Anarchism

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 17 September 2005 11:36:25

Dave (in the comments section) rightly said that the lable "anarchist" probably didn't help, so I thought I'd waffle about about anarchism, and what the media seemed to think it was, and what my experience of it was.

I think I said after I came back from Stirling that the camp was the kind of place you could leave your mobile phone under the wheels of a truck, and come back hours later and find it still there, well, the place I stayed in this week was the same - mobile phone, ipod shuffle, all left lying around, all still there when I came back. The only time I paniced that I'd lost the shuffle was when I put it in my bag instead of on the floor next to my sleeping bag. All the food is done on trust, you pay for what you have, and if you really can't pay, you don't. And everyone is so nice!

The media image of an anrachist is someone who deliberatly wants to cause trouble, who sets out to beat up police ect, and that's just not what it really is. As far as I can tell there was no one at the site who wanted to beat people up - aside from the young girl who decided to kill me two repeatedly two nights running. The other thing that doesn't fit with the media image is the meetings. EVERY descision is made by consensus desicion making - which means everyone has to agree on the action - I won't go off on a detailed explaination. The whole thing is more democratic that the 'democracy' we live in. Everyone is equal, everyone is respected - there were loads of kids there, families, students, hard core anarchists, hippies, christians, atheists, everyone together. When a job needed to be done, it was done, simple as that.

And a world run along those lines, small collectives working together, would be absolutely fantastic. I'm not sure how anarchisty that is though, I'm sure someone will tell me.

As for me, I'm anarco-something. I don't think I'm a true anarchist, and if I am I'm definatly a fluffy one. For anyone who wants more information, try the I-58 website, I'll put it up on the links, but here it is... http://www.almostfamous.co.uk/i58/