Towards The Death Of The Scene

Towards The Death Of The Scene

In George Orwell's novel 1984, the resistance group which the protagonist is drawn into joining is actually run by the government. The government in that novel knew that when people began to feel, love and rebel, they would search for others. And when those people began to break free, the 'resistance group' was waiting for them, as was the torture chamber in room 101. Orwell expressed a simple truth: rebellion was inevitable. He also expressed another, darker truth: rebellion could be contained. His vision was what he knew was going to happen. Orwell died watching the metal eagle spread its wings across the globe. Meanwhile, everyone had been tricked into thinking that same eagle had died with Hitler.

Our rebellion is being contained in a similar manner. Room 101 is every prison cell. This summer, some individuals were thrown into prison cells. They were placed there by an infiltrator who went by the name of Andy. Andy found people who could not stand the waste, destruction and ignorance all around them. People who burned with rebellion, who knew that the genocidal system they were stuck in needed to be stopped. People who wanted to act with others, people who wanted to trust others and for once, feel alive and free. Andy found these people and invited them into the 'resistance group'. He put molotov cocktails in their hands. And then he disappeared. Now they are in room 101.

Andy claimed to be something called an 'urban explorer'. Somehow, through a sick alchemy, this made him appear worthy of confidence. Something about this title impressed enough people to allow him entry in something called the 'anarchist subculture'. After entering this abstraction, Andy went on to lure people into his trap.

I have one, simple question. What enabled Andy to do this?

It is true that an 'anarchist subculture' exists. Some maintain that it serves a vital function, others say that it is a hindrance. Some features of the 'anarchist subculture' are dumpster diving, riding bikes, Food Not Bombs chapters, Really Really Free Markets, book fairs, urban exploring, Crimethinc. convergences, being vegan, listening to a narrow range of music, traveling, squatting, zines and non-monogamy. There are several other features which you can perhaps name yourself. These institutions have now become connected with anarchy. Anyone who does, attends, eats, reads or listens to these things can be assumed to be part of the 'anarchist subculture'.

This 'anarchist subculture' is not only a hindrance, it allows people like Andy to enter it freely, relying on something called 'security culture' to keep people like him in the dark. Another infiltrator calling herself Anna walked into something called a Crimethinc. convergence and looked for any rebels with passion, anyone who was tired of waiting endlessly for something to change. She found some of these rebels and convinced them to blow up a dam. Andy also attended a Crimethinc. convergence. It was his point of entry into the 'anarchist subculture', in fact.

The mono-culture which many of us are fighting against disseminates its propaganda en mass. Through these organs, a government and its media can give the impression of unity when in fact there is none. Mass media hypnotizes with high definition images of everything OTHER people are doing ELSEWHERE. The people on the screen and in the magazine are not the viewer, nor could the viewer ever be like them. Mass-media is inherently alienating. It provides a false connection to people and to land by claiming to be accurately representing them with symbols, words and images. And it provides this false connection to millions of people, creating the mono-culture.

Crimethinc. propaganda is the most widely diffused anarchist propaganda in the USA. Crimethinc. has the ability to mass produce and disseminate easily accessible texts. The effect that these texts have had is undeniable. But it was these texts which created the current 'anarchist subculture'. I do not know if that was the intent. I do not know if this effect has been observed by its creators. But if they have not seen what they have done, I hope it is becoming disturbingly clear.

Mass-production is a tactic of the enemy. Crimethinc. is creating an anarchist mono-culture. It is doing so by continuing to exist as Crimethinc. They are creating a false unity and denying the most basic point of anarchism by doing so. We do not need another mono-culture. We need small cultures no bigger than a city, cultures that change endlessly. We need diversity and distinction, not uniformity. Our culture cannot be represented. Raleigh is not Olympia is not Eugene is not New York City is not Athens is not Crescent City. We are fighting for our land, for the places where we are firmly rooted and connected. We are fighting for the people we love in the places we love. We are not fighting for abstractions.

We will never be connected to a place if we keep 'traveling' away from it. Many people bemoan the loss of connection to a place while never sitting still for a moment. This absence of connection is assuaged with the false communities that mass-production conjures up. The 'anarchist subculture' is a cheap substitute for an actual community of human beings. We need to stop for a moment, sit still, and realize that this 'anarchist subculture' is just as silly as the 'pogo-sticking subculture'. There is more than just us in this mess. And we have done nothing but create a rigid code for ourselves to follow, a code which few of the actual population care to adopt.

Crimethinc. has always stated that it is not an organization. All of that creativity should not have any limits. It should never constrict itself into rigid forms and rituals. You do not exist Crimethinc. Let all of your creativity go. Your precious little bullet is the only thing keeping you back.

You have created a monster.

Sincerely,

Anonymous