Anarchists know
Nobodies
Prefect
In a dyslexic god eat god whirled
As upside
Down
With community
As right side
Up
With lords of all sorts
Anarchists no
Aiming too pleas
The raven us
Nevermore
All the wile
Poor in the streets
In classless schools
Of life
Taking it awe
Personally
This poem parlays my slight dyslexia in word play with the title, “Nobodies Prefect.” “Prefect,” posing as a misspelling of perfect, is a government official responsible for a particular political juris diction. This plays with the truism that prefects and politicians of all types offer an endless series of compromises to our aspiring humanity. This anarchist poem recognizes that “nobodies” are, in fact, the foundation for all personal and political power in human communities. Anarchists are masters of their own domain, not making themselves subject to the rule of impersonal institutions and the governors who shield their humanity behind them. Any power of larger institutions and their elected or unelected governors is derived by the consent of people. Withdrawing consent from illegitimate governance is the most noted characteristic, albeit stereotypical, of anarchists. This withdrawal of illegitimate rule gives rise to the archetypal rebellion assigned to anarchism. Of course, the positive ideals of self-governance, voluntary association within smaller scale communities, as well as mutual aid and solidarity, give rise to more organic, thus legitimately human, relationships. Shifting power toward smaller scale, decentralized, human relationships focused on basic needs alludes to the place from which anarchists view the source of legitimate authority. By focusing and valuing direct, unmediated human relationships, anarchists show respect for sustainability based upon personal accountability and trust/integrity rather than rule-based accountability and so-called “impartial” enforcement. Sustainability of human communities are founded upon personal accountability and trust/integrity more so than impersonal institutional structures or inertia. The quest for larger scale power is inextricably intertwined with choosing impersonal, dead structures over living beings, human and otherwise (corporate “persons” not included). At larger, impersonal scales, people become more like tools than the awesomely beautiful artisans humans are most truly. A primary tool for turning people into tools is to socialize people into being subservient to impersonal structures or systems. Such alleged objectivity is the enemy of subjects, training people to serve things or idealized and impersonal systems. At least in some sense, anarchism is an anti-ideology ideology, recognizing that any ideology, including anything called anarchism, is a dangerous, deathly substitute for our vibrant and living humanity. Meeting other humans as humans is the essential nourishment of anarchism. The starving or weeding out of the inhumane and impersonal serves as its primary tool in its relationship with the inhuman and anti-human. May we each relish the humanity of each other and refuse to bow to inhuman and impersonal farces posing as a worthy substitute for our humanity.
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