SUPPORT QUEER ANARCHY.

Anarchy means freedom for everyone, not just the people you approve of, you fucking fascist. ANTI-CO, if you are reading this, unfollow me NOW.

This is a response paper I wrote for my Existentialism class. The link is to Beauvoir's work, below is my response.

I will be responding to Beauvoir’s publication which lays out the idea that everyone has access to freedom in its purest sense, but not everyone properly makes use of it. There are children, who exist in a state of pseudo-freedom; acting freely under the values which they take to be “ready-made” by the adults that they view as supreme decision-makers.  There are sub-men who simply assume they are not free and serious men who eliminate their freedom much like a child by following a set of values that they take as absolutes. There are nihilists who have failed at obtaining their freedom and decided that inaction is the best course, and then there are adventurers and passionate men, complete opposites of each other. The adventurers move through life taking action at every turn, but with no regard for others, not caring about their goal; the passionate focus on their goal so intensely that they shut out others and disregard the journey to the goal. Those who are truly free are half adventurer, half passionate. They have goals, and take a long, enlightening journey to reach them, interacting with others with compassion and concern along the way.

                       Beauvoir answers questions that I have recently been asking myself in a very straightforward manner. “How did my childhood affect me? As an anarchist, how do I achieve the freedom I desire?”  I often reflect on the events of my childhood and try to relate them to certain traits in my personality and decisions nowadays. “The unfortunate choices which most men make can only be explained by the fact that they have taken place on the basis of childhood,” says Beauvoir in her opening paragraph. While I don’t have to follow the ideas of some dead author, certainly not if I agree with her on the importance of freedom, it is always nice when someone with an air of authority agrees with you. Childhood is a time when we are thrust into this world that we had no say in the creation of, but many people simply accept that world and assimilate themselves into it. I want to have a say in the shape of the world, not just accept the course we are running down. I think Beauvoir is spot-on in her idea that true freedom requires concern for the freedom of others along with passion and adventure. My biggest goal in life is to travel around the world cheaply, helping people with my knowledge and skills. It seems this would fit Beauvoir’s definition of the truly free because I would be pursuing my goal, taking risks and action, and showing concern for my fellow man all at the same time.

                       The ideas laid out in Beauvoir’s work are still incredibly important nearly 70 years later. We have so many people around the world, especially in the Middle East, fighting for their freedom right now. The politically minded, the revolutionaries, anarchists, and communists, are always calling for people to “wake up.” What they mean is “realize that you have this freedom and use it.” Too many people are sub-men or serious men and they allow the state to exist and therefore oppress those who are free. Even nihilists, adventurers, and the passionate would be better, closer to true freedom. Nihilists have a disregard for the established system much like anarchists, and adventurers and the passionate provide excellent contributions to the world through their discoveries and creations.

                       As much as I agree with her, I disagree with Beauvoir’s use of the term “anarchy” in her 20th paragraph. “By following a strict injunction to commit disorder and anarchy, one achieved the abolition of all behavior, and therefore of all ends and of oneself. “ She means that if one’s only goal is to destroy any sort of established peace, to constantly create chaos, then there is no way to ever achieve a goal after that. Anarchy however, is not chaos. The anarchist logo, a capital “A” inscribed in a capital “O,” comes from a quote by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, 19th century philosopher and politician. “Anarchy is the mother of order.” Anarchists reject an established hierarchy and anything other than autonomy or the consensual following of someone else’s authority and promote a “system” (I hesitate to use that word because of implications of a hierarchy or state) of peaceful collaboration. There is a fairly long discussion on the Wiktionary definition of “anarchist” about this, which I have contributed to.

                       Overall, I like Beauvoir’s piece. We share an almost identical point of view on the definition of true freedom. I would definitely recommend, and will probably share this work with others. It is clear and concise enough that you don’t have to be a philosophy student to understand it. I would read more by Beauvoir, as she is an excellent author and philosopher.

Yo!

So I've been reading some stuff by Beauvoir and it got me thinking about the themes I've been seeing in anarchist culture lately. Its all about revolution, ACAB, bringing down the bourgeois, etc, as per the norm, but a lot of it seems downright hostile. Yes, we need to destroy the system. Yes, most cops are fucking assholes. Yes, the division of wealth and the amount of control the top few percent have is fucking sickening. However, let's try to keep in mind the ultimate goal of anarchy, or at least the way I see it, it is. Peaceful autonomy. Comrades helping out comrades, coexisting peacefully, free to create and share and build a better world without the oppression of the state. Sure, a violent revolution is probably what it will take to achieve this, but when you talk about establishing a militia to defend "the revolution," when you talk about killing any and all cops without knowing anything about them, when you say we should burn down the homes of the wealthy with them inside, then you're not talking anarchy anymore. You've turned the means to the end into an ending itself, creating a revolutionary dogma to get lost in. Two of the people who have meant a fuck-ton to me in life, who I have seen impact the community in an incredibly positive way were a cop and a soldier. Do they deserve to die simply because of their chosen profession? Who made you or me the judge and hangman anyway? Anarchy isn't about destroying and hating anybody who is better off than you. There will be people better off than you regardless of whether we have a state or not, that's just how the world works. The way I see it, anarchy is going to minimize the amount that someone down in the dumps suffers compared to those who are doing well because the people will be instilled with the ideals to help their fellow man. Those who are fortunate enough to have accumulated material wealth through scavenging, inventing, farming, craftsmanship, selling goods, etc, will not hoard it in excess, but freely share it with the people around them. The idea of private property will be destroyed. If something can be put to use, it will. Instead of a huge office building sitting half-empty, the homeless will be able to move into parts of it, sharing the space. Instead of keeping a full bag of flour in your cupboard while your neighbor scrounges to buy some, they will just ask you and, hey, you're not baking anything, so they're free to use it. No, I'm not saying you have to give up your computer and shoes to the first person who asks for them, but don't be petty about what you claim as personal property. PERSONAL property is for the sake of regular use by the owner, not PRIVATE for the sake of keeping others out. Anarchy is about the autonomy to pursue your interests without the state telling you how to go about it. Anarchy is about sharing with everyone. In order to freely share, anarchy is also about accepting others, regardless of faith, race, color, gender, sexual orientation, age, ability, etc. Anarchy is about respecting the ideas and requests of others. Anarchy is not about killing cops and burning down fancy buildings. That's just part of the revolution that will facilitate anarchy. Don't fucking forget it. One last note, the ideas I've expressed here are just that, ideas. I'm not laying down a set of rules, I'm just making some points that I believe to be correct/ important. Most of all, anarchy is about logical, utilitarian, freedom. I'm not saying my ideas are always meant to be followed %100 exact every time. That would make them dogma just as much as the ideas I mentioned about revolution. I suppose in conclusion, what I'm really trying to say is use your fucking head and keep peace and freedom in mind.

Anarchy para todos!!!

Original photomanip.

People should not be afraid of their governments.

Governments should be afraid of their people.