Now that’s an impressive achievement: https://www.reddit.com/r/CapHillAutonomousZone/comments/h7km...
“Black lives matter” art painting in the street.
Splendid!
Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
441–450 of 920 posts
Re: Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
#442"Autonomous Zone" is a reference to this book by Hakim Bey:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporary_Autonomous_Zone
It's an interesting read..
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/hakim-bey-t-a-z-the-...
Re: Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
#443A friend lives in Seattle and texted me today about his visit last night: > I was there last night and it's such a cool pseudo utopian place > The media coverage of it is WILD > People on the internet are convinced it's protected by armed guards and people are dying of hunger and instead its...like a music festival campground > There are speakers, musicians, art walls. I took a group pic for a bunch of black guys las…
Not sure anyone is "convinced", but yes, there are stories of uncertain believeability suggesting that there are people with guns at the "border" demanding ID to enter. Sounds dubious. Also, that the Antifas are asking for protection money from businesses within the zone. Again, dubious. But, if either of those things are happening, I'm pretty okay with putting an end to them, by whatever means necessary. Threatening…
> the Antifas are asking for protection money from businesses within the zone
That's one of the most hilarious and absurd things I've ever heard. All of my antifa friends are the most wonderful, gentle nerds. They're gardeners, organizers, history buffs, parents, writers, table-top gamers. It's so bizarre (and shitty) that the public conception of "antifa" became twisted into this nonsensical cartoon of looters and pillagers (and mafiosi now, apparently).
Re: Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
#444Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The media coverage of it is WILD > People on the internet are convinced it's protected by armed guards and people are dying of hunger and instead its...like a music festival campground This seems like propaganda in its own right. With the exception of Fox and Sky, most news coverage I see on YouTube is neutral or positive: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=capitol+hill+au... Most mainstream coverage of p…
Fox is by far the most popular news channel in the US and pretty close to bigger than the rest combined.
Most people don't get their news from cable news. Fox has a near monopoly on conservatives, and even they they capture a relatively small audience.
fox's highest rated show is 4.8 million viewers.
ABC and NBC each get 10 million viewers for nightly news, cbs gets 6 million viewers. CNN and MSNBC have lower ratings, but there are a alot of mainstream-to-liberal sources of news to choose from. Liberals tend to like John Oliver and the Daily Show over fox news.
And the 11 O'clock local news still tends to get a lot of views, I think more than all of those others put together.
Re: Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
#445The first (of several) demands reads: > The Seattle Police Department and attached court system are beyond reform. We do not request reform, we demand abolition. We demand that the Seattle Council and the Mayor defund and abolish the Seattle Police Department and the attached Criminal Justice Apparatus. This means 100% of funding, including existing pensions for Seattle Police. At an equal level of priority we also d…
It is entirely possible that the national parties will never back these reforms, but that local party candidates for city government could see success backing some or all of them.
Re: Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
#446Idiocracy at it's best.
Raz from Chaz!
Can't wait for the sponsors to start! Brawndo and Costco!
Re: Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
#447Earlier quoted context omitted.
Without police or “criminal justice apparatus” your rights are merely theoretical.
I have a gun and my right to defend myself is a practical, factual statement. American police have no duty to protect you and are free from legal punishment if they choose to idly wait while you are assaulted and raped.[0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_v._District_of_Columbia...
You missed the point. You can assert your rights all the livelong day, but without a criminal justice apparatus all you have are a gun and some fine words. Given the relatively high mortality among armed gang members in America's underpoliced inner cities, your gun isn't the reason you and yours enjoy relatively low mortality--the difference is either one of policing or fine words, and I'm pretty sure it's not the latter.
Re: Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
#448Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not drawing any sort of dichotomy; I'm just asking for an explanation as to why this is notable.
I expect that someone with an assault weapon and what looks like a bullet proof vest is scary for quite a lot of people. And that's notable in the sense that is goes against the idea of "a peaceful event similar to a music festival" (paraphrasing).
But you see stuff like that at music festivals as well, in the form of police. So I'm asking why this is scary or notable but that is not.
Re: Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
#449Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Anarchic utopias do not stay utopic for all that long. At least one counterexample to this is Exarcheia[1] in Athens, which has been relatively unpoliced for the last 50 years. I was there about a year ago and was struck by how both peaceful and lively it was. Nowhere in Athens felt nearly as alive. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exarcheia
Freetown Christiania in Copenhagen is an anarchist commune too. [1] The police have largely left it to its own devices since 1971. They show up from time to time as the political whims change. Their green light district is something to behold, with the street vendors and their bricks of hash. I've been a few times, quite lovely, would recommend. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freetown_Christiania
Hmm. Now I want to visit these areas. They both seem relatively small enclaves though. They must depend heavily on the outside state for .. everything. I wonder if it just evolved into a "they're cute, let them have their fun, don't let them vote" type acceptance from the rest of the community.
If you want to learn about a real breakaway province, look up Transnistria:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transnistria
I've only been to the border. I was staying with Peace Corps volunteers and they risked getting fired if they crossed the boarder (I was told there have been kidnapping situations, but not sure if that's true).
US embassy officials have gone, but they are required to turn around if asked for passports since the US doesn't recognize them as a State. Members of the Peace Corps told me the Russians have supported the region with troops which they've brought in via Ukraine with Moldovan escorts, so there's all types of corruption leading up to that. I was visiting around the time the head of state of Moldova was arrested for embezzling several billion euros.
Re: Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
#450Earlier quoted context omitted.
What examples do you have in mind when you say this? The main case studies that I see get brought up are Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War and the Paris Commune, but the wartime pressures that led to their collapse strike me as much different from the present situation. I think the CHAZ will be an interesting experiment given the context.
Specifically the music festivals I've been to. It's fun and a wonderful feeling for a while, but eventually the idiots/assholes will become a problem that needs to be dealt with. Or nature throws a disaster at you and there is chaos. It's a little hard to come up with historical examples because the utopia portion is often quite short and overshadowed by the negatives that follow. Generally, I would point to almost a…
The book Animal Farm is a great representation of this concept as a fable.