INTERNATIONAL JOJIRY OF HARD(ORE PUN
BACK FROM-THE DEAD TQJBMASH CAPITALISM S c} 1 P
sue

SKULLDUGGERYNMUGWUMPE

Includesy] 8-travk ompilation ofith
Dstie Fvowt " vevsdien e compllaion &

Third Movement: The Ghost of Punk Rock Past

1. Prelude: Our leader Speaks

First Movement: Foreign Agents

2. Cathode “Stranglehold”

3. The Spectacle “Between”

4. Bum Hollywood

Burn “Love (as we know

it) hurts with or
without you”

> Carahter “Lider”

6. Bora “Following Rules”

Second Movement: Domestic Threats

7. Countdown to

Putsch “The Cure is the
Poison”
8. Dead Things “Education
Breakdown”
9. Blacken the Skies ~ “Wrench and
Bone”
10. Witch Hunt “Fed Up”

1 Breed/Extinction “Ashes vs. Leaves”

12

13.
14.

15
16

Driven [the last two Driven
songs]

Driven

Society of Jesus [the last two S.OJ.
songs]

Society of Jesus

By All Means [the last B.AM.
P r——
song]

Fourth Movement: The Spectre of the Future

17.

18.

(The Olympia D.LY. Percussion and
Choral Ensemble featuring soloists)
Herds and Words

Conclusion: Dawn

INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS AND
BRIEFING:

2 Emotionally sz it opring renars

3, s P St w1
S Wit it Nirche elrece dppd n e e
Frsecsaniont

[E————

FEATURES:

8 POLTICS —We e woked
ietbe demmoed” i
et e <hocon o ] it b
e ks s v oo il
Bt ke b e i gt
i congritior iyl siilod Al T Kide P
omCrmsibine. aecbo sedigon Podid

exboctaion to Maimure Uik

2.4 PUNK ROCK—*The Purk Band A¢ Anachise Colcive

38 STRAIGHT EDGE— ety anarcis ake o the socal
ot s, sl comerton o s ol

46 VEGANISM—s et dscussion of e nclded sy o

8 THINKTANK s theoy okt s jibes, s 31
alnge o comeniont dnste propagand) s prcie (v
Bl ket A e o v ek s epoton te
i)

4 ADVENTURE—“WhiteShur T the s
A snd i van it e world

' INTERVIEWS:

10 Herds and Words—the masisca o perormance
fies hemscives

78 Tragedy—sia cxptin why eyt 0 borh s of

i (punk andhardcor)

87 Lack— psionse Durh hricore ki otds ot o rt
reon

QO Greg Bennick—he man, the ayh, e

own Br de

THE FIFTH COLUMN

ON-THE-SCENE REPORTS:
104 Prologue—sn

TO7 News from the Front: Qucbec 2001, Genos2001,

Acgedinn 2002, Colonia 2003

123 Behind Enemy Lines:
f

e herwine of
punk ok past o the e o n

losking t the U.S./Mesican
Pakistan and crousing the Sancs,
ough the South recliing the steeés

150 How o oo ouc ot & unk band, and
what happs

REVIEWS:

164 pref

165 Shows
167 Mdlimedia
169 Just Plain Music

186 pint
CONCLUDING REMARKS:

19O Catologue of anti-commodity commoditis for
ari-consumer consumer

192 Anarchy triumphs agoin

This magazine and CD are $5 postpaid in the USA ($7 world), and five or more
copies $3.50 each postpaid in the USA ($5 world), from the address on the back

Ao Fucking: Goddamn Coyright 2003, Fow il wer harmed in ho proucton o s e

not a single advertisement in this entire issue, barring the catalog of other matericls our collective
lling o toke @ financiol loss here in hopes that we can encourage @ less commercial approach o
mmunity, as a small step in moving away from capitalist models alfogether.

publishing in our subcultura

Tt as e yoch,abong i b ke o on o e of s 0 arie ther. Wete tin, o o,
oribemar il of ol uppld by rcigons o —spparents oy ns bl vy
e sl Ot e mbmens ome o of s o of o i s ol ot
hccasof bt ot ot i, e of o it b it et oot rchions O
s e sevd oy b oy i oy n e o okof pyund o e
Silfnd e lwd o 1 eiboed ks o g or b resdion s doc vt ome ot
o e ol dart gt nddsped el s e b e
eperae o, W o st g g b s of et bsden vt i on
ety e e gl e poge gt ooy ey oy s s f o poor
aneicim. W b bt b s, W e o, il b o s e
it bl

Thes prcious deams resed s s, consaquenty, ratedcac otbe s lvers: thesaring moments bekoning, the:
beautyonged fr, shiningfrom afr—and the shen s turned vy from everytbin el fsaards hem, sought o
embrac them, o bon every mament of e, veryiber o being o thtr pursit ey sorned s, shunned s, It s e
andbroke,incomprebensble o te crvsds aound s whe, o, ere puraing deams, though ot dreams f e o,
Wernicted ur crzy deams, hen furios, broken-beartd: but i her ke, all tbe plans seemed lackfaste, .
apes bl bearted,and one by one e began reurning, t st and b aga.

So here it 15, the Inside Front reunion issue, complete with high

door price, lackluster performances, and rockstars drinking beer (provided as per the guarantee)
backstage, talking shit about the kids.

‘This should be a eulogy, a cry for the lost dreams and squandered opportunities and unharrowed
idealism of our youth, when, dizzy with enthusiasm and inexperience, we vowed insane oaths—
0 never work, to overthrow everything destructive and make life a never-ending celebration,

to scize those sailing moments of passion and make them last forever—oaths that could never
possibly be kept by the living This should be a lament, mourning the passing of those halcyon,
idyllic days when we had no problems greater than mere survival in service of those quests,
when life and death were so simple and so precious. This should find me bewailing the senscless
surrender of all those irreplaceable gifts to the jaws of time and cynicism, the slow wear of the
daily grind—or, worse, declaring, in the centuries-old tradition of the jaded, that real life has
come and gone upon this planet once and for all, and if you weren't there to witness it with

us you will never be so lucky. At best, this should be the epitaph for a forgotten faction who
refused to be turned into slaves and succeeded instead in being turned to dust.

This should be—but it not. This is the story of what happened when some of us kept those
aspirations at the expense of all others, stayed faithful to our muses and missions even when it
meant burning up in the wreckage and, harder, living to dwell upon it. Some of us, sworn to
fight to the death, haven't died or submitted—not yet! We followed those uncharted paths we
swore were ahead of us, we didn't back down, we went for it—and we're still going for it still
struggling to live in such a way that we can be in love with living: This is the story of what we
left behind, what we found, what we lost—what we're doing.

We e o die fighting, and bistory sewo 10 i that some of s bad the chance—that was WG V'o{
sobering. Orberamog st it et fr s debrae fued e ol e 3 e,
s uiing oo chni 1 o, e b o e o s madnes < X
i, o fund el et ot i hot b et IS o)
dadoes eciing b all g Huling o o s deem. o might i b s :
e ghing, the o he b tig o o g

» e Y5, &

AT R Py )

2 INTRODUCTION GrarmicViouncr@CaiETuInc.NET
Seriously, why another issue of Insid
£+ We thought the old world was about o come

to an end—that's the best I can express it.

Back in 2000/2001, I declared #13 the final
issue of this magazine so I could have my
hands free for what was to come next. It was
coming, that was for sure: with the fall of
.Communism, the old false dichotomy was
gone, and people everywhere were starting
to recognize that the only conflict left was
‘between People and Power. Explosions were

ing off everywhere—world leaders couldn't
meet without tens of thousands of protesters
showing up to interfere, average folks in
average towns were starting to get interested
in anarchism, punk kids' well-mannered
mothers were joining the anticapitalist
struggle with their bodies as well as their
hearts. There was always something to
do, some chance to join the fray, and we
were always working on our next surprise,
preparing our part for the next explosion,
dreaming impossible dreams about what
might be possible next.

Here's a little story that captures the spirit of
that period of my life. One summer night, 1
remember, a thunder storm descended upon
the small Southern city some of us called
home. A soulful hobo folk band from New
York were visiting the wrecked punkhouse
where I stayed with an assortment of hell-
bent revolutionaries and maladjusted pariahs;
they'd just left to dumpster a feast for us all
when lightning began to crack across the sky.
Two of my dearest friends and I set out for
the parking deck downtown to get a better
view, but by the time we got half way the
rain was coming down in such sheets that
we were forced against the side of a building.
It was torrential, overwhelming, uncarthly;
one of us said (whimsically, since it was a
hot Southern night) “the only way this could
be better would be if it started hailing.” At
that moment, we heard a tap, and then an
answering tap, and an instant later white
hail the size of golf balls was drumming
down before our widening eyes. It filled up
the street, smashed out the lights on the
skyscraper we so hated for dominating the
skyline, proved beyond a doubt that total
transformation is always just around the
corner. One of us picked up a hailstone and
bit into it; we passed it around, tasting the
impossible on our very tongues.

e Front2
“That was what it was like every day, whether
we were giving out literature and bagels
downtown, playing music together, or pelting
iot police with stones—or at least it seems
5o, in the halcyon glow of memory: anything
could happen, and all it took to make it
happen was to believe in it.

Then came September 11, 2001, of course.
T'm not quite paranoid enough to think it was
planned or permitted by our government,
though obviously it benefited them in

their pursuit of total power; I think it’s
sufficient to remember that this tragedy was
simply the blowback of decades of the U.S.
training terrorists and committing crimes
against humanity across the world. Whether
consciously plotted by capitalists or not, it
was certainly characteristic of the capitalist
program: terrorize and isolate, turn whole
nations and peoples against one another, and
cash in on the resulting violence as a chance
to clamp down and enforce the demands of
silent business-as-usual ever more ruthlessly.

Tt worked, for a while. Activists were scared
into silence, everyone else into compliance,
and total war began. We all felt powerless.
War is what our enemies do best, i’s their
final recourse whenever people begin to
become aware of their own strength: they
create another distraction, another dichotomy,
one that makes them appear omnipotent, one
that scares the public—at least the public you
read about in the mass-media propaganda
polls—into lockstep behind them.

It took months for some of us to give in to
hopelessness and paralysis, but eventually
they set in scemingly cverywhere. T was gone
when the buildings came down—my band
had embarked on an insane project, a five-
months-straight tour of Europe that almost
destroyed us—and when I returned, all my
friends were scattered and dispirited, the
punk and anarchist and activist communities
were all a mess of back-biting and uncertainty,
and all the energy and possibility we'd felt
before scemed gone. 1 held it off as long

as I could, but as my band broke up, my

love relationships fell apart, and my friends
disappeared, a serious, deep depression set
in. T kept up what activities I could, but

as a writer I was blocked, as lover T was
exhausted, as a revolutionary T was stumped.

INTRODUCTION 3
hit at some point in life: events in the world
and our own lives alike scem to spiral out
of control, and we're left feeling as though
we're watching from the sidelines. This is
when people cease to think of themselves as
having a destiny of their own and go into
survival mode, cutting off their feclings,
living in denial, no longer hoping. Some are
born into this existence, learning it from the
sufferers who raise them; others have to be
taught it through failure, oppression, defeat.
Tt wasn't what I wanted, that's for sure—I
desperately wanted back the fecling that my
life belonged to me, and 1 didn't want to live
without it. I only remained alive, honestly,
because I knew from previous experience
that such suicidal depressions can pass

And they do pass. Now the tide is turning.
Our enemies rushed too fast to consolidate
their power (“if you're not with us, you're
against us”) as soon as they had the excuse—
perhaps that power was more fragile than
we thought?—and now they've lost all the
advantages it gave them (“well, I'm not
really with them... does that mean I'm... 2°).
As Nictzsche said, a healthy organism can
tolerate a whole army of parasites—a dying
creature needs a Department of Homeland
Security to stave off the inevitable as long
as possible. From here on, the lines can
only become clearer again: it's People versus
Power, once more. After the rush of war is
over, as the terrorist threat intensifics (no
one needs a government to fund a terrorist
action—one only needs hatred and a
boxcutter) and the economy crumbles, it will
only become more obvious to people that
their rulers have been endangering them
simply to consolidate their own power. We
should not have panicked so fast after that
day in September—we're going to need to
be prepared to maintain our projects and
morale through worse disasters, if we're
going to go the distance to revolution.

If anything good can come out of that
tragedy, I hope it is a new sturdiness in

our community: next time the terrorists
strike, we need to be ready to respond
immediately, visibly offering our perspective
and solutions, before the government can
put their spin on it—not hide out in doubt
and fear. Besides—if we anarchists are right
about where terrorism comes from, our

4 wTRopuCTION

doubt and fear can only result in more deaths
in the long run.

I'm writing this the night after the United
States declared war on Iraq, the night after
thousands of activists across the world
declared and reaffirmed their corresponding
war against tyranny by shutting down
freeways, schools, and shopping districts.
After the terrorist attacks in the U.S., there
was a period when nationalist patriotism
owned the strects: flags and jingoistic
propaganda lined every window and bumper,
and if you didn't subseribe to bloodthirsty
groupthink you felt isolated and endangered.
Now, whatever their bullshit polls claim, the
atmosphere on the streets belongs to us again
—and, unlike before the terrorists brought
home to the West the destruction capitalism
is wreaking across the face of the world, the
issues are so close at hand that no one can
deny we all must take a stand somewhere. No
matter what happens next, even if there are
more terrorist attacks, there will be no going
back to those days of paralysis and silence.
Let's hope there won't be more—but let’s

do more than hope: we need to disable and
eventually overthrow the government that,
with their imperialist economic and political
policies, is provoking people into killing us.

Forget that slogan “another world is
possible™—another world is inevitable. The
old world is going to come to an end, my
friends, make no mistake about that. However
much firepower they have, however many
crippled nations they destroy, our oppressors
and the entire culture that supports them

are doomed—the planet itsclf cannot sustain
them or their way of life much longer. But
this final cataclysm isn't something we should
just await, or fear—it will be what we make
of it, and we have to be preparing for it right
now. We have to learn how to get along with
each other, we have to develop our strength
and the support systems in our communitics,
we have to be practicing anarchy right now,
or clse the crash that's coming will only

make things worse. Fortunately, there are
conflicts to be fought, crazy plans to carry
out, communities to bring together—excellent
opportunities everywhere for us to learn and
build for the future. We grew up reading
J-RR. Tolkien and listening to punk songs,
dreaming of fighting in the final clash
between destruction and rebirth—my friends,
it’s upon us.

So, once more—why another Inside Front?
Because—if you ask me—when everything
you're doing almost works only to crash and
burn before your eyes, you don't retire on

the ruins of your former idealism, you take a
step back to what you were doing before the
disaster and start from there again. Editing
this magazine is something I've done for a
decade now, it's something T know how to

do, and it's always troubled me how many
beautiful songs and books and projects have
never entered the world because the people
who could create them, by the time they were
finally experienced enough to, were t00 jaded
and beaten to do so. This project, however
imperfect it may be, exists now—it's no record
that was almost recorded or last show that was
never played. Too often, we criticize ourselves
and our ideas so much that we forget that an
idea that comes to fruition, blemishes and

all is always better than one that dies on the
vine.

And why punk rock, why haven't we grown
out of it after all these years? However

small it may be, I think punk rock will have
an important role to play in this struggle

for a long time to come. However many
disillusioned punks-turned-activists, going
through their final phase of adolescence, may
need to rebel against the crucible of their
rebellion, claiming it to be a dead end ghetto,
punk rock is still the milieu that spawns
them, generation after generation. However
insufferable the obvious shortcomings of all
subcultures are, we still desperately need
places to come together in this isolating
world, to get to know one another and get
practice working and playing together.
Whatever the stakes in the struggle, it's
critical we make beauty together as well as
fight its destroyers.

Here's another little story to illustrate this.
Two weeks ago the Canadian band Godspeed,
You Black Emperor! played here in the small
college town that has often been my home.
It was going to be just another mediated
performance, the spectators watching

the band before departing alone—but we
troublemakers had something else in mind.
As the concertgoers left the club, bucket-
drums appeared from nowhere and were

distributed along with drumsticks, signs, and
great banners. Before the local authorities had
time to recognize what was happening, two
hundred people had surprised themselves by
taking over the main street of the town! We.
marched up and down it for an hour and
half, blocking it completely as the bars were
emptying out, and the police, caught totally
unprepared, were unable to stop us or even
arrest anyone. That tiny triumph gave those
same kids the experience and confidence
they needed to fill and block the strect again
at rush hour tonight—and this time, a few
hundred people from other walks of life
joined us, pouring into the space we opened.
Punk rock, a dead end ghetto? Only if we
want it to be. Better a breeding ground for
revolutionaries!

That's the vision of punk rock and
underground culture I've treasured for the
past decade, and it’s as bright as ever now. We
can resurrect punk rock, just as it resurrected
us, as 4 site of escape and resistance and a seed
of an utterly different world. Indeed, we need
t0 keep punk rock, or something like it, alive:
o steal children for the revolution from the
families of the middle and working classes,

to offer space for those who are alienated by
activist smugness but still seck an outlet for
their rebellious energies, to be sure we always
remember that this struggle is even more
about making our own artwork and life stories
than it is about resisting those who would
destroy them. Punk rock, by whatever name,
will be essential until the day all constraints
are destroyed and everything is music, is
togetherness, is adventure.

So here it is, a surprise issue of my old
hardcore magazine, as part of my own
rejuvenation, in case it can help to rejuvenate
our community—and to reaffirm, once more,
the worst nightmares of the powers that be:
yes, we're stil here.

Still passionate, still loving and fighting, and,
if anything, younger and crazier than | was
when I began the first issue of Inside Front a
decade ago—yours sincerely, editor B.

inTRoDUCTION §
“Wien, your friends misunderstand your works and your enemies undertand them all oo well when waking up every
new morning fels ik a dfeat ratber than a triumph, <when the razor Hade o the s edge beckons, rememiber—be is
ot prtty, death, oy well-advertised. Remember what they did to Michelangel: they waited until hewwas dead and.

then painted over allth genitalsin is Sistine Chapel—sjust as Nietzsche's hated acs site preseted bim tothe world
. proto it genius afer b ost bis mind, justas Paulused Jeus, and Plato Socrates, and the Commanists Durrut,

e your enemies nothing, Let your ears feeze o stones e can bur from catapuls, screaming. Writeyour own eptaph,
and say it out loud,stil alve. This i s war we are notyet winning for our daugbters chldren. Don't doyour nemies’

work for them—finish your own.” ~from a letter that did't reach Sylvia Plath in time

st offusrtion—a e Td e o
cnd i etan s oo cnamoredf thi
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6 LETTERBOMBS TO THE EDITOR

never going o wineveryone'sapproal
(v tha what your evoltion was sboue)
and tragedie ar bound o happen, thats
ife—and g for it wihout dischimers o
selfconsciousnes.

My i e giing p 100 oon snd oo
casly. Tt woukdbe ach supdsnlss
gy s hd coough e o e
foeyou ol i the sllensdlscence of
‘cyniciom forfew moreyesrs—but we don',
e el ot Shoukdwe e cveyching
weteeumedgotowase: Weve don o,
A ———
‘heve o e s e crdentils
inthe couneofmakingyourcuc o a
sttt Magbeve il wrog— |
o ha e Rnne w4 do ¢ f v
by o't sgainanddo,
levein agin, coukd you g,
‘he word cough, e ol cnngh 5
il ove o maSPAL o things you
ooty e o s
or the adenaline rush of ik, e ecling
b e e thewokd i hingedon
your eyl u e, ey il
PR e ——
g ————
M\fiawh‘kqfl-—z‘fln
Wiy this with me, once more. ltworit be
it wonithe ey e hanitwas e
it i, e will obably e i dster,
cnc agin ot e bererthan the e
rpes ofdelere e, Sickde woldbe
cblr pti than .
Yourl e,

Adipatc of dperason—a ter o, i
aperticalrydark peri, o my comrades
the S Frenca anardi oofi, 2000,
[

Dear anarchist, beautiful
anarchist—

Howdo Lsay thi,what words e ft
whenweve burned up ll ur shtorc on
abcrceions, lorifying the ghoss e keep
closeat b t0 make thi e more bearabe?

* thos days when | can' i my way back,

LS ———
five minutesago, bk L uid 0inthe years
o that weckin St wanted o s
outmyeyes 0 Td ever e anccer s,
uncontested Sk orShll seatio, i of
thes fingesthat migh ot writthe s
(whaeverleer i) ha o st off e
st simish,throw o g
b T o
s o o g v
optimistc brightiso, o helpout i those

moments when you might not—even though
knowe thads s —bu sy, my %

s all have o ffer onigh, and herc’s
- enough it to goaround,so 1l hare that.

We make i from vear o year, some ofus, |
i thisworkd that denics all our dreams, by ]

Bellevingn miraclos—thatisth miricle,

el and i 0 mean et e eenin
hat wrkd—spen: days n it weeks nit
even—where cverything wasabout 1o
‘hange,vasin fct changing Now wher, on

B e ———
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aneli—ctecrc ), ks e cing

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and g it couner word,_
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el word,hat i s e, i

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et ofhe Iisorans e ot e

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et uivere, o the one T e,

ot neLivein.

Tam terified: T erifed that wel e
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for blesrap. Tm terifedtht too many.
ofyou will ave arived ere like 1 id,
Kawing whatyou will ry her o, worse,
whatdiecion t g0 nexe—and thtall o us
will conseguently do ur bese o fe ke what
‘were doing,or ot deing, s good enough. Tm
tertifiedwe'l find, despite all our swaggering
1o the contray, the rsignation o survive
ere—bere inour sfe ghetto,wich the
Palescinians and veal cabvesdying orside—
and dic here curslves, oo, even fnly by
waking daysfe day o say T live” and mean
it s somethingocherthanvictry:

6we were baveor rckless encugh for
it our desprin—for thoseofus who fel
e sometimes, nd 1 hope wee smal
mincrity—could be resoure s grea s any
other,Itcoukd enabie st doth things our
comrades, with thei bope and high spiis,
shouldathave 0 do t mabe things happen.
Otherwise i ame for us

fearad il Ko i thos s

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LETTERBOMBS TO THE EDITOR
s T !;
e o 17

RAgs ARERARN - ~

1)

We Have Worked Hard to Improve
Activism—Now it must be

destroyed.

Do you consider yourself a specialist in revolution?
Does your heart sing in your chest at the sound
of words like coalition, consensus, spokescouncil,
Social justic, friendly amendment? Is your idea
of a good time a facilitated discussion intended

to promote dialogue focusing on anti-oppression
work in anti-authoritarian community organizing
and movement-building for broad-based social
change coming from a place of privilege? Do you
think there’s always a good reason to have another
‘meeting—or, in the words of one author, that
“freedom is an endless meeting? Brace yourself,
my friend, the diagnosis is grim: it sounds like you
have been infected with activism.

‘Whoa, Nelly! thought activism was a good thing,
was the good thing—I thought we were trying to
create a new generation of activists, who would,
issue by issue and struggle by struggle, finally fix
everything! Why criticize activism itsel,the knight
in shining armor we're counting on to save s ll?

‘Wel, for one thing, activism today isrit something

we can all participate in. This is obvious, but the
next obvious question should be whether tis
setting the stage for something we can alljoin in,
or just consolidating opposition as the private
domain of experts. There’s some of each going

on, of course; but,sad to say; activism as we know
itis something that seems to attract people who
act, however unconsciously,as though they have
something at stake in keeping the sphere of social
change all to themselves. The typical activisttakes
great pride in his status as Someone Who Cares, the
implication being that those who are not activists
are therefore apathists, Those Who Do Not Care; in
every conflct, he is “on the side of the angels"—that
s to say, as the civilians who are more aware of
their own imperfections realize, against all of us.
‘That activism attracts an inordinate number of
such individuals,at least during the lulls between
revolutionary upheavals, should come as no
surprise: except in those moments when it really
seems the world is about to change, who but those.
most prone to fighting and judging would choose
o specialize in “fighting for justice’? To quote an

“Activist”: A dreamer who has converted to “realism.”

FEATURES O
old cynic, the urge to save humanity is almost
always a front for the desire to rule”

“This is not to say that activism is entirely the
province of the self-centered and self-righteous, but
rather that we must be careful not to let them—and
those aspects of ourselves—set the tone for our
efforts. Likewise, we have to be aware of all the
‘ways we can intimidate o estrange others—not
least of all, the ways our efforts not to do so can be

even more alienating.

Take the buzzwords and sentiments above:
regardless of your values regarding the important
‘questions to which they ultimately refer,they
either make you feel at home (“], o0, am an
activist, Saving The World®) or totally alienated,
depending on whether or not you already have
(or want) a place as an insider in a certain activist

Despite all our proclamations to
the contrary, revolution was still 8
mere concept for us. a tantasy tuture—the
social rovoluton, when we would put nto practics
atlst il those abstractions about wansforming ife;

the personal ravalution, when we would fnslly ove
ourselves as we were and live life like it really was
ending one minute at a time. Caling for mass actions in
the name of total ieration, we stil hesitated to speak
10.0ne another about our darest dreams; defacing diet
billboards, decrying patriarchal propaganda, we still put
‘off coming to terms with our own bodies, still wondered
1t wouldn't be easier just to lose that weight than
somehaw persuade ourselves it was besutiul. Al thase
declrations, those fables of revolution—perhaps they.

were uststuff and nonsense: such conceps spring from-

10O FEATURES

culture. Think of the older homeless guy or
factory worker—or,for that mater, the rebellious
high school ki
spokescouncil meeting, and is impressed with the
non-hierarchical atmosphere but inds the walls

-who comes to an activist

of jargon and procedure virtually impenetrable.
Sometimes these folks do stick around, but we
shouldnt flatter ourselves that they do so primarily
because we've created a “safe space” with all our
complicated processes—if they stick around, s
more often a tribute to their own courage and
patience than to our sensitivity. We activists have
tried to develop a code of behavior and language
that s free of domination, an alienation-free
protocol—but protocol tself i alienating, unless
one is among those actively developing it Raised
as many of us were by middle managers from the
middle class, we naturally tend to take it into our

the psychological neads of those who trade in them at
feast a5 much as from any insight into what s desirable
or possible. Looking at the concepts we created, the
revolution we spoke of, it seems we needed 1o be in
‘unreciprocated love with some apocalyptic event ust as
many of us were, not coincidentally, with peoplel a least
‘85 much s we actually needed or expected one. This
longing suffused everything with meaning, but it aiso.
‘made everything bearable—whan we'd onc felt, and st
continued to insist, that it was all unbearable.

We had found ways of surviving. after al: we, who
prided ourseives on our intransigenco, who had fived
though moments when it seemed the old ordor was
truly crumbling and had pledged ourselves to defend
‘and extend these o die trying, we too found ways
10 bide time and lose ourselves in routine, albeit &

hands to manage situations even in our attempts

to relinquish power and privilege. Yes, its ritical
that we make sure that our relationships are free

of unhealthy power dynamics,as far as we're able;
but when it comes to connecting our litle circles

10 the broader social context,far better that we.
concentrate our energies on learning how to speak
and translate other communities'languages than on
developing our own perfect set of oppression-free
norms, rules, and lingo.

Yetits not just that we tend to alienate others
incidentally,on account of our cultural
conventions; sometimes our most deliberate
actions are the most disempowering for others who
would fight for control of their lives. If anything
characterizes activists as a group, it is that we feel
entitled to "organize” to take charge wherever
resistance occurs. All 0o often, when people begin

foutine of resistance. We developed our own rituals to
‘commemorate the ghosts of insurrections past. and
slowly, famished for something tangible to five on, came
1o mistake these formalities for liberation tself.

Meanwhile, whether we were paying attention or not,
littl sparks of revolution continued to shoot through
the lives of the civiians around us. Yes, revolution: the
electricity would go out on a strset, and neighbors who
had never met would find themselves marveling at the
stars togther. Revolution: a child would witness, for
the first time, exultant crowds filling the streets after
his favorite team won a footoell game; and for that
precious hour, as strangers embraced like fast friends
and benches wers torn from bus stops to feed bonfires,
his world was suffused with a magic possibilty that
seemed as natural as it was new. Revolution: couple

breaking out of the control of the usual authorities,
activists assume command: the outraged or
overjoyed crowd charges into the street, blocking
the intersection, and holds that territory until the
activist, negotiating with the police, announces that
an agreement has been reached and now its time
o disperse. Activists set the tone and language for
discussions,and thus limit the pool of possible
participants in such discussions. Activists attempt
to rally and direct opposition in communities, and
end up setting limits upon the object and scope

of that opposition—sometimes disconnecting

it entirely from the lives of those who were first
olved them directly.
Activists establish themselves as the representatives

drawn to it because it i

of social change,and thus alienate from social
change itself those who cannot see themselves

reflected in these representatives. We have to geta

would fal deaply in fove, into the kind of love that makes
everything that came before seern like a mere shadow
of iving—and, gazing into one another's syes one
morning uniilthe solipsism dropped away and the fact
of another's thinking, feeling existence became aimost
palpable. would suddenly be gripped by the wild idea
that in an alternate world one might look out across the
rooftops and fee that grateful for everyone’s existence.

o those who were ot fortunate or unfortunate enough
to b counted in our ranks, who felt repressed from

al sidas at once in a way they couldn't even begin to
articulats, to whom thse restraints seemed to be
forces of nature—to these people, as it once had to us,
revolution manifested itself above al as a shaking off
of resiity, a system shock, a cleansing chaos. For those
who had lived their whole lives under the burdens of

FeaTures T T
sense of our own lttle place in the social cosmos, of
the scale of what we can do without overreaching
ourselves or interfering with others autonomy.

“The role of “actvist” must itself be ended and
transcended to attain the ends it exists to pursue.
Roles and specialization i.. division of labor)
are inherent in and necessary to the capitalist
nightmare;in this scarcity-based system, those
‘who choose one role do not usually make it more
accessible or inviting to others, but less so, If

our goal really is to remake world of universal
self-determination, then our primary project
‘must always be to enable others to gain whatever
capabilities we have, not to engage in any form
of symptomatic treatment for the il of capitalist

society.

So what can we do? We can maintain an awareness

ol police, seff-recrimination, t ssamed the afterefects
of this repression could only be escaped by means of a
ransfiguring experionce: porhaps one had to awaken, as
the more prvieged among us had been lucky enough to,
under differant constelations, surrounded by beautifl
foreigners, to feel ready to revel, isk, revolt. But there
were not enough foreign ands to accommodate all the
individusls who needed this experience, nor ways to

Get them there: we would have 1o conjure them hr
somehow, on domestic soi.

Pondsring how 1o accomplish this, | began to suspect
that the cultre we revolutionaries had doveloped was.
not 50 revolutionay after al that there might be more
iberation going on during one of those power outages.
than thers was in @ hundred of our spokescounci
mestings. We had worked so hard to develop ways

of the ways our own psychological motivations for
activism become obstacles to its effectiveness. We
can focus on exercising, sharing, and reproducing
our powers, rather than consolidating them. We can
focus on what we are abl to do without lobbying.
or directing others; we might even be more
effctive notless if we concentrated on resisting
honestly for ourselves rather than for everyone. We
‘would do well o remember that while we can make
revolutions in our own lives,revolution itself is not
just ours. We need to be done with the sort of false:
‘modesty that enables us to act ke megalomaniacs
while demurring that “we'e not in charge” or

“our own processes of self-criicism are never
concluded” The real heroes are not activists, but
rather those of other backgrounds who are willing
0 step out of their comfort zones to work or speak
with us; it great when we do our best to smooth

o interacting freely, had refined a
s nnmnmmfifléflfl_flé!—ql
10 be free of the old on

could el as alenating as any other. B

needed most was mmmmw

the way for this, but we dorit deserve the credit
forit. At best, activists could be a linking class”
between diverse struggles and peoples, drawing on
our personal fascination with resistance wherever
it appears to help connect disparate resistances
(Brazilian landless farmers to punk rockers,
‘middle class mothers to homeless folks, abuse/
addiction counselors to eco-warriors)—not to
“build alliances"for its own sake (or for the sake of
creating a constituency for “community organizers”
t0represent”!), but in order that individuals and
communities might assist one another in their

immediate efforts towards liberation.

So thisis not a call for the end of activism for its
own sake,either, but rather so it can finally give rise
to the revolution we all hoped it would in the first
place.In the following fragments we'l address just
afew of the aspects of our activism that could use

lack of a better word—and, in that state of grace, find
themselves able to enact them, to change things that
were immutable bafore. Sooner o later, they return from
across that frontier, aven if they arrive as “committed
ifslong activists"—and allthe worse, reall, for a
people to b burdened with a class of activists who no.
fonger honestly believe in miracies! One must be a real
romantic, a maniac who trusts in fairy tales more than
reslity, 10 remain long beyond that horizon, fet alone
‘expect the world to join her there. But that—believing in
the unbelievable—is what it wil take for our dreams to
come true, is what makes such dreams possible at al.

S0 we would-be revolutionaries, if we would be
revolutionaries, must find those fault ines in ourselves.
and trace them 10 the corresponding fissures in our

civilization. And—more than that—we must ive in such

reworking; the predominance of white privilege in
certain activist circles (and the counterproductive
ways white folks address this in each other),

the pitfalls of valuing theory over action (and

the useless infighting this can occasion),the
ridiculousness of both “lifestyle” (read as:lazy)
anarchists and their equally idle critics,and the
apprehensions we all have about being seen as
“extreme?” Have fun reading, and try not to get
100 defensive—this isit intended as an attack on
anyone by means of ideas,but rather as an attack
on ideas for everyone’ sake!

8 way that miracles are not unthinkable for us. We have
everything to learn from the family that experiences an
unfarmilar ploasure i responding to a sudden crisis, or
the dropout who discovers that pure sailing free joy that
human baings are capable of—that is our binthright and
should be where the dead stares on the subwaybound
dayolers' faces are. That some yet persist from one day
10 the next, believing in miracles in & world that denies
all magic and mystery,is itself the grestest of miracles:
and proof that we can, in fact, do anything.

FEATURES 13
Here we go again:

Mapbeyou Know the soryof theyoung white sntcpialis ho was
amested during roess agist the Demaratic ationsl Conention in
Los Angeles,sumimerof 2000 Afebeing e, b s evntusl thrnen
in geveral popoltion t thepriso, where e emained unil s riends
and iy i s bl isirst dy i, acther hite gy spoting some.
sktchy attoo, pprosched im.°apprecie what your movemend s
doing ut ther the tranger began

O you do? Thats grat epled our protagonst, relcvd.Was this the
masss inaiy coming around?

“Veah— pprecate I because s whie monement

“Tis it sound quie a encouraging " i 1 doit understand what

Oh,you know what T mean”

"Ny dont insisedthe young actiist,tor between autage,ear and
confusion—he wantd 0 point o the anti-racist values o his communiy
thework theyd done 0 cofront the incqualiics fthe upitalst st
but when he thought oot ,ll isellow activiss an prosesteral he
peopleartsed with i, they werealmostll it istrcght shamed.
and hoping 0 v0kd coflct, e spent the et o the day hiding ot rom
the guy it the swastia n hischst.

“This encounte brosght up ot of difcl questons o the boy wholived
s tstill does for our community I o ecet tht,evn though the
subject s become more widely discused ver he past s whi:
activitsa whol il ave a ot f progres o make leaming ur role
inthesysem o white supremacy. Thereae v s good disogacs
oingonaboot thisand o of the min esons th sbjecthast becn
addresed beforein nside Frot r cther Crimethnc. matrias st e
e 0 add o the perspctives thers were lnady offering Bt at the
e e, this s s ocasonaly addressed in s hatare ulimately
counter-productve—hat obscurethe el sues,oreven it the
peopleeho most peed 10 hea and lise o thesecriiques Whas readyfo
rethink the ways whie actvsts have ben addrsing th question oftheir
o and,more 1o the poineach oer) privilge? Whedares t sk
ayinganyhingsbout soch 3 sensive topic?

Vet theres nogeting around i we have to consicer o ol how we can
unlear ur racist programming, bt s how wecanencoursge ober
‘white ks 10.do 5 who dont necessarly lace poliicl consciousness o a
premium. Currendy,the dilogue sboutrce s, and privilge s limited
tothe more polcalringe of the punk ockscens clewhere, punks g0
on gnoring th sues,belevin the o be th private domai o the
vidiciveand gl ridden We can bl this n thegeneral pathy and
defensivness of e white middie clas but al th s i we donit do
partto make acriiueof whit supremacy common outsie ur chs0-
right-on anarcho-punk ghetio,wehave only urseves o blame for .

1 thereaything e doing i pesetin thes sucs hat i ey
alinating? Considering thatwe white ks have beenried 0 specilize:
i alenating thers and ech the,and that v the st vehement

antoppresion atvst s il ected with the st fo poer this ety

14 Features

tcaches ach of s, the e i probably yes.We doit eed anodher
eneration of white activists walwin in gl compleses o atemping
o cretethem in others—we need o focus on making acual progres:
ovands overthrowing white spremacy Considering onésracil prvige
shouldappes tothe publc a3 useful way o nbance one eatios with
s, o smply a pstime forneuroi masochists I the wors-case
cenarios, white acivists actally use th ace sueas iy W0 et the
upper hand n power srugges withothr white activists: competing 0
peakonbehaf™ofthe ones ot involved in te discussion,throwing
around accusstion e than helping sch othr mproe, weanly
inder thestrugle aaint whiesupreanacy.Inight ofthi | ropose e
tepback and econsider some o ur assumpionsabo ace, prvige
and how 0 adds theminour commniy and srogge

Let start it thecassic queston: why i there ot rcl diverity
inthe North American anarchist movennert? ] can nlyaddress this as.

a0 inside being white K myself bt vegot somne hunchesshout
‘what going n. it | wa o pointcut htthe qeston e i st
the more homogenous the cicesthe inquiretavels i, the morehe
vl ithanslaris egative. There are i fct aarchiss o all
ifferent ethnicite clor and s active i the United Sstes (ehetber
they usethe word narchisto describe themsclves o ot and the

Sugaetion tht ther are o reflects s o onthe sesker's rarrow
experencea i does o the ondiions he purportstodescribe—asked
this question,one might reply: whichanarchist movement? Second,
thereare plnty f reasons peopl of clor are hestan to et imvlved in
predominandy white narchist movemment Historicall,we white

activists are fuckups—every timea truggle has gotten really

intense orthe government has really come down on some

Punk, Activism, and White Priviege

onganization of color, weive been nowhere in sight (John
Brown s pretty much the exception that provesthe rule). v
\oday mostof s have madeo e progrescallnging ur v i
‘nd limportance hat | ananly imagine how dificul s o thers

1o vorkith s and ven st s thecase, sl wouldt mesn
{actcs it hich e proced e necesrlyrlevant 0ok om
thercommanites—a Tl dicus frther belo These areal pois
{hstothers i ourcommuniy bave aken geat pins o emphasze, sbout
‘hich thers can e morecoquen tha L ca.

Nowlettry follow-up question thtisoftn gossed over v that
our communitis—especily the North American punk roc cene—are
dsproportonately i, in what ways i his problem, and i what
‘ways i ot ecesarlyone? Certainly by becping t mosty it socal
s white ol mis uton s ot ofthe perspctives and chllnges o
‘ot comfor we need—not to metion hoardingfor curselves he power
‘o prvigegive us. On the oher hand,trying o figure out v 0 get.
fekafrom therbackgroonds o jin o movenment i slf centred f
ot mperialist who sy we avethe answers 10 evryonds problems?
Whosysour actics should e everyonesactics? o he extent that
peopleofclo ddt participat indirect action agsins the Work Trade
Organization n Seatle becse white ctivits crested an uncomforable
envionment,wehave proble wehave 0 s bt it s o true tha
st mambersofpeopeof color did paricpae because hey thought
they had beter thigs

mean hat wee necessrily ding the vrong hingby procsting there—it

o dovwe shoukd rust thele odgrment. This doest

may b g for everybody inthe o runf we do—but hat parcular
fight maybe cur problem, o esponsbilty. Before e asume that
everyone st ther with us s st dong nhingistad,we nesd o
ducst curscvesabout whatthy are doing ntheir own communiti.
“That knavledge il prove very mporta.

A spesing of communities s no throv ot the by it the
buthveter—ifpunk rockappsl 0 mosly whie demographic thats
ot necsarly proben. The ctthat,this beingthe case,punk ock will
{mevitbly offer it perspectiveson the workd and lmited chancesfor
‘it flks o lear 0 fteract utsid thee comfot zones i animporant
ctor o considr a all times; i view f this,punks il hpefuly make an
ot ook beyond the vl fthei subetural ghetofocinsight and
cdocationandtake gret pins ot o beslicnatingo nsensive 0 those
ofcolorwho ae involved n k. Butthe omogneousnatureof the

ik scen (ot bemore specfc. some punk scene) s nok necessaly

argument againt s existence vl In fact, i he punkfanarchist

el predominantywhie revoltionary movement coud b bl that
dserved rusta showed sidarty with ather mavements,tat woukd
beas worthwhikca purposea any adical subcuture ouldever ope o

s ransformod i foundation upon vhich

Many concerns about th ovrvhelming whiteness o cetainactivit
represntation, which | hinkis

‘Samething ofa red herring Fordemocrai socalist, and communist

govering siuctures,which e supposed 0 wield the disembodied

powerof thecommanity g, representation i n mportant s,
Dethaps the ot impartan; ot ansrchist.onthe whle do ot beeve

e purk i fom & midde class il to anofher

in‘representation’ —we dortbive
in giving our power o thes
prfer torepresentounehves.
Some democrats and

seemto hink one back

peron can representall ack

peopleonabosndof disectors

anarchists doi beeve that

any individul canrepresent

agrougs o thatany group.

baweversimlar e

members may be nterms

of thnici gender s

e, can e summarized.

Accondinglyamarchist

rvctursare ot ntended 0

epresnt any person outside them,

Porto wied pawer over thersbut

rather o cnble those who participte

ithous disbling amyone . Assuing hey

succed inthisallorder thelack f diversity

does ot mecesarily mply an mbalance of

powersthe imporant question becomes

Instead wheherth groupis proceeding i a way tht

enbls it o have the diversy i neds 0 accomplih the purposcsor
‘which it xist. For example i Food Not Bombssnlended t erve the
eedsof ol from diverse commarite, s supid 0 havethe cooking
{ake plcea aprivate house belonging o whie people,where pepe fom.
ther backgroundsareess ey o f comfortabes n the oter hand.
ifyou hook punk showin your basementand everyone who comes s
‘i thatdocst sy mesn th event s consodatingpover or
‘whie peopea everyone lchexpense—provded youre ot getriying
h neghborhord and drving yous nighbors crazy that !

Allhisis ot say it st mportan foractivis frompredominandy
‘whie movements o develop eationshipswith peope fom oher
backgrounds It s mportant. very imporan, and s something hat

arely happens—so1 want o talkabout one way whit ctivists can

Joser i sinceth responsibilty e o us 0 make this possbleAgin,
0 ot reslstic or ight on 10 expect eople f cther ackgrounds, with
ifferentoterest o oin projectonce s alrady started and the goals,
procedure,and one etablshd—espeiallyno i the ones you'e hoping
Totract have ben oppressed by peoplewh ok ke youtheir whole
Jives Projcts that ae o ut acros i ieshave 0 be maltiacalfrom
the sart o they candevelop vitheveryone involved hvingthei ierests
respeced and s fcling sense ofownership. Bt why would anyone
ofclorwant 0 stat projctwith white activissayhay? I e vand 10
‘workwith pople from ther communiies, we st have 0 buld s,
cablsh actulrendship tha common causescan befounded upon.
Todo s we nd olear ht evlutonary projects peoie of color are

reatures 15
ndertaking that wecan gt behind, and support thes, ollowing thelr
niiaives i th procs ther than seckin o impose any eadership
ofourown This i ight on, ey since we white ks have o of
resource tht it would besenscls o ke o urselves I the proess of
‘working ogetes,people il gt t knowesch other and the net prject,
‘orthe oneafer ha,canbe iniated together—proided you ahays keep
an eyeout fo whereyourprvleges can be ppledfr everyones benef,
and where yourcondionings nerfering

Fuant 103 few propesas that 1 hope can st our commaniyin
making more progres with these sues.Fis e docur best t avoid
raming discusions of specific cases nterms o whether person group.
ortactics"ackt” o ot—this approach immediaely esblshes .
polrizing conflctcomplet withaccusatons,deials,lth makings of
along term community-facuring e t o providesan ey out for
those not accused o racism 0 v electin o their own behavir T
‘ot of th racist”they can say o themselveswe already prged ll
of e nsead e approachevry discussion wththe ssumption tht,
a5 were all s n rcist socety we wouldall o wel o consider
constanly how we an mprove e conductand consciousness.In such .
contet, discusson cn focus on offeing prctical,constctive dvice and
perspectv,rather than bogging down in debaesbetween people ho
each beleethattei sujectiveexpeienc i the objective truth.Frget
about whether youre racitoe o ‘objectively” pesking— i someone
e sbjectvl el that youar behavingn racit o inenstve
mannes,ou should value their perspectiveencugh o focus o lisening
instend of deending ourslt.

‘Second.les malke a disinction between actvitesthat e priviege and
acions tht abuse o renorce pivlege. Simplyhavin privlege,or doing
thingsthat those without our privilges canno, ethe ofthese things
lone i unjust. Afeal w ll have privlee 10 some extent o snother:
some have whie piviege, some haveth priveg of anshebody.cc
“The problem comes when individuls take thee priviegesfor granted.
orfec entiled 1o mare priviege than othes comiortably acceptingthe
advantages hiearchical,discrimimatory scity bas ccordedthem st
thers xpense rather than challenging these it But individual
possesed of privieges canake advantag fthis tounderminethe sysem
tht conferred them: the US. ctize staying in Zaptiss vlage s the
Mecanarmy will ot dare atac i a exampeof histhe upper s
ropout who spendshe trust und o rentfor & communiyceter may
e anther—ssuning e docseit behave s f she owns the plce -
50 the case that privlege an be ppledfor good. f smpy aving
privige i the it place i el vidence of gui thethe eactionary
‘morons o characteize our poltics s a race o the botomin pursit
oftherightcousness o totalvictimhood s corect i thei anlyss.
Therefre, it makes il sense o cricize, for example, white shopifers
ortaking advantage ofthe fc tht securkty guards ay ks stnton o
thensthe realquestion i, can this power be s wayththelps nthe
truggeagaintthe syt ofdominatio,o does it necessarly reinorce
thatsyste o mater how it s aplid? And ssumin it can e sed in
such way—sa,by white ki tealin spicesfora i acial Food Not
Bormbs—how can those whitekidsbe persuaded 0 do s rther than
lienated by accusations o white privege and guit? From nov . we
have o b very spcific and very maneed n all our considerstions of the
s of prvege,no st throve the term sround dismisivly.

16 reatures

Finall 0 ensuethat ll our discussions o hissue s more productive
thanvindicive, have sggestion:every e someone brings p white
prvige n the punk/activit/anachist commuritythey should e
concrete,reproducible example of approaches thy hve tried o at st
eard about hat avesuccessuly addresed i and worked o dismanie &
“Ths il round discusions i the important queston ofhow o change
thingsnd circument the tin il of mudsinging and wallowing

i gt hink that many people n our communiy reallyvand o fight
‘whitesupremacy inall s manifestations but have o des where o how
10 beginthe more examples we ave o work from,theesier willbe
forcachof s o figure out hw o gt going, Hearing oo moch shout
problems ithout hering about pssitle soutons ca b overwhelming
and immlilzing anyay; s avays best s or o ofS0%.
critique to 0% proposion.

T that spr, 1l concude with stoy fromthe small Scxsthem cy |
sometimes cll o, oot an instane in which some punk rckers
connectedthei activies 1 a sueafcing obers ousside teisocal
strtum, [ hink i lstrstes welthe way activists canbe s linking.
s makin thethings diffeent socal groups do vy it eflctive
esitance tactics simply by inking themt ech ther.

An nnocentyoung black man wasnjured i car acidnt;the police
Showed up before the ambuiance i, and e ofthem shot imto
death. Such s senseles murder s ypcal o acist plice vioence bt
nfortuntely thst s the nc o th sty when the parents o the
munderd man calld the pliceoffer who il thei son 3 murdere,
the plice deparment sued them, Mermbers ofthe civist commurity
engaged the parens indisogue, o theysaid they wanted o make s
aboutthe murder and call aienion o .

“Thisis wherethe punks come in. ack-cld, patch. weaing punk rockers,
thekind upight activistsandlerals oftn deride s alenating onaccount
ofthei vardrobesalone ved i this . They ddt have ot o money
1 hlp with the cour coss,ad ey didit have s o sy voting o
that coid e called upon o presre th ol govenment bt they did
shoplitand scroenprin and spraypaint ot Normall these skl vere
only used i the subcubura vales n st from thearger
commurity.but 00 the parets o the young man bad close fll of
scrcenprintd it 1 el 0 e swareness a gl fucing and the
wallandsidewalks ofthe ity came lve with grai:Gi Barberkled
by Dty GondyDeputy Gordy=Mirderer There wese demonstrations
organized,and gres mumbers of punk rockers and their rends tuned.
ut o show support o the parets an ppasiion tothe police. Al hese
combined o cxert force back on the olice, 0 make thercllous court:
e cos ther bl spprt and tthem o ey kst et
ety with murder.

Nothing we could o coudrestore il Brber o, o ke up for
this tragecy bt hecase against i parets vas droppec. and now
communite ar connected. G mother,radicalzed by te nstice done
erbut ko by her good experiences with young flks infunny outit, s
o nveved inother cngoing sruggles, i thers e i hrs s s humbe
it tory bt erhaps an exampl of whst couldbe possble cn uch
randerscale.
AMAZIC

Utollhr

“CAN THE LAW BE ENFORCED?”

/}‘

I you want to Immobitze a person, ask i to speak more on
a subject. The more he speaks, (e lss immadate i need fo
actwitbe”

-Bil Gates, Inventor o the internet iscussion forum

There re times when no distnction nesd be made between
speaking and acting—in such stuations, speaking s el acting.
A hers arotimes when action i not et caled for, when
iscussion, defberation, and planning must ke pace st

There e cther suatons, though,in which people talk—or,
‘more froquenty, argue—instead of dong. Ideas and theores
‘become commodites, extensions of thei owners' egas, ke
the doge at dogfght ke the dogs at a doghght,they are
pitted against each other, each against al wih the owners
hetorcfor ciaws, logic orteeth, and quick vits for reflexes.
“The gley ofwinning a debate, the gatiying knowledge that one.
s smarter than others, th rghteousness of being gt hese:
are extaraiing and addctive chugs —and when ons has gen
up hope ofever ffecting or xperencing feal change, pursuing
these consolation prizes can bo a very seduciive suogate.
actviy.

Risthe nature o commodites that whie they appear o ncrease
the weatth and power of the 0n who possesses them, n fact
they reprasent s dispossession—since, n capialst socely.
‘one must give up parts of onesel (contl overone's tme and
the products of ones labor and inventon, fafuness 1o 0ne's
onscience, the possibiy ofa fe based on cooperaton rather
than competiion nreuen for he power 0 puchase subsitutes
forthe. t s no diflerent with doas: when they become
‘competing commodities, when there's not enough rightness
‘and righteousness 1o qo around and pecple sinuggle aganst
‘sach other to “win" arguments nstead of benefiing from each
ofher' perspeciies, the ensiung compeliion can cnly mantain
the dspossession of all involed by interering with their power
10ind common cause orat leat estabish mutual benefcal
relatonships.

There are anarchists who “Govelop thei theory” withthe same
‘obsessive energy Others put nto Collecting and restoring fancy.
‘utomobes, who exhtt and defend thei heses with that
same fervor and combative spit, I these contess of €90s
sguised s debate, whonever cne vins an argument af the
‘expense of good feeing everyone 0ses. | s just as mportant
that we foster good relationships that can form a foundation for
puting our ideas nfo praciico as s that we oster the deas
themsaives. Theory serves the nferess of no one as end i
Isai, thoughthe personal ratcation one finds in vanquishing a
ival theorst can amost make one feslas though th revoluton
s that much close. Thecryis only one of many 1esouroes wich

must be developed socil—that s, in a way that promotes:
espect, ffnfy, and rust—in order 0 arm ndividuals and
Qroups to erats themsaives and protect each ofher. Aarchy
sn'tjusta good dea in vacuum— it s isogue and mutual
aid empowered o erforce the conditons which make them
possive.

Some thaorists whose bark s mare frequent than their bte
Wwouid defend the predllecton for hostle, conffontational
hetorc andior endiess abstracton by arguing het, as the
evelopment of theory Is never fished; t s ol o cal for
‘soidarty,outreach, and acton n place offuther discussion. But
fished or not, we st constany act on ou theories, as much
5 we think on ther —otherwise our tinking vl be l-nformed,
1o say the least. Theory s not some retrement fund one can
work to cutvate and then finaly cash in—theory is thought
‘which informs ongoing action, or 6 s thought without teeth
o misquote the famous buffoon, °a theary can only descrbe.
the worid—the point, however, i 0 ve i 1. Or, i the words of
‘amore ecent wisoguy, “any idea which s alowed (0 fow nfo
acton s a spel cast for more of the same”—what spel are we
casting when we get caught up in endiess debates, intead?
‘A how are we to act with the power we can ony have among
riends, f our enciess dobtes alenate us fom each other?

We must once and for alldiscard the academic's notion that
there is any rea distincton botween thinking and acton: even
the most shent actons speak volumes, and every atcuiaion
of thought s saff an acion—even f t s merely wordy oping
for nactin. As actions shouid be evaluated accordng o
‘whether they are good ideas, 5o articuiatons of theory shoud be
vaated according o thek effectiveness as actons. The besi-
Souncing theory s worthless i esults in no practice; the most
‘ecucated debat is meaningless i 1 doas not produce a change
for the bettern atleast someone's He.

o make this concrets: Please, pease, allyou brilnt anarchist
thecreticans, stop fhting amongst yourselves and fgure out
how 1o accompish together the goals you have in common. No
matter how smart you all are, our CurTent squabiles are dong
o one any good, Noteven yourseles.

D0 you st st that wo answer your favorkte quesiin, that
we dedlare what brand of anarchsts we, which suffx we prefer
10 use 1o ghetoize ourseives? Al of them, we wil repy: we are
anarcho-syndcalsts o the shop loor, anarcho-primitists n
the forest, anarcho-comimunists when there's something fo
share, soclal anarchsts i our communtes, individualsts when
You catch us alone, Insurectionists when the sht his the fan—
&bove al,we are rovoktonary anarchists, we are anarchists
who balleve that,as i and cuture are essential matters of
context, s up 1o s above al 1o Chalenge and ransform
this context and be propared {0 star rom scratch afterwards.
Therefoe, we don't waste much time prognasticaing or
onstnucting vast systems of protocol. We act now o change
What orages Us and pursue what airacts us; we wil eevaluate
and act againlter We dor't want to mistake our analyses for
the word, nor mistake ritue for iberaton sef, we try 1ot to
gettoo comortable with ur deckogical posiions —they are
Chily ocis with which we work {owards change, not masters.
commanding i of s, We choose ou ndiidual strategies for
‘nacting change based on our ndidual characterstcs and
references, 3s much as on abstract strategizing which may
‘o may ot prove acourate; we don't xpect our theories and

FEATURES 17
A1

+in e cndORs most dangerous enemies sX0 500
exterainated Af 1t beconte mecoReRTY.

e subversive operatives theaselves, who 080 b
ather, thoss who offer comstruGHve

they aze,
avalanche of {

ooy
e o, o e e 2
Tl sritzece.

sides, pro- and anti-. This aistracts attention s

Make oOTY discusaton iato 8 debate with ¥e0 opposed
o oupei a1k partios to entrench thenselnes B rigia

ron tne idoas and sukjects in questiznt
posttions. Always! o o you ugponext' Sdsen se i taay cuastisiie fixed,
B eotiod Adeclogy, alvays address eur oFpoacHl B £ o 1o an sutoaston serving this 146al08T:
e apiex vetag with 1ife history bahiad B8
T ved porsons with questisas, alwaye fake Jou oritiotans dizectly to the public. y
the doukt, Poous on the very siaplost

Never approech 1
B wtcer any siategy other thaa JouI S Nenotit of
stugidest, weakest|
gotats ia aay / naterial:
B oesdiian et Gk FL 1B SO L4 EE '

T hasize these, Disvegard subtlctice. Fick & Sapl
and over uatil everyone 18 80 £ '+ they 1eave the entire arend of dlecuseion |

ed up tha

’w escape your negativity.
ot be caster to he agaiast 1t thaa y

ake your objeotiams atapler thaa JouE SIGE % saotio, 1t aw
T uaeretast aad tateryret 11, Usklusbingy otgs yooke vy tnetx overs. Feople SR 10 e '
o Saa s stad with you without haviag o 153 rything avout he subiect. Uake 18 & stzle 80

atoniss 88 8 style, make 1t | i

' trend o acouse of beiag & tread.

e as incoherent as possiis. Meke it i
anything pouttive from yous tiredes, deeptss heir woet intentions and atforts o g5t Jest YT 3
‘aggrossive tone. When speakind ‘of aspeots of their work which nake ou foel alienated, for example, A |
O lienatiag ss oesitle yoursel. Defeneiveness o wmat you weat o provoke, akove s11= 1t A

atscredite 1ike nothiag elee.

matever /w-mmm your opponeat L
potato teras such as ‘sexist’ sad “olassist™ | l
|

T ing sucooestully, dsacatse. UiLlise ot -
e it reteresn o positla RIS 1 1 8T

B e raens it toaes aocasatims 3ot el T
unds other than your owa~—eapectally denographics| 1
‘themselves. Refer to bond 136 reprosentatives of | 1 !

sosstaie for sayone to derive

Astack egos, exhaust patience,

ase thea over and over,
nave constructive discusel
oprescat the views

‘hat "aced” represent]
\hess demographios, when they 8pPe8X

ing, as 7 they canot & 1t
in posttions you

ian's cxpect, 88 "toKeR"
ant sea-rightoausasss. Jo'

teousston with polatless persensl Etiacks, sAYOr
T with yous crussde; caloulate your Woms t nurt feelings

o ptend aywtanders, Everyoas ¥ho has €597 uF 1% ais victous world has built up 8 certain
e ot frostration aad resmmtmsst tiltse 45 ST Tiow 0 trigger it in others. In every dis
L nontive euergy ia motlon ead mako 6350 14 W20 ogt

persuaded by your axguaenth, 1

cusston,
e smastructive thought and respeotful slEr ‘Even 1 0 one 18
+ that frightens off all outsiders.

‘his oreates aa environaen
idden douts and vulnerabilitics

et guilt and rosentacat Lixe & plague ¢
‘yoursel so much

jposed daperteotions

Sower the level of a1
oyt s 100 dow to stoop. Becoae o

aove all, be afreds. Bo atzaid of your omn vl
read that foaz, that snas,

reputed superiority— and op
s poumssif aad gyiEyul wibe mtal Kica S0% P

By fisd reapte 12 astaoking others?
FROAIBITED

Stategies to be relevant afer the next
nsformation —indeed, we hope

y won' be. Whather our deas are

jectively “right”or not matters much
less 10 us than whether they actually

orks o rends, dect acton
oty or These

our comrades to
organtze and act however they wa, 2
and, more mportantl, we won' waste
veryone's tme citcizing others for

hoosing diferent models than we.
do. We're ratefl whenever others

omething we woud't—t saves

‘The would-be revolutionary secks critcism, above all —she o e el
relies upon thi o reine her strategies,to learn from others crcivron uhffil? ’y{«l‘”m
perspectives, to maintain her humility. She knows that oot o adertt sclte
evaluations of her efforts are of the utmost value f0 eVeryone s e of wapec o e

involved in the revolutionary project, and so she is the firstto incvec n revoltoriy
insist that these efforts are far from perfect. compaitons, or polics ot mt

The most effective way to undermine her work is with
unconstructive criticism. Harried by idle faultfinding, name- sooan onaconperive bass ards0

becomes deaf to all feedback—and thus frozen, neutralized. Crrstans, o e anechia- o 0
ipeprendin

Trust that your comrades are sincere about changing the world, 5Pt o vhoowr vanis b,

and approach them with input as gently and supportively as bl il

calling, petty attacks and personal vendettas, she eventually

you can, We're going to win this revolution, sooner or later, so

there's no sense in taking out our frustrations on each other— "sokdarky - ‘"f . daek *“"“:“
st welre only going to win it together. Save the offensive for || 1oarsross\0 oneromie orhes
your true enemies—the ones with whom discussion solves No o s soicarty s a practce

al cooperation s worth a mion

atises on .

FeATURES 19
A Letter to the Editors of Fifth Estate

koo koo et e ot s o
supermarket dumpstor down the e, bockpock full and grfi
on empy, 1 house from which Crimethinc. propoganda s
disributed.

My finds ok up rom the pies of pomphlets and papers and
poskrs hey v boon sufing ko boxes since marning, an crnge.
ou know s nct going o be good, says e one wit the

boord—"when somecne wonis ook for the soke of crgument

"Yeah," | allow, 'hmw)d}nwh—n;.nmmxm
iece in the last Horbinger, ‘Inf Fight All the.
o e o o e, i
one Pono Bonobo endeavors fo rescue pacifist anarchism as well s
Cnmufmhmnm\ww-hwm
B A
of literal fact, con't one actually use the masier's tools 1o dismanle:
o

"Wol,yes, you con,* he rfoins—but you can' use the master's
oals o dismante hi ook

*air sncugh—whal oe you supposed fo dismante his house wit
inseod, | wondert”

"Wefve ol been ying o figre ot cne o lughs e one
B
for everyone o y ifrent hings, o ong os e hous ancs p
Gimoniedard o o0k m o groond

eoh . 'muooding perecty good banonas and mongos, as
wo of ham sl up huge package b Puero Rico. "Bonabo and
s “Ashon R’ person on th et hove been hasing it out

over which opprooch, vioen directaction or nomiclent sl ke

noked mching, s more appeoling o the masses and o on, but
donl peronally e why we con't hove & movementwih loce
for bah, in which ey complement sach oher*

*Tve found bot rewarcing ond ffecive o diferent nes,”ofers
my pigiaed Fiond, s she eoches or e ope.

*Some people cre going o gravice o one, and some he ohe,
‘amyway —why not accept that and focus on how o negrte he
wo?" Benach fhe bononas ore big bogs o sclod greens. "And
thot brings m o my oher questin: | apprciae e edors gasre
of slcory i rebuking anarchis wh atack ou prjecs, b Fm
ot sure i ik ifsa good Hing. | mean, i feels good for my ego,
ot har's suoly a sign ot something's dongercus

“F we'e being defondc o h some grounds o we' being
afocked, s not 0 good, uggests o furh vce. "Conory o
e i | o e g Moo el rarae
o cnyheg i b Cinhic. e o0 g pee
“chop o unl h syem collopses. We've publahed s bout
some ways peoglefom e mre privieged cssescon urvive
wihout working, bt | vy hought he ideo was o use ot
Hiberced spoca o woge wor for everyona'sHberaon. Revolton
has o hoppen, somehow, and o hove fime o work on i, some f
uswil hove 0.gotcu Ives out ofha workaconomy.* Sho goos
bock o answerig o e

“Wh' his ‘we, whble man?* jokes bock o he he smiing
womon af the compuse, deleing the rdersfor e papers at
bave boon packaged his eveing,

20 FEATURES

‘Septermber 2002, coutesy ofthe GW.C. At Sauabbing Sauad

“The woy 1001 e becrded one bagins ogoi, befing @ bundie
of oblids, “he los hing we noed i o be defended om our
ribs inhe onorchst communy.Fis f, i we'e serious bovt
focusing our energies ouvards, o hose who cod be nvoled
in his sruggle butcren yo'—he okes @ morker and begins
addresing 0 box 1 a kid i Texas—"roher han inwords formore
siugging of anorchist ogoins! anarchis, hen ! perpeiotes
o Bt i e e i
misunderstoncings, apologiesfr misokes, hose hings we-
more bod energy, more baties boween egos, we don'. Second,
Twonder i fsoccured o e poople of Fith Esce al we might
ot mid these oftacks—maybe fs ur rle o say o be ings
rotore unpopulor. Maybe forsome, wo canbe most helpul as an
‘enemy, somehing I rebl or rooc ogoins.”

The woman laoks p rom he comper cgain, mare serious. *h
s00ms 0o o wo achaly hove symbicc rloonship with he
closs wor anorchis. Thee dicribes con srve o bing he some
hings weetolking about down o sorh—veleored tings
from thom before. A, especoly i omeone does misundersand
ourofors o eyl ot ciue needs o be here o crly
‘whot curerore did ol Our ocics don ond shoukd' work
for eveyone, ond he Class Worrirs cre there o provide n
llmofive—viiously ocking us nprin i s i way I e the
word know i, o responcing wih insusofcur own woukdn’
improve anyhing. s o ke hey merfre wif our octvies in
procice.”

it o it i WS
e ol g e o e
‘already has points of entry for other approaches to radical
ranzing and g

Vim fnal unloocing the polooes ofhe bofom of my pock: the
closs worors e righ, we con ony hope, hal we scovengers
ill e 1o find ohr surcesoffood once h revluion comes;
Eut for e i being s sod ond absurd ht hy arent hers 1o
el us shor s vost bounly i hungry amilies oround own.

i cnyhing, 'm amoyed by e way ou onarchis crics o seem
10 o0 h s 50 crolssy— ke n ot piece o he emet
“Fipping Prough i st book specks voumes, or e ohe guy
‘who brogshot o h hos o do s fudge ou book by s cover. 11
quoe lote o Groon Anarchy’ | rummoge

e zine rock and fn th ssve—"here i : 1 these "ciues"
hod incued a detoed dscusion on aur fockcs wih relerence 1o
ourhistory and curet ositons in he work, i wouk t hove boen
a big e, nthing thot we don' o consiorily wiin our own
rganizations. Wibou i ust seems ke ey e looking o
moke enemies

Bt s jus my poi,” roles my bearded comparion. *As g
a3 we are geing ot kind ofconsucive criiue rom some, we
dontneed every anrchis 0 re0d our work horoughly, o lone

s i We hove o keep oureyes on e prizs, G f were—keep
S::\-dmmrqmmwhmmm
involed in any anorchst commundy. Thafs he proec we've foken
onin his house, o least,right?" He gets o can o spray poin ot
oot new senci. *Anywoy,hor why | wish our convodes of
Fih Estce, being wellversed ncur moterilsand whot has worked
in our focics o dok, wouldfous on poining ou weys we can
improve. Wo don' eed defenders —or odversers, of s poin.
We noed insight, crecive cics
DISPATCH
CENTRAL

eeds doing, nt just solating yourselffrom the rest of
bumanity—wasnt it?

“Ifone makes propaganda extolling what i revolutionary
about shoplifting, one is not necesarily trying 1o get
would-be revolutionaries toshoplift 5o they can be ‘more
revolutionary’ [obviously a stupid approach if there ever
was one—although exploring the tactcal benefts of
shoplifting for a classof people ooking to do lss buying
might make sense]—one might instead be trying 1o
identify for shoplifiers what is already insurrectionary in
their actions, so they can broaden their analysis of their
ouwn lives.

“Crimethought is not any ideology or value syste
Ifestyle,but rather a way of challenging all

and value systems and lfstyles—and, for the advanced
agent, a way of making all ideologics, value systems, and
Ifetyles challenging. It is not crimetbought just tosurvive
without ajob by dumpstering, squatting, and bitcbbiking:
it s erimethought to ealize that
this Ifstyle provides resources
that can be ued to revolutionize
demonstration activism, or
underground literature. It is

ot crimetbought simply 1o
distribute propaganda attacking
the monotony and limited options
of traditional employment; it is
crimetbought to create situations
in which both workers and
ex-aworkers benfit from cach
others'different experiences, and
consequently discover new options.
and new adventures that were
previously obscurcd.

The Stalinists, Surrealiss,
Situationists, and even Southern
Bapiss all had their bloody
‘purges and internal dissensions,
s0 why canit we, too? Having
no membership should be

no obstacle: we can still hold
exclusions from time to

time, just to be sure everyone
remembers. These are festive
occasions for us weathered

FROM
(GO ETE L5
IMMEDIATE

*Quitting your job was about having more ime o do what

W .6
FOR
REICENSTES

politicos, analogous to the subtextual backbiting at the
dinner partics of the bourgeoisic or the witch trialsin
the Salem, husctts of old. But first, before we
get into the fiery sclf-rightcousness of the thing, some
background.

It been nearly a year now since 1 went through my
ire proofing copy of the Evasion book in the dark
back seat of a und traveling by night, with
only my trendy activist headlamp for light. Even
then, we knew already what the greatest drawback of
all the general
ideas in Days of War, Nights of Love, the inspirations
and analyses and especially the thetoric calculated to
encourage revolt, would now be summed up in some
minds by the specific formula spelled out by the stories
in this new book. Even though Evasion is not a work.
of politicaltheory;or a prescription of tactcs, but
clearly a personal account, a memoir—even though

we've maintained from the beginning that there is no
single strategy for insurgency, but that everyone must

ALL TRAVELER KIDS PURGED
FROM CRIMETHINC.

MEMBERSHIP
invent and reinvent their own—it was incvitable that
we would be misunderstood by some, and we accepted
that in publishing the book.

In publishing it, we wanted—to articulate this for
the thousandth and last time—to introduce an
account (one of many) of work-free living to a wider
readership, and thus challenge conventional notions
about the sanctity of property and the misery of
‘material poverty. With this cultural wasfare, we hoped
to do our part to expand the anicapitalist movement.
Sharing particular scams,extolling the lifestyle of the
scam artst, these were secondary goals at best. The
zine had already been produced and distributed on

as massive a scale as the infrastructure of our d.iy.
underground allowed, to the demographics who would
be most likely to utilize s scams and emulate the
author' lfe choices; we printed the book version to
sec if this narrative of refusal and adventure could sow
other seeds outside its native environment. Some of
the feedback we've received from beyond the existing
activist and anarchist communities suggests that it has;
but now it’s time to shake off whatever success we've
achieved, as one must always do to make space for new
attemps.

And to speak, for the last time as well, of how our
efforts, with this book and other projects, have been
misunderstood. There is a certain kind of reader who,

of these readers, by producing material that was too
simplistic or too comples; perhaps this kind of reader
is simply too rampant today to be altogether avoided
by even the nimblest of propagandist’s pens. One
certainly carit say enough, though, that nothing in the
world i one-dimensional

So while this,too, has been said a million times,
perhaps it will do some good to say it again in this
context: the traveler kid lifestyle is not in itsclf at

all evolutionary. It may surprise some to hear this
from us—that shows how litle they've been listening
all along. Shoplifting, hitchhiking, scamming,
unemployment—separated from a program of

life- and world-transformation, al these are merely
alternative tools for survival, a survival which makes
do with and ultimately accepts the status quo. Yes,

it i better, however infinitesimally,to steal products
than to give money to our exceutioners—but it’s not
enough! Three millennia of shoplifting now, and the
exchange economy is il thriving, Ifi’s life we're
after, not mere survival, as the old dichotomy goes, we
canitjust st tight now in our squats and punkhouses,
eating dumpstered bagels and selling our shoplified
wares on e-bay; we have to keep on risking everything
to challenge the system that denies us the rest of

the world,if for nothing elsc atleast to continuc
challenging ourselves.

Nowadays, one who would think freely s in need of crimethought. But one who crimethinks
is especially in need of anti-crimethought. And, to serve its purpose, crimethought must be

forsaken, still more so anti-crimethought.

though you do your best to bring out the subtleties
and ironies, will always focus on the most superfical,
controversial terms in your works, and interpret

your complex ritiques as simple dismissals and
endorsements ("paying=bad,” "shoplifting=good"—or,
far worse, "=anticapitalist’). Whether he professes to
be your adversary or accomplice, it is best to avoid him
altogether, for he will lower the level of dialoguc on
any issue to his own low denominator—and a that
elevation, litle of value can be discussed or achieved.
Perhaps we can be blamed, n part, for creating some

For the record, and to briskly repudiate every imbecile
who has used "Crimethlnc. as a synonym for
scamming and frecloading, we've never been interested
in being or being seen as partisans of any lifstyle;
we've always insisted that being radical involves
subverting all possible ifestyle choices, all traditional
strategies and identities. Revolution occurs when some
part of the social equation changes: when apolitical
workers initiate a wildcat strike, when middle-aged
mothers stat to show up in the black bloc beside their

sons and daughters, when vagabond dropouts integrate
themselves into local struggles for affordable housing.
‘The letters we receive from adul secretaries who have
used Crimethlnc. literature to inspire themselves to
change their lives are infinitely more encouraging to
me than the scores of teenagers reading Harbinger as
they set out on the hitchhiking excursions young folks
always have. Not that there is anything wrong with
being a hitchhiking teenager—but to be a dangerous
hitchhiking teenager, you must do something more
than simply hitchhike, and interpreting anticapitalist

texts as glorifications of your hitchhiking doesn't count.

Thopped my very first train just a few weeks ago,
after nearly cight straight years of unemployment

and anticapitalist agitation. For most of that time,
Twas never much of a hitch-hiking, train-hopping,
scam-pulling traveler kid, and neither were most of
the individuals I collaborated with—there arc, believe
it or not, a wide variety of other lfestyles that are
equally conducive to such endeavors. The historical
intersection of the latest wave of youth nomadism with
the propaganda groups like ours have been spreading
is,in some ways, unfortunate; it has had some good
effects,but it has also made it easie for people to
dismiss some radical ideas as the alibis of a new youth
trend—or, worse, to believe that they are being radical
simply by joining such a trend!

The creation of subculfural ghettos, the
reinterpretation of subversive acts as promotions of
some alternative lifestyle—these are processes by
which opposition and subversion have been repeatedly
neutralized over the past four decades,if not centurics,
Yesitis critical that we build new communities,

with new cultural values and approaches, and that

we not belitle these as "mere subcultures” when they
do arise—for itis in these commaunities that we can
develop and sustain a resistance, and create a context
in which to lead free lives. It i also critcal that we
keep challenging these commaunities, that they do not
become stagnant or self-satisfied: for as long as we are
all under the great thumb, freedom is always for all or

Crimethlnc., and for that matter (and far more
important) crimethink, are not membership
organizations, anyway. Subverting is not something
You are, i’ something you do, and must find new
Ways to do in every attempt. Let's not rest a expelling
the traveler kids—hell, we're al/expelled, time-tested
Crimethlnc. agents first and foremost! Even the most
experienced of us insurrectionists must start from
scratch every morning to foment insurrcction, shaking
off the inertia o the past to sce anw what the current
context calls for. When we succeed in doing this, we
can change the world,for itis inertia above all that
keeps the wheels spinning as they do. If we cannot,
we are done for—we will be more anachronists than
anarchists, and our activism mere retroactivism.

And 50 now we turn away from the past, from all
explanations and justifications and apologies, to

face the future and the experiments we have in store:
for it. Doubtless, they will occasion comparable
storms of controversy and misconception, if we are
ambitious enough to keep pushing our own limits
and hazarding schemes crazy enough to work. So,

all would-be crimethinkers are hercby expelled from
Crimethlnc.—whoever can discover the strategies for
the next offensive,set the terms for the next infectious
revolts and heated debates and social upheavals let
them claim it for themselves! Expect our next book,
or one of them, to be a iberation manual for middle-
aged mothers, not another youth's chronicle of willful
indigence. In the meantime, let’s us traveler kids stop.
congratulating ourselves on how free we are and start
using that word, free, 2 verb, not an adjective.

"On one point we are in ungualified agreement
with our eritics: it is o the utmost importance
that Crimethlnc. be absolutely and categorically
destroyed. Unfortunately, for this to be possible, it
is necessary to overthrow capitalism and Western
Civilization in general. In this endeavor we
wish them well, and will assist them where we
can.

COMPOSED AND ILLUSTRATED BY TWO GRADUATES
OF THE CATHARSIS COLLECTIVE

‘When it works,you'l e with your
‘companions,crowded fifteen onto
an apartment room floor lstening
tothe unbelievably loud snoring
of the one who always flls asleep
first and it will bethe sweetest
sound youve ever heard You'l ide
into a new town each day, fearless
and all-powerfulin your certainty
that together you wil transform
everything you touch. Your songs of
healing and destruction will echo
offthe wall oftrailers in Mississippi
and squats n laly,or, beter,will
transform your own home town
into the Paris of May 1968,and

you'lembrace in mutual grattude
and wonder. Al the petty disputes
and anxietiesthat made daly lfe
such a miserable chore will vanish,
and you'll know you are living as
human beings are meant tolive: in
tribes of shared desire where the
logic of coercion and compensation
falls away and magic is wrought
nightly. The world iself il tremble
before the forces you unleash as
you discover what you're capable of
together. That when it works.

‘When it doesnit work, you'll lie awake
ploting revenge on your doscst

friends, you'l marvel in terror that
something supposed to be fun could
be so much more agonizing than day
labor was, you'l even think in the
bleakest moments, you've found the
proof that the anarchist revolution is
a pipe dream afterall.

“Thisis about that crtical foundation
for world revolution through d-beats,
circle pits, and patches—getting
along with your friends and
bandmates. Without that, nothing is

possble with it anything s
publicly in favor of non-hierarchical
blah blah blah,are plagued by
authoritarian and coercive nternal
dynamics. On the other hand,

‘considering how much trouble
even the best of us can have

gettingalong with each other in
rlatively stress-free circumstances,
its really phenomenal how many.
punk bands, composed largely of
emotionally disturbed young people
suffering from mentalllness have.
all the same succeeded in working.
together long enough torecord
artstic masterpieces and even
tour the globe repeatedly. Anyone
whostred either of these things
knows how emotionally taxing they
are—especially without any social
support system or financial means to
speakof.

“The art of cooperating losely with
afew comrades under pressure

i probably the most important
sk the hardcore punk milieu can

iffwe cait make three, five, and eight
‘person collctives work, how are we
supposed to succeed in overthrowing
capitalism and making a world
‘where we al get along?

Sowithout further hoopla: some of
the various trainsof band pathology;
andhow o treat them.

Speciali 2
i,
e Provision:

Dictatorship of the
Singer

One pattern especially seems to
recur over and over in the case of the:
“politcal band" th singer versus
everybody else. Who' to blame for
this?

Division of labor means that every
‘member becomes specialized n his
or her instrument—and, often, in
the accompanying role associated
with that instrument. Bassist
jokes'aside, the one most deeply

bandmates il count on her/him

o introduce the songs while they
fine-tune their instruments. All this
serves to reinforce her/hisinherent
authoritative tendencies (lts not kid
ourselves—we all have some), and.
so0n being the spokesperson comes
naturally.

‘The bestanalogy to use here s the
‘CommunistState—the snger has
become The Party whose White
Man's Burden it i to educate the
Masses, starting of course with the
Proletariat of his own band: the other
‘members, the ones who actually
manufacture the useful product (the
‘music,without which there could be
10 band).He,of course, s only giving
voice to the politics they already hold
‘unconsciously—he i the Vanguard,
and this gives him the important
responsibiltes of managing their
Iabor, representing thei iterests,

issuing statements on behalfof the
group,etc.

Being able to express one’ feelngs in

foster. When they function, affinity affected by this s usually the singer. words, to speak one’s mind publicly,
‘groups such as the punk band are Already likely to be outgoing and to articulate complex ideas on the
notoriously capable of achieving expresive by temperament, the spot,allthese are valuable skill to
triumphs out of all proportion to singer finds herself/himself in the have—the problem is not that the
their small size—and not just in the role of using words and thoughts to singer exercises these, but that the
realm of rebellious musiceither; represent the whole band Lyricsand WAy the band tends to function
‘additionally, they function as a scale ‘accompanying song explanations develops them in this one person
model demonstration of how an are expected of her/him, interviews. and ot in the others. The singer may
anarchist society operates. Besides— tend to be directed at her/him, wellbe saying and organizing things
that need saying and organizing,
Wt do ol hat peson wh g ot i the msicons b A: The s, G Whydid h st spend e ih i he porchA:Heddt row e
oo . Fow g s e o g gt b A: O o e e word e rund o G ow i st o ke o

hgea gt bl A: Whacre?

and he or she may for that matter
bethe one whotakes the most
responsibility for important matters
such asthe relationship between the
‘band and other people (thanking
‘people who lend equipment, being
personable with hosts and other
bands,etc)—but this specialzation
i not usually sustainable, and never
healthy: Tensions develop beween
the different class strata of the band,
now that they have different nterests
according to their different oles.
Seriously how many bands have
broken up because the dissensions
between the singer and the rest of
the musicians became unbearable?

In a worst case scenario, your Singer
will metamorphose into a Dictator.
Responsibility and responsibleness
alke tend to flow in one direction
once pattern s etablished. The
more one person does, the more

she or he knows how to do.and

feels invested i these things getting
‘done—and the less everyone ese
does. Worse, that person can thus
become unwilling to trust others with
responsbilties justas others cease

o be aware of how much work there.
istobe done and what it takes to do
it The Dictator blames others for not
taking on responsiilties they don't
even know exist; the others blame the
Dictator or hostlty and resentment
they lack the context o understand.

its worth clarifying here that The
Singer in question may not actually
be the singer,stictly speaking of
the band—it might bea guitarit,
tambourine-player, evena bassist
() playing this role. Hellthe actual
vocalist of your band might be:

the most tight-lipped. antisocial,
irresponsible person in the group.
‘The phenomenon of The Singer

isa socialaffction that tends to
take root in singers but can appear
elsewhere (just as even in interactions
between women, it can happen tht
one plays The Man). An instrumental
band might end up with a Singer,
despite themselves—that’ the danger
of division of abor of any kind, even
the mostinformal or accidental. For
that matter,one member might play
‘The Singer for some time,and then
another member side nto the role.

So how do we protect oursefves
against this cancer? There’s e
reformist approach: try to keep your
Singer in check with continuous
feedback,constantly apologize for
the position of privilege and power
youhold as Singer etc. And then
there’ the radical approach—change
the structure of the band unit tself.
eliminate The Singer as a musical

or organizational role, rotate the

THE PROVISIONAL
DICTATORSHIP OF THE
SINGER
role from member to member,
form bands in which everyone

sings. Neither srategy can work
without the other,really: no radical
restructuring of band format could
by tself undo the effectsof the
decades of hierarchical conditioning
all ofus have already undergone,
and at the same time its foolish to
think people n structures that are
conducive to specialization and
centralization can behave differently
just by decidingto

Harmony, Not Unity

Many political punks approach
band-forming with the dea that to
work together, b (seen as) sncere,
etcall members ofa poitical

band must share a specific poitical
platform, certan lfestyle,and a
strictcode of conduct. And you
thought the pressure to conform

was bad in high school! Once again,
“radical"ideologiesthat neglected
to.do away with hierarchy (such

as Communism) have historically
demanded such standardization
from their ranks,and have ended up
with consequently steile movements,
artwork,and societies; anarchist
thinking,on the other hand, suggests
that diversityis necessary to any
healthy ecosystem or organization.

Greater diversitygives you a wider
range of nspiration and ideas to
draw on, and makes for better music;
and since human beings are always
different, even when they try to
homogenize themselves,any value:
system that encourages conformity
can only spawn dishonest and
superficialrelationships and projects

Acollective of would-be clones
canlearn to do one thing wel at
best;a circle of unique individuals
can do many differing things that
complement each other. The best
bands arethe ones that engage the
sum total of al that the different
members have to offe, not the ones
who limit themselves to wha they
have in common. Some of the really
great moments in punk rock have
‘come when bands that “should have”
broken up over ideological and
artistc differences stuck together
ong enough to make one more
beautiful, eclctic masterpiece. Let
‘your drummer bring n techno
remixes,your bassst design
matching costumes, your guitarist
expound on the post-Marxist
implications of improvisation,

‘and see what happens—that
Conflict record you admire for
itsseeming politcal and artisic

NOT UNITY, BUT HARMONY

single-mindedness hasalready been
recorded.

Starting from diverstyis as
important s fosering . Everyone
i unique, of course,and it

can happen that there s more
divergence of personality,kills and
experience between two people

of the same background than
between individuals from difering
demographics—but that said

sure can be a great thing for aband
toinclude membersof diferent
genders,socialclasses, ethnicities,
cultures. When people from such
differing backgrounds learn to
‘understand and respect each other’
perspectives, complement cach
other's strengths and weaknesses,
and form symbiotic rlationships on
the basisof their diffrences—thats
revolution inaction,even if it just
handful at first.

Almost needless tosay (in these
pages,at least), bands composed of
‘members proceeding from widely
differing conditions of privilege
will have to work extra hard on
learningto interactas equals.
Oppressive patterns—midle class
people tending 1o take over the
organizing, working class people
0 do the physicallabor, men to
make decisionsin ways that exclude
‘women, etc.—come with us into our
bands from the hierarchical workd
that aised us;lets make these bands
social laboratories in which we
learn how to break these patterns,in

preparation for breaking that world.

e
OnfiT:!S nes

hierarchical relations inside of your
band s great,but s not much use:
o the world unless it helps others do
the same. Here we must address the
role bands, even punk bands, play n
the society of the spectacle.

Letus return to The Singer: Watching

‘waya spectator in a movie theater
identifes with the hero on the screen,
o a reader with the protagonist of
anovel This explains why so many
‘people willngly shell out their
hard-carned money for recordings
of hip hop artists ragging about
‘how much they ear from record
sales—the lstener identifies with
the MC rather than s the victim of
his money-making scheme,atleast
‘whil the aloun i playing.This
displacement of agency s at the
root ofthe powerlesnessof today’s
average Joe: the power o be creative
is projected onto the successful
novelst, the power to play sports
onto the basketball ta; the power to
make history onto the politcian.

‘The question for the anarchist
‘musician is how to enable rather
than disable lsteners. Thats tough,
because what we'e dealing with
inthe case o the punk band isa
specalized, perhaps technically

proficient, group creating what

is essentally a spectacle,a “show”
Keeping these shows small-scale so
the performers and spectators can
‘only as people playing those roles,is

participation is another. Maintaining
humilty,and keeping your eyes on
the prize of extending whatever
powers you develop for yourself
to everyone else,are essential.
Ultimately our goal should be
tomake the punk community
something like an extended open
‘mic circle, in which everyone has
atum o receive attention for their
creative efforts.

Finances

Capitalism plays into the division
between artst and audience too,

of course. A punk band trying o
operate under capitalist conditions
needs o have a clear analysis of the:
challenges they re up against, and
which compromises they re wiling to
‘make,ifthey want to be anarchist in
deed as well as word. Thats why we
‘punks have alvaystried o keep our
record prices low and our door costs
sliding:scale,and scorned the pursuit
of mass popularity.

‘The aforementioned hip hop arists
are not the only hip hop arist,of
‘course; they'e just the only anes who
have time and other resources to
focus on their artsince everyone else
5100 busy earning money to pay for
food, housing and—their records.
‘We punks have developed an anti-
consumerist anti-rockstarethic o
ensure that a reater proportion of
our numbers can engage in creative
pursuit;but i still xpensive to buy,
‘maintain, and transport conventional
‘musical instruments,and that money
has to come from somewhere.

Your band will need a colecive und
o pay for thisstuff.That fund will
probably have tobe started from

a pool of your own private capital,
and will hopefully come to sustain
itselfas you get established enough
tobreak even Tryto resist the
temptation o solveall your problems
by makinga ot of money off the
band—remember, there’ not allthat
much money in the punk scene,and
the more of it you ge, theles others
have accesstofor their own projects
and needs.You don't need to make.
aliving off your band—you need to
develop alifstyle that enables you
toplyin it Seek out other ways

fn playing music o writing grafiti
instead of going to the movies. You'l
probably need to make some money
in short bursts of wage labor—
medicalstudies, crop harvests,
workingand quitting, whatever—to
pay for your needs and remain free
t0goonlongtours.

It may seem crazy,voluntarily
choosing poverty, perpetual
uncertainty exclusion from
mainstream economic and social
relations just to play musicin the
bleak moments,itwillfee ike youve.
exiled yourselffrom the whole world
for nothing, But you are investing
in something that will ay off, too,
something much more rliable than
the material wealth of today’ eratic
market, You're building relationships,
community,shared resources (‘social
capital’)—the foundation for a good
life no fll benefits package could

Commitment

‘Commitment is the bedrock social
capital s built on. When you give up
all the false riches and reassurances

of the capitalist nightmare, you'l
e thisfrom each other more than
anything else

The world we livein,or rather, what
world we live n, depends entirely
upon our investments: we go on
living n this world of sales, wages,
rent,and cages because every day,
everyone wakes up and—seeing no
other viable option—invests their
day’sactivities in surviving within

it tructures, thus perpetuating
them, If you can somehow invest
allyour energy in creating and
perpetuating another world, that
world exists at east to the extent that
you exist—thats the logic of living
aradical lifestyle. Now one person
alone living and believing against
the grain can barely survive, et alone:
‘make a real impact; but a small trbe
of people who reinforce and sustain
one another can thrive and help

others open doors o new worlds of
their own.

The anarchist punk rock
underground,at best s a network

of such tribes,all trading support
and inspiration with each other and
helping plant sceds that could grow.
into new realitis. At worst s just
another messy, unhealthy social
scene. The most critca,decisive:
clement n the struggle between
these two incarnations of punk rock
is commitment. A group of people
whoare ready to go, ready t0 g0
through whatever, who know they
will be faithful to each other and
their dreams through the hardest of
times,need not be perfect;astime
passes, they vl learn what they need
tolearn and improve where they
need to improve.

mining
and folks like us. Even something
as simple as buying groceries of gas
is an act giving great power to the
corporations who maintain the status
quo. That same great power is ours
when we invest our energy i shared
project instead of dictated routines.
Even beingatliberty to try this
option, no matter how difficult it may
beinthe tryingisa rare privilege in
this society—but that ll the more
reason to do so,for everyone’ sake,
towhatever extent you're able;and
playing in a punk rock band isa well-
tested modelfor such an experiment.

When you'e considering which
people to form a band with,
characteristis like musical
proficiency and access to equipment
should be secondary—a person
whohas neither but is possessed

PRIVATE CAPITAL

byaburning desire to play
can acquire these. The most
important question is—are

they down? Likewise,if you

want to get anywhere playing
punk music or working in
cooperative groups of any
Kind,the most important
characterisics you can

develop in yourslf are
‘commitment, dedication,
reliabliy responsibilty.

Donitlet your riends down

ina tough situation. Let them
know, through your actions,

that they can count on you for
everything you undertake together

‘Three of us can share and minimize
rent and food costs, make heart-
breakingriot-starting music, and
tour the globe; en of us can grow
vegetables, home-repair vehicles,and
setupa long-term housing project,
one hundred of us can establish a
permanent commune, organize cty-
stopping demonstrations,and fan
outacross the country to share those
skills with ten thousand more—but it
all comes down to commitment!

Don't Be a Fucking
Jerk

Twish this didrit eed saying,and
you may not thinkit does—at least
not until pursuing your visions of
‘punk rock revolution to the ends of
the earth lands youand your best
friends in your first, or fifteth, really

trying catastrophe

1 you raise your voice at your
bandmates, apologize explicily as
soonas you can, and try to work
out the reasons you lost your head
50 you can avoid it next time. If
one of them raises his/her voice at
you and then apologizes, make i
clear you accept the apology and

DON'T BE A FUCKING JERK!

harbor no grudge, and askif there.
i anything you could do to help
avoid this happening again. I no
apologyis offered, approach your
bandmate in a non-threatening way
and make it lear how important
itis you receive one. Check in with
each other consistently—daily,

on tour,and notjust in formal
meetings,in which some members
may fee intimidated—about how
youre communicating and making
each other feel Solicit constructive
riticism, and take your companions'
needs very seriously—your band
depends on his.

Shoutingat your bandmates is
abusive,coercive behavior. Such

o needs Forcing others o be the

responsible ones (always being the
‘one drinking never considering
others'needs unti they remind you,
etc),or o patiently absorb the tress
of your outburst because you'e too
volatile for dialogue these are also
coercive. I you find yourselfthinking
it necessary to get tough” with your

‘bandmates by raising your voice or
actingin other ways that make them
uncomfortable—or for that matter
thinking that they somehow deserve.
this treatment or something they
have donel—then make no mistake
about it:youare becomingan
authoritarian.Join the fucking cops,
get married and rase some kids you
can beat the shit out of, whatever, but
getthe hell out of punk rock—or get
youract together:

Make yourself accessible and

approachable for dialogue atall
times.You may not be able to tell

what your bandmates are going
through or need support in—or even
thattheyre oing through anything
atall—just by watching from a
distances you have to be someone
they know they can come to for
support, someone they vwill want

o come to o matter whats going
down. This isimportant between ll
peope,but especiallyso for a small
group undertaking long lasing,
high-stress projects in close quartrs.
Dont get too comiortable inthe role

of supporter,either—you need to be
justas comfortable seeking support
as offeringitsand i youre offering

support, youd better be sure you're

receiving it from somewhere too.

Lastly,above all—make sure you'e
doingsomething you really want to
be doing This will make you more
accommodating and good-spirited,
ot to mention the fact that needing
“Compensatiorto justfy your
activty,as you did when you were
waiting tables or washing dishes, will
now appear ridiculous. Ifyou really
Tove the music you'e playing and the
‘people youre with, you wont are

o

5o much if the promoter isrit able:
0 scrape up as much gas money as
‘youd hoped.

Translating

To repeat it once more:
communication s central to
collectiveactvit,and itsa voodoo.
artif there ever was one. No two
people speak the same language the
same way—differet words,gestures,
actons always mean diferent
things o different people. Dont

‘getangry and sef righteous about
‘communication breakdowns—theres
noight" way to communicate, no
Oneand Only Way to handie things;
anyone who tels you different i
trying, consciously or not to impose
their personal system upon the
cosmos.On the other hand, some
waysdo work bette than others—
ultimatel, the only thing that maters
isthat your group finds a common
speech or method that enables you to
figure things out with each other:

Something else not to forget:
‘whenever the composition of
your group shift, or even when it
remains the same but the people:
insideit go through changes (as we.
allahways are), you'l have o figure
everything outall over again. Even
the addition of a new roadie may
throw off ll the dynamics you had
cometo rely on; and when you have.
‘anew band member or two, dorit
assume that you can simply march
forward according o the plans and.
procedures youd worked out before

RRoPaRle
Not a House ?
Representatives

Imagine the relationships in
your band asa system that can
be diagrammed: support and.
information pass between some
‘members more than others; pair
bondsare formed, tighten, loosen.

Alhisisinevitable, and fine enough

but the general shape of the system
has crical efects on the way it
‘works for those inside . Some
bands have circular systems,in

which communication takes place
between all,or f two membersare
notinteracting as much, they are
linked to each other by everyone cls;
other bands develop linear systems,
in which at some point in the chain
of relationships there s one person
who alone connects one group or
individual tothe rest. The circular
system i healthy and durable;the
linear system isrisky and fragile:
Linear dynamics may not necessarily
e accompanied by hierarchical
power structure—but atthe very
least,they tend to encourage power
‘unhealthy and disempowering: the
politcians who claim to“represent”
our nterests in this so-called
democracy inevitably fail us, for one:
can only learn onels own interests
by representing oneself. Evenif the
linking member earnestly makes
every effort 0 represent the needs of
two parties to each other, he or she
does disservice o both by enabling
them to avoid figuring out how to
communicate directly. Additionally,
the stress this representing imposes
‘on the linking member, especially
if one or both sides are being
aggressive,can be extremely dificult

GOOD DYNAMICS: A CIRCLE, NOT A LINE

10 bear. This stress,like allstressin
band ituation, isinevitably passed
back on to everyone else again—so
dorittry to bea hero,solving
everyone problems and carrying the
‘whole group forward on the strength
of your diplomacy.

‘Thelinear dynamicis a dassic
‘problem for bands (and entire
touring groups) in which two
‘members are involved in alove
elationship,since n our society
people n such relationships are
encouraged to isolate themselves
from others and form one unit the

polarization. As inthe case o the
singer-vs-band dynamic, the skill
and needs of the people occupying
the two (or more) ends of the ne
evolve independently of each other,
and the resulting specialzation of
interests can lead to onflict.

Communication, which ordinarily
‘would resolve such conflicts,is
especally dificultin band that has
linear dynamics, because the one

‘person wholinks the two “wings”
of the band has to represent them
10 each other, Representation is

already recognized by anarchists as
joint interests of which are then
related tothe group by one of the
two.Blame monogamy monoculture
forthis. We don't necessarily need
ostop fucking and sucking our
bandmates and vanmates, but when
weare we need to be especially
aware about keeping communication
mutual and representation to
‘minimum. Non-monogamy, notin
terms of sex so much asrelationship
expectations and dynamics,has ot
1o teach us on this subject.

It may well happen in a crisis
situation that one member vl
retreat into isolation from the rest of
the band, fearing or resentingall of
them except perhaps the one who
knows besthow to communicate
it him or hr. This sitution wil
notbe resolved until the others can
recognize hisor her needs,and the
individual can feel support coming
from allof them. As the success of
‘any collective project depends on
everyone involved, this should always
be possble, somehow—it had better
be,sincein the long run no shortcut
orsubstitute willsufice.

Avoiding lincar band dynamics is
as casyand as hard,as solving every
other internal band problem: watch
outfor bad patterns,keep lnes of
communication open, don't be:a
fucking jerk. Remember not o carry
someone lses oad when it comes to
communication, any more than any
other responsibilty; emember also
not tobe so dificult to approach that
others avoid you.

Protect Your Idealism

Partof being an anarchistis

not seting yourself up to be
disappointed.Your fith in other
‘human beings,your trust that they
‘can be responsible fo themselves
and each other,is more ntegal to
what youre doing than anything
else—so whenever possible,donit
give people unnecessary chances
tolet you down. Carry toilet paper
with you, so when there’ none in the
bathroom at the squat you worit hold
the whole punk scene accountable:
foritslearn how to operate a PA. 50

‘you worit get infuriated at the kids
putting on theirfirst basement show
for not knowing how to make your
‘vocals loud enough; have extra maps
inthe van in case of bad directions.
Feel confident enough in your
instncts to be abl to say a gentle no”
1o the drunk gutter-punk who creeps
you out when he asks to borrow
‘your amplifier—you donit want

o have any more bad experiences
than necessary,since you'l need to
feel comfortablelending that amp.

10 other bands for many years o
come. Know what you need. and
ask explictlyfor it s far in advance:
as possible,but be self-suffcient
and durable oo, Enjoy developing
these qualites i yourself,so you can
consider it an exciting challenge.
final exam of sorts, when your show
tums out to e ina one-outlet barn

by thelaziness and stupidity of an
unfeeling world.
Ultimately,you should be able to
thrive in any kind of environment or
cultural context (being on tour isall
about learning not o need to impose
your own), and tobe grateul for
whatever people have o offr you, no
matter how humble it may be—since
inthe diy. commaunity where we've:
done away with notions of debt

and duty,everything given is given
only out of generosity. Approach
everything i this way, and you'l

be easy for everyone else to work
with—not to mention you'll havea
better time yourself.

When Ti in this conundrum s tht whatever
Touy Tzl you discover that does work within
your smallcircle may welaso work
ek e s o change the world atlarge.
is cutthroa sociey, troubled
i weptig ol tmight help, when thingsget really
inevitable. Thats why werefighting ~ b2d and you start o feel ashamed of
inthis revolution! The dynamics our sgpac, s youte ala by
s o of phonies and have nothing to
mirror the patternsof stif n the ol iAo e e ot
Jarger worldaround usand wecant 10 considerall theother beautfu,
Hipechieabibe ekt important things thatanarchist ke
{00115 The aroggletobentone yourself have accomplished—that
isthe struggle o heal the otherand 8reat Amebix record,the resistance

in the Spanish Civil War, the millions
neither struggle wil be concluded
untilboth are. The good news buried Of meals served by Food Not Bombs.

You can be sure all those feats were.
only barely snatched from the tecth
of internal dissension,resentment,
and pessimism. Everything good we
achieve, we achieve because werre
willing to engage in projects thatare
imperfect—and to forgive ourselves
‘and our reltionships for that
imperfection. The only thing that
is perfect i nonexistence. Hold out
alitte o see what good you might
stillbe able o accomplish, however
flaved,before you opt for tht.

Fallout and Aftermath

‘Sooner or later, even with the best

At the sk of scunding Uk i T o ht o he st o we il daring which e playd i mumber of bt st i the i of i crried
hermometrwithm a diraciod e o iy cold ight by comparing h W emperatu g o e ghs. Mobe te hrd g i gme,

henve o can o ke ous s 0 e
internal dynamics anticapitalism
can buy,your band is oing to
break up. That inevitable fust ke
death (and the eventual abolition
of taxes, god damn ). Things may
‘el end in emotional drama and
disappointment. Dorit beat yourself
upover this—learn what you can,
and move on. Again, none of us are
perfect,and recognizing thatbeing
comfortable with i is s radical and
posiive s our efforts to improve:
ourselves.

‘The fact that it comes o an end
doestithave to mean you were
doing the wrong thing, either.Ifs
like the objection people sometimes
bring up against non-monogamous
reationships—"Oh, T know some
people who tried that but they
ended up breaking up? Being able to
havea healthy relationship includes
Knowing how and when to conclude
it:the conclusion s not necessarily
an indication of inherent problems.
Not being able o conclude; on the
other hand, might be (think of the
miserable monogamous marriage
that drags on forever,the inmates

t00 proud o admit it not working).
Seriously,who wants to end up
touring with the same songs into old
age,like the Rolling Stones?

So dorit get demoralized—take
every lesson you learned, every skll
you gained, every idea that has yet
to see expression, and make that
capitalistsystem regret it ever let you
get out alive, Hope to see youin the
basements—hope well take it to the:
streets.

Send requests for band counselng,
biter denunciations of your
‘bandmates, and videotapes of shows
we played (that would be swell) to
Punk Rock Retirement Plan, /o
cwe.

Some final hints:

“Touring in winter [north of the
equator] is much more diffic
emotionally and socally, than touring
insummer—not oly because of te
emotional impact of the weather
itself, but also because the cold

makes it ecessaryfor everyoneto
be perpetually packed into whatever
indoor pace i avalable (the van,

the basement the promoter tiny
apartment) and thus it can be hard
Jor band members o gt the space and
time apart they nced.

* s st there are a last two people
who identify as women in every
touring group,if possble. A all-boy
important perspectives and input,
and alone womar in a group of by

s going fo have to deal with a lot of
Srustraton on her own. All-woman
‘groups, on the other hand—well,our
scee ould use more of them!

“When @ new member is going to join
your band, don't make too many plans
Jor the time after she or h s tojoin
‘without her or him involved in the

“Plan time apart from each other,and
time together that has nothing to do
‘with the band, into both your tours
andithe rest of your lives. You worit
regret it!
PEERING THROUGH THE FOG BEHIND HIS EYES, HE SAW AN ALCOHOLOGRAM:
AWORLD OF ANGUISH, IN WHICH INTOXICATION WAS THE ONLY ESCAPE.

- HATING HIMSELF EVEN MORE THAN HE HATED THE CORPORATE KILLERS WHO

* HAD CREATED IT, HE STUMBLED TO HIS FEET AND HEADED BACK TO THE LIQUOR

STORE.

- ENSCONCED IN THEIR PENTHOUSES, THEY COUNTED THE DOLLARS POURING IN

j_» FROM MILLIONS LIKE HIM, AND CHUCKLED TO THEMSELVES AT THE EASE WITH

38 rrarunes

relax and have a good time in any

part ofour lives?

Do not misunderstand us: we are not
arguing against indulgence, but for
it. Ambrose Birce defined an ascetic

a5 weak person who succumbs to

f

the temptation of denying hi
pleasure,” and we concur. As Chuck
Baudelare wrote, You must aluay:
bigh, Everytbing depends on this
are notagainst drunkenness, but
against drinkl Those who embrace

drink as route to drunkenness thus
cheat themselves of a totallfe of
enchantment.

Drink, like caffine o suga in the body
only plays o in e tat e self can
provide for otherwise. The woman who
never drink cofee does not requie
n the morning when she avakens: her
body produces enery an focus on ts
HAD TO DRINK THEMSELVES TO SLEEP AT NIGHT—IF
EVER THOSE VANQUISHED MASSES STOP COMING
BACK FOR MORE, THE TYCOONS SOMETIMES
FRETTED TO THEMSELVES, THERE'S

GONNA BE HELL TO PAY.

E Infoxication; w«ddofw antment, or Anarchahol )
Ef(scigrsym(xj from Guy 'Sgfim sufumous work, “Insobrie unfle Spem;s(w

own,as thousands of generations of
evolution have prepared it to do. Ifshe
drinks coffee reg

soon her body

Jets the coffee take over that role, and
she becomes dependent upon it. Thus
does alcohol arificill provide for

temporary moments

of relaation and
release while impoverishing lfe of all
that i genuinely restful and liberating

1fsome sober people in this society do
their
amere

ot seem s reckless and

boozer counterparts, that
accident of culture, mere circumstantal
ce. Those puritans existal the
same in the world drained of ll magic

and genius by the alcoholism of their
fellows (and the capitalism, hierarchy,
misery it helps mainain)—the only
difference s that they are so sef

abnegting as to refuse even the fulse
magic, the genie of the botdle. But other
sober”folk, whose orienttion to lving,
might better be described as enchanted
or ecstaic, are plentful, if you look
hard enough. For these indivduals—for
us—ifis a constant celebration, one
‘which needs no augmentation and from
which we need 00 respie.

Alcohol, like Prozac and althe other
ind-control medications thatare
making big bucks for Big Brother
these days, substtutes sympromatic
weatment for cure. It takes avay the
pain ofa dull, dab exisence for a few
Hours atbest then returns it twofold.
1t notonly eplaces positive actions
‘which would address the ot causes
of our despondency—it peventsthem,

s more energy becomes focused on
achieving and recovering from the.
drunken state. Like the tourism of the
worker, drink is pressure valve that
releases tension while maintaining the
system that creates t.

Inthis push-button culure, we've
become used to conceiving of ourclves
s simple machines 0 be operated:

add the appropriae chemicl o the
equaion toget the desred rsul.

T our search fo heath,happiness,
meaning in e, we run fom one
panacea o the next—Viagra,vitamin

€, vodka—instead of approaching
ourlives holisically and addressing

our problems at ther socialand
economic roots. This productoriented
mindset i the foundation f

FEATURES 3Q
alienated consumer sociey: without

consuming products, we can'lve! We
try o buy relasaton, community,self-
confidence—now even ecstasy comes

inapil

We want ecstasy as a way o e, not a
liverpoisoning alcoholiday from it “Life
sucks—get drunk” i the essence ofthe:
argument that enters our earsfrom our
masters'tongues an then passes out of
‘our own slurring mouths, perpetuating
‘whatever incidental and unnecessary
truths it may refer to—but we're

o alling for it any longer! Against
inebriation—and for drunkenness! Burn
every liquorstore, and replace them
with playgrounds!

Spurious Rebellion

Practically every chid in mainstream
Western socety grows up with lcohol
a5 the forbidden fruittheir parents

or peers indulge in but deny 0

them. This prohibiton only makes
rinking that much more fascinating
10 young people, and when they

get the opporunity, mostofthem
immedately asert thei ndependence
by doing exactly as thy ve been

told noto: ronically ey rebel by
following the example st forthem.
“This hypocriticalpatern i standard
for chirearingn this soiey,

and works (0 replicate a number of
destrctiv behaviors that otherwise:
would b aggressivelyrefused by new
generations. The fact that te bogus
moralty of many drinking parens is
mirtored in the sanctimonious practce
ofeligious groups helps o create a
false dichotomy between purianical
selfdenial and e loving, fre-wheeling
drinkers—with “Friends’ ke Bapist
ministers, wetectotalers wonder, who
needs enemies?

‘These partisan of Rebellous
Drunkenness and advocates of
Responsible Abstinence are loyal
adversares. The former need the ater
0 make their dismal rals Jook ke
fun;th lttr need the former to make
thei rigid austerity seem like common
sense. An“ecsatic sobrety” which
combatsthe dreariness of one and the
bleariness of the other—false pleasure:
and false discretion alike—is analogous
10 the anarchism that confronts both
the flse freedom offered by capitalism
and the flse communiy offered by
communism.

Alcohol and Sex in the
Rape Culture

Let's lay it on the table: almost all of
usare coming fom a place where

our sexualiy i or was occupied
territory. We've been raped, abused,
assaulted,shamed, ilnced, confused,
constructed, programmed. We're

badasses, and we're taking it allback,
recliming ourselves; but for most
of us that's a slow, complex, not yet
concluded process.

“This doesrit mean we cant have good,
safe,supportive sexright now, inthe
‘middle oftha healing—but it does
make having hat sexa e more
‘complicated. To b certin we'r not
perpetuating o helpng to perpette
negaive patters n a lover'slfe,

we have (0 be able to communicate
clearly and honestly befre things

get hotand heavy—and whil they
are,and afec ew forcesinterfere

with his communicatio ke alcohol
doesInthis culture of denial,we.

are encouraged 0 use it a3 socil
brcant tohelp u lp pastour
inhibitons;al t00 ofen, this simply
meansignoring our own feas and
scars,and not asking about others’ It
s dangerous, a5 well s beautiful,fo us

o share sex with each other sober, how
‘much more dangerous must it be t0 do
5o drunk, reckless, and incoherent?

‘Speaking ofsex, s worth noting the
supporting ol acohol has played

in patriarchal gender dynamics. For
example—in how many nucear familes
has alcoholism helped to mainin

an unequal distribution of power and
pressure? (Al the writes of this tract
can call to mind more than one such
case among thei rlativs alone.)

‘The man’ drunken selfdestructon,
engendered a itmay be by the horrors
of survving under capitalism, imposes
even more of a burden on the woman,
‘who must tillsomehow hold the
family together—often inthe face of
his violence. And on the subject of

dynamics.

_ The Tyranny of Apathy

“Every fucking anarchist project
Iengage in i ruined or nearly
ruined by alcobol. You st up @
collctive living situation and
everyone is oo drunk or stoned
o do the basic chores, let alone
maintain an atitude of respect
You want to create community,
ut after theshow everyone just
‘goes back to their rooms and.
drinkes themselves to death. If s
not ome substance o abuse s a
motberfiucking otber | understand
irying 1o obliterate your
consciousness is a natural reaction
10 being born in alienating
capitalis bell, but I want people
10 ee wbat we anarchiss are
doing and say *Veab,this s better
than capitalis!”.. which is hard.
1oay if you can't walk around
without stepping on broken forty

bottles. 've never considered myself

straight edge, but fuck i, ' not
taking it anymore!”

-Personal Reflection by et another
disllusioned anarchist...

1 said that when the renowned
anarchist Oscar Wide first heard the
old slogan it s bumiliating 10 be
ruled, bow much more bumiliating it
isto choose one’s rulers, e responded:
“Ifit’s humilztng o choose one's
‘masters, how much more humiliating
tobe one's own master!” He ntended
this 3 acritique o hierarchies within
theself as wel as the democraic stae,
of course—but, saly, his quip could
beapplied lterally to the way some

of our attempts a creating anarchist
environments pan out i practice. This
s especilly true when they re caried
out by drunk people.

Incertain circes,especialythe ones
inwhich the word “anarchy” iselfis
more in fashion than any of s various
meanings, freedom s conceived ofin
negative terms: “don't tell me what

0 dot” I practce,this often means
nothing more than an asserton of the
individual’ right to b lazy,selfsh,
unaccountable for his actons or lack
thereof.In suich contexts, when a goup
agrees upon a project it often ends

up being asmal, responsible minority
that has to o ll the work to make t
happen. These conscientious few ofien
ook like the autocratic ones—when,
invisbly, it i the apathy and hostlty
Oftheir comrades that forces them

o adopt this role. Being drunk and
disordertyal the time is coercive—it
compel others o clean up after you,
o think clarly when you won', to
absorb the stress generated by your
behavior when you ae t0o fucked

up for dialogue. These dynamics go

w0 ways, of course—those who take:
all esponsibily o theirshoulders
perpetuate apatternin which everyone:
else akes none—but everyone s
responsibl for their own partn such
patterns, and fo transcending it

“Think of the power we could have fall
the energy and effotinthe world—or
maybe even justyour energy and
effort—that goes into drinking were
putinto esising,buikling, creatin.
Ty adding up all the money anarchists
in your community have spent on
corporate ibations, nd picture how
much musical equipment or bail money
orfood (notbombs.. of fuck i,
‘bomb) it could have paid for—instead
of funding their war against all of us.
Better: imagine Iing i a world where
cokehead presidentsdie of overdoses
while radical musicans and rebels live:
the chaos into ripe old age!

Sobriety and Solidarity

Like any lifestyle choice, be it
vagabondage or uion membershi,
abstention from alcohol can sometimes
‘be mistaken as an end rather than a
means.

Above al it s criticl that our own
choices nofbe a pretext for s to deem
ourselves superior (0 those who make:
different decision. The only srte-

gy for sharing good ideas that succeeds.
unalingly (and that gos for hothead-
ed, alienating tracslike this one as
el s the power of example—ifyou
putecstatc sobrety” into acton in
your e and it works, those whossin-
cerely want simila things wiljoinin.
Passing judgment on othersfor deci-
sions thatafect ony themselves s ab-
solutely noxious to any anarchist—not
10 menton it makes themlessikely o
experiment withthe options you offec.

Andso—the ques-
tion of soldarity
and community
with anarchists
andothers who
douseakcohol

‘washed) mass-
es—orbecause
wesincerely
want (0 propa-
sate accessile
aliematives?
Besides, most of
us who are ot
substancead-

mostmpOr Have a dfink, ifs on me—because 4t canthink
wnce. Epecial consumers are what makes capi- 0 Pvieses ind

Winthease fafism workl
ofthosevho

aresruggling

o free themselves of unvanted addic:
tions, such solidariy is paramount: A
coholics Anonymous,for example, is
just one more instance ofa quaskrel-
gious organizaion fillng social nced
thatshould lready be provided for by
anarchist community selforganzing. As
in every case, we anarchists mustask
ourslves: o we take our positions sim-
pl tofeelsuperior o the unwashed (er,

good forune for

this his gives us

allthe more -
sponsiily o be good allies to those
‘who have not had such priveges or
luck—on whatever terms ey set. Let
tolerance, humily, acessibilty, and.
sensiviy be the qualites we nurture
in ourselves,not selfrighteousness or
pride. No separats sobrity!

Revolution

Soanywa;—what are we going (0 do f
‘we dori g0 to bars, hang out a paries,
siton the sepsor in front o the
television with our fory ounce bottes?
Anyting else!

“The social impact of ur sociey’s
ftion on alcohol s ateast a5
important a its mental, medical,
economic, and emotional effects.
‘Drinking standardizes our socal
livs, occupying some of the eight
‘waking hours 2 day that aren' aleady
colonized by work. It locates us
spatilly—lving rooms, cocktal lounges,
raiload tracks—and contextually—in
ritalized,predictable behaviors—in

‘ways more explicit systems of control
never could. Often when one of s does
‘manige o escape the role ofworker/
consumer,drinking i thre, stubborn
holdover from our colonized leisure
time, o fllup the promising space.
that opens. Free from these routnes,
‘we could discover oher ways to spend
time and energy and seek pleasure,
‘ways that could prove dangerous to the
system of alenaton telf.

Drink can incidentally be part
of postve and challenging socal
interacions,of course—the

problem s tha s central ol in
current socilizing and socialization
mistepresents it as the prerequisie or
such ntercourse. This obscures the fact
that we can create such interactions ¢
‘will with nothing more than our own
creativiy, honesty, and dring, Indeed,
‘without these,nobing of value i
possible—have you ever been 10 2 bad

party?—and with them, noacohal is
necessary.

‘When one o two persons cease 10
rink, it justseems senseless, ke

they ae ejecting themselves from the
company (or atleast customs) o thei
fellow human beings fo nothing, Buta
community of such people can develop
aradicalculure ofsober adventure and
engagement,one that could eventually
offe excting opportunities fo drink-
free activity and merriment for al.
Yesterday's geeks and loners could be:
the pioneers of tomorrow’s new world:
“lucid bacchanalism” i 3 new horizon,
anew possibilt or transgression

and transformation that could
providefetie il for revols as yet
unimaginable. Like any revolutionary
Ifestyle option, this one ofers an
immediat taste of anoxher world while
helping create a context for actons that
hasten ts universal realzaton. No war

a4, an ecstatic

but the class war—no cocktail but the
‘molotov cockuail et us brew nothing
butrouble!

Postscript: How to Read
this Tract

With any luck, you've been abl to
discern, even through that haze of
drunken stupor,ha ha,that this s as
much a caricature of polemics in the
anarchist tadition 2 srious piece.
I worth pointing out tht these:
polemics have often brough atention
1o ther theses by deliberately taking
an extreme position, thereby opening
up the ground in between for more:
“moderate” positons on the subject
Hopefullyyou can draw useful nsights
of your own from your interpretations
ofthistext, rather than taking it
gospel or anathema.

‘And al this s not o say there are no
fools who refuse intoxication—but

canyou imagine how much more
insufferabl they would be if they did
not?The boring would st be boring,
only louder about it the sefightcous
ones would continue 1o lambaste and
harangue, whilespiting and drooling
on theirvictims! It i an lmost
universal characterisic of drinkers

that they encourage everyone around.
them to drink that—barring those
hypocrtical power plays between lvers
or arents and chikdren, atleast—they
prefer heir own choices (o be refected
i the choices ofall.This sikes us s
indicating a monumental insecuriy,

not unrelated o the insecuriy revealed
by ideologues and recruiersof every
strpe from Chrstan o Marist o
anarchist who feel they cannot st uni
everyone in the workd seesthat world
exactly a they do. A you read, tryto
fightof that nsecuriy—and ry not 10
ead this as an expression of our ow,
ither,but athes, i the traditon of the

sobriety

snoyipag

best anarchist works, a5 a reminder for
all who choose to concern themselves
that anotber world i possible.

For more preposteroustreatiss,or
o send an angry, nebriated reparice,
please contact the Crmethinc. chapter
of Alcoholics Autonomous.

From Vegan to
Freegan

In the mid-nineties it seemed all
my friends were vegan and self-
righteous about t. | was hanging
out in a mixture of straight edge
and political punk circles at the
high point of Earth Crisiss fame,
so this wasn't unususl—although,
to be fair I wasnit vegan myself, so
it was probably more the case that
T was defensive than it was that
they were self-righteous. Whatever
was going on, I remember one of
the things tht alienated me most
about their dietary habits was the
amount of money they spent on
fancy vegan treats: I was already.

a couple years into my no-work
experiment, and could barely afford
rice, much less bourgeois-bohemian
so cheeseburgers—and besides,
funding the non-meat ‘aternative”
foods industry,a mere subdivision
of the whole evil corporate food
monster, didn't seem much more
right on 1o me than buying from
the more obvious bad guys in the
same market. It seemed to me that
my friends’ money would end up,
at best,funding some “free range”
chicken farm, where the captives got
an extra foot of space to pace until
they were killed. I've since been
proved essentially correct in my
suspicions about the whole *voting
with your dollars” approach to
animal rights: the vegetarian/vegan
trend has helped cement the iron
gip of friendly-faced, evil-hearted
corporations like union-busting
Whole Foods over their own new
niche, the bourgeois feel-good
‘organic” market, thus driving
community co-ops and mom'nipop

46 reatures

1f we can consider reclaiming stright edge as a “revolutionary.

Iifestyle option,”

veganism, toof

shops into even worse sraits, and
closing down far fewer anim
exploiting corporations than more
direct-action-oriented approaches
have,

Anyway, 1 decided my own food
activism would be to stop buying
from the bastards altogether. In

my case,this wasnt much of a
change,as I couldn't afford to in

the first place; but as I started to

get a sense of how much food went
into the dumpsters every week,

and how much money my friends
were wasting on their fancy diets,

it became clear to me that —fuck
consuming “cruelty-free” products—
those of us who could should just
drop out of the economy; period. I
imagine a lot of people were going
through something similar to what
1 was, ecause a couple years later,
the term *freegan” was in use, and
people were starting to talk as much
about where what they ate came.
from as what was in it. At first,

this was still a minority position

in reaction 1o a veganism that had
claimed to address animal rights
without addressing capitalism:
eating dumpstered cheese pizza
wwas a big fuck you to middle class
vegans who thought their hands
were clean just because they stayed
out of the dairy aise.

From Freegan
to...2

Nowadays,its almost hard to
believe that freeganism appeared as
a reaction to (and a reinterpretation
of) veganism—in punk circles, it
seems to be much more prevalent.
This,of course, may simply be my
limited perspective—but whatever

the

s no reason o siop there—why not bid on

strikes me as being most prevalent is
the thing to react to and reinterpret,
in my book! Now that freeganism
has replaced veganism as default
setting for punks,is time to look at
the vegan diet and figure out what
‘might be good about it, minus the
consumerism that alienated some of
us from it in the frst place

First,back to my own story: for
years after becoming freegan, |
figured Idjust starve to death if 1
began limiting my choices in the
already limited world of free food.
Tate cheese, even meat, whatever.
Eventually, I started having doubts
about it though—I noticed that I
would eat meat or dairy others had
paid for when I had the chance,
‘and that was really compromising
my position. I decided to find out

if it really was impossible for me

t0 be vegan as well a freegan (that
s 10 say, o eat only food that was
both vegan and free); it wasn't, and
soon 1 was eating a strict vegan diet.
In fact, it turned out that I went

one direction when everyone else
went the other: pretty soon all my.
formerly-vegan friends were freegan,
while I became the last of the
uptight, ingredient-reading vegans.

1 hate t0 say this, but the next step
for many of my friends has been a
relapse into omivore apathy. For

a while, they only ate meat if they
dumpstered it o found it dead

on the road; now they're the ones
buying “free range” chicken, buffalo
patties, whatever. You have to travel
in pretty sheltered activist circles

t0 think youre being rebellious

by doing something everyone in
‘mainstream society does! Sure, sure,
what you eat is a matter of personal
choice, and one kid' dict isn't going
to make or break an industry; but
aside from the question of economic
complicity, aside from the excuse to
be self-righteous, even aside from
the health issue, there is a lttle-
discussed reason for strict veganism
that has turned out to be really
important to me.

Desire as Medium

For me, the most important thing
about veganism s that it provides

a concrete example of how we

can transform our own habits and
desires, how we can revolutionize
ourselves. 1 figure we need to
practice personally what we want

to do on a global scale if we are to
have the knowledge and momentum
todoit one day.

Asthe old sage once sid,ina world
turned upside down, the true is a
moment of the fals. Another way
one could put this today: in a e of
Suffring, pleasure s a omponent in
a system of pain. Here's an example,
lest the philosophizing get t0o
murky:2 man comes home from the
job he hates, exhausted, and turns on
the television to unvwind. Watching
televsion i actually fundamental
part of his dispossession, but he
experiences it as a pleasure, a
reprieve. Heres another example of
the same thing: mmm, hamburger

Ina world in which our own
desiresare turned against us as
agents of our own oppression and
the oppression of those around us,
realindulgence,true hedonism,
must therefore be a contestng of
our desires, a3 well as flflling
of them. To experience joy and
pleasure,not as a momentary
reprieve from a miserable lfe, but

as a total, gratifying way oflfe
we must subvert our own habits
and tastes, we must challenge and
reconstruct ourselves outside the
template of our programming.

One of the best examples of this in
action s veganism. I'm not talking
about those vegans who go around
complaining about how much they
‘miss yogurt—that shit drives me
crazy: if your politics are about self-
denial, you need to reconsider your
sehole approach. No, 'm talking
about the transformation that takes
place in a person who has not caten
‘meat for a year or 50, who slowly
stops looking at meat as being food
atall. Remember, the omnipresence
of flesh isnt just about sales and
profi; its also about desensitizing us.
to slaughter, getting us to look at our
fellow living things as commodities.
‘The fact that I can pass a
McDonalds now and see the corpses
of tortured animals rather than a
selection of tasty lunchtime delights
i, for me, alitte victory. It means
T've brought my desires a litle
further back into connection with
realiy (as I perceive and construct
it), and it suggests that, given
enough time outside—to choose
another example—patriarchy,
might also be able to unlearn the
objectifying that was programmed
into my sexuality,or the striving for
domination programmed into my
social behavior.

One friend of mine once chided
me for making even dinner into a
symbol, but thats backwards: those
hamburgers are,in fact the dead
bodies of cows raised in factory
farms—its capitalism that presents
them as “symbols? as products
with exchange values rather than

individual lives. 1 think that if we
are to pursue happiness with some
chance of success, we all have to
be in touch with ourselves, not
blocking any of our emotional
responses. Doing what it takes

to feel the tragedy of the factory
farm holocaust whenever you pass
abutcher shop is simply part of
secking to be a complete person, to
be sensitive enough that you can
experience joy fully, too, when you
have the chance,

Perhaps one day, when animal-
exploiting, environmentally
destructive techno-industrial society.
has collapsed, Il hunt deer in the
woods, respectfully killing and
cating my fellow creatures as my
ancestors once did. In the meantime,
T'm on strike. They can't sell me
their products—I can get my hands
on what I need for free—and ncither
can those products brainwash

me into accepting genocide and
exploitation as a part of everyday
life. Every time I turn down some
corporate animal product, however
it reaches my low place in the food
chain, it feels better t0 say FUCK
YOU to our enemies and their war
on usall than it ever could to eat
steak or drink milkshakes.

So, erstwhile freegan, if any of this
stuff about iberating your palate

as well a your grocery budget
makes sense to you, perhaps you'll
reconsider your diet. You and |

can hang out cutting up vegetables
while everyone else eats dumpstered
‘doughnuts and roadkil. Maybe
veganism will ge 5o trendy again
that we'l have to rebel against it
once more! See you behind the
supermarket, Editor B.

FEATURES 47
thinktank, a specific
‘amount of time and space is set
‘aside explicty for the attainment of a
‘specific impossible goal." -Manifesto
on Goncentration, 1914

During the second world war, Colditz
Castle, a one-thousand-year-old
fortress near Dresden, was chosen
by the Nazis to serve as a high
‘securty POW camp. Colditz was.
prison to the most dogged allied
escapers, and as a rosult it bacame
an elite school of escape.

Afer several falled attompts involving
Such standard tactics as hiding
places, disguises, and 10pes, the
prisoners’ “escape committee”
approved a pian to depart by air. In
1943, the prisoners began building &
gider that was o be launched from
the rooftop o the castie and piloted
102 field across the nearby river.
Over the next year, the glder was
assembled entirel out of parts of
the prison: loorboards, bed sheets,
improvised fasteners, adhesives.

and tools. Just before the craft was
ready to fly Colditz was iberated by
alied troops. The voyage was never
attempted.

A Nova documentary, entiled Escape
from Castle Coldiz, offers a nostalgic
and dramatic presentation of the
story. The documentary comes.
complete with a ‘re-creation* of the
original Colditz gider —purportedy
constructed following the original
plans. At the conclusion of

the documentary the glider s
successfully flown for the witness of
vanload of octogenarian Colditz
vets. It a breathtaking moment,

Dublous congruency between the
original gider and the simulation

48 reaTures

notwithstanding,

?@@

the need of

the documenters,
to answer “the big
question” —would it have

flown?—just misses the point.

What was the point? First, consider
that, regardiess of the fight-
worthiness of the gider, it was an
absolutely terrble concept for getting
POWSs back to the front ines. It
took years to buld. It required a
huge amount of resources and the.
‘energy of dozens of prisoners. For
all that exertion, the gider was to
arry just two prisoners. Worse

stil, assuming a flawiess fight, the
escapees would have landed in a
el just 1000 meters away. Such a
position was far from scape. Earlier
attempts had clearty established that

the walls of the prison were a minor
barrer compared o the navigating of
hundreds of miles of enemy teritory.
Soin the terms of standard escapes
from standard prisons, the Colditz

gider was a idicules scheme. The
plan looks different, however,f we
adjust the notion of what constitutes
prison. If prison is not a singular
‘condition of spatial confinement but
2 spectrum of confinements ranging
in concreteness from iron bars to
‘endless peacetime suburbia, what

qualfies as a succsssful escape can
diversity as wel.
Whether the escape i from a high
security POW camp o the high
secuity of a lving room sofa, the
best plans succeed not because
! For a definon and thorough discussion of the *hinkink” approach o concentrated.
actity, consut the features section of inside Front #13.
they cross a demonstrable fine from
“not-free" to *free” but because they
play with and within the terms of
confinement. What changes one's
reationship to confinement more
than a secrot plan? The Colditz
story is a perfect example. Because
the gider plan was so far off the
map, it was able to fly below the
radar. It did succeed, at eastinits
penuitimate goal, but | argue that

it aiso claimed fs ultimate goal

10 re-create prison (both iterally

and figurativel) on the terms of

the prisoners. With the gider, the.
soldiers escaped the prison of
awaiting rescue and the prison of
escapist routine (double entendre
intended). Also, as much to their
chagrin as to their longevity, the.
soldlers escaped the confinement of
the terms miltary confict and service
had imposed on their ives since the
beginning of the wa.

Crisis Chronicles

Popular culture s ful of ciss stories.
These stories work in different ways.
Colditz is an example of a kind of
bourgeois crisis story. In ths type,
‘moderataly- to highly-empowered
protagonists experience a 0ss of
power or choice, which exposes
atavistic capablltes or freedoms.

Stories of contingency cannibalism
are an extreme example of

this. Cannibalism is one of the
“fundamentls” that separate

“civ" humans from a notion of
uncivil humans and animals. Such
stories are case studies proving

the negotiabilty of even the most
fundamental taboos —they are coded
maps to loopholes in the social
contract, if you wil.

In the fim Alive, a rugoy team's
airplane crashes in the Andes —and
W witness an experiment we could
never produce. The hypothesis, that
‘certain fundamental morals separate
il humans from unciviized humans
and beasts, goes unsupported

when the survivors bogin eating the

#Yos, ' not id oursales, thess 'rea (people”
contestants are caretuly cast for ther rols. They

casualtes. The story s a convincing
counterpoint to the moraism of
fictional heroes fike Odysseus who
would starve to death before eating
Apollo's sheep.

A scenariolike the one represented
in Alve call all manner of esser
fules and morals nto question. The
fim's airplane can be viewed s a
symbol representing civization,
Institution, government; it s a system
that offers a service or a measure:

of protaction in exchange for
complance to fs rules. A contract
exists betwen the passengers and
the piane: the plane safely transports
the passengers, the passengers
behave within certain limits. But
when the plane crashes It is not

100 long before the passengers
adjust their behavior 10 suit @ new.
arrangement. This is the refrain of
the bourgeols criss story: when
protection is withdrawn those who.
were protected stop paying tribute.

Emergency Liberation

1 am not suggesting that instances
of contingency cannibalism expose
a hidden desire of humans to eat
one another, These stories Smply
describe an upper range of the
adjustments that socialized humans
are capable of making.

I crisi stories, barriers between
human and nature break down, class
becomes irelevant or just sily, and
the dispossessed or complacent
become active. Wnat appears to

be going on with the popularity of
crisis stories s a latent anarchist
curiosity. The crisis story s a
thought experiment. It wonders out
loud what it would be fike to ve with
radically differen ules.

The story of the Swiss Famiy
Robinson, whie certainly an ideaiized
tale, implicity contains a notion of
disaster as kind of iberation. This
liberation is not a wtopian end-to-
struggle o a gorified primitivism;
itis a lberation from the notion

that meaning and wl-being are

‘Setectsfrom he footage to creste the desired characters and stois.

inextricably Inked to civilzation.
At the point of crisi, the family’s
‘connection o civiization is severed.
‘When the their ship wrecks,
traditional modes of power, choice,
security, and luxury are lost; yet, as
the story develops, happiness and
meaning are retained. Furthermore,
& kind of urgency and adventure take
over, and we marvel at the ingenuty
and cooperation that resut

Thankiuly, those most attractive
elements of the crisis can be
etached from the crisi itself. There
is o need to pray for the ambiguous
0od fortune of the Swiss Family
Robinson. The desirable aspects of
crisis are even commonplace—an
‘casy example is the snowstorm or
blackout that temporarly halts the
normel flow of ife. This could mean
you finally meet the neighbor that has
Iived beside you for a year—and the.
two of you sit around all day trading
stories, eating food from defrosting
froezers.

Crisis Programming

(risis stories aimost aiways show an
institution or symbol of an institution
being destroyed and the subsequent
triumph of something human.
‘Considering this, what could be
more dangerous 1o nstituions than &
popular fascination with crisis? The
circulation of propagandistic “risis
spectacies” s one way institutions
divert or defuse such subversive.
interests and desies.

“Realty" tlevision is a prominent
‘spectacle that serves this function.

In the typical mode of the crisis
story, many realty shows represent
characters in eccentric scenarios
‘working with novel ules. Of course,
such shows are not designed to
inspire people at home to experiment
themelves, but rather to continue
‘watching as actors* perform skits
about such things.

Consider the “reaity* teevee show.
‘Survivor. 1t would be wrong 10 think
of Survivor as an updated version

aro actors, ust ke “actors* ra rea peoplel What's an actor, anyway? Survior
‘pertorm theircharacter for a camers, on set o on locaton. After iming, a drector

FeATURES 49
of Giligan's Isand. The Gillgan's
Istand “crisi" is @ cooperative and
funny respit from class, law and
luxury. Survivor, on the other hand,
s a totalinversion of that premise.
The characters contend in a winner-
takes-all, losers:take-none scenario
of scheming and backstabbing.
Apparently the free market survived
the show's hypothetical shipwreck!
“This sn't the survival story we are
used to; this is the capitaist survival
story as celebrity feud or sporting
event. Instead of seling soap,
‘Survivor employees sell the citizen-
testimonial that ife without sofa,
television, hierarchy, capital, cops,
etc. s a fe of even more confict,
‘misery, and destructive competition
than we (ihe privleged) currently
experience.

To complete the image, Survivor
adds the justice of Uncle-Sam-

style Democracy to the story. So,
although the reasons that a particular
character survives (wins) seem petty
and arbitrary, the whole selection
process is run by vote. Indeed, the
losers who go home with nothing

90 50 by voling for the winner. For
the winner, the prize is the very cat

in whose (supposed) absence the
mice did play: a one millon dolar

@ [m'z’and
to Answer Your
Question

‘The Automabile Revision Projec’
wasa tabletop cisis bench test. The
primary characteristcs were althere:

of purpose,sparse amenities. But the
mostimportant charactristics were.
ourlocall determined rules. Our
centrallegislation was th discarding
of volumes of legal and social code.
governing th usesof a ar. As with
‘many crisis ituations, what had been
product became a material,what had
been solid became fluid.

To our inerest, our visitors could

check that fortfies against a single
addtional day of *survival." Here,
crisis fetish, with al ts anarchist
underpinnings, is being reigned in
and re-presented as aggressively

as possible. The embarrassing
magnitude of the lengths to which
the programmers have to go is quite
inspirational —can our yearning for
trouble be that dangerous to them?

Thinktank and "Reality”
[Television]

“The thinktank experiments certainly
feed off of the same desires for
alternate systoms that are vented in
realty TV. Ulimately, however, they
undercut these spectacies, because
those participating i their own
projects are ot watching, reading,
or purchasing products, not buying
into passive participation.

It certanly seems that contemporary
media must walk an increasingly
i line in order to both display
*real people’ doing interesting and
‘sccentric things AND discourage

caser

ot cear
ji=aty

(ostensibly the same pool of)real
peope from folowing sult. People.
sometimes ask, when they hear
about our latest thinktank project,

if we are emulating our favorite
television shows. | only wish | saw.
Survivor or Junkyard Wars and said
1o myselt, "Well, helll We can do
that.* No, sad 1o say, | actually came
1o think-tanking through unmeclated
brainstorming and barmstorming
wih frionds. But if television
programmers ever actually mess up
‘enougn to bump a few customers
from spectators to participants,
that'sjust the kind of sippage | can
et behind.

rarey be shocked by us breaking the
rulesof car nation. B the broken
rules of sanitation and privacy were
a diffrentsory: For all the strange
things that one could hear and see:
through our window istors con-

E-BRKE cems were concise: number one, what

dowe do about poo, pee and bthing:
‘number two,"Areit you killng each

‘The questions seemed so srange.
‘Was it ‘realitytelevision” that natural-
ized the idea that humans just don't

y /20D BEIOGE et along with one another—or is

thata central myth underpinning our
entie civilization? Do we really owe:
what e armony we have o smell-
ing fresh, flsh tollets, mobiliypr-
vacyand distance communication?

For me the Auto Revsion was 3

I his rojec, sall team of folk cintss locked themseves n a squated arage with an automobile, which they proceedeto deconsiruct and
Jashion into avaricty of musical nstruments For detaled account oftis notorious tinkiank, conult the pagesof thefirs sue of Hunter Gathere,

available rom mast Crimethin.clls
50 reaTURES
Thinktank in Action:

Kitchen Renovation Theater.

Between March 1 and March 14,2003
five researchers continuously occupied
the kitchen of an abandoned house in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Over those
two weeks, the investigators decon-
structed everything, both tangible and
intangible, they could get their hands
on or wrap their minds around, and
reassembled the pieces into props, sets,
puppets, musical instruments, ideas,
and scripts for a series of performances.
When the two weeks were up, the cooks
exited the kitchen to present their in-
ventions and discoveries in a
series of performances in a

number of cities.

counterpoint toal that. For two weels,
e didsitshower or change clothes,
we slept on the ground, and we used 2
bucketasa toilet Those things caused.
nostress. For two weeks we coudsit
check e-mal or talk to anyone a a dis-
tance. Wealso couldsittlk privately
sbout anyone lse in the room. Those

tions revealed.

cum’

‘Mpos eagm o00%
HoNbLE Fecess
HIGLD Facs T4 v

things acted to climinate many
standard collaborative streses. For a
visitorto see what was going on n the
‘micro-culture of the Auto Revision
she/he had to see through the surface of
restrictions into the world those restric-

“This was a worldin which we couldn't
run errands—but we also “couldrit st

1. Recipe: How to Turn A Kitchen
Into a Puppet Show*

Avariant of food long known to the ancent eldersof (il in
your favrit romantic ndigenous culture), this rcipe makes a
sturdy and nutritious dough that can b easlly alered to taste
Keep your kitchen stocked vith th basic ngredients so you
can whip up btch whenever youfee your bood or oher
umors getting thin.

Basic Ingredients

“Time (We used haping two weeks)

Kitchen (An sbandoned kitchenis best—we found ours in
Pitsburgh)

Particpants (5 i idealalthough we ound that 4 1/2 can add

an unexpected effervescence)

Food (Enough to eat healthily for the priod ofthe project,
bt should als include silly food: marshmallows, ickles, se-
weed,cocons, etc)

Solitude (Nothing in, nothing out onc the door s losed. Like
a soufflethis recipe will il f it comes in contact it the out
side world before it has fully risen.)

Tools (depends on the intrestsof the cooks,
but strong suggestions includc):

intrafic. By design of the project,all of
the solutions were right before our eyes.
We worked at ineresting actvitiesal
day without interruption. We cooked
for each other every evening, and talked
about new ideas s we ate.

ning, we played the instruments we
had made that day. Every night we fell
asleep totally exhausted. That i tosay:
things were great,so gret that we be-
gan o turn the question around—ask
ing visitors,"Aren't you kilng cach
other out there?” And,of course, the
answer is,"Ves, even with showers.

I am captured 1 will continue to resist
by all means available. 1 will make v-
ery effort to escape, and to aid thers to
escape. I will accept neither parole nor
special favors from the enemy.”-Article
3,US. Miltary Code of Conduct

3 Remember that pupptsdont have o made f socks o paper mache. Anyingca be puppet: hrdbolled g, poatopeir a beta plasic
rcory g, i ofclery. ellw platc gove, cthes i, o your awn precious ard replacable sl Youve heard ofpuppt overnmerts

haventyout

FEATURES § T
(O Day 17 1 found myself alone i th Kichen for one rare momen. We
were acing up ad eting ey o o the Kichen was ey sripod
exepfora oo B prouts nd some b s onthewindowsil,
‘anda few st banana pecs shrunik down to theszeof vanill beans,
arging o hecothsineover thestove—the stove and oven hemsches
on funcioal bcas th s company hdforgotenabout s, We
didnt actually care abou the gas snce we cooked our meals and deep
i our puppets om Colamanstoe st n 10 o the e cnameld
range, d st s casy o compersate o with vestersand bthrobes.
he ot that the phone company orgot s s well wes it e of a
prblnsinete oy informaton exchange—not 0 mch exchange
s monolgue—we had it the nokichen word lwed through
ourcrabpple-szed wecam. Wehad sobedha roblem o Day
yloweing ot it guartetped ot ou he widow sking

@ pasing e to g i the o shop beow s and cll a frind
1ol he phone compny whic bot h sirangerand the find
senerosly did. Aferthat we were ol ahough sl ihos phone
since Noe Had st he elephone and madea kickdram pedlou of
he ang up mechrism and an carin out of the v, We didnt
s the e we didnt s he wold,which el ncreasingly emote
andcosirced a o ichen espanded. n two ek the kicher had
Sonerom an e and arbirary conaierof i o am enire contnnt
i crosed by our unting ad s, feghied with the isoris
e bought it s an the istores we hdceted. tod o a
Char with damp sponge inmy h andnscrwed he gt b

The kitchen light had ben burning non-sopsince Day 11 when Mark
pulled o0 hard o th chain, That was dring one of ur nearly-
every-night prformances o ech othe,thisone a the end ofthe day
when e had areed ot 1 speak for 24 hours,a day of

comorting, comforabl silence.Jstn had come

Jrom the coffee shp-—he was consderably yourger
han the s of us s sureabout two weks of

Soup pot
Screwdsiver
Dril

Skillsaw
Rubber bands
Ductape
Bamboo skewers
Kaife

Can opener

Mix togethr thebasic ingredients and spply tool. St a task,
preferably a performance. el stories, laugh,play word games,
slecp,saw things, take things apartlook out te window, cook,
feed cach other, find the shumbering music in telephone re-

ceivers,egg licers,cabbage, wine glases, potds, ifters, and
wooden spoons. Peel offreceived identite,functions, utili-

ties, and rules. Mince, puree, chop, parboil, deep fry, and mash

52 Features

confinement. He redfined his own itche to incude the coffe shop.
beneath where e went rom wriing angry poctry t sl table o

eting a ob washingdishes bhin he counte. Our only knowldge of
h coffee shop s he msic ha raeld up through the water pipes
behindthe compos bucket and the lmitd gssipJust rought us the
cofeshop became a land of conjectuea the edge o the map of the

world,a aien culture witha single ambasador. Justin came n with a
o soud o fot stomping e the smelof bt winier i He cided
s for our slence: Vv ot fo communicte 10 gt anyting don,” he
said,and wentout again. We wentback 1o ou silence senin to Nocl
luck heartreakingly svee notes o the g slcer e the cabinet.

Wehardy ot he gt onaer ht sice by then w hd oy four
days i bore o st peformance. The iche slf was an extended
fir—actullya small bandoned partmen s white walgrmed to
th color of el cofe c cream,nhing bt vy Kitchen, ind of
diing ook, anda i oo hat opned of the dining room trough
by prosceium arch the ichen, he awsilary Kichen,and the
outerichn. W did have bthroom and ne ather oo, a il
remoteberoom down hehll where we kep our beddin duringthe
day and where oo ik o go—too far ut i the wilderess. W
preered o bein the human warnth of the Kiche where the walls
expandad o ccommoate ur expanding understanding o each ther
Weslpt ll v the lac—someimes i he ving room,sometimeson
e iche oo ll bunched up ke puppiesometmes i aconer half
out, el unde th able, Weate on he loor i th drk: the tble by
candllght, he candles hed inplace with wrenches o mled onto ices

oftoast; anding . On Day 3 weageed that we hadt flly explored
th vriaions oneting o that night e held our soup spoons with

sald and oast tongs, everng the spoonsupward towrds ot
mouths ke herons. Aferwards weoutined the spltches

o thetableclth with markersand dted them, a
ecord ofour pasin as casal and e s dinosar
footprints. A dnner ended someone e a pair

the inner meat, and spce o tase. Perform.
for audiencesin childrens museums, punk
spaces,art galleres,cofice shops, community
centers, and church basements (may be varied
infintly). Keeps welfpreserved in video and sine

.and another version of the same prescription...

2. Recipe: Kitchen Renovation Dinner
‘Theater [Thinktank 18]

2 uweeks of time free and clear

S organicfree range strangers born in at least three different
decades

1kitchen squatted or borrowed
ofongsand cashed the s toethe ightly and we all jied i, a
delcte whispery percsion tht filedthe whole candle Kitchen and
drowned out the sound of rffic n the stre.

One day e sne sl e ur windows aneightweheard a
gunshotin hoe it and wtched h elcion o the e gt of the
polce carsslde across the ostrs a cofepots i up o the for:
We wondered sometimes what kindofworkdwe would find when we
came ou o the itchen, what sate o war o abmost war the word
it ver n, Othe imes we aughed s hard we l iz In the
morning I would ke upin square o suine an e o beahin
On Day' Bethct my e the ichen and rimmed back Noel s
She kept he i ina msuringcup o 1p of h cbies and from then
on we medsured our mornin cof water with tecup. Bethand Mark
discused shaving o thei cyebrows b thy never did. On Day 3130
out my ron ad began fusing lsic grocery bags ogeter o billowy
lenghs ofgoy s 1 made bl for el buchr’ apron
Jor Bthand ai o ants for s, who had et a new sprt
lled cabinet bosrding o compente o the fct tht s sacboard
s ockedinour car o he e e of Pitsnagh, Mark e i
Jumpin ve saucspns and cahingthe caine oard i fongs Nol
compsedafatic sorac o bis ompter o thestady raching
o seedcabge .

On Day 1 Beth a1 ke dows the tos st ol binds
o ll thewidovs o ofther g fortwo weeks romhe gt
fstur ve h e where Bt sspended i o e s ights
performance i whic sh etrieved a ruber gove withan dlctric miser
and tine. On Day she ol thether v binds and i out
st ilhouete o a forkand spors helled the spces with

more onedgocry bag fsed with cabbag aves and

beans. Th o banners g ovr the sof o the
i of the ichen wriverse. On the it of
Day 7 o an Mark pefomed a show o .

100,000,000 unnecessary, poorly de-
signed, poorly built dangerous,ugly.
downast, abandoned or ignored kitchen
tools marching through ou lves on their
merry way from bad idea tolandsil

6 buckets food, fod promises,food hang:ups, food impera-
tives, food traditions,food tragedie,food ads, food scares,
food miracies food llergie,food color, food poisoning,
food for thought

1 freezerfull of documentation equipment (very optional)
Lcan opener

1000 Chance opertions,games, ecombinations, s,
invertions vagae notions, questions, ool thought crmes,
enaymes.

o tap ofthe ichencabints amon th cans andjrs, advancing and
rtreating an argumentatve carot and conliatory piece of clry
Skewered o the sas from the bottom of the binds. On Day 8 Noe
drilledholes inon of the alumiam olers and made into .
Ourworld puled with aandance. There was too mch welth in the
itchetomin st two wecks blenders e never ook apart, coorful
‘wires Kicked o onesde ecase wedidi ave time o make them into
Jewely can lds that never go wipped ntosars. We were busy from the
moment we woke upevery morning unil weshoved asde the drils and.
microwave partsand unroled ou seepng bags welafer midnight.

By Day 14 there s oo, Mark wasthe s ol i e
it ofthe st dy s ou it the word 0 brig uck wood
and moe tols. Nocland Beth and stood i theighted doorway
it to Mark desend it the dark. We hovereda e trshold
ut could ring ourchves o cros g . The world we had rstd
s s temporaryas he s sty of oe—w ke ht—we st
ittt 10 nd. Our word nside e Kichen was i the
ok beond s edged with contaits and hais,with o much
infomtion. I the normous icheneveryting simmer with
posity: theword cside seemed o an st We .o cours
intheend. The bombs ell s heocanand n the srens o a
il tlevsion st. Wehadt changed anyhing—we st ut 0
change anything. We o simpytethered orshes for oo weeks 1
workd ha ep changingalon it o tht s ik an 0 vatand
ol o deigh that it would have ke ftime o ndersand. And
e spenta et hre, wo ekl I wondeed s unsreved
helast gt bl sl have waedfor cveryone 0 st ar mark
he moment it me, but t was 0 te o that. The g o gone out
i the ichn s soom a we opned he doro rher hd
movedon o anoher lc, been sellowed and digsted
and become part o our s and bone.

=P —

i e i
2 mance. Arrange for as many places o per-
BT

Enter itchen and lockthe door behind you. Agreeasa
§roup that no one il eave fortwo weeks. Get towork. Reck-
lessly feas on allingedients. Hold gatheringsevery night in
which participantsor airs o partcipants present th day’s
thoughts and work in the form of ad hoc performances. On
Day 10,strt reconsidering prformances and objects made
50fax. Choose what you would ke toserve o thoseoutside
ofthe kitchen. Rehearse, add, subtract. Open door Serve

l For more information about this
and other thinktanks, wrte Tank-
thinc.c/o Crimethinc. Headquarters,
or email iamtheyeast@hotmai.com
or hobbldhey@aoLom or visit

wwwtankthink com FEATURES § 3]
9IyM

Eé The strength of capitalism lies in its ability to make us be still. Where v s illes, e

e dangeof g chaln down Il upon you e’ theftesighe ek s your el sppe
I ey pier—caees, cpes e, e roioas - Pceot Peghiot ko evplepen e s,

S et oty e s s Y o ot s gy
he g, etk chcin.To thie ks cvyhin, a es fou nin bt Al e i of e
6wl et o ¢ i

e
= ot o o s

iouse, no possessions, nothing o your name but the clothes on your back? Simple. You must
ahways be onthe move.

“Tere ar many paths chat ave this word ofpoorpayin jobsand unflilig lives.Toexch berown path—it would be
D) arogant tempe o ll o whatyou pth s out o the mundane humilsions ofcveryday . I seesphysical e
there are many ways o be o the move. You can just walk 0 the sid o the road nd sick ou your tharmb, and 3 sringer
will ik you up andtakeyou o th roc. For thoseofyou who oy the usageof your legsyou an by just walk
hrough th woods, relying on wid berie nd the Kindaess of s stranger Furmes for s bowlofporedge i the morning
\Some may cjoy hopping o the underground railrosd, modern-day hoboscrise-crossing the counry o the forguten
= ndustril selton ofout st diital ofsociete. For e, it s Wihise Shak tha il my het. Noching mch,just
normal white van, of cheap make and dodgy Amercan buikl. m notsur how it ll came 0 pas, how the Shark vas
released upon the counry 0 wrea innumerabe ct ofute pircy, revolr and complece ackof regard foral capitalst

values (except excesiv gasoline consumprion). | remember ony th there was nothing lefe fo me where | was, There
had been t00 many horror, oo much falure—glorious fulur, but falure nonetheless—and 1 et ke a ghost in my own

o v hometown. It occurredto me that maybe | needed change of srroundings, 01 grasped my best bother-in-arms Ishmacl
by the shoude one lonely ight and tod him we should doét,jut leave it ll behind. We met with an elt group of co-

Conspiton s the i of e o s compound g e Sl ccin e, Wedecied
= Q o e e SR
s et s ow o, o - g i sl ol my v e oo
57 B R T
i oo e e kg e iy s, il 4 o e s i s o+ ootk

O the like o which I haveyet t s again.
nocent), and the chronologica oder o events has been

i been changed t protet the innocent (r,t be precie,the
&m changed 1 hrow ofthe ucking eds! Aiso—thes dventures haven'ben writen dow 0 lrfy et year of y e

None of these storesare ficional, despite ther ludicrous naure. Indecd, all have happened to me. However, names have

but o bear witness to the possbilite llof us have before us. Indeed,thereare many adventures of grander sope than
e e e e oyl i b o
Q never look back.

< in which a boy and his van set
> out to 1iberatebycach other...

Secret Agent Captain Abab

Only a Manner of Time Before
Banks.

Somehow, the White Shark had swallowed

Tsabella from Brazl, skthough cxactly how was
somewhat o a mystery. Pehaps it was becauseshe had just
been arested a some demonstration in Philadelphia (and
I'm sure the paranoid Philadelphia cops were shocked by

hex passport—the international conspiracy of anarchists
manifesing tslf). Pchaps it was because the white van had
carried the Crimethlnc. troupe to & presentation in Worceser
‘where we complemented her video with a band made purcly
outof meta scraps we had found around town
the day before. To be honest, | have no idea. The White Shark
i 2 magnet for discontents and malcontents with absohtely
o respect forborders, and its sirn-song i hard for anyone to
resist.

One problem about the White Sharkis you have to feed her
o keep her happy, and she takes no other food other than
gasoline,occasionally garished by oil and transmission
fuid. We had made our way to Maine afer ending the
North American Insurrection Tourin New York City (due
o unfortunate circumstances, but mostly just having been
around each other fo solong we justhated each other!).
Now, with every single membe of our mery crew utterly
and completely boke, how we were going to escape the ever-
woods of Maine was going fo be a problem. The
obvious thing to do was o justseal the gas, which we had
done a few times before. However, i the words of shmael,
“Sometimes you gotta keep the smalllaws o break the big
ones” and giventhat the White Shark currently crried one
recently arrested international and a least one felon, gerting
caught brazenly tealing gas would be amateur. Also,one key
tostealing gas is having multiple scape routes, and Maine
has really only one highway. There had tbe an casier way.
o get money. After considerable delberation at ou secret
g cabin deep in the woods of Maine, we took out maps and
decided we were going to 4o araid at a Wal-mart shopping
center i the port of Augusta.Tshmael had protested it
construction years carir, 0 atlast one o the company wis
familiac with the erritory. We decided the most cunning
path would b for s o into the shopping center and steal
everything we could get our grubby hands on, getting money
tofeed the monstrous hunger of the white vanfrom various
cryptic return scams and shady pavn shops.

Filing the van with dumpstered chips (Maine seems to
speciliz i Frito-Lay dumpster!), weeft with cnough
rations to make i t the next port of call, and came up with &
scheme on the way. We would walk nto a very expensive and
over-priced yuppie store that was known to be exceptionally
Vulnersbl toreturn scams. Given that it was small store, an
advance squad would distractthe few employees with various
requests, while one guerrilla warrior-thief would walk in—
cool a8 ice—and fll backpack ful of oot then run out, to
be interepted by the Shark who would be waiting obediently
cutside. We should have known the best laid schemes of
sharks and men can go awry.

As member of the advance squad and perpetrator of
innumerable thieveries, even I was shocked by how esily the
two employees were hoodwinked ino leaving their postions
unguarded. We went in, dressed the best we could as yuppie:

shoe-shoppers, and demanded new shoes. Both employees
simultancously lef the cash register and disappeared into
the myserious netherworkd of hoes that must have been.
somewhereout ofsght in some closet in the sore. The
guerrilla came in, grabbed 1 backpack, and with a smile on
his face began throwing all manner of oot into his bag. It
ll sppeared to b going well when, o our dismay, nother
customer wlked i This ordinary bousgeois customer
immediaely noticed that something was o ight with this
shop, and yelld forthe cmployees. The guerrilla, ever quick,
fed the store full backpack in hand befoe the employees
bumbled from ther closets ofshoes. Not sure what tdo, we
decided o delay the employess, questioning both of them
asregards the whereabouts ofour demanded shoes,denying.
the exstence ofthe shoplifiertha the other customer saw
race throvgh the door. Afte sevéral minutes of complte
confusion by the employees,they decided that something
weind defnitly was going on and calld the police. We kept
upa whirwind of utte ies and ridiculous demands upon
the employeestil the biter end, but when they picked up
the phone o cal the police we el we might be suspected
of collusion with the more obvious criminal elements of our
enterprise. We politely made our farewells and fld the scene
of th crime ourselves. Quickly | made it back t the helm of
the White Shark, where a wanted politcal criminal who had
‘wisly avoided participation n th crimes ofthe day reminded
me we had o get him away from the scene ofthe crime,

and whispered that h had grabbed the oo the crminal
had wisely dropped near the Shark on the way out of the
stor. The White Shark bucked, and we ran behind the store:
complex, hoping to outrun the police and find our erstwhile
guerrillafrend. Unfortunately, he wasn' there, and, seeing
the police ca oll nto the shopping center, we quickly sped
away through another exit.

‘Making vry quick decisions, | decided it would be best to

g all possible criminals (except myself),feons, and recently

stolen goods outofthe van. However, we couldr'tleav our ~
riend inthe claws ofthe police. Quickly 1 grabbed Iabella
and told herthat she should exitthe van and begin a search
for the guerrill thief, and f he was seen t tell him to hide
aveay asfar n the woods as possible. She was to mect s in
front of the shopping center and inform s of his general
Iocation, s soon 18 she communicated this o our compation.
Not feling entirely right fo dropping offa South American
revolutonary in the middle ofa desolate shopping center
that was currently being occupied by the police, the van sped
off. 1 wondered what a parallel situation would be in ke
‘Bracil—whatif group of Brazilian anarchiss et me as 3
scoutin the middle of Sao Paulo? Afte getting a few miles
away from the steof the crime, the more crminally wanted
of our crew jumped out the van with the loot, and fed farinto
the woods afier a few minutes conversation about the various
bird-calls and honiks 1 should use to announce the return of
the Shark. Quickly, the White Shark sped back around and
headed back nto the mouth of the enemy. Indeed, the police
car wasrght outide the receatly robbed yuppic-sore, and
Tsabella was walking sbout the complex looking nonplussed
about the entire situation. I ode up and she jumped o
the van, informing me that the police were silln the store
questoning the employees, butshe had notseen our missing
guerrill. In complete panic,the Shark prowled around the
packing lotlooking for s missing servant—and outof the
corner of ur eyes we spotted ashirtless vagrant n the woods
ontop of a ill Tewas our gueril, shirt torn off, looking