September 2026 Update
Hi all! It's time for the monthly A.N. update. Quill, as he will explain below, has been very busy this month and so I am posting in his absence. Enjoy, and if you have anything to add, please do so in the comments!
September 2026
Hello! I am going to be upfront with you. @y0kai messaged me recently asking me what updates I wanted to share with everyone and I've been so wrapped up in my own nonsense that I had forgotten to think about what's going on with Anarchist.Nexus. I'll try to do that more in the future. But for this month, I still want to give you something that is my contribution to this community, so I want to focus on the goings on (that I know about) in Anarchism, past, present, and future.
::: spoiler Past
Past
This past week, we celebrated and mourned the coming and going of the Machnovschina and the Battle of Blair Mountain. It's not often that we think about how these two events were interrelated, however, I think it's important to acknowledge. Nestor Makhno did not view himself as just a Ukrainian warlord fighting for anti-hierarchical systems where he was, but fighting for anti-hierarchical systems everywhere. In the stories I've been told, one of his dreams was that anthracite coal miners in Luhansk and in West Virginia could be free of the torture of the industrial capitalist system.
Days before the dissolution of the Makhnovist army, 10,000 coal miners from Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania gathered to demand the right for miners in West Virginia to form a union. Neither the Makhnovists nor the Rednecks got everything they were looking for in 1921, however, they still shifted what the world viewed as was possible. 6 years later, when the Industrial Workers of the World coordinated the Colorado Coal Strike, they succeeded.
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::: spoiler Present
Present
I'm going to start this section with an at least slightly personal note. On August 31st, Wendell Berry passed away. His work to advance appropriate agriculture, peace and kindness, and their inter-relatedness to art will be dearly missed. If you're unfamiliar with his work, here's some selected recommended works:
- Nothing Living Lives Alone
- Against the Death Penalty
- Distant Neighbors
- A Place on Earth
- The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture
- Roots to the Earth
But even in our losses, there are good things on the horizon. Most specifically, book fairs! Here are some coming up:
- Another Carolina Anarchist Book fair (ACAB) (Asheville, North Carolina) (Sep 18-20)
- A Better World Is Possible Book fair (Waynesboro, Virginia) (Sep 19)
- NYC Anarchist Book Fair (New York, New York) (Sep 24-27)
- Seattle Anarchist Book Fair (Seattle, Washington) (Sep 26-27)
- Bay Area Anarchist Book Fair (Oakland, California) (Oct 3)
- Boston Anarchist Book Fair (Boston, Massachusetts) (Nov 7-8)
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::: spoiler Future
Future
If you're around people who organize their lives, you've probably heard that it's planner season. The two I'm aware of that are worth recommending are:
- Slingshot Organizer (made by the same group holding the Bay Area Anarchist Book Fair mentioned above)
- Dreaming The World To Come 5787 (for the radical leftist Jews out there)
Additionally, AK Press has put out their 2027 calendars:
- Social Justice Kittens
- Certain Days (freedom for political prisoners)
- Shall We Begin
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::: spoiler And finally, a short essay of sorts from @[email protected]
Praxis for the Anti-Social
What do I mean by anti-social?
Those of you that know me probably don't think of me as anti-social. I am a friendly socialist, after all. But the internet holds a very different social dynamic than real life. I can't see your face, I don't know your real name, and I won't think you're standing too closely, or speaking too loudly as I read your typed thoughts from thousands of miles away.
I am an anarchist. With hope for the future, I try to view humanity in a positive light. I believe most people desire the same things: Full bellies, warm relations, and agency all come to mind. I want to help the people around me meet their needs where our current system has failed them. I want to provide them with tools to help themselves and others and create infrastructures that run parallel to and outside the control of existing state mechanisms. I think these are objectively pro-social things and I want to do them because I care about the people around me and their well-being. I just don't like them all that much.
Despite everyone's best qualities, they're also often loud, rude, smelly, inattentive, self-absorbed, etc. I know this about them because I am them. Naturally, this means I don't go out much. I'd prefer to work from home, and I am generally very selective about who I spend time with IRL. Perhaps the word I'm really looking for is asocial? Regardless, it makes praxis difficult. Nearly everything I read about resistance is targeted toward the more outgoing members of society.
What do I mean by praxis?
Praxis, according to a dictionary I forgot to cite, is:
"The process of using a theory or something that you have learned in a practical way".
As an anarchist, a leftist, or a whatever-your-thing-is-ist, if you care enough about your cause, you'll want to assist its furtherance in some way. Doing so is praxis.
I've found that a common question for those new to any cause is: "What can I do to help in my area?" We're almost always given the same answers. We're told, "Get organized, join or start a union, go to every protest until you get to know people, volunteer with Food Not Bombs or your local soup kitchen", and so on. I find this is all excellent advice for other people. I'd love to do those things regularly and not feel out of place and overwhelmed. I hope to at some point.
For now though, it occurs to me that there are probably a lot of other people in similar situations. Despite a desire to help a social cause, for whatever reason, there are those who find themselves unable to contribute in a traditional, socially active setting.
If you're one of those people, here are some different ideas:
Anti-social praxis ideas
Creating dual power structures
While the idea of "power in numbers" is a key aspect of any movement, power is also found in myriad other places. Power is found in knowledge, physical and structural strength, logistics, communication, tools and infrastructure, and so on. Through creativity and modern technology, one can act in solidarity with community without actually being physically or even synchronously present with that community.
For the skilled or technically inclined
People need infrastructure that isn't under state or corporate control. If you have certain skills (and it's very likely you have at least one helpful skill), there is a lot you can do without having to interact with many people, if anyone at all.
Here's a list of things that require certain skill sets to accomplish, but that don't require much socialization and can be extremely helpful to your community:
- Fixing potholes or other forms of guerilla urbanism
- Setting up a private server network for friends and family to reduce dependence on Google, Netflix, Spotify, etc. (can be done relatively cheaply with slightly older machines)
- Building and installing meshtastic networks
- Creating "How-to" websites teaching people valuable skills
- Leveraging a drone-flying hobby to bring food or supplies to the unhoused
- Other drone uses that come to mind are copwatch (or ICE watch) and, if you can get a drone to use a can of spray paint, you could take out flock cameras from the safety of an abandoned building.
Library economies
If you've got a yard, a garage, or a spot people can access publicly, along with some items you don't mind sharing (or possibly losing forever) you can contribute to the library economy. Common methods of adding to the library economy include:
- Little Libraries
- Little Food Pantries
- Little Tool Sheds
- Front yard veggie gardens
- Carpooling
- Bike-shares
- Hacker-spaces
Propaganda and education
Not enough people in my country know what anything left of neoliberalism actually is. They only receive capitalist fear mongering and brainwashing that generally begins at birth. We're taught that communism is evil and that capitalism and country are objectively good. Nevermind the fact that my country is both directly and indirectly responsible for: genocides, coups, unjust wars, kidnapping world leaders, and *checks notes* ...oh yeah, chattel slavery. We'll just gloss over all of that, thanks.
Maybe the place you call home is similar. Maybe it's worse. Fortunately, you can educate people without actually having to be physically present. Look! I'm doing it right now!
Here are some ideas:
- Start a Podcast / YouTube / PeerTube channel
- This sounds intimidating, but seriously your content can be as simple as reading a book out loud. Alternatively you could nerd out on your favorite topic. Just remember why you're doing it. Fuck advertisers and fuck YouTube. They're only here because people use them and if you want to reach people, you have to "go where they are".
- Political art / Graffiti
- Got a knack for art? It can be an incredibly powerful medium for social commentary and the entire world can either be painted, or have stickers applied.
- If you're not artistic, you can still do some cool shit. For example, if you're in the US, you can get free labels from the post office that are very sticky. If you've got a printer, you can turn them into sticky QR codes that link to any website you want. Stick them in public places where people are likely to be waiting around and/or a little bored, like bus stops or public bathroom stalls and have them link to something educational, like the podcast you started when you read the bullet above this one, or maybe this video about why you shouldn't talk to the cops.
- Wheatpasting
- Zines
- If you're a writer, you could make a zine and distribute it.
- If you're more of a reader than a writer, you can find, read, and print zines you like and then go around sticking them in the little free libraries from the section above.
Illegalism
I think I've danced around this, as I often do. Some of the things above are illegal, but they probably won't land you in jail. Or, at least not for very long. Doing illegal things just because they are illegal is pretty stupid and cops are pretty unforgiving so, think before you do anything rash. Whatever you do, stay safe, and leave no trace.
- Steal from the rich and give to the poor
- Smash your local flock cameras
- Feed leftover restaurant food to homeless people (truly inhumane that this is illegal in some places)
- Drop caltrops where you notice cops like to hide in their cars
- Steal and/or burn fascist flags & symbols
We are not excluded just because we are not seen
I think it is important to remember that in any society, in any community, that there are members who are seldom seen nor heard from. A person's inactivity within the social sphere does not mean they are not members of the community and a desire to keep to oneself does not preclude one's desire to be a helpful agent of change.
While there is great value in organization and the forming of relationships to support a cause, these are not the only forms of praxis at our disposal. The ideas I've posted here can all be performed alone as easily as they can with a group and, perhaps, the act of just doing some of these things will form those relationships on their own, without the pressure of going to a predefined social thing where you don't know anyone.
Before I wrap up, I want it to be known that I'm a bit ignorant in some areas so if I've said something stupid, let me know. Similarly, if you have other ideas to add to the list, post those too.
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Thanks,
- y0kai
