After having lived in areas where anarchy was more than just some passing fancy, it’s interesting to see a group of anarchists who appear, on the face of all things, to be pacifists and to have more in common with the commune communities of the 60’s than they do with the likes of La Brigatta Rosa or those associated with Charles Manson.
I don’t want to take anything away from what Mo Karn and her group, the Wingnuts, have accomplished or are in the midst of accomplishing in Richmond. In truth, they should be lauded for their efforts toward turning around a community. Their residence, on Barton Avenue, is in one of the tougher areas of Richmond, and they are making their presence for good known.
But when I think of anarchists, my thoughts drift to a lot meaner a group of people. While I was living in Italy, back in the mid-to-late 70s, there was a group there called La Brigatta Rosa, or the Red Brigade. The Red Brigade were known for bombings and knee-capping and creating all kinds of unrest. They were, by definition, anarchists. They key to being an anarchist is not just to be anti-government, but being anti-government in a big violent way.
Upon my arrival in Italy, we flew in to Naples. Needing a break from the long flight, I got off the plane and walked around in the little customs area we were allowed to be in. Outside the gates was what was left of a 500 Fiat that looked burned out. I was told that the car was blown up by members of the Red Brigade.
That kind of thing was new to me, but I registered the idea and went about my business. Later, when I was stationed in Verona, which is between Milan and Venice in the northern part of Italy, I started to hear and read more about the Red Brigade’s doings.
It seemed almost daily that there were incidents. Big corporation officers had to watch out every time they were on the streets. In one incident that took place in Bologna, a Red Brigade gunman drove up next to one corporate magnate and shot him in the knees with a pistol and drove off.
That kind of terrorism became so effective; they started calling the attack a knee capping. The injuries didn’t usually cause death, but they did hobble the person, often making them need a cane or other device just to walk.
The worst came when they kidnapped Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro on March 16, 1978. For months, no one could find him. No one had any idea where he was. The Red Brigade demanded the release of 16 Red Guard prisoners in exchange for Moro’s life. They didn’t get the exchanges, and Moro’s body was found May 9; he had been shot 11 times in the chest.
Now, that’s what anarchists are capable of doing.
Even here in the US we have had our share of anarchists, the Black Panthers, and to some extent Charles Manson and his group. So, it’s hard for me to rationalize anarchy and craft nights, feeding the hungry, and providing books and a library for kids to read.
On the other hand, the Cop Watch thing is interesting. As one who knows about the Freedom of Information Act, it’s interesting to see it being put to use by the general public. Posting the information on the website is also probably a good thing. The police would much rather not let anyone know what they are about, how they do their investigating, or what really happens during certain investigations. This is not a wiki leaks operation where the information is acquired in some dubious fashion (probably illegally) and posted for the world to see with the main intent to cause embarrassment and in some cases to endanger other people’s lives.
Police work is not always as clean and cut and dried as it appears in the myriad of cop shows that infest the general TV networks today. A little bit of clarity on their part would go a long way in terms of police and public relations. To serve and protect can mean a lot of different things, and the actions of many people can be covered over by invoking such open ended statements. I mean, just who is being served and who is being protected? The general public?
Ultimately, I guess it’s OK if you want to call yourself an anarchist. And, by a stretch the Wingnuts are working outside the norms of our society, and I suppose at some level that’s rebellion against the status quo. Hopefully, they will continue to have a positive effect in the community, and will continue to use their powers only for The Good.
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