Love in a Necessary Revolution

A Manifesto by Story 

 

Introduction

Hello my name is Story (as my title presents) I am a 16 year old digital anarcho-syndicalist (I go by Ze/Hir/Hirs pronouns) to give you some background on who I am: 

I am a QTPOC (queer trans person of color) whom’st has at least 2 mental illnesses (MDD + GAD), 1 learning disbility (ADD) and 1 physical disability (mild CP). I am a digital anarchist of sorts (as most of my armchair activism is digital). I have written poetry over the past 3 years writing about my experiences. I am an intersectional feminist, lover, and a fighter, and an idiot (although my comrades beg to differ).

 

The aims are simple, yet complex, as Albert Camus says in The Stranger: “Everything is true, and nothing is true!” This quote is an open interpretation really but, in the context of this piece,  here is what I want to establish: we are human, school is a riot!, no revolt can survive without love, fight like hell, and never stop evolving just as we have all done since day 1.

 

This is also an intense and emotional love letter to my comrades, the platonic lovers in my life, my real family that I have built on the internet in spite of a cold terrifying world, and a helping hand to the other anarchists in the world constantly fighting for a better world and our wholesome cuddles that bring us together! Our rights were never granted through reforms and just like in the 1960s counterculture movement as long as non-violent civil disobedience took place in mutual love, support, and beauty, [1]  an equally astonishing and wondrous violent protests and disobedience took place in solidarity [2] with love both in the past and now once again. 

 

“Every soul, every hand all are comrades”  

 

• Mischief Brew

 

 

“So now that I see where I am

I see race still determines

The blessed from the damned

And the greatest of all historical shams

Is believing you cannot do something you can”

 

• Mischief Brew

 

 

“I’m a person just like you. I deserve to live too!”

 

• Flower Crown Me A Queen

 

 

“Your heart is a muscle the size of your fist

Keep on loving, keep on fighting

And hold on, and hold on

Hold on for your life”

 

• Ramshackle Glory

 

 

“Boy I will put the shit right  on you don’t make me wanna flick it on you,        

I’m Saying I’m More Viscous In Speech I talk Different

 I caught wind fo the beats they knock different”

 

• Backxwash 

 

 

“Fuck you 12 and fuck you too

All you centrists are to blame

You’re ignorant we’re not the same

Fuck you 12 and fuck red, white, and blue”

 

• Garbitch

 

 

“My feelings are facts

I’m under attack 

When I’m up for debate

Why can’t you accept that I don’t operate 

Within the binary”

 

• SoyJoy 

 

 

“You don’t belong to me

Say you won’t be mine

It’s not love if it’s not free 

Autonomously Yours for all time”

 

• Monty O’Blivion 

 

 

“But now I can see

There’s so many colors and I will be grateful to see the sun rise

When I thought it was over

Oh now it’s just begun

But now I can see that I’m all the strength that I need”

 

• The Groans

 

1: Definitions and misconceptions

Usually when we think of the terms ‘anarchy’ or ‘anarchism’ we immediately think of chaos without any further evidence or using the skills we learned in school (what happened to those critical thinking skills that were shoved down our throats? Did they just…disappear?) Usually we think that the term anarchy is synonymous with nihilism and while yes, nihilist anarchists do exist! [1] To say that ALL anarchists are the same is blatantly ignorant and completely disregards the branches [2] and the success [3] of anarchist revolutions such as: Rojava, Revolutionary Catalonia [3.1], The RQSP, or current revolutions going on around like in Chile, Haiti, Hong Kong, etc (which to an extent show anarchist elements).

 

In this context anarchy and anarchism are the same in the sense of putting theory into practice [4]. If you’re still scratching your head as to what anarchy, anarchism and anarchist mean here’s a sentence that will  (hopefully) clear it up: ‘Anarchy is the word, Anarchism is the idea, and Anarchist is the believer.’

 

Anarchism (the idea) is practiced in many different ways, so here’s a short list of examples!

 

• Workshops 
• Protests
• Music
• Essays
• Free love
• Literature 
• Art work

 

It is also very important to note that I am using the term anarchism by its dictionary definition, not what misinformed reactionaries believe it is….so here’s that definition:

 

an·ar·chism

/ˈanərˌkizəm/

 

noun

belief in the abolition of all government and the organization of society on a voluntary, cooperative basis without recourse to force or compulsion. [4.1]

 

The usual argument against anarchism is that there are “no rules” or “chaos” this simply Isn’t true, so I will refer to the 3A analogy by Crimethinc which can be found here.

 [5]

“Anarchy is what happens wherever order is not imposed by force. It is freedom: the process of continually reinventing ourselves and our relationships. Any freely occurring process or phenomenon—a rainforest, a circle of friends, your own body—is an anarchic harmony that persists through constant change.” — Crimethinc, To Change Everything, an Anarchist Appeal.

 

“Anarchism:  is the idea that everyone is entitled to complete self-determination. No law, government, or decision-making process is more important than the needs and desires of actual human beings. People should be free to shape their relations to their mutual satisfaction, and to stand up for themselves as they see fit.” — Crimethinc, To Change Everything, an Anarchist Appeal

 

“Anarchists: oppose all forms of hierarchy—every currency that concentrates power into the hands of a few, every mechanism that puts us at a distance from our potential.” —  Crimethinc, To Change Everything, an Anarchist Appeal.

And now! Amazing indifferent humans of this rapidly decomposing earth! 

Let’s get into the  other subjects that I want to discuss with y’all!

 

2: Education as a tool of resistance

“School is a Riot” – Melissa Merin

 

Since preschool, children  have been designated parts of numerous machines that control our daily lives, since this is published online, I assume most readers will understand that these machines are obvious but, sadly that isn’t the case for all of us as we are flawed humans that change for better or worse. These machines include, but are not limited to the following: Capitalism, Racism, Ableism, Fascism, Sexism, Patriarchy, Nationalism, etc.

 

Of course, intersectionality proves that systems of oppression can overlap with each other to create micro/macro versions of oppression that are more difficult to contain within these systems, examples include: Rainbow Capitalism [6], Ecofascism [7], Trans Exclusionary ‘Radical’ Feminism [8], and Transmedicalism [9].

 

My issue in this section is the  concerning growing movement of exclusionary ideals & politics infiltrating schools [9.0] [9.1] [9.2] (and alarmingly enough, the one I currently go to [9.3] [9.4] [9.5] [9.6] [9.7] [9.8]) yet only until now have we realized it’s an issue [9.9] This is alarming considering that hate groups have been steadily growing since 2000 [9.10]. These hate groups have evolved and produced media figures and pundits who knowingly push hateful ideologies. Recent examples include: Ben Shapiro touring college [10].Shapiro is a well-known Conservative pundit who is infamous for championing far-right views under the guise of faux-intellectualism [11] and conspiracy theories [12]. Other examples include people like Jordan Peterson [13] as he spews bigotry under the name of ‘free speech’ and against the so called ‘postmodern-cultural marxists’ [14] (A historically inaccurate oxymoron [15] ), Peterson is also well known to advocate for Incel (Involuntary Cellibate [16]) talking points [17] and anti-trans advocacy [18].

 

Of course, if you have a mindset similar to my mother who can’t stand the constant waves of negativity and can’t put up with the amount of traumatic stuff that the media shows us everyday then please, take a break for your sanity and come back later! My ending point for this section is that we need action against bigotry. I’m saying call out that damn maga lovin’ supporter in your classroom who spews alt-right or alt-lite talking points!  Make those reactionary bigots cower in their boots! Make it known that bigotry and exclusion is not welcome in our safe space classrooms because good education requires us to subvert the ‘Banking Model of Education’ [19], as Wu Zuhihui said “Education is Revolution” [20] and for the sake of workers UNIONIZE [20.1]

3: Why Unions?

Unions for me are a revolutionary powerful tool for resisting exclusionists [1] and I think that the past couple of years have shown us that they definitely make a huge difference in getting needs met [2] [3], how would social progress ever if we never stood up for each other and did anything? Unions mean a lot of different things to me [4] it means teachers unions, relationship anarchism [5] [6], getting to know your comrades to work together and create interdependent mutual aid [7] [8]. I believe that I take unions very seriously is due to the fact that I can’t survive completely on my own, I struggle with saying what I want in the voluntary relationships that I take part in and form…this is probably due to years of emotional trauma I’ve suffered through growing up…having your father be co-dependant on you for many years, having to take your fights on your own….especially when I would retaliate I would be labelled ‘selfish’ or just spiral down till we screamed at each other and I had to call my mom to pick me up from the house…This trauma that I went through (and am still recovering from to this day) has helped me understand unions not just in work but, in our day to day lives. Without these unions we wouldn’t be able to form interpersonal relationships with our co-workers [9] [10] we wouldn’t be able to talk out our problems with our counselors,lovers,friends,etc.

 

Unions are important not just because they give us diverse tactics to get our needs met [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] they help us get off our asses and fight for what we believe in, and help create stronger relationships with the diverse crowd of people in our lives.

 

We shouldn’t concern ourselves or ally ourselves with Marxist-Leninists [19] [20] as they’re apologists of state-capitalist regimes that lie under the guise of ‘Communism’ [21] [22]. History has shown us that Marxist-Leninists, Maoists and Stalinists will hijack revolutions to impose another state-capitalist regime [23].

 

People now are starting to attempt to destroy the connections we’ve made in our workplaces thanks to its ability to get needs met and help each other build a better world [24] we shouldn’t let anyone take away that right from people and we should support and help each other to make sure that doesn’t happen, and understand that capitalism has only exploited the most vulnerable in society and everyone else while the 1% stays silent and bathes in their hoarded money [25] [26] [27] and manipulates middle class and working class people that they’re “helpful” [28] [28.1].

 

If we want to stay sane we must protect our communities with love and rage!

4: Love and our imperfectly perfect selves

Now, that you’ve read some ideas from me and people who put anarchy and anarchism and practice and a different view from the academics that stand on podiums and talk about it (though it’s ignorant to say that they don’t contribute [21]) Things like having everyday people talk about something they enjoy and having a diverse crowd is very important [22] (although I despise liberal identity politics as they depend on watering down systems of oppression and using intersectionality to create exclusive in-group vs out-group tensions [23])

 

Anarchism and intersectionality combined with philosophy in general has definitely impacted my life for the better. Allow me to open this last section with a reflection on myself, warning this section will discuss personal trauma and things that viewers may find disturbing if at any point you feel uncomfortable please take a break!!

 

 Love for me has always been a complex thing but, then again that’s the radical life. Definitely weird especially when you have a non-normative gender, sexuality, and desires [24], I mean I get weird looks for saying that i’m demisexual [25] besides the last time I checked majority of the popular love movies just star 2 random people falling in love with each other and somehow that’s the dream ‘relationship’ but, then again I’m a strange human I have people who are close to me that I have adult conversations with and they don’t infantilize me (and in most cases  these adult conversations happen between me and people who are my age) besides what’s wrong with having close friends that are just 7 years older than you? Is it bad that these people enjoy my presence because of our common trauma and marginalization and the love we give each other? Is it bad to form deep relations with someone who’s older than me and treats me as a close friend and respects my boundaries especially when I have been able to show my weakness and break down in front of them over text because of my history of being sexually harassed and having my autonomy violated in front of people who I care about while manipulating me saying that they ‘love and care about me’ + history of fearing authority in fear of having to deal with more emotionally scarring reactions? 

 

To me no because the relations I have with the people who are older than me are just like the people who are close to me and my age sluts, stoners, mentally ill, leftist, marginalized yet stunning glorious humans! It’s okay to be 16 and talk to friends of mine who may have a bigger age gap than me and to be passionate about things we both love with respect and mutual aid. I see nothing wrong with expressing yourself to someone platonically,romantically,etc. If it’s consensual. A personal example my friend Eva she’s 23 lives in Europe happens to have BPD, Autism and is a transwoman who loves being platonic, romantic, and loving with her friends (which includes me) she’s extremely sweet and makes sure to respect my boundaries because of her morals NOT the law, that’s not something I’ve had the best experience with as a lot of people in my life have violated my boundaries and justify it by saying I’m “selfish” and that they ‘know better’ because THEY are adults. If you think that a 16 year old having emotionally wholesome friendships with people who are their age and older is wrong especially when both parties 1000% understand each other and respect each others boundaries and help each other grow as healthy autonomous cells then maybe…just maybe you’re letting ageism get a little too into your head.

 

Love is a difficult thing for me to discuss as my dad is a dean/highschool cop and when love becomes a commodity [25.1] rather than a natural human emotion thanks to Capitalism [25.2] it gets even more complicated if your queer, majority of society creates relationships based on: heteronormativity [25.3], homonormativity [25.4], compulsory monogamy [25.5], genderism [25.6], power imbalences [25.7], and strict unwritten guidelines as to what counts as a 

‘real relationship’, anarchism as a form of love has helped me develop myself as a lover 

[26] [26.1] [26.2] [26.3] [27] I think that the reasoning why I as a person who intersects with a diverse range of marginalized groups is that I consciously and unconsciously force myself into subjugation in my relationships. I’m not ‘normal’ because normalcy requires me to strip down and hide my queerness, my transness, my disabilities, my politics, my trauma, and my personality in short; a forced social suicide all for mere conformity to societal oppression. Albert Camus is a known absurdist and anarcho-syndicalist I remember the first time I read the Myth of Sissyphus I spent 3 hours at midnight hyperfocusing on this philosophical text and doing an unstructured analysis, this is another influence of mine and I love absurdism because it can explain my existence and use my defects and intersectional identity as a gift [28] for a long part of my life I have tried to find answers in religion due to the fact that I come from a latinx, catholic, middle-class family it didn’t help…and still to this day I get into problems with my family because I’m ‘too sensitive’ and ‘not oppressed’ but, as my therapist told me: “They’re just a bystander they don’t have to go through what you’ve been through” that is still as of now a pretty hard pill to swallow despite all the other drugs I’ve had to take for my personal health, my life may be meaningless but, with acknowledging that I can create my own fluid, comfortable and self-created meaning. I’m a slut for non-heteronormative consentual monogamy, revolutinary anarchist praxis, inclusionist feminism, free love and interdependant mutual aid.

We need love desperately in this terrible alienating time yet, even now it’s still discoverable like weeds and flowers that bloom in the cracks of broken concrete…. As gender theorist and mental health advocate anarchist Kate Bornstien said in Hello, Cruel World… 14 years ago: “I swear there’s someone out there for you to love. He, she, or They are out there someplace looking for you. But no one is going to love you exactly the way you are until you love yourself exactly the way you are.” [29]