April 22–May 23, 2020
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Stay woke? In a world facing COVID-19 “Cancel Culture” has fundamentally changed.
Now, it does not only question how to deal with Nazis, racists and white supremacists, who think they can take over all platforms, all voices, all thoughts. Our answer is: That’s not happening. We talk to those who live in denial, but this street newspaper doesn’t provide the platform and visibility they want for their selfish fantasies. AWC’s priorities are the voices that need to be heard in the ideological struggle that surges with a crystal-clear message: The self-predatory economy, to which we are all subject, has to come to an end.
Time has come to see the bigger implications of “cancelling,” and reflect on what we call Fake/Falsche/Faux Culture. Never in our wildest dreams could we have forecasted the storm of the viral epidemic in Wuhan, China, where news of COVD-19 was first reported. The trend has been so pervasive and life-altering that it has dominated all spaces of the media, as the reality of the illness has taken millions of people around the world hostage, forcing them to stay home and avoid human contact.
For those overwhelmed by the content overload experienced on Zoom and all the mediatheques from cultural institutions afraid of losing their “relevance,” and those who have to remain on the front lines, shelves, and desks: The spring of 2020 is testing our values, our patience and the nature of our practices. Whom are we doing this for? For everyone. If so, how can we make the idea of democracy, of community, of unions, liveable? Can we re-learn the skills that we had to externalise because of capitalism? Planting, Caring, Harvesting, Cooking, Sewing, Seeing, Walking, Being with oneself
There is no way around it: Conversations about how the crisis should be handled from a leftist perspective have begun to be part of the everyday. Rent strikes, demands for government cash handouts to everyone in need, and, of course, the right to fair medical treatment, is how the forces behind democratic socialism should translate their political principles into action.
What we are experiencing is a new world in the making, and fuck yes, we better race against the opportunists of the free market and the fascist waves in governments around the world to make it a better one. Being part of this large-scale change, we must remember to not forget, dig out the so far unseen herstories, and act. Now. Outside of the vortex of hysteria that is social media, reality is once again becoming larger than its cybernetic feedback loop.
So what remains of our Faux Culture as we sit in self-isolation? Profit finally becomes worthless when we’re all stripped of basic needs. And that’s an empowering prospect.
–Editors
Publishers & Editors: Alina Kolar, María Inés Plaza Lazo, Pauł Sochacki
Associate Editors of Faux Culture: Boaz Levin, Eva Scharrer, Maya Shenfeld, Mohammad Salemy
Publication Images: Nigin Beck, Neïl Beloufa, Katherina Olschbaur, Kasra Rahmanian
Contributors: Cibelle Cavalli Bastos, Mikala Hyldig Dal, Nika Dubrovsky, Jan Eberlding, Maternal Fantasies, Hallie Frost, Neda Genova, James Ginzburg, Valentin Golev, David Graeber, Max Haiven, Darren Kaplan, Mina Khanlarzadeh, Göksu Kunac, NBDBKP, Das Nest, Chris Paxton, Kolja Reichert, Santhosh S., Quinn Slobodian, Klaus Speidel, Skye Arundhati Thomas, Suzanne Treister, Jennifer Walshe, Didem Yazici, Misal Adnan Yildiz
We also encourage you to get your quarantine issue & AWC Faux Couture, and follow us on Instagram and Facebook for daily treats.
