Not long ago , at Seattle 1999 , that we , anarchists and anti-authoritarians , seemed as we constitute a new real alternative to the prevailing system .. Then came Genoa 2001 where we lost Carlo Giuliani .. Then Arab spring , occupy movement in Spain , USA , and Gezi uprising ... Those were our best days , hopes were highest ; and for the first time , since 1968 , a real libertarian alternative looked feasible , just around the corner ... Now , who can differentiate an anarchist who defends the "independent democratic state' of Ukraine and its Jewish president from anyone from the legal liberal left or even the center-left . Unfortunately : most of us are deeply and successfully , integrated into the prevailing system , which we rose to destroy two decades ago ... We are fighting now , not against the system , but on which part of the system should be defended , which exploiter should be supported , which killer should be fought for .. Even our eternal enemies : the Nazis and fascists , we are now counting how much of them existed on both sides in Ukraine and which master do they serve before deciding whom of them would be considered freedom fighters and whom must be eliminated ... Instead of fighting the system as a whole , we keep ourselves busy with minor issues : migration , defending what still we got in common spaces : what is left of our squatted buildings and our half abandoned prisoners , just to satisfy our rebellious instincts or claims ... Recently , horrible things were told and done in the name of Anarchy , that could disgrace it for a long time ... What happened that turned our tide into such an eclipse that some of us can hardly be considered a part of the legal left wing of the prevailing order .. Is it the threat of ISIS , Trump , Putin and alike , that showed us how marvelous and nice our system is ? Is it that our revolt was not a genuine one , or some hidden class interests that we are not aware of , as Marxism might indicate ? Is it the direct result of our failure to seize the moment of the high struggles everywhere or a sign of the defeat of the revolting and class forces ? We could have more theories here ... But enough with bad news and let's look at the cynical side of it , when CRIMETHINC 2014 issued a verdict upon itself , CRIMETHINC of today .. I will quote here from CRIMETHINC' , one of the most enthusiastic supporters of Ukrainian state and army , when they tried to analyze the strange and unusual situation of the Ukrainian Euromaidan revolution .... THe quote starts here : "We have heard terrifying stories from the revolution in Ukraine: anarchists participating in anti-government street-fighting behind nationalist banners, anarchist slogans and historical figures appropriated by fascists, a dystopia in which familiar movements and strategies reappear with our enemies at the helm" ..... And goes on like that : "What is happening in Ukraine and Venezuela appears to be a reactionary counterattack within the space of social movements. This may be a sign of worse things to come—we can imagine a future of rival fascisms, in which the possibility of a struggle for real liberation becomes completely invisible. Here follow our hypotheses and an English-language reading list on for those who are still catching up" ... When the time comes , CRIMETHINC decided to fight behind nationalist banners and to join the dystopia rather than go on with their difficult and much needed analysis of what went wrong ... If CRIMETHINC chose that , we have to complete that work they resigned from completing , and preparing for the worst that is about to come
Mazen Kamalmaz
Not long ago , at Seattle 1999 , that we , anarchists and anti-authoritarians , seemed as we constitute a new real alternative to the prevailing system .. Then came Genoa 2001 where we lost Carlo Giuliani .. Then Arab spring , occupy movement in Spain , USA , and Gezi uprising ... Those were our best days , hopes were highest ; and for the first time , since 1968 , a real libertarian alternative looked feasible , just around the corner
you must have been high on hopium back then, in hindsight even looking at it how you're painting over that history with a broad brush, i'd stay say it's naive to look at that as anything promising for anarchists
Now , who can differentiate an anarchist who defends the "independent democratic state' of Ukraine and its Jewish president from anyone from the legal liberal left or even the center-left .
well you see, i couldn't differentiate those other movements you just mentioned from the legal liberal left and even the center-left. what's the distinction? where's the line drawn?
and as for smearing crimethinc, i'll have you know i've always known they're anarcho-liberals, this is not a new development and we love them as they are, and don't expect more than that from them.
This may be a sign of worse things to come—we can imagine a future of rival fascisms, in which the possibility of a struggle for real liberation becomes completely invisible.
well, that time has been now for a while. isn't this whole right vs center vs left vs fascism (red, brown, black, blue, green) the thing modern states have been grappling with since their inception?
concretely, what is your complaint? that the western media cycle has predictable biases, including the anarchist news sites? sure, you see almost no coverage of other ongoing conflicts happening elsewhere
you know, I agree with more than half of this but wtf does "anarco-liberal" even mean in this context? like, what axiom are you even using?
lots of other people would say you can't be espousing insurrectionist militancy and still be "liberal", those two concepts are fundamental opposites. kind of like how anti-capitalism disqualifies someone from being a liberal, however bland their socialist politics might otherwise be.
or is everyone besides you a lib?
For your information, "Anarco-liberal" is like "Christian-nazi" .
uh, you do know that all of the leading nazis were at least nominally xtian and that none of them was ever excommunicated, right?
SIGH ... the moment you realize you put another coin in a troll vending machine...
only question is, actual halfwit jackass? or trollbot slowly becoming self aware?
Yup, anarcho-liberals ARE softened down nazis who replaced gas chambers with bureaucracy and other forms of torture!
No it’s actually anarchi-conservatives that ARE softened down versions of nazis who replaced gas chambers with mandatory minimums and broken windows laws.
No, anarcho-homeowners ARE softened down nazis who replaced anti-civ nomadic life with permanent dwellings and other forms of torture!
No, anarcho-librarians ARE softened down nazis who replaced Foucault masterpieces with William Gillis' Star Wars essays and other forms of torture!
No, crypto anarchist catholic priests are softened down Viking beserkers who resemble nazi SS Storm troopers.
No, ego-egregores ARE softened down nazis who replaced chopping wood with spooky aggregate gathering mind clairvoyant substances and other forms of torture!
Protestants don't excommunicate and the Pope did denounce fascism as a heresy (statolatry) very early on.
Hey Mazen. Most likely we don't know each other, but I'm currently writing a primer for a collective work on the complex topic of normalization and recuperation of cultures/movements of opposition, and that is touching the subject here at the right place, or at least asking similar questions. To spoil the main tension I wanna bring, basically its about the apparent collapse or recession of countercultures in the West, and the prevailing appeal of the normative.
Write if interested at fauvenoir@riseup.net and we'll discuss a bit the themes and concepts, and then participants can do their own thing.
“Jewish president”?
Does Zelenskyy's being Jewish trigger you, brah?
Me or the OP?
Always you, brah.
Mazeltov!
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