REST IN POWER
Tribute to Dariano, Anarchist and Mail Artist
from International Union of Mail-Artists
November 18, 2024
"A Greeting with the Force of the Wind"
A tribute to a dear friend and comrade, who after a lifelong militancy has left us, present in a thousand struggles, social, cultural and political initiatives, because he believed that society could be changed in a libertarian sense with personal commitment and mutual aid.
Submit tribute mail art to:
Circolo "Al Bafo" | Piazza Bolognini, 8 | 24068 Seriate BG, Italy
required dimensions 148 x 105 mm | 5.8 x 4.1 in
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A Compagno has Left Us. In Memory of Doriano Rota.
From Umanità Nova
September 8, 2024
On Thursday, July 18, 2024, after about 2 months of illness and a hospital stay, comrade Doriano Rota died of cancer at the age of 69. He had only been able to obtain a modest pension for a few years after about 43 years of work, mostly as a craftsman tiler, but in reality essentially dependent on the subcontracts of the building contractors who allowed him to work. That's right, "allowed", because: after an initial youthful experience of working in a factory, of strikes, of struggles, of political choices that had led him to join Avanguardia Operaia, of alternative experiences that had led him to live in a youth commune in Verdello, in the 70s of the last century; for him, as for many others, the oppressive conformist Christian Democrat/Catholic/bigoted/authoritarian/exploitative society had catalogued him among the bad guys, creating serious difficulties for him in re-entering the working world, forcing him to make do, because our post-war society did not and does not forgive those who oppose it, those who want to experiment with a new social life of solidarity. We emphasize this aspect because the mass media tend to make anarchists appear almost only as artists or rich kids, while the reality is that the majority come from proletarian families of employed workers.
These were therefore difficult experiences that had made him decide to change his surroundings and from Bergamo he then lived for a few years in Sardinia, returning to the Lombardy province towards the mid-80s, with his partner, with whom he would have two children, always maintaining a vivid and esteemed memory of the land and the Sardinian experience.
It is precisely in this period that the meeting between us young anarchists of the “Freccia Nera” group of Bergamo and Doriano takes place, a frequentation that will immediately become assiduous and will never stop. With a character that is sometimes gruff, frank, of few words, rough, he did not fail to argue, discuss, to be reserved, but in essence, if the acquaintance continued and if concrete experiences of doing together materialized, his closeness and friendship was true, always ready, as soon as he could, to lend a hand to organize the various locations where the anarchist group wandered; organize concerts, parties, demonstrations and the most varied political, cultural, social, environmentalist, animalist activities, in which the libertarian spirit could be present and proposed.
We remember, starting from the mid-90s, his constant commitment to spreading through the book stall - which he had taken over from other comrades of the group - anarchist, libertarian and alternative ideas to the capitalist/nationalist/authoritarian society; a practice that he carried on for about 35 years, with the additional annual commitment of the organization of the Bergamo Anarchist and Libertarian Publishing, which followed in various city spaces, for 24 years. It will be our commitment to organize the 25th edition in December of this year, in addition to remembering as always the assassination of Giuseppe Pinelli and the State Massacre of Piazza Fontana, also in his memory.
Beyond the adversities of his life, we want to remember the respect he had for the land and the peasant work, his desire to know, to socialize, his artistic passion that he had expressed especially in mail art, participating, promoting and organizing various initiatives and exhibitions; a very recent one, on the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza in partnership with the ARCI "Al Bafo" Circle of Seriate. Lately he had then applied himself with interest to the creation of mosaics, in the realization of which he combined his creative and working skills.
Working skills as a tiler that he made available to his comrades, for example, for the arrangement of the anarchist headquarters in Viale Monza, 255 in Milan and for the headquarters of the Germinal Anarchist Group in Trieste, works of which, speaking among ourselves, he was quietly proud.
His, a life-long militancy, made of readings and many practical actions, because he believed that society could be changed in a libertarian sense with personal commitment and mutual support. The feeling of brotherhood and friendship that united us, will remain an indelible memory.
Dean Tuckerman 1952-2024
From Slingshot, Issue #141, Winter 2024
October 10, 2024
By dress wedding
The world and our Bay Area anarchist community lost the feisty and wondrous Dean Tuckerman on May 30, 2024. Born in Philadelphia on March 28, 1952, his mother imparted to him that he should think highly of himself, despite his challenges with cerebral palsy, and not take shit from anyone. Dean moved to New York City in the early 1970’s to join the Yippie! (Youth International Party) at the infamous Bleecker Street household. He installed himself as the greeter, helping new comrades figure out how to help the cause or find their way around town. He was assigned to attaining permits for events, as his inimitable and persistent style left typical bureaucrats racing to find a way to get him out of their offices quickly. He helped organize many Yippie! marijuana smoke-ins on the White House lawn in Washington DC. According to his long-time friend Mitchell Halberstadt, Dean was one of most emotionally and spiritually strong people he ever knew.
Dean provided decades of legal support, as a contact and a paralegal, whether he himself was in or out of jail. This applied both to political cases and to marijuana cases. He attended numerous National Lawyers Guild national conferences and was likely a member.
When he first arrived on the West Coast in the early 80’s, Dean lived in a variety of SROs in the Tenderloin and the East Bay. After getting his own apartment near Ashby BART, Dean let numerous friends and comrades crash in his living room, some for months at a time. He was a fixture at the Long Haul and at every sort of anarchist and gay political action in the Bay Area.
Around 2012, he moved to Bellingham to be near his close friend, “movement” attorney Larry Hildes and his wife Karen. Karen died of a brain tumor in 2019, and Larry died a year or two later of congestive heart failure. That left Dean fairly isolated in WA state, living in a studio apartment in a high-rise for seniors and disabled people.
Dean came to the Bay Area last April for the Folsom Street Fair and the Anarchist Book Fair. Finding himself stumbling, he tried to get admitted to SF General Hospital but was turned away. After he fell and hurt himself, he was brought to UCSF in an ambulance and admitted with no real diagnosis and fairly comatose. After weeks of little improvement, the State of California shirked the costly medical expense by having him flown back to Seattle, where he remained in a hospital, away from his community and friends, until his death.
Presente Dean Tuckerman
What is Remembered Lives!
Bergamo comrades of the Freccia Nera / Spazio Anarchico Underground anarchist group who have shared a good stretch of the journey with you. Ciao.
