Post 3245231 by Wolf480pl@niu.moe
(DIR) More posts by Wolf480pl@niu.moe
(DIR) Post #3245221 by socalledunitedstates@sunbeam.city
2019-01-22T02:18:43Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Ayn Rand is obviously a fuck, but honestly "The question isn't who will let me, but who will stop me" is a great summation of the anti-authoritarian mindsetIt's too bad right-libertarians like her aren't actually anti-authoritarian ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
(DIR) Post #3245222 by socalledunitedstates@sunbeam.city
2019-01-22T02:22:28Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Like it should come as a hint when the answer to "who will stop me" is "nobody, everyone's actually fine with this, I don't have to worry about it" that you're not actually rebelling against any authority. Right-libertarians dream of starting successful businesses and dodging taxes, which people do, all the timeThey're not the ones taking illegal direct action to get what they want, or starting illicit businesses - hell, they're not even the ones starting secret independent societies in the wilderness the way Atlas Shrugged would have you believe. Real anarchists are doing all those things, while right-libs run for government
(DIR) Post #3245223 by socalledunitedstates@sunbeam.city
2019-01-22T02:28:58Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
That's because the right-libertarian mindset isn't about freedom FROM control, it's about freedom TO control. They've managed to contort anti-authoritarian messaging to promote a more authoritarian society, which would be impressive if it wasn't so shittyTheir problem with society is that it's too democratic, not too authoritarian. That people who don't "deserve" authority conceptually have some means to have the slightest say in how their lives are runAnd that's why ancaps aren't anarchists, and why I'm officially expropriating that Ayn Rand quote for the anti-authoritarian left thanks
(DIR) Post #3245224 by socalledunitedstates@sunbeam.city
2019-01-22T02:29:06Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
These last 2 replies weren't intended I guess that thought just ignited some passion in me, thanks for joining me on this ride comrades
(DIR) Post #3245225 by socalledunitedstates@sunbeam.city
2019-01-22T02:31:21Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
"The question isn't who will let me, but who will stop me" -Emma Goldman, is the one who said that, actually, surprise
(DIR) Post #3245226 by socalledunitedstates@sunbeam.city
2019-01-22T02:55:19Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
But anyway, when you look at it from an actual anarchist perspective, that concept is so freeing and so all-encompassing while remaining so subtle. This culture has forced us to constantly think in terms of permission and red tape as a means of control, but that's not actually how society is runI remember I saw an anarchist on tumblr encourage filling potholes as direct action, and someone replied "lol - is that something people can just do?" That's that authoritarian mindset: who will let you just fill a pothole? Nobody, there are strict rules for that, you can't JUST DO thatBut who will stop you? You think anyone in the neighborhood's going to call the cops on you for doing them a favor? Hell no, go grab some asphalt patch and just do it
(DIR) Post #3245227 by ox@sunbeam.city
2019-01-22T02:59:37Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@socalledunitedstates nobody will stop you if you’re wearing a safety vest
(DIR) Post #3245228 by socalledunitedstates@sunbeam.city
2019-01-22T03:03:34Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@ox Honestly. People have this idea in their minds that everyone but them is constantly on the lookout for any inconsistencies and trying to catch evildoers, Sherlock Holmes-style, but the truth is no one caresEspecially minimum-wage retail and service workers! Nobody's watching you while you shop or walk into a movie theater! They're too busy hating their bosses and trying to find a blind spot to check their phones! Just steal stuff, it's fun and easy!
(DIR) Post #3245229 by Shamar@mastodon.social
2019-01-22T03:53:51Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@socalledunitedstates @ox > Just steal stuff, it's fun and easy!Great write up, but this summaries well why I left #anarchism more then two decades ago.As a dynamic system it scales even less than #democracy.Let me do an example.While I don't think private property is a value, I wouldn't steal something for fun because it would hurt somebody else which is bound to capitalism.To me it's quite like suggesting to rape because "it's fun an easy". Doesn't matter!1/
(DIR) Post #3245230 by Shamar@mastodon.social
2019-01-22T04:02:11Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@socalledunitedstates @ox Filling potholes was the kind of actions I used to take as an anarchist myself: I was careful to violate the letter of laws and rules without violating their shared wisdom (because not all laws are equally bad).But since I realize most anarchists got fun from violating the rules because rules exist, I understood that they could never live in a world without them.This doesn't justify authoritarianism, but we need new ideas, new practices.
(DIR) Post #3245231 by Wolf480pl@niu.moe
2019-01-22T09:18:29Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Shamar >[gets] fun from violating the rules because rules existsounds like a hacker :P
(DIR) Post #3246285 by Shamar@mastodon.social
2019-01-22T10:03:50Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Wolf480pl Not much.Hackers follow their curiosity despite rules, not because of them.Programming in particular teach people what constraints and conventions are: tools.Depending on the goal and the scale of what you want to create, you move from Assembly to C, from Lua to Rust, from Haskell to JavaScript^W WASM^W Idris and so on...I don’t dubt that Anarchy can work for a specific set of people, I just don't think it scales.
(DIR) Post #3246351 by Wolf480pl@niu.moe
2019-01-22T10:06:58Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Shamar Well... maybe I confused "breaking the rules is fun" with "proving someone wrong is fun" or "doing the impossible is fun".
(DIR) Post #3255705 by piponfishing@sunbeam.city
2019-01-22T11:14:49Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@socalledunitedstates Sidenote it's ok to be careful if you have to deal with racism where you live, and no its not necessarily that safe to pick up whatever and fill a pothole without some neighbor calling the cops, and the cops making a big deal out of it. I wouldn't feel safe doing it where I live.
(DIR) Post #3255706 by socalledunitedstates@sunbeam.city
2019-01-22T12:47:49Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@piponfishing Right, sorry. There was a lens of privilege to that that I neglected to acknowledge
(DIR) Post #3255707 by planty@sunbeam.city
2019-01-22T14:53:49Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@socalledunitedstates @piponfishing Incidentally, that's why so much of anarchist talk reads as White Privilege, esp in an American context. Only white people can be flippant about the potential of the cops being called when Black and Native American people are still dying on the streets, in the jails, in the prisons just for existing, let alone breaking arbitrarily enforced laws.
(DIR) Post #3255708 by socalledunitedstates@sunbeam.city
2019-01-22T15:04:46Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@planty @piponfishing For sure, and I try to recognize that fact whenever I talk about stuff like this. But I don't think that should stop white people from (thoughtfully)utilizing that privilege to attack the system causing those injustices - simply ignoring it when it could be useful won't make it magically go away
(DIR) Post #3255709 by socalledunitedstates@sunbeam.city
2019-01-22T15:06:35Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@planty @piponfishing That said, I think @queeranarchism was the one who said that it's doubly important for marginalized people to learn and practice the relevant skills for getting away with crimes, because they're the ones with less of a choice. But other than boosting that voice I'm going to leave my white opinion out of that discussion
(DIR) Post #3255710 by queeranarchism@anarchism.space
2019-01-22T15:50:34Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@socalledunitedstates @planty @piponfishing I did say that, but yeah, very specifically in the context of learning to break the law and get away with it. If the answer to 'who will call the cops on you?' is 'most white people even if you're not doing anything wrong', then it's extra important to learn to do whatever you need to do to survive and whatever you want to do to change the world without being spotted.
(DIR) Post #3256081 by queeranarchism@anarchism.space
2019-01-22T16:02:02Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@socalledunitedstates @planty @piponfishing & yeah utilizing privilege is better than ignoring it. If cops are shoving protestors and privileged people can put their bodies in front.If someone is good at shoplifting because no one follows them, and they steal stuff for friends of color. If someone needs to stand up in an airplane to prevent a deportation. etc.That said, I am wary of 'privileged people SHOULD take this risk' dogmas that ignores individual vulnerabilities & mental health.