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TOTW: 2020 - The year past, the year ahead

all my friends are sinking beneath the waves

Topic of the week - As 2020 comes to a close, let’s take a look back at the ongoing social upheavals worldwide, the inspiring international anarchist actions, some books that have kept you turning the pages, and the music that has been the soundtrack to it all. 2020 has been a year, to say the least.

TOTW: Anarchist Aesthetics

How do Anarchists recognize one another outside the bookfair, outside the demo, outside the show? In days past, and perhaps still, it was through wearing certain clothes, carrying certain books, presenting a certain attitude, styling one’s hair just so; in other words through an aesthetic.

TOTW: Anarchist-Capitalists

2020 was the year when anarchist started to mean riots and fires again. This was good news, because for a while there it started to feel like it meant bitcoin and free markets. Some anarchists really love money, apparently. Some even seem to prefer black Friday to black November. I'm talking, of course, about anarchist-capitalists...

TOTW: Just Say No

Hold onto that moment when you first called yourself an anarchist. Whatever your story, surely it was a refusal, a preference not to, saying “no.” You may not realize it, but this is the first time in your life you set a boundary with a world that attempts to erode your capacity to do so.

ToTW: Saying Goodbye, Come Back Whenever -- or -- I remember dead people

This is a mishmash of thoughts on interacting with, respecting, and remembering the dead. Partially inspired by a death in my life, partly by my strong reaction to the phrase "rest in power," and partly by halloween, the best of all recognized holidays.

TOTW: Anarchy & Morality

In the upswing of revolt we've seen this year, we're seeing everyday people set cop cars and precincts ablaze with great approval from onlookers. Meanwhile anarchists make the best of the spotlight to explain to the public the truth about today's anarchists. Responding to people's perception of anarchism as dangerous, distancing themselves from anarchists of the deed in an effort to make people stop blaming everything bad on anarchists. To the degree that anarchy is rehabilitated for the general public, more people will ask themselves: "What's so bad about anarchy, anyway?"

TOTW: An anarchist's day in 2020

I've been finding myself with little excitement about my day to day these past couple months (years). Get up slowly, check my phone, eat, hop on the computer, exercise, social activity, eat, kill time, sleep. Maybe this is an abnormal schedule but it seems to be quite standard at least for those around me.

Routine is a useful tool for surviving in the world, but I don't need to tell you that it can feel incredibly constricting.

TOTW: Virtual Anarchy Live!

The past few months have seen Anarchist Book-fairs follow the rest of the world’s embrace of virtuality. It would seem that with the necessity of physical presence removed, more Anarchists could be attending these events than ever, but then where are the report-backs?

TOTW: Electoral politics

kobe!

Topic of the Week: It’s that time of year again, on repeat every four years; where in a little more than a month, the spectacle of the USA presidential election will take place live over the virtual stream of 2020. This week we’re taking a look at elections, politics, and their impact on anarchist ideas.

TOTW: Are statues statist?

Are statues statist? Can they be useful to anarchists? The statue is an old device, likely as old as society. From folklore artifacts to fallen heroes to deities, they'll always be carrying their load of meaning that brings a narrative of sorts. And they are pervasive, and prevailing through time and context, and across distinct social arrangements.

ToTW: Pick Your Own, Mix and Match

What kind of anarchist best describes you? If you embrace a label (or labels), what are they and why? I have gone by anarcho-feminist, at least until I was confronted by too many others using the same label to mean something totally different. If no existing label suits you, then what one(s) would you coin, and what would define them?

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