The fine folks at Clamor pointed out a BBC story about a Danish firm selling t-shirts for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). According to the retailer, a portion of each sale goes to help the organizations obtain “new equipment for radio stations and graphics workshops.”
The BBC notes that the FARC and PFLP are both considered “terrorist organizations” by the United States and European Union, which raises prickly questions about whether those that buy and sell such merchandise are in effect providing financial aid to terrorists. Given that the proceeds are explicitly designated to support media creation, though, adds a wrinkle to the consideration. However, as is increasingly the case, words and images can have as much or more power than any bomb or gun.
It has been previously suggested that microradio stations band together in a similar fashion to create a mutual-aid network to help stations in need. One potential option involved a “bust recovery fund,” where raided stations could turn for assistance in obtaining replacement gear. Such a fund could begin with investments from participating stations and other interested parties, and grown with things like the sale of station t-shirts.
In 2003 Larry Flynt approached mainstream media reformers with an offer to donate to their growing cause; they politely refused in fear of what hay might be made from a pornographer’s money. At the time I considered trying to track Flynt down to see if he’d be willing to assist other efforts, given his apparent support of electronic civil disobedience (in the tradition of all good hellraisers), but never followed through. No doubt in today’s environment such a scheme would invite an involuntary extended stay at an undisclosed location of the government’s choosing.
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