For the next reading circle, we decided to put the texts down and watch a video together! So we headed over to our anarchist educational co-conspirators at sub.Media for inspiration and of course, they came up with the goods! We are going to be viewing (together at the circle) Quiet Storm: Technology and Social Control, which is part of their Trouble Series of documentary films. After the movie we will discuss what we learned.
As always, we are meeting at Camas Books, 2620 Quadra Street, on Lekwungen Territory. The next meeting is Sunday August 20th @ 6:30PM.
Our study of Indigenous anarchist movements abroad has encouraged us to more closely study the theory and solidarity actions for settler-Indigenous solidarity coming out of so-called “Canada.” The zine Social War on Stolen Native Land: Anarchist Contributions from Black Banner Distro (2017) engages with an alternative perspective that assumes that people have their own valid reason for struggling, and that by coming together from a shared position, we can have stronger and more powerful relationships. Through the lens of past anarchist activity in Canada, the zine explores the ways – both theoretical and practical – in which settler anarchists have attempted historically to act in solidarity with Indigenous resistance.
Our next reading will be the academic article Participatory Democracy in Action: Practices of the Zapatistas and the Movimento Sem Terra, which covers the Zapatistas’ and Movimento Sem Terra’s (Landless Movement-MST) methods of organizing through participatory democracy, which emphasizes obligation to participate in decision making and a shared concern for autonomy.
Over the past few weeks we have been reading Peter Gelderloos’ How Nonviolence Protects the State and the discussions have been riveting! This book has both strong points to make in favour of diversity of tactics, but unfortunately, it also has its limitations, which we are unpacking.
The next Anarchist Reading Circle will be a movie night, scheduled for Sunday, Feb 19th @ 6:30 pm.
“On Revolution and Equilibrium” by Barbara Deming extensively quotes Frantz Fanon to argue for revolutionary non-violence. Instead of attesting to some imaging sense of ‘purity’ she states it is more important to avoid becoming ‘dizzy’ than to aspire to be pure. What kind of future do we want? Who will be involved in building this future? These are the questions Deming asks while putting Fanon forward to argue for a blance between self-assertion and respect for others.
The next reading is a chapter by the philosopher Hannah Arendt, who escaped Nazi persecution by fleeing from Germany to the United States. This essay contains her most valuable analysis on power, and she breaks down the differences between power, strength, force, authority, and lastly, violence.
Our discussion turned from anarchy in international relations towards wanting to learn more about the history of anarchist revolutionaries. Thanks to the anarchists at Crimethinc (who need your support right now, as they are being targeted by far-right trolls and billionaires) we decided on learning more about why anarchists burned the guillotine during the Paris Commune of 1871. We have two readings for the next meeting, the first by Crimethinc is the primary reading we will discuss. The second is optional, and provides a detailed historical chronology and background to the Paris Commune.
For the next round of Anarchist Edutainment, the Anarchist Reading Circle will learn why the definition of Anarchy in classical International Relations has such negative and misleading connotations.