Description
Born from the legacy of anti-fascist resistance, **UPSTRIKE** is a call to rise against the forces that threaten democracy, equity, and freedom. This design confronts the modern axis of oppression: authoritarianism, neofeudalism, and supremacism. The command is simple: **DEFY**.
Background:
I was inspired by the [Iron Front](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Front) / [Three Arrows](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Arrows) symbol, which was used in efforts to defend democracy against fascism, monarchism, and communism in the late [Weimar Republic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimar_Republic"). I identified what I see as three of the largest modern threats facing society: authoritarianism (which includes fascism), neofeudalism (we are peasants to the billionaire lords controlling business, government, and the media), and supremacism (racism as well as social, economic, and educational bias).
In the design, the spears point upward, because the battle is upward. They represent standing up and forming a line, together. In the colored versions of the design, red represents bravery, white represents independence, and blue represents truth. In the versions with text, 'DEFY' is used as the command because it's a stronger action than 'RESIST' (which was used in the past to arguable success/failure). We are past resisting the changes that are happening to our lives. We can't comply with the unjust, we must defy.
I call the design 'UPSTRIKE' and I'm defining the word as both a noun and a verb. It's the name of the symbol which alludes to both labor strikes and directed opposition (upward), but also it's the act of editing, revising, or defacing other symbols or messages. The design is easily recognized, it's easy to draw/paint, it's simple, it's strong, it's a little aggro, and it's flexible. I hope it inspires people to unite and stand together against these three modern threats.
The art is licensed CC0, meaning it's public domain. Do what you will, but please honor the motivation behind the design: DEFY AUTHORITARIANISM, NEOFEUDALISM & SUPREMACISM!
Variations & NFT Info:
I made 5 design variations, each with three options for text, and this NFT represents all of them. All variations, exports, source files, and NFT metadata are stored on Arweave's permaweb (decentralized cloud storage) in a [public drive](https://app.ardrive.io/#/drives/4b2301eb-3146-4cca-b563-6dbb430934d0?name=UPSTRIKE). Visit [Upstrike.info](https://upstrike.info) for direct download links and additional information.
This NFT is being offered for sale through a perpetual mint on Ethereum and numerous L2s, powered by [RebelMint.org](https://rebelmint.org), with all proceeds going to the artist, [Matto](https://matto.xyz). There is no scarcity and no rush - only mint if you want. I'd appreciate it, but what's most important to me is that together we defy these threats!