Cream Scene Carnival

Ask Your Anarchist Mother

Dear Anarchist Mother,

Why is there so much compromise of the individual? Who are we trying to compromise for or what? I sense a hesitation of telling them off, either one is afraid of them or just afraid of hurting them. But if there was one person, one individual that could say: enough is enough! Or “weirdo/person need their alone time”. Perhaps we are in the track if we assert ourselves. Men, women, weirdos, freaks and geeks,pimps and hoes just say or do what their intuition tells em.

-Ahsintheblacklodge

Dear Ahsintheblacklodge,

Oh my darling, what a beautiful and painful observation! How we all limp around with the pain from  denial of true self. 

To answer the question of “why” I think you might guess, you smart little cookie, Mom’s favorite refrain “It’s probably Capitalism!” Isn’t it odd how the culture of extreme individuality hates the most openly individual of us? And there lies our fear, we all know we are one silly face, one John Waters mustache, one Macolm X quote, one R. Crumb comic, one Pina Bauch move, one Frank Zappa ditty, away from rejection by the community (since there is no true community allowed under capitalism). 

So how do we care for ourselves and not hurt- and dare I venture- liberate our loved ones? Here I can offer you a few examples to try! All of these will allow you to remain kind and polite while gently establishing your freak flag and hopefully implying they should do the same.

“Sorry, but I need to tend my garden of wild ideas”

“Excuse me, I have to feed my art monster” 

“Oh! You know what? I just realized it’s nearly 3PM and I haven’t had even one orgasm today.” (this one should be accompanied by a “what a space-cadet I am” face and maybe a smack to your forehead to add emphasis)

You get the idea (since we’ve already established you are a smart little cookie) now go forth and create your own because, as you said, it might only take one of us to embolden all of us.

Now go burn it down,

YAM

Dear Anarchist Mother!

What do I do when others try to stop my anarchy?

• Maggiemusing

Dear Maggie,

Ask them if they have any Mojo Nixon or hot tea.  Channel your inner Rick (or if you’re feeling extra, Vyvyan) from our holy history, The Young Ones, and let them be your guide. 

I always have hot tea ready,

YAM

Dear Anarchist Mom,

Obviously if we see someone stealing food, then no we didn’t. People gotta eat! But what if we see them stealing sex toys? Do People gotta vibe?

• Pinkzombierose

Dear Pinkzombierose,

 I love to see someone who didn’t see in solidarity! 

Now, if Adrienne Maree Brown is to be believed (and I think she is) then yes, we all gotta vibe! In fact prioritizing  pleasure as much as you might prioritize hunger is a revolutionary act. Reject the idea that pleasure and rest are allowed only if you have earned them through enough toil. 

Ok, Mom but what about stealing? Like anything else it depends on the source. Are you at the dirty and kinda creep shop where the employee is getting minimum wage and the owner is only interested in money and not anyone’s pleasure? Then shhh. 

Are you at the co-op owned shop where there is a carefully curated and genuine vibe (Ha! See what I did there?) and the knowledgeable staff feels cared for and fulfilled? Then how can you help the worker-owners recoup? Do you have the means to pay extra so that other person can have? In any case, we don’t want anyone having to talk to cops and especially not over the aspirational orgasm.

The ultimate answer,of course, is sex toy mutual aid. Or be like Cleopatra: build your own and fill it with angry bees.

Let me know if you need some angry bees,

YAM

Dear Anarchist Mom,

What can someone do to add a little more anarchy to their days? The kind where they can fall asleep with a feisty, little satisfied smile on their face every night.

• CharlieColepresents

Dear Charlie,

 I think your real question is: How do we add a little more mischief, a little more absurdity? How do we nurture our inner chaos goblin?  But as your mother, I feel the responsibility to also give you the (maybe admittedly less fun) political answer. In fact I’ll do that first and then we can break out our copies of The Book of the Subgenius!

I find that simply living a life that openly flouts hierarchies gets the average person in such a twist that it’s at least enough to sleep well at night. 

Examining the small pockets of life where you can live outside of capitalism? Where can you incorporate mutual aid where society tells us we must spend money?  Where can you strengthen existing mutual aid? It doesn’t have to be so serious or even well planned. You likely practice this already! It’s especially vexing to the “normies” when you do things for people WITHOUT expectation of immediate exchange. And if you really wanna get ‘em make those people that capitalist society dehumanizes! 

Now, about that chaos goblin. 

My experience is that whenever you do anything without meaning or clear categorization it drives away the boring people and draws in the fun ones. Be silly! Be absurd!  (but remember your mama says never be cruel) I guarantee it will beget more silliness and absurdity and you get to take your smile and giggle to bed each night. And they always put out.

Just do the thing to do the thing,

YAM

Dear Anarchist Mum,

Can we simultaneously sing theatre songs while doin’ the anarchy?

Dear Scarlett,

In the sentiment of the boss ass bitch, Emma Goldman “If I can’t dance I don’t want to be part of your revolution.” 

And so, with due respect, DUH, and also, DOI.

Life is a cabaret, Old Chum,

YAM