My personal vision is of a world that is organized based on autonomous
regions, where those regions are organized around their own specific
conditions. Regions are connected to other regions through general
goals and they share resources. Within those regions there are
community/workplace councils, elected delegates, mass assemblies that
allow for them to organize themselves but in the end they choose how
they organize themselves on the basis of free association and
horizontalism (direct-democracy). Regions would be connected through a
federation, which would be a permanent non-hiarchical structure that
allows for people to organize themselves and take control of their
resources, and take part in decision making – without the need of state
apparatus, national bureaucracy, or a vanguard party.

A region does not mean set borders in place, it constitutes geographic
conditions. For example, the Central Valley of Calfornia produces the
most food and most variety of fruits and vegetables in the nation
(because of its concrete conditions), and Los Angeles /Southern
California has different conditions. The importance of mutual aid,
cooperation, and support between region and region is the life of the
federation. There would be no lines drawn on land that disconnects
people from each other, there would be communities that connect people
to each other and connects them directly to other communities in all
parts of the world.

Another important aspect of regionally based organization is building
autonomy. Autonomy means building independence among people where they
reclaim their resources. That also means that historically colonized
people reclaim their way of life, their language, and culture.
Anti-colonialism, and national liberation is part of the process of
human liberation, we have to support them whether they be in Bolivia,
Ecuador, or in the South/New Afrika, Puerto Rico, among Chicanos in the
U.S., in Chiapas, Mexico, Latin America, Ireland, Africa, Palestine and
so on. Autonomy means self determination in the final analysis, and
people as a people having their own space to create and reclaim their
own way of life. Women within autonomous regions, and all genders and
sexual identities, will need their own space as well.

As anarchists and anti-authoritarians, is not just supporting these
struggles, but learning from them, and fighting in solidarity with all
oppressed people -- but also giving them their space to develop and
grow
(and supporting that).

So how do we connect this lofty idea to what we’re doing today,
without
becoming arm chair/ivory tower revolutionaries and without getting too
focused on our immediate work – but finding the right balance and
dialectical relationship between the two?

I think in Los Angeles we’ve gotten off to a good start so far, and
have
a lot of potential, yet we haven’t (to quote my friends from the
chapter) we haven’t gotten our hands dirty yet.

The Southern California Anarchist Federation as an organization is new
in general and has only three chapters in So-Cal, one in Orange County,
one in Los Angeles, and one in the Antelope Valley. In a general sense
a federation now is the process of building self-management, autonomy,
and organization regionally and is united on common goals and
principles. Each chapter empowers the members to become active
participants in the decision making, and builds accountability amongst
its members. The chapters coordinate all the issues that affect the
particular communities in the regions so therefore it develops
organization and long term projects around our conditions and our
general principles as anarchists or anti-authoritarian
socialists/libertarian socialists.

In Los Angeles we have collectives that organize around particular
struggles and specific issues. Each collective is autonomous as well,
and can organize independently, and choose its own membership, and can
exist without the chapter. The chapter allows for their to be
coordination between different issues in the region, and builds long
term vision and organization projects for individuals and collectives
who want to be part of that.

In Los Angeles the collectives we’ve begin to organize around and we
hope to get off the ground are so far (which became part of the
federation through consensus or because members of SCAF wanted to build
a collective project and connect it to our chapter):

-Mujeres Libres – a collective of women and men building projects that
empower women and fight patriarchy

-the Mutual Aid Collective – connecting neighbors to share resources,
in
a step to build community based action and collectivity

-Si Se Puede – a labor collective, empowering workers, building
collectivity, solidarity and projects that challenge hierarchy in the
labor union and focuses on those who are forgotten by organized labor

-Youth Liberation Collective – High School youth organizing in their
schools and connecting other youth with each other who want to organize
and challenge illegitimate authority

- Cop Watch – organized communities observing police as they go about
their business as usual: harassing people in our communities – and take
direct action to stop the brutality and murders that have become an
every day occurrence in Los Angeles.

-Propaganda and Media Work Group/Collective ( I consider this a work
group because all the members of chapter will approve or support in
some
way the work of the Propaganda and Media Collective)

Our chapter is also seeking to build relationships with other
organizations and enter in coalitions with other organizations that we
feel, collectively, that they have similar goals that we do, which they
don’t necessarily have to be anarchist in name but in a broader sense
we
agree in the short term or in the long term.

There are many benefits of organizing in a federation, which is a
structured non-hierarchical organization. We set in place checks and
balances from the beginning so that we don’t develop power
relationships, and if they do develop they are ways to check them. All
our positions are rotated, and no position is permanent – if a delegate
or any other person abuses the temporary leadership they are given –
they can be instantly recalled or even suspended or expelled from our
organization. Also as mentioned, each collective can function
autonomously, and there is no centralized power, so it makes it hard
for
the state to destroy the organization. We are conscious that we’re
working in a repressive atmosphere – so developing ways to combat state
repression is important. We don’t isolate ourselves from communities
which makes it easier for the state to come down on us, but we seek to
build strong roots broadly in the communities, the left, and society in
general. Also we seek to support other federations in other regions,
and support similar movements here and around the world – and learn
from
each other.

All that mentioned, I think that developing mid-term demands and aims
is
something that time will tell. I would personally like to see, along
with other folks, SCAF helping develop community infrastructures that
allow for particular communities to organize themselves. This relates
to the idea of building Dual Power, where people again break
dependencies from the state and the city and organize their own
communities, their work places ant their schools – and build mutual aid
programs, education, and organization that is capable of defending
itself if the state comes down on them. Focusing on our projects is
important, because that will enable us to actually outreach and build
strong ties to our communities and our organization won’t become
stagnant where the membership is exclusively anarchist (especially
people who don’t do the groundwork but romanticize the anarchist
identity).

How that would look:

In the communities of Watts, Pasadena, South Central, Compton, Pico
Union, and so on, the infrastructure can be a community council, where
they organize around specific issues that affect them and their
neighbors like Police Brutality, Rent control and Land Lords kicking
people out into the streets, people not having food, single mothers
having No Child Care and having to Work and Go to School. The
infrastructures will allow people to organize on their own who actually
live there and build their own vision and plan – along with that people
will be welcome to join the organization, but our the role of the
councils will not be to “develop the forces of the federation” in a
vanguardist sense – we’re not organizing to recruit but to develop
self-organization.

In our workplaces, it means “Firing the Boss”, and organizing on the
jobs for better living conditions, and empowering people who are
targeted by the state or ignored by organized labor for example:
domestic workers, women, day laborers, immigrants – this can mean
building work centers that are run co-operatively by workers
themselves,
where they support each other, get work, organize themselves, and work
with the broader community projects

In our schools, it means student councils fighting the administration
and student governments and building democracy and collectivity on the
campuses where students even run their own co-opreratives and community
programs.

All that is the foundation of a movement that is capable of challenging
the system of power, and building collective ownership of our
communities. I think any revolutionary organization, that is serious
and direct-democratic should seek to play a role in building that and
not just waiting for the “Big Revolutionary Crisis” to happen while
“Leading the Masses” – we seek to connect people with each other,
empower them, learn from them, and educate each other to actually build
the world we want to live in right now.

We don’t want to turn things upside down, where we’re at the top, we
want to turn things sideways where there are horizontal relationships
between all people.

Until then, always in struggle,

Joaquin Cienfuegos

member of SCAF-LA
From:
m0rph 30

=======================

For more information about the Los Angeles chapter of the Southern
California Anarchist Federation, or interested in joining some of the
projects contact Shawn (chapter secretary) at communityfeast@yahoo.com
communityfeast@yahoo.com>

Good Luck with the federation!

I only have two points to make.

1) As is usual when Anarchist Groups oragnize in a Federation structure, the issue of state repression and infiltration is spoken to but not given sufficient thought.

- Not to discourage any of you but I have to tell you that your federation is ALLREADY infiltrated. You all need to think real hard about developing methods of uncovering and neutralizing the state's attempts to destroy you. I know this from personal experience.

2) I would include more ecological focus with the Federation. Your statement seems to reveal that the S.C.A.F. has not developed sufficient ecological principals. Specifically, your statement fails to take a position on Industrialism. Ignoring a critique of Industrialism is a common mistake of Anarchist groups and is usually do to such groups taking too much inspiration from the Anarcho-Syndicalism of days past. While I won't argue it here (you can read up about it yourselves), Industrial technology and mass production cannot exist without Hierarchical organizational structures. A truly horizontal organizational sturcture can only exist with primitive - non industrial technology and small scale production.

How do you know the "federation is ALLREADY infiltrated"?
How do you know horizontal organizational structure won't work for today's industry when it's never been tried?

"you can read up about it yourselves" How condescending is that? What, you read some book that explains it all and that’s it, so everyone should give up like you have?

See:

http://www.radio4all.org/aia/sec_cointelpro.html

To whoever responded to my post ( I'm assuming it is someone involved with the federation) you really need to learn to accept criticism If your going to be involved in an and anarchist organization.

Its a simple matter of fact that if you have open membership in a group that lables it self anarchist you will have infiltration!

I'm not telling you all to quit - far from it. I'm telling you all to be aware and develop ways to deal with it.

As for technology, I don't even need to go into a long discussion with you about the inherant tyranny and hierarchal nature of it. Peak oil will destroy modern industrial society as we know it in a matter of decades if not years so long theoretical discussions are not really necessary.

However I will say that in addition to all your stated programs it would also be a good idea to develop a project that deals with industrial collapse survival situations.

I am not trying to be condescending by pointing out that the SCAF cannot ignore ecological issues - I'm trying to be helpfull.

Hey, the original post specifically stated that it was intended to open up discussion so I'm doing it. Deal with it !

yeah we can put out a whole bunch of literature about picking the right berries from trees and learning to properly participate in the new tribes that will form. That is a fantastic idea.

We can do that as soon as we want to, once again, isolate ourselves as a movement to a small group of kids who need an outlet. This federation is not going to be sensationalist and produce literature on "the slavery of buildings" or anything close to that. You want to run around screaming at people to destroy civilization, you keep that shit far away from anarchism or this federation.

Working people built these cities, working people can decide what to do with them.

There is no inherent tyranny to technology. The products of technology is determined by the intent of the user(s). The existence of this web site is proof that “from the past” is wrong about a need to reject technology. Technology can be used to enslave, yes, but it also can liberate. And the @ movement is currently using technology to organize and resist.

To blame advanced technology and try to force a return to a pre-industrial society is foolish. There was no wonderful time in the past before technology when every one was free and happy. The problems the world faces are social and political. Technology is not the enemy. On the contrary it may hold the answer to many of our environmental problems. The photo-voltaic cells in solar panels are examples of modern technology, right?

“from is past” is right about the problem of infiltration. This is always the case with organizing in the open. However, if the federation remains open and with a focus on helping the local community then the spooks should be manageable.

Today’s @s are non-violent. So the spooks will be wasting their time spying on SCAF.
In fact, it will be easy to out any infiltrator(s) they will be the ones egging the group on to do something illegal or violent. Hopefully the group is diverse, gender balanced and experienced so no one will fall for that.

Ok everyone,

This is it for me. I have a few final things to say.

Number one, assuming that you can know someones age and profession (or lack thereof) just by reading said persons comments is compleatly absurd and even if you did happen to know such information, using it to try to discredit someones oppinions is a logical fallacy - yes the same type of crap that pundits on the corporate media (especially Fox) are famous for.

"You want to run around screaming at people to destroy civilization, you keep that shit far away from anarchism or this federation. "

To whoever wrote the above comment I just want to point out the hypocrisy of telling me that I had better stay away from (your?) federation - All the public information that I have read about S.C.A.F. tells me that it is an open membership organization (where in the statement of principals of the S.C.A.F. does it say that anarchists with an anti-industrial critique of society are not welcome or wanted)?

As for technology being inherantly tyrannical, I do not base that statement only on the ways in which any technology can affect human relationships of power/control.

Yes, indymedia is technology! Yes, indymedia is helpful in the struggle to destroy the empire. Does that mean that computers are a harmless technology? NO it does not! The manufacture of computers is extreemly environmentaly damaging, not to mention the fact that child labor in the thrid world is used to produce and "recycle" the waste products of the computer industry. South East Asia is currently being saturated with posionous heavy metals due to the dumping of computer waste materials for "recycling" into many areas.

As for computers think of it this way - computers are like guns. Any sane and balanced person should hate them, but at the same time they both have times in which they can be of use to defeat empire. In the end, I would like to see both of them dissapear into the past.

As for supposedly environmentally friendly technology like solar pannels you need to realize that things like solar pannels do not just exist in a void. A solar pannel takes metals and minerals to produce. These metals and minerals are extracted from the earth by the use of extremely damaging mining techniques that are based on OIL combustion extraction machines.

The massive ammounts of mined material that it would take to re format the global industrial system based on fossil fuels into one based on solar energy would have catestrophic environmental results. In addition, solar energy must be stored in a battery to be of use. Batterys are filled with horribly toxic materials.

Its a no win situation. Technology will not save us! We need to stop with our grand dreams of order and go with the flow of nature. We will all be better off.

Good luck everyone.