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Title: Dear non-anarchists,
Author: William Gillis
Date: January 30th, 2017
Language: en
Topics: USA
Source: https://c4ss.org/content/47840

William Gillis

Dear non-anarchists,

If we can urge you to do one thing in this spiraling crisis, please note

the way the “checks and balances” of the liberal state are rapidly

dissolving in the face of a demagogue president with near universal

police support.

Many cops are just outright ignoring the court orders against Trump’s

draconian ban.

Cops at Dulles are reportedly detaining and shipping people off to

unknown offsite detention centers (ie black sites) to avoid a ruling

saying those detained at Dulles should be granted access to legal

counsel.

Cops have refused to talk directly with a sitting US senator and have

in many places responded to legal/etc. requests with sneers of “ask Mr

Trump.”

While journalists and civil rights lawyers can help apply broad public

pressure, it is absolutely critical that you recognize at the end of the

day popular legitimacy from a sheet of paper is not what ultimately

empowers the state. Cops with guns are the ultimate foundation of the

state, it could not exist without them and their violence.

Power is built on force, and while the crude measure of the 2nd

Amendment at least recognizes this, the self-disarmament of liberals and

the ideological capture of many armed “libertarians” by white identity

politics and authoritarian national collectivism have together opened a

window that Bannon is exploiting. You allowed an institution of

incredible power to be formed, and to grow, and those at its helm have

finally realized they don’t need to obey the rules or the norms you

tacked onto it. They may yet be proven wrong in this instance, the

variables may yet come out against them. But at this point it’s clearly

a matter of chance. Please remember this.

If you want real checks and balances, then abolish positions of power

like the presidency and dissolve centralized organizations with

monopolistic control over means of violence. Instead of three branches

of government in the US, why not three hundred million? Each of us

individually taking responsibility for holding others in check,

distributedly collaborating in ever vigilance to stop the emergence of

thugs/cops and warlords/politicians.

We might yet get through this crisis, in some form or another. And

despite this brief bit of “we told you so” lecturing anarchists have

your back in any substantive resistance you wish to undertake against

tyranny. But please learn some lessons from this situation.