What does anarchy mean, in practice?
(Sorry if this appeared twice, I had a tech issue(?) asking the first time.)
for me, it means recognizing the hierarchical structures we live in (including my own position of privilege) and working towards changing them to empower as many people as possible: By trying to build networks where people can support each other fulfill their basic needs & create alternatives to the broken systems around us (police, hospitals, social security, education, agriculture, economy...).
Here's some examples from my life the past 2 months to help you imagine what that can look like:
looking after someones kid so they can go to a demonstration
driving someone to the hospital
making calls to insurances and government offices for people who don't speak the language that is dominant in my region
showing up to appointments with migrant friends (someone just standing there being white and speaking the local dialect literally changes everything)
participating in a meeting where we discuss how to support someone whose request for asylum got rejected
living with people that don't have papers and covering for them
helping someone learn the language dominant in my region
using my work printer to print like 2000 flyers for a demonstration (did not get fired. yet)
offering my knowledge in transformative justice to someone who feels their boundaries have been crossed
doing free shifts at a party raising money for a community center
stealing a heater and bringing it to someone who lives without heating
helping someone apply for a passport
visiting someone's 10 year old son in the psych ward
managing a group chat where trans people can share resources + one where mad/disabled people can share resources + one where people give away free things
in my work as a journalist/writer: letting marginalized people share their experiences with me and then giving them part (sometimes all) of my salary
lending my car to a collective of anarchist doctors who used it to drive along the border to give medical attention to refugees for 1 month
making up a lovestory for the green card marriage of someone
making flyers for people and sending them around / posting them to collect money (i.e for transition, for new teeth, to cover rent)
making a bank account in my name for a sex worker without papers to use
Some of those things i did for close friends, many for people i barely know. None of this is enough, by the way, i just try, i guess. Bridging gaps, trying to create networks not for oppressed people, but with them, where we are all eye to eye. i know my end goal is impossible to reach but every step towards it is a step in the right direction. or something
