Circling the Ⓐ: Revolution in a Single Syllable
From No Selves, No Masters
Love it or hate it, the “Circle A” — scrawled on walls, carved in bathroom stalls, printed on punk merchandise or painted on rebellious banners — is among the most widely recognized symbols of anarchy and anarchism. Learning to spray paint the circle A as a teenager is every bit as joyful and liberating (and annoying to adults) as learning the word “no” is for a toddler. Later on, if we grow up into “serious anarchists”, we might learn that it has a deeper symbolic meaning: the circle is not just a circle, but an “O”. “Anarchy is the mother of Order”, they say. Whether or not this is actually true is less relevant than the meaning it holds for militancy1. We’re not just here to rebel and destroy anymore: we want to build a new world in the ashes of the old. No more juvenile “fuck you” graffiti politics for us, thanks.