As the hexbear cadre becomes dug in for the protracted people’s posting war I find myself reflecting on what makes Hexbear a great place. IMO there are a lot of things; our trans comrades (who we love unconditionally), a pig w/ poop on it’s balls, a dope ass bear. But I think it’s you scattered few that really help maintain that special hexbear vibe that we all appreciate.
I, like the majority of users here, would not describe myself as an Anarchist. But an opinion I often see and one I tend to agree with is that we cannot and should not ignore the tactical contributions of past anarchist struggles. Even further, I read a very thought provoking comment somewhere the other day (can’t remember who made it) that as ecological conditions deteriorate to below the level of stability necessary to maintain a state, anarchist theory could become more relevant and important to grapple with. I found that idea to be very thought provoking.
But what I’m really getting at here is that I appreciate the ideological diversity you precious few contribute. Here’s the thing; I think the magic ingredient for any enjoyable social media experience is a certain level of friction. Echo chambers are genuinely boring. Thank you for your contributions here.
Don’t be afraid to generate some friction because the struggle that generates sharpens all of us. My liberal ass is proud to be here in the posting trenches with you folks.
when thinking about western revolutionary potential vs non-western, I’ve increasingly been grappling with the idea that the anarchists might actually have better tactics than us (MLs) in the West. Though MLs would hypothetically be a greater threat, their organization into groups and parties in the way that they do them makes them vulnerable to western surveillance and infiltration and so can be destroyed, the last century has been pretty demonstrative of the potential of MLism outside the West, but in the West it’s been a pretty obvious failure. so anarchist techniques applied effectively might be superior in the coming years. idk, I’m probably gonna start getting through the Anarchist FAQ and relevant literature in the near-to-medium future and see what I learn.
You should look into the anti-fur campaign in the PNW in the 90s, as well as the efforts to defend the Redwoods. IMO, those are two really big wins for anarchist-style organizing in the West.
And of course the IWW, including its descendant unions like the ILWU and certain locals of the UMW.
I’m sad I found this post so late because this is exactly what my line has been for a long time regarding western anarchists, and why they are so frustrating. I see our potential but it can only grow when we reign in the constant focus in online spaces on “tankies” who have literally never held any meaningful power in the imperial core and many of my comrades are socialists who I am fairly certain have no impending intent nor the power to do any sort of Soviet style purges. And lastly they have no reason to because there is no revolution to betray at this juncture and frankly assuming the same exact beefs from 100 years ago will play out exactly the same despite vastly differing material conditions is ironically anti-materialist, and this goes for MLs and Maoists too.
We have to get our shit together before any of that can even possibly become a cause for concern again. TLDR touch grass and do work, we’ll figure it out as we go along and as material conditions continue to deteriorate, but right now our responsibility is to offer a clear alternative that isn’t just genocide.