tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268099099981586721.post3120767206018218329..comments2023-09-01T03:50:01.667-07:00Comments on Indiscriminate Dust: Anarchisn'tPhilboyd Studgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10926397147880047519noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268099099981586721.post-3176052618966203212012-05-31T15:46:30.263-07:002012-05-31T15:46:30.263-07:00But the problem is, absent some kind of social con...But the problem is, absent some kind of social consensus, even, horrors, some kinds of laws, what is the definition of "victim" here? Is it always so clear cut? <br /><br />My understanding, jack, is that you even reject the concept of proportionate response. So, to use a topic which seems of importance to you, a MAN who feels victimized by a "scheming woman" under your ethics, (she manipulates him, steals from him, etc) why would it be wrong for him to violently attack her? On what grounds is this wrong, given that we are rejecting "law" or "the cops" or even "religion"? Is the only "right" might? Vendettas, as the woman's family wars on the family of the man?Brian Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268099099981586721.post-15657534727693909532012-05-26T04:36:40.442-07:002012-05-26T04:36:40.442-07:00Phil,
I don't want to give the impression tha...Phil,<br /><br />I don't want to give the impression that I think violence is curative. I don't. When I write against pacifism, it's to dispel a notion (not that I have a large audience; I don't) that moral perfection is necessary, in order to compel change. There is a rather widespread belief that violence poisons the actor, that it taints the soul and dirties up a movement.<br /><br />I find that belief ridiculous. For victims, especially, violence may be the only chance to escape. It may be an act of liberation. But, it doesn't fix past wrongs. Retribution does not erase. But, it may carve out space and time.Jack Crowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07499087036876745723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268099099981586721.post-77917907650605064242012-05-25T19:12:01.980-07:002012-05-25T19:12:01.980-07:00Jack, got it. I think we're coming at this fro...Jack, got it. I think we're coming at this from slightly different angles - I'm concerned with coercion, while you're more concerned with power. Certainly in terms of the historical meaning of anarchism, you're more on point.Philboyd Studgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10926397147880047519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268099099981586721.post-33638034225608446532012-05-24T04:21:50.763-07:002012-05-24T04:21:50.763-07:00Phil,
I'm suggesting that anarchism is not co...Phil,<br /><br />I'm suggesting that anarchism is not concerned with violence, <i>as anarchism.</i> The word anarchism implies, within its etymology and history, a struggle against power. Not violence.Jack Crowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07499087036876745723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268099099981586721.post-53400621844806029252012-05-21T22:35:01.945-07:002012-05-21T22:35:01.945-07:00Jack, are you saying that coercion requires a hier...Jack, are you saying that coercion requires a hierarchy? The way I see it, hierarchies make coercion easier to perpetrate and harder to avoid, but they don't create the fact of coercion. I'm not sure I understand you, though, so let me ask you another question: absent a hierarchy, is any force coercive?<br /><br />Anonymous, I wondered when somebody would say that! I've got a post on that topic in the works - suffice to say that my position is tightly bound up in a Stoic idea of 'property' that may not even include the body itself.Philboyd Studgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10926397147880047519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268099099981586721.post-11336904753615146292012-05-21T14:06:09.204-07:002012-05-21T14:06:09.204-07:00you can't commit violence against property; yo...you can't commit violence against property; you can only vandalize.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268099099981586721.post-40042776631250226222012-05-21T03:20:38.109-07:002012-05-21T03:20:38.109-07:00The question with which I wrestle is this: is the ...The question with which I wrestle is this: is the act of retaliation by a victim coercive? <br /><br />Does it necessarily come wrapped up in the packages associated with coercions? In other words, does it have a hierarchy, vehicles of enforcement and traditions or norms?<br /><br />Not usually, when it's a victim - but that obviously allows for the fact that some victims have the power and influence to use hierarchies.<br /><br />Some do not. Absent a hierarchy, is all force coercive.<br /><br />The answer is simple enough: no.<br /><br />Anarchism does not imply pacifism.Jack Crowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07499087036876745723noreply@blogger.com