By Donald, The Female Species Collective (RAAN Cincinnati - OH)

This interview was created for the Publication Network of RAAN, and originally appeared in the second issue of Praxis, journal of the Red & Anarchist Action Network (Fall, 2003)

Well, I've been working on the Internet for about three years now, and for most of that time I've been contributing to leftist newswires. Sometime around early 2002, Matt (another of RAAN's co-founders) approached me about doing a "Red & Anarchist News Network" collaboration between the sites we were working on at the time. I was a communist, he was an anarchist, and it seemed like it was a good way to build some practical unity between our ideologies. But before we ever got around to setting up the news network, we came up with the idea of calling it the Red & Anarchist Action Network instead. At the time we had no idea what "action" would mean, we just knew that we wanted to leave ourselves open to development beyond just the sharing of news.

RAAN's first incarnation was as a small web forum, populated by the communists who visited my site and the anarchists who had been visiting his. We also publicized the collaboration a bit to see if other open-minded people would want to get involved, and pretty soon we had developed into a discussion group with many intelligent participants from all over the political spectrum.

At some point, a group of us decided that it would be in our interest to try and use that forum to produce something, which is how we started working on what eventually became the network's founding document, the Principles & Direction. Writing the P&D was actually a terrible process that took many months because we did it collectively and submissions were open to anyone who wanted to contribute. As you can imagine, a large part of those months was spent arguing over each minute detail of anarchist-communist unity, and it was quite a while before anything got accomplished. Nevertheless, there are two things that really made that process worthwhile: The first is that we came out of it with a document forged in discussion, and as a result it's a very strong set of principles in terms of setting up fundamental guidelines for unity in the post-Left. The second is that after all that debate, none of us ever wanted to talk about ideology again, and we were more than ready to move beyond the Internet and start acting on those principles in real life.

How has RAAN evolved since it was first formed?

RAAN has continued to be a tendency comprised of action and driven by discussion, which means that we're always developing as a whole because of the different ideas and methods that new people bring into the network. Our original principles have stood the test of time and because of them, we've been able to accomplish much and forge bridges of trust between many different groups and ideologies.

The creation of Praxis Journal was definitely our most ambitious project since we had finished the principles, and even though we were still basically operating as an Internet forum, the ideas and activities associated with RAAN had grown to a point where we felt capable of producing a major publication like that. Praxis #1 also gave us a chance to put forward another piece of network policy, and we came up with the Principles of Organization as a way of helping those who were looking to apply the network's positions when putting together an effective anti-capitalist group in their area.

The most exciting time for the network is right now, because our recent publication of two monthly newsletters ("RAAN - Network News") has shown that once there is a strong set of unifying principles in place, total decentralization of activity is possible. We're just putting the finishing touches on the second issue of Praxis, which includes one final piece of network "policy", the Principles of Action. The PofA represents to us the most advanced stage in the development of how we've been seeing ourselves not as an organization, but as a worldwide tendency with a fluidity of membership based in autonomous action.

Has RAAN gotten sexier with age?

Absolutely. Everything RAAN does has been getting easier and easier because the network only asks two things: agreement with its principles, and the ability to work in a "sweat equity" environment. It's a hard culture to build - especially when you're dealing with two groups that people usually expect to be fighting each other - but it means that anybody can jump in and take part at any time, because the essential unity is already there. A lot of the older members have been leading by example, and it's such an easy and solid model to get involved with that interest in the network has only been growing.

I think a lot of the things that we have to say, and in particular the critiques we've been bringing against established activist and anarchist scenes, are finding a very receptive audience in a new generation of revolutionaries who are very radical, but also extremely disappointed at the lack of progress from both the "organizationalist" and "lifestylist" crowds. We've also been very lucky because this recent resurgence of interest in the Situationists has meant that now is a perfect time for ideas like Marxism to gain a new appreciation, and people are becoming more open to learning about things like the ultraleft-communist roots of primitivism, or even just in working with other anti-authoritarians who don't necessarily self-label in the same way that they do. This overall breakdown of ideological divisions between anti-authoritarian anti-capitalists that the network represents is not just a triumph in dialogue - it's the gateway into a new round of activity for our movement.

Needless to say, it only gets sexier from here.

What kind of actions and projects would you like to see come out of the network in the future?

The practical union of communists and anarchists is a continuing project that I'd like to see carried on far into the future. Within that general framework, the type of activities that RAAN gets involved in is totally up to the membership itself. When you have something like the network to point to, there is the possibility of very easily connecting seemingly isolated struggles to the bigger revolutionary picture. I'm incredibly excited to be involved with a group where in one town we might be stopping logging trucks, and then in another we could be organizing sex workers. Or hey, why not in the same town?

RAAN's motto is "rock the boat, blow up the yacht", so we're always trying to bring up issues in our community that aren't necessarily being addressed. From time to time this has gotten us into trouble with the "scene", but the more armchair anarchists who hate us, the more fun we have.

That's rocking the boat. Blowing up the yacht means no compromise - not with liberals, not with Leninists, and certainly not with the State. We have to keep fighting to ensure that revolution and revolutionary ideas cannot be ignored or written off as a subculture. The ways in which we can accomplish this are varied, and ultimately up to the individual people who are going to keep this network alive.

What are some successful actions and projects that we can learn from?

There are many things both in history and in RAAN that I could point to as being examples of successful action, for example some of the achievements of the German squatter's movement. Ultimately though, I think it's less important to know the individual histories of past successes then it is to just recognize the essential characteristics that made them revolutionary, and then apply those to what we're doing now.

So like the German squatters, we have to see ourselves as not being bound by the laws and relationships of this society, because as revolutionaries we exist not just outside of it, but also on top of it, replacing it. Yes, we're all still living within the confines of capitalism, but at every turn we're trying to break out of that. This escape can't just be a denial of class society; it has to actively destroy it in the process.

RAAN's most crucial guideline for action in the name of the network is "does what you're about to do satisfy your political consciousness? Does it satisfy you personally?" In that sense people might say that we're opening ourselves up to cooption by inactive street punks, but I really don't think that's going to be the case. I've heard of two recent actions being claimed by RAAN - the vandalizing of a corporate development site in California and a Maoist bookstore in New York - and in both cases nobody I was in contact with even knew that we had "members" in those areas! What this means is that people are taking action, and as a result something completely decentralized but nonetheless very unified is beginning to take shape. If you want an example of success, that's it.

How does RAAN's praxis aid the self-activity of the working class?

That's really a tough question for any group to deal with, but of course it's also the most important for anyone with even the vaguest idea of what a revolution would have to mean in terms of class war.

RAAN is very influenced by the autonomist traditions in history, which means that for us dual power is probably one of the most important concepts to agitate around. Practically what this means is creating a dialogue related to the establishment and defense of sustainable, extra-legal institutions, and then of course putting those ideas into practice. If a comparison to the Situationist International can be excused, that group was numerically very small but in the end we have a lot to learn from them because instead of trying to direct the working class, they focused on creating tools that the proletariat would need in the event of a revolution. Accomplishing this nowadays means that first and foremost, our goal can never be anything but a total and immediate overthrow of capitalism.

There are plenty of radicals out there who, despite their ultimate agendas, actually think that a revolution is impossible under the current circumstances ("the conditions aren't right"). I think this is bullshit because not only is that an incredibly defeatist point of view, but it actually doesn't make any sense. What we're dealing with here in terms of potential for revolution is not just a future revolt in response to something like a bad economy, it's the continuing and overwhelming contradiction between the driving forces of this society and the fundamental nature of humanity (what large numbers of people need in order to live fulfilling and happy lives together). Simply put, this means that at any place and at any time where you find capitalism or any other type of coercive, hierarchal relationship, there is a continuing possibility for radical transformation.

So what that tells us is that the job of an anarchist-communist tendency isn't to organize for a future revolution, but to act like the revolution is here now - because it is! The network has approached this by bringing back the emphasis to issues like the development of non-oppressive relationships, direct attacks against the institutions of power, and by bringing up issues traditionally outside of bourgeois-liberal activism, such as the need to not only confront but also destroy authoritarian ideologies, and make things like training in firearms available to wider circles of people.

And what about the Leninists?

Fuck the Leninists. As a communist and a Marxist, I'm no stranger to anti-Leninism because I'm always having to deal with the difference between the actual content of my ideas and the way that they are perceived by a lot of people, especially anarchists. These distortions are for the most part due to the Leninist tendency, and so I'd say that being a communist is probably the best course in anti-Leninism that anyone can ever get. That RAAN is so anti-Leninist is as much because the Marxists in the network wanted it to be as it is just a necessary fact in uniting anti-authoritarian currents.

But while we're on the subject, I'd like to address something that really bothers me, which is that a lot of anarchists these days are actually relatively unfamiliar with Leninism or its history, and are in fact willing to work with Leninists or even within their organizations (especially as part of a "united front" on single issues). There's nothing scarier to me than when a self-proclaimed anarchist asks me why RAAN has to have such a hard policy on Leninism. Let's be clear about something: maybe there aren't any fundamental differences between a Leninist and an anti-authoritarian if the both of you are just planning to stand on a street corner together with some newspapers, but since that's not exactly what RAAN has in mind when it talks about action, the exclusion of Leninism and all other vanguardist dogmas will remain an essential part of who we are.

Recently, you have been involved with the creation of the Kazm Collective (RAAN Rockville, MD). How will the collective benefit from being affiliated with the network?

Kazm Collective has been a blast. Not just because of the wonderful people that have been getting involved in what we're doing, but also because of the way we've approached our activities and tried to stay away from everything that we hate about what's generally referred to as "activism". This attitude is actually part of the network's history and is what gives it the potential to be so much different from a lot of the groups going around nowadays pretending to be revolutionary.

One of the things that makes Kazm special is that it's one of the first RAAN-affiliated groups that was founded specifically on the principles of the network, and it's certainly the first such group to become firmly established. All of the people involved with the collective have had past experience in activism, and when I was asked about helping to organize a presence in the area, we knew right from the start that we wanted to be part of RAAN because of the kind of "no-bullshit" culture that the network has fostered. To me, that more than anything else is the greatest attraction of RAAN for Kazm and groups like it.

The people who originally came together to form the Red & Anarchist Action Network did so specifically with a hatred for the armchair discussions and reformist/statist concessions that have been holding back the revolutionary movement. This is reflected in the network's principles, which developed directly out of hundreds of debates between different ideologies, and to me represents the most clear-cut plan for a workable anti-authoritarian union between the compatible anarchist and communist tendencies. So while we did have to spend parts of our first few meetings chasing out Leninists and discussing the network's positions with people who were unfamiliar with them, at a very early stage in the collective's development we were already able to start talking about action and - more importantly - going ahead and just doing it.

I know people who were initially skeptical of working within an existing set of principles, but who are now actually defending the network's uncompromising nature as an integral part of the collective. This is great because I think it shows that the concept of RAAN isn't just another detached ideology, but something rooted in practice and applicable to anybody who is interested in making that crazy, no-holds-barred revolution we've all been talking about.

Finally, what is needed for success [against the 2003 FTAA summit] in Miami this November? How can RAAN contribute?

Well, first of all I have to say that the network has traditionally been very hesitant to attach any sort of importance to these major summits and the mass mobilizations that accompany them, because at the end of the day we're just going to be playing their game by their rules, and there's absolutely no way we're going to win (that applies equally to all those who are planning more "radical" actions at the protests). Especially in more recent years, it seems that our movement has been more interested in theatrics on the street than in the meaningful disruption of the meetings that we came to oppose. One of the places where this is especially visible is in the way that even the most direct-action oriented protesters (those who will be throwing themselves at the state's lines and trying to crash the meetings) are for the most part still approaching their attack from a defensive point of view. This is reformist by nature because it puts us in a situation where the only way we'll be able to affect the meetings is if the state ever decides to bow down and let us in. Of course I'm not suggesting that we as a movement have the resources (in terms of dedicated individuals) necessary to mount the kind of armed offensive that could challenge state forces in Miami, but that doesn't mean that we don't have other options open to us.

The summit's organizers are actually quite strapped for cash, which means that there are many things we can do to disrupt their little party in terms of making the city uninhabitable or too costly for them. But before we can do that, we need to start thinking outside of the protest box they've set up for us. So for example, does the Intercontinental Hotel where the meetings are going to be held have the kind of security right now that it's going to have on the weekend of the 20th? Instead of thinking about how to win in Miami when November rolls around, we should be discussing how to win in Miami right now.

That said, RAAN has been getting ready for the meetings and what I'm hearing most in the network isn't "should we go?" but "how are we getting there?" This is because even though we are highly critical of the Northern "anti-globalization movement", we recognize that it's foolish to completely remove ourselves from it. The network's attitude in relation to these large protests has been to try and minimize the damage that the security apparatus can do to us while we're in such a vulnerable position, so with that in mind we've been exploring options like street combat and medic training, which regardless of occasion or numbers is something that all revolutionaries should seek out.