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601 lines
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Anarchy: a journal of desire armed. #38, Fall 1993
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LETTERS part one
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_Have_something_to_say?__Write_us!_
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We would like to encourage you to write us in order to continue
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this dialogue, whether you are sympathetic or critical of anarchist
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theories and practices. All letters will be printed with the auth-
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or's initials only, unless it is specifically stated that her/his
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full name may be used or that s/he wishes to remain anonymous, or
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the name already appears in Anarchy=FEas in the case of an author of
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an essay or creator of artwork published here.
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We will edit letters that are redundant, overly long, unreadable,
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excessively boring or contain threats. (Ellipses in italicized
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brackets [...] indicate editorial omissions.) Limit length to three
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double-spaced, typewritten pages. Address your letters to C.A.L.,
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POB 1446, Columbia, MO. 65205-1446.
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GIVE ME A BREAK
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Dear Anarchy,
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First some positive comments to prove that I can say nice things
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on occasion. Manolo Gonzalez' autobiographical article was one of
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the best pieces to appear in Anarchy ever; I hope to read more from
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him. And Feral's pointed and well-done critique of cybernetics
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should be required reading for all technophiles.
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Now that the good things are out of the way...I don't like the
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full-color cover. It adds nothing to the zine except a false slick-
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ness that reminds me of Processed WorldTM or Utne Reader. Also it's
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non-recyclable. I don't see the point, especially since you "have
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to pinch pennies whenever [you] can."
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Adam Bregman's report on the Anti-Columbus Day black bloc action
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was replete with the inflated self-importance of a street tough.
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This macho vanguardist and his cronies would have the rest of us
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("armchair sitters" all, naturally) believe that with enough ebon-
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clad JDs at hand they could pose some sort of threat to the "powers
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that be." Give me a break. (I'm sure all the German politicians and
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industrialists quake with fear when 10,000 autonomen rumble with
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the cops.) Fetishizing one particular strategy as "the best" or
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"the most revolutionary" makes these dimwits resemble the civil
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disobedience crowd more than they'd want to admit. Each method of
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protest is championed with the same sanctimonious self-
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righteousness of the true believer, as if chest-thumping and
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jumping up and down, or sitting still and going limp enough times
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could make up for the paucity of their practitioners' impact on the
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smooth functioning of industrial civilization.
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The black bloc in S.F. on Oct. 11 broke up because an organizer
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told people to disperse? Where was the solidarity of the black bloc
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during the incarceration of one of their own on the charge of
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attempted murder (with $500,000 bail)? This isn't revolution, it's
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just dumb.
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If Bregman is irritated that AIM leaders wanted to tell the bloc-
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heads what to do, how much more irked does he think AIM people
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would be if he confronted them directly with his opinion of their
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"wimpy," "unthreatening" "lame" rally? Coming from a young
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posturing militant, I'm sure they'd be quick to repent their errant
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ways and make him their field marshal since he knows so much about
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Geronimo, Crazy Horse, and other famous Indians. He reminds me of
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the guy from out of town I spoke with at the rally after the
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arrests who carelessly bragged to me=FEa total stranger=FEabout
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preparing eight or so and throwing one molly=FEthey're both dolts.
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I want to clear up some things regarding my interaction with Ward
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Churchill. I sent a copy of my letter to W.C. at the same time I
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sent it to Anarchy. He wrote to me thinking that I was the
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publisher, deeming the "anonymous critic" too afraid to sign a name
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and send it to him directly. (Also on the letter was a memo
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promising that "This exchange will appear in my next book.") I
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explained that I was the author and that I had sent a copy to him
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because it's better to get a critique personally.
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When I got his lengthy reply to my original critiques I sent a
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copy to Anarchy because I'd written my letter for the zine. I had
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no idea that you would delete his provocative and insulting
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introduction and postscript without ellipses, making his letter
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seem more reasonable. In fact the nasty tone was set from his
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initial few curt sentences and spurious assumptions.
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By allowing W.C. to respond directly after my letter you give him
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a voice equal to yours and superior to mine=FEit makes it appear that
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you wrote to him and said, "Hey Ward, do you want to respond to
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this?" when in fact the exchange took place at my PO Box. It's not
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as though he doesn't have full time access to Z Magazine (not known
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for its relevance to anti-authoritarians), South End Press
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(leftists to the max), and now Common Courage Press (more expensive
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than Black Rose Books); now he gets near-editorial privilege in
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Anarchy, too. His letter could have been printed in its entirety or
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with ellipses in the issue following the one where mine appeared,
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putting his dispute with me on the same footing as all the other
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letter exchanges.
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The irony of this is that if I hadn't been considerate enough to
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send any letter to W.C. he'd never have known about it, since he
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hadn't read Anarchy (and why should he, being a nationalist as well
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as an academic intellectual and a leftist?) So not only did he get
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the advantage of having a response appear next to a critique of
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him, but he also attains the appearance of being a regular
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reader/supporter of Anarchy when it's obviously not the case.
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You've had no problem exposing the lines of Chomsky as the poseur
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that he is; why shy away from a few choice comments about W.C.'s
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leftism, his fetishism of legality and "rights," etc.? You had no
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problem telling off Barrabbas regarding the "no social concerns"
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punk band, so why pull punches with an authoritarian like
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Churchill? This college professor is obviously no friend to an
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anarchic perspective or those who have one; why then does he merit
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the consideration of having his specious innuendos and attacks on=20
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me printed?
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Meanwhile W.C. and I engaged in a heated exchange of letters; Bob
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Black also entered the fray. I would be happy to send anyone copies
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of the unedited corpus if they send me a few dollars to cover
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photocopying and postage costs.
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Lawrence
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POB 410681
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San Francisco, CA. 94141
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Jason comments:
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Questions of balance
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Regarding our new full-color cover and its relation to our financ-
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es, we are assuming that it will quickly pay for itself through the
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greatly increased number of copies that we will sell of each issue.
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So far, this assumption seems to be a valid one. All of our major
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distributors have increased their orders substantially, while many
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of our other distributors report significantly increased sales. The
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question then becomes whether or not the increased durability and
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beauty of the new cover, along with the increased number of people
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who will read Anarchy (who otherwise wouldn't have noticed it on
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newsstands), is worth the cost of printing with a less directly
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recyclable paper. There is no perfect answer to this question, but
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I think the balance of benefits far outweighs the few drawbacks.
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Regarding your comments on Ward Churchill's letter appearing in
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response to yours in the same issue, you are right that had you not
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sent the letter to him yourself, he would not have responded until
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the following issue. However, since you did send him your letter,
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he was able to respond in the same issue. We don't intend to tell
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people that they can't write letters in response to other letters
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they've already seen, just because those letters haven't yet been
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printed in Anarchy. We always try to maintain a balanced access to
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the letters column without playing favorites among noneditorial
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writers.
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In the case of Ward Churchill's letter, it also made sense that
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he had no wish to include his original, mistaken preface and
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conclusion (to the body of his letter in response to you) once he
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understood to whom he was speaking. Nor did we see any purpose in
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printing them since they would just have been more confusing for
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readers who wouldn't know the circumstances in which they were
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written.
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We did not ask Noam Chomsky or Ward Churchill (or anyone else) to
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contribute to this magazine in order to then put them down. We may
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have disagreements with Chomsky and Churchill (as with most anyone
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else, as well), but we also respect the work they have done in
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exposing the lies of the powers that be. Readers, however, are
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always free to give their opinions on contributors to this journal.
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And they usual do.
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WHO NEEDS TAD KEPLEY?
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For Anarchy letters:
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Tad Kepley's "Who needs Class War?" (Anarchy Winter 1993) might
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better have been titled "Who needs Tad Kepley?"
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He admits to personally having nothing to offer; "I will never
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contribute anything ...[but will do] my best to destroy the work of
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others." Uh huh. While in NYC, that consisted of ripping off one
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anarchist after another and then basically being run out of town
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with no one left to burn.
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Anarchists here could indeed learn from Britain's Class War: they
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simply would have offed a clown like Kepley. Many of us who were at
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the San Francisco "Day of Action" had a laugh at Kepley's letter in
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Anarchy concerning that event. He was the one fingered for mouthing
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"faggot" & "nigger!"
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Eric Blake, Albany, NY.
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TYRANNY OF VOICES PAST
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In the film, "Simple Men," by Hal Hartley, a seasoned radical
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recites a passage from Malatesta's Anarchy while perched above his
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audience. He holds sway over several followers who are induced to
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recite along with him. Any perceptive anarchist would quickly find
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fault with this authoritative situation=FEthe recitation from the
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physical and psychological position of authority and the
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unquestioning obeisance of the audience (the followers). This
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repulsive and authoritarian situation introduces us to the subtle
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danger of using quotations in any context, for the quotation is a
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primal token of devotion and faith.
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The quotation comforts=FE things prepackaged and poetic have always
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comforted. Only external things are believed to make the whole
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resonant. And so the external bringer of comforting things
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comforts.
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The quotation transforms=FE transformation is sought because the
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whole decays or observes others that appear whole. Only external
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forces are believed to transform. And so the external possessor of
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transformation is deified.
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Possess an outwardly apparent great sympathy towards something,
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relate to those of similar endowment of the past, and garnish with
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quotations. The social relationship with the reverent audience is
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sealed. The instrument=FEfaith=FEensures the perpetuation of the new
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social contract.
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The hills seethe with those that understand and exploit the
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faithworks=FEthe quotation is their secret weapon. It is the new
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cornerstone for coloring speeches, introducing the chapters of
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popular books, complementing the graphics in calendars, and is the
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essence of today's little red books. Most of these have a
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transformational and comforting (spiritual) subtext.
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Those faithful who refer to spiritual and religious dogma=FE
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evangelists and acolytes=FEare notorious for quoting texts. These
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dogmatists invented the practice of lionizing the voices of the
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past. Even in the pages of Anarchy there are those that capitulate,
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the zealots, and those that develop a unified and self-assured
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exposition. Compare the numerous quotations and references (even
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this propositional aid is suspect in quantity) of the pro-sacred
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Dogbane Campion with the independent arguments of Lev Chernyi in
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issue #24.
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Should anarchists and anti-authoritarians practice the dogmatist
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tactics of the reverent? Should we encumber our audiences with
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convenient poetics that float endlessly in the historical spectrum,
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to brandish and then surgically implant them, instead of working
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towards an understanding of the larger scheme? Must we rely on
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cheap quotations to make credible and therefore official arguments?
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Must we aggrandize these folk like religious zealots? No, no, no,
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and never! Though many valuable ideas have been craftily midwived
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out of a social consciousness by their authors, they were thoughts
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that others, then and now, were generally thinking of. The much
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quoted were only different in that they patiently birthed these
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archetypical ideas and transformed them into words for the public.
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An exponent of the author subsequently extracts the quotations to
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play the role of the highly regarded priest, medium, apostle, or,
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sage; or to a lesser degree, associate or expert. Use the quotation
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and rivet the fate of a dominator/dominated relationship.
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Out of its original context, the quotation is a weapon of psycho-
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logical seduction to the unsuspecting. It lies tenaciously in the
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back of the mind like a critic, fending off other ideas with almost
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no chance of its dislodgment or resynthesis. The especially porta-
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ble quotation is fodder for a slogan where the above interplay is
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consciously exploited by the adherents. Now the supplicating masses
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become captive and hence susceptible to potentially devastating
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thought-control. The use of slogans (symbols and tokens, too)
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cannot ever be justified. Considering these dangers, is it ever
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safe to exhume a quotation?
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One might quote or paraphrase sparingly without developing
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authoritarian constructs if the author is especially not well-known
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or the quotation is not very popular. For the worn-out quotation or
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aphorism, some research may put the item in context. The quotation
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may be transformed or it may even become impotent. Offer the
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historical perspective surrounding the author at the quotation's
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creation. It wouldn't hurt to be thorough and also supply the
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surrounding text. Fragmentation, isolation, and distortion are
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tools of the state. One might state that the quotation is
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anonymous, not attributable to some other "great" figure as the
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reverent would. Quash the compelling feelings of guilt that force
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us to bolster authors and diminish ourselves. One might also para-
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phrase or completely rework the quotation (artists continuously
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borrow, sample, or steal ideas and constructs from "great" artists
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without compunction). Treading swirling author-itarian waters, one
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might quote but not cite it as such.
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A simple experiment unmasks the power of the quotation: try
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quoting yourself. It's plainly awkward and conceited. Only a
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megalomaniac would ever quote themselves. Why create the same aura
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by quoting others?
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As individuals, we embody the concept of uniqueness of character
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and experience. Our times embody the same uniqueness. Why
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relinquish the present, the privilege of genesis, the pleasure of
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saying something incisive to another voice or another time?
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Synthesize something new altogether. Retrieval is lazy. Synthesis
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is work.
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J.K., Chicago, IL.
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MY DEFINITION FOR ANARCHY
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Dear Jason & Toni,
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During the past fifty-odd years, I have belonged to various
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"organized" efforts to deal with and/or resolve humanity's ad-
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versarial condition. Those efforts range from the exquisitely eso-
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teric to the grossly political...All manifesting the same
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liabilities: "Inspired" ideologies carved in stone, administered by
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self perpetuating hierarchies. Each of these, with similar goals
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and "enemies," denounce the others as being in league with or ac-
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commodating to "the enemy." The experience evoked the gamut of
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emotions from hopelessness to rage. I have since risen to the level
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of amusement.
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About a year ago I was overheard repeating one of Ronald Reagan's
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"truths": "Government is the problem not the solution."
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Later, the eavesdropper confided, "...You talk like an Anarchist."
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We have since become close friends, and I have been exposed to
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Proudhon, Bukharin, Kropotkin, Rocker, Emma Goldman and this
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journal. I can now acknowledge association with that living
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diversity: Anarchism. For a personal guide-line I like the goal
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pursued by members of the Mondragon Cooperative in Basque Spain:
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"Freedom in community" and "Unity in diversity." Balancing astride
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the ridges between those apparent dichotomies is an exercise in
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self-location.
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Being a tyro on the @ scene, I rush headlong to offer my
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definition of Anarchy: The human condition in which all will be
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totally free and totally responsible for and to all and
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everything...I liken it to a square-dance where the music and the
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calls are in the dancers' heads; all dancing joyfully in their own
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spaces.... Meanwhile fractionized humanity trashes itself in a
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surreal cacophony of discotheques.
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Comprehended thusly, the amount and quality of time, space and
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energy required to approach that goal is daunting. But the prospect
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of our liberation can be apprehended from a one-page sentence by
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"Bucky" Fuller.
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What I Am Trying To Do
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Acutely aware of our beings' limitations and acknowledging the
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infinite mystery of the a priori Universe into which we are born
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but nevertheless searching for a conscious means of hopefully
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competent participation by humanity in its own evolutionary
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trending while employing only the unique advantages inhering exclu-
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sively to those individuals who take and maintain the economic
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initiative in the face of the formidable physical capital and
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credit advantages of the massive corporations and political states
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and deliberately avoiding political ties and tactics while
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endeavoring by experiments and explorations to excite individuals'
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awareness and realization of humanity's higher potentials I seek
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through comprehensive anticipatory design science and its reduction
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to physical practices to reform the environment instead of trying
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to reform humans, being intent thereby to accomplish prototypical
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capabilities of doing more with less whereby in turn the wealth
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augmenting prospects of such design science regenerations will
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induce their spontaneous and economically successful industrial
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proliferation by world around services' managements all of which
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chain reaction provoking events will both permit and induce all hu-
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manity to realize full lasting economic and physical success plus
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enjoyment of all the Earth without one individual interfering with
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or being advantaged at the expense of another.
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-R. Buckminster Fuller
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Fuller is probably best remembered for the geodesic dome. But (as
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he insisted) that was only one of many artifacts he created in his
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effort to get humanity to abandon its flat-earth concepts and
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behave in tune with the reality of our spherical, integral and
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indivisible Spaceship Earth. He seized every opportunity to chide
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us for allowing our abilities to understand and communicate to be
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held hostage by false words and concepts embedded in our languages.
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For instance, we speak of sunrises and sunsets when we know the sun
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to be stationary relative to the earth. We find security in "solid"
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things, knowing the atoms of those "solids" are (relatively) as
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spacious as the earth-moon system. Our spaces are framed with what
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we perceive to be intersecting straight lines. But laser-augmented
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measurement will expose their gravity enforced curvatures.
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"Bucky" challenges us to confront these and countless other
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inherited misperceptions that condition our reflexes as we cope
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with Life's surprises. He urges us to comprehend and act in harmony
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with the reality of our interconnectedness; knowing the only
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barriers between us are those we allow to be there. Any other
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course leads to more of the same. I recommend his book, Operating
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Manual for Spaceship Earth, to get a grasp on our potential for
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universal success.
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Finally, I take the term "desire armed" to be a metaphor for the
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ability to hold a position and interact creatively with others.
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That is real power! All other forms and sources of power fuck us
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up.
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R.D.W., Englewood, FL.
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PS: In the interest of brevity I chose to avoid topics of action
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and projects. However I would like to see more attention given to
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"grass-root" activity intended to raise the level of personal re-
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sponsibility for local conditions. These can evolve into co-ops,
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unions and councils.
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Nor should regional, national, inter- and trans-national concerns
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be neglected; always responsibly. For example, we can be helpful in
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Greenpeace, Co-op America, the Committees of Correspondence, and
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always, the union movement.
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Enough!
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"MORAL OUTRAGE"
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A Chara Jason, Toni, folks of Anarchy,
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Hey thanx a lot. We just picked #35 from the post. Looks really
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good passing it back and forth as usual. Want to especially thank
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you for the blurb on Steal The Fire. Requests are being received
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from all over the place, faster than can be filled.
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While reading the letters section I came upon a letter concerning
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Amnesty International. J.G. Eccarius is correct to point out that
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people who practice self defense are beneath the regard of AI. In
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fact let's take for example Northern Ireland. During the '81 hunger
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strike AI to my knowledge did not support the strikers because they
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were IRA and INLA prisoners. Neither will they comment on the
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British judiciary which is stacked against Irish nationalists as
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exemplified by the case of the Birmingham Six or Guilford Four.
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"Moral outrage" is AI's watchword. Translated it means what can we
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use to raise more money for all sorts of non-prisoner support
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stuff.
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As an individual who does prisoner support I find AI's position
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beneath contempt. It's a fine first step that AI is calling
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attention to the USA but they still accomplish nothing but a little
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reform here and there. The situation in the occupied six counties
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is a moral outrage but AI turns a blind eye to it because vols are
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defending their communities from racist British troops, loyalist
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death squads, and Diplock courts. Come on AI get a clue. Abolish
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All Prisons!
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[....]
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M.L. for Acts of Resistance
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San Francisco, CA.
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BEWILDERED
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Dear Anarchy,
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As someone who first started having sexual contacts with adults
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at age 11, I think the issue is pretty straight forward. If the
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child wants the relationship and can leave without fear of
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retaliation then it is not abuse and should be tolerated. On the
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other hand, if force or threats or dishonesty is used to gain the
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child's compliance, then other adults should come in on the child's
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side and put a stop to it.
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There seem to be some readers who don't agree with me who feel
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justified in attacking relationships in which the child likes or
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loves the adult and doesn't want to be "saved." When I read letters
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like this I imagine myself as a boy in bed with my friend when a
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heavy knock comes at the door. "Open up in there! It's the
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anarchists! Do not attempt to escape, we have your house
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surrounded!" At this point, my imagination fails me. Just exactly
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how would these "anti-authoritarians" go about suppressing
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relationships between mutually consenting partners? If a bunch of
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self-righteous "libertarian" moralists busted down the door to the
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bedroom, I suppose that they could have sent me home to my parents
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and perhaps beat up my lover, but then what? How would they prevent
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me from sneaking back to the man's house once the coast was clear?
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Would they take the man away and lock him up? Where? In an
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anarchist prison? Who would guard it? What would they do to me if
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I screamed at them to get the fuck out of my life and to leave my
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adult friend alone? Spank me?
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I am tired of hearing a lot of abstract arguments about why the
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child's perspective should be ignored and about how the age
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difference absolutely determines that a relationship like this will
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be oppressive no matter how the two partners feel about one another
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or treat each other. What I want to know is how the "anarchists"
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who feel this way expect to enforce such standards in a stateless
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society. Will someone please enlighten me?
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Yours in bewilderment,
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Schaun Perry
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(no city listed by request)
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SAME OLD FACES
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A-
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How are you all? I'd been wanting to write for awhile but have
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been plagued with some of the very things described in "Amnesia"
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[Anarchy #35, p.5], though forgetting isn't at all my problem, just
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hopelessness. Some of this came from seeing the insurrectionary
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fever of last spring subside into bizness as usual and even more
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galling hip bizness, so much of it, also friends falling into drug
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addictions from heroin to vodka to pot and social degeneration and
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psychopathy on the rise. Plus ozone hole 15% bigger in '91, more
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trees gone, 5 Bay Area toxic gas releases, etc., etc.
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Let's have a protest? Doesn't seem to cut it, plus it'll just be
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the same old faces, some of them anarchists who are pretty
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unanarchistic.
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And the project dwellers across the street, those with really no
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future, are doing donuts in their hotrods till 3am, testing their
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weapons, 2 shot dead in the week before I left. So let's just get
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high and fuck. But my lungs are scorched and my heart dead.
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Something's wrong with my back and it takes me 3 weeks to get rid
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of a cold.
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No, amnesia doesn't get me, collapse does.
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Never mind, I'll try to put a positive spin on things. There's a
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burgeoning squatting movement that's taken off in S.F. as well as
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Santa Cruz & San Jose. In S.F. they have several buildings occupied
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by homeless people with AIDS and anti-renters. In early December a
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sniper at the Army St. projects across the street from me tagged a
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cop but wasn't caught. Epicenter has a switchboard for info, free
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food, medix, shelter & events, TV=FESunday 12-6pm @ (415) 431-4600.
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Down in Long Beach there was an anarchist get-together that was
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pretty interesting. Over here in Providence [Rhode Island] Newspeak
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exists next to a free artspace performance place called AS220 in
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downtown. Newspeak is now providing both a space and info
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materials, books, zines, videos & cassettes that didn't exist
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before. A local activist group, Anarchist Revolutionary Movement,
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existed but then split up over the use of arms vs. changing the
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name to @ Cooperative Mov't. And anti-Japanese graffiti that I
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altered into anti-nationalist, capitalist messages still stands on
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the overpass of a very busy street from 2 years + ago!
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So life is just popping along. As a letter in the last EF! paper
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said, "expectation of things going perfectly, and disillusionment
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when they don't is a product of a TV culture used to watching
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conflict introduction, resolution in 30 minute sitcoms...." I
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myself used to watch alot. [...]
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P.K., San Francisco, CA.
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DECENTRALIST PAPERS
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Dear friends,
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I want to draw your attention to some European not-anarchist-but-
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decentralist papers. I hope you will be interested in them, and
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that you will use them in your "Alternative Media Review."
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Fourth World Review, 24 Abercorn Place, London NW8 9XP, England.
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Perspectives, Transeuropa, BM-6682, London WC1N 3XX, England.
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Third Way, POB 1243, London SW7 3PB, England.
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Alternative Green, 20 Upper Barr, Cowley Centre, Oxford OX4 3UX,
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England.
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J.T., Crechowice, Poland
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TRANSVESTITE LITERATURE?
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Dear Jason and the cool collective of Anarchy,
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I sure hope this letter finds you all in the very best of health
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and happiness these days.
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Do you folks still remember lil ol' me? I'm one of the gals in
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prison, whom you send your astounding publication to. [...]
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Do you know of anywhere I could receive free literature regarding
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transvestite transsexual lifestyle issues?
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Also I would like to know if there was any way you could print my
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letter in hopes of finding a pen pal?
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I'll write to anybody nice enough to write to me. [...]
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Well, bye for now!
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With love and in solidarity,
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John Salyers #185067
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POB 45699
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Lucasville, OH. 45699
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BLACK BLOC ARTICLE "BORDERLINE RACIST"
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Dear Anarchy,
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I am writing about the Black Bloc article in your december issue.
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As a participant in the bloc, I feel it is necessary to offer a
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different perspective as I found the article both macho and
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borderline racist. First of all, though I believe one always has
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the right to critically evaluate any organization, I felt that the
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tone of the article was bashing AIM, not offering constructive
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criticism of its methods. In fact, I got the distinct feeling that
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the author felt better equipped to organize a First Nation resis-
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tance action than AIM, a group which has done a lot more and gone
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through a lot more than 99.99% of white people have (though I am
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not assuming the author was white, but most of the bloc was). I
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question the motives of someone protesting Columbus Day who feels
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so strongly negative about the First Nation organizing group. If an
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anarchist feels strongly that there are First Nation activists
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fighting along more militant lines and that they would be more
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comfortable working with these activists, then form alliances with
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them, don't attempt to colonize the sovereigntist movement.
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Secondly, about Tommy Lawless (a friend). She did an extremely
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good job under intensely harsh circumstances. She worked her butt
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off and there were plenty of opportunities for others to become
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involved prior to the Saturday night meeting. I am rather sick of
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people sitting on their asses and then picking on hard working
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organizers after the fact. If you had problems, why didn't you say
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something? And if you can do a better job, then do it. Organized a
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bloc. Talk - Action =3D 0! Well that's it. The bloc, like any action,
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could have been improved, but picking out targets for bashing to
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avoid personal responsibility to make things better gets us
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nowhere.
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Peace, love and vegan joy,
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M@c Sm@ck Anor@k
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Victoria, British Columbia
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