The Classical Symbol of Anarchism (Black Flag)

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[combat_boots]

Anarchists have used the black flag as a symbol at least since the early 1880’s. The origin of the symbol is not clear, but it was adopted and bonded to anarchism during the latter half of the 19th century. Some claim it has its origin in the use of black flags by pirates, which ships were navigated over the seven seas through the work of free men and the captain usually elected and subject to instant recall. Pirates were also thoroughly hated by the ruling class(es) and the pirate symbol due to these circumstances to some extent embodied the spirit of lawlessness and rebellion to the oppressive hierarchies of “society.” But the black flag is also a symbol negating all other symbols. The color black is a non-color or anti-color swallowing all other. The black flag supposedly “negates all borders” and symbolizes the final abolishment of the state and everything connected with its rule. It also represents the anarchists’ allegiance to nothing, and the plain black is therefore the total void of allegiance. The black color and the black flag as a symbol are closely related to the misery of mankind under rule. It is claimed the color of black symbolizes dried blood and is therefore closely related to the bloodshed of oppressive rule or the rebellion, and the suffering, hunger, misery and death of the ruled masses. The dried blood may also represent the helplessness, and in time: apathy, of people under rule, who are forced to watch their liberties, family and friends be slaughtered by the tyrant(s). It symbolizes that the time of tyranny and oppression is to be ended, and that the rebellion against the oppressive rule will not stop, its rebels will not surrender nor be merciful. “Liberty or Death.” “Surrender or die!” The difference between the black flag and other political symbols, except for the color, is the nonexistence of complicated symbols: the black flag is simply black fabric with nothing on it. This may be a symbol of the rebelling starving, poor, and oppressed not in need of symbols or symbolism; all they need is the freedom and liberty they deserve and which has been ruthlessly stolen from them. It may also symbolize the impossibility of the starving and poor to manufacture fancy symbols to use in the rebellion. Even though the black flag has been used by non-anarchists, we know that it has been used by anarchists for more than one hundred years, and that it is one of the very first symbols used in anarchist rebellion against rule, tyranny and domination. It was used during a demonstration of unemployed in the French capital Paris in 1883, as well as during an anarchist demonstration in Chicago the following year. The black flag was also used by the large number of people marching to Peter Kropotkin’s funeral in Moscow in 1921. Howard Ehrlich describes the values and origin of the black flag excellently in Reinventing Anarchy:

Why is our flag black? Black is a shade of negation. The black flag is the negation of all flags. It is a negation of nationhood which puts the human race against itself and denies the unity of all humankind. Black is a mood of anger and outrage at all the hideous crimes against humanity perpetrated in the name of allegiance to one state or another. It is anger and outrage at the insult to human intelligence implied in the pretenses, hypocrisies, and cheap chicaneries of governments.

Black is also a color of mourning; the black flag which cancels out the nation also mourns its victims the countless millions murdered in wars, external and internal, to the greater glory and stability of some bloody state. It mourns for those whose labor is robbed (taxed) to pay for the slaughter and oppression of other human beings. It mourns not only the death of the body but the crippling of the spirit under authoritarian and hierarchic systems; it mourns the millions of brain cells blacked out with never a chance to light up the world. It is a color of inconsolable grief.

But black is also beautiful. It is a color of determination, of resolve, of strength, a color by which all others are clarified and defined. Black is the mysterious surrounding of germination, of fertility, the breeding ground of new life which always evolves, renews, refreshes, and reproduces itself in darkness. The seed hidden in the earth, the strange journey of the sperm, the secret growth of the embryo in the womb all these the blackness surrounds and protects.

So black is negation, is anger, is outrage, is mourning, is beauty, is hope, is the fostering and sheltering of new forms of human life and relationship on and with this earth. The black flag means all these things. We are proud to carry it, sorry we have to, and look forward to the day when such a symbol will no longer be necessary.

Another symbol commonly used in certain parts of the anarchist movement, and bearing strong resemblance with the black flag, is the black-and-red flag. It is a construction by anarcho-syndicalists used for the first time in the anarchist movement during the Spanish Revolution and the Civil War. It was originally used by the CNT (Confederación Nacional del Trabajo) in Spain and is based upon the black flag of anarchism and the red flag of working class rebellion. The red thus symbolizes the material equality or principle “from each according to his or her ability, to each according to his or her need” of communism, while the black is for anarchism and hence social freedom, the freedom of each individual to do as they please so long as their actions do not cause harm to others. The red-and-black is a symbol mainly of libertarian communism and anarcho-syndicalism, i.e. anarchism together with the labor movement. The red and black of the libertarian communist or anarcho-syndicalist flag are divided diagonally across the flag from the bottom left to upper right corners with the red labor movement flag on top of the black anarchist ditto. It is said to be divided diagonally to negate nationalism and symbolize a reaffirmation of internationalism.

[combat_boots]

Forearmed is forewarned. Maybe it's vice versa.

[Kozak]

Funny how these so called anarchists, against “any form of government” are in the forefront of the drive for more and more Big Government....

[cripplecreek]

Still looking over “The coming insurrection” with concern.

[combat_boots]

Am recommending that folks reading this also look through the Beck TV show today and go to the links recommended.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2531174/posts?q=1&;page=1

At least I’ve made this public record now.

I know I can’t help my relatives who are still 0b0ts, and the true believers in anarchy & revolution are convinced they’re right.

I was in the car the other day, listening to Beck. Someone called in and said that after he had ordered “The Coming Insurrection” on Amazon, he GOT A BOOK (without ordering it...and obviously from an entity that got a hold of his record) ALSO WRITTEN BY The Invisible Committee folks.

[ETL]

From Wikipedia with references at site...

Anarcho-syndicalism

A common Anarcho-Syndicalist flag.

In the early 20th century, anarcho-syndicalism arose as a distinct school of thought within anarchism.[78] With greater focus on the labour movement than previous forms of anarchism, syndicalism posits radical trade unions as a potential force for revolutionary social change, replacing capitalism and the state with a new society, democratically self-managed by the workers.

Anarcho-syndicalists seek to abolish the wage system and private ownership of the means of production, which they believe lead to class divisions. Important principles include workers' solidarity, direct action (such as general strikes and workplace recuperations), and workers' self-management. This is compatible with other branches of anarchism, and anarcho-syndicalists often subscribe to anarchist communist or collectivist anarchist economic systems.[79] Its advocates propose labour organization as a means to create the foundations of a non-hierarchical anarchist society within the current system and bring about social revolution.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism

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From Marxist.com, January 12, 2009:
Revolutionary ferment in Greece – a taste of what is to come for the whole of Europe:
http://www.marxist.com/revolutionary-ferment-greece-taste-for-europe.htm

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__________________________________________________________ In this photo from a December 11, 2008 Marxist.com article, the protesters can be seen giving the communist fist salute.

Marxist.com is obviously a pro-communist website.

And here they are with large red (communist) flags...

"After four days of struggle we can now start to draw some first clear conclusions. Without any doubt this movement deserves the title of 'teenager uprising'. We have here a new generation of tens of thousands of school students erupting in a huge explosion, the biggest for 20 years, if not even more, in Greece. We have clear symptoms of an instinctive revolutionary spirit, and a clear tendency to target not only the present bourgeois government but also the bourgeois state and the capitalist system as a whole."

http://www.marxist.com/greece-teenager-uprising-big-general-strike.htm
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Greece: massive school student attack against police stations all over the country!
By Editorial Board of "Marxistiki Foni" December 10, 2008
http://www.marxist.com/greece-school-student-attack-police-stations.htm
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The “masked ones”, as they are known, hold informal assemblies each day, where everyone has a chance to discuss where this “revolution” is headed. They even debate whether it is a revolution. “It is a social riot,” said another gate guard, “and it’s still going on. We don’t know yet where it will lead.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5333758.ece

[ClearCase_guy]

Yes. Years ago I was very interested in the philosophy of anarchism. I have a shelf full of books on the subject and I consider myself pretty knowledgeable on the topic.

Traditionally, anarchists have supported the idea that human society would be just fine without any government.
Today, however, anarchists seem to be Marxists who prefer not to be called Marxists.

There is a huge difference -- but I'm sure they realize it.

[marron]

Frauds, every one. They call themselves anarchists because it sounds cooler than “thug”.

The guy who calls himself an anarchist does not hate government. He hates for you to govern yourself. He does not intend to make government impossible; he intends to make it impossible for you to govern.

So-called anarchists are fascists with a marxist veneer, every one. So where are the real anarchists? At work, mostly. A real anarchist doesn’t need government to tell him to lead his life, and he doesn’t need a government to tell him not to kick out the windows of a Starbucks. He doesn’t need a government to feed him and he doesn’t need a government to tell him not to burn down the town.

[chemicalman]

From the group protesting the SRLC:

[cripplecreek]

Totalitarian anarchists.

But as with everything else with these clowns, they’re a contradiction of all they claim to be or stand for.

[ETL]

From the group protesting the SRLC:

Thanks. Ayers considers himself a communist AND an "anarchist".

BTW: I had to look up "SRLC". :)

SRLC = Southern Republican Leadership Conference

[ClearCase_guy]

Anarchism has a number of problems -- but the inevitable contradictions are the biggest issue.

Anarchist:We can live without coercion!
Anyone:OK. What will you do if I insist on coercing my neighbor?
Anarchist: We will force you to stop!

Anarchist:No government! No rules! We can do what we want!
Anyone:What if I want to form a government?
Anarchist: No! That's against the rules!

And, of course, if the "anarchists" are really Marxist thugs, the problems quickly get compounded.

[combat_boots]

0bama always wears black suits. 0bama didn’t want to wear the American flag, and had his own seal at one point.

All of this is for a very simple reason: 0bama IS the black flag.

[NavyCanDo]

Glenn Beck did a great show today on the control the anarchist have now over the Democrats.

[ClearCase_guy]

Yup. Or did I misunderstand?

[ETL]

0bama always wears black suits. 0bama didn’t want to wear the American flag

Obama is a Communist, plain and simple, no matter what color suits he wears.

[shanover]

The leftists will use the useful idiots like anarchists and evironazis and then just purge them later on.Obama and his scum government are just soft core Stalinists.Who is our answer to Obama?

[TXBlair]

Frauds, every one. They call themselves anarchists because it sounds cooler than “thug”.

Yeah, and some of them seem to be a little, er, foggy about the definition of "anarchist." I was mildly amused, for lack of a better word, in the days after Hurricane Katrina when I saw a clip of the lead singer of Green Day and self-proclaimed anarchist, Billie Joe Armstrong, griping about the government's repsonse to the disaster. He was p*ssed that the government wasn't doing enough to help. Ha ha, what a crappy, fair-weather anarchist he turned out to be.

[ROCKLOBSTER]

Frauds, every one. They call themselves anarchists because it sounds cooler than “thug”.

Yeah, and some of them seem to be a little, er, foggy about the definition of "anarchist." I was mildly amused, for lack of a better word, in the days after Hurricane Katrina when I saw a clip of the lead singer of Green Day and self-proclaimed anarchist, Billie Joe Armstrong, griping about the government's repsonse to the disaster. He was p*ssed that the government wasn't doing enough to help. Ha ha, what a crappy, fair-weather anarchist he turned out to be.

Anarchist ping!

[Rome2000]

And here they are with large red (communist) flags...

Wish somebody tell that effin idiot Michale Steele over at GOP.com that RED is the color of the communist movement, his website looks more soviet than Pravdas.

Apperently he and his fellow geniuses "leading" the GOP just accepted it when the socialist media started calling the socialist states in the country "blue".

[ETL]

The Obama family on election night, following his victory:

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"Barack Obama told supporters that
'change has come to America' as he
claimed victory in a historic presidential election."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/04/election.president/index.html
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