Hand-To_hand.

      During this pandemic, people's thoughts fly in different directions, and rightly so. This whole episode in our lives is certainly food for thought, the failings  of our society, the possibilities of dramatic change to the way we structure our society, the need for the ordinary people to take control of the decisions that shape our lives, build a world free from the profit motive, bring an end to the ruthless financial Mafia that at present dictates the shape of our world to the benefit of the few. 

    With all of this and more running through my head as it does in others, there is one thought that persistently pushes itself to the front of my mind. We don't produce enough anarchist literature, that hard copy, that tangible thing of paper that we can read and pass from one to the other. I know, the internet is there, but not everybody walks that road. Anarchism is a big field and it grows a wide and varied harvest, let's throw its fruits far and wide. The leaflet, pamphlet, flyer, booklet, serial, are all every bit as necessary and as productive as as the blog, social media etc.

    So I'm always delighted when a new issue appears, whether it is a first or the next issue of anarchist thought, action, tactics, strategies deeds, I don't have to agree with everything that is published, but they can be handed hand-to-hand and should open the door to discussion of our ideas at cafes, bars, workplace, meetings and households, etc. we have a bottomless pit of ideas for that better world for all, let's throw them around more freely.      

    The second issue of RUMOER is now available

       The second edition of the anarchist publication Rumoer is out! A publication which will hopefully provoke discussion, irritation, inspiration, agitation, and attack. Because we do not want a raise in wages, but the destruction of work. Because we do not want to shout ‘boo!’ but want to hear BOOM! We want a confrontation without compromise with the system that is destroying our lives and the planet.
       In this issue some extra attention for the rampaging Covid-19 virus. But also just the ongoing anarchist interventions and other topics: an interview with a graffiti maker in Lebanon, the fight against Shell, post-gentrification and the use of the Signal app.
       If you want to receive the new Rumoer, send an email to: rumoer (((A))) riseup /// net. Since most social centres are currently closed, we ask you to help spread the latest edition. Order some extra copies and bring it to your neighbours, isolated family, friends and comrades.
       You can also download the new Rumoer or print it yourself. The link to the downloads can be found at rumoer.noblogs.org
      Remember, the streets are empty, the possibilities are open. Keep 1.5 meters away, but always at least ten times as much from the police!

Destroy what destroys you
Radio on
Smartphones on
Films on
Tablets on
Travels bought
Cars bought
Houses bought
Furniture bought
For what?
Trains going
Dollars flowing
Machines going
People toiling
Motors made
Canons made
For whom?
Destroy what destroys you
Bombers flying
Tanks rolling
Cops hitting
Soldiers falling
Stocks protected
Managers protected
The state protected
Against us?
Destroy what destroys you

You can download the English version HERE:

Cover
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Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

Ideas In Closed Circles?

       As anarchists are 100% for the abolition of the state, it surely follows that the state will be 100% against anarchism. Hence its propaganda mouthpiece, the babbling brook of bullshit, our mainstream media, will paint anarchists as mindless, violent advocates of destruction, and its biased and corrupt judicial system will deal with them as such. Because of this misrepresentation of anarchism, I have always been a strong advocate of showering our towns and cities with paper, leaflets, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines, etc. all explaining what anarchism is really about. Our "propaganda" has to be stronger than theirs. I'm not dismissing direct action and other projects of autonomy, but without the general public getting to know what we are all about, they will still carry this media based caricature of anarchists in their minds.

      For a considerable number of years I produced a paper called "The Anarchist Critic", as well as walking through Glasgow's streets handing it out, to all and sundry, I would leave it at various places, on buses, in cafes and pubs, etc.. I'm not claiming I started a social revolution in Glasgow, but I do believe that I may just have altered some people's perception of anarchism. On a massive scale, I'm sure it would create a different view of our beliefs and why we do what we do. Social media seems to have replaced the paper in your hand, I know that social media has a place, but there are millions of ordinary people who never enter the world of internet social media, and we neglect them at our peril. Unless the general public are aware of our ideas, in times of crisis, when they look for answers, they are not going to pick up our ideas, if they unaware of them in the first place.

      I know it is easier to sit down at a computer and publish your thoughts and ideas, your activities etc. but I feel your are talking to a rather closed circle of the same group of "followers", and "friends".  On the street, everybody you hand your paper to is a stranger, somebody new, and day in day out, that is a lot of strangers getting what you  are trying to do and say. I have spouted this before, but I do despair that we are missing avast swath of people who are the very people we have to convince, our ideas are for their benefit, and their kids benefit.

      Will I ever see the return of "The Paper" popping up across our towns and cities, in our communities. Local info shaped around anarchist ideas, in your hand to read, to keep for reference, to pass on to friends and work mates? Not nostalgia, just a belief that we are missing a valuable weapon that would be a wonderful conduit for our ideas.

 

Visit ann arky's home at radicalglasgow.me.uk

On The Street With The Invisible Ground.

        Across the world anarchist put together leaflets, zines, pamphlets, etc., and work towards getting them out on the street among the less informed members of society, in the hope of bring about change. Though I see a place for the "social media" avenue of communication, I still believe we abandon the paper and the street at our peril. The street is the place to meet people you have never met before, to influence that stranger, to make that new connection. The paper "thing" in your hand, transferring it to a living person, is so much more alive than sitting at a screen spouting your thoughts. So I always plug magazines, leaflets, flyers, etc.. Though no longer able to do my bit on the street as I used to, I still hunger for that human connection between me, my ideas on paper and a complete stranger.

      So here is an extract from my pick of an April zine, The Invisible Ground, that could be freely printed out and taken to the street.

Fascists ARE the State

        States uphold their own authority by maintaining a monopoly on violence. The state, through its police and military apparatuses, is considered the only actor that may legitimately commit violence. Fascism is a bargain struck between the state and certain privileged groups; that members of these groups may enact violence which is then legitimized by the state. As long as the violence serves the state’s desires and ultimately upholds its authority, the state will not interfere.
       Historically, when a state (especially capitalist states) finds its authority is in jeopardy it will commonly employ campaigns against an ideological “Other” in an attempt to reunify an increasingly skeptical population under its mythological authority and ensure its continued existence.
         20th and 21st century fascism are examples of this practice, as is the colonial concept of whiteness itself.

The myth of the Legal Society

        There are many myths that are crucial in upholding behaviors that ensure the public’s continued participation in, and identification with the nation state. Few of these myths are as pernicious as that of the Legal Society; the notion that the actions of the state are bound by a code of laws, and not simply motivated by the state’s desires.
     State atrocities committed through the police and military throughout history and in recent memory have proven the ideal of the free and legal society is a myth.
       How many lived through the evictions of Oceti Sakowin and Sacred Stone Camp? How many more watched via livestream? How many injustices must we witness before we admit that the state is limited in action only by its own ability, and driven only by its own desire!
       It doesn’t matter if we believe our actions will be considered “legal”. When the state feels threatened, legality becomes difficult to define.

Download free as a PDF HERE:here 

Visit ann arky's home at radicalglasgow.me.uk