US anarchists confuse me. The ones I’ve met weren’t impressive and didn’t seem like they were capable of much, and yet the federal government is completely terrified of them and treats them like an ISIS terror cell.
I’m of the opinion that the feds don’t actually understand the principles of communism or anarchism. I’ve seen people ask the question here about “do you think some of the feds / deep state folks are actually really well versed in Marxist theory?” and I really think they aren’t. I have never seen a right winger be able to correctly articulate the principles of Marxism, even when they seem to genuinely try and study it to critique it (I’m talking about people like the Austrian economists). I don’t think they’re distinguishing between anarchists, communists, et al other than “scary lefties who want to destroy society and make everyone equal” or whatever.
I’m currently getting a degree in political science, and while there are definitely Marxists in the field, doing Marxist analysis (usually under the labels Political Economy, or World Systems Theory, everyone nods and agrees with Marxist analysis, as long as you don’t call it that), my university happens to be associated with a nearby air force base, and is therefore swarmed with ghouls who wanna be CIA agents, and shit.
The amount of PHD’s who’s area of expertise overlaps with Marxism, but who knows nothing about it except for the shit they hear from the base (ie, east Asia “experts”), is agonizing.
I had a professor try to tell me Bourgeoisie still meant Middle Class, and that Marxism asserted a class above them which controlled everything, that he couldn’t define when I pressed him on it…
I remember watching a documentary about that guy who famously gamed some McDonalds promotion and it included interviews with the actual FBI agent that had been called to investigate it. They agent spoke like an absolute idiot. Seriously he had the air of a 13 year old frat boy.
I absolutely agree that the feds don’t actually understand politics. They’re just dog brained assholes that never grew out of their high school bully phase and have enough tools to make their job idiot proof.
This is really it at the federal level, especially with investigations into political groups. You have tons of resources and access to information, and the ongoing nature of what you’re investigating means you can take however much time you need to build your case (contrast this with, say, solving a murder that has already been committed). The DOJ works with you from the jump to make sure you’re getting what you need for court. When you get to court, you’re dealing with lengthy federal sentences so your defendants have tons of incentives to make a deal.
If you really fuck up and there’s a newsworthy crime you theoretically could have prevented, that’s spun as you needing more power/resources next time around.
the state maintains a view of the world that justifies the excesses of power. anarchists want to Abolish Everything Now, and therefore provide a convenient reason to treat the population like enemy combatants.
I saw a tiktok about this that posited that the feds recognize that anarchism is a real threat to the state and communism isn’t because all the listed symbols were anarchist. so there you have it
US anarchists confuse me. The ones I’ve met weren’t impressive and didn’t seem like they were capable of much, and yet the federal government is completely terrified of them and treats them like an ISIS terror cell.
They had one effective terror campaign a century ago and these days they dare to feed the homeless. That’s pretty much it
We can’t have them feeding the unhoused population! That would mean they aren’t suffering enough!
I’m of the opinion that the feds don’t actually understand the principles of communism or anarchism. I’ve seen people ask the question here about “do you think some of the feds / deep state folks are actually really well versed in Marxist theory?” and I really think they aren’t. I have never seen a right winger be able to correctly articulate the principles of Marxism, even when they seem to genuinely try and study it to critique it (I’m talking about people like the Austrian economists). I don’t think they’re distinguishing between anarchists, communists, et al other than “scary lefties who want to destroy society and make everyone equal” or whatever.
I’m currently getting a degree in political science, and while there are definitely Marxists in the field, doing Marxist analysis (usually under the labels Political Economy, or World Systems Theory, everyone nods and agrees with Marxist analysis, as long as you don’t call it that), my university happens to be associated with a nearby air force base, and is therefore swarmed with ghouls who wanna be CIA agents, and shit.
The amount of PHD’s who’s area of expertise overlaps with Marxism, but who knows nothing about it except for the shit they hear from the base (ie, east Asia “experts”), is agonizing.
I had a professor try to tell me Bourgeoisie still meant Middle Class, and that Marxism asserted a class above them which controlled everything, that he couldn’t define when I pressed him on it…
I remember watching a documentary about that guy who famously gamed some McDonalds promotion and it included interviews with the actual FBI agent that had been called to investigate it. They agent spoke like an absolute idiot. Seriously he had the air of a 13 year old frat boy.
I absolutely agree that the feds don’t actually understand politics. They’re just dog brained assholes that never grew out of their high school bully phase and have enough tools to make their job idiot proof.
This is really it at the federal level, especially with investigations into political groups. You have tons of resources and access to information, and the ongoing nature of what you’re investigating means you can take however much time you need to build your case (contrast this with, say, solving a murder that has already been committed). The DOJ works with you from the jump to make sure you’re getting what you need for court. When you get to court, you’re dealing with lengthy federal sentences so your defendants have tons of incentives to make a deal.
If you really fuck up and there’s a newsworthy crime you theoretically could have prevented, that’s spun as you needing more power/resources next time around.
Keep the citizens and politicians scared to keep the funding up. It’s what the joint chiefs is doing with China.
just force of habit i guess
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the state maintains a view of the world that justifies the excesses of power. anarchists want to Abolish Everything Now, and therefore provide a convenient reason to treat the population like enemy combatants.
I saw a tiktok about this that posited that the feds recognize that anarchism is a real threat to the state and communism isn’t because all the listed symbols were anarchist. so there you have it
Tankies owned