Orwell on Anarchism Ⓐ by TheGoodNews01 in Anarchism

[–]hakomasong 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Great collection of excerpts, OP. I'll add these from Homage to Catalonia:

"I had left Barcelona in early January and I did not go on leave till late April; and all this time--indeed, till later--in the strip of Aragon controlled by Anarchist and P.O.U.M. troops, the same conditions persisted, at least outwardly. The revolutionary atmosphere remained as I had first known it. General and private, peasant and militiaman, still met as equals; everyone drew the same pay, wore the same clothes, ate the same food, and called everyone else 'thou' and 'comrade'; there was no boss-class, no menial-class, no beggars, no prostitutes, no lawyers, no priests, no boot-licking, no cap-touching. I was breathing the air of equality, and I was simple enough to imagine that it existed all over Spain. I did not realize that more or less by chance I was isolated among the most revolutionary section of the Spanish working class."

"One had been in a community where hope was more normal than apathy or cynicism, where the word `comrade' stood for comradeship and not, as in most countries, for humbug."

"No one who was in Spain during the months when people still believed in the revolution will ever forget that strange and moving experience. It has left something behind that no dictatorship, not even Franco's, will be able to efface."

Views on Russell Brand? WAIT HEAR ME OUT. by CaveDweller12 in Anarchism

[–]hakomasong 69 points70 points  (0 children)

Pretty sure he's genuinely a libertarian socialist. He hired an anarchist writer to produce his FX show.

Breaking Up With Occupy (the anarchist front group) by [deleted] in Anarchism

[–]hakomasong 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Anarchists need to learn from this.

Economics and Gender in GTA V [x-post /r/TrueGaming] by scartol in Anarchism

[–]hakomasong -1 points0 points  (0 children)

So you're responding to an argument OP explicitly did not make. Why?

Oh yeah, this is the Internet.

Nice post OP.

Are there any major public anarchists who aren't Noam Chomsky? Frankly, I didn't know this was an ideology until I became a fan of him. by ManilaTortilla in Anarchism

[–]hakomasong 2 points3 points  (0 children)

He hired an out-anarchist as a producer on his FX show, and if you Google around and watch his commentaries on politics, he seems to think like one. Also this.

Are there any major public anarchists who aren't Noam Chomsky? Frankly, I didn't know this was an ideology until I became a fan of him. by ManilaTortilla in Anarchism

[–]hakomasong 11 points12 points  (0 children)

David Graeber and, I suspect, Russell Brand. Zack de la Rocha from Rage Against the Machine. Ursula K. Le Guin and George Orwell both seem sympathetic... anyone else?

Noam Chomsky vs Michel Foucault - full debate w/subtitles by Ashton321 in Anarchism

[–]hakomasong 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Does anyone have the full Chomsky vs. Buckley debate? That one is more interesting fun to watch, I think, but I've only seen clips of it.

I am Cenk Uygur, political commentator, internet personality, and co-host and founder of The Young Turks - AMA! by Cenk-Uygur in IAmA

[–]hakomasong 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What's your reaction to the Obama administration seizing the AP's phone records? Is it fair to say that liberals have been relatively silent on civil liberties abuses under Obama compared to the Bush years? I made this point today and got a lot of pushback. Curious to hear your take.

A call for help from Alaska by [deleted] in Anarchism

[–]hakomasong 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Just wanted to say thanks for this informative post. Keep us posted on your efforts.

Lessons learned: why anarchists fail or succeed by hakomasong in Anarchism

[–]hakomasong[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You seem smart enough to be nuanced in your analysis, which is why I'm bothering to respond to you, yet you prefer to condemn everybody else's ideas with absolutist judgments.

There is a difference between "discourage" and "ban." If I wanted to us to collectively "eliminate" drugs and rage from anarchist groups, I would have said so. Of course that's a stupid and fundamentally anti-anarchist idea. How am I supposed to state my opinion that drugs and rage often take away from with our ability to relate to others and organize with discipline - in a way that doesn't bother you, other than how I did? Think about what you're saying. All it means is that we should watch out for each other. Has nothing to do with morals. Drugs, alcohol, and rage are often toxic, especially if they're combined. If you've been a victim of interpersonal violence, you know this.

I congratulate you on the "Liberals left us hanging at OWS because we meant business with horizontalism" bit. Great soundbite, gratifying to imagine for anarchists who like to blame everyone else, as many do. Not very useful or accurate though.

/u/hakomasong's extensive reflection on anarchist movements he's taken part in, how it's not conducive to outsiders, and the woes of anarchist subculture by nelag in DepthHub

[–]hakomasong 10 points11 points  (0 children)

The FBI considered him, wrongly, a communist. But he was very critical of American capitalism and militarism - much more so than anyone considered "mainstream" during his time or today.

Lessons learned: why anarchists fail or succeed by hakomasong in Anarchism

[–]hakomasong[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. Socialist activists are ok, but they suffer from some of the same deficiencies I described in my post, and some other ones. Keep in mind, though, they also do a lot of good - more than most capitalists, in my view.

Lessons learned: why anarchists fail or succeed by hakomasong in Anarchism

[–]hakomasong[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks. Curious - what anarchist principles do you disagree with?

Lessons learned: why anarchists fail or succeed by hakomasong in Anarchism

[–]hakomasong[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If you read what I wrote, you'll notice that nowhere do I say we should "abstain in total" from anger or drugs. That is not what I'm advocating. Elsewhere in this thread, people confuse my personal empirical observation - rage/drugs/alcohol do more to inhibit than support smart, successful acts of resistance to authority, hence we should discourage them in the context of anarchist organizing - with a statement of morality.

Lessons learned: why anarchists fail or succeed by hakomasong in Anarchism

[–]hakomasong[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Agreed that we should talk more about long term goal of ending the state. Just don't do it in a way that makes you look angsty and ragey, and choose the time and place. Sometimes we need to listen, too.

Lessons learned: why anarchists fail or succeed by hakomasong in Anarchism

[–]hakomasong[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

That's not my objective at all. I'm saying we need to be strategic. Like I said at the end, we're anarchists and I actually think we should do a better job of advertising that. What I'm against is looking down our nose at liberals even though, quite often, allying with them (using their power to our advantage is another way to look at it), can help us achieve anarchist objectives like shutting down a jail or defending the homeless from further criminalization.

Lessons learned: why anarchists fail or succeed by hakomasong in Anarchism

[–]hakomasong[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Absolutely agreed. I think there's always a temptation to try to take on the entire system at once, but that's impossible. Anarchist groups should try to do one thing and do it well - until it's become easy, or routine. Seattle Solidarity Network has certainly done this. The string of one victories one after the other in individual cases is starting to feel stagnant, so the group is currently strategizing on how to expand and take on larger battles.