I was organizing with a group of (mostly) anarchists today. In my experience every anarchist I’ve organized with in real life is cool af and takes their praxis very seriously with major time commitments focused on improving the lives of workers and lumpen. They are usually hotter than any other tendency too . No whining about “tankies” or Kronstadt, just showing up to meetings, finding creative solutions and putting in the work.
Despite our nominal non-sectarian rule, I feel like there is still general derision towards anarchists here so I just wanted to remind everyone that these internet anarcho-Atlanticists on [insert dunk_tank instance or subreddit here] are just an online phenomenon and not real life. (Have I met those guys IRL too? Yes, but not in real organizing just in book clubs etc and they are tedious but there’s still more to work with than than a lib.)
So here’s to our anarchist comrades keep keeping it real
In my experience there are two main types of anarchists - the ones who are out there getting shit done and the ones who spend their time online engaging in ideological pissing contests or in echo chambers.
They are wildly different in their disposition and their politics.
Active anarchists are generally easy to get along with and want to get shit done - whether it’s making life materially better for people who are oppressed or whether it’s wrecking shit up for reactionaries.
The other type of anarchist is mostly concerned with purity of ideology and praxis, and in finding ways to justify their support for NATO and shit like that. These are often the people who presume that because they personally do not engage in any practical application of their politics that therefore their ideological opponents do not either and they’ll challenge you to describe what action you have been involved in recently (Bruh, I ain’t gonna dox myself and I sure as hell ain’t gonna dox myself in an attempt to impress some dork whose praxis starts and ends with sharing memes.)
I know I can be a vocal critic of anarchists sometimes but I sincerely appreciate the grass-toucher anarchists because they are a staunch lot. It’s the terminally-online types that rub me up the wrong way though.
Trust me, us grass toucher types fucking LOATH the terminally online types (of which I am sort of one but only cuz I help hold this crazy weird little corner of the internet together out of love for yall).
I reckon you would know it as well as I do - there are plenty of anarchists who do spend a lot of time online (shit, some of them are basically engaged full-time in online activism doing critical work like surveilling and doxing fascists) but they still aren’t of the terminally-online variety, and as soon as they encounter the terminally-online type they get the ick.
Absolutely. Anyway I love this space and I am actually having a discussion about this with an Argentinian comrade in the hexbear gaming discord right now lol
If you ever wanna come hang out with us here’s the link https://discord.gg/8xW22BNFek
I really hope I never meet an anarchist who has any positive things to say about NATO lol.
The good thing is that type of anarchist doesn’t go outside, and certainly not to engage in activism, so you’re pretty safe.
This type of anarchist is courted by NAFO chuds and they tend to take people like Vaush, Dylan Burns, Animarchy, Destiny, and Keffals seriously.