Sasha
17th February 2009, 15:22
(en) Russia, St. Petersburg, Media, Jeff Monson interview - The Wobbly Fighter
Date Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:24:07 +0200
It was a bit more of a hassle to secure the interview with the American heavyweight mixed
martial arts fighter Jeff "The Snowman" Monson than with some other people. It was because
he had one piece of publicity too many: he was photographed by a reporter in his local
newspaper in November as he was spray-painting the Washington State Capitol with circled
a, peace sign and "no war" and "no poverty" slogans. After the photo was published, Mr.
Monson was charged with First Degree Malicious Mischief, and an arrest warrant was issued:
"I just spent 5 days in jail over the incident but it will not hinder my travel to Russia.
I have to stand up for what I believe in." ---- The thing is, Mr. Monson is an anarchist,
and you can find some circled a's tattooed on his body, as well as Russian words "freedom"
and "solidarity": "The tattoos are just one way to express my beliefs.
I back up what I believe in my actions. I've been detained,
tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed, and spent time in jail for what I
believe." His two children provide him with support, though it's not
quite unconditional: "They think maybe I take it too far sometimes
[...] and I know they were not excited about me being in jail for five
days when I could have been at home with them."
Mr. Monson may not look it but he actually has a Master's in
psychology: "I think my appearance can be helpful or a hindrance. Some
people look at me and automatically think 'this guy can't be
intelligent'. But when they get to talk to me I think they forget
about the outside appearance and tattoos, etc. I am utterly convinced
[in] what I believe about anarchism and that the current state of the
world in a capitalistic dominated venue is oppressive and
destructive."
One of Mr. Monson's sponsors is the anarchist publisher AK Press; he
named Leo Tolstoy as his "favorite writer ever," singling out Mr.
Tolstoy's scathing anti-state essay "The Kingdom of God Is Within You"
particularly. Mr. Monson, however, is not Tolstoyan enough to turn the
other cheek as far as his professional activity is concerned: "I enjoy
competition very much. The most difficult sport in the world is MMA
fighting. It is the ultimate challenge to me and I'm attracted to
that. Outside the cage I can still be articulate and well-spoken. In a
way I am just a wage slave, earning a living. I just happen to enjoy
what I do."
Mr. Monson is also a wobbly, that is, a member of the Industrial
Workers of the World - which begs the question whether being a fighter
qualifies as working in an industry? "Well, to be sure most workers
now are not exactly in industry. I do work, I guess you could consider
it the entertainment field. The IWW does have a long history of
fighting for workers' rights and hopefully this will continue until
the workers are no longer being exploited under the yoke of the
owner's quest for profit. The workers actually owning and controlling
the businesses and the production of goods and services is the goal.
The wobblies are quite strong in the Pacific North-West and I feel
blessed to live in the area with many people with progressive minds."
Speaking of minds, before Mr. Monson dedicated himself completely to
MMA fighting, he worked as a mental health professional: "I wish the
training I got from counseling others would translate into helping me
prepare mentally for a fight but it really doesn't help. I try to stay
relaxed and calm and treat the fight like a tough training session. I
enjoyed my time working with others in the mental health field. There
are always opportunities when I'm done fighting for that."
Fighting is a tough sort of occupation indeed: "In the cage there are
two competitors doing whatever they can with very limited rules to
knock or submit each other." However, Mr. Monson sees it as a fairly
safe sport, thanks to "the physical evaluations each fighter must go
through to be eligible to compete," among other things: "There are
going to be some injuries [but] I think there has been two deaths
total in MMA fighting. In boxing there are several deaths every year."
Mr Monson's evident interest in Russia was probably one of the factors
that led to him almost fighting Fedor Emelianenko a year or two ago
but the plans fell through: "I'm not sure what happened with the Fedor
fight to be honest. I don't think his trainers liked the match-up is
my take on it." This time Mr Monson's debut fight in Russia will pitch
him against Ibragim Magomedov at the Yubileiny Sports Complex on
February 28. But Russian or not, it doesn't matter much to Mr Monson:
"I don't take color or race or anything except my opponent's skill
when I fight."
source: a-infos
Date Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:24:07 +0200
It was a bit more of a hassle to secure the interview with the American heavyweight mixed
martial arts fighter Jeff "The Snowman" Monson than with some other people. It was because
he had one piece of publicity too many: he was photographed by a reporter in his local
newspaper in November as he was spray-painting the Washington State Capitol with circled
a, peace sign and "no war" and "no poverty" slogans. After the photo was published, Mr.
Monson was charged with First Degree Malicious Mischief, and an arrest warrant was issued:
"I just spent 5 days in jail over the incident but it will not hinder my travel to Russia.
I have to stand up for what I believe in." ---- The thing is, Mr. Monson is an anarchist,
and you can find some circled a's tattooed on his body, as well as Russian words "freedom"
and "solidarity": "The tattoos are just one way to express my beliefs.
I back up what I believe in my actions. I've been detained,
tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed, and spent time in jail for what I
believe." His two children provide him with support, though it's not
quite unconditional: "They think maybe I take it too far sometimes
[...] and I know they were not excited about me being in jail for five
days when I could have been at home with them."
Mr. Monson may not look it but he actually has a Master's in
psychology: "I think my appearance can be helpful or a hindrance. Some
people look at me and automatically think 'this guy can't be
intelligent'. But when they get to talk to me I think they forget
about the outside appearance and tattoos, etc. I am utterly convinced
[in] what I believe about anarchism and that the current state of the
world in a capitalistic dominated venue is oppressive and
destructive."
One of Mr. Monson's sponsors is the anarchist publisher AK Press; he
named Leo Tolstoy as his "favorite writer ever," singling out Mr.
Tolstoy's scathing anti-state essay "The Kingdom of God Is Within You"
particularly. Mr. Monson, however, is not Tolstoyan enough to turn the
other cheek as far as his professional activity is concerned: "I enjoy
competition very much. The most difficult sport in the world is MMA
fighting. It is the ultimate challenge to me and I'm attracted to
that. Outside the cage I can still be articulate and well-spoken. In a
way I am just a wage slave, earning a living. I just happen to enjoy
what I do."
Mr. Monson is also a wobbly, that is, a member of the Industrial
Workers of the World - which begs the question whether being a fighter
qualifies as working in an industry? "Well, to be sure most workers
now are not exactly in industry. I do work, I guess you could consider
it the entertainment field. The IWW does have a long history of
fighting for workers' rights and hopefully this will continue until
the workers are no longer being exploited under the yoke of the
owner's quest for profit. The workers actually owning and controlling
the businesses and the production of goods and services is the goal.
The wobblies are quite strong in the Pacific North-West and I feel
blessed to live in the area with many people with progressive minds."
Speaking of minds, before Mr. Monson dedicated himself completely to
MMA fighting, he worked as a mental health professional: "I wish the
training I got from counseling others would translate into helping me
prepare mentally for a fight but it really doesn't help. I try to stay
relaxed and calm and treat the fight like a tough training session. I
enjoyed my time working with others in the mental health field. There
are always opportunities when I'm done fighting for that."
Fighting is a tough sort of occupation indeed: "In the cage there are
two competitors doing whatever they can with very limited rules to
knock or submit each other." However, Mr. Monson sees it as a fairly
safe sport, thanks to "the physical evaluations each fighter must go
through to be eligible to compete," among other things: "There are
going to be some injuries [but] I think there has been two deaths
total in MMA fighting. In boxing there are several deaths every year."
Mr Monson's evident interest in Russia was probably one of the factors
that led to him almost fighting Fedor Emelianenko a year or two ago
but the plans fell through: "I'm not sure what happened with the Fedor
fight to be honest. I don't think his trainers liked the match-up is
my take on it." This time Mr Monson's debut fight in Russia will pitch
him against Ibragim Magomedov at the Yubileiny Sports Complex on
February 28. But Russian or not, it doesn't matter much to Mr Monson:
"I don't take color or race or anything except my opponent's skill
when I fight."
source: a-infos