I have found through discusion with a various types of people whos opinions range from far right wing to violent left wing, that it is rare to meet individuals whom are open minded (i am surely as guilty of this as anyone else). I use to belive that any one who adopted anarchist veiws must be open minded. On the contrary however I have found that this is often times the opposite. And why not any person willing to open there eyes would probably agree even a chaotic form of anarchy is more disirable than what we presently endure. So why would we want to be open minded...we all ready know the truth, or do we? I dont know about you but the type of society I want to see (I use to call it anarchy but now I am afraid to call it that because I wouldnt want to wrongly define an indefineable term) has never taken place, and until it has we must anticipate its possible failure. If we are to propose the dissruption of every man, woman, and child on the planet we sure as f%&$ better take all things into consideration.
The world must change, otherwise our demise is inevitable. It is open mindedness which will help bring about this change. A leader less revolution must be comprisied of complete individuals (closemindedness and fear dictates conformity into stereotypes) who are all revolting, for the betterment of humanity. If people seperate themselves based on their beleifs it will initiate Anarchy's unraveling. Which would be a most catastrofic loss because the end is near and it is only us who can stop it.
I know this sounds like rambaling but what i am saying, in summary...I think... is that if you talk to any one long enough or listen closely enough eventualy the drive behind their ideas will become evident. Understanding someone is the easiest way to get them to understand you. For instance I belive it is important to influence everyone into a direction of radical social change, because i want to see a pretty big Anarchy (or whatever) avalanch heading down the mountain towards the capitalistic cabin before I die (preferably not as violent as an avalanch though).
--ANARCHYNW
--UBS
"We have ways of making you fat."
You know, cuz I wrote a big, black "F" over the "E" in "eat". Then I drew a circle-A over the golden arches in the bottom-right corner. Easy as that. I did that on a bunch of the signs, right? And it was cool and funny -- a good culture jam, if you ask me.
Now, if you live in the city, you see ad posters vandalized all the time. Like people mark them up with graffiti, or stuff like that, like drawing in on the teeth and eyeballs of the people in the pictures. And those things usually stay up for awhile like that -- for weeks, anyway.
BUT, I was watching my handiwork on those posters, and in SIX DAYS, those jammed posters were replaced by fresh, clean McDonald's posters. How fucked-up is that?
The message is clear: run-of-the-mill vandalism is okay; but culture jamming isn't. They (corporations) want to be sure you (consumers) get their message loud and clear, without untidy interruption.
This doesn't stop me, man; I'm going to keep scribbling on their ads, jamming them, if and when I find'em. If you see that ad in your city or state, consider jamming it, and see what happens. Might be an interesting experiment, anyhow.
--Felonious Monk
This is, to say the least, convenient for the capitalists who would have you believe that without a corrupt, hierarchical chain of screw-overs, no one would have the ability to start out on their own business. In a quick synapsis of what I have to say in this rant in response to that crazy notion, "hah." If you're remotely interested in why I say that, read on.
First, let's get some definitions out of the way.
Capitalism: The system of bosses and workers.
Free Enterprise: The ability for anyone to become a business-owner.
Of course, these are *my* definitions, for the purpose of this article. You can say "that's not the correct definition!" the same way people assume, or even say flat out to my face, I'm not really an anarchist because I don't believe in chaos and mob violence and the western-capitalized version of the word. (Speaking of words, did I just invent one?) This is the capitalism that anarchists are opposed to, after all, Free Enterprise is generally accepted as a freedom that's pretty good, and anarchists are probably advocate more freedoms than anyone else.
Even if my definitions are somehow wrong and capitalism and free enterprise are the same, the [a4a: They aren't. Capitalism is the antithesis of free trade. Look at the recent Napster shutdown for an example of capitalism vs. free trade.]
thing I want to point out is how they're lumped into one and you're supposed to think that they're inseparable..."you can't have free enterprise without bosses, and if you believe in free enterprise you must be a capitalist." Is it just me, or does this sound slightly absurd? Yet, by lumping them together, capitalism gets praise for free enterprise, and bosses are seen as a "necessary evil", or even a heroic, hard-working (hah) figure, upon which free enterprise depends.
But in the real world today, these two are often bitter enemies. Every business begins as a small group of individuals with an idea. However, when they "break it big", innovation goes right down the toilets and the all-powerful corporation makes profit off of mediocre and rip-off ideas by using their power to stomp out the competition which is bringing up fresh innovation. Now, in school, this all sounds good and right, because anyone who works hard enough at starting their own business will make it big! WRONG. They want to sell you million dollar stories about Bill Gates and this, that, and the other, and how they started out in their garage...but I'm convinced that you could count all these stories on your fingers and toes. Why? Because they're a fluke, and the odds of any of us being millionaires are growing ever bleak as the statistical anomalies become more and more powerful over all of us.
The capitalist wants this process to be more and more unregulated, because this means more profit for them. This is where the capitalist uses free enterprise against itself even! You hear these days about free trade this and free trade that, which usually ends up in things like NAFTA (ya'know, businesses getting awarded by the government for using slave labor?). One of the footholds of philosophy is the idea that we have to sacrifice complete freedom for the sake of morality...even an anarchist will tell you that rules are important (just not rulers). However, we're entering a corporate bureaucracy...the elite few will throw all these rules out the window for freedom of enterprise and trade, claiming that if we got in the way of business we'd all become a bunch of godless communists, or something like that.
So next time you have to sit through another US history class with some teacher worshipping Theodore Roosevelt or some creep like that, I invite you to loudly scoff, laugh, and tell him he's full of shit. C'mon, it'll be fun.
--Chocolatey Shatner
the government trys to keep our silence, but scream out and let them know you don't belive in the system and won't fight for this fuct up country. fight the system! all they really want is yr money and they want yr minds to get it. don't give in!! fight war, not wars. it's suicide for a greedy government. anarchy frees the mind and body. no class distinctions, no working for an "upper class" asshole.u can think for yourself and have the right to yr own opinions to be spoken out. we can do this, fuck all the government,corporate and religious bullshit!!
the whole government should go to hell all they try to do is control our lives, not caring what happens to the people just as long as they make a buck or if it makes them look good. They should actually take time to see what the PEOPLES needs are! But we all know it doesnt matter to them and NEVER will. One day when Anarchy takes over they'll see. But until then theyre very stupid. Pigs, and etc. That need to look at society and see how FUCKED up it really is because of them.
--AnarchistGirl
For way too many, the term "anarchy" represents bad connotations like "chaos", "destruction", and just overall negativity. This stigma that infests the collective concious of our society is in desperate need of BIG CHANGE.
For too long, the Fascist Hierarchy known as the United States Government has demanded way too much control of almost every facet of our lives. We can barely walk to a park without getting harassed by a cop for the most insignificant reason.
Why is it that the government feels the overwhelming desire to subdue us and force us into submission like a herd of cattle? Even more strangly, why does the vast majority of the u.s. population tolerate it, accept it? It's obscene!!
Anarchy is by far the best solution available given the conditions of our current societal structure. As we all know, there is no civilization or empire that lasts long when it is majorly corrupted by the people in charge. The Fall of the U.S. government shall soon arrive. Massive Revolution (Anarchy) will bring about this downfall. When the 1960's came along, I believe this was the first revolution created by the children of the enemy. "Straight-laced" america for the first time, was attacked by their own people; their offspring during the Vietnam War. Of course, the Vietnam war was not the sole reason for the "counter-culture's" rise of fury. The Vietnam war was simply a "spring board" for the Anti-War Movement to attack the traditional demands and standards of mainstream society. As a result, not only did they rebel against society's standards and their parent's rules, their consciousness was elevated due to a spiritual shift in collective awareness (due to evolution). Of course, the older generations were perplexed and clueless as to what was going on with their kids, so much so, that they loathed and feared the counterculture as a whole.
Because of the Peace Movement of the 1960's, life has dramatically changed for the better. Women and "minorities" have more stature in society. Environmentalism is a pretty heated topic nowadays. The media has become much more liberal (however still very manipulative). Plus many other things which have resulted from the counter-culture's uprise. The Peace Movment was defeated, yet still prevailed. Life has never been the same since.
Unfortunately, the dream of the "hippies" was lost during the arrival of Elton John, the deaths of Joplin, Hendrix, and Morrison, Disco music and "yuppie" materialism of the 80's, 90's and now. Money and power has become the religion and doctrine of this mainstream culture. In the wake of this massive illusion of material obsession, humanitarianism, ecology and spirituality have taken a far back seat on the level of importance. This has already begun to change. "Alternative therapy" is a clear indication of this fact.
Anarchy is not just the best, but the only effective solution we have that will save this land from total destruction. The United States government is abusing it's citizens...that is, the ones who are not weathy.
Peace and Freedom,
Tim SpiritWalker
How many times in your life have you been told in one way or another, "Your opinion wrong, you're the messed up one, you should get help." God knows i hear that on a daily basis, just like most other teens. Or have you ever heard , "respect your elders, they now more then you." These saying and ideas make me laugh at the stupity of most funtioning people in society. Most of people's ideas, morals adn values are just so wrong that they are the one's who should have to face that fact that they're the f*cked up ones, and now there is probably more discrimination and hate in a household then thier are on the street, more pain and punishment in a classroom then in a prison cell. It's true people are messed up, and the most emphasises on the wrong is put on teens and adults who dress diffrently and see the flaws in society and try to better themselves. Sure i admit that every person in black clothes isn't going to be a nice person, but they deserve a chance just like everyone else.
Our society is also based on a very hypocritic idea. the idea being: People should freely express them selves but shouldn't look or act differently then the majority of people. The people who said that this was the mean for living had a major flaw in this: IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE! Everyone is expected to be themselves but at the same time be the same as everyone else when no two people act the same. So to fix this problem they try to make the same shirt in different colors. WOW PROBLEM SOLVED!
--Roxie
Several quotes (relevant to anarchy in general) before I begin:
"The wilderness once offered...a plausible way of life...Now it
functions
as a psychiatric refuge. Soon there will be no wilderness...Soon there
will be no place to go. Then the madness becomes universal...And the
universe goes mad."
--both quotes from The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey
"Contrary to popular belief, conventional wisdom would have one believe
that it is insane to resist this, the mightiest of empires...But what
history really shows is that today's empire is tomorrow's ashes, that
nothing lasts forever, & that to not resist is to acquiesce in your own
oppression. The greatest form of sanity that anyone can exercise is to
resist that force that is trying to repress, oppress, & fight down the
human spirit."
--Mumia Abu-Jamal, political prisoner on death row in PA
"If we wait until we are unafraid to speak, we will be speaking from our
graves."
--Audre Lorde
I have to work because I have bills. I have bills because I was raised to believe that my material property--(secondary) education, a car, a temperature-controlled, technologically-advanced residence, good credit--to be necessary & comforting. Instead, the more I live through it and think about it, the more I realize how problematic these things are. To myself & others. To Mother.
I have to work and I miss the day. And I miss the night because insomniac is a bad word. And I can't even dream without being interrupted by the alarm clock screaming that I'm going to be late or someone screaming that I daydream too much. Late, daydream, lazy, (non)ambition, and (ir)responsibility are made-up propagandistic terms invented by the ignorant bosses for the bossed.
I have to work and time materializes. Time is a concept. It is divided...divided into milleniums, centuries, decades, years, months, weeks, days, hours, seconds. Divided into "weekdays" and "weekends." I can't enjoy a sunny day, a rainy day, a "mix-of-sun-and- clouds" day without having to labor. And if the time is a weekend, well then, I have to sit in traffic to get to a synthetic joy place (amusement park, club, movie theater, golf course, bowling alley...even the beach & forestal "parks" can be plastic these days), where if I don't spend $$$, I can't have fun; am not allowed to.
So maybe one day, I won't go to work. And maybe that day will be the day that many others feel the way I do and they won't go to work either. And the system will collapse. And that chaos will bring about a natural order. Or not. But something had better change soon, because I'm getting fucking bored!
--Amy "maordis"
Picture this: we're here at the footsteps of heaven, as the Holy Roman Empire crumbles at its predestined date. I am a young American. My parents are baby boomers. The world swelled with people after the second war to replenish the earth with a new army, destined to fight in the 30-year war generation span landing the big one approximately around 1969. It didn't happen. Now we have a generation of middle aged people whom most were supposed to fight in a third huge global war, perhaps avoided by the perplex question asked by the cold war- "what happens if we blow up everything?" But the parallel dimension in which all earthly life is destroyed can not exist. So what we get is this reality. A crowded society. A sweatshop planet. Suburban cell-blocks in prefabricated form, complete with pastel paint jobs a la Edward Scissorhands. A genious invention called the internet, stolen from an ever-increasingly incompetent government and placed in the hands of the educated. Now we have websites because rallies mean headlines that say "200 dead protestors revolt against federal troops." And the 60's weren't all everybody made them out to be. Why did they put the army in the middle of the jungle on the other side of the world? Perhaps to draw military attention away from "the greatest threat to the union since the civil war (-president hoover)" the black panther party.
Just because they mobilized against the headquarters, placed crack and heroin in their neighborhoods, and are still imprisoning their leaders does not mean that the party has dissolved. No, I hear they're alive and well, Clinton calls them Chocolate Cities (George, not Bill).
Corporations bought the government, privatizing the ability to imprison someone. Paying their way into legislation instead of getting in line and voting like the rest of america. 20 guys in your living room could represent the brainpower of the global mass media. Backed behind that green, you'll probably never meet them though.
The world keeps turning and might i add, no one stopped to ask the native americans anything like for example, what sort of longterm weather patterns occur on this continent? All we learned is how to grow corn. And smoke tobacco.
Now canada is about to legalize a different plant. I seen montreal and i know it. Plus they're already activating their marches and such. How much time until the United States follows? I hear the tobacco companies already have their crops ready. But i'll still buy mine the old fashioned way, and they can save all those reefer papers.
On the brink of a new Capitalist regime- tell the truth, George Bush is a fearful man. I konw what cloak and dagger is but i can only guess what they're up to. Probably making that green.
But they still got their eyes watching you, so be careful what you say on these computers and keep your eyes to the sky for more signs. And keep your wallet in your front pocket.
Believe me, i'm all about peace and unity. But watch what it takes to get new ideas into an old-ass system.
--analogian