Where I am now
I've increasingly found myself more and more alligned with both Quakers and Anarchists. I've been attending meeting regularly since May. The more I think about it, the more I also feel the two are almost a match made in heaven, as much of Quakerism is inherently non-hirearchical and non-authoritarian. I've also been keeping up with this blog: Green Anarchist Quaker He has many good insights into both movements.
I also found this website: GreenAnarchy.org I've been particualrly intrigued by these articles: Back to the Basics (Downloads a zip file. If you want to read them without downloading, go here and scroll to the bottom. Some of what they have to say is too extreme for me (especially as a only a budding "radical") as well as hypocritical. For example, they are anti-technology activists but they run a website and publish a magazine. Also, their advocacy of violence is not only troubling for me on an ethical basis, but on an intelectual level as well. If they, as anarchists, want to rid the world of all kinds of oppression, the last thing they should do is engage in violent action. Violence is in and of itself inherently oppressive. It creates an "us" and "them" mentality which creates only more fear and hate, which spawns more oppression. Violence also starts a cycle of perpetual revenge for previous violence. And, especially during this "War on Terror" hysteria, violence would only justify domestic and international oppression even more. But even as it is hard to swallow at points, much of what they say is hard for me to ignore. The post-leftist movement is very interesting. They examine the historical connection between anarchism and the left and are very critical of it. While the right is typically seen as the more oppressive end of the political spectrum, post-leftists see the left as just as bad. The left, while critisizing opression within government, use that governments own ways and means to affect change, which is counter-intuitive.
I gotta go. The library will be closing soon. I'll try to finish my thoughts soon.
Love!
I also found this website: GreenAnarchy.org I've been particualrly intrigued by these articles: Back to the Basics (Downloads a zip file. If you want to read them without downloading, go here and scroll to the bottom. Some of what they have to say is too extreme for me (especially as a only a budding "radical") as well as hypocritical. For example, they are anti-technology activists but they run a website and publish a magazine. Also, their advocacy of violence is not only troubling for me on an ethical basis, but on an intelectual level as well. If they, as anarchists, want to rid the world of all kinds of oppression, the last thing they should do is engage in violent action. Violence is in and of itself inherently oppressive. It creates an "us" and "them" mentality which creates only more fear and hate, which spawns more oppression. Violence also starts a cycle of perpetual revenge for previous violence. And, especially during this "War on Terror" hysteria, violence would only justify domestic and international oppression even more. But even as it is hard to swallow at points, much of what they say is hard for me to ignore. The post-leftist movement is very interesting. They examine the historical connection between anarchism and the left and are very critical of it. While the right is typically seen as the more oppressive end of the political spectrum, post-leftists see the left as just as bad. The left, while critisizing opression within government, use that governments own ways and means to affect change, which is counter-intuitive.
I gotta go. The library will be closing soon. I'll try to finish my thoughts soon.
Love!