what is takes to be an anarcho punk

you should read a book written by murry bookchin, called 'lifestyle anarchism or social anarchism'. it does a pretty good job of explaining why a bunch of privlaged kids run around and call themselves anarchist.
note the post further down about the northwest federation of anarchist communists-portland general organizing group.

Oh, my friend, you are not the only one. Many people are feeling what you are right now. The issue runs very deep. I'd give you answers, but I have the same problem as you.

SC, that Bookchin argument is such old bullshit. What do y'all want a fucking pat on the head? "Thanks for reading our zines, mister!" Maybe you'd get some acceptance from these folks once you stopped asking and whining for it.

Boo fucking hoo.

I don't want their cliqueish acceptance -- I just want them to leave me (and my political actions) alone. But they won't, cause - guess what - they like to interfere with, dominant, and control other people's activities and lives. Hmmm, just like their suited counterparts who speak of "individual responsibility": individualism is for them and responsibility is for the other guy.
Seems right-wingers have a lot in common with each other (control freaks, conformity, privilege, hypocrisy) even when they're so far right they start coming around to the left.
OKAY. I admit it. A few people really believe in anarchism and live it! But most of them are nuts, too, like the rest of us.
Still, personally, I'd be embarassed to call myself a Republican. Oops, I mean an anarchist.

Unfortunately, activists have all the same problems as everyone else; racism, sexism, rape, domestic violence, depression, intolerance, alcoholism, substance abuse, greed, fashion victimhood, homophobia, etc. People that claim not to be racist or sexist are not being true to their own thoughts - and piss me off. EVERYONE in society has been affected by the constant socialising going on all around them. To say that leftists never rape anyone is also infuriating bullshit. Rapists must be exposed and exiled from activist communities. And severely beaten, in my opinion.

To not admit this basic fact is to condone it. Don't be part of the problem. People must work on themselves as well as be activists, if they want to be effective. No one believes the preacher who cheats on his wife, and credibility is similarly undermined when anarchists (or socialists or activists of various kinds) don't practice what they preach. i am not perfect and have problems like everyone else, but my decision to admit this is (as they say) the first step.

Paranoia can be helpful, especially with direct action planners, but it can also cripple an activist community by severely limiting its numbers. the same criteria you might use to determine if someone is an informant or not; speech, tats, clothing, hygiene, transportation, finances - can ALL be exploited by the cops in order to infiltrate. It's rarely the guy in the dorky sweater that is a cop. Chances are it's the person that looks, acts, and speaks just like you.

you don't have to be part of these groups to be an anarchist. you don't even have to operate with other anarchists to be an anarchist.

all you have to do is apply anarchist ethics/values/principals to what ever it is you do.

Maybe you could start a group of some sort with other folk you get along with, they dont have to be anarchists, but if you have a common goal you want to all achieve, your involvement as an anarchist (and as yourself as a person, more importantly), will contribute to bringing about a world of anarchy.


I hope i made sense here.

... and just how would you define a "lifestyle anarchist"?

I've attended demos with those you'd probably identify as "anarcho-punks" and never felt particularly excluded. Even been part of a spontaneous discussion or two dissing "middle-class liberals". And I'm about twice the age of most of the punk kids and young adults.

I certainly don't identify as part of any 'punk' scene or subculture, though I share many of their values. I suppose not being a part of the punk subculture makes me in some sense a 'stranger', but I don't feel particularly oppressed or excluded by this. I can't simultaneously be part of everything (and there's many things I quite simply don't care to be part of).

Regarding "lifestyle anarchism", there's a fine line between living true to one's own values and desires and being a 'lifestyle anarchist'. If one really want to express oneself aesthetically with an unusual haircut or a ring through one's nose, shouldn't one act out one's own beliefs of individual freedom and do so? Couldn't the alternative be considered "compromising one's principles"? Isn't that an equally slippery slope as "lifestyle anarchism"?

this shitty book i mean Murray Bookchin "lifestyle anarchism or social anarchism", well you peaople are stupid... read Max Stirner "Ego And His Own" and you'll understand anarcho punk and you'll see another vision of "individualist anarchism" and not some communist bullshit ...(maybe anarcho punks are divided at this point of view)