TOTW: The anarchist campsite

TOTW: The anarchist campsite

Topic of the week – Earlier this summer the Anarchy 2023 festival in St. Imier took place with photos of hundreds of tents pitched and anarchists camping together. While the festival in St. Imier had a much larger focus than just coming together to go camping, over the years these events where anarchists make a camp together to just hang out, have conversations with new and old friends, and spend time together seem to have become less common while events like bookfairs have taken center stage for the anarchist meetup. This week we’re sitting down at the ANews communal fire pit to share our thoughts on the anarchist campsite.

Is going camping with other anarchists something that is of interest to you? Does the event have to include workshops and talks to get you there or is the idea of just spending time with other anarchists enough to get you on the road? What would an anarchist campsite in 2023 look like? Where might be good locations to have such an event? What kind of historical examples are there of anarchists getting together to go camping? How have they done it well or poorly? What annoys you most about the idea of the anarchist campsite?

Listen to the TOTW discussion here!

There are 70 Comments

That's already the infamous A-camps at Rainbows ("a" for alcoholics, not anarchy)... and they suck pretty bad. One of the lowest points in Americana. But you do get all the dog-worshipping oogle morons with raspy voices if that's your thing. Oh yeah and even the moronic wobbly union songs at times.

At Camp Atassa we only drink red wine and eat humans. All rainbows are burned.

camp atassa workshops

- dirty dishes skeet shoot
- I want to send William Gillis through a Star Trek teleporter that doesn't work
- language pronunciation of Tiqqun
- Do you know French philosophers?
- Do you only read fake ITS texts?
- Atassa me a beer, plz.
- Is Jesus ITS?
- Obsidian rocks
- Atassa memes for nihilist teens
- Is the forest the new nihilism?
- Atassa ebook narrated by Robert Evans, plus special ASMR session
- Atassa #3 the movie

- Atassa exposed
- Atassa forgotten
- Atassa what? Oh okay. Nobody cares
- Atassa hey, anon it's 2023 stop being so out of it
- Atassa Irrelevance
- Atassa where's Abe?

*extremely old man voice*

that young whippersnapper is hilarious, i tells ya! really got their finger on the pulse!

- Suburban normie family cultures, by Abe Cabrera (who won't show up obvs coz "security concerns")
- Renewing a Cult of the Ancestors, for kids
- Nihilist Childcare and You, a kid.
- Starting a Campfire through Chaos Magik rituals
- How Hitler the Anticiv Accelerationist
- Resrarting and Improving Upon the Achievements of ISIS/Daesh
- Trump 2024, a Primer
- The Ukrainian Territorial Defense Units, and you.

It seems funny but I'd enjoy seeing the typical shitty Twitter radicals lose their minds over an actual event with real people doing this.

I have a beautiful memory of one such gathering. It was mid-summer in the beautiful forests of southern Ohio. Hundreds of folks came together and camped communally for about two weeks. Some of those folks are sadly gone now, but it was as close to a tribal festival, a tribal homecoming that I'll ever experience.

There were workshops on self-care (before it was a thing), all kinds of arts and crafts, and also ones on how to destroy horrid metal beasts in a zombie apocolypse. The rain was intense at times, but I learned how to really keep your tent dry with my Hunter spider friend who lived in the rafters of my tent for the whole festival without ever bothering me.

One of the most enjoyable days was spent in a beautiful creek pool, incredibly cool and refreshing, on probably the some of the hottest few days of that summer. There were easily one hundred of us in that creek and pool, gilly fish nipping at our feet (and booty holes hahaha). Everyone of us was naked. Women, children, nbs, men, dogs—everyone smiling and laughing and swimming and playing and drinking beer and smoking a bit. Not a creepy thing happened.

At the end of all that we caused a bunch of trouble in a big city and went home. Never saw many of those folks again.

are you sure there was no idpol drama?

There was a bit. A kerfuffle over a few "white" people with matted hair.

"(and booty holes hahaha)" Ooooookaaaay, so umm, you were in the water bent over spreading your cheeks with a heap of other men and dogs?
"Never saw many of those folks again", I think I understand why,,,,,,,.

No spreading required. They're tiny little fish and they get up in there somehow. They approached from the gooch, to be technical.

It needs to happen more. Mostly unstructured but damn, anything to shake off this university, college kid shit while bringing anarchy face to face.

The offer's up for reclaiming the rainbow gatherings... or copying them and start some anprim gatherings. Tho I recommend you still get your own experience of these gatherings so to build upon (out of) it. Since the best spots are often National Parks or private estates you might have to deal with a level of police interference. It's all up to whether you prefer being targeted for drugs or "radical political activity".

If the goal is just to, say, realize ways to live free and ecologically (no tech, no permanent buildings, no engines, compost your shit far from water sources, clean up when leaving, reject consumerism, etc) then this could work, but it seems a level of spiritual thrust is needed to drive people out of the City. Also fun times, and a lot of relaxing from social constraints. Judging by all the janky nonsense esotericism predominant at rainbows, you shouldn't need anything very elaborate. Btw where's Ria when we need her?

Also what part of the fediverse is focusing on this stuff instead of techie news, ID politics and other hot garbage?

None?

Indeed.

100% agree. This topic came up from people with experience in the points you mentioned. I don't want pure anprim or hippie rainbow. Something in between.

More important though is this spiritual thrust. I'd be interested in hearing more thoughts on that. My idea is mostly a Wayne's world book it and they will come. But maybe there's something else that could be done but not overdone?

I strongly dislike the "smart person with book talks at you" style of anarchist book fair workshop. Its especially weird with the anarcho-professors replicating their work life of conference going and class teaching to the anarchist space.

reject concrete jungle, embrace sleeping with the trees! the forest is the best place to hold an anarchist gathering as long as people dont leave their fucking plastic bottles on the ground. but being far away from all the troubles of the city is great

Wtf? “the forest is the best place to hold an anarchist gathering as long as people dont leave their fucking plastic bottles on the ground..”. ???

Who needs cops when even anarchists set the rules invading our personal drinking vessel choices? Why cherry pick this one belief to keep people from hydrating? Humans cause about 85 percent of all wildfires yearly in the United States. Why not require that we all abstain from fire for our collective own good by freezing at your ‘anarchist’ event?

Beyond hypocrisy. Insanity.

did anyone go to the earth first! gathering in vermont this year?

some historical and ongoing examples:

historical:
CrimethInc. Convergence (ended after "Smack a White boy")
Feral Futures / Feral Visions

ongoing:
Earth First! Rendezvous
Rainbow Family
your local hippie festival

dinner:
Dumpster Poutine (none for you!)
Moist orgy to follow (you're not invited)

Problem with all of those is that they never were really intended to draw new people into anarchy. I'd like to see a sort of end of the world theme of some sort. Environmental catastrophe etc.

There's also other fests right now that have a more specific bent like the traveler type ones, school bus festival etc. Lots of yuppies but still self organized. Not to mention the libertarian fests around the country which could almost be a model to be used.

In terms of drama, any event like this would need to make very clear who isn't welcome. Which in turn would probably be a plus for people who meet most anarchists and cringe instantly. Honestly, I'd just like to see any events where people start to openly reject the Orthodox horribleness of USA anarchy.

Also afaik it's still shit prophecies, as "the world" is still around and is as shitty as yesterday or worse. The system will keep society on its feet as long as there's gas and other energy source to power that huge waste production megamachine.

Too close for Millenarian Xianity for comfort, no thank you. Also toxic connections to the Climate Change cult makes it into an endlessly bougie liberal venture. Think of like what you can build in rupture with a world that will likely not collapse

I don't know, there's a whole lot of people that feel like the world is heading down the shitter. I'd rather appeal to these people than work out some mind numbing specific analysis that reaches nobody. Maybe that can be done within your framework but focusing too much on political language falls into the same activist trap as anything else.

That would be like feral futures but worse.

I wouldn't focus on collapse like you're talking to someone on anarchist news that's gonna kill your brain cells with the latest Tiqqun drama. Think about people who see the world on fire literally and want to enjoy themselves within it. While at the same time being pissed that they have to live in this world .

"Think about people who see the world on fire literally and want to enjoy themselves within it."

I hope this isn't a reference to this wildfire epidemic... Nothing much to rejoice in seeing natural habitats being reduced to ashes.

It is. But that's the point. It's not something to celebrate itself. It's infuriating. That said, we should still be enjoying ourselves as the world burns. Otherwise we would just be carrying crosses (like so many others out there.) The last people we would want showing up are people who don't want to enjoy themselves cause "things are bad."

It boils down to having events that are enjoyable, somewhat meaningful in that they create at least a temporary space/reprieve/micro culture, anarchistic and welcoming. It's completely doable. But it'll take shrugging off big parts of the scene in the USA in order to make something unique and needed.

Tbh this is way too many words, there's a lot of people out there who desire something like this.

> Goes to camp in a forest with a bunch of oogles to enjoy a good time in the forest as the world burns

> Has campfire

> Starts a goddamn wildfire

> Flees back to urban hellhole, maybe writes a reportback

> ???

> Profit?

(jokes aside just be careful when going to the forest and don't be civ assholes)

Problem with this is it's extremely unlikely. Would be a lot nicer getting people out who aren't already avid outdoors people.

What's the big deal about forests, like, going 100s /thousands of miles to sit in a cleared man-cleared clearing with orange freaking tents so people won't drive over them, everyone glued to their phone screens? OMG intellectuals sitting in the yoga position, eyes closed, chanting OooOOoooOoMMmmmm,,,,,STFU and listen to the birds! I wear cammo as I crawl through the undergrowth stalking rabbits with my highpowered crossbow. I dO nOt bURn fOssil fUels to aTTAin my bLisS!

If mass appeal is your golden criteria to give value to an idea, then why don't u go work into capitalist marketing? Oh wait, you're already doing it for free on Fedbook?

Confusing mass appeal with appealing to new people interested in anti authoritarianism is the pinnacle of the anarchist ghetto.

Smack a white boy was carried out by one dude who was clearly just enjoying power among a bunch of guilty kids. That person is of course long gone.

The people to blame are 100% the people at the convergence. Not cause they were "gentrifying," anyone who believes that is an idiot. But because they were too afraid to beat one dudes ass and throw them on the street. Like, you destroyed an event hundreds of people liked cause you were afraid of being called out.

And you want a revolution lmao. Any event needs to have a pretty low threshold for telling people to fuck off. Like, someone throws my shit out on the street they better have a great reason otherwise their gonna get smashed with a hammer.

Tbh, everyone at that convergence should meetup, go find that dude and beat his ass. Redeem yourselves in the eyes of anarchy.

Move on from something that could totally still happen? I think the point is to make sure you have the right people around so dumb shit like this is avoided.

The best way to make real people run away from anarchy is for shit that is so dumb and embarrassing like this to happen. You've just gotta have smart people around that actually take anarchy seriously. Otherwise...

At this rate libertarians, hippies and yuppies have a better track record putting on events that are meaningful for people than USA based anarchists do. What does that tell you?

'When my gang is bigger then your gang nobody will be smacking we white boys! We white boys will reign supreme!'

It would be hilarious for people to say something like this and people to just be like, fuck off lol

A vid by these Guns'n'Roses whimps? They're the OG rockstar brodude assholes.

For better instance of '80s "anarchist" gatherings that 2020s "anarchists" wouldn't survive, look at the biker gang gatherings of that era, lol.

Brah, lay off the dumpster poutines, mmkay? They're clearly rotting your brains.

I'm very fine with dumpster poutines as they are exquisite, melty, greasy delicacies and furthermore they're FREE. But both of these values are, I know, unpalatable to your liberal chump values derived from a lot of collectivist brain rot. Wild ones take the good food where it IS -i.e. usually by going INSIDE the dumpsters- not where Society has told them to buybuybuy it like good docile slaves of the neolib gig economy.

Also, (TRICKYA!) I'm not the commenter you replied to. So I see your L33T H4XX0R skillz dimishing! oooooooOooooh, noooooOooooooo!

"liberal chump values derived from a lot of collectivist brain rot"

1. This is an anarchist website.

" by going INSIDE the dumpsters- not where Society has told them to"

2. The dumpsters ARE society you turd brain. You RELY on society for nourishment.

Different anon here. Perhaps you were not the other anon but you sure got lured out like a chump.

NO DUMPSTER POUTINES FOR YOU

1- Aaaand?

2- No, the waste is not "society", despite being its direct product, but its *excess*. BATAILLE IT UP, you normie! Raccoons and ducks don't rely on society. Shallow/boring/generic insults from the dollar store are what relies on society, like you doo, Mr. Doodoo.

3(?)- No u.

4- https://anokchan.org/index.php?q=image/882.jpeg

You, sir, are no duck. You ARE, however, a domesticated pet of society that would starve and perish without. Instead of testing anews readers' cringe reflex you'd be better served gaining some skills like we true anarchist enemy of society.

lol You got no fucking clue of who I am, so quit pretending you know anything. Oh btw, do you even know who you are?

- There is no "We", you silly collectivist weakling who can't even go anywhere on their own without "comrades", or wash their own dishes...

- I collect the delicious dumpster poutines with all my muscles and energy like any true H/G would with preys and plants into the forest. And I do not hunt these days as not only that be poaching -something I don't do- but also useless killing of wild animals just to make mame myself feel more "anprim" cool.... very narcissist in a destructive way, I might say. :-(

...but no need to worry, as you are of course fake shit and most likely never even touched a gun or bow. Two things I know how to use quite well btw, thanks to my redneck hunter cousin.

I AM THE GHOST OF REAL ANARCH SID VICIOUS AND I SPIT MY BEAUTIFUL FREE POUTINE UPON ALL YOU REVOLTING LIB'RAL SCUM!!

i'm always curious about these personality cults!

only heard the legends bout smack-a-white-boy but why blame "everyone at the convergence"? why not blame the cult members? why not use this pattern of authoritarian manipulation to develop an analysis for spotting these kind of tricks?

we all know that there's always a fresh batch of cult leaders being grown in a slime vat somewhere

in fact, i'm pretty sure that's how I first heard about this drama. anarchists were writing and talking about it as a cautionary tale and i'm eternally grateful to them for doing so!

also, i just realized i'm literally listening to another podcast about a different cult leader while typing this...

I'd say that maybe the appeal of a certain kind of anarchy turns out people susceptible to this manipulation, white middle class college kids etc. Why else would the cult leader show up there? They knew it'd work.

I guess I'm thinking that analysis falls short and it's the people who understand how to avoid/combat it that need to lead by example. If this were so difficult no events would exist anywhere cause someone would always use them and throw them away. So...the problem is anarchy in the USA.

I'd like to see a rejection of personalities completely. Even if this is some aesthetic where anyone who has to speak for a group wears a balaclava. I want to combat the obsession with authority which leads to the building up and tearing down of idols.

yeah, the threat of a good example is always what I mean

when the kids are nasty enough, nobody wants to be the pied piper anymore

Hi, there is that quaint cult following amongst hobos for a lady during the 1930's depression called Boxcar Bertha, they even made a Hollywood blockbuster film about her? She was a favourite of all the Marxist hobos back then, she fashioned herself after Emma Goodman. I've been keeping this secret suspicion to myself for a while, but when you mentioned idols and cults, I had to blurt it out lumpy.

I THINK YOU ARE EMMA GOLDMAN'S ILLEGITIMATE SON,,,,,,there, I blurted it out lumpy!

so you're calling me a bastard? pot said to kettle much?

Umm no, that was meant as a sorta compliment, I'm a great admirer of Emma, but I guess you're defensive, being the resident troll?

There's always gonna be that one or two problem people at an anarchist gathering, or bluntly, damaged and traumatised misfits of society, often abused as children and now dealing with substance abuse, who go off and run amok hurting people and usually end up being tackled by some cop and everything returns to normal. The don't tackle crazy people, or handcuff them to stop them lashing out at people.
They just let them go free unaccounted for,,,,,,that's what freedom is right?

There's a difference between a crazy person that isn't hurting anyone, a crazy person that is hurting people and a person who is purposefully trying to destroy the event.

The latter is far worse than either of the others. The crazies as you said will always show up. You just gotta have a way to deal.

With people who want to stop the event, ideally the events existence makes clear that unless you are a cop or the forest service you will not succeed. And more than likely be used as an example for future events.

So if the cops or forest service aren't around, everything goes to shit? Like in the Life of Brian, "What did the Romans ever do for us" They brought sanitation, stability, literature, satire, Tackled crazy people hurting harmless people in the street etc etc

Id like to see anarchist gatherings with mma grudge matches in the anarchtagon. I know william gillis knows muay thai and if anews/lbc crowd needs a fighter i know a girl in whod fight them and probably win.

Everyone knows GILLIS practices in the fighting style of Mok'bara

Gilly wishes they knew Klingon jujitsu. Everyone knows their ground game is weak and LBC will take it with a ground and pound or submission by the end of round 2

Gillis is more likely to be into Teras Kasi as this is Jediverse and lightsabers aren't a real thing yet.

"anarchtagon" <---- i'm stealing your genius, jsyk

Where the fuck is the new Topic of the Week?!!?? You have one fucking job GOD DAMNIT!!!

Cashapp: blackandgreenpress
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Paypal: blackandgreen

Thanks!

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