Very relevant tweet

Wake up, sheeple me up, before you go (go)

  • Nagarjuna [he/him]
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    edit-2
    4 years ago

    Anarchists aren't opposed to self defense, they're opposes to punative justice. If you look at abolitionist texts on application, for example Generation 5's Towards Transformative Justice (cw child abuse), you'll see phrases like "minimum neccesary force." In another example, Malatesta's anarchist classis Anarchy and Violence explains that anarchists view revolutionary violence as self defense against structural harm, and try to limit it only what's necessary.

    In practice, the YPD for one example, has kept policing in its territories, but has also set up non carceral systems that are mediating conflicts with the goal of restoring relationships rather than punishing wrongs. I'd love to see how far they can push that system and if they can totally do away with punative justice.

      • Nagarjuna [he/him]
        ·
        4 years ago

        I'm admittedly not well read on modern PRC or the GDR. Did they practice punative justice?

          • Janked [he/him]
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            4 years ago

            Goddamn :gold-anarchist: :gold-communist: for real, thank you for effort posting in this thread

              • Janked [he/him]
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                edit-2
                4 years ago

                :fidel-salute-big: Could not have said it better myself, we're completely aligned and you've articulated thoughts I've had around this for a while beautifully. :100-com:

          • Nagarjuna [he/him]
            ·
            4 years ago

            Right, again, I'm not asking about fascists and spies, as I said, I'm not against revolutionary violence. I'm asking about selling drugs (which I'll acknowledge has imperial history to it in China), assault, and hell, even murder. I'm not trying to discredit China, I'm trying to see whether or not policing is a site of struggle for anarchists within China. If I was trying to challenge China I'd be asking more about the policing of striking workers, minority ethnic groups and ultra leftists. But I'm not asking about that, I'm not challenging China. I'm trying to assert that an anti carceral politics (I think its inappropriate to call that abolitionist in this context) goes deeper than a Marxist politics.