Editing John Zerzan (section)

== Activism ==

In 1966, Zerzan was arrested while performing [[civil disobedience]] at a [[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]] anti-[[Vietnam War]] march and spent two weeks in the [[Contra Costa County]] [[county jail|Jail]]. He vowed after his release never again to be willingly arrested. He attended events organized by [[Ken Kesey]] and the [[Merry Pranksters]] and was involved with the [[psychedelic drug]] and [[psychedelic music|music]] scene in San Francisco's [[Haight-Ashbury]] neighborhood.<ref name="guardian.co.uk">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/apr/18/mayday.features11 |title=Profile of American anarchist John Zerzan &#124; World news |work=The Guardian |location=UK |access-date=November 13, 2011 |date=April 20, 2001 |archive-date=January 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111225818/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/apr/18/mayday.features11 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the late 1960s he worked as a [[social worker]] for the city of San Francisco [[Welfare (financial aid)|welfare]] department. He helped organize a social workers’ [[trade union|union]], the SSEU, and was elected vice president in 1968, and president in 1969.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.shapingsf.org/ezine/labor/nopaid/main.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828045251/http://www.shapingsf.org/ezine/labor/nopaid/main.html|url-status=dead|title=History of the union|archivedate=August 28, 2008}}</ref> The local [[Situationist International|Situationist]] group Contradiction denounced him as a "[[leftist]] [[bureaucracy|bureaucrat]]".<ref>{{cite web |author=Contradiction |url=http://www.bopsecrets.org/PH/zerzan.htm |title=Open Letter to John Zerzan, anti-bureaucrat of the San Francisco Social Services Employees Union |publisher=Bopsecrets.org |access-date=November 13, 2011 |archive-date=June 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190609081623/http://www.bopsecrets.org/PH/zerzan.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1974, Black and Red Press published ''Unions Against Revolution'' by Spanish [[ultra-left]] theorist [[Grandizo Munis]] that included an essay by Zerzan which previously appeared in the journal ''[[Telos (journal)|Telos]]''. Over the next 20 years, Zerzan became intimately involved with the ''[[Fifth Estate (periodical)|Fifth Estate]]'', ''[[Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed]]'', ''Demolition Derby '' and other anarchist periodicals. He began to question civilization in the early 80s, after having sought to confront issues around the neutrality of technology and division of labour, at the time when [[Fredy Perlman]] was making similar conclusions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.corrupt.org/act/interviews/john_zerzan |title=Interview: Anarcho-Primitivist Thinker and Activist John Zerzan &#124; CORRUPT.org: Conservation & Conservatism |publisher=CORRUPT.org |date=December 7, 2008 |access-date=November 13, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002121547/http://www.corrupt.org/act/interviews/john_zerzan |archive-date=October 2, 2011 }}</ref> He saw civilization itself as the root of the problems of the world and that a hunter-gatherer form of society presented the most [[Egalitarianism|egalitarian model]] for human relations with themselves and the natural world.

Zerzan became more widely known during the trial of [[Ted Kaczynski]]. After reading the ''[[Industrial Society and Its Future|Unabomber Manifesto]]'', Zerzan went to Colorado to experience the trial and meet with Kaczynski in-between proceedings. The ''[[New York Times]]'' reporter Kenneth B. Noble   took interest in Zerzan's sympathies and published an interview titled "Prominent Anarchist Finds Unsought Ally in Serial Bomber" that raised his national profile.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Glendinning |first1=Chellis |chapter=Elements of Refusal: Anarchism |title=In the Company of Rebels: A Generational Memoir of Bohemians, Deep Heads, and History Makers |date=2019-05-14 |language=en |isbn=978-1-61332-097-6 |publisher=New Village Press |df=mdy-all |page=247 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IuadDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA247 }}</ref><!--<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE3DD113FF934A35756C0A963958260 Prominent Anarchist Finds Unsought Ally in Serial Bomber] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830013430/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/07/us/prominent-anarchist-finds-unsought-ally-in-serial-bomber.html |date=August 30, 2021 }} (New York Times article)</ref>--><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/07/us/prominent-anarchist-finds-unsought-ally-in-serial-bomber.html|title=Prominent Anarchist Finds Unsought Ally in Serial Bomber|first=Kenneth B.|last=Noble|date=May 7, 1995|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref> Kaczynski eventually split from Zerzan and the anarcho-primitivists with the belief that leftist causes were a distraction.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Sean|last1=Fleming|title=The Unabomber and the origins of anti-tech radicalism|journal=Journal of Political Ideologies|date=7 May 2021|volume=27 |issue=2 |issn=1356-9317|pages=207–225|doi=10.1080/13569317.2021.1921940|doi-access=free}}</ref>

In a 2014 interview, Zerzan stated that he and Kaczynski were "not on terms anymore." He criticized his former friend's 2008 essay "The Truth About Primitive Life: A Critique of Anarchoprimitivism" and expressed disapproval of [[Individualists Tending to the Wild|Individuals Tending Towards the Wild]], a Mexican group influenced by the Unabomber's bombing campaign.<ref name="vice.com">{{cite news |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/john-zerzan-wants-us-to-give-up-all-of-our-technology/ |title=The Anarcho-Primitivist Who Wants Us All To Give Up Technology |work=Vice Media Inc |location=USA |access-date=June 26, 2014 |date=June 25, 2014 |archive-date=June 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627142045/http://www.vice.com/read/john-zerzan-wants-us-to-give-up-all-of-our-technology |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2014, Zerzan engaged in a public debate against [[Zoltan Istvan]] at [[Stanford University]].<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/a-stanford-university-deb_b_6186982|title=A Stanford University Debate: Transhumanism vs. Anarcho-Primitivism|date=November 20, 2014|website=HuffPost}}</ref> Zerzan and Istvan hold differing views on technology, with Istvan stating on ''[[HuffPost]]'' that their views on the subject are polar opposites of each-other.<ref name="auto2"/> Zerzan is an anarcho-primitivist and therefore considers technology inherently harmful to humanity, animals and nature and Planet Earth more generally.<ref name="auto2"/> Istvan is a [[Transhumanism|transhumanist]] and considers technology as a beneficial to humanity, animals and nature and Planet Earth more generally.<ref name="auto2"/>

Zerzan was associated with the [[Eugene, Oregon anarchist scene]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2006/11/22/coverstory.html|title=Part. III: Eco-Anarchy Imploding|newspaper=[[Eugene Weekly]]|date=November 22, 2006|access-date=September 1, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403004049/http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2006/11/22/coverstory.html|archive-date=April 3, 2016|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

=== Radio show ===

One method Zerzan uses to promote his Anarcho-primitivist ideas is with his radio show ''AnarchyRadio'' on [[KWVA]] at 88.1 FM in [[Eugene, Oregon]] and live-streamed worldwide by the station's website with archive recordings of full shows available on John Zerzan's own website.<ref name="auto6">{{cite web | url=https://www.johnzerzan.net/radio/ | title=John Zerzan: Anti-civilization theorist, writer and speaker }}</ref> Zerzan's website states that he started the show in 2000 although the recorded archive of shows on the site only goes back to 2006.<ref name="auto6"/><ref name="auto3">{{cite web | url=https://www.johnzerzan.net/radio/archive.html | title=John Zerzan: Anti-civilization theorist, writer and speaker }}</ref> Zerzan's show airs live on Tuesdays on KWVA at 7pm [[Pacific Time Zone|PST]] and lasts an hour.<ref name="auto6"/><ref name="auto3"/> Besides Zerzan himself, ''AnarchyRadio'' occasionally has a co-host with Zerzan and also fills in for Zerzan entirely when he is on speaking tours.<ref name="auto6"/><ref name="auto3"/> ''AnarchyRadio'' is a [[call-in show]] and listeners can phone KWVA during the show and talk to the host(s) live.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.johnzerzan.net/radio | title=John Zerzan: Anti-civilization theorist, writer and speaker }}</ref><ref name="auto3"/> Until 2024, ''AnarchyRadio'' aired every Tuesday. Since 2024, ''AnarchyRadio'' now only airs on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. This new scheduling was introduced unofficially in February with an announcement at the end of the February 27 airing and later became official when Zerzan announced it at the start of the March 26 airing, claiming it was "more manageable" for him at his age of 80 years.<ref name="auto6"/>

In 2014, ''AnarchyRadio'' gained unwanted media attention when it was discovered by the [[New York Daily News]] that Adam Lanza (who was the shooter in the [[Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting]] in 2012) once called the show in December 2011 and spoke to Zerzan live on air.<ref name="auto5">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2014/01/16/adam-lanza-calls-in-radio-station-a-year-before-sandy-hook-shooting-and-gives-bizarre-interview-listen-to-the-tape/|title=Adam Lanza calls in radio station a year before Sandy Hook shooting and gives bizarre interview — LISTEN TO THE TAPE|first1=Corky|last1=Siemaszko|first2=Joe|last2=Kemp|first3=Matthew|last3=Lysiak|website=[[New York Daily News]] |date=January 16, 2014}}</ref><ref name="auto4">{{cite web | url=https://nbc16.com/news/local/radio-host-on-killers-call-its-tough-to-wrap-your-mind-around | title=Radio host on killer's call: 'It's tough to wrap your mind around' | date=January 16, 2014 }}</ref><ref name="auto8">{{cite web | url=https://news.sky.com/story/adam-lanza-made-weird-call-to-radio-show-10421197 | title=Adam Lanza Made Weird Call to Radio Show }}</ref><ref name="auto1">www.archive.org/details/AnarchyRadio12-20-2011</ref> Lanza called during the December 20 2011 show.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2014/01/adam_lanza_apparently_phoned_o.html|title=Sandy Hook killer Adam Lanza apparently phoned Oregon anarchist radio show a year before massacre|first=Kimberly A. C. Wilson &#124; The|last=Oregonian/OregonLive|date=January 16, 2014|website=oregonlive}}</ref><ref name="auto3"/><ref name="auto7">{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/AnarchyRadio12-20-2011|title=Anarchy Radio 12-20-2011|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> Lanza did not use his real name and gave his name as "Greg" while calling Zerzan.<ref name="auto5"/><ref name="auto4"/><ref name="auto7"/> Lanza also disguised his voice while calling as "Greg".<ref name="auto5"/><ref name="auto4"/><ref name="auto8"/><ref name="auto1"/> During the seven minute call, Greg/Lanza talked about the chimpanzee [[Travis (chimpanzee)|Travis]] who lived in Lanza's home state of Connecticut and was notorious for an incident in 2009 where he tore off the face of Charla Nash (a friend of Sandra Herold, who kept Travis in her home as a pet) and was shot and killed shortly after 911 was called to house for help.<ref name="auto5"/><ref name="auto4"/><ref name="auto8"/><ref name="auto"/><ref name="auto3"/><ref name="auto7"/> This incident was considered as shocking because Travis raised by humans his whole life and was very friendly towards them.<ref name="auto5"/><ref name="auto4"/><ref name="auto8"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rawstory.com/2014/01/newtown-killer-adam-lanza-offers-clues-about-mass-shooting-in-recorded-call-to-radio-show/|title=Newtown killer Adam Lanza offers clues about mass shooting in recorded call to radio show - Raw Story|website=www.rawstory.com}}</ref> During the call, Greg/Lanza said that he was a fan of Zerzan's work and stated that Travis was not "an untamed monster" but was actually "civilized. He was able to integrate into society."<ref name="auto8"/> One comment by Lanza drew particular attention from media in light of his actions was "I just don't think it would be such a stretch to say that he [Travis] very well could have been a teenage mall shooter or something like that."<ref name="auto5"/><ref name="auto4"/><ref name="auto8"/><ref name="auto3"/><ref name="auto7"/> A day later, Lanza posted on the online forum ''Shocked Beyond Belief'' under the username "Smiggles" about the call to Zerzan.<ref name="auto5"/> In an interview with TV station [[KMTR]] shortly the call surfaced, Zerzan stated that Lanza mentioning shooting "and then again later he ends up doing it, I mean it's just hard to grasp."<ref name="auto4"/><ref name="auto8"/> Zerzan also notes that "it's tough to wrap your mind around, but then when you realize you spoke with the guy or listened to the guy, it's all the more upsetting."<ref name="auto4"/><ref name="auto8"/>