Spencer Beswick
@spencerbeswick.bsky.social
Historian of anarchism, labor, and the left in the Americas / Postdoctoral Associate at Cornell's Humanities Scholars Program / Views my own, not my employer's
Pinned
Empty Hands History – Spencer Beswick
emptyhandshistory.com
I updated my website emptyhandshistory.com after letting it lie fallow for over a year. It's easiest way to find links to all of my publications, including the two peer reviewed journal articles and a book chapter that I published in 2024. As always, DM me for PDFs of anything!
Everything is awful but the saving grace is the rise of early-mid 2000s culture nostalgia.
November 21, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Everything is awful but the saving grace is the rise of early-mid 2000s culture nostalgia.
What in the world
November 21, 2025 at 9:24 PM
What in the world
Reposted by Spencer Beswick
Happy birthday, Alexander Berkman!
Born in 1870, "Sasha" was a Jewish emigre from the Russian Empire to the US and major figure of the anarchist movt. He tried to assassinate magnate Henry Clay Frick, was deported under the Anarchist Exclusion Act & became an outspoken critic of Soviet repression.
Born in 1870, "Sasha" was a Jewish emigre from the Russian Empire to the US and major figure of the anarchist movt. He tried to assassinate magnate Henry Clay Frick, was deported under the Anarchist Exclusion Act & became an outspoken critic of Soviet repression.
November 21, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Happy birthday, Alexander Berkman!
Born in 1870, "Sasha" was a Jewish emigre from the Russian Empire to the US and major figure of the anarchist movt. He tried to assassinate magnate Henry Clay Frick, was deported under the Anarchist Exclusion Act & became an outspoken critic of Soviet repression.
Born in 1870, "Sasha" was a Jewish emigre from the Russian Empire to the US and major figure of the anarchist movt. He tried to assassinate magnate Henry Clay Frick, was deported under the Anarchist Exclusion Act & became an outspoken critic of Soviet repression.
"No General but Ludd
Means the Poor Any Good"
Found in Peter Linebaugh, "Ned Ludd & Queen Mab: Machine-Breaking, Romanticism, and the Several Commons of 1811–12"
Means the Poor Any Good"
Found in Peter Linebaugh, "Ned Ludd & Queen Mab: Machine-Breaking, Romanticism, and the Several Commons of 1811–12"
![Screenshot of text reading "We will never lay down Arms [till] The House of Commons passes an Act to put down all Machinery hurtful to Commonality, and repeal that to hang Frame Breakers. But We. We petition no more--that won't do--fighting must. Signed by the General of the Army of Redressers. Ned Ludd Clerk. Redressers for ever. Amen."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:76u2okyn5zvvavtgpedzyfi3/bafkreib4sp7lphj3u4ww6z726giqkgdbmys63smbkvyod3th3io4rk7wta@jpeg)
November 20, 2025 at 11:20 PM
"No General but Ludd
Means the Poor Any Good"
Found in Peter Linebaugh, "Ned Ludd & Queen Mab: Machine-Breaking, Romanticism, and the Several Commons of 1811–12"
Means the Poor Any Good"
Found in Peter Linebaugh, "Ned Ludd & Queen Mab: Machine-Breaking, Romanticism, and the Several Commons of 1811–12"
Reposted by Spencer Beswick
Personally I think a sitting president calling for the execution of members of Congress is A1 scream headline news, but what do I know
November 20, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Personally I think a sitting president calling for the execution of members of Congress is A1 scream headline news, but what do I know
"To confront this wave of gender fascism, we need a transformative framework to describe what we’re fighting for. Most advocates use a rights discourse to explain their opposition to this wave of oppressive policies. We propose a different framework: gender self-determination." 1/3 @crimethinc.com
The Fight for Gender Self-Determination
To confront the legislative assault on trans freedom, we must shift from a discourse of rights to create the conditions for gender self-determination.
crimethinc.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:09 PM
"To confront this wave of gender fascism, we need a transformative framework to describe what we’re fighting for. Most advocates use a rights discourse to explain their opposition to this wave of oppressive policies. We propose a different framework: gender self-determination." 1/3 @crimethinc.com
Mikhail Bakunin: "Does it follow that I reject all authority? Perish the thought. In the matter of boots, I defer to the authority of the bootmaker; concerning houses, canals, or railroads, I consult the architect or the engineer. 1/2
November 19, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Mikhail Bakunin: "Does it follow that I reject all authority? Perish the thought. In the matter of boots, I defer to the authority of the bootmaker; concerning houses, canals, or railroads, I consult the architect or the engineer. 1/2
Reposted by Spencer Beswick
my yearly reminder (to myself mostly) that The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) was formed by 6 (SIX!!) people, on this day, November 17th, 1983.
November 17, 2025 at 4:00 PM
my yearly reminder (to myself mostly) that The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) was formed by 6 (SIX!!) people, on this day, November 17th, 1983.
Reposted by Spencer Beswick
The federal government is in overdrive trying to arrest people for speech online.
Anarchists snd other left varieties are getting hit all over the site the last couple days with these it appears. This is like the fourth account I have seen posting something like this since last week.
Anarchists snd other left varieties are getting hit all over the site the last couple days with these it appears. This is like the fourth account I have seen posting something like this since last week.
Getting subpoenaed by the US government over bluesky posts
November 17, 2025 at 3:37 PM
The federal government is in overdrive trying to arrest people for speech online.
Anarchists snd other left varieties are getting hit all over the site the last couple days with these it appears. This is like the fourth account I have seen posting something like this since last week.
Anarchists snd other left varieties are getting hit all over the site the last couple days with these it appears. This is like the fourth account I have seen posting something like this since last week.
Reposted by Spencer Beswick
Yeah. We went through this last time there was a big Epstein splash in the news. Trumpists do not really care about women or girls and the topic may only be hot right now because novel info keeps trickling out. Hope I'm wrong. bsky.app/profile/spen...
When the furor over the Epstein Files began a few months ago, the Conservative subreddit was furious. There were multiple posts a day about it and *almost everyone* was pissed at Trump for betraying his promises. Now, there is basically no talk of it. Here's what happened: 1/
November 17, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Yeah. We went through this last time there was a big Epstein splash in the news. Trumpists do not really care about women or girls and the topic may only be hot right now because novel info keeps trickling out. Hope I'm wrong. bsky.app/profile/spen...
Reposted by Spencer Beswick
Not damned by their failures, damned by their goals
I think some people who are against AI for other reasons rely on the environmental impact because it is an easier argument to make. But what happens if/when better tech mitigates the impact? If you're against AI, argue against it on its own merits, not secondary ones.
The thing is that I'm against AI irrespective of its environmental impacts (which are also devastating, of course).
November 14, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Not damned by their failures, damned by their goals
I think some people who are against AI for other reasons rely on the environmental impact because it is an easier argument to make. But what happens if/when better tech mitigates the impact? If you're against AI, argue against it on its own merits, not secondary ones.
The thing is that I'm against AI irrespective of its environmental impacts (which are also devastating, of course).
November 14, 2025 at 6:02 PM
I think some people who are against AI for other reasons rely on the environmental impact because it is an easier argument to make. But what happens if/when better tech mitigates the impact? If you're against AI, argue against it on its own merits, not secondary ones.
The thing is that I'm against AI irrespective of its environmental impacts (which are also devastating, of course).
November 14, 2025 at 5:31 PM
The thing is that I'm against AI irrespective of its environmental impacts (which are also devastating, of course).
Reposted by Spencer Beswick
A dangerous new policy requires a campus President's approval for profs to teach race & gender topics in Texas.
"It strikes at the heart of what education means...which is circulate the exchange of knowledge without fear of retaliation.”
— Rana Jaleel, AAUP Chair of Committee on Academic Freedom
"It strikes at the heart of what education means...which is circulate the exchange of knowledge without fear of retaliation.”
— Rana Jaleel, AAUP Chair of Committee on Academic Freedom
Texas A&M University professors now need approval for some race and gender topics
Texas A&M University System regents on Thursday adopted a new policy requiring professors to first get approval to discuss some race and gender topics.
apnews.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:24 PM
A dangerous new policy requires a campus President's approval for profs to teach race & gender topics in Texas.
"It strikes at the heart of what education means...which is circulate the exchange of knowledge without fear of retaliation.”
— Rana Jaleel, AAUP Chair of Committee on Academic Freedom
"It strikes at the heart of what education means...which is circulate the exchange of knowledge without fear of retaliation.”
— Rana Jaleel, AAUP Chair of Committee on Academic Freedom
My strongest niche non-political opinion is that 1.15 is by far the best line spacing option.
November 13, 2025 at 7:50 PM
My strongest niche non-political opinion is that 1.15 is by far the best line spacing option.
I still have no idea when to use "that" and when to use "which." Everything I read about it just confuses me further! This is why I try not to ever judge people (let alone non-native English speakers) for small grammatical errors. Language is hard.
November 13, 2025 at 7:16 PM
I still have no idea when to use "that" and when to use "which." Everything I read about it just confuses me further! This is why I try not to ever judge people (let alone non-native English speakers) for small grammatical errors. Language is hard.
Begging senior professors to stop writing op-eds about how they think students using AI for everything is ok, actually.
November 13, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Begging senior professors to stop writing op-eds about how they think students using AI for everything is ok, actually.
I really want someone (for whom graphic design is their passion) to make an "Anti-AI Action" flag in the style of "Anti-Fascist Action."
November 12, 2025 at 7:57 PM
I really want someone (for whom graphic design is their passion) to make an "Anti-AI Action" flag in the style of "Anti-Fascist Action."
Top headline on r/politics: "Epstein claimed that Donald Trump ‘knew about the girls’ in private emails"
Top headline on r/conservative: "Jeffrey Epstein: Trump 'asked Ghislaine Maxwell to stop' recruiting girls from Mar-a-Lago Spa"
People live in completely different worlds.
Top headline on r/conservative: "Jeffrey Epstein: Trump 'asked Ghislaine Maxwell to stop' recruiting girls from Mar-a-Lago Spa"
People live in completely different worlds.
November 12, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Top headline on r/politics: "Epstein claimed that Donald Trump ‘knew about the girls’ in private emails"
Top headline on r/conservative: "Jeffrey Epstein: Trump 'asked Ghislaine Maxwell to stop' recruiting girls from Mar-a-Lago Spa"
People live in completely different worlds.
Top headline on r/conservative: "Jeffrey Epstein: Trump 'asked Ghislaine Maxwell to stop' recruiting girls from Mar-a-Lago Spa"
People live in completely different worlds.
Like I KNOW I shouldn't expect anything from the Dems but I still get so pissed ugh.
November 10, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Like I KNOW I shouldn't expect anything from the Dems but I still get so pissed ugh.
Is it just me or has Instagram's comments algorithm changed to prioritize "controversial" right-wing comments? Seems to be the case very consistently just starting sometime in the past month or two.
November 7, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Is it just me or has Instagram's comments algorithm changed to prioritize "controversial" right-wing comments? Seems to be the case very consistently just starting sometime in the past month or two.
Cornell just announced its agreement with the Trump regime to restore federal research funding. It includes Cornell paying $30 million directly to the government "as a condition for ending pending claims that have been brought against the university." Capitulation to extortion.
November 7, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Cornell just announced its agreement with the Trump regime to restore federal research funding. It includes Cornell paying $30 million directly to the government "as a condition for ending pending claims that have been brought against the university." Capitulation to extortion.
With apologies to the family abolitionists, my experience is that being married fucking rocks.
November 7, 2025 at 4:44 PM
With apologies to the family abolitionists, my experience is that being married fucking rocks.
Reposted by Spencer Beswick
As a bookstore that sells pamphlets and magazines, the criminalization of such materials feels pretty close to home. So let's take a closer look at the materials the federal government is claiming tie readers to "antifa terrorism." We can pick out six titles in these grainy photos. 1/
November 6, 2025 at 4:36 PM
As a bookstore that sells pamphlets and magazines, the criminalization of such materials feels pretty close to home. So let's take a closer look at the materials the federal government is claiming tie readers to "antifa terrorism." We can pick out six titles in these grainy photos. 1/