Member-only story
Smash the State!
Being a Relation of the Life and Times of Dick MF
Caution: This story requires the use of language that will be highly offensive to some. Without such language, I could not even mention the name of the protagonist, so be aware and conduct yourself accordingly.
A good friend asked me to contribute to a remembrance of Dick Motherfucker. I attempted to beg off on the ground that it’s a daunting task to write about DMF while protecting the more-or-less innocent. Understanding that, she said I didn’t have to tell the whole story.
Good thing, too. It’s all about sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll.
Politics? The deepest political discussion I remember with Dick took place in the office of The Rag, Austin’s contribution to the rise of the Underground Press Syndicate. I was one of his antagonists. One of several. Dick was defending the slogan “Smash the State!” and some actions that grew out of it.
I am from rural Oklahoma, showing up in Austin by way of the civil rights movement and the U.S. military. I took Dick for an ex-GI, which turned out to be true. I was, by the time I showed up in Austin to talk my dropout self into the University of Texas, so dedicated to militant nonviolence I was ready to be known as a coward in the service of my new determination not to fight.
