I Really Don’t Care About “Normal” People

Every so often, there’s a discussion in anarchist circles about how we need to tread lightly, sound more realistic, and stop dreaming about “perfect utopias” because otherwise we’ll “scare the normal people off.” If we keep talking about a world so drastically different from the one we’re in, the “normal” people won’t even want to participate! We’ll never get traction! No one will want to do it!

This sentiment is beyond infuriating, and it doesn’t make me care about “normal” people because “normal” people—or anyone who claims to be “normal”—just don’t care about people like me. Queer and disabled people are never seen as “normal,” so we’re automatically written out of this statement by virtue of existing. The world in which my neurodivergent self can happily and safely exist is not the same one that “normal” people even want to support because they’d rather pretend that everyone understands everything in the exact same way.

Every time we say that we need something, we’re told that it’s “too much” or that it’s “too hard” or “too expensive” to possibly include everyone. Read more…

How Can We Prefigure Society When We Only Seem to React?

Prefiguration of society is one of the most common themes discussed in anarchist circles. Whether or not it’s ever truly done justice—and honestly, I don’t think it ever is—it’s something that we’re often trying to figure out. It’s a question asked by anarchists and non-anarchists alike, though the latter tends to try to use it as a gotcha question more often than actually engage in discussions about what it might mean.

And yes, it is exhausting to constantly have those discussions about what an anarchist society could look like only to later find that they’re happening in bad faith and that the person you’re talking to is only interested in tearing everything down.

But prefiguration is something that we need to give more credence and thought to, something that needs to be fleshed out a bit more and have more ideas attached to it. Though I mostly don’t think it’s done out of malice, anarchists tend to throw around the solution of “prefiguring society” like some kind of bizarre buzzword that should just end an argument. It’s vague and doesn’t really tell anyone anything, leaving people with only the question of what we mean when we say it.  Read more…

You Can't Reform Things Built to Harm

Like a fool, I entered my career as a teacher believing that you could work within the system to change it. As a person with a range of undiagnosed disabilities who had been harassed and verbally abused by a range of teachers who claimed they were “ensuring I was ready for the real world” or “needed to learn discipline and respect in order to succeed,” I wanted to ensure that other children didn’t go through that. As someone who repeatedly had to fight with school systems because of misogynist teachers who tried to fail girls who took their classes, because of teachers who refused to accommodate documented disabilities, because of teachers who’d outed me as bisexual way before I was even ready or prepared? I wanted to be someone who could enter schools and change that and make sure the environment was safe for students.

I learned very quickly that you can’t do that. It’s all bullshit. Read more…

We Need More Honest Reflections About How We Organise

There has been a world full of problems that has created a number of people who, new to organising, have wanted to find ways to make a difference. This is fantastic, but it’s also so incredibly daunting. A lot of people want to know what it is that they can do, where they can start, how they can do something (especially when they already have little material resources to give). They’re seeking concrete answers that will demonstrably and provably work, which many of us are uncomfortable providing (particularly if we're aligned with many anarchic and anti-State values).

Unfortunately, it’s also created a world full of grifters, but I’m going to pay them little attention this time around. This isn’t about them; this isn’t for them. They can find attention elsewhere as they continue pretending they provide anything of value. I’m going to continue ignoring their outrage farming as much as I can. Read more…

Sometimes “How Can I Fix It?” Is the Wrong Question

Too many educators see themselves as heroes, as saviours, as masters, and as necessary to the continuation of society. Many see themselves as the people who can save the world one child at a time, especially if the teachers are from a dominant demographic and the child is from a marginalised background.

This same logic is what enabled schools to become harmful spaces, to embody obscured versions of racism, ethnocentrism, ableism, and queermisia within their curriculum and policies. It’s what gave way to schools being tools of literal genocides, such as the residential schools for Indigenous peoples across the globe. It’s what allows for European countries to take oaths and sign declarations “to not discriminate against anyone” while simultaneously propping up segregated schools and classes for Roma and Sinti children. It’s what gives countries the ability to outright deny Rohingya refugee children access to schools in places like Bangladesh, treating them as if they aren’t worth the resources. It’s what provides countries like Australia and the United States to keep refugees in so-called “detainment” facilities, denying them access to almost everything. Read more…