Anarchist Q+A.Q. Are anarchists mindless violent thugs?

[Matthew X]

A. I never cease to be amazed and amused by the violent caricatures that 
dog the anarchist movement. When you examine the historical record, 
anarchists are angels when compared to other social movements. Violence is 
a by-word for religion, nationalism and racism. If you compare the limited 
violence committed by anarchists to the death and destruction that¹s caused 
by wars due to national, religious or racial differences, any violence 
committed by anarchists is insignificant when compared to the glorious 
record of the God, Queen and Country Brigade. So why are the stereotypes 
that anarchists are mindless violent thugs such a constant feature in 
popular literature and popular culture. The answer lies in the very 
principles that define anarchism. Anarchists want to break down hierarchies 
and rule themselves. Anarchist philosophy is a direct challenge to the idea 
that people need rulers to survive. Within our cultural, economic and 
religious context, people have a great deal of difficulty in believing that 
if you break down hierarchies that society won¹t disintegrate. The popular 
thinking is no rulers, no society, chaos. What¹s even more interesting is 
that at the very moment that human beings have access to knowledge, 
education and technology that makes hierarchies redundant, people are 
fighting to maintain the structures and institutions that limit their 
personal and social potential. The good thing is that more and more people 
are beginning to realise that rulers are an unnecessary imposition on 
people¹s aspirations and lives. Interestingly the decline of religion in 
western society (atheism is Australia¹s third largest ?religion¹) is one of 
those prerequisites that seems to be necessary to break down the 
stereotypes that continue to dog the anarchist movement. Through our aims, 
actions, activities, methods of organisation and planning, we can break 
down these enduring myths. Our position in Australian society is similar to 
the position of asylum seekers in this country, while asylum seekers are 
kept apart from the population they can be successfully de-humanised. Once 
contact increases, de-humanisation is difficult. As long as anarchists keep 
to themselves, they can be stereotyped. Once their presence begins to be 
felt in a community, they will be able to break down those stereotypes that 
have made them figures of fear and more importantly derision in most parts 
of the world.
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