Memoirs of Cowardly Anarchists

Pondering this question reminds me of the phrase that prefaces some editions of "On the poverty of student life":

"To make shame more shameful still by making it public."

I laughed aloud at the headline.

But seriously, cowardly seems not exactly right here. I don't see it as cowardly to write, run a press or an infoshop, or materially support anarchist endeavors, rather than do spectacular action. Each mode has its place and use. Badass can mean a lot of things.

On the other hand, I also see no need to make anarchy more relatable, which to me sounds like more palatable.

Bro, coming from a U.S anarchists all U.S anarchists are cowards

this is hilarious, feels like a strange desire to retreat even further in to spectacle? which is literally impossible btw, we reached peak spectacle a long time ago.

now that we're too cynical for a classic protagonist, give us stories about all the background characters instead!

is even bartleby the scrivener too heroic? maybe a detailed account of the daydreams of the person who sat next to him on the bus one time?

day after day, they ate breakfast and went to their shitty job, never quite able to articulate why the world felt like a flat grey infinity of pointlessness. maybe if they read a book about somebody with less anxiety? but they never did. they just went to work anxiously or sat at home, also anxiously. they were unaware of an alternative.

do I even need to "valorize will"?! everything besides autonomic brain function requires valor now?!

was kind of expecting (dare i say, hoping?) that this post would contain some sort of memoir about a scaredy cat anarchist. instead its just idle wishing for such memoirs to exist, haha

it takes a lot of bravery to be a coward.. flinch on, buddy, flinch on.

aren't those taking risks dealing with enough (like, ya know, possible imprisonment) that they don't have to also worry about whether or not their anarchism properly accommodates cowardice? this seems like a "you problem," cowardly author.

Maybe not memoirs, but there are plenty of biographies of academics and activists, anarchist and not, who are not recorded ever having done anything "daring;" particularly in the United States, as others have noted, where throwing paint on something is sometimes misconstrued as an attack in the present setting. Look at two of our most famous contemporary "anarchists," Murray Bookchin and Noam Chomsky.

There are also nameless rank and file types who live peaceably and die for nothing, and nameless rank and file types who die in uprisings and broad repression. Think of all those who died fighting colonization of their lands and people, or Nazi occupation, who never had the chance to write a memoir.

We sometimes remember those that did something unique or outstanding, or even foolish, for very obvious reasons; and as you note, they make for more interesting stories. Would you rather inspire people to be something more than they already are, or encourage them to stay the same -- neither growing nor changing?

Isn't being "willful" a prerequisite to living your life, too? Whatever path you choose, spectacular or dull (or somewhere in between, most likely oscillating between the two), if you've chose anarchism you've chosen to be in opposition to this society; to accept some sort of outsider status.

I'm kind of dumbfounded by this request. You could go be a hermit, an anarchist monk, or of some other heretical sect if you wanted to hide (and by the way, acknowledging lineage predates organized religion). But we're still anarchists in so much as what we do; right down to how we navigate our relationships with others.

While its true that plenty of safer anarchists are well remembered (maybe more than the full time outlaws) I too would enjoy reading more of the more anonymous anarchist lives, from any and every time. Some would be more daring than others (those perhaps better left for the deathbed) but whether risk takers, helper outers or theorists the main draw for stories that get told seems to be time spent in the headlines, and I agree with and appreciate the author for expressing desire to hear about lives that never saw the limelight.

I read a lot of memoirs (they may be my favorite genre), but I often wonder, who bothers to write one? It feels like many who do must be fairly self-absorbed. The act of writing a book-length text can be asking a lot of people to begin with (that they would give you that much attention). Writing a book-length text about oneself seems even more so. Memoirs--I love em, I hate em!