this post was submitted on 26 Oct 2024
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Anarchism

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Discuss anarchist praxis and philosophy. Don't take yourselves too seriously.

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Why do anarchists stay on reddit or other corporate-run platforms? (lemmy.dbzer0.com)
submitted 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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I know these federated communities exist as well as raddle, but it still seems like most people will stay on toxic and corporate-run platforms like reddit or Twitter. I'm far from perfect myself and I still use reddit sometimes, especially for more niche communities, but when it comes to ideologically strong communities like the anarchist ones, it just feels wrong that the majority still hang out on reddit. Or you know, moving to something like Bsky when Twitter became too toxic but which is still run by a large, for-profit corporation (if they moved in the first place). What are your thoughts? Is there any justification for this?

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 weeks ago (3 children)

what year are you in? Are people still offline irl when you are?

The self-described anarchists who engage in actual work tend to be better informed and know what anarchism is and organize accordingly. Most people who self-label as anarchkst on the internet do nothing at all outside of comment and post. They also don't read, not even about anarchism. They are not anarchists, they are left liberals that confuse each other and the wider public online.

Occasionally they do pop up in organizing spaces, usually as new members. They are the ones wasting time trying to make an anarchist org "more horizontal" by which they mean "I get to be on every committee and speak for 20 minutes at every meeting". I cannot tell you how many times my anarchist comrades have had to explain the difference between (situationally) just and unjust hierarchy to such folks.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 weeks ago (2 children)

lol what a mood

I'm an anarchist and I don't do much organizing and reading theory is not for me. I have a life to live and IDGAF what you think. Anarchists telling people what to do lol

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 weeks ago

Living your life is one of the most anarchist things you can do in my opinion.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Another common trait of the "anarchist as an aesthetic" liberal is that they call everyone cops for criticizing them.

To be an anarchist you do need to actually know what one is, what the principles are, and subsequently do work. If you don't know what one is, you could never identify as one correctly. If you don't know the principles, well I'm just being redundant, that's essential to knowing what one is. If you don't do work, you are anarchism sympathizer, but have nothing to show for your beliefs. Praxis is essential to anarchism.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

That's just, like, your onion, man

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 weeks ago

Well it's definitely just not mine.

So, we perceive, there are actual, material barriers blockading the way. These must be removed. If we could hope they would melt away, or be voted or prayed into nothingness, we would be content to wait and vote and pray. But they are like great frowning rocks towering between us and a land of freedom, while the dark chasms of a hard-fought past yawn behind us. Crumbling they may be with their own weight and the decay of time, but to quietly stand under until they fall is to be buried in the crash. There is something to be done in a case like this—the rocks must be removed. Passivity while slavery is stealing over us is a crime. For the moment we must forget that we are anarchists—when the work is accomplished we may forget that we were revolutionists—hence most anarchists believe the coming change can only come through a revolution, because the possessing class will not allow a peaceful change to take place; still we are willing to work for peace at any price, except at the price of liberty.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 weeks ago (2 children)

that's some really dedicated gatekeeping for anarchism...

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 weeks ago

Apparently we need Leninists to tell us how to be anarchists. It's a good thing TheOubliette is here to show us the light and encourage us to enlighten ourselves by reading theory that Marx, Lenin, and other comrades have so generously blessed us with. /s

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

The gatekeeping of knowing the basics of anarchism and doing real-life organizing work? Is that not the bare minimum?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

yes. and no, it's not the bare minimum. You perceive a very specific definition of anarchism, and act like anything that's not exactly what you know/do is just not anarchism anymore and is just wannabe edgy liberals.

How can you even fence so hard a term such as anarchism? just let people be and believe what they want.

you're now just this conservative guy screaming in fear because the world is not what is used to be when you were at your 20s.

cool down. It's okay to be an anarchist just online, and it's okay to take "irl actions", as you call it, and not see yourself above everyone else.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 weeks ago

yes. and no, it’s not the bare minimum. You perceive a very specific definition of anarchism

I don't, actually. I accept a wide variety of how people approach what it means to be anarchist. But a person does need to actually know what it is in order to self-label as such. Otherwise you will find yourself surrounded by status quo-reinforcing liberals, even capitalists, using the term and confusing everybody.

and act like anything that’s not exactly what you know/do is just not anarchism anymore and is just wannabe edgy liberals.

If there is no threshold then the term means nothing. Trump could not call himself an anarchist and be correct.

How can you even fence so hard a term such as anarchism? just let people be and believe what they want.

I don't think I'm being a very big stickler to say that to call yourself of an anticapitalist political tradition you need to know the basics of what it is. Of course anyone can believe and say what they want, and anyone can be wrong, and anyone can be counterproductive. It is better to become a critical participant that understands their claimed political tradition, at least at a basic level. And it can be harmful to claim to be of a political tradition and then act in full opposition to it, which is easy to do when you don't know what it is.

you’re now just this conservative guy screaming in fear because the world is not what is used to be when you were at your 20s.

I'm screaming in fear?

cool down. It’s okay to be an anarchist just online, and it’s okay to take “irl actions”, as you call it, and not see yourself above everyone else.

It is cool to be an anarchist just online, but you will find it very difficult to become one unless you know the basics of anarchism and have done practice.

This is why online "anarchists" are often counterproductive. Getting hyped for NATO. Saying that someone is a cop because they asked another person to not pick a fight with someone right this second. Going all-in on capitalist electoralism for the greatest empire on the planet. Being a billionaire grifter that sells electric cars.

Rather than assign those reactionary things to anarchist, it is more correct to understand them as not anarchist at all.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

i'm guessing that you're in U.S.