Category: A is for Anarchy

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STILL NOT LOVING THE POLICE

As some of you who have followed this page for a while now, you’ll know our views on cops, and the institution of the police, we hate them. In this A is for Anarchy, we’re going to explain why that is, and why the cops are not your friends.

The main reason for our hatred of cops is that they exist solely to maintain the status quo, which in today’s capitalist society means upholding the systems of oppression that affect anyone not of the ruling classes. The Police willingly choose to uphold unjust laws, evicting people from their homes, stealing people’s possessions simply because they’re sleeping on the streets, criminalising sx-wrkers for simply making a living, locking people up for stealing food to live, and yet the large corporations who exploit humans, animals, and the planet go unchallenged, ask yourself, why do you think this is? Why can a CEO be praised for stealing millions of pounds yet someone stealing an overpriced vegan wrap is criminal filth in the eyes of the law?

Some of you may ask “but aren’t the police just people like us, shouldn’t we try to get them on our side?” or “I’ve never had a bad experience with the police” (I’m looking at you Extinction Rebellion). Whilst I guess cops are technically people, they are not like us. Do you really trust someone who’s morals can be bought for the right price? If you’ve never had a bad experience with the police, you’re very likely to be privileged, submissive, or both. The reality is accepting the police into any movement not only alienates communities that face significantly more police oppression, it also puts every activist in that movement at risk. The people who sign up to be cops choose to base their livelihoods around protecting the status quo, they know exactly what they’re signing up for and what they will be expected to do as an arm of the State. 

Now you may be wondering what we can do to challenge policing in our local area, the easiest way to do so is to start a community “CopWatch” (as long as it is safe for you to do so). What this involves is recording how cops interact with the community, either by writing it down or taking video evidence. Providing those under arrest with information about their rights is also another good way to challenge the abuses by cops, again, only if it is safe for you to do so. 

For information on your rights (with a focus on protests but a good starter in general) check out https://greenandblackcross.org/action/know-your-rights/ and https://network23.org/freebeagles/

For what to do during an immigration raid/immigration check (fuck “immigration enforcement” too) check out https://network23.org/antiraids/immigration-checks-know-your-rights/

Both of the above sites provide “bust cards” free to print, as well as other pdf’s and zines about your rights, and what cops can and can’t do

For more information about policing in general, and alternatives to cops (although with a slight USA centred spin) check out the following:
https://crimethinc.com/podcasts/the-ex-worker/episodes/5

https://crimethinc.com/podcasts/the-ex-worker/episodes/6

https://crimethinc.com/2011/10/25/seven-myths-about-the-police

https://crimethinc.com/2017/07/10/dear-citizens-this-is-your-police-in-praise-of-the-police-free-zone-in-hamburg

(if you haven’t already, go read everything you can by Crimethinc. as well as listening to their podcasts)

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WHAT IS A BLACK BLOC?

We’ve all seen the headlines
“100s of black clad anarchists riot through downtown”
“black bloc smash Starbucks windows”

But what is the black bloc, and why is it used?
The black bloc is often seen as a gang or group by the media and the right wing, yet this is not the case at all, the black bloc is simply a tactic used to protect the identity of protestors by giving a uniform appearance across all members of the protestors. This allows protestors to sabotage infrastructure, protect communities, prevent police incursions into established autonomous zones, and more, all whilst maintaining their anonymity.

The black bloc is not a new tactic, having originated in West Germany in the 1970’s and 1980’s prior to the fall of the Berlin wall. During the economic recession occurring at this time, as well as massive amounts of people leaving the cities for the suburbs, many areas of the inner city were left abandoned and were squatted, providing people with free housing.

Within these squatter communities, radical political ideas began to emerge, which caused clashes with police and other government agencies to occur. Due to the violence from the police, protestors donned motorcycle helmets, steel-toed boots, and other protective clothing along with ski-masks to enable them to continue protesting through the violence from police and avoid being targeted for arrest.

Is the black bloc tactic always useful and recommended? Not necessarily, as sometimes it has the opposite effect, such as being the only person in black bloc meaning you stand out and are more likely to be the target of police violence and arrest.

For more information on the black bloc (as well as an insight into the 2012 Montreal student demonstrations that heavily used the black bloc tactic) check out https://sub.media/video/a-history-of-the-black-bloc/

For a history around the world of black bloc tactics, check out “Who’s Afraid of the Black Blocs: Anarchy in Action Around the World” by Francis Dupuis-Deri

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WHO ARE THE ANARCHISTS

In our first A is for Anarchy, we would like to discuss what Anarchism is, and who are the Anarchists.
 
Anarchism is a school of political thought that rests on one underpinning idea that runs through all forms of anarchism (except “anarcho”capitalists, but they aint anarchists so fuck them). That idea is the opposition to all forms of oppressive power, from capitalism and patriarchy, to the state itself, and some anarchist schools of thought extend this through to civilisation as we know it, and to the idea that each person is free to be them, so long as their freedom does not infringe on the health, wellbeing, or life of another, and the concept of mutual aid (which will be covered in the next article).
 
The Anarchists are those who believe this wild idea that everyone is free to associate with who they want, in whatever way they want, and that oppressive power structures are a bad thing. Strange, I know.
 
Democracy has failed, you cannot simply vote away these oppressive structures, the politicians and corporations grow rich on them, cis-men grow more powerful on them, the cops protect them without question, so what is left? What can we, the anarchists on the street do? The only option left is direct action (keep an eye out for article 3), which if you have been following this page for any amount of time, you may have seen a few examples.
 
If you are ready to take action against this oppression, if you already believe that the state/capitalism/cops/your boss don’t have your best interest at heart, then guess what? You’re already one of us.
 
For Further reading/watching, check out https://crimethinc.com/tce/
 
And please, keep an eye out for the next piece
 
SEE YOU IN THE NEXT RIOT!
Posted on

WHO ARE THE ANARCHISTS

In our first A is for Anarchy, we would like to discuss what Anarchism is, and who are the Anarchists.
 
Anarchism is a school of political thought that rests on one underpinning idea that runs through all forms of anarchism (except “anarcho”capitalists, but they aint anarchists so fuck them). That idea is the opposition to all forms of oppressive power, from capitalism and patriarchy, to the state itself, and some anarchist schools of thought extend this through to civilisation as we know it, and to the idea that each person is free to be them, so long as their freedom does not infringe on the health, wellbeing, or life of another, and the concept of mutual aid (which will be covered in the next article).
 
The Anarchists are those who believe this wild idea that everyone is free to associate with who they want, in whatever way they want, and that oppressive power structures are a bad thing. Strange, I know.
 
Democracy has failed, you cannot simply vote away these oppressive structures, the politicians and corporations grow rich on them, cis-men grow more powerful on them, the cops protect them without question, so what is left? What can we, the anarchists on the street do? The only option left is direct action (keep an eye out for article 3), which if you have been following this page for any amount of time, you may have seen a few examples.
 
If you are ready to take action against this oppression, if you already believe that the state/capitalism/cops/your boss don’t have your best interest at heart, then guess what? You’re already one of us.
 
For Further reading/watching, check out https://crimethinc.com/tce/
 
And please, keep an eye out for the next piece
 
SEE YOU IN THE NEXT RIOT!
Posted on

WHO ARE THE ANARCHISTS

In our first A is for Anarchy, we would like to discuss what Anarchism is, and who are the Anarchists.
 
Anarchism is a school of political thought that rests on one underpinning idea that runs through all forms of anarchism (except “anarcho”capitalists, but they aint anarchists so fuck them). That idea is the opposition to all forms of oppressive power, from capitalism and patriarchy, to the state itself, and some anarchist schools of thought extend this through to civilisation as we know it, and to the idea that each person is free to be them, so long as their freedom does not infringe on the health, wellbeing, or life of another, and the concept of mutual aid (which will be covered in the next article).
 
The Anarchists are those who believe this wild idea that everyone is free to associate with who they want, in whatever way they want, and that oppressive power structures are a bad thing. Strange, I know.
 
Democracy has failed, you cannot simply vote away these oppressive structures, the politicians and corporations grow rich on them, cis-men grow more powerful on them, the cops protect them without question, so what is left? What can we, the anarchists on the street do? The only option left is direct action (keep an eye out for article 3), which if you have been following this page for any amount of time, you may have seen a few examples.
 
If you are ready to take action against this oppression, if you already believe that the state/capitalism/cops/your boss don’t have your best interest at heart, then guess what? You’re already one of us.
 
For Further reading/watching, check out https://crimethinc.com/tce/
 
And please, keep an eye out for the next piece
 
SEE YOU IN THE NEXT RIOT!