Technoccult

Mother Jones has an article on left anarchism:

If you’ve watched the news much in the past two years, the term “anarchist” probably evokes balaclava-clad ruffians with no political agenda beyond breaking windows, burning police cars, and looting stores. Mention the word and the world tunes out; violent thugs can’t possibly have a message worth listening to. The term has been used to paint all activists with the same brush and to justify violent responses against peaceful and aggressive protesters alike. The New York Post even called Carlo Giuliani, the protester killed by Italian carabinieri at the G-8 summit in Genoa, an “anarchist berserker” who “deserved what he got.”

As it happens, it was during another protest, more than 100 years ago, that the word “anarchist” first made headlines. On May 1, 1886, an anarchist group called the Chicago Knights of Labor — whose supporters included Mary Harris “Mother” Jones — staged a peaceful march for an eight-hour workday. The event led to a days-long general strike involving thousands of workers; at one rally, police arrived and without provocation sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing at least one demonstrator.