For the May 1 anti-capitalist demonstration in Montréal, the Anarchist Tech Support collective encourages participation by all hacktivists, radicals, geeks, anti-authoritarians, makers, breakers, tinkerers, free-thinkers, and all of our comrades, friends, and allies. We won't be formally organizing our presence, but will be there nonetheless. Get off the internet, we'll see you in the streets!

(Désolé que ce soit seulement en anglais!)

In the past year, a few things have become increasingly apparent. From Anonymous to Wikileaks, from street battles in London to revolutions in North Africa, the hard work of our comrades has made it clear that hackers have skills and tools and that are extremely useful in the struggle against hierarchy and exploitation worldwide.

In response to these successes, governments and the capitalist system they support have made it clear that they will go to great lengths to shut down the technologies that empower us, and repress the individuals who develop and promote them. Contrast this with the professionals who design and code the technologies of social control - from facial recognition and biometrics to Facebook and Google Ads - who are rewarded with fat salaries for their collaboration.

Hackers have a choice to make, and their decision depends on whether they think their interests lie with the continuation of capitalism or in its immediate destruction. The answer is obvious to us. The free flow of info and ideas, alongside the right to privacy and anonymity, suits the hacker ethic - not an enclosure of the intellectual commons, not a surveillance society. And so too does the end of wage slavery, of work. Hacking at its best is play: unbridled experimentation, free collaboration, benefiting from free time and done for any number of reasons other than narrow profit motive.

At this juncture in history, these things are possible. The collapse of the global economy is here and now, and we must take the initiative to shape the future or things are only going to get worse.

The demo leaves from Berri Square (place Émilie-Gamélin) at 15:00 this Sunday. For more info on the demo, check the CLAC website here: http://www.clac2010.net/en/node/200