Do you identify with a specific tendency when describing your anarchist views? Why or why not? You don't have to read the rest if you don't want, I got really invested in this :)

Submitted by TheInsurGent in Anarchism

This is something I've thought about, and while it may not be a hugely important topic, it could still be interesting to discuss.

Personally, there are specific currents and ideas that influence me and appeal to me, but there isn't anything I specifically call myself other than saying I'm an anarchist. Maybe I'd add "post-left" if it applies to the situation, though it seems better to explain that I reject the political spectrum entirely instead of bringing that up.

For one, saying I'm an anarchist easier to start with if the topic of my beliefs is brought up with anyone. If a person wants to learn more about my views, then I can go more in-depth about my understanding of it.

The other thing is that I feel like I'm still constantly developing my views. I think it is still a relatively recent development in my life for me to associate with anarchist ideas, plus I'm still young and don't have the autonomy to go out and get involved as much as I'd like, so I don't have a lot of real world experience with anarchy as a practice. Also, while I have a basic understanding of a lot of the ideas I take influence from, I struggle getting into more in-depth reading of theory and such, so I don't like describing myself as an "egoist anarchist" or a "nihilist anarchist" or even a more broad term like "individualist anarchist". It is hard to cleanly apply any of those as a "main influence" or anything like that.

I should mention that while I have a decent amount of confidence in my beliefs (accounting for me always building a better understanding of them), I struggle with explaining them in a coherent way myself, so it is easier for me to point someone to a resource that I feel words things in a better way than I could. That isn't an issue exclusive to talking about my views, in general when I try to talk about or explain a concept I'm really passionate about, I tend to get really invested and overcomplicate things, and before I know it I am getting into different topic that I find interesting, then I realize how much I've been talking and stop myself. Sometimes I can't even figure out how I was able to get from one topic to another completely separate topic, it just sort of happens.

Anyways, it seems I am already starting to lose track of what I was originally writing about, so I should leave this here. No, I will not put in the effort to make everything I wrote shorter and more "professional". I will find a way to lose track of things again, and it is too much work anyways. I don't know if anyone will take issue with that, but I'd rather just embrace my autism right now. Doing that seems good for me right now with a lot of things I've been dealing with in life lol, but that is another topic, just want to enjoy this moment of confidence ^-^

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Potkea wrote

I just call myself an anarchist without adjectives. There are a million different ways to organize anarchy and a million different tactics to fight for it. These tactics and methods should be decided by the people themselves based on their customs, needs, and material conditions.

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kano wrote (edited )

I just call myself an anarchist. People can find out what I think more specifically by talking to me. But I don't consider myself socialist or on the 'left' or anything like this, and I try to make this clear as well as soon as it's relevant. I just like to say I'm an anarchist, I'm against authority. I definitely am also anticiv or whatevr you want to call it But I also know that when I talk to people around me saying this explicitly would probably cause problems for me. People I live with even disagreed w me when I was like I'm not a a socialist and was feeling embarrassed when I learned a flag I carried at an event recently is a socialist flag. They told me all anarchist are socialists which I'm not sure about at all. They started talking to me about European political theory history and the international and shit and I was like idgaf about that shit I'm just an anarchist as I'm against all authority, and half the socialists are in some ass political party anyway.

Was thinking recently I should maybe call myself an individualist anarchist or nihilist anarchist or smthg idk, but will probs just stick w anarchist.

Normally I just start w I'm an anarchist and through discussion people learn what I actually think, but anarchist is the label I use and I push back against being called left or socialist.

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fortmis wrote

anarcho-laughing mostly. Sometimes anarcho-screaming. Would like to explore my anarcho-snoring side some more

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moonlune wrote

I adapt, I'm often anprim irl because it's the best way to start a fight.

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veuzi wrote

On some days I feel mostly like an anarchist, full stop, no tacked-on adjectives, not even "without adjectives".

But on other days I'm more honest, and don't deny the tendencies or identities of "anarcho-nihilist", "egoist anarchist", "anti-civ anarchist", "post-left anarchist", "individualist anarchist" or just about anything that isn't bog-standard anarcho-leftism.

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Lettuce wrote (edited )

My bad days I'm a get along with everyone anarchist. Good days I'm an villainous accelerationism eco extremists.

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existential1 wrote

Hard no. I don't believe labels have more positive value than the limiting negative value they provide. I typically qualify this with most labels or in most situations, but I've been hard pressed to find the value in it myself and moreso use them as a social tax.

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divgradcurl wrote

I have identified as a socialist for well over a decade and an anarchist for most of that time - including now. But, like, I’m old (mid 30s now), I’ve got a house and a wife and 3 kids and all the other trappings of domestication. The “scene” that I’m a part of in my professional life is decidedly “not” radical but I’m still me and don’t particularly hide my views from anyone.

I guess you could call me an anarcho-pragmatist at the end of the day. I don’t wear it on my sleeve, but if I’m asked I’ll say what a think.

I know the world I want to live in. I know the world we do live in. As long as those remain incongruent I’ll keep on trucking.

But I’m not 22 anymore. I’m not getting drunk all the time and buying guns and fantasizing about barricades and Molotovs. Hell, I’m not even sure if I would support any sort of action that would disrupt stuff enough to keep cancer patients from getting treatments or for supply chains to breaking so much that people starve.

Not to say that I outgrew my radical vibes - I think it’s important that great changes do happen… and it’s going to be… well disruptive… but I’m a lot more cautious about things now. I don’t want people to suffer - even bad people, so I’m far more in favor of incrementalism than I ever was previously, and that’s a pretty serious shift for me.

I guess this is a lot of a personal anecdote to say “evolving your beliefs” is ok and a pretty good part of this whole philosophy thing. Keep evolving and self-reflecting. There’s nothing wrong with that and you don’t owe anyone an explanation of your beliefs or what specific flavor of @ you are.

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SaintMax24 wrote

I reject labels, but I am technically a Nihilist Anarchist and Postist (aka Post-left, but the word “Post-left” implies that we are still leftists which is why I prefer using “Postist” instead).

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lentils wrote

i guess i see labels like "anarchist" as a way of telling others what my views are rather than something i wear on my sleeve for the sake of it if that makes sense.

in some ways ig i prefer to say "i have nihilist / anti-civ views" rather than "i am a nihilist / anti-civ" as i don't like identity but i don't find there's really a perfect way to communicate my views because language is weird lol

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subrosa wrote

I'll respond to many tendencies, because I'm better at them.

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monday wrote

"liberdade é pouco. o que eu desejo ainda não tem nome"

it's the only definition that touched me
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