A Humble Conversation On Why You Shouldn’t Name Your Group

xxx ANews breaking edge to post this image xxx

Original title: A Humble Conversation On Why You Shouldn’t Create A Named Guerrilla Cell Formation/Banner/Acronym And Why You Should Resist Being A Part Of One

The M5M/Jane’s Revenge/CCF/ALF/ Weather Underground/SLA/BLA/FAI/IAF/NWLF/ M19CO(May19th Communist Organization)/UFF/FARC/Shining Path/AD/IRA /CCC/INLA/ George Jackson Brigade or any of the similar configurations may be interesting, and could be useful for reflection, but we should abandon labeling as being so caged with our ideas and inspirations as individuals.

I’ll begin this by saying that I respect and admire the actions of many groups(and the people in them/were a part of them) who I am about to criticize.
Simply, never stop fighting. <3

What banner can contain us? What grouping can represent any one of us? Why would we attempt to project out beyond the other anonymous actors and individuals to give nonexistent formations titles and names as a permanence instead of a temporary formation for name only? These labels help repressive forces formulate profiles and coalesce their repressive forces against a shadow/a mirage. These formations are not able to contribute to a larger conversation of experimentation, and do not contribute themselves as part of a larger conversation that could allow struggle and solidarity to be expressed in innovative, individual, or unique ways.

I don’t bring in the topic of how these formations or groups faced state repression to blame people for state repression, but to offer a critical lens to the coalescence of banners and formations in the name of attempting to resist repression.

– The Jane’s Revenge moniker has led to a lack of imagination in how to react to the attacks on bodily autonomy that met a dead-end. In another example of intensified charges, some people are now facing federal charges alleging so little as spray paint on a brick wall associating them with the popularity of a terrorist organization, and one person in an alleged molotov.

– The label of DTF/DTAF has been continuously associated with the charge of Domestic Terrorism as of recent.

– In Greece anarchist comrades convicted for a bank robbery were accused during their trials of being part of CCF (they are not and were not part of CCF) in order to bring against them intensified charges. CCF members regularly faced intensified charges and intensely repressive forces.

– The repressive campaigns against the ELF should bring to mind the negative aspects of a banner. The repressive apparatus of the state coalesced their entire forces behind finding a network of individuals behind the attacks (sadly they succeeded due to the snitch Jacob Ferguson, among others). The attacks never grew beyond attacks on specific industries, did not contribute to a larger conversation of experimentation, and could not contribute themselves as part of a larger picture of shared struggle against authority and domination or against civilization.

– The ALF does not care generally for the aim of larger structures of authority and domination specifically, which is an issue, but I can not be too critical of people who genuinely simply want to free animals, close fur farms/vivisection labs/slaughterhouses/other places of animal abuse and murder. I do however draw the line in my reasoning with the ethos of “do no harm.”

Projecting out into a named formation is an attempt to cut through and above the many other unknowable, individual, and anonymous actors by virtue of name alone, not by unique action, nor innovative targeting, ideology, the only special thing about these named groups is their self-righteousness. Instead of choosing to act with impact and propaganda of the deed, the charge of a named revolutionary group cuts off and isolates itself as unique under a defined banner and separate from all other acts. Why choose to fall in line with a banner and reproduce yourself as a mirage, a cookie cutter copy of the ghostly aberation of a formation? The choice of a communique or not, the choice of how much it says, what it says and why, and all the other attributes associated with action already leave a potential forensic profile, the spectacle of the mirage only creates more

Is the making of this ghostly mirage into reality our desire?

With Love In My Heart,
I just know it’s going to be great
– some anarchist

Originally Posted On Scenes From The Atlanta Forest
https://scenes.noblogs.org/post/2023/09/08/a-humble-conversation-on-why-...

There are 9 Comments

"Recieved Anonymously Over Email"

Of course...

Every smug bro with an email account is an expert.

How about you write your next email on SHUTTING THE FUCK UP with your backseat anarchism and telling anarchists how to properly anarchy?

Our communiques, banners, graffiti, and claims of responsibility are powerful propaganda and signals of encouragement to others. They are often the only ways anonymous cells are able to embrace from afar.

Remember, that throughout history the forces of power would imprison and execute anarchists that never had such named formations. That their persecutors could call them "anarchist" was enough.

We will proudly sign our "names" in the ashes of their society.

Long Live the Black International

I like this kinda internal criticism but it seems silly, bc when groups aren't named law enforcements name them. And if that does'nt happen everyone has some sort of label i.e. anarchist that has a long history being used as a grouping. Not using labels of groups would break down communication, make less cool symbols that make the world look brighter and be more isolating in an attempt to how the government doesn't crack down as hard. But the reality is the government will crack down as hard as it views beneficial and you loose when u start adapting how u act to be treated better by the law. So I see this critique as not very well thoguth out and very ignorant of anarchist propaganda of the deed erra history

You just rewrote EXACTLY what anon 22:37 said SO HOW ABOUT YOU CREDIT THEM, "lettuceleafer"??? FUCK!

Glad you agree.

Oh what ur against me stealing ideas? This is a very liberal professor brained comment from u.

Oh no don't plagerize everyone cool and awesome does that. All the boring fun hating professors like me love citations and coming up with our own ideas.

different anon, duh.
not the same, because writing it without the initial name calling gives it a very different feel. writing is not just content, or better, style and content are not separatable

It's all well and good to have a small crew that's not named and never speaks about what they do and everyone is just really underground about it, but by doing this you have to let the results of whatever you do speak entirely for themselves. And that is a very romantic idea. When the people see the ashes of what was once the auto zone, they may very well dance on the still warm grave of capital and let the dust cake the naked soles of their joyous feet. They may see the fires illuminating the horizon and come toward its warmth, remembering what freedom truly is as they get nearer. They may find each other wandering toward the light and ignite passions in each other just as you let your passion light the beacon that leads them away from their slumber. They may experience a perverse elation as they ponder this destruction - no, not just this destruction, but the very idea of destroying. And those liberated souls, those brave infants born again to let dangerous curiosity free, they may very well recognize what gift had been given to them that night and set off to deliver gifts of their own to others who need them.

More likely, though, they'll say "oh man did you hear the auto zone burned down?" and someone might reply "yeah they're investigating it as arson" and that will be the full and complete social impact your group will have. The local news might show grainy CCTV stills and ask if anyone has any information, and nobody does.

If you don't control your message, someone else will. And if that someone else doesn't even know what your message was to begin with they will not put in the legwork to suss it out. Something as simple as a name is the difference between "The ALF liberated all the chickens at the Tyson farm" and "a bunch of chickens got out at the Tyson farm."

"If you don't control your message, someone else will. And if that someone else doesn't even know what your message was to begin with they will not put in the legwork to suss it out."

absolutely right. the state and compliant media will say WHATEVER they want, no matter how obviously counterfactual, and a majority of people will take their word for it (if they hear about the action at all).

as someone interested in the history of armed struggle in postwar greece, the 70s and 80s were full of super high-risk bold actions that, because communiques from the groups doing them didn't reach the public, got misunderstood, covered up, ignored or attributed to completely opposite ideologies.

Nice try, FBI

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