Part 6- The Utility of Terror -Although both Anarchism and Satanism are (due to state and monotheist propaganda) connected in the popular psyche through violence and terror, historically neither group has been nearly as violent or used as many terror tactics as Christians, Jews, Muslims, Fascists, Communists, Capitalists, Nationalists, Monarchists, etc. These latter groups have used terror and violence again and again to seize power and exert influence. Neither Anarchism nor Satanism has a monopoly on terror, and when contrasted with the other groups mentioned above, both are comparatively peaceful. Terror is a tool which Anarchism and Satanism are often accused of utilizing, but historically Anarchists and Satanists are more the victims of terror (especially monotheist-backed and state-sponsored terror) than wielders of it. The ‘propaganda by the deed’ promoted by some anarchists in the late 1800s and early 1900s resulted in various bombings and in the assassination of Russian Tsar Alexander II, the assassination of the French president Marie-Francois Sadi Carnot, and the assassination of American president William McKinley. These assassinations led to fear among governments that there existed a vast international conspiracy of anarchist terrorists- in fact, there never was one. Additionally noteworthy, political violence by anarchists was historically directed at political figures, not civilians, as terrorism typically is. Regardless, the late 19th century wave of anarchist political violence was perceived as real and viable threat to the governments of the time. In response, hierarchical capitalist power-mongers used emerging corporate media to depict all anarchists as violent extremists. ‘Bomb-throwing madmen seeking only chaos’ was, and still is, the image of anarchists promoted by corporate media, first in newspaper illustrations, and later in televised cartoons. The societal momentum towards mass egalitarian liberation promoted by anarchism was thus hierarchically rerouted into the emerging (and hierarchically-structured) movements of socialism and communism. The modern continuation of this smear campaign is evident in the continued publication of ‘The Anarchist Cookbook’, which is the primary text popularly (falsely) associated with Anarchism in western monotheistic societies; this text is full of ‘recipes’ for explosives which have a tendency to dangerously backfire. The anarchist collective CrimethInc, which published the book ‘Recipes for Disaster: An Anarchist Cookbook’ in response, denounces the earlier book, correctly stating that it was “not composed or released by anarchists, not derived from anarchist practice, not intended to promote freedom and autonomy or challenge repressive power- and was barely a cookbook, as most of the recipes in it are notoriously unreliable.” As a direct result of this manipulated popular misconception of anarchism, anarchist-associated groups such as the ELF (Earth Liberation Front), AIM (American Indian Movement) and the MOVE organization have been infiltrated, harassed, framed for crimes, attacked, and terrorized by governmental agencies such as police departments and the FBI. Governmental agencies often use undercover agent provocateurs to disrupt and discredit anarchistic individuals, gatherings and organizations. Similarly, governmental agencies are quick to terrorize Satanists as scapegoats for crimes; though this practice dates back to the inquisitions, modern continuations are evident. One such continuation was the case of the West Memphis Three, where three teenagers were wrongly convicted of committing murders because during the trial, the prosecution asserted that the murders were committed as part of a “Satanic ritual”. Police terrorized a key witness in the case, who was coerced into giving false testimony against the teenagers when police threatened to charge her with theft from her employer and take her child away from her. The ongoing, institutionally normative persecution and terrorazation of both anarchists and Satanists by the monotheistic hierarchies of church, state, and corporation is an intentional hypocrisy which provides popular exemption for those hierarchies to avoid being labeled as terrorists while simultaneously transferring blame for unjust social conditions (such as systemic terrorism) to individuals and groups who adhere to the principles of liberty, equality, mutual aid and direct action.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 21:34:29 +0000
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