what's an anarchist?

[Clovis Sangrail]

and is it wise to use them as an excuse for government's violence against its people like we saw at the convention?
According to some here a lot of anarchists are white supremacists and they don't deserve the same freedom of speech as the rest of us.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x181785#181967

My experience with anarchist groups is quite different.
It seems one of the common threads that unites the different factions is that they are extremely anti-racist.
Stances on violent vs. non-violent confrontation seem to cover the entire spectrum depending on the particular group of anarchists.

So is it really fair to consider anarchists in general 'deserving' of tear gas or police brutality?
This seems to be not much different than treating all black|mexican|irish|russian|<whatever> people as thieves because some black|mexican|irish|russian|<whatever> people are thieves.
:shrug:

What is the image that comes to your mind when you think of an anarchist?

If you assume they are all violent "bomb throwers" like the cartoon have you ever considered why you think that?
..and if you're not OK stereotyping other groups why is it OK to stereotype them?

[NightWatcher]

1. there should be no single version of anarchist

most anarchists dont like the government, dont need the government, and live far beyond the reach of the government. These kids in masks are not the primary image you should have when you think of an anarchist.

btw, it was great to see people (or a person) striking back against the pig. They need to remember that there are way more of us than there are of them and just as soon as we realize en masse that the government and this piggie actor have broken their end of the social contract, we are free to no longer hold up our end and continue to obey their governmental constraints.

Red traffic lights are a good thing and keep us safe, but not because the LAW says so, but because we choose to obey the law. We can choose to not obey the law any time we feel like it. The cops need to remember that they are there to protect and serve, else I hope more find themselves at the end of a good shoulder tackle from a citizen when they overstep their bounds.

[Clovis Sangrail]

2. I find it inetersting

that people here make comments that imply anarchists deserve to be beaten by police or that anarchists don't deserve freedom of speech.. and nobody bats an eye.

If you swapped the word 'anarchist' with some other group people would freak.

It shows that the propaganda about anarchists now is really no different than it was in the 1900's ... and it still works just as well (maybe better).

[populistdriven]

3. a Blue Dog Democrat

they are pushing this country towards anarchy because their votes are used to conflate the RNC and the DNC
when we no longer have two different parties then we have a dictatorship leading to anarchy as the government is no longer trusted or supported

[aikoaiko]

4. Based on what I see in the news, Anarchists break shit.

;)

[NightWatcher]

6. are you going to base what you think and know on what you see on the corporate news?

That's a mighty slippery slope.

[aikoaiko]

12. It was a joke, did you not see the winking smiley?

;)

[ogneopasno]

5. Anarchists are the ones that when I'm busy marching for something,

they're there disrupting it marching against everything.

[Bob Dobbs]

10. What specifically have you been marching for?

And when?

[ogneopasno]

13. Recognition of a union, May Day celebrations,

and the like.

[Bob Dobbs]

24. Evasive answer.

Asked for specifics.

Calling bullshit.

[ogneopasno]

25. What, dates and locations?

Minneapolis, May Day, 2001.

Marching for recognition of a union for security workers. Anarchists, who weren't on the march permit, show up with their "ABOLISH WAGE SLAVERY!" banner, leave the route, then try to "reclaim" "public space" by blocking traffic for half an hour.

That's one, and it goes on, but I'm not here to give a song and dance, y'know? Something tells me no matter my answer, you won't be happy with it.

[alcibiades_mystery]

11. Don't kid yourself

The anarchists won the day in Seattle. They forced the ruling class to the table. You could have marched until you were blue in the face. Unless the ruling class feels sufficiently threatened and exposed, they keep on with their violent appropriation of everything.

[alcibiades_mystery]

7. I'm an anarchist

White supremacists my ass.

[bean fidhleir]

8. Anarchy is not Chaos. Anarchists are not Chaotists.

Anarchy is the lack of a ruler. Anarchism is the belief that there should be no rulers.

Given that the world is ruled by greedy authoritarians, is it any wonder that anarchism is equated with chaos and socialism with lack of freedom?

[NightWatcher]

9. a decent primer for anarchy faq's is here

A.2.1 What is the essence of anarchism?
As we have seen, "an-archy" implies "without rulers" or "without (hierarchical) authority." Anarchists are not against "authorities" in the sense of experts who are particularly knowledgeable, skilful, or wise, though they believe that such authorities should have no power to force others to follow their recommendations (see section B.1 for more on this distinction). In a nutshell, then, anarchism is anti-authoritarianism.

Anarchists are anti-authoritarians because they believe that no human being should dominate another. Anarchists, in L. Susan Brown's words, "believe in the inherent dignity and worth of the human individual." Domination is inherently degrading and demeaning, since it submerges the will and judgement of the dominated to the will and judgement of the dominators, thus destroying the dignity and self-respect that comes only from personal autonomy. Moreover, domination makes possible and generally leads to exploitation, which is the root of inequality, poverty, and social breakdown.

In other words, then, the essence of anarchism (to express it positively) is free co-operation between equals to maximise their liberty and individuality.


http://www.infoshop.org/faq/index.html

http://www.infoshop.org/faq/secAcon.html

[uberllama42]

14. White supremacists deserve freedom of speech

It doesn't matter how much we hate their ideas. The cost of living in a free society is that you have to argue with such people rather than stifle their ideas. We have to let dangerous ideas compete and hopefully fail in the intellectual marketplace unless we want the government telling us what to think.

I have never noticed a correlation between anarchism and racism. Most anarchists I have encountered have believed in peaceful resistance. When I think "anarchist," I picture the characters I have encountered on YouTube. I don't think those guys have any other outlet for their ideas, because they have been so maligned by "polite society." Like Tom Morello said outside the RNC last week, the plutocrats are much more dangerous than most anarchists.

My major beef with anarchism is that I don't think it would be sustainable. Government was established by "archons" in the first place. If we abolished all the existing governments, who would keep new archons/strongmen from carving out spheres of influence and reestablish a form of government?

[bean fidhleir]

20. "who would keep new archons/strongmen from arising?"

Recall that Valerius Publius Poplicola, when sole Consul of the Republic, instituted a law that allowed a would-be king to be killed by the first citizen who could get close enough. It was a complete and perfect defense against the charge of murder to show that the one killed had planned to make himself an archon/king.

I think that could be all that would be needed: make sure that every citizen understood that the safety of the community is in *their personal hands*.

Right now, we're taught precisely the opposite.

[lonestarnot]

15. A silly rabbit on steroids.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

16. When I think of Anarchists, I think of Gandhi, Tolstoy, Bakunin, Goldman, and Tom Paine.

“What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy.” - Gandhi

"Freedom is the absolute right of all adult men and women to seek permission for their actions only from their own conscience and reason, and to be determined in their actions only by their own will, and consequently to be responsible only to themselves, and then to the society to which they belong, but only insofar as they have made a free decision to belong to it." Mikhail Bakunin

"I know of but one freedom and that is the freedom of the mind." Antoine de Sainte Exupery

“Freedom for supporters of the government only, for members of one party only, no matter how big its membership may be is, no freedom at all. Freedom is always freedom for the man who thinks differently. “
Rosa Luxemburg


"Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one."
Thomas Paine

"History has tried to teach us that we can't have good government under politicians.  Now, to go and stick one at the very head of government couldn’t be wise." Mark Twain

[Greyhound]

21. "Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil;

in its worst state, an intolerable one." - Thomas Paine

or

One who views the best social construct to be one of a mutually beneficial association of independent communities.

[LeftHander]

17. Ask the President of BAS...Benevolent Anarchists Society.

Newly elected President, "Razor" of the long established BAS has a pat answer for the question "What is anarchy?"

He simply state while sporting numerous tribal facial tatoos, piercings and day-glow mohawk:

A state of community co-esixistence where no one leads and no one follows, respect is given to all in peace and non-violence if you don't fuck with me.

He went on to provide a booklet of BAS Bylaws and principles positions adopted at the 234th convention of BAS which meet in the Streets in St. Paul this past week.

[Clovis Sangrail]

18. rofl /nt

[Odin2005]

19. "Anarchist" is a very broad label describing many different groups.

Ranging from very intellectually-based forms of Anarcho-Socialism, Anarcho-Syndicalism, and Mutualism on one hand to angsty young people lashing out violently against a society they hate on the other.

[LeftyMom]

22. All the real anarchists I know are definitely anti-racist.

Racism is a tool used to divide the working class against each other so that they don't realize that they have real power in society, and who their real enemies are.

Racism is a bullshit ideology, not least because race is a totally fluid concept.

[warren pease]

23. Anarcho-syndicalists of the world, unite! Doesn't really have that oratorical zing, does it...

As you'd expect given the nature of anarchy and the people who gravitate toward it as an organizing principle, there are quite a few variations on the basic anarchist theme. They're not always complementary either. They range from pure collectivism to something called -- incredibly -- free market anarchy.

I fit in pretty well with the Anarcho-syndicalism ideological branch, which is unfortunately dormant these days. Here's a pretty good overview on that subset of Anarchy.

Anarcho-syndicalism is a branch of anarchism which focuses on the labour movement. Syndicalisme is a French word meaning "trade unionism" – hence, the "syndicalism" qualification. Anarcho-syndicalists view labour unions as a potential force for revolutionary social change, replacing capitalism and the State with a new society democratically self-managed by workers. Anarcho-syndicalists seek to abolish the wage system, regarding it as "wage slavery," and state or private ownership of the means of production, which they believe lead to class divisions.

The basic principles of anarcho-syndicalism are workers' solidarity, direct action, and workers' self-management. Workers’ solidarity means that anarcho-syndicalists believe all workers, no matter what their gender or ethnic group, are in a similar situation in regard to their bosses (class consciousness). Furthermore, it means that, in a capitalist system, any gains or losses made by some workers from or to bosses will eventually affect all workers. Therefore, to liberate themselves, all workers must support one another in their class conflict.

Anarcho-syndicalists believe that only direct action — that is, action concentrated on directly attaining a goal, as opposed to indirect action, such as electing a representative to a government position — will allow workers to liberate themselves. Moreover, anarcho-syndicalists believe that workers’ organizations — the organizations that struggle against the wage system, and which, in anarcho-syndicalist theory, will eventually form the basis of a new society — should be self-managing. They should not have bosses or "business agents"; rather, the workers should be able to make all the decisions that affect them themselves.

Aside from the Utopian improbability of it all, I can't really find much to argue about there. Plus, Anarcho-syndicalism uses this really cool flag, too, which is the main reason I identify with it.



Here's a more detailed look at Anarcho-syndicalism, its priorities and objectives, from a South African organization called the Workers Solidarity Federation, which claims direct ideological descent from the IWW, or Wobblies, of the early 20th century. Here are the WSF's "aims and principles," excerpted from a WSF online pamphlet:

(1) Opposition to capitalism and all states as structures of domination and exploitation by the ruling class of capitalists and rulers.
(2) Opposition to all forms of oppression: racism, sexism, homophobia, imperialism, environmental destruction etc. The State and capitalism are the primary causes of these special oppressions.
(3) Opposition to coercive authority. Support for individual freedom so long as this does not limit the freedom of others.
(4) Mass action and revolution by us the workers and the poor is the way to defeat capitalism and the state and all forms of oppression.
(5) Only the working class, the working peasants and the poor can create a free society because only we do not exploit.
(6) The trade unions and democratic working class civics will be the vehicle of the revolution. The unions must seize and democratically manage the factories, land, mines, and offices
(7) The aim of the revolution will be to create an international stateless socialist society run by worker and community councils, defended by a democratic workers militia.
(8) The role of the WSF is not to "lead" or rule the masses but to educate and organise the toiling masses to make the revolution by and for themselves. We work within existing trade unions.
(9) We support all forms of progressive struggles that improve our lives.

Again, some questionable tactics but nothing substantive to complain about. At least they don't suffer from the bliss ninny world view in which even the most loathsome, amoral psychopaths can be won over by the power of love.

Just stare into the beady little bird eyes glued into Cheney's orbital sockets and honk if you see the slightest sign of humanity, decency, compassion, self-criticism, human motivation or even the remotest possibility of spiritual enlightenment.

Nor will those attributes ever appear, even if his foul little electronic heart keeps him alive for another hundred years -- or keeps him in some weird state of simulated life that only cyborgs can experience. Far better that he ambles slowly past a row of leaky microwave ovens real, real soon.

This pamphlet pre-dates the Bushies, btw, so I'd think a more recent revision of this pamphlet would spend a lot less time parsing the minutia of political positions or arguing over ideological fine points.

And I'd expect a lot more space devoted to discussing strategies and tactics to oppose, undermine, sabotage and ideally confine the pure evil radiating from these fascist maniacs to their immediate surroundings, where they can only reinfect themselves, and keeping the rest of the world from any further predation or destruction on orders from their PNAC commandants.


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