What Would Lucy Parsons Do?

We anarchists perceive there are actual, material barriers blockading the way. These must be removed. If we could hope they would melt away, or be voted away or prayed into nothingness, we would be content to wait and vote and pray. But they are like great frowning rocks towering between us and a land of freedom, while the dark chasms of a hard-fought past yawn behind us. Crumbling they may be with their own weight and the decay of time, but to quietly stand until they fall is to be buried in the crash.--Lucy Parsons, The Principles Of Anarchism

Now that the presidential election is over and the outcome known, we can, as always, begin to consider the ways in which this situation might work to our advantage. You may recall the C.S.A.'s earlier post on the topic, which generated a bit of controversy, and essentially argued that an Obama win would create a more favorable environment for anarchist organizing than would a McCain win: such a point is now academic.

As the C.S.A. sees it, anarchists in the United States have been presented with an outstanding opportunity. We appear to have gained real momentum from this summer's summit demonstrations, with the networks formed during the build-up to those demonstrations, Unconventional Action and Bash Back! among them, gaining visibility and strength of late (see here and here.) Direct actions and night-time activities appear to have increased in pace and intensity since this summer, with a dose of inspiration apparently coming from Greek-style bank and ATM attacks. Such reproducible, small-scale actions seem to speak to an increased cohesiveness and militancy among anarchists; such boldness had been in relatively short supply since the more active days of the ELF and ALF.

The change in presidential administration has produced a unique dynamic. The expectations accompanying the election of Barack Obama are, by any measure, impossible for a president to satisfy. While the promises of any politician may be utterly false, his supporters' messianic presumptions represent their very real frustrations and alienation. That they have foisted their hopes for a more meaningful life on the shoulders of an opportunistic politician only ensures that they will be disillusioned; the only question being to what extent.

Disillusionment does not lead to radicalism, but it can be a fertile state in which to begin a discussion of broader issues. However, without the propaganda (of the tree, pixel, and deed) and organizing that can connect people to those radical ideas, apathy and reaction are all but assured. As we've seen with the outgoing administration, a focus on the personal traits of the specific individuals in power must be avoided; such issues only serve to focus attention on stylistic preferences rather than the structures that maintain hierarchy. To put it simply: as the disillusionment with Obama grows, we must strive to keep attention off of his personal failings--upon which the media and right-wing will undoubtedly focus--and on the hierarchy of power. Such a focus can be maintained in both rhetoric and action not by dismissing the relevance of politics or by being cowed into an obsequious deference for them, but by taking advantage of them.

If we are to successfully capitalize on the opportunities presented by this situation, it is crucial that we establish our opposition early. If we wait until disillusionment becomes public and widespread, it will be too late, and we will be (correctly) judged political opportunists with no more credibility than the jurassic Left. Events such as the presidential inauguration present a chance to articulate our critique of institutional racism, capitalism, and the state in a timely and relevant setting.

In summary, if there was ever a time for anarchists in the United States to shift into a higher, louder, fiercer, bolder gear, it is now. We have been getting 50 cents on the dollar for our efforts for the last seven and a half years. The exchange rate has just improved and looks to be getting even better as the capitalist economy downshifts. We have already begun to make up lost ground, let's be sure not to let up just as the iron starts to get hot.