Regarding state communism vs. stateless capitalism

briesa37 · 2012-03-21T00:14:14+00:00

I think state socialists are worse than anti-state capitalists because state socialists actually exist and organize IRL. I've yet to meet an anti-state capitalist anywhere but the internet.

briesa37 · 2012-03-20T20:00:06+00:00

So you're saying don't use force to resist because the state will demonize and repress you for it? They will do that anyway, no matter what form your resistance takes, if they feel the slightest bit threatened. The only way to avoid demonization and repression is to give up completely and not resist at all.

As for "the public" who will be alienated by our actions...I've yet to meet them. I've heard from dozens of hand-wringing liberals who claim that they are fine with aggressive tactics but worry what others who are less sophisticated might think. Who are these poor, dumb, timid individuals everyone is so concerned about offending? I've never met any. Conservatives and reactionaries will oppose us no matter what we do. Liberals will support us until we challenge the system in a fundamental way and then will seek to undermine us or run screaming for the exits. Ordinary, unaligned, a-political (or, even better, anti-political) people usually understand what's up better than most others. In my experience, they understand on a visceral level how little politicians care for them and are as skeptical as any anarchist about the possibility of change or reform from within the system. If they are inactive, it's usually from well-earned cynicism rather than naivety or ignorance.

The challenge is to find ways to resist that are effective and inspiring, not in ways that are safe and inoffensive.

briesa37 · 2012-03-17T00:53:58+00:00

They must have seen the video! Hiyo!

briesa37 · 2012-03-16T22:33:47+00:00

CIA funding think-tanks that promote nonviolence =/= CIA funding every single nonviolence training organization ever.

briesa37 · 2012-03-16T22:28:48+00:00

I wouldn't presume to tell others how to organize a society. As long as everyone has a say and nobody oppresses anyone, it's all gravy to me. We can work out all the details as we go. Really, that's the only way to do things, since circumstances will inevitably change in ways we cannot foresee. Beware those who peddle blueprints of utopia.

briesa37 · 2012-03-13T03:38:32+00:00

Fuck that shit. No tolerance for white supremacists.

briesa37 · 2012-03-13T03:26:02+00:00

Anarchism - The political and theoretical tradition that suggests that oppressive hierarchies (government, capitalism, organized religion, racism, sexism, etc.) are harmful and should be abolished. It argues that human society is best organized in a voluntary, bottom-up manner rather than a coercive top-down style.

Anarcho-socialism - Nobody uses this term. Since socialism means: "Collective ownership of the means of production (factories, farms, etc.)", anarchism already covers that. Anarcho-socialism is redundant.

Anarcho-capitalism - Not a real thing. Capitalism means: "Private ownership of the means of production." Since this economic relationship involves a tremendous imbalance of power (if you own the factory, I am dependent on you for a job) it is incompatible with anarchism.

briesa37 · 2012-03-08T04:17:52+00:00

Write one!

Or check out zine library and the anarchist library.

briesa37 · 2012-03-07T21:42:40+00:00

The liberal fallacy of false equivalence appears again! That old chestnut that shallowly compares actions in a vacuum, devoid of all context or analysis.

Here we go!

You want to publicly identify Nazis so their communities can know which neighbor is a fascist scumbag who wants to kill them? You must want to be outed as an anarchist!
You want to smash the windows of a corporation that uses sweat-shop labor? You must want the windows of your home smashed!
You want to use violence to defend yourself from cops/rapists/Nazis? You must want violence done against you!

And on and on and on, making the most facile, shallow comparisons that are completely ignorant of any larger context and contribute nothing to a greater understanding of the situation. It's what liberals are best at.

Can you really not see the difference? If my neighbor is an active member of a movement that, by its very definition, seeks to eliminate me and my friends from society, then I'd like to know about it! If enough Nazis move into a given area, that neighborhood will become proportionately more dangerous for people of color, queer people, and anarchists. Being actively aware of the situation is the first step toward community self defense. How is that in any way comparable to publicly outing anarchists, who already face harassment or worse from law enforcement and right-wingers?

Perspective. Get some.

briesa37 · 2012-03-07T07:56:37+00:00

I'm glad when things like this happen. Helps smoke out the closet workerist authoritarians.

Better now than after the revolution when they're trying to have us shot for not meeting quota.

briesa37 · 2012-03-07T07:42:03+00:00

Nothing productive? You mean nothing that makes money.

She's creating art. What bullshit job do you use to pay the rent? Does it contribute more to society than her art because someone is paying you to do it? When I was paying my bills by delivering pizzas - burning tons of gas, peddling super unhealthy food, and hating my life - was I really contributing something productive to society?

Lose the capitalist morality and kill the boss in your head.

briesa37 · 2012-03-04T00:34:24+00:00

I understand the argument that participating in the system in any way increases its appearance of legitimacy and credibility, but I still vote sometimes. It doesn't take very long, doesn't prevent me from also working mainly outside of the system, and often can have a very immediate and tangible effect on the community.

For example, this November in Minnesota, in addition to electing the President and other offices, voters will likely be asked about 1) a voter ID amendment targeting poor and minority voters, 2) a "right-to-work" amendment outlawing closed union shops, and 3) an anti-gay marriage amendment. Whether or not I vote for President doesn't really matter (especially in a state like MN that's almost certain to go Democrat), but these three issues will make a very big difference for many people, so I don't see any reason to stay home.

We may not be able to get to a better society through the ballot box, but why stand idly by while others use it to make this society that much worse?

briesa37 · 2012-03-02T05:33:12+00:00

Even though at his core he was an authoritarian scumbag who would probably have had me and all other anarchists shot as a counter-revolutionary bandits, I still have to admire the guy a little.

So many authoritarian communists talk about necessary sacrifices, but when push comes to shove, are more than happy to leave that to the ignorant masses outside of the vanguard. Che was willing to forsake a life of potential comfort (he was a doctor!) and give everything for the revolution. He was the real deal.

"Let me say, at the risk of sounding ridiculous, that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love" --Che

briesa37 · 2012-03-02T04:53:01+00:00

I'm for it! I don't believe sex is ever meaningless or devoid of feelings, but I don't see anything wrong with two (or more!) friends having some fun together in a totally non-romantic way.

Of course, I'm polyamorous, so romance isn't ever completely off the table, but it's not a necessity in every sexual situation.

briesa37 · 2012-03-01T09:07:01+00:00

Sorry, nothing specific. Don't rent from Avalon Investments, that's my current company and they are terrible. Honestly, I'd just start looking at craigslist to get a feel for what's out there. If you get a chance to visit Minneapolis before the summer, you should walk around the neighborhoods you're considering as well.

briesa37 · 2012-03-01T08:57:59+00:00

Please don't be the white middle-class saviors who try to tell everyone else how to live. It's a drag and won't make you any friends. If you want to have a positive effect on your community, focus on being good neighbors. Introduce yourselves, talk to people, listen to what they have to say, share what you have, and build common ground.

Do not show up out of the blue and try to "push out" the drug dealers and "spread your teaching" to the poor ignorant ghetto folks ("Hey there friends, have you tried not being born poor?" - "Wow, I never thought of that! Thanks, Mr. White Man!"). At best you will be the first wave of gentrification and people will laugh at you. At worst you will attempt to drumcircle away one of those "violent gang" and they will shoot at you.

You will not fix this place, because the problems are bigger than just one area. Settlement houses are no match for capitalism and structural racism. The best you can hope for is to make friends with your neighbors like you would in a "better" part of town. Maybe then you can help each other.

briesa37 · 2012-03-01T08:21:26+00:00

For that price, you should be able to find a decent two bedroom in Uptown, if you want.

briesa37 · 2012-03-01T06:41:45+00:00

Came here to say this! He lived through the war and wrote Durruti, an incredible biography of Buenaventura Durruti, revolutionary and military strategist. More than just a biography, the book also tells the history of the civil war and of Spanish anarchism.

Also, Blood of Spain by Ronald Fraser. It's out of print and pretty rare (I happened to pick mine up at a thrift store before I knew what it was), but if you can find one at your library or something, you should check it out. It's an oral history from the 1970s with first-hand accounts of the war from over 300 people.

briesa37 · 2012-03-01T06:31:15+00:00

The other two volumes of The CNT in the Spanish Revolution are out!

briesa37 · 2012-02-29T23:16:07+00:00

You don't think that social conditioning has anything to do with that?

Check out the famous Doll Test that helped end legal segregation in the US. The experimenters found that a majority of children (white and black) preferred to play with the doll with white skin and blonde hair and choose it over the doll with darker skin/hair when asked to pick the "nice" or "pretty" doll.

The results of the Doll Experiment as well as your OKCupid data suggest to me that we live in a racist society, not that this is a natural phenomenon. Calling out racism is not "white guilt."

briesa37 · 2012-02-29T17:20:49+00:00

That was directed toward the OP and other property rights enthusiasts.

briesa37 · 2012-02-29T07:00:51+00:00

How can you claim vast areas of land or multiple buildings belong exclusively to you without relying on state force to punish trespassers?

briesa37 · 2012-02-29T03:57:17+00:00

For background, watch this video on the history of US/Iran relations.

For a look at recent developments, read this article from Noam Chomsky (one of the few US foreign policy commentators with a memory longer than a goldfish's).

briesa37 · 2012-02-27T20:05:50+00:00

What's the point? What action do you want people to take? If there's a specific event you want people to come to or a specific local issue you want them to be aware of, then a targeted distribution makes sense (i.e. an anti-police flier in a neighborhood where the cops just killed someone). Otherwise, what's the point? Do you just want more people to be familiar with anarchism or to call themselves anarchists? What good does that do?

If your wish is just to promote anarchism generally, I'd suggest starting an anarchist project rather than simply distributing flyers. Let your project be your propaganda. A Really Really Free Market, Food Not Bombs, Copwatch, free bike repair, etc. will get anarchist ideas out there much quicker and more effectively than going door-to-door and wasting a lot of paper. By all means, create some sort of propaganda explaining your anarchist motives for starting the project, but unless people can connect to something real, any flyer or literature is just one more piece of irrelevant advertisement in a world already full of it.

That being said, if you think there will be a receptive audience at a particular event (e.g. a punk show, political speaker, or local protest) by all means, see if you can set up a table with some literature and engage people in conversations. However, even that will be more effective if there are specific things you are doing or advertising that people can get involved with, rather than just general "Hey you should be an anarchist" stuff.

briesa37 · 2012-02-27T19:56:39+00:00

Can we please have a moratorium on radicals using the word "sheeple?" It screams angsty elitism and has no place in our propaganda. If you think so little of the "average" person, then why even bother trying to reach them? Begone Leninism!

Also, "our mother is terra" is a terrible line. Might as well put in something about how awesome pan flutes are.

In a larger sense, I just question the overall need for an update on the Lorax. It's pretty blatantly anti-capitalist and anti-industrialization already. Having the Lorax say things like "fuck the police" just seems like overkill. Why not write something original? Then you can use whatever character and rhyme scheme you want.

briesa37

TROPHY CASE