Fantastic article. I live in a rural area and we basically already are all anarchists even tho 99% of my neighbours would be horrified at the label for the reasons you explained above. We get very little support from our provincial government. But we have firefighting services from community volunteers. We have meals on wheels from community volunteers. We have community halls where people can go for water during prolonged power outages after severe storms. We need more community supports, but we already do a lot to look after one another. We do not need permission from the state to do so, and they certainly aren’t stepping up to help.
Jul 19, 2023·edited Jul 19, 2023Liked by Margaret Killjoy
Thanks for this article. I've been a budding anarchist for about 6 years now and I still struggle to explain or sometimes understand even what the ideology is. That doesn't mean I don't know in my heart what it is...I just struggle with the words. Thank you for giving me words.
Fantastic article, Margaret! I had no idea about the Mexican anarchists you mention, despite being Mexican-American. And the rest of the article makes such good points as well; I agree wholeheartedly. Also, this makes me want to start thinking out my own anarchist novel à la The Dispossessed, A Country of Ghosts, The Fifth Sacred Thing. I know I'll end up writing one (or several) eventually. Anyhow, great work as always!
Margaret, I am just dipping my toe into learning about anarchism, and this was exactly the explanation I needed. Trying to decide where to start learning about it has been overwhelming, and this post answered the main questions I've had. Thanks!
Testify! You encapsulated the anarchist experience brilliantly. And expierence is the key. You have reminded me that this is the fulcrum upon which anarchism operates: an embodiment of historical and ideological understanding, not as abstraction but as immediate and real world lived experience. And the emphasis on the queerness of anarchism at its core is much-needed and much appreciated.
Thank you so much for this piece of writing, it has put words to so many of the things I’ve felt about my political beliefs but been unable to name. I also really appreciate all the examples you gave - I became familiar with Flores Magon while doing research for my thesis on chicano movement periodicals - his publication “regeneración” has a super interesting history and was published in the US and canada for a while - later in the late 60s/ early 70s some feminist chicanas in LA especially Francisca Flores who had been around Mexican revolutionaries as a young woman, made a publication also called regeneración. Flores Magon’s writing was reprinted and distributed often in chicano periodicals during that time. fascinating stuff. I’d also love to know if you have any suggestions on reading about Korean Manchurias anarchist history - I live in Korea currently and had not even heard of it before!
I think maybe one of the things that fuels the mis-conceptions this article helps to refute is their link to the deep seated insecurity all of us (OK maybe at least many of us?) have that civilization is just a thin veneer that could crumble at any moment, leaving us to suffer and die when our meds run out.
And also because transforming our society into an anarchy would be SUCH a tectonic shift. I think to an extent it's natural to fear that kind of change.
I guess the question then becomes - OK there's this insecurity, maybe even some fear. What do we do about it? How can we get past it? I suspect education is part of the answer, and this article is definitely a big step in the right direction.
Thanks for your writing! I have yet to listen to the podcast dealing with Magón and the Mexican Revolution, but am pretty excited to listen. In the spirit of continuing the "salty anarchist" line (sorry haha!), I'll hope to find mention of the women who organized, at some point or another, with the PLM, especially Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza or Elisa Acuña.
In 1906, Ricardo Flores Magón and the editorial board of the Regerenación journal break their relationship with Juana Belén Gutiérrez and Elisa Acuña in a painstakingly misogynistic manner. Magón wrote one of the longest and most emotional articles ever published in the journal, where he addresses the "correligionarios" apologizing for “the disgusting spectacle that necessity forces us to present to them.” To put it shortly, Mendoza’s credentials as a liberal (totally different connotation in that specific Mexican context), fighter, and honest woman were thrown out of the window due to the “bad reputation acquired by certain heinous vices in which they (Gutiérrez and Acuña) indulged.” [Quotes from - “JUANA B. GUTIÉRREZ DE MENDOZA,” Regeneración, 3ra época, núm. 10, Los Angeles, California, June 15, 1906.]
Juana Belén responded to the attacks with equanimous words, lamenting that such “an intelligent man reacted in a prejudiced and intolerant way.” She pointed out how these words demonstrated the exceptionally homophobic and misogynist contexts under which many revolutionary women operated, paradoxically evident in the most radical spaces of the revolution. She questioned the fact that Magón resorted to discrediting “her honor as a woman," something that would not be expected from even “her worst enemy.” Can this event change any of the ways we understand women’s participation within the Revolution? It is no secret that Mexican society at the time was blatantly patriarchal and as such it is revealing that these women (those who often organized with the PLM) sometimes both reinforced such ideas but often too went against them, and most importantly for our understanding of their contributions as women, that they had to navigate their lives under such adverse circumstances. [Quotes from - Elvira Hernández Carballido, Las Otras Soldaderas. Mujeres Periodistas de La Revolución Mexicana, 51.]
Of course, as (aaaaaaaaaalf on twitter) https://twitter.com/aaaaaaaaaalf has noted, these aspects are simply something that need to be acknowledged but DO NOT mean that the Regeneración space should not be understood in its entirety. "Representing a network of networks, Regeneración was the spokesman for the Mexican Liberal Party, criticized by French anarchists of the time for organizing into a party. The French did not understand that the PLM was more of an ethic than a rigid institution. They were also criticized (PLM), all of them, for having supported Zapatismo at various times. The two decades covered by Regeneración represent the second outbreak of anarchism in Mexico, and in its pages they organized thousands of militants and generated ways of connecting that would be foundational for all the strands of anticapitalism that came afterwards." Regeneración and the “pelemistas” are much more than the homophobia and dogmatism of Ricardo Flores Magón, it represented a network of networks that takes a lot of work to study and understand, as shown by the meticulous investigations of historians like Gabriela Ruíz. The different dimensions of what these subjects generated 120 years ago is still a history to be told in greater depth. [Translated quotes from the mentioned twitter account!]
So very sorry for the very long text! I simply got excited because I wrote about this before (the involvement of "anarchist" women in the Revolution, most specifically those who wrote in and published different journals) and thought you could appreciate some of those intricate histories that a few more contemporary feminist historians from Mexico and elsewhere have tried to unearth.
Fantastic article. I live in a rural area and we basically already are all anarchists even tho 99% of my neighbours would be horrified at the label for the reasons you explained above. We get very little support from our provincial government. But we have firefighting services from community volunteers. We have meals on wheels from community volunteers. We have community halls where people can go for water during prolonged power outages after severe storms. We need more community supports, but we already do a lot to look after one another. We do not need permission from the state to do so, and they certainly aren’t stepping up to help.
Thanks for this article. I've been a budding anarchist for about 6 years now and I still struggle to explain or sometimes understand even what the ideology is. That doesn't mean I don't know in my heart what it is...I just struggle with the words. Thank you for giving me words.
Fantastic article, Margaret! I had no idea about the Mexican anarchists you mention, despite being Mexican-American. And the rest of the article makes such good points as well; I agree wholeheartedly. Also, this makes me want to start thinking out my own anarchist novel à la The Dispossessed, A Country of Ghosts, The Fifth Sacred Thing. I know I'll end up writing one (or several) eventually. Anyhow, great work as always!
> Diving into roots, moss, & dry leaves
> There's an era hidden away from sight
> Diving into roots, moss, dry leaves,
> You hear the faint chanting of certain skulls…
> Back when the anarchists could tease the bull
> Back when our horses struggled to be dogs
> Back when the anarchists could tease the bull
> We were no longer afraid, no longer afraid.
> Laralaira laralaira laralaira…
“ Cuando los anarquistas podían ser banderilleros ” by Flamaradas (my translation)
https://elgenioequivocado.bandcamp.com/track/cuando-los-anarquistas-pod-an-ser-banderilleros
Margaret, I am just dipping my toe into learning about anarchism, and this was exactly the explanation I needed. Trying to decide where to start learning about it has been overwhelming, and this post answered the main questions I've had. Thanks!
Testify! You encapsulated the anarchist experience brilliantly. And expierence is the key. You have reminded me that this is the fulcrum upon which anarchism operates: an embodiment of historical and ideological understanding, not as abstraction but as immediate and real world lived experience. And the emphasis on the queerness of anarchism at its core is much-needed and much appreciated.
Thank you so much for this piece of writing, it has put words to so many of the things I’ve felt about my political beliefs but been unable to name. I also really appreciate all the examples you gave - I became familiar with Flores Magon while doing research for my thesis on chicano movement periodicals - his publication “regeneración” has a super interesting history and was published in the US and canada for a while - later in the late 60s/ early 70s some feminist chicanas in LA especially Francisca Flores who had been around Mexican revolutionaries as a young woman, made a publication also called regeneración. Flores Magon’s writing was reprinted and distributed often in chicano periodicals during that time. fascinating stuff. I’d also love to know if you have any suggestions on reading about Korean Manchurias anarchist history - I live in Korea currently and had not even heard of it before!
Holy heck this is great. Thank you.
This is just beautiful.
I think maybe one of the things that fuels the mis-conceptions this article helps to refute is their link to the deep seated insecurity all of us (OK maybe at least many of us?) have that civilization is just a thin veneer that could crumble at any moment, leaving us to suffer and die when our meds run out.
And also because transforming our society into an anarchy would be SUCH a tectonic shift. I think to an extent it's natural to fear that kind of change.
I guess the question then becomes - OK there's this insecurity, maybe even some fear. What do we do about it? How can we get past it? I suspect education is part of the answer, and this article is definitely a big step in the right direction.
Thanks for your writing! I have yet to listen to the podcast dealing with Magón and the Mexican Revolution, but am pretty excited to listen. In the spirit of continuing the "salty anarchist" line (sorry haha!), I'll hope to find mention of the women who organized, at some point or another, with the PLM, especially Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza or Elisa Acuña.
In 1906, Ricardo Flores Magón and the editorial board of the Regerenación journal break their relationship with Juana Belén Gutiérrez and Elisa Acuña in a painstakingly misogynistic manner. Magón wrote one of the longest and most emotional articles ever published in the journal, where he addresses the "correligionarios" apologizing for “the disgusting spectacle that necessity forces us to present to them.” To put it shortly, Mendoza’s credentials as a liberal (totally different connotation in that specific Mexican context), fighter, and honest woman were thrown out of the window due to the “bad reputation acquired by certain heinous vices in which they (Gutiérrez and Acuña) indulged.” [Quotes from - “JUANA B. GUTIÉRREZ DE MENDOZA,” Regeneración, 3ra época, núm. 10, Los Angeles, California, June 15, 1906.]
Juana Belén responded to the attacks with equanimous words, lamenting that such “an intelligent man reacted in a prejudiced and intolerant way.” She pointed out how these words demonstrated the exceptionally homophobic and misogynist contexts under which many revolutionary women operated, paradoxically evident in the most radical spaces of the revolution. She questioned the fact that Magón resorted to discrediting “her honor as a woman," something that would not be expected from even “her worst enemy.” Can this event change any of the ways we understand women’s participation within the Revolution? It is no secret that Mexican society at the time was blatantly patriarchal and as such it is revealing that these women (those who often organized with the PLM) sometimes both reinforced such ideas but often too went against them, and most importantly for our understanding of their contributions as women, that they had to navigate their lives under such adverse circumstances. [Quotes from - Elvira Hernández Carballido, Las Otras Soldaderas. Mujeres Periodistas de La Revolución Mexicana, 51.]
Of course, as (aaaaaaaaaalf on twitter) https://twitter.com/aaaaaaaaaalf has noted, these aspects are simply something that need to be acknowledged but DO NOT mean that the Regeneración space should not be understood in its entirety. "Representing a network of networks, Regeneración was the spokesman for the Mexican Liberal Party, criticized by French anarchists of the time for organizing into a party. The French did not understand that the PLM was more of an ethic than a rigid institution. They were also criticized (PLM), all of them, for having supported Zapatismo at various times. The two decades covered by Regeneración represent the second outbreak of anarchism in Mexico, and in its pages they organized thousands of militants and generated ways of connecting that would be foundational for all the strands of anticapitalism that came afterwards." Regeneración and the “pelemistas” are much more than the homophobia and dogmatism of Ricardo Flores Magón, it represented a network of networks that takes a lot of work to study and understand, as shown by the meticulous investigations of historians like Gabriela Ruíz. The different dimensions of what these subjects generated 120 years ago is still a history to be told in greater depth. [Translated quotes from the mentioned twitter account!]
So very sorry for the very long text! I simply got excited because I wrote about this before (the involvement of "anarchist" women in the Revolution, most specifically those who wrote in and published different journals) and thought you could appreciate some of those intricate histories that a few more contemporary feminist historians from Mexico and elsewhere have tried to unearth.
Saludos!
Thanks for this piece. I expect 99% of anarchist subreddits can now just post a link here ;)