up show up. And there is nothing more frustrating then having to see that all your efforts and work is getting unrewarded while piss heads and scum is getting all the financial support and help they need. Or even worst when people tell you they don't have a cent for the cause, but enough to get drunk every night.
What must be the most frustrating thing are the people in our tribe that couldn't care less, and are often the most vocal opponents, about what we do. And you are right in asking yourself the question if all the work and efforts we are pouring into the struggle is worth it if the masses don't give a shit. On the other hand, can you blame them? Centuries of brain washing, the power of the media, the peer pressure of being good little consumers and materialists have to leave a mark on society and its people. And that is what we are against; not so much the people but the system. The people are the symptoms, the system is the source. And to fight the source is an incredible struggle.
Andy, you are doing this fight now since two years and I can complete understand that you are worn out and had enough. I can read between the lines about your disappointment and frustrations. But what did you expect? That thousands of people will flock around your idea in an instant (and lets be clear about it that two years might seem like a long time, but in reality it is nothing) and start considering themselves as a tribal member?
From my experience, and I am in the game now since nearly 30 years, it takes a long time as well as some sociological luck, to establish a successful group and be able to give the right impulses to the community. Look at the Hippie movement in the 60's and 70's. They came and established themselves for a while in a certain life style, but physically not longer then 10 years, but their legacy lives on in the liberal democratic system we have now in the western world. Governments are run by neo-cons, who were in their youth the dope smoking hippies that realised later in life that their economic platform is far removed from reality and so they mixed their social believes with economic capitalism.
So what I try to say is that political change in a materialistic and egoistic world is a painful and long road. And if you don't have the support of people and the manpower to help you in your projects, then it is an even harder struggle.
But considering the short time you have been doing this, the amount of changes you achieved are very considerable. The lefties world wide see you as a source of concern and fight you with tooth and nail; they rightly believe that your approach to the political struggle is a danger to them and their dogmatic stands. Look what they wrote about you and how they attack you. That shows that they are intimidated by what you are doing. Remember the old anarchist we meet at the coffee shop last time I was in San Fran? Man that was gold what he said. And he meant it as well."
I am naturally an introverted person. Speaking in public, being filmed on camera, addressing groups of people, all these things do not come easy for me. But reflecting on sincere and emotionally meaningful ideas does. I reflected on my doubt. I analyzed my insecurities. I weighed the folly of continuing with politics, my feelings, and what the choice my actions would have on the future of my life. On the future of my tribe. On the future of my race. I took a deep breath and replied.
I'm not quitting. Not now. Not ever.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
It has been awhile
Posts here will be few and far between but when they appear they will matter. I see NA growing and with that I have hope. We will not be stopped, and we will win. Between D.C. to Tasmania and England,we have been busy, these areas have seen new National Autonomous Zones come into existence and we are only just beginning.
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