Irresponsible hard core anarchists

[framheim]

i think the majority of protestors are there to make sure that the g8 are aware that the public demand change and improvement on all these issues. there are many protestors there who also are there to protest against the g8 and globalisation for the a number of reasons. most of these involve trade agreements and such which tend to be weighted towards allowing industrialised nations to trade with each other and have led to many non industialised nations being unable to enter these markets thus restricting their growth and meaning their in debt to organisations like the world bank which is controlled by industrialised nations. thats a simplified version based on my (limited) understanding of the anti-globalisation issues.

[Paulscoconutass]

I'm with geldof in believing that the 'Anarchists' that have been making all the headlines in the news are nothing more than trouble makers and probably a big percentage are just there for organised violence.

The modern state and oppression.

There are three major characteristics to the modern state; firstly the state is a sovereign body' date=' meaning that it has control over the rights of all of its subjects. Secondly the modern state is compulsory, in that when born into a state the individual must recognise certain obligations to the state i.e. laws. Thirdly the state is monopolistic because it doesnt allow any other force to compete or exist within its territory.

Although it may not feel like it almost every single thing a person does on a day-to-day basis has been affected and is often limited by the state in one way or another. The main tools of the states powers come in the form of law, police and judges. When examined thoroughly there are laws that limit the actions of almost every single thing people do, from driving to gambling, from drugs, censorship, hunting to paying taxes. In a single issue of The Guardian newspaper there were seven references to new or existing laws and bills in the first twenty pages; child custody, retirement, nuclear waste disposal, human rights, magic mushrooms, abortion and advertising were all given separate columns and detailed accounts to the changes made.

With such frequent and detailed coverage of these laws its easy to see why many citizens dont even think about the state as being an oppressive institution, and just see it as fulfilling its role, creating of transforming existing laws and bills. It is also plain to see that a large number of the laws are there to protect or benefit, laws on gun control and the storage of nuclear waste are just two examples that benefit people and increase safety in every day life.

The decision for the United Kingdom to join the European Union also brought around some large changes regarding the powers and amount of laws that have impacts on citizens every day lives. On the 4th of April 2004 every European Union member state had to comply with the 97,000 pages of EU law. In 2003 alone 253,100 pages of brand new laws were created in Brussels and the number is estimated to be increasing by 20,000 pages every single year. This number dwarfs the number of laws being created by any single government in the world and highlights some of the problems of globalisation

When the role, and in essence, domination of the modern state is properly examined it is clear to see why some people have the strong opinion that the modern state is oppressive and intrusive and even violent.

[b']The Anarchists View Of The State.

The ideology of Anarchism is one that encompasses a wide array of differing philosophies with one central notion in common; the elimination of all forms of authority and hierarchical structures. Up until the nineteen sixties and seventies Anarchism was basically dismissed as a violent and inconsistent ideology, however the writings of some intellectual Anarchists such as Kropotkin, Godwin, Proudhon and Bakunin slowly began to be recognised as more and more credible. It is important to note that although Anarchists wish to eliminate the state, they also seek to end all forms of hierarchy, authority and institutional control.

Whoever says the state is necessary says domination, and consequently, slavery; a state without slavery, open or concealed, is inconceivable: that is why we are enemies of the state Mikhail Bakunin

The above quote sums up the anarchists view on the state in a single sentence. Throughout all of his and every other Anarchists writing there is the explicit idea that the state should be abolished. The state is authority, force, the display of and fascination of force and In politics and religion alike, men are merely tools in the hands of the exploiters are two more quotes from the same chapter of his writing that emphasise the Anarchists need to abolish the state because of its oppressive nature.

Different types of Anarchists all aim for different utopias or perfect societies, each individual branch aims for a different type of community and individuality. However, they all believe that individuality involves the growth of personality in one form or another; therefore it has been argued that the aim is not individuality, but self development. It has also been argued that the differing views of community all have the common notion of reciprocal awareness where - in every model - each member of a community knows what himself and others are thinking. Over time it has emerged that the original belief that community and individuality are the fundamental goals of Anarchism, has shifted towards the idea that the more accurate goals of Anarchism are self development and reciprocal awareness.

When you accurately see the goals of Anarchism it is clear to see why Anarchists so strongly oppose everything about the state. With the modern state having so much power and such a great influence on the citizens within its borders the modern state is the complete opposite to the Anarchists perfect society. One of the most famous quotes regarding the Anarchists negative view on the state is:

To be governed is to be watched over, inspected, spied on, directed, legislated, regimented, closed in, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, assessed, evaluated, censored, commanded; all by creatures that have neither the right, nor wisdom, nor virtue... Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

That's from an old paper i did on anarchism, i just posted up those bits because it best highlights the views of the type of anarchists i read about. Although their main goal is the abolition of all forms of hierarchy and as you can probably see, the traits and goals of 'anarchists' on the telly just now are a million miles away from authentic ones. Although there are violent anarchists they are a tiny percentage and much like any other section of society (goths, kids, old people...) only the small number of bad cases tend to be focused on.

[framheim]

http://www.camvista.com/scotland/edinburgh/histedin.php3#

watch the protests live on the interweb!

[lepeep]

Also how many protests does one city need within a week?

is the answer "as many as it takes to make a change" ?

[Snakebite]

Can see it from both sides. . .

Im really un-comfy hearing protestors being labelled anarchists for seemingly just protesting. Can also see it from the police side as it wasnt an official protest. From the news coverage' date=' though, I think the riot police and use of batons was a bit heavy-handed. I would have used a water cannon and incited a wet t-shirt competition. [/quote']

Doesnt help if your protestors are wielding potatoes with nails stuck through them so they could be thrown at police.

I heard a minority of the protestors (probably the anarchists that came up to cause trouble) in the eco camp outside stirling were shouting out praises for Al-Qaeda after the bombings in london, which I think is sick.

[steve corps]

did anyone else see allsystemsfail on channel 4 news' date=' looming in the background and looking annoyed as he always does?

[/quote']

aye, i spotted angry dave, looking angry.did anyone notice his feet though? he had on that pair of nikes he venemously denied owning! go figure, what a sellout.

[boss]

aye' date=' i spotted angry dave, looking angry.did anyone notice his feet though? he had on that pair of nikes he venemously denied owning! go figure, what a sellout.[/quote']

i, personally, was shocked by this.

who can we trust anymore?

[steve corps]

i' date=' personally, was shocked by this.

who can we trust anymore?[/quote']

fuck knows.maybe his mate with the vegan hoodie? its better than my beef t-shirt anyways.

"are you gettin it? armageddon it"

[boss]

"No chance if ya don't wanna dance!"

The undercover beef supremacy strikes again.

[lepeep]

we can safely say that this (in location) was the least troubled GX conference in a while (remember canada and Itally ?)...seems like the bobbies did a cracking job of stopping the morons who just want a fight.

[steve corps]

surprise surprise, a funny little PM confirms PoR is allsytemsfail, still flipping over his footwear and still sucking the life out of everything.who'd have guessed?!

[lepeep]

surprise surprise' date=' a funny little PM confirms PoR is allsytemsfail, still flipping over his footwear and still sucking the life out of everything.who'd have guessed?![/quote']

you see, my nose is a sensitive (large) organ.