[Imc] community space
Paul Riismandel
p-riism at uiuc.edu
Tue Jan 2 01:58:35 UTC 2001
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
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