The Resistance Issue

Cover photo by Amanda Mustard

An electrician in Johannesburg sneaks illegal wires through a crowded slum while, halfway around the world, a journalist launches a toy drone with a camera over Zuccotti Park. These are hackers not just of technology but also of authority. Power dynamics are ever-present in relationships, forcing us often to submit. Yet in moments of desperation, inspiration, and organization, we can chose to resist. Resistance is an evolving beast that, under the constraints of a dominating authority, brings forth our most creative instincts. Whether forging tools of opposition like Misrata’s “technical” trucks, building forts of defense like Butaro’s disease-resistant clinic, or devising subversive alternatives like Mexico City’s black market, creative resistance reflects the state of the opposition, the values of the opposers, and the nature of the weapons available to fight.