While mostly white “leftists” were inventing strategies based on missing analysis, there was an organization in the city doing all of this better: Community Movement Builders.

A critical appraisal of recent struggles in Atlanta

  • MaoistLandlord [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    In many reports, the forest defenders describe themselves as a “decentralized, autonomous movement [where] nobody is in charge, and nobody is responsible for anybody else’s actions,”

    The camp was in a state of perpetual flux, with people constantly coming and going, but reports indicate that somewhere between 40-100 activists were ensconced in the trees throughout 2022. They practiced yoga, planted gardens, held religious ceremonies, and of course engaged in minor vandalism of construction equipment.

    I’m sorry. I know this is a serious topic but this shit is just really fucking funny. You’d think that after the scams in the ‘decentralized’ crypto world, and how little the ‘decentralized’ hacktivists under Anonymous or CHAZ occupiers have achieved, that people would start to understand there needs to be delegation and leadership

    From the comments

    I’m surprised this micro-sect spends so much energy criticizing others about “discipline” while too scared to touch the central issue: ecoterrorism isn’t a viable political strategy, and the violent escalations of adventurist anarchists have isolated the movement from any forces strong enough to bring the coalition to victory.

    But the authors literally do that. The entire first half of the article is dedicated to dunking on anarchists and adventurists

    • Frank [he/him, he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      What forces strong enough to bring the coalition to victory? Who do they have on the back burner who wants to stop cop city but not if some crust punks threw a few molotovs?

    • HexbearGPT [comrade/them]
      ·
      2 years ago

      how little they achieved? they achieved way more than any other leftists ever have since the destruction of the labor movement.

      and if you don't see what those results are or think that they do not exist, you are falling for capitalist propaganda which tries to minimize the impact and effect radical action has.

        • infuziSporg [e/em/eir]
          ·
          2 years ago

          Nothing is a switch that happens instantly. Every reversal of power results from a buildup. If you were to apply the same rubric to conditions a year before various revolutions, you'd probably call them failures too.

          It's not "the contradictions of capitalism" that suddenly give people the initiative to change things. It's a long process of strengthening that makes this initiative possible, no matter whether it looks like "adventurism". It might come in waves, but each wave advances and supports the subsequent one, and you don't get anywhere if you don't start making waves.

        • HexbearGPT [comrade/them]
          ·
          2 years ago

          so much shit: OWS effectively gave a platform to creat the bernie sanders runs for president, cancelled millions of dollars in debts, fed thousands of people, reclaimed foreclosed homes for people to live in, liberated spaces in cities for people to be safe from everyday police harassment, forced changes in plans by power is thousands of way. pay more attention because those victories are rarely mentioned, let alone ever celebrated, in the capitalist media. but they are there. and it is a part of radical practice to celebrate them.

          • MaoistLandlord [he/him]
            ·
            2 years ago

            Are we talking about decentralized movements? Because I find it difficult to believe they would care about Bernie sanders or managed millions of dollars without any oversight

            • Frank [he/him, he/him]
              ·
              2 years ago

              Check out various medical debt jubilee groups. A bunch of them spun off the aftermath of Occupy and were buying batches of medical debt for pennies on the dollar then cancelling them.

    • a_fanonist_hexagon [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      But the authors literally do that. The entire first half of the article is dedicated to dunking on anarchists and adventurists

      I'm finding that communities that celebrate diligence and critical reading are often full of people who don't actually read things thoroughly and engage with the argument presented.

      • Frank [he/him, he/him]
        ·
        2 years ago

        It's more disillusionment with organized groups due to a combination of liberal cooption, wrecking, and police disruption. It was a big thing with Occupy 12 years ago - They can't arrest our leaders if we don't have any kind of thing, plus Occupy was totally ideologically incoherent so no one could really agree on a leader. Idk, there are a couple of manifestos about leaderless resistance floating around somewhere.

        I don't think it's a particularly good strategy, but america isn't in a particularly good place for organized action right now.

        • HumanBehaviorByBjork [any, undecided]
          ·
          2 years ago

          I know. I think tarring anarchism by associating it with crypto is disingenuous and wrong. left libertarians and right libertarians have roughly the same relationship as state communists and fascists.