What anarchism really means

As well as a tactic, direct action is also a means for self-empowerment. It is a component of the society we hope to create, where people take control of their lives into their own hands and confront the root causes of injustices directly, without representatives. This sometimes includes property damage, but anarchists take seriously the notions of liberty and equality: that people are capable of speaking and acting for themselves and become even more capable through practice rather than representation.

I saw this article entitled "What anarchism really means" and had to share it. It was written by the Anarchist Studies Network and appeared in the British daily newspaper The Guardian, which is a pretty mainstream news source. Check it out
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/18/anarchism-direct-action-student-protests

- the Gadfly

theory of how college is like a game

[11/2/10 9:37:49 PM] person 1: hey, my friend patrick wants to know more on your theory of how college is like a game

[11/2/10 9:37:49 PM] person 1: please elaborate

[11/2/10 9:37:51 PM] person 1: for his sake

[11/2/10 9:37:53 PM] person 1: :)

[11/2/10 9:38:27 PM] person 2: alright give me a sec. just need to get through a couple things with j-money

[11/2/10 9:40:30 PM] person 2: essentially at this point in america, most decent to great jobs (monetarily and usually physically and emotionally "better" jobs) require at the very least a bachelors degree, if not a masters/phd

[11/2/10 9:43:17 PM] person 2: and your college education (academic education primarily) doesn't really have anything to do with the job you will be working. I for example am a sociology major. I can get a job doing research on race in a poor, immigrant community in some big city with a degree that has not actually taught me anything (except for one methods class) about actually going to do the research: how to communicate with people that probably view me as a privileged white outsider

[11/2/10 9:44:52 PM] person 2: what the degree really is suppose to prove is that you are a disciplined worker. I go to Middlebury, y'all two go to Hampshire. Both schools are considered rigorous and achieving good grades at our schools requires hard word. I bust my ass when i need to and definitely do a lot of work (though I spend a lot of time dicking around too).

[11/2/10 9:45:21 PM] person 2: thus when i apply for a job, i am showing them a piece of paper that says i am a disciplined, hard working.

[11/2/10 9:45:42 PM] person 2: my work in clubs. i'm a humanitarian, a leader, a good team player

[11/2/10 9:47:35 PM] person 2: at the end of the day, you totally learn some cool stuff at college, but it is less useful then actual lived experience. i should be able to prove that i am a hard worker just by working hard at a job, not paying a bunch of money to read, write, and talk a bunch about a bunch of sort of irrelevant things.

[11/2/10 9:48:43 PM] person 2: i therefore propose that if you can get away with doing really well in school while avoiding as much work as possible, you should do it

[11/2/10 9:50:32 PM] person 2: skip class, don't hand stuff in on time, stay out too late, or get high when you should be doing a reading

[11/2/10 9:50:42 PM] person 2: just make sure you don't start fucking up your grades

[11/2/10 9:51:10 PM] person 1: amen

[11/2/10 9:51:12 PM] person 1: :)

the G(L)ADFLY