comments on the anarchist bloc on mayday
comments on the anarchist bloc at chicago mayday actions
The anarchist bloc was invited to join the labor unions in the front of the May 1st march. They should have just showed up there, since that's the only sensible place for them. Remember the events that led up to International Workers Day? Remember the alliances anarchists have had with the working class movement around the globe for over a century? They didn't need to be invited, since it was assumed they would be there. But even when they were invited, they declined the welcoming gesture, thus making themselves irrelevant. The fact that they were in Chicago when they decided not to march in an appropriate position made them look even more ridiculous. Why bring red and black flags, or bucket drums, or anything if they're not joining with workers' associations? What does solidarity mean? It obviously meant nothing to the anarchist bloc.
I thought we were all on the same page about the May 1st rally. Don't do anything illegal or violent since there was too much danger of inadvertantly drawing "illegal aliens" into entanglements with the System. There was also a danger that the bourgeois press could focus on confrontation tactics as a way of detracting public attention away from the positive message that this new rebellious mass movement is putting out. Anything that provoked the police would backfire on us, be divisive, alienate us from our allies, help the global ruling class to further obstruct the industrial working class from advancing a socialist revolution, etc.
I marched with the IWW, but when they left Grant Park to go over to the 4:30 labor rally, I told them I'd meet up with them over there. I walked with the anarchists to the Haymarket statue. Some of the IWW members are anarchists though our primary function is to promote industrial unionism, not anarcho-syndicalism. If the anarchists had formed affinity groups, people probably would not have been climbing on the statue. Or even if they had, the tension created by such folly would have been reduced much faster. But if you have an undifferentiated mass of anarchists marching together in an unorganized manner, it's very easy for false collective consciousness to develop. A few anti-social, self-destructive people can easily take control of a disorganized situation, and manipulate people to further their agenda of compulsive disruption, without any accountability. What could motivate someone to climb up on a statue, given the circumstances we were faced with in that time/space? A compulsion to do something that was counter-revolutionary? Poor impulse control? An inability to stop reacting to symptoms, and dig deeper to find the root causes of conflicts? This is all idle speculation, and I don't have a clue why these people would have acted in such a reactionary way. I'm sure they weren't unercover police agents, because I've got a sixth sense about that stuff. But they obviously had a low level of class consciousness.
Climbing on a statue in that particular situation was an empty gesture that put undocumented workers at risk, and alienated IWW members from other labor union organizers, because they associated us with the anarchists. When the anarchists marched into the labor rally it was appreciated as a gesture of solidarity. But when they rudely disrupted the rally, the good will was negated. If we can't even be polite with each other, how will we work together for a common cause?
If you are not involved in struggling for workers' control at the job site (field, mine, mill, office, factory, etc), or community control in working class neighborhoods, then your involvement in mass protest actions are merely symbolic. If you maintain a militant stance in the abstract, you're left with empty masculist (machismo) posturing. If you don't have a philosophical, historical, or spiritual sense of what it means to be a council communist, anti-state communist, anarchist, nihilist, situationist, or whatever, then you need to slow down. If we are serious about direct representation / direct participation, then we need to get organized in a locally-based decentralized way. We can get things done without centralized bureaucracy and hierarchy.
Take some time to develop a theory of liberation, and find some balance between theory and practice. We don't have time to babysit for bubble-gum, teeny-boppers who act like privileged brats. You have to do it yourself(DIY). We're a valuable resource, and you should feel free to ask us for help, but we're not going to bail you out when you mess up. Everyone has to accept the consequences for what they do or don't do. We are your comrades, not your surragate parents. if you aren't struggling to be more self-sufficient, and more self-reliant, then nobody will take you seriously when you talk about autonomy, authoritarianism, exploitation, oppression, etc.
There are at least a dozen theories of liberation, and they are all historically linked to peasants and workers engaging in class struggle against industrial capitalism. The last stage of patriarchy is capitalism. The last stage of capitalism is imperialism. The last stage of imperialism is neo-colonialism. None of these liberation struggles are seperated from each other, and anyone who succeeds in some grass-roots organizing efforts for positive social change will support all the other efforts to smash the global empire.
If you think you can infiltrate us to get an easy piece of ass, you're deluding yourself. If you try to exploit differences among us around issues of ecological harmony, gender identity, sexual preference, class struggle, racialism, national oppression, or anything so that you can get laid, your grandousity will overwhelm you. The best case scenario will be that one of us will have sex with you despite your obvious ignorance. Maybe it's not about raging hormones, but merely a desire to socialize with us because we seem interesting. Get into a collective or an affinity group. Learn some history, theory, etc. Take some initiative. Jump in. The only dumb question is the one you don't ask. Being hip and underground has nothing to do with what we're involved in. We're not cool, so if you're looking for a hardcore scene, we're not it. Most anarchists are not punk rockers. Most punks are not anarchists. If you can't relate to these roots of class liberation, then you're a wanker and you should piss off. Trendy posers are not welcome here. We are not a fad or a trend, so don't waste your time associating with us. If you are not down with revolution, why are you hanging out with us?