💾 Archived View for library.inu.red › file › lawrence-jarach-opportunities.gmi captured on 2023-01-29 at 12:05:16. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Title: Opportunities
Author: Lawrence Jarach
Date: 2006, Spring/Summer
Language: en
Topics: AJODA, AJODA #61, editorial
Source: From AJODA #61
Notes: AJODA #61, Spring/Summer, 2006, vol. 24, no. 1

Lawrence Jarach

Opportunities

The recent string of arrests and indictments of anarchists across the

United States and Europe should come as no surprise. With increased

visibility at various large and small protests, anarchists have begun to

instill the same kind of panic among polite society as they did in the

1880s. What is surprising is the kind of commotion the forces of law and

order are trying to stir up when attempting to show just how dangerous

these various anarchists are. The captured anarchists in the US are all

environmental activists who are supposedly associated with the Earth

Liberation Front (ELF) or the Animal Liberation Front (ALF); the

affidavits of the federal officials involved in the cases throw around

the terms anarchist and ELF/ALF as if they were synonymous. While the

total number of anarchists is still relatively small, the FBI and other

cops would have the public believe that the ELF and ALF are the most

dangerous terrorists in the US today. The irony (if there is any in such

a situation) is that, unlike the actions of 9-11, abortion clinic

bombings, gay bashings, and racially motivated assaults, no actions

claimed by either the ELF or ALF have resulted in the death or even

injury of a single person. Whatever “terror” is being instilled by the

alleged acts of property destruction is the terror of corporate

executives losing thousands of dollars, and the terror of the forces of

law and order at being shown to be ineffective at preventing and

punishing crime. It is only the use of informants/provocateurs and those

who have crumbled under the threat of exceedingly harsh sentences that

has allowed the FBI to make any cases at all.

With the unwanted attention from law enforcers, anarchist activists have

placed a renewed stress on what has been termed Security Culture. While

murky in the actual details, the general advice (from those who are

supposed to know) remains limited to never using one’s legal name,

always masking up at demos, and only talking to trusted comrades. This

kind of posturing almost inevitably creates a hierarchy of values

concerning the activities and projects of those who Get Shit Done. If

you are serious you will opt for the semi- clandestine—often

extra-legal—lifestyle promoted by the mythology of Security Culture;

others are judged to be neither serious nor effective. However, the

majority of the North American arrests were precipitated by the

infiltration of snitches into the radical environmental milieu; this

should cause people to question both the fetish of Security Culture as

well as how it has been honored mostly in the breach. Bragging about

one’s accomplishments and invulnerability would seem to fall outside the

parameters of good sense, let alone Security Culture.

Anarchists have had an organizational form for decades that precludes

the supposed need for Security Culture: the affinity group. Not the

phony affinity group model adopted by the American anti- nuclear/peace

movement of the late 1970s-early 80s, which still holds sway over most

of the current generation of activists, but real grupos de afinidad.

Based on strong friendships, enduring relationships, and—most

importantly—agreement on political perspective, authentic affinity

groups are impossible to infiltrate. But in order to discover if people

share affinity, we must get to know each other. Not the knowledge of

recognizing comrades at various demos or actions or meetings, but a deep

knowledge of our respective political analyses: how we arrived at those

analyses: who inspires us; having discussions about the history of and

the current issues within our tendencies; and probably getting into

arguments about all of it. Knowing where we differ from one another

allows us to gain better insight into what we actually agree on.

Before activists make a decision to engage in semi-legal or extra-legal

action, it would be wise for them to know—really know—who their comrades

are, what they think about the action, and more importantly, if they can

be counted on to keep quiet by not bragging to other activists, and not

rolling over if caught. Looking at the history of the legal oppression

directed at anarchists, the affinity group model, while not perfect, has

succeeded far better than anything offered by those who invoke the

slogan of Security Culture.

The opportunity to secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own

hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the

enemy himself.

- Sun Tzu