Manarchists In History: Ann Hansen
Ann Hansen is an anarchist militant and one of the most well-known rebels from Canada. She was one of the founders of the Squamish 5 and the Wimmin’s Fire Brigade, groups of (m)anarchists that conducted a string of arsons against sex shops in Canada. In 1982 they firebombed Red Hot Videos, a porn shop in Vancouver that was responsible for circulating videos of gang rape caught on film. Hansen explained the reasons for the bombing:
“These actions are worth looking at because they are a powerful reminder that the physical dismantling of patriarchy is just as important and necessary as the dismantling of patriarchy in our minds. Wimmin’s groups had been fighting for six months against the Red Hot chain when The Wimmin’s Fire Brigade lit the way to victory with firebombs: Within a few weeks, scores of wimmin’s groups of all stripes had issued statements of sympathy and understanding for the action, demonstrations had been held in a dozen centers across the province, and six porn shops had closed, moved away or withdrawn much of their stock out of fear that they would be the ‘next target’.”
Ann, don’t you know that being a radical woman means acknowledging your womanly role of healing society’s wounds, not giving into the patriarchy and losing the moral high-ground!
