131 lines
6.6 KiB
Plaintext
131 lines
6.6 KiB
Plaintext
THE ANTIOCH GATHERING
|
|
A NEW NETWORK
|
|
and (DIS)CONNECTION
|
|
|
|
>From the Deja'vu again corner: The loose association of
|
|
anarchist and anti-authoritarian collectives and assorted
|
|
individuals who have been the usual participants in gatherings
|
|
over the last year and a half, engaged in a "What are we doing?
|
|
What next?" kind of discussion and recognized that the embryonic
|
|
structure of a network existed. It was proposed and decided (by
|
|
those attending this meeting) that this relationship be
|
|
formalized and thus a new network has been born. While the
|
|
official title of this network is still to be decided, it is
|
|
officially subtitled a "Network of Anarchist Collectives". There
|
|
was some disagreement over use of the word "anarchist", but this
|
|
was worked out under the condition that the network actively
|
|
endeavor to define its interpretation of anarchism. This
|
|
network's first project was to coordinate several speaking tours
|
|
and engagements, including one by Lorenzo Ervin, author of
|
|
"Anarchism and the Black Revolution" and co-founder of the
|
|
Federation of Black Community Partisans. . (Dis)Connection was
|
|
identified as a network project, having the specific role of an
|
|
internal networking/resource journal.
|
|
|
|
Network collectives still have to determine the decision-making
|
|
structure and long term goals and strategies. Since this network
|
|
is the result of an organic evolution of events (gatherings,
|
|
proximity to one-another, etc.) it makes sense to start with
|
|
recognizing the ways in which we are networked now and work on
|
|
methods of strengthening them.
|
|
|
|
To this and other ends, the A - Zone in Chicago (NOT Toledo!)
|
|
will hold a More Fun Than Santa winter shindig & gathering in
|
|
late december-early January , likely in Chicago (pack your
|
|
warmest skivvies!) This gathering's purpose is actually twofold:
|
|
To hammer out our network, including (Dis)Connection, and to
|
|
work on Active Resistance, the CounterConvention to the 96
|
|
Democratic Convention in Chicago. You will be hearing more about
|
|
this soon!
|
|
|
|
Things we need to think about for the Network:
|
|
--How can the Network meet the needs of local collectives?
|
|
--Mutual Aid Project?
|
|
--How will network decisions be made? By consensus? At
|
|
Gatherings? How do we have a structure that does not result in
|
|
collectives supporting the network instead of vice versa?
|
|
--How will this network relate to other networks, etc? LNR, Fed.
|
|
of BCP, AANCO, EF!, FNB, IWW, WSA, ABC, etc.
|
|
--How do we relate to (and involve?) collectives who do not
|
|
currently use the term "anarchist" but who fit in with the
|
|
working (evolving) definition? How do we define anarchism? How
|
|
do we get that out? How do we relate to non-anarchists?
|
|
--How is membership defined? By collectives? By dues? By
|
|
agreement with general principles?
|
|
--Our network is largely lacking strategy, or at least a stated
|
|
one. What is our strategy? Is it Dual Power? Is it the
|
|
development of a highly centralized vanguard? How do we
|
|
project/define this?
|
|
|
|
Obviously this is going to take some time & thought to work out.
|
|
We propose that all y'all talk about these issues with your
|
|
collective and then bring an idea piece, a brainstorm, a
|
|
proposal, a manifesto, or even frantic notes scribbled on napkins
|
|
to the winter shindig so that we can all sit down at the start of
|
|
the discussions and have a Big Brainstorm and share our ideas and
|
|
generally get a feel of where we're at on it. Then we can set a
|
|
course on how to proceed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
RE: (DIS)Connection
|
|
|
|
The problems in getting out a 3rd issue of (Dis)Co were raised by
|
|
Montreal folks and discussed by the network. Issues raised were
|
|
exposing dirty laundry, internal networking vs. outreach, size of
|
|
issue, amount of contributions, etc. What was decided was that
|
|
Disco is intended as an internal networking journal. Thus, the
|
|
size of an issue is not that important, and neither is the
|
|
quantity of copies per issue--1000 is probably fine. Other
|
|
collectives do need to get off their butts and contribute more.
|
|
It is also the responsibility of the collective publishing the
|
|
issue to proselytize, recruit, and otherwise wring articles out
|
|
of folks. Each issue is also intended to have a "local flavor"
|
|
that represents what the publishing group is up to, and so the
|
|
publishing collective needs to work on putting in articles too,
|
|
they are not merely a coordinating point.
|
|
|
|
In Detroit, the birth place of (Dis)Connection, the collectives
|
|
and individuals present hoped that the journal would be published
|
|
at least four times a year. Obviously that hasn't happened. At
|
|
the winter gathering in Chicago, the publishing schedule and
|
|
rotation process will be discussed. It might be better, in terms
|
|
of getting the paper out more often and for receiving material
|
|
from contributors, if a collective adopted (Dis)Connection for a
|
|
one year term, similar to the Earth First! Journal.
|
|
|
|
The Deja'vu part: In looking through old papers and chatting
|
|
with people who were active in the anarchist movement in the
|
|
eighties, this has been done before. There was a network. There
|
|
was a paper/newsletter, Mayday, that rotated among affinity
|
|
groups and served as clearinghouse/bulletin board for the
|
|
movement. The focal point for the participants was initially
|
|
fairly large, continental anarchist gatherings. The first,
|
|
Haymarket Remembered, occured in Chicago in 1986 (?) and the
|
|
final one, Without Borders, took place in San Francisco in 1989.
|
|
Following the SF international gathering and its aftermath,
|
|
organizers decided to back out of any more big gatherings for a
|
|
while and cancelled the one to take place in Mexico City in 1990.
|
|
Discussions in Mayday focussed instead on regional gatherings and
|
|
developing the movement in home communities. Most of these
|
|
organizers, for many reasons, retired or burned out, or became
|
|
part of Love and Rage (which has pursued its own direction...)..
|
|
However, a few years later, this Network of Anarchist Collectives
|
|
is developing in the manner tentatively approached by people who
|
|
for the most part we don't even know, even adopting the rotation
|
|
clearinghouse journal. Maybe we should try to find some of these
|
|
people and their publications and approach with the experience of
|
|
previous organizing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
|
|
* * * AUTONOMOUS ZONE INFOSHOP
|
|
* * mail: 1573 N. Milwaukee #420, CHILL 60622 U$A
|
|
* /\ * street: 2045 W. North Ave., Chicago
|
|
* /__\ Z * phone: 312-278-0775
|
|
* / \ * matrix: ugwiller@bgu.edu or chill@burn.ucsd.edu
|
|
* * COLLECTIVE COMMUNITY-ACTIVIST-RESOURCE CENTER
|
|
* * * *Element of the Network of Anarchist Collectives*
|
|
"A matter of meeting information authority with information disturbance..."
|
|
|