Anarchist Q & A

By David Lurvey

ThreeSixty had the opportunity to ask a protester who participated in various acts of resistance during the Republican National Convention in September, including the blocking off of a highway exit ramp.

She has asked to be referred to as “Jenny” because she and her group avoided arrest at the convention and fears arrest if her real name is used. “Jenny” is 21 years old, lives in New York and is a farmer, a student, as well as a self-described revolutionary.

Why did you come and what did you want to accomplish at the RNC?

The goal of protesting with direct action at the RNC was to shut down the convention. This is an obviously unrealistic goal, and everyone realized that. There are many reasons why we all were there, and I think mine was manifold — to gain a sense of our movement’s scope, to demonstrate resistance, to empower myself and my comrades, and mostly to disturb business as usual.

To explain the last reason I gave, I think there are a lot of social problems in the United States that are very deeply rooted in ideological issues. This is a really complex discussion to start on, so to keep it brief, I will say that people — mostly in the middle and upper socio-economic class — are too comfortable with their lifestyle (food and water, transportation, pensions, television, and cell phones all make life easy — if you can afford it), to wake up to the realities of our world systems as unsustainable in many many ways. Protest is one way of disrupting these comfort zones in an attempt to wake people up.

Why did you choose to leave rather than be arrested?

I chose to leave rather than to be arrested because we had accomplished our goal — the cops did not have the resources to cut us out of our lockboxes, so they blocked the off-ramp for us with road signs and trucks. Our group had potential to help other protesters — we added to mass at intersections that needed reinforcements. Overall the convention was slowed down, and indeed, disrupted.

What other protests have you been involved with?

This was my first national protest. Other than that I work mostly underground doing subversive flyering and find other ways to build resistance and educate people — the music I write, the way I organize my life, participate in community or show resistance in everyday life. The protest is actually the least important part of our movement. What is most important is building strong autonomous communities that can rely on people, not systems. For example, a community health coalition that provides service for free and herbal medicines rather than hospitals that rely on government to provide insurance, the pharmaceutical industry, the educational institutions, and the rich doctors, etc.

How do you feel about the protesters involved in the property damage that occurred?

I am not willing to participate in property damage as a form of protest, but I support the decision of my comrades to do so. Even though we are all anarchists, we recognize the autonomy of each other and everyone’s ability to discern what is the right course of action for themselves. I can see logic behind property damage, but I am uncertain as to the effectiveness of it, and am just not “that kind of person.”

How do you feel about the St. Paul Police response?

In regard to the response of the police, I was not surprised. I know we live in a police state, and the protests were a stage for that to become more explicitly tangible. The police control our communities by tactics of fear — they wave their flashlights and guns in our faces and create tension between people of different race who should in theory be supporting each other. In this way the police enforce economic and racial inequality, further spurring the violence they are supposedly keeping in check. There is much more to discuss on this topic, but I am diverging.

How much planning went into your group’s efforts at the RNC?

We had intense discussion and planning for several months — maybe four? There were many other groups whose planning took two years.

Does your group have a name? Do you identify with any political group/ideology?

Our group does not have a name. We are all anarchists, and in naming our ideologies, do so under the knowledge that we are individuals capable of free thought and creativity, and reject any given set of dogma that dictates thoughts for us. We are constantly changing, evaluating, rethinking and exploring ourselves and our ethics.

What changes do you feel need to happen in the government and the system of government?

Any change in our government, other than dissolving it entirely, would prove insufficient for revolution and self-empowerment of communities and individuals.

Can you offer examples of a community or country where the anarchist ideal is currently and successfully being lived out by a large group of people?

There are a number of anarchist communities in the U.S. living in the U.S. off the grid and growing their own food, while still participating in the larger community by doing work for their neighbors, giving food to the needy, etc. There are also large-scale communities such as those in Chiapas and Oaxaca, Mexico, and you might also want to look into the Zapatista movement for more info on that. They rule.

You wrote: “Even though we are all anarchists, we recognize the autonomy of each other and everyone’s ability to discern what is the right course of action for themselves.”

Is that the ideal that would be applied to all of society after the dissolution?

The emphasis in an anarchist community would be on respect, understanding and mutual aid. We all help each other and recognize that there are certain ideas we may have different opinions on, but in general, count on each other to always be questioning those ideas.

What about if one person’s right course of action is wanting a system like the one we have? Or an authoritarian system? Or something else?

The reason that they do not have the right to carry out those types of systems is because they take away power from other people. For example, the capitalist system we live in right now mandates every single one of its members work for slave wages because we need to pay rent and have a place to live just to merely exist. That is a huge personal right that has been stolen from us, and no one has the right to do that.

How do you think the government should be dissolved? What are the different opinions of anarchists?

The best way to accomplish change, in my opinion, is to participate in direct action and by not relying on the system — for example, growing your own food, getting medicine from the plants around you, foraging for food, etc.

If the government no longer exists, what happens when a house catches on fire? How do you think society would adapt to those kinds of support services no longer being available?

People will naturally help each other. That is how humans react in times of crisis. We are just under the impression that we cannot do it without the government because it has been so long since we have had to survive without it. It’s important to learn new skills and plan for emergencies like that. In an anarchist society you would be able to rely on your neighbors, but that will take a major ideological change before that happens.

If this system were dissolved, couldn’t there be a possibility that an even more restrictive system would evolve? What’s going to prevent something else from evolving to replace this system of governance with another like we see happen around the world after revolutions?

This is a very important question. In fact, I see our government becoming more like a fascist state everyday. As things get more out of hand as the economy crumbles and we run out of oil, the government will try to enforce stricter laws so they can stay in power and stay comfortable, and then there will be a violent revolution. There is very little you can do to prevent this, unless you are really powerful or rich, and those who are rich don’t care anyways because they are too comfortable. Like I said before, the only thing you can do is to be prepared to survive on your own and be ready to fight for what you believe in.

What you think now that Obama has been elected?

Obama’s election is fine with me. I don’t think it will change anything, really. If anything, it gives the neo-cons a chance to slink back to their dungeons and continue to privatize the military as they have been the last eight years. To the private corporations that control the military, like Haliburton, Lockheed Martin and Chevron, just to name a few, it doesn’t matter that Obama is in office. He will become a scapegoat for neo-cons and an excuse for Americans to have hope in capitalism and to congratulate themselves for being “diverse” or “tolerant” to other races, even as our country commits genocide of colored people all around the world and in our own country.

Is there anything else you want to tell people?

Everyone should realize their own power. This begins with self-exploration: try to understand each interaction you have. Deconstruct all modes of systemic oppression that we have been raised in including racism, patriarchy and gender norms, classism, capitalism, colonialism, religion, etc. Seek the beauty present on earth in your daily interactions. Turn off your televisions! Go outside! Do not let anyone tell you that you cannot make a difference in the world. Do not let anyone tell you that voting is the only way to change things. Build a strong community with people you love: grow a garden, cook dinners, make music, go on walks, talk to strangers, heal each other- we have been raised in a culture of repression and are all traumatized by this. Take action. Be inspired and inspiring.