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How did you guys become anarchists?

Discussion in 'General political debates' started by JSkywalker, Jul 20, 2014.

  1. JSkywalker

    JSkywalker New Member New Member


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    Jul 5, 2014
     
    I'm just curious as to how we've all come to arrive at the opinions and thoughts we have. I'm certain that if the principles of anarcho-communism had been explained to me at an early age, I would have seen the benefits and labeled myself an anarchist then. In the process of moving out of my parents' house and beginning to live on my own, I made an incredible amount of self-discoveries, some of which were made during the use of various psychedelics. During one of my trips, I had a lot of philosophical thoughts and I realized that I was an anarchist. My partner and I had been talking for hours and hours, and I suddenly exclaimed that in any scenario, the people actually doing the work should always own the means of production. I went on about the insanity of working so much just to pay for the gas and food required to live and work more, when people should just do what the fuck they want and are good at. I expressed my astonishment that people don't simply wish to work together and share. I said that, for example, if I grew tomatoes and my neighbor wanted some tomatoes, of course I'd share! I want everyone to have as much as I do, and even if I don't have enough for myself, I'd rather share than let someone go hungry or something like that! Now, all these thoughts, I'd had before. I've always been the rebellious type, against authority, I was just never really exposed to anarchism and communism in great depth. However, during this trip I also realized that money was a completely superfluous invention, completely unnecessary, as well as something that supports, as well as encourages, corruption and greed. I exclaimed, "We shouldn't even have money! We don't need money to do shit, we just have to, you know, DO SHIT!" at which point my partner said excitedly, "You're a communist!" I thought for a moment and then realized I was, and it blew my mind a little bit because I never thought I'd adopt that label. Upon further research, I found that anarchism stood for everything that I had always fought for my entire life. Now I'm incorporating anarchism and communism into my art, and it's sparked discussion among my friends. I make more political posts, educate people about anarchism, etc. I want to change the world! So I'm just wondering, how did you guys become anarchists?
     
    Stephen Jay Morris likes this.

  2. RememberGlencoe

    RememberGlencoe Experienced Member Experienced member


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    May 12, 2014
     
    I've been anti-authoritarian since elementary school. I was a troubled, angry kid, I lashed out constantly, and the school system just kept trying to get rid of me. I saw how they treat children as products because of this, with the defective or merely difficult being tossed away for the prisons or nuthouses to deal with. But I managed to, with help from a few good, honest teachers and my mother, stay in public school and recieve an excellent education, particularly in history, philosophy, and literature. I encountered rebellious books like Harrison Bergeron and The Giver in these formative years. Ironically enough, they were in the curriculum. True horror is the kind that requires no suspension of disbelief. Even back then hyper-totalitarianism wasn't that far-fetched. If I had any chance left of bending over and commiting myself to the herd, it was thankfully replaced with paranoia. I had a deep understanding of what was wrong with this world, and just what was at risk very early on. I spent the rest of my adolescence, having lost faith with the "responsible" way of life, trying to keep my sanity, find myself, meaning in life, and a plan. I read 1984 around this time. In addition to my hatred and fear of control, I found myself unwilling to make this world any worse than it already is, with a quiet, almost shy altruism. I hate the selfish, half-assed ways of capitalism, and have seen how, like disposable diapers, the byproducts of the cheap fixes to the world's problems pile up and poison everything around them. I realized that the very foundation of civilization must be changed, or else an Orwellian hell on earth will be the fate of humanity. I found hope and inspiration in Punk, and anarchism. Only those willing to abandon society can truly fight it, because they have no investment in it. And how can there be true freedom without abscence of authority?
    TL; DR
    1984 was a really scary book
     
    Mashup and detached805 like this.
  3. nodogs_nomasters

    nodogs_nomasters Experienced Member Experienced member


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    Jul 15, 2014
     United States
    Similarly to RememberGlencoe, I have had a seething distaste for authoritarianism since school. High School, in particular. I recognized that we were being crammed into this factory model of education; that we were being taught to memorize, regurgitate, and follow rules like good little worker bees rather than hone any higher form of intelligence. It was around this time that I found punk rock and anti-authoritarian literature such as 1984, Les Miserables, and Brave New World. I finally felt understood in my frustration.
    I'm entering my third year of college now, and it isn't until quite recently that I began seriously studying the philosophy of anarchy, rather than merely flirting with it. Although I am just beginning to delve into it with any intellectual depth, I've been emotionally pulled to it for quite some time.
     
  4. JSkywalker

    JSkywalker New Member New Member


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    Jul 5, 2014
     
    I've had similar thoughts throughout school. Though I excelled in my classes, I began to despise the emphasis the school system put on memorization rather than true learning and knowledge. There are those who learn to learn and make connections, and there are those who learn to memorize and regurgitate words. The school system taught people how to memorize, and most were not intelligent enough to realize that although the system was fucked, there was still a wealth of information that could be learned from school, besides the information presented to be studied and memorized.

    I've always been the weird one, quiet, introverted, intelligent, with vastly differing opinions from others. As I child I loathed humanity and recognized the horrible things it's done. I was always astounded by the stupidity of others, of their callousness and violence, and their self-destructive tendencies. I'm also transgender, and that further alienated me from my peers. I looked like a girl, but didn't think like one, and thus I was an outcast among my female peers, as I couldn't relate to them, and an outcast among my male peers, as they didn't see me as one of them. I had no idea that it was possible to be a male who looked female, though, so I just assumed this was what it was like to be female, and I was extremely depressed for much of my life. Though I didn't realize I was transgender until I was about 17, I always advocated individuality and freedom of expression, while most people tried so desperately to shove themselves into some tiny box and throw away the key in order to gain acceptance from their peers. This has always seemed ludicrous to me. If you are yourself, you'll gain acceptance from the one person who matters, you! So many people are worried that people won't like them if they express themselves freely, but regardless of what you do, there will always be people who love you and those who hate you, so why not be yourself and surround yourself with the people that love the REAL you, not the fake one?

    I've always been anti-authoritarian and somewhat anti-capitalist, but during high school I still believed that society needed at least a minimal amount of government to sustain itself. I labeled myself as a libertarian. I'd never put much thought into capitalism vs. communism, and I hate that I didn't. While blind patriotism and national pride was shoved down our throats, communism had always been presented as something evil, something that aimed to destroy democracy and liberty, so I never looked into it as a viable option. I should have given more of a shit, but I was somewhat self-centered and very focused on my grades and getting into a good college. It was only after high school that I came to the conclusion that government wasn't necessary at all. I've been governing my own actions my entire life. I do not interact with the government itself, I interact with people, workers and friends. I believe that's all that is needed; human interaction doesn't require government. I don't understand how people can think that individual competition in a hierarchy promotes the best life conditions. I think the only way we can maximize our potentials is if all relationships are horizontal by nature, simply basic human interaction where everyone recognizes the next man or woman as equal to him or herself. Capitalism is a system based on fear of reprimand and discrepancies in power, while anarchism is a system based on love and equality.

    Oh, and 1984 is one of my favorite books. It's been too long since I've read it last! I've never read The Giver, though I plan to.
     
  5. Rebellious twit

    Rebellious twit Experienced Member Experienced member


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    Jul 21, 2012
     
    When did i become an anarchist?, i don't really have a date or a year really, but i think i first started labelling myself as an anarchist when i learned about the punk movement and about the anti authorthraian message behind it, i was sick of being ruled by people with conformity in my school and by my teacher and my family, yet at that time i dind't target hierachies and capitalism for that matter, that was much later, i was a chaos punk back then, looking back at it, i had no clue of what a system i had in mind, but one thing is for sure i dind't want people to conform in that way our society conformed people and how people are indirectly forced into boxes of conformity.

    I first started getting into anarchism theory a year later, i first read a few chapters of the ABC of anarchism, and later finished a few months ago, since i am a lazy sod when it comes to reading, i must say my eyes opend when i read those chapters, how people were exploited and forced to live under those conditions capitalists has been set for us in years,

    i then for some reason convinced myself that anarchism wasn't really a good idea, since without a state who would rule, and i began reading a biography of marx, which bored the hell out of me, i then found out about the squatter movement in denmark, and i think that made me think that another world is possible, with grassroots and social movements organizing a democratic revolution to overthrow capitalism and the state.
    I later began to read the anarchist faq, and i later finished the abc of anarchism, i would describe myself as a social anarchist with both ancom tendencies and ansyn tendencies, leaning more to syndicalism today i guess.
     
  6. nodogs_nomasters

    nodogs_nomasters Experienced Member Experienced member


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    Jul 15, 2014
     United States
    I would also add that it allows for many opportunities that are otherwise unavailable. We wouldn't have anarchist folks like Noam Chomsky in positions of influence if he didn't go to school. Not that there aren't other routes to take, mind you, but doing well in school can open up many doors.
     
    detached805 likes this.
  7. bcpunk

    bcpunk Active Member Forum Member


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    Jul 2, 2013
     
    I was introduced to the concept of anarchism when I began listening to punk. At that time I was not interested in it. I thought we are all free and wtf .. yeah that was when I had 15 and believed everything in the news was true. :lmao:
    Later though, when I was more mature, I suddenly realized, that nothing is really alright with this world. Politicians lie, corporations pursue only profit, people don't care for each other, money is the real god .. yeah from that time I started to call myself an anarchist.
     
    Mashup likes this.
  8. oceanyoga

    oceanyoga Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


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    Oct 15, 2009
     Netherlands
  9. rashpeter

    rashpeter Member Forum Member


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    Dec 22, 2011
     
    punk rock
     
  10. riot74

    riot74 New Member New Member


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    Apr 23, 2016
     
    through punk rock to...but the question is if we only listen punk rock cause we like it and in the real life we act like a midle class capitalist with kids to raise ? and those values nowdays are just an utopia for angry teens ? i don't know...i'm a forty years old guy i believe in anarchy but i became one more number to the working class who is more and more opressed through this wild capitalism.
     
    psykoze likes this.
  11. Sillysixpin

    Sillysixpin Active Member Forum Member


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    May 11, 2016
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    I don't know my exact ideology personally, i wouldn't call myself an anarchist anymore, and i'm not a facist by default, yet leftist ideology have become a victimhood olympics recently.I guess i'd be either an Anarchist-christian or Anarchist-capitalist with racial/gender essentialism, like the Amish or mormans but not strictly a theocracy nor a cult. So not Anarchism by this board's definition.

    My very first experience of anarchism as an ideology was seeing a character on that 70's show who was some glamorized bad girl character with a red anarchism symbol on her bike. She said some anti-athority slogan like how love is made up to sell valentines.

    My first experience with punk as a subculture would be from seeing punks downtown when i was a kid except i didn't know they were punks, just strangely dressed people. The first Punk music would listen to would sadly be the rarely fast songs from pop punk bands on the radio. Then street punk from friends (but i never liked the garrish look of street punk) and then crust punk from other friends.
     
  12. Feyza

    Feyza New Member New Member


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    Jun 21, 2017
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    Well, I'm living in Turkey and I think about anything and everything (unlike most of the other people) so when I started questioning politics I realized how idiot people are by believing what politicians say. And if you're aware of what's going on in Turkey, you wouldn't be surprised to see an anarchist. I don't hate my country or anything but the politics just drive me crazy. I don't know much about other countries but politicians' debates turns into fights in my country which is really annoying. It's pretty obvious that they are here just to show off and steal our money by taxes (money is capitalism's game anyway but that's another thing to discuss so I won't get into it now). And about the laws, they're written on the paper but not applied(is this the right word?). They put innocent people into jail and they release people who actually deserve to be in jail. And there's this law which says cigarettes and alcohol cannot be sold if the customer is under 18 yet you can get them from any market and even supermarkets(not all of them but some of them sale those to the people who are underage). And the referendums are hilarious. People vote but their votes are just on paper. There are a lot more things I'dd add but to sum it up, politics are just a play to make people another brick in the wall, politicians are big fat liars and they think we are their puppets. So that's why I am an anarchist.
     
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  13. Lardy Cox

    Lardy Cox Experienced Member Experienced member


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    North Holland, Netherlands  United States
    Thatcher's Britain and Punk Rock..
     
  14. dannyac16

    dannyac16 New Member New Member


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    Nov 17, 2017
    Male , 24 years old
    Catalonia, Spain  Spain
    I've become an anarchist because I always hated authority, I've been always against punishments (such as prisons or school punishments -which are pretty useless) and I've never liked any govern of my country. Also, since I got sometimes bullied for being antisocial and other things, I've opposed racism, bully and all that kind. I discovered about anarchism while I was seeking information about Green Day, I saw a curious word for me: "Anarcho-Punk", I wanted to see what was it about and learned a lot about Anarchy, since then I consider myself an anarchist, since I agree with everything it is for.
     
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  15. detached805

    detached805 Member Forum Member


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    Oxnard, CA, United States  United States
    Ever since I was little I've always been a troublemaker :) but it wasn't ever a random chaotic type of trouble, I was always standing up to my parents who'd abuse me and the lame kids in church and my old rat teachers. Now that I'm older I just realized the label is me no matter what. I used to hate on anarchist when I was a kid cuz seeing the logo get commercialized I was like what the fuck, that shit's a trend. Now I realize it's a powerful ridiculous label that is an automatic fuck you to anyone who isn't an anarchist. And since I think all labels especially political ones are unnecessary and stupid I figured anarchist is truly the best label for me. Cuz fuck you! Also my true distaste for society, seeing things growing up where you're just thinking "that's not fucking ok" but people just laugh until it's almost conditioned into you to the point where you find yourself fake laughing just to appease them. I got sick of that. Thus I lost most of my friends. So yeah fuck society.
     
  16. anarchowitch

    anarchowitch Member Forum Member


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    Jan 15, 2018
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    Missouri, United States  United States
    I wasn't technically an anarchist until recently. I live near St. Louis and went to a lot of punk shows and got into activism easily that way. I saw cops beat up my friends and mace them for being rowdy. I watched them beat up people for being black. I watched them beat up people for being in the streets and for standing on the side walk. I saw the cops after the Jason Stockley verdict and how they marched through the streets, chanting "Whose streets our streets!" It started with a hatred of cops before I realized the problem is much bigger than cops. It's capitalism that perpetuates systematic racism, destruction of this planet, and the kidnap and imprisonment of human beings and I felt anarchism didn't have all the answers to society's problems but most try to fix these problems by hurting as few people as possible.
     
  17. LIVE_FREE

    LIVE_FREE Active Member Forum Member


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    Jan 1, 2018
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    Ontario, Canada  Canada
    My personal freedom has always been huge to me. Its why i left home very young why i got in alot of arguments and fights in my life. Everything ive ever seen the givernment do has been negative or fucking useless. Helping the well to do and hurting the vulnerable. So ive always been an anarchist. But punk rock is what really made me realize it i guess. That and some quotes from noteable anarchists. "the passion for distruction is also a creative passion" "what is property? Property is theft" Those were some quotes i had printed on my door as a kid. I guess i romanticized all of it as a kid too. It gave me something to believe in.
     
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  18. LIVE_FREE

    LIVE_FREE Active Member Forum Member


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    Jan 1, 2018
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    Ontario, Canada  Canada
    ...Takin' time to break the laws,
    And then I'll lick my dirty paws,
    Dodging all the lies I'm fed,
    I'll live my life and then I'm dead

    Rock the 40oz - LOC
     
  19. ScottO

    ScottO Member Forum Member


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    Louisiana, United States  United States
    We all start as anarchists (no one is born with a deep belief in the state). The tricky question is "why or how did we become believers in state authority at any point?"
     
    atticus wayne likes this.
  20. babycrusty161

    babycrusty161 New Member New Member


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    Feb 25, 2018
    Texas, United States  United States
    punk got me interested, then i started getting into leftist tumblr blogs and reading different arguments. as an immigrant, a lot of the whole "no more borders" shit really struck a chord. slowly began realizing all the bullshit around me. this last summer really pushed me to take action with all the fash rallies. now, here i am! a full anarchist
     
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