June 27, 2000

By:  Ali Khalid Abdullah

The Anarchist movement is talking loud and spreading lots of information about the oppressive nature of all governments, world capitalism, materialist property owners (for the sake of greed), race and sexism, homophobia, etc., but thus far all we have done is talk.

We say that anarchism is the only political philosophy advocating the abolition of ALL violent and coercive relationships and institutions which enslave people to subjugation - yet - thus far all we have done (on a global scale) is TALK with little direct action. Direct action where it counts and really matters does not seem to be the way anarchists (in general) want to go.

The potential . . . the seeds are ripe for actual and real direct action and making anarchism a viable threat to the repressive status quo, but we will not reach such a level uncles and until we are serious about our aims and objectives. Until we have an organised and focused agenda in which we work from and complete our agenda according to priority. Why are we afraid to get In the Trenches and roll about in the dirt and mud, get our clothes filthy, or possibly suffer some physical harm if we are sincere about our beliefs? Why are we afraid to respond to oppressive government police agencies when we are so large and can actually force governments around the world to do as we say? We have the power! We have the global power and would have the support of the people .. the oppressed and repressed people if we truly acted upon our revolutionary principles daily and not only when we feel like it.

In my pamphlet: Selected Writings of Ali Khalid Abdullah under the heading "Being Counterproductive", pg.1, I stated: "You cannot claim to be anti-government while at the same time you seek the government’s help and approval. You cannot be for the people but not support those who are In the trenches and championing the peoples’ cause." many are claiming to be "down with the struggle" yet they neglect helping, supporting or assisting known anarchists who are in jails and prisons around the world with every possible means available. This is hypocrisy and it turns off people whoa re already dedicated anarchists or those interested in the anarchist way of life, political philosophy, etc. We must do more than talk. We must talk but back up our talk with ACTION!

We talk against the kapitalist system and all the evils and misery such a system causes, but how many of us go out of our way to live a kapitalist lifestyle? How many of us actually take money and use it for the advancement of the overall struggle? How many of us actually display an anti-kapitalist life practice? Albert Parsons stated in December 1885 in The Alarm that, "... our position that capitalists have no right to exclusive ownership of the means of life is a true one "... yet I must ask todays' anarchists, "are these words uttered by Albert Parsons (one of the Haymarket Anarchists who gave his life for the people) meaningless today"? Isn't it a fact that the state have placed us all on trial and have reduced our humyn concerns to mean nothing but to be beholden to government leaders, multinational corporations and their political/economic interests?

Adolph Fisher (another Haymarket Anarchist who gave his life for the people) said: "If a centralized power... government... is ruling the mass of the people (no matter whether this government 'represents the will of the majority of the people' or not) is enslaving them, and a direct violation of the laws of nature." If we hold these words to be true then why are we talking loud and not doing anything DAILY and GLOBALLY to effect change? If liberty is essential for us to fully develop individually, then equality is essential for genuine liberty to exist.

Tanks in the Streets: Detroit, 1967.
Like many of his generation in Black America, Ali grew up in the midst of military domination.

Some anarchists would argue that they are autonomous to act or not act and quickly proclaim their anarchy rests on the politics of individualism. But when we analyze this concept a little closer we can find a break from the collective, and a break from the collective can cause a detriment to the whole by a single, unsupported, unprincipled act which would reflect upon the whole of the collective. The true essence of anarchism lies deep within the collective but not in a centralized way. It's roots are collective on the principles of mutual aid, cooperation and free association, but even these most valued points cannot fall in the realm of exclusions or irresponsibility. And that is where we must break from the negative individualism to the positive individualism which recognizes the power of ideas and the ability of people to act [ACTION] and transform their lives based on what they consider to be right, which is LIBERTY and not oppression. Our talking loud is good . We must continue to talk loud, but as we talk loud (in the educational department) we must also take direct action and bring about change from the sweat of our brow.