[Imc] community space

[Paul Riismandel]

This piece was posted to the chicago indymedia site.  I think it speaks to 
exactly what we're trying to do.

BUILDING COMMUNITY SPACES
by Michael Chisari

Seattle, WTO, Black Blocs, property damage, Prague, Anarchy. It's been a 
busy year for anarchists, and we've done some amazing things to grab the 
attention of both the unattentive masses and the uncaring elite. For some 
reason, trashing the downtown of a major US city during christmas shopping 
season tends to get people listening.

And this whole anti-globalization movement has been really empowering for 
people, especially those who had to live through less-than-empowering eras 
such as the Clinton years, and (ugh) the Reagan Years.

But it's time we moved in new directions. It's been said before, but 
Anarchists really need to focus on the positive side of anarchism, to the 
level where anti-globalization (and anti-capitalist) protests still happen, 
of course, but are more of a side-note than the focus of our energy. What, 
then, should those new directions be?

Some anarchists have the benefit of living in areas that have strong 
communities, usually with other anarchists. Either a squat or a housing 
collective, or even just an area of town that has a greater concentration 
of activists. Unfortunately, this has a tendency to isolate us from the 
rest of society, and also a lot of anarchists don't have that benefit. I 
could have moved away from where I live to somewhere with a stronger 
anarchist scene, such as Eugene, OR or New York City, but I have strong 
ties to my friends and family in my area, which is why I'd rather stay and 
build my community.

If you look at most of America, places like suburbia, rural towns, and 
economically depressed mid-sized cities share a common trait: The eerie 
lack of community and community spaces. Most suburban towns will list an 
International House of Pancakes or a Denny's as a popular hangout spot. 
Most rural towns don't even have that. In fact, in Elburn, Illinois a few 
weeks ago, a group of bored youth actually addressed the city council with 
the problem of widespread boredom amongst young people in that small town.

The advantages that places like these have is that they don't require a 
large activist scene to exist in order to open a successful 
politically-oriented community space. People are so disconnected and bored, 
that they are constantly looking for something to do with their time. 
Although they may not be outwardly political, they may jump at the idea of 
having an anarchist cafe, bookstore, or community centre in their town. 
Anything that encourages people to talk, socialize, and meet new people 
will be welcomed with open arms.

As anarchists (especially those who are isolated from the large cities) we 
should start to focus on creating these community spaces, and organizing 
them without managers, CEO's or stockholders, in order to both provide 
people with a place to come together, and in order to portray how well an 
anarchist workplace works.

A community space can take the form of a coffeeshop/cafe (such as Mondragon 
Cafe in Winnipeg or Hard Times Cafe in Minneapolis), a bookstore, a 
community center (like the Brycc House in Louisville, KY), a bar/pub, a 
dance club, a punk rock venue, or anything else that seeks to alleviate the 
plague of boredom amongst people (especially young people) today. You don't 
need anarchists in order to open up something like this, you just need 
people who are willing to work hard, and share a similar vision, and are 
willing to commit themselves to a platform of direct democracy and 
non-hierarchical organization. Finding people with that criteria is a lot 
easier than you might think.

It's time we started talking about creating a network of anarchistic 
community spaces across america. If you're interested in getting in on the 
discussion, either join the mailing list on egroups 
(communityspaces at egroups.com) by sending an email with the word "Subscribe" 
in the subject and body, or forward this essay on to anybody you know who 
may be interested.

- Michael Chisari
mchisari at usa.net
anarchotech.cjb.net