This has been a topic on my mind a lot recently, but I've been afraid of asking it here since I thought I would be being accused of/banned for being sectarian. While I am more on the ML side of things, I really have no qualms or issues with Anarchists and mostly consider our political differences insignificant in the face of global capitalism as it is now. In my eyes, we're a long way off from the reality of needing to debate how a new society will be structured/governed, so, at the end of the day, whether someone is anarchist or ML is not really a major issue to me. As long as they're against the current status quo and understand the need from change, they're cool by me.
Maybe I'm wrong, but that feels like the prevailing belief, in so many words, I've seen other MLs express as well. However, it feels like the majority of sectarianism I've seen pop up is always Anarchist accusing MLs and communists of being as bad as fascists, or supporting genocide, or being evil, etc. I feel I never see it the other way around. At the most, MLs just tease and rib anarchists, but don't view them as evil or reactionary, as some Anarchists see to view MLs. I'm basing this off of things I've seen/experienced online, and from IRL friends who consider themselves anarchists, but who've recently started espousing anti-communist talking points (ie: using the word tankie, saying communist dictators are/were as bad as fascists, etc.)
So why does it seem to come to this most of the time: Anarchists more often being unwilling to work with MLs and accusing them of being fascists, and not the other way around? Is this just a flawed perception on my part? A bias or point of propaganda I've had seep in and need to try and overcome? Is it a valid observation? If so, why does it play out like this?
I'm really sorry if this is still considered sectarian. I really just wanted to express these feelings/observations and seek input/correction from others on them, rather than bottle them up and potentially form prejudices. As mentioned, I personally don't have issues with others having different beliefs among the left, as long as they're fighting capitalism and imperialism, and being supportive of their fellow, diverse comrades.
EDIT: I just wanted to thank everyone who's commented for their thoughtful responses. You've given me a lot to think about, both in challenges to my bias observations/experiences, and in explanations more clearly articulated and knowledgeable than what I understood. Thanks for understanding my intent and keeping it civil.
Anarchists are fine, you should do some work with them - join in on your local Food Not Bombs for example. Anarchist's committment to direct action is enviable and it does work.
My brother is an "anarchist" and he insists anarchism is actually just about the elimination of the state. I'm not sectarian so I suggested he read some anarchist lit like the bread book so he can better explain his positions (he was talking to some of his crew mates and just wasn't quite able to articulate why he thinks healthcare should be free). He insists he doesn't have to read anything in order to be an anarchist, lol, true but it's so much easier once you start actually reading.
I feel like a lot of online sectarian anarchists are like my brother. Just, unorganized in thinking and not able to make real material analysis on why things are fucked or what to do. But they feel capitalism's faults in a very real undeniable way and they are usually willing to take some level of action, even something as non-committal as arguing online.
Either way, we don't have a vanguard right now - we have about a billion tiny little not-mass orgs that might make a good nucleus one day - and there isn't much difference in how we should organize at this very early stage. So help out with anarchist projects and get to know some irl ones.
:amogus: