So let's talk about the most recent statement from the Zapatistas, as it seems people from across the political spectrum are misunderstanding what was actually being conveyed.

Here is the statement, for those who are curious. radiozapatista.org/?p=46648&lang=… First let me say up front: the Zapatistas are not dissolving. They are, however, restructuring. The way that will take place has not yet been divulged in their communiques. However, we can look at which bodies will be involved in that restructuring to get an idea.

Conservatives are incapable of producing good art because they lack empathy, which means they are incapable of creating anything which communicates to a larger audience. When they try to produce art, they only end up producing clumsy in-group signaling. Conservatives falsely think that art is nothing more than in-group signaling, because they feel alienated by the features that typically constitute good art: exploration of new concepts, boundary breaking, an ability to reveal the inner lives of people who are not ourselves.

Been re-reading Wretched of the Earth over the last couple of weeks and it occurs to me how hamfisted the discourse on the topic of Palestinian liberation is on the TL right now. People really owe this topic more care and attention than they are showing. For example: Fanon vindicates the call to violence by the colonized, but he also recognizes that a consciousness based around resentment and revenge is not capable of liberation. It can lead to transformative violence, but not the production of a new, liberatory society.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that a lot of people's bad behavior is because they have no outlets, no community, and the world is falling apart around them. They are addicted to outrage and harassment because it is the only thing that makes them feel like they have any power. None of this makes the outcomes any more tolerable (indeed, the uncharitable, exclusionary behavior in our spaces is one of the only things that makes me feel doomer) but it does remind me to treat other people with kindness and patience, even when they are being horrible.

We need organizers to move away from cyclic protests and lists of demands and to move towards identifying and targeting key bottlenecks in the power structure, then assessing which direct actions would stress or break those bottlenecks. Think about how the enemy structure organizes its own power, how it moves resources and conveys information, look for the weakest part of that chain, then disrupt it prolifically. Use that disruption to gain territory and guarantee leverage. Hit that weak spot over and over.

Lifestylism is not "any focus on lifestyle." Lifestylism is a narrow focus on lifestyle. It is a belief that, if all you do is change the way you act, how you consume, the way you dress, what you listen to, how you treat others, etc... that this will transform the world by itself Social anarchism has always included alterations of lifestyle to varying degrees. It's an important component of political action! But focusing narrowly on lifestyle only leads to a sort of anarchist asceticism or radical posturing instead of a liberatory political force.

I think turning anarchism into a youth sub-culture based around the aesthetics of radicalism with no desire to catalyze radicalism in the masses, was one of the most dire strategic mistakes in the last 200 years and we are STILL trying to dig ourselves out of the rut caused by it Anarchism as a lifestyle sub-culture was an overcorrection against rigid structuralism and growth for the sake of growth. The critiques were largely correct, but the solutions were a failure. The correct approach is popular education, struggle, and organic organizational growth.

Given another horrifying massacre, we have returned to the gun discourse. But, as usual, it seems that no one is discussing the elephant in the room: we live in an intensely alienated society based around violence worship and full-on brainwashing by hierarchical power structures. The US is a terrifying mixture of hierarchical mentalities run wild, extraordinary exploitation, a completely shredded social fabric, and a constant, looming knowledge of the nigh-apocalyptic destruction that the machine we live within is causing to the planet.

There is apparently a little Maoist cult (I know, which one?) who are impersonating anarchists in order to spread discord in the community. You should probably practice a little bit of skepticism of unfounded accusations in the near term future. They are relying on gullibility Here is their game plan by the way, as several of you seem curious. They want to try and put together "unions" of harassers and clout chasers which can then change the online culture. They are very upset that they are unpopular.

I think one of the issues with treating other people as disposable is that it gets everyone in the community into a very defensive posture. When you think that people will throw you away if they perceive a moral failure, you become very committed to denying all moral failure. There can be no restorative justice without introspection and an ensuing acceptance that one has caused harm. Yet there can be no such introspection and acceptance so long as one fears that they will be summarily disposed of as a result. It creates a toxic social dynamic.

Stop recommending people read the work of reactionaries and counter-revolutionaries to "get their perspective." Most radicals read very few theory texts over the course of their life and you are advocating they waste their time with people who were wrong. If someone is a scholar or is interested in theory more generally, sure, they should read widely. But most people muster the effort to read theory once every few years. Why would you want them to read some debunked nonsense?

So I'm going to do a thread summarizing especifismo as a praxis. I should preface by saying that I am not an expert on the subject. I am only conveying what I have learned from reading about it and by relating it to my own experiences. But here we go! 🧵 Especifismo is a praxis, developed by FARJ in Brazil, that advocates for anarchists to create theoretically unified organizations which refuse collaboration with authoritarian leftists. It is a social anarchist method which is inspired by platformism and anarcho-syndicalism.

A phenomena I have noticed is that people often have really good ideas about what needs to be done in organizing, but make mistakes in understanding group capacity and the repercussions of burnout. So I'm gonna do a short thread discussing these ideas. Imagine you have a group consisting of about 10 people and imagine that, at the baseline, about 2 or 3 people have stepped back from active organizing at any given time. A cycling group of 7 or 8 show up consistently. It's normal. People get exhausted, people have lives.

I don't really play defense because I know charalatans love that shit, but my minor was in philosophy with an emphasis on philosophy of science. The way I am obsessive about revolutionary theory now, I was obsessive about history and philosophy of science from about 19-32 I can't say I know everything about the subject, as nobody does. But I have read a lot about the history and philosophy of science and I'm here to tell you, "Marxist"-Leninism doesn't qualify under any coherent definition. It's just a philosophy, people, and not even a strong one

Alright, well this thread blew up. Now there are so many group DMs that spawned out of this I need to create a thread of different group DMs! Just comment if you are from any of these areas and want me to add you!

https://twitter.com/AnarkYouTube/status/1465442137533784071

https://twitter.com/AnarkYouTube/status/1465528825891237895

If you are an anarchist/libertarian socialist trying to start a group, comment below with your location. Additionally, if you don't want to reveal your identity and location, but want to use this thread to find people, DM me the location and I will just comment it here to help you coordinate.

"X is the correct thing, but it's too radical to convey to the average person, so you need to water it down to appeal to them" is a tactic that has failed so many times and for so many reasons at this point that it just amounts to smashing your face against a brick wall Stop ceding ground to your enemies! Stop abandoning terms because of misconceptions! Correct the misconceptions! Reclaim the words! Explain the ideas!

No matter how dark it seems, do not lose hope. Ask instead what you must become to navigate the darkness. Seek joy where it can be found, but know that much self-sacrifice and discipline will be required to travel the road that lies ahead. If it seems to you that the masses are too ignorant, too selfish, too brutish to choose a better world, just recall all that is good within them. Put aside your hatred and judgment and choose reconciliation of humanity's better nature.

So the first principle in stealing is to act normal. Come up with a little story in your head about why you're there. Are you at Walmart? You're shopping for groceries. Best Buy? Looking for some specific item. Get yourself in that head space the entire time you're in the store I would say, if you haven't stolen much, start small. Self-checkout is a good way to get used to it. Just..."accidentally" forget to scan an item or two. Check out the rest of your groceries normally. Each time you go, "accidentally" forget to check out a few more.

I'm not an anarchist just because I think anarchy is good and I want good things. I view anarchy as a practicable form of human existence. Anarchism is not reliant on an impossible ideal. It is a robust theory of analysis which entails a real method for dismantling subjugation I do not believe in a world wherein all suffering is eliminated. I believe in a world wherein we determine our future together, as a socially resonant whole that is more than the sum of its parts. I believe in a society predicated on the best aspects of humanity.

I'm about to FUTURE SHOCK YOU. In a million years we're all gonna be wizards! Yeah man, like in Harry Potter. Ohohoooo...you don't believe me? Well that's just you getting hyperstitioned baby! Waitwaitwait...are you denying it would not be better to be wizards? Clearly it would. Who knows what technology can accomplish. Like Clark said "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." So then why not magic? FUTURESHOCKED