There you can find the final version of my notes for the practical anarchy talk I did at the Drexel Student Liberty Front Summer Retreat. They don’t entirely correspond to what I said. Some qualifiers and additional sentences were added here and there. Also I started the talk by walking to the podium and saying “I’m Darian Worden, and I’m here to talk about anarchy!” I then asked how many people in the room considered themselves anarchists. The vast majority of the audience (which totaled 15-20 people) raised their hands. I had written it for a mixed minarchist-anarchist free market libertarian crowd. But even the seasoned anarchist should be able to at least pull some talking points and ideas out of there.
There was video taken, but it might not have recorded fully. I’ll probably record an mp3 of the talk at home – it’s only about 30 minutes anyway and I won’t be agitated from being caught in traffic for an hour.
If you haven’t tuned into Thinking Liberty, you’re missing a live anarcho-podcast that keeps getting better and better. In May we moved to a new location with our own equipment, and the quality of the production improved dramatically. The improvement in production quality made us more enthusiastic and confident in the show, and we’ve presented guests and our own views on how to expand liberty within the cracks of oppression until the whole damn wall breaks open.
Rich Paul and 2 others were arrested in Massachusetts, apparently on some kind of firearm charges. Rich is a dedicated activist and I’ve enjoyed talking with him at several New Hampshire events. Pete Eyre, a trustworthy solid voluntaryist, vouched for the character of Rich and at least one of the other activists involved. So I encourage you to chip in to bail them out of jail.
UPDATE: Pete and Adam of Cop Block were later arrested, apparently for attempting to film as they brought bail money for Rich Paul. See Cop Block.
UPDATE: Jason Talley reports on Facebook: “Adam M. Mueller Pete Eyre and Rich Paul are back in New Hampshire. They will be on Free Talk Live to discuss their overnight stay in Massachusetts. Tune in! Free Mark Capuzzo!” (4:33pm 7/2/10)
Mike G tipped me off to a statist blog post about the threat of anarchism. It’s good to know that my intellectual wattage has not been underestimated, unlike certain Twitter users who were apparently supposed to receive a memo about not calling themselves anarchists.
On June 14, 2010, Julian Heicklen was arrested during his latest attempt to distribute jury rights information in front of the federal courthouse at 500 Pearl Street in Manhattan, and was released later that day.
Julian has distributed information on how juries can nullify laws (see fija.org) at several locations. Each time he attempted to do so at the New York federal courthouse, officers have attempted to issue him citations for distributing literature on federal property. Each time Julian has taken the route of non-violent non-compliance and gone limp, which has usually led to an ambulance taking him away.
This time he was accompanied by six other individuals, including myself. As soon as he walked into the center of the concrete courtyard in front of the federal courthouse, several men in suits surrounded him and uniformed officers created an outer ring around them. A man said, “Mr. Heicklen, we are US Marshals and we have a warrant for your arrest.” The warrant was likely related to earlier citations for distributing literature at the courthouse.
Heicklen engaged in non-compliance, and was dragged into a waiting unmarked black minivan. The rest of us left the immediate area and began reporting on the event.
I discussed the arrest on Thinking Liberty. James Babb later joined us to offer his perspective. He described the federal area in downtown Manhattan as if “Jack Bauer had invaded a Batman movie.” After seeing one of the numerous Homeland Security SUVs receiving a military salute as they were let through a mechanized barrier surrounded by foreboding and severe buildings, it’s hard to disagree.
But an effective project of liberation needs to include more political questions than “how can force be used?” This would include questions like “what kind of culture creates a political environment conducive to individual liberty and how do we get there?”
If it was a big word column, I’d spend time with a term like “solidaristic social individualism.” Maybe that’s something for a later date.
In Direct Action is Key I described how a Florida community’s response to potential oil coverage provides support for anarchist ideas.
Nathan Thornburgh’s Time.com article, In Florida Keys, Residents Plan Their Own Spill Cleanup, shows locals fed up with authoritarian bureaucrats, and challenging state and corporate control of the disaster area.
I’m also happy to announce that Center for a Stateless Society will be rolling with MARV, an excellent opportunity to put our message of maximum liberty in front of people concerned with freedom.
My weekly commentaries are up at Center for a Stateless Society.
Monday’s column What’s In a Uniform? examines the meaning of government uniforms in light of the Red and Black Cafe controversy.
The Red and Black Cafe, an anarchist business in Portland, Oregon, became the subject of controversy after a cafe worker told a uniformed police officer to leave the building. The often overtly threatening responses from police supporters have revealed the self-serving absurdity of how government uniforms are viewed.
New York state officials are threatening to shut down non-essential government services if a state budget is not passed. But what is an essential government service anyway?
Center for a Stateless Society produces hard-hitting anarchist commentaries and in-depth studies. We are still raising funds to cover monthly expenses.
Unless noted otherwise, all opinions expressed on darianworden.com are solely mine and do not represent the views of any other individual or organization. Comments are the responsibility solely of their authors.