Sunday, February 22, 2009

The Tragic Dance with Violence

Many Anarchists I know are straight Pacifists, and more power to them. They would sooner "fight" the system by indulging in counter-economics, squatting, sabotage and a straight rejection of our Capitalist economy. Still, many other Anarchists I know are just as ready to respond to State violence with more extreme measures as they are to practicing these other forms of dissent. This leads me to the question--

--Can we humans ever escape from the adhesive web of violence pressed against us at all times?--


My answer is yes. Of course, given time, we human-beings can develop into a race of creatures able to avoid violence altogether. The second question is--How long is this gonna take?

To that question, I really don't have an answer. Theoretically, we could reach that utopian point of not needing physical violence (or the threat of violence) at all, but will we not nuke ourselves first? Can we avoid self-destruction due to our violent nature taught by our parents? Hopefully, yes.

What you can do now as an Anarchist to "fight" against violence is to not participate in it. Though I advocate police-confrontation and aggressive protest techniques, there is nothing more embarrassing to those minions of the State than to see their efforts to hurt us be reciprocated with acceptance. This is why non-violent protest tactics work all the time, and why violent protest tactics only work some of the time. It is a very dualistic topic for me--I see the good and bad in both methods, and I fully respect both. Let me dissect a bit.

Non-Violent Methodology and Tactics:

--This way of protesting and speaking out against the State most complies with our philosophy of peace and harmony. We can practice what we preach to the 'n'th degree this way.
--Non-Violence can, in most cases, direct more aggressive feelings towards authority figures than reciprocal violence can, especially when coupled with any sort of media attention. Think about it yourself--when I saw those Buddhist Monks being caned and brutalized by Chinese Police, the thoughts running through my mind were, "How can they do that?! They're not fighting back, they're peacefully protesting!"
--We can more concretely display our resolve to our cause this way. You would agree with me that it takes dedication to not respond to violence with violence, wouldn't you? To me, that would be a show of resolve and reliance upon our ideology, and this goes in tow with the above.
--Not everyone has the mindset to go on the attack. To assume that all Anarchists are chomping at the bit to toss molotovs and boot police in the head would be a broad over-generalization. Many Anarchists would be content to forget all about protests and sabotage and just go about living a different way. Don't forget about these people, warriors in their own right.

Violent (Aggressive) Protest Tactics:

--Anarchy is about loving yourself, and protecting yourself, your fellow humans, and your freedom. Responding with force is acceptable to me, in extreme circumstances, although not as a first choice.
--Private Property and the pawns of the State wreak unspeakable amounts of literal and technical violence against the people daily, and that goes for everyone enduring the ramifications of our economic policy overseas too. This reactionary violence we incur seems like a drop in the pan when compared to the havoc and anguish that our task-masters have inflicted on others before us.



I'm not trying to justify violence here. to be frank, I hate it, and it is reviled by Anarchists as a whole (if I may generalize). All I'm saying is that through a Diverse Array of Tactics we can more effectively dismantle the State, and that means using violence AND non-violence.


PEACE and love to all my brothers and sisters--

Wrench

4 comments:

HalfCrazy said...

I agree, if people would fight fire with fire involving violence, it just goes on and on, will probably never end and then after some time, people will forget why they're fighting about. My heart goes to the Buddhist Monks even if I have no idea why they were being brutalized by the Chinese Police. Would be better if you enlighten me. :)

I learn a lot from your posts, you seem like a Professor to me lol!

Much Love,

Monkey Wrench said...

China, a Communist Dictatorship where the people are oppressed daily, is by no means a haven for intellectual change or dissent.

When Buddhist monks from Tibet staged marches last year (this is what all the controversy over the Olympics was about), the Chinese police viewed it as an expression of individual expression, something unacceptable in a Dictatorship. Even though the march was inherently peaceful (Buddhists are pacifistic), the Chinese Police 'dispersed' them with CS Gas, batons and force. Apparently protests so close to the Olympics was embarrassing to the officials. Too bad for the cameras....

Wrench

Monkey Wrench said...

ALSO I tried to tell you thanks for your flattering comments on your blog, but it won't load the word verification on my computer!! I'm just out of High School, and am by no means a prof!!! But I am elated that you find my blog interesting. It means a lot.

Thanks a bunch! You made my day! And I enjoy your blog a lot too, for real.


Peace

Wrench

HalfCrazy said...

Really? I didn't know they're in such a situation, all I know is that they are Communists but thanks for clearing up that they are actually Communist Dictatorship. I think it's horrible having to just keep your intellectual thoughts to yourself. Isn't that mental torture.

I removed the word verification thing, you're the 4th person to tell me that they can't leave comments because the thing won't load. It's annoying lol. Good to know you enjoyed my blog even if it's not Politics-related. I actually dislike Politics lol! But for some reason, I like yours because I learn a lot!

Much Love,