by thecollective Jan 28, 2024

Anarchist 101 FAQs are comprised of arguments for novices that delay the inevitable onset of disillusionment with untenable aspects and variants of the beautiful idea in the face of its naive opposition.

People who want radical change are often considered naive by those who have never given things much thought, as well as those who know better.

A naive projection is one which assumes ‘no change’. While a naive assumption, hence the name, it’s often useful due to its comparable accuracy relative to more complex causal models and forecasting methods.

It would be naive to assume that some anarchists will remain naive indefinitely, yet it’s often a safe bet.

Other anarchists cope with their disillusionment by practicing a re-enchantment that puts them right back where they started.

N00bs and new energy are said to be needed in the face of so many older anarchists departing in droves, while Eternal September is said to have devastating effects on anarchist projects and spaces.

How is it to be, and to no longer be, naive as an anarchist?

Listen to the conversation here!

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Comments

anon (not verified) Sun, 01/28/2024 - 13:52

...if you actually believe that any of this was ever about anything other than just getting invited to the moist post-bookfair orgy.

"insurrection" this, "the rev" that... no.

Its about angling to fit in with the cool kids and attracting as many mates as possible. Always has been.

All else is error.

anon (not verified) Mon, 01/29/2024 - 10:39

"The Rev" is such an old fashioned seething patriarchal methodology that these days, in the 21st century, it has come to be regarded as a glorified serial killer's hobby, and a tad passé for the critical thinking anarchist of a pragmatic and stoic disposition.

lumpy (not verified) Mon, 01/29/2024 - 09:29

another way to view this is: what have we done to look out for and support new folks, even tho they're often annoying, instead of just letting them fall in to the hands of the pigs and grifters

anon (not verified) Mon, 01/29/2024 - 09:59

another way to view this is: even after you're old and tired, you still need some occasional reassuring arguments and validation that the 101 FAQ demagoguery can no longer provide, and if you can't sustain your own anarchy in the face of disillusionment, how can you even support newcomers if all your are is jaded and cynical

anon (not verified) Mon, 01/29/2024 - 01:13

The USA in particular suffers from specific types of noobs and grifters. Generally though yes we are fucked. You can be sure when a report back about shitting on a playground gets posted here there's serious systemic issues. And I mean both payed attention to and the act itself.

It's not just an anarchist problem though.

anon (not verified) Mon, 01/29/2024 - 03:29

Normies in many parts of the Western world let their filthy dogs poo over perfectly nice natural areas... so how is pooing on a playground such a problem? Tho I agree that posting a communique about it just reveals we're in Idiocracy dimension.

anon (not verified) Tue, 01/30/2024 - 16:25

poop is not a problem. everybody poops. visit a trailhead/park on a snowy day and see for yourself. it's more the "is poop all we got?" factor. how about some zones where sheriff dare not drive for fear of bodily disassembly? how about some actual fucking dual power, which is either in tha shadows or in nothingness, bc it sure as fuck isn't where it touches normies, except in the most basic single-household "mutual aid" for one meal a week for 100 belly...

anon (not verified) Mon, 01/29/2024 - 08:49

it is naive to be an anarchist, now anarch, that's got potential.

anon (not verified) Mon, 01/29/2024 - 09:47

To be naive as an anarchist is to think you know what's wrong with the world, and how to fix it.
To no longer be naive is to know what's wrong with yourself, and to be grateful that your influence on the world is negligible.
But at the same time, everyone's little grain of sand makes everything worse.

Nettle Mon, 01/29/2024 - 10:09

when studying Karate i heard this about belt colors: at first, in spring when the new students begin practice, the grass is green and the belts are white. after practicing for a while, the grass has been worn down and the belts are green. then, after much more practice, the field is just dirt, no more green grass in the summer heat, and the belts are brown. after much more practice brown belts are so brown they are almost black. to mark this, the sensei may hand the student a new black belt and say "now you are ready to begin to really study."

after much more practice, after tying and untying the black belt many many times, the color wears thin and the belt becomes white. time again to start to study for real this time.

anon (not verified) Mon, 01/29/2024 - 18:23

It is what it is. The belief that anarchy is preferable to the current state of things has got to be seen, by non-anarchists, as the most naive political position one could take. Almost to the point that they can't believe that someone who expresses the desire for anarchy is being genuine. "Seriously? No government? Read Lord of the Flies!" It's the stuff of middle-school bathroom walls.

To an anarchist, though, the real naivety is in believing that the current state of things are inevitable, immanent. Inescapable.

David Foster Wallace wrote:

"Real rebels, as far as I can see, risk things. Risk disapproval. The old postmodern insurgents risked the gasp and squeal: shock, disgust, outrage, censorship, accusations of socialism, anarchism, nihilism. The new rebels might be the ones willing to risk the yawn, the rolled eyes, the cool smile, the nudged ribs, the parody of gifted ironists, the "How banal." Accusations of sentimentality, melodrama. Credulity. Willingness to be suckered by a world of lurkers and starers who fear gaze and ridicule above imprisonment without law."

We've taken a position that, to the rest of the world, is impossible. "Be realistic, demand the..."
Accusing someone of being an "anarchist" is to erase them from the political world. Even the term "terrorist" is a tactical accusation, a question of means, that delegitimizes any desired ends. Saying someone is an "anarchist" is akin to calling them a child. Embrace it.

anon (not verified) Tue, 01/30/2024 - 09:02

anarchists are naive to think they will make a dent in anything larger than their directly experienced lives and those they are in relation to, with maybe a few very small ripples. when they think larger than that, they quickly engage in some kind of specific or generalized reform or authoritarian action, but usually they just perform ritualistic and tired "acts" of resistance.

anon (not verified) Tue, 01/30/2024 - 14:18

Any anarchist who voluntarily reduces their carbon footprint therefore disproves your assumptions because their actions become creative and not reformist. Choose words more carefully next time.

anon (not verified) Tue, 01/30/2024 - 16:35

i chose the exact words i wanted, so fuck off (yes those words too).
and "reducing your carbon footprint" really? do you think that will make a shit of difference at this point if some do-gooder spends their time "creatively" counting the carbon footprint. i mean, if i calculated mine it would probably be relatively light, but not for the reasons you are suggesting, only because living simply is part of my life-way inherently, not "to save the world". naivety.....it runs so fucking deep.

anon (not verified) Tue, 01/30/2024 - 20:49

"if i calculated mine it would probably be relatively light, but not for the reasons you are suggesting" Yeah it's lighter because bongfarts float above the carbon dioxide level.

anon (not verified) Tue, 01/30/2024 - 15:30

US anarchists start from a position of extreme pretentious cynicism, individualism, and "nihilism," so that they don't appear cringe or risk being wrong about something

If they are still active 5 years later, they become more serious and aspirational

After two years of that, when their affinity group collapses due to sexual tension, they either revert to infantile politics, refusing to develop or change ever again, or advance to real free thinking and creative action unmoored by subcultural norms and cliches

anon (not verified) Tue, 01/30/2024 - 16:15

the group collapses due to sexual...tension???
that's one hell of a euphemism for something else, or i don't get what you're saying.

plus you're the same dude complaining about not getting invited to orgies above

L & ratio

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