I don’t have a podcast or fancy videos and I’ve never written a book (yet), I’m just a guy who has been quietly doing my anarcho-thang for 27 years. While I don’t know that I could ever be called a “regular guy”, I’m not famous, even a little. But I do have a shit ton of life experience and a few things to say.
I first started identifying as anarchist in 1989. I’d already been somewhat familiar with the term, having been into punk rock for some time. Bands like The Dead Kennedys were already criticizing people for using the symbols of anarchism for little more than fashion accessories. (Unfortunately many of the radicals of the 80s and 90s, including many of my old friends, have basically devolved into what I would term “edgy liberals”). If anything, I’m more radical now than I ever was.
It all started when I attended an anarchist youth conference in Minneapolis. To be completely honest, I didn’t go out of my own interest; my friend’s boyfriend was going to be there and she talked me into driving. Once I was there however, I quickly came to enjoy the exchange of ideas, the heated arguments, and the general buzz in the air. By the time I returned home, I was an anarchist.
A couple of years later I ended up going back to Minneapolis but this time I stayed. Within a month I become involved in an action undertaken by a coalition of radical groups in the area. The city was preparing to tear down the abandoned Minneapolis Armory to make way for a high-rise jail. In a nutshell, we took over the building and occupied it for about three weeks before the police came in during the middle of the night and cleared everyone out. (The Armory still stands to this day).
At that time there were groups like RABL (Revolutionary Anarchist Bowling League) and TCAF (Twin Cities Anarchist Federation) to name a couple. I regularly attended TCAF meetings in an underground (literally) radical bookstore on the West Bank of the Mississippi River. There were several collectively-run restaurants and co-ops in those days and I started working at one called The Hard Times Cafe (it’s still around too), also located on the West Bank.
Within a few months of moving to Minneapolis, another important development happened (to us anyway), the Emma Center opened. The Emma Goldman Anarchist Community Center soon became home base to a large section of the anarchist community, hosting meetings, live music shows, special events, a daycare, bookstore, etc. In many ways it was an incredible time period and the potential for revolutionary change seemed limitless.
Eventually though, things took a turn, as they will. Infighting became the norm, and any time people immerse themselves into constant meetings and actions burnout will eventually become a problem. I was no exception to that rule. I’ve always been wary of group-think and I soon began to see the blind spots and contradictions in a lot of the ideologies that were popular at the time.
Although I did become disenchanted with the local anarchist community, I did still identify as anarchist, but more as a reluctant last resort. I might not be going around proclaiming myself to be an ANARCHIST, but if pressed to define my political leanings, yes I was an anarchist. At that time I found myself withdrawing from outward political actions (the community was pretty fractured by that point anyway) and going within to focus on inner work. My focus then became more spiritual in nature and I spent several years just working on deprogramming myself.
One of the main tenets of anarchism at that time and in that place, was that things should be run collectively, without any kind of hierarchy. I realize that this word is kind of a dirty word in the current online anarchist community that I find myself in now, but I actually think it differs from the “collectivism” that is so often derided by ancaps.
I’ve worked in cafes, co-ops, political action groups, theatre groups and bands that were collectively run. The lessons I learned from these experiences have been invaluable. While I do think this can be a great way to organize, I also recognize that hierarchy isn’t inherently exploitative, especially if it’s a situation that been entered into voluntarily and in full consciousness.
I will say that at this point in my life, I would be more reluctant to become a member of a collective mainly because it’s somewhat like being in a multi-person relationship, and I’m not terribly relationship-oriented in nature. I would not rule it out completely though, if it were the right situation.
Around 2003 I finally got my first computer and although I had already been doing things online for a few years, this was really my first access to unfettered online information whenever I wanted it. Like many others at that time, I was learning the truth about the financial system, fiat currency and the federal reserve.
By 2007 when I joined facebook, I had several years of research under my belt and soon found myself networking with others who had been on similar paths. One of the most catalyzing elements of that time was Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty. Although up to that point I had considered electoral politics a complete sham and a waste of time, it was inspiring to find so many people openly discussing the possibility of financial freedom. Of course, when he was cheated out of the nomination, I quickly reverted to my previous cynicism regarding anything involving the current political process.
It was around that time that I also became very influenced by a lot of the research that was going on around the sovereignty movement. I saw how the republic had been covertly taken over by a corporation posing as a government with the Organic Act of 1871. I learned how the 14th Amendment, under the guise of freeing the slaves, had in fact made all citizens into slaves without their knowing. For a while I was even involved in the Restore the Republic movement, which was eventually overrun with people who wanted to create a theocracy. The more research I did made me realize how convoluted the whole mess really is and I really don’t know if the United States was ever truly free in the sense that we’re told.
Though I eventually came back around the notion that electoral politics is completely corrupt and useless, I do think Ron Paul did a great thing by getting people excited and getting the conversation started. Many of the people I connected with on facebook at that time are still on my friend list today. I’m also no longer a proponent of the idea of a republic, though it would probably be much better than what we have today.
I became more interested in thinkers like Rothbard, Spooner and Bastiat. Words like agorism and voluntaryism entered my vocabulary. Although I don’t ever remember identifying as a “leftist” during the 80s and 90s, I now saw myself as completely outside of the left/right paradigm altogether. I do remember that I had been very critical of “the system”, which I had previously identified as capitalism, but now saw as corporatism.
So now although I’m back to being an anarchist again, it’s very different. I know have a broader understand of economics and natural law to base my ideas on. I could say I’ve come full circle, but that isn’t really accurate, as it’s more like I’ve spiraled up. I do tend to identify as a voluntaryist to differentiate myself from my previous anarchist philosophy, but I also feel it’s helpful because it’s a much less well-known term among the general public and people don’t tend to have negative preconceived notions about it.
Many people still think of a balaclava-clad leftist hurling a molotov cocktail when you say anarchist, but I when I say I’m a voluntaryist I usually get questioned with “Oh what does that mean?” I simply say that I believe that all interactions should ideally be voluntary and without the threat of force or violence. Although most people would never disagree with such a statement (some will though, definitely), they still can’t make the connection that taxation is just that.
Though many people think we will never see a significant change within our lifetime, I’m actually much more optimistic than that. It’s true there is much ignorance and fear in the general populace, but ultimately it’s a pretty small group of people that are holding the rest of us back. All of us have much more power than we realize, both individually and yes, collectively (I said the dirty word). I can’t help it - I’m going to be a heretic in whatever group I find myself in. I’ve actually led a fairly colorful life so far and I only see it getting more so as I get older.