Submission
Recently, there’s been a lot more motion in terms of Philly anarchy stuff (attacks, events, and actions). I think it can be attributed to a variety of phenomenon. But I think a big part of it is a phrase that a comrade and I recently discussed that I’m gonna call “social insurrectionary methods”.
I think that the social insurrectionary methods have been a tendency in Philly in the past as I understand it but we’re seeing a major return of those methods. Fundamentally, social insurrectionary methods rely upon efforts by anarchists to orient in a more social way while maintaining our insurrectionary anarchist politics. This differentiates us from “civil anarchists” who compromise their own politics in the name of unity or liberalism or leftist politics or deference. The social insurrectionary methods come with some risks obviously in terms of security. I think that is why some people are less interested in those methods due to the risks. However, I think those risk can be counteracted by the fact that every insurrectionary actor does not need to be involved in every direct action. We can practice security culture and have different spheres of activation for different people. We don’t need to be friends with everyone. We just gotta keep social spaces alive.
I think a forward facing or at least a more open anarchist space can provide more opportunities for new comrades (especially those who might not normally be exposed to anarchist politics due to racial and class segregation) to take part in struggle. Some of these things have been visible and others have been less visible. I think efforts like the work parties that took part at Bartrams, the organizing meetings and mob vandalism against Moms for Liberty, the martial arts training space (which is very Black and queer), intervention around ideas at political spaces such as the Block Cop City talk or the George Floyd Uprising Book talk, film screenings, Black anarchist meetups, discussion groups on Palestine solidarity, Philly contingents going to anarchist convergences (we brag about how great Philly anarchy is), friend hangouts in the park, Black anarchists working alongside Black nationalists to do self defense training and study, anarchists fighting in the Eddie Izirarry riots, and various other types of social activities tied to a politics of revolt are good examples of social insurrectionary activity. Or maybe that’s just being a serious anarchist. We build with each other as well as bringing in new people. I just want it to keep happening. I haven’t been this excited about anarchism in Philly in a while. This trend is only continuing with more discussion groups, meet-ups, and an upcoming Anarchist skill share in November. It’s all so exciting. Just keep planning stuff, please!
I think this social tendency of anarchists makes us strong and brings new people to our movement. I think the thing I’ve had conversations with people about a lot over the course of the past 12 months about is basically that anarchists must organize interventions and events on our own. And that’s the important thing for us to do rather than downplaying or diminishing our politics while at the same moment being open to people that might not share our politics. That’s the social insurrectionary method. In some ways, the social insurrectionary method by being uncompromising in our politics forces other political people to either adapt or at least respect the anarchist perspective. By organizing our own spaces and making our position clear we operate from a position of strength that we can communicate our ideas while not downplaying them.
I honestly think this is where affinity comes in to be honest. It’s easier to stand solid on your shit if comrades got your back. Whether it’s going to a work party with some friends, arguing with liberals at a Block Cop City event, moving in the streets as people spray paint, talking shit about how leftists in the city are cowards, anarchist fight training events, attending actions together that end up being wack but having fun being together, drinking cider on the porch, acrobatic exercises to do bad shit, or discussing a new zine that just dropped…social insurrectionary methods are great and fun and it doesn’t have to be FUCKING liberal or sub-cultural. Social insurrectionary methods for the win. Bring your comrades. Have their back. Even if it’s a small thing. Social means we move together and broaden our capacity as we move. We don’t all have to agree, we just gotta have respect, be anarchists and be in conversation. That’s a thing I really like about the anarchist space in Philly right now. Let’s keep up the energy. I love going to things where I see people I don’t know!
PS: Also, for comrades who aren’t in Philly. You can do all of this too. Just begin. We’re able to do it in Philly cause people just wanted cool shit to happen. The secret is to really begin!
Some Suggestions for social insurrectionaries
-More anarchist work parties
-Anarchist meetups/potlucks of every variety (for queer anarchists, black anarchists, disabled anarchists, anarchists who DJ, etc)
-Anarchist reading groups or film screenings
-Anarchist crew up and go to a wack event and critique it (a personal preference)
-More anarchist fight meetups (maybe with a debate interlude)
-Anarchist jogging meetups
-More Anarchist bike rides
-More Black bloc please
-More anarchist rave
-Anarchist hip hop show (no white race traitors allowed)
-More anarchist meetups at wack actions for activities
-No phone hangouts
-More Philly anarchist road trips to other cities (I hear harrisburg and pittsburgh are pretty cool)
-More anarchist skill shares that are not fight training
-More mob vandalism
-attack level 1 communist enemies with your level 25 anarchist crew
