Post Punk Kitchen Forum

So, i'm interested in hearing about the anarchists in this forum? i would love to discuss ideals, plans, opinions. I'm 18, I currently dont have any friends who consider themselves anarchists, besides my brother and his wife. I've been reading up on green anarchy. I"m currently all up in the clouds with my ideals and solid opinions, but I cannot agree with any other social/political option that has been presented to me.

I don't know the answers and I haven't completely decided what the next step should be...I feel like I"m going crazy not having anyone to really pattern out and share my ideas with..

I believe there are quite a few of us here...

Well I would love to hear from you all (=

Is it bad too talk about this here? I do think that oppressive like the police, the government, the military and capitalism should be removed. Is that anarchism? I don't know enough about it and it seems that there are as many definitions of anarchism as there are democracy.

I've read a couple of the books from AK press that talk a lot about it (though they talk about EVERYTHING!) and I'm still a little unsure about where I stand politically.

I would love to hear more too. I am doing a lot of reading on the subject. I find that for the most part I agree with the concept. I am struggling with the implementation.
For example, I see how well anarchy can work on a small scale. But I cannot wrap my head around large scale anarchy.
Thanks!

I'm kinda struggling with what can be done right now. There are so many negative, cruel, destructive, and pretty much evil forces in our world. Its hard for me to believe that these forces can be stopped passively. I know that I have to change myself first, look inside my soul (if thats even what it is) and create a change. But how does our whole world reach that change? It's hard for me to condone violence, but....
I feel like this can also be related to animal liberation...Like fork I don't think I can just passively eat my broccoli and bananas and veggie burgers while animals all over the world are being tortured and brutalized for the tastebuds of all the worlds crassholes! I want to take all the hurt animals away from their hell, they can live with me instead!

Everything in the whole world is just too much for me.

Maybe if you're interested in anarchy, you should spend some time helping out at a collective that works in your community, like Food Not Bombs, an info shop, etc. etc.

Anarchism means so much to me, I base most of my actions in life on it. From opposing the killing and oppression of animals to the challenging of hierarchy in my relationships. I look to exmaples like what anarchists were doing in the spanish civil war and communes throughout the world as a basis for my ideas of a large scale anarchist society. I read fiction and nonfiction about anarchism to further my understanding of it. Also I have basic core beliefs that people are capable of functioning positively without authority and that hierarchy/ opression is a sickness that can be eradicated.

There are many different views of anarchy, I've always hesitated to call myself an anarchist because I don't believe in every single anarchist perspective. and its become a loaded word. But there are some things I do believe in. To me anarchy means a holistic freedom from oppression, which is hard to not desire! The dissolution of heirarchy is a consistent theme for almost every anarchist perspective and really goes hand in hand with freedom. Anarcho-syndicalism focuses on the workers and labor, the formation of worker co-ops and cooperatively run businesses. Something I truely believe in and will hopefully construct in my lifetime.
If you are really interested in learning you should read some books, check out AK Press and Crimethinc to start.. and figure out which ideas you side with.

there's a fairly active anarchist scene in eugene.

even an infoshop (though i don't knowthe accuracy of this info) where you will (may?) find books, anarchists, more info about anarchist projects in the area.
Growers Market Building - 454 Willamette, 2nd floor, Eugene, OR

there's also an upcoming anarchist bookfair in portland
http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?st ... 9071851809

other resources:
infoshop.org
anarchistnews.org

there's a number of introductory books on anarchism i could point you towards, both new and old.

or just ask away around here too.

Not sure about the infoshop. I am down that part of town at least once a week (Hooray for Morning Glory) and haven't seen it. I will go down this weekend and snoop around.
A reading list of things you found useful would be great!

Ooh, your avatar is Mary Magdalene! She's fascinating! I'm writing an essay about her for my feminist theology class.

I guess you could say that I have anarchist leanings. I'm currently registered as a Libertarian. At the time, it seemed like the party that was most focused on...oh, you know, liberty. I'm realizing more and more that the people who typically align themselves with the Libertarian party are conservative (EW), and that perturbs me, so eventually I'll probably end up as a Democrat. I'll be more honest than most and say that I know very little about politics. I know exactly what I believe, but...yeah.

I've been told that I'll probably meet some like minded people with Food Not Bombs, I'm just having trouble getting ahold of them, but I guess they hand out food every sunday at two different parks so maybe I'll just have to get out there and meet them personally. I have two very strong anarchist/vegan influences in my life, my brother and his partner. They're active with their community of anarchists in Portland. I met some of their friends and I was so overwhelmed by the love, beauty, and freedom they evoked. I'm looking for that same feeling here in Eugene, so I"ll surely check out that place by morning glory.

I'm always interested in new reads, so book suggestions would be so appreciated.

Thanks for the link to the anarchist book fair, I've been looking for that information and I couldn't find it!

I would say that anarchism is part of my life but it doesn't define who I am. I experience it by being a part of groups that have non-hierarchical structures, usually small groups. This is a good way to experiment, and deprogram the authority structures we've grown up with in Western society. On a big scale I can see some potential, but it's more an intellectual idea than a practical one, at least for me right now. Try living with it on a small scale, I think you'll see there are no easy answers. Hard work still has to be done. As one of my friends said, it's much easier to follow a leader than lead yourself.

It's just so complex, but even though we probably don't know the answers, and even if we don't know how to reach our goal, I still think it's important to question what we're being presented with and strive to find solutions. We should never ever forget our ideals, or think they aren't attainable.
One of the main reasons I feel passionate about anarchy is that I'm a dreamer. And I want to live out my dreams, and I want all of you, (and your brothers and mothers and cats and dogs too!) to live your dreams. Our current system, and every system I've been presented with makes us trapped. We're spinning on a wheel day after day, sometimes with a prize we think is waiting at the end. But we're being exploited, our animal friends our being exploited, our earth, even our forking fruit and vegetable are being forked with to exploit us even more! Ummm....I'm ranting and talking in circles, it's hard for me to formulate all of my thoughts and dreams and knowledge into cognitive ideas...

Ultimately, umm...I think we can do it!

Is anybody interested in building a sustainable, earth/animal friendly urban commune with me??

You might be interested in libertarian socialism. All the joys of Libertarianism without the Ayn Rand worship and those pesky things like homophobia and racism.

Or, more broadly, left-libertarianism. There are definitely large parts of the libertarian movement that aren't conservative, aligned with the Libertarian Party, or dismissive of concerns about racism, sexism, etc.

I think usually it's best to show up to FNB, rather than wait for someone to call you.

This is the infoshop in Eugene http://www.latona.us/eugenefs/?page_id=281

Excellent, thank you. I am hoping to have the time this weekend to get down there to check it out.

Carrotflower, I made it down to the info shop (Bad Egg books on Oak and 13th) this weekend.
Very open and willing to talk and share and talk. I came home with four books that I am reading with gusto.
Very worth the trip.
/derail

That's great to know, I'll have to find my way their soon, and I hear the cornbread cafe right next to the bookstore is awesome.

classics, in no particular order:
anything by emma goldman, kropotkin, bakunin

ABC of Anarchism - alexander berkman

more recent:
anarchy works - peter gelderloos
anarchy alive! - uri gordon
anarchism and its aspirations cindy milstein
appel (call) - the invisible committee*
the coming insurrection - the invisible committee*
days of war nights of love - anonymous (CrimethInc)

*the invisible committee are not exactly anarchists, more aptly they are anti-state communists. but it's kind of splitting hairs and they've been picked up by the insurrectionary anarchist milleau, and is more or less the hot new shiitake these days.

i haven' actually read most of these books, but it's a starting point. see what interests you.

I'm excited to go searching for them, thank you.