The Power is Ours (Early 1990s, North America)

As stated previously on our site, the early 90s saw an effort to spread the use of underground tactics via the distribution of cheap, zine format how-tos. One such attempt, The Power is Ours, was basically a reprinting of the British Into the 90s with the ALF.

The only real difference was a new lay-out and an introduction stating that the manual was somehow meant to bring together activists working on either side of the law. How this was to be accomplished is unclear. The publication contains almost no information on how those who utilize illegal means can advance the campaigns of traditional, legal protestors, or vice-versa.

While The Power is Ours fails in that goal, it does contain good excerpts from other primers, including a small piece about a raid carried out against the Oxford University vivisection program where 64 cats were rescued, and instructions (which, due to federal law, we have omitted) on building the pocket sized incendiary device that destroyed England’s fur trade in the 80s and 90s. Despite its limitations, this zine provides an interesting look into the way that illegal tactics are developed and spread.