Randy "Prole Cat" Lowens Obituary

Southern Anarchist Passes

The Anarkismo.net Editors Group wishes to express its deep sadness on the passing of our comrade Don Jennings. Don, or Randy as he was better known to us, was a member of our Editorial Group for a number of years, when this site was still in its infancy. He was also a regular contributor of reviews and articles.

We will always remember him as a deeply human person with a great sense of humour, calm and reflective, though passionate in his refusal to accept the injustices of this world. He will be missed by everyone who knew him. We take this opportunity to extend our solidarity and sympathy to his family and friends.

[Italiano]

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Don Hamilton Jennings

Randy Lowens
"Prole Cat"

May 2, 1960 - March 8, 2012

Don Jennings passed away March 8, 2012, in Richmond, Kentucky. He is best known to many of us by his pen name, Randy "Prole Cat" Lowens. In lieu of flowers the Family request contributions to any public library in Don’s memory.

Don was a former Workers Solidarity Alliance member, a founding member of Atlanta's Capital Terminus Collective and a supporter of Common Struggle Libertarian Communist Federation.

From our mutual friend and comrade Shafik: "Very sad to hear the news of our comrade Don Jennings recent death. Don was a steadfast fighter for justice, a prolific writer, a founding member of Atlanta's Capital Terminus Collective, a student of life, adventurer, philosopher, loyal friend and companion to many and a true mensch. May his memory remain to encourage us in our struggles to create a better, more beautiful world. RIP dear comrade."

North Eastern Anarchist #15 2011 published his interview with bell hooks: "How Do You Practice Intersectionalism?"
http://commonstruggle.org/bellhooks

For anarkismo.net he wrote this manifesto for his homeland about opposing Mountain Top Removal coal mining. : "An Anarchist Communist Strategy for Rural, Southern Appalachia"
http://commonstruggle.org/node/2170

He also wrote:
"Postmodernism in Literature and Politics: Experimental Fiction and Post-Left Anarchy"
http://www.anarkismo.net/article/4800

"Noble Gestures and Effective Boycotts: Wal-Mart, McDonalds, and the Struggles Ahead"
http://www.anarkismo.net/article/5793

"The Bogeyman Under Bush's Bed: Islamic Extremists or Organized Workers?"
http://www.anarkismo.net/article/6888

The Mortgage Crisis in the USA
http://www.anarkismo.net/article/9157

"The Periodic Crises of Market Economies"
http://www.anarkismo.net/article/10197

"Connecting the Privatized Dots: a review of Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine"
http://www.anarkismo.net/article/7526

As "prole cat" he wrote:

"Anarchism and Confederate Flag Culture"
http://theanarchistlibrary.org/HTML/Prole_Cat__Anarchis....html

"Hurricane Katrina, and the Good Churchgoers of the U.S. South"
http://commonstruggle.org/node/1850

"Ruminating On the Likelihood of Conscription in the USA"
http://commonstruggle.org/node/1748

"Making the World Safe for Fascism: Free Speech and the Worship of Civil Liberties"
http://commonstruggle.org/node/1222

"Towards More Effective Political Organizations"
http://commonstruggle.org/node/1272

"The Million Workers March in Washington DC, October 17, 2004"
http://commonstruggle.org/node/1273

"FLOC and the Mt Olive Campaign: an Anarchist Perspective"
http://commonstruggle.org/node/1274

"What does it mean to be an anarchist communist?"
http://commonstruggle.org/node/1115

"Honkie America Redux: The Plight of the Latino Immigrant"
http://commonstruggle.org/node/1133

His sto­ries have been fea­tured in "Wrong Tree Review", "A-Minor", "Dew on the Kudzu" and else­where. More of Randy's writing can also be found at
http://todaysdeepsouth.blogspot.com/search?q=Randy+Lowens
and
http://​oakn​pine​.blogspot​.com/​2​0​1​1​/​0​2​/​r​a​n​d​y​-​l​o​w​en​s​-​g​r​e​a​t​e​s​t​-​h​i​t​s​-​c​o​m​p​i​l​a​t​i​o​n​.​h​tml

Randy was reared in the north Georgia hills where he worked as welder, machinist and air conditioning repairman. Enraged by the abuses of employers, he began writing for leftist journals. He resided in eastern Kentucky, home schooled his daughter, cooked gourmet meals and composed fiction informed by all these experiences.

Randy received the Tacenda Literary Award for the Best Short Story of 2007, illuminating social injustice. His writing has been featured in JMWW (literary fiction); Fifth Estate (a counter cultural/anarchist journal); Clockwise Cat, Wanderings and Blue Collar Review (poetry); Cherry Bleeds (transgressive fiction); Thieves Jargon (drug lit); Pemmican (working class fiction); Unlikely Stories 2.0 (an insider's look at The Left); Dogmatica (Small Town Taboos Flagrantly Flouted); Word Riot and elsewhere. Most recently excerpts from a novel-in-progress appeared on Fried Chicken and Coffee and Dew on the Kudzu.

Randy and the Farm Labor Organizing Committee