Life and times at the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
Shane Burley is no more an unbiased reporter on CHAZ than Tucker Carlson. But it’s interesting to get a range of perspectives. By Shane Burley ROAR Magazine
First came a pandemic. Then, looting. Small businesses pick up the pieces as their debt mounts.
A reflection on the problem of interclass and intra-lumpen proletarian conflict. Many positive things have happened in the uprising. These include the mass participation of normies and civilians (non-revolutionaries) in protests and civil disobedience against the state, along with direct attacks on the state such as the destruction […]
Atatiana Jefferson: ‘Why I will no longer call the police’
Voltairine De Cleyre, the classical anarchist, was so anti-government and anti-police she refused to press charges even against the man who wounded her in an assassination attempt. By Stephanie Hegarty BBC James Smith has never wanted much to do with the police but he called them to check […]
Hell’s Angels and Mongols riding on their way to Seattle to fight Antifa
As Stirner and Bakunin noted in the 19th century, the lumpenproletariat is the rightful class vanguard of an anarchist revolution, as we have once again seen in recent weeks, as opposed to the conventional bourgeoisie, petite bourgeoisie, and conventional proletarian “protestors.” The most revolutionary sectors of the recent […]
Youse Guys and that Podcast: Episode 11 with Keith Preston
Listen here. On this episode, Keith Preston joined us & gave an absolute master class on several schools of anarchism, from anarcho-communism, collectivism, syndicalism, platformism, national syndicalism, synthesism, Georgism & more. We also discussed current events, the CHAZ (Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone) & a deep dive into historical […]
Why Not All of the Above?
Violence vs. non-violence is another false dichotomy.
The Many Paradoxes of “Progressivism”
What is happening in the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone?
Kiev, Ukraine: Criminal Investigations Department Building Petrol-Bombed by the ‘Brave Ones’ Group
Ukrainian anarchists claim Minneapolis as an inspiration. a2day.Net On the night of June 10, 2020 the building of Criminal Investigations Department (Kyiv, 25, Naberezhne highway) was attacked by petrol bomb. The other day appalling news came from Kagarlyk, Ukraine, where on the night of May 24, police officers […]
Zapatistas to extend their control with 11 more autonomous zones in Chiapas
They’re doing this with the acquiescence of the Mexican President, just as CHAZ is existing with the apparent acquiescence of local and state governments of Seattle and Washington, which raises some interesting questions about anarchist strategy. Mexico News Daily The Zapatistas are on the move in Chiapas, extending […]
‘The Five’ spar over legitimacy of Seattle’s ‘autonomous zone’
If these FOX News reactionaries were as “anti-establishment” or “anti-big government” as they pretend they would be creating “autonomous zones” of their own. What a shame they’re really just mouthpieces for the right-wing of the ruling class.
Hannity: Anarchy reigns supreme in Seattle
If only it were true. Roadblocks, checkpoints, barricades, armed vigilantes: Anyone with a functioning brain knows this is unacceptable.
Tucker: The new nation of CHAZ is a lesson for us all
Indeed it is. But not in the way that Carlson means. This is hilarious. During the heydey of the militia movement of the 1990s, there were “freemen” and “sovereign citizen” groups that did stuff like this.
Nature of Authority
Todd Lewis is joined by Keith Preston and Derrick Jensen to discuss the nature of authority, justified vs. unjustified authority; and how tyrannical systems are maintained.
The Seattle Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
I have the unique perspective of favoring the autonomous zone in Seattle AND the Bundys’ standoff AND the Antifa threats against ICE. I like Krystal’s comment that “if you’re against the police state, be against the police state.” Krystal and Saagar discuss the bizarre response from Gov. Jay […]
Broken Economy, Broken Society, and the Prospects for Liberty
By Stratton J. Davis Looking at the daily news these past couples of weeks one may have the pessimistic opinion that what was left of liberty will soon be gone. Even before the recent riots, which has President Trump and his GOP goons threatening the US people with […]
Welcome to the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, where Seattle protesters gather without police
By Evan Bush Seattle Times Welcome to the CHAZ, the newly named Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, where most everything was free Tuesday.
What’s Really Happening in Seattle?
From someone who is there on the ground: This is what’s actually happening in Seattle right now; it’s nothing like much media and conspiracies and 45 are saying: Wanna know what is happening right now in Seattle? There are livestreams of the 3pm general assembly that are worth […]
Hannity: Seattle is the latest big liberal city to lose control of a critical situation
Sean, why aren’t you encouraging the anti-lockdown protestors to join forces with the TAZs? Are you saying that you are not really against “big government” and that you’re really just a neocon mouthpiece? The sheer incompetence and cowardice of the liberal politicians running the states and cities across […]
Tucker: The world welcomes its newest country
Carlson has a predictably “reactionary” take on Seattle, but this is still funny as hell, particularly the part about borders. I’d like to see people of all ideologies doing this, i.e. creating their own TAZs. Say hello to the latest addition to the global family of nations: the […]
“The Ruling Elite Has Lost All Legitimacy”. w/Chris Hedges
The opening segment of this where Jimmy quotes from Hedges’ recent article is good. Hedges characterizes the present US regime as “mafia state,” which I would argue is true of all or at least nearly all states. Glad to see that Hedges warns against the possibility of sectarian […]
Ingraham: Democrats cancel America
I totally disagree with Laura here, but not for the usual reasons. So far I have actually seen very little “canceling America” going on in the present uprising. Unlike Berkeley or Charlottesville, which were low-grade sports riots carried out by rookie-league middle-class gangs, the present uprising is a […]
Anarchists & ‘Antifa’ occupy Seattle police station abandoned by ‘regime’ forces, set up ‘Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone’
I seriously doubt it is only anarchists or Antifa who are involved in this even in a deep blue zone like Seattle. The uprisings over the past couple of weeks are too massive to be driven by “extremist” groups of any kind. I’ve been observing movements like that […]
Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone established in Seattle
Police have retreated from Seattle’s East Precinct and protesters have established an autonomous zone in the neighborhood. Following Monday’s retreat of police and national guard, protesters have begun erecting barricades after a week-long blockade of the East Precinct. Read more about it at Capitol Hill Seattle Blog.
The Great Debate Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the Birth of Right and Left
One of the very first college classes I ever had (around 37 years ago) was a “history of Western civilization” course where the professor showed a film with actors playing the parts of Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine, and reenacting this classic “debate.” The assignment was to choose […]
The Disappeared
Current faux Sinophobic rhetoric aside, China is just a province in global capitalism, a loan and labor mine for Western governments and corporations, and a test market in state repression. Far too many Western radicals promote China, Russia, Syria, Iran, North Korea, etc. as model societies or as […]
Ken Cuccinelli says he believes even if George Floyd had been white his life would not have been spared
Cuccinelli is both a Republican and an Italian Catholic, neither of which are known for their love of black folks. But the real issue with this kind of stuff seems to be a matter of status. All other variables being equal, I’d say that it is still more […]
A Message Written in Fire: In Defense of Social Upheaval
By Nicky Reid aka Comrade Hermit Exile in Happy Valley It always ends this way, you can almost set your watch to it. A glamorous soirée rambling into the wee hours of the morning in an opulent townhouse on a tony tree lined street of any given international […]
Placing the Blame Where It Belongs
The Monopoly On Violence
This is our crowdfunded documentary about anarchism and The State. Featuring interviews with: James C. Scott, David Friedman, Michael Huemer, Scott Horton, Stephan Kinsella, Max Borders, Thaddeus Russell, Tom Woods, Walter Block, Ron Paul, Joseph Salerno, Maj Toure, Andrew Napolitano, Bob Murphy, Mark Thornton, Ryan McMaken and many […]
Would You Stand up to an Oppressive Regime or Would You Conform? Here’s the Science
The evidence is overwhelming that most people would conform. By Nick Chater The Conversation Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, described the horror of the authoritarian regime of Gilead. In this theocracy, self-preservation was the best people could hope for, being powerless to kick against the system. But […]
Exiting Anarchist Politics: Pan-Anarchism in Action?
The eco-villagers, exitarians, panarchists, radical anc-aps/agorists, national-anarchists, bolobolo fans, democratic confederalists, startuppers, intentional communards, neo-tribalists, PLEers, SEZers, crypto-anarchists, seasteaders, smart citiers, new urbanists, micronationalists, and Benedict optionists all have some interesting ideas that might fit under the paradigm of pan-anarchism, from far left to far right, and spanning […]
Stop blaming everything bad on anarchists
Blame away. “There ain’t no such thing as bad publicity.” By Kim Kelly Washington Post As protests continue to sweep the nation, a narrative has emerged blaming alleged “anarchists” for stirring the pot. They are, the story goes, materializing out of nowhere to sow chaos, put marginalized people […]
54% of Americans Approve of Burning Minneapolis Police Precinct
The victories of the gay rights and marijuana legalization movements were not achieved until a slight majority of Americans came to agree with them. I’ve always that pan-anarchism cannot achieve victory until a popular majority at least tacitly agrees with us. It seems like we’re making progress. Although […]
Famed DC monuments defaced after night of protests
These kinds of things happen during uprisings. Here in Richmond, there was been a predictable wave of vandalism against Confederate monuments. I don’t think these kinds of actions are a good idea. Attacking and destroying the monuments, flags, places of worship or veneration, temples, sacred books and artifacts, […]
De Blasio now says some ‘anarchist’ protesters are local amid continued defense of NYPD
When are anarchists going to learn that neoliberals are just as much the enemy as anyone on the Right? By Michelle Bocanegra Politico NEW YORK — Mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday blamed an organized group of anarchists for inciting violence and vandalism amid protests over the killing […]
Preserve Architecture, But Smash the State
I’m actually in favor of preserving historic architecture. Preferably, anarchist or anarchist-friendly militias and guerrillas would simply surround these places, order their inhabitants to leave, never to come back. These landmark architectural structures can then serve as museums that chronicle and memorialize the depravity of the past. Attacking […]
On Misrepresenting One’s Opponents
At long as I have known of national-anarchism, I have considered it be to a legitimate, interesting, and important form of anarchism. If other anarchists feel different, fine. The venerable anarchist principles of voluntary association and decentralization are our collective way around such conflicts. “We do not consider […]
Insurgent Makhnovists: Down With Fratricide (1920)
Robert Graham’s compilations of classic anarchist writings are excellent. In May – June 1920 the Makhnovist Insurgent Army in Ukraine was fighting the Czarist counter-revolutionaries and the Bolshevik Red Army, which was seeking to consolidate the burgeoning Bolshevik dictatorship. This is a manifesto issued by the Makhnovists, appealing […]
The Anarchist Economic Wars Escalate
I know and like Derrick and Will. They both do very good work in their respective domains though, as I suspected, the Minneapolis situation appears to be driving a deeper wedge between anti-capitalist and proprietarian anarchists. I’m generally okay with looting Target, but I’m also generally okay with […]
What is Your Preferred “Bolo”?
The “Bolobolo” novel, written by the Swiss utopian writer Hans Widmer in 1983, outlines an interesting vision of a utopian anarchist future that is more or less based on an-com principles and which is something of a more modern version of William Morris’ “News from Nowhere.” It’s not […]
Principles of Panarchism
I’ve generally found this 40-page page pamphlet by Adam Knott to be a helpful tool when introducing anarchist ideas to “civilians.” It’s available in PDF form here. One libertarian once told me it was the purest form of anarchism yet devised, and I tend to agree. The following […]
Thick Libertarians: Stop “improving” this philosophy
This blog post from a few years ago describes a process I have noticed as well. As “libertarian” movements continue to grow, they also continue to split off into different tendencies based on their various hyphenated affiliations.
National-Anarchism and Zen Buddhism
By Troy Southgate I don’t find it too far-fetched to claim that National-Anarchism is having the kind of impact – beneath the radar, in most cases – that Zen has had on Buddhism. When the purity of the latter was brought into question after its dissection into two […]
Ruling Classes, Old and New
Karl Hess, 1923-1993
𝑯𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝑩𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝑲𝒂𝒓𝒍 𝑯𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝑴𝒂𝒚 25, 1923
A Lot of Supposedly Anti-Government People are Only Anti-Western Governments
This is some pretty good commentary. I disagree with some of this but I do agree that the state everywhere is the enemy. Although some of his arguments would be stronger if he embraced Hardt and Negri’s “Empire” thesis.
‘Silence Is Health’: How Totalitarianism Arrives
A description of life under the military dictatorship in Argentina during the 1970s. By Uki Goni New York Review of Books The white supremacists chanting “blood and soil” as they marched through the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 were probably unaware that the leading Nazi ideologue who […]
“Socialism” is Fine When Rich Folks Do It
The purpose of the state is as follows: 1. Maintaining a monopoly on violence. 2. Monopolizing territory and resources. 3. Exploiting subjections while protecting, enriching, and empowering an artificially privileged elite. 4. Expanding its own power and realm of influence. 5. Maintaining a self-legitimating ideological superstructure.
‘The Anarchist Post-Capitalist Vision’
An-com Wayne Price on post-capitalism. I should probably point out that NONE of the perspectives I have posted here recently care for my position. Not Price, not Carson, not WSA, not LibCom, not Anarkismo, and not orthodox libertarians. I’m generally too libertarian for the libsocs/libcoms/an-syns/an-coms, and “too left” […]
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