Episode 17 – Solitude VS Isolation, Relationships As Anarchy

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Outline:

S: This is Sprout

C: and this is Charyan, and we are the hosts of Molotov Now!, on The Channel Zero Podcast Network, thank you for joining us on this episode of the podcast.

S: if you like what we do here and want to support it, you can do that by going to linktr.ee/al1312 and clicking donate, or scrolling to the bottom for Patreon.

C: on today’s podcast we are going to be discussing two topics that we have been thinking deeply about recently. Relationship Anarchy, and Solitude vs Isolation.

S: We hope that you enjoy our rambling nonsense since we are without a guest this month. So were going back to our roots and talking about some articles that The Harbor Rat Report is working on.

C: These topics have been rattling around our cages in the past few weeks because of the fundamental unceasing nature of the movement work we do. The toll that it takes on a body is real, and only by connecting inter-personally with other beings, including ourselves, can we create the care networks we will need to sustain our movements.

S: Relationship anarchy allows you to negotiate the bounds of each relationship you are in and determine what best suits the needs and desires of each participant. It lets your care network expand beyond the traditional monogamy we are accustomed to and makes you and your work more resilient.

C: Solitude is framed in this piece as a beneficial and deliberate choice a person makes to reconnect with themself, whereas isolation is like the toxic pollution in the air we breath, inhaled without much thought given most of the time to what a breath of fresh air must be like in comparison. Capitalist Realism. It is imposed upon us and deadens the soul. It is the difference between these two modes of socialization that we will examine today. We hope it strikes you as a worthwhile endeavor to try and suss out some of the delicate answers we need to take our movements to their maximal heights.

S: Next up we have our monthly radical news roundup, but first please enjoy this message from our sponsors:


Monthly Radical News Roundup:

In Aberdeen:

bit.ly/gofundmejoshrv locally unhoused guy looking to upgrade from his cramped car plz share

bit.ly/mousecarrepair Help a long term organizer repair her car. please share

In Vancouver WA:

In Portland:

In Tacoma:

311 Puyallup Avenue, Tacoma, WA, United States, Washington

In Olympia:

In Bremerton:


Its time for our radical news roundup from other autonomous media organizations that we follow.
Unicorn Riot is a decentralized, educational 501(c)(3) non-profit media organization of journalists. Unicorn Riot engages and amplifies the stories of social and environmental struggles from the ground up. They seek to enrich the public by transforming the narrative with our accessible non-commercial independent content. You can find the following articles on their website at unicornriot.ninja

January 28, 2024 Murder Charges Filed on Trooper Who Fatally Shot Ricky Cobb II
January 30, 2024 Greece Marks 50th Anniversary of Polytechnic University Uprising Against Military Dictatorship
February 1, 2024 ‘Stop The Steal’ Protest in San Diego ‘Hijacked’ by Proud Boys, Police Bodycam Shows
February 1, 2024 Palestinians Forced to Flee Khan Younis, Come Under Fire by Israeli Military
February 2, 2024 Denver Passes ‘No Freezing Sweeps’ Bill, Potential Mayor Veto Looms
February 6, 2024 Gaza War Spillover: Lebanon’s Silent Displacement Crisis
February 7, 2024 Camp Nenookaasi Brings Minneapolis’ Policies Against its Unhoused Residents to the Forefront
February 8, 2024 Protesters Blockade Weapons Manufacturer in Plymouth MN in Solidarity with Palestine
February 8, 2024 Federal and State Police Raid Three Homes in Atlanta Leading to One Arrest Amid ‘Cop City’ Investigation
February 12, 2024 How Target Funded a ‘Tough On Crime’ Prosecutor’s Office, Driving Black Youth Incarceration in Minneapolis 
February 14, 2024 ‘Gold Mafia’ Kingpin Anointed MP as Zimbabwe Disenfranchises 108 Elected Officials
February 16, 2024 Kansas City’s Return to Super Bowl Brings Protest Against Continued Use of ‘Chiefs’
February 21, 2024 Utah Passes Anti-Trans ‘Bathroom Bill’ Amid Strong Outcry
February 22, 2024 Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Relatives Remembered
February 23, 2024 ‘Ya’ll Just Voted to Kill People!’: Denver City Council Upholds Mayor’s ‘No Freezing Sweeps’ Veto
February 26, 2024 Wells Fargo and PNC Bank Windows Smashed in ‘Stop Cop City’ Demo
February 26, 2024 Camp Nenookaasi Pushes Debates in Minneapolis Around Encampments [Video]
February 27, 2024 Indigenous Human Rights Hearing in DC Scrutinizes Uranium Industry
February 29, 2024 Black History Smashfest Brings Together Black Gamers

It’s Going Down is a digital community center for anarchist, anti-fascist, autonomous anti-capitalist and anti-colonial movements across so-called North America. Their mission is to provide a resilient platform to publicize and promote revolutionary theory and action. You can find the following articles on their website at itsgoingdown.org:

Jan 30, 24 Activists Lock Themselves to Construction Equipment, Halt Work at Brasfied & Gorrie Site to Demand that the Contractor “Drop Cop City”

Feb 20, 24 Report on A Disruption in Lacey, WA and Thoughts on the Struggle to Come (Lacey)

Crimethought is everything that evades control:

CrimethInc. is a rebel alliance. CrimethInc. is a banner for anonymous collective action. CrimethInc. is an international network of aspiring revolutionaries. CrimethInc. is a desperate venture.

2024-02-07 Stopping the Cop Cities Countrywide:With a Report from Lacey, Washington
2024-02-08 There’s No Such Thing as a Free Helicopter Ride :On the Death of Sebastián Piñera
2024-02-13 Human Rights Discourse Has Failed to Stop the Genocide in Gaza: An Anarchist from Jaffa on the Necessity of Anti-Colonial Strategies for Liberation
2024-02-14 Notes on Love
2024-02-20 The Maidan Diary of Dmitry Petrov: An Eyewitness Account of the Ukrainian Revolution of 2014
2024-02-26 “This Is What Our Ruling Class Has Decided Will Be Normal”: On Aaron Bushnell’s Action in Solidarity with Gaza
2024-02-29 Memories of Aaron Bushnell: As Recounted by His Friends

That all for our radical news roundup. Please stay tuned for our featured articles, but first, a musical break with Anthem for My Beloved by Dinero Muerto


Music:


Segment one:

Welcome back to Molotov Now!

From Thoreau to Fiorina

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden

“There is another solitude, perhaps more understood, more naturally respected, than that of the hermit. It is when you no longer feel a part of these others, when you no longer participate in their mode of living, making a world apart from them in which they no longer count, from which they are excluded. It is when you no longer accept their love, their benevolence, their hypocrisy—and your solitude then becomes freedom, rebellion, it is open defiance of society.”

— Marilisa Fiorina, Freedom and Solitude

When we look at these quotes on solitude and being alone with oneself, we get the sense that there is more to solitude than meets the eye. It is not simply avoid all human contact, it is a healing process. Undertaken by those with deep trauma from society, and mistrust of the systems of care meant to address those feelings. In our modern life, we are subjected to countless instances of being alone while surrounded by thousands of people. This is alienation, the root cause of which is a lack of meaningful connection with people because of the many modes of socialization brought on by capitalism. We are trained from birth that people are strangers, they are dangerous, and not to be trusted. This belies the fact that we are all the same, one collective spirit. If we want to taste true liberation then it must be at the fount of collectivism.

But there is immense value in the individualist point of view, what we are here examining. For a long time I struggled with the gnawing desire to go live alone in the woods. Later in life I realized that humans are social animals in need of community, but the fire still burns for something meaningful in the solitude of the woods. After realizing that I was autistic at 30 years old, I learned more about myself and what was under my “mask” than the previous 30 years combined. This led to the discovery of feelings of abandonment, isolation, and discomfort around most people. But there was nothing wrong with me, after all its just my specific neurology. So I began to develop sympathy for these lonely devils, the ones who hermit themselves away in the silent magic of a sunlit afternoon. But I also regret the fact that they needed to remove themselves from our presence to do so. They are stumbling through the dark searching for something real, and we need to break down the barriers and join them in the woods.

Solitude Vs Isolation

What is the difference between the terms isolation and solitude? How do we use them in this article? Here, at least, we will define these concepts as different, and perhaps even in opposition. For us isolation is the sensation of not having meaningful connections with other beings. This can occur in the middle of a large city, or in a clearing in the woods. Isolation is brutal and painful, it is toxic and self-reinforcing. It alienates people from each other regardless of how close they are to you physically. On the other hand, solitude is a healing process, it is deliberately being alone with ones own mind in order to better understand your needs and desires. Solitude can also happen anywhere. It is finding an inner peace and being able to sit with and understand yourself.

The context of this article is that the self-isolation that can go hand in hand with solitude is to be absorbed into the concept of solitude, leaving isolation for itself as a way to draw a contrast between healthy solitude and harmful isolation.

The difference can now be seen to be quite stark indeed. We can see that solitude is a natural state that humans require from time to time. Whereas isolation is harmful to those experiencing it. Solitude is the journey the heart must take in order to find love in others. Isolation is what keeps us from sharing that love with them. If we can cultivate more solitude and abolish isolation, we will make sure that our children do not grow up with that trauma of “being alone” but can spend healthy amounts of time refreshing themselves in the wellspring of boredom and creation that comes with “being alone”.

The Western Romantic Viewpoint

Why are we running off to the woods?

In the West there is a long and bloody history of the obsession with acquisition of land, turning that indigenous environment into a mess of towns and cities. We then turned around and eyed the leftover bits of land that weren’t developed with jealousy and greed. We romanticize the idea of nature, of the untouched wilderness. This is a whitewashing of the real histories of the many indigenous cultures that actually inhabited and harmonized with these ecologies for generations.

The “natural” world that we so cherish in our parks and open spaces were once cultivated by those indigenous ancestors to the point of near perfect ecological sustainability. Techniques such as controlled burns, terra preta, and polycropping made the forests and fields we enjoy today possible. Upon feeling the wrath of those early settler/farmers this land was decimated into nothing but dust around the turn of the century. This destroyed incalculable species and environments that we can never get back. This romantic viewpoint is as toxic as it is insidious. It makes the viewer think that they are celebrating something primal and ancient when in fact they are worshiping at the feet of a genocide.

The “Wild”

In regards to the previous section we can know recognize the inherent flaws in the mode of thinking that leads one to believe that anything is truly “natural”. This concept of the wild is an old one that comes out of Western chauvinism. It also is innately conservative since it seeks to maintain a certain time period of ecological representation. In reality things are always moving, changing, fluxing, and evolving, nothing stays the same, everything adapts. Yet we seem to impose a stagnation on the wild, making it sterile in the process. This harms us all, as it is the sustainable maintenance of living systems that is the key to our liberated future. Learning about why these concepts are harmful, and where they stem from (racism, white supremacy, and western chauvinism) is crucial for us trying to make changes in the real world. In order to bring about the world we are building, we need to acknowledge our true past and live up to the promises of the future.

We can often glorify wildness in anarchist circles, and certainly there is something liberatory in acting from a deep primal urge to know joy. But when it is applied to the so called natural areas that make up our environments, it takes on the patina of an old outdated mode of thought. It stinks of narcissism to think that this specific set of biologies that made up the world around us in the middle of the 20th century should be maintained perpetually without change, to believe that our way, our time, is the best. We must change our views on this subject if there is any hope of conquering our oppressors, they want us to think that the wild exists out there ready for the taking, ready for development. But the reality is that everything is natural, even the constructions of humanity stem from nature. It is no more wild for a badger in the forest to hunt a bug, than it is for a raven in the city to steal trash from your dumpster. All is beautiful and in need of saving, but we will not save anything by keeping things the same. We must adapt, we must grow together into something better.

Whose Land?

Landback is the idea that because of the reality that this land was stolen from the Indigenous inhabitants by Western settler colonialism. It is the realization that this trauma is generational and effects people down to their very DNA. It maintains that we must give what has been taken back to those who have been responsible for caring for this land since time immemorial. We shouldn’t seek long term reforms that slowly return some land to the hands of Indian Nations, but we should abdicate ALL stolen lands back to the rightful caretakers immediately and without limitations. They are the ones who will decide what to do with all the leftover settlers, not us. They are the ones who can heal this damage, not us. They are the ones who have the knowledge and vision to create sustainable food systems that harmonize with the world at large. We should step down and listen to what they have to say.

Making Strides Towards Truth

So, you want to have some alone time. You may be burnt out on people, or just taking some time for mindfulness in your day. Regardless, the goal is the same: to learn the truth of reality and apply its practical information to our movements. When you sit with your thoughts and examine the self within, you can start to heal and learn to listen to the anarchist inside all of us. Truth is fundamental to any anarchist project. We base our actions in the rel world, not fantasy. We approach the horrors of the world with eyes wide open, and boy does it take its toll on us. We can recharge ourselves and tune into our desires and needs by spending time away from other beings.

In order to find the truth you are looking for stillness of mind is required. This allows the thoughts that plague our subconscious to flourish into the conscious mind. Then they can be analyzed and done away with if they no longer serve our needs. This is how internal biases can be caught and addressed, as well as a successful method of making ethical decisions through an anarchist framework. Since no one knows what the whole truth is, the best we can do is to stumble our way through the darkness together, slowly progressing towards the light, as we gather up the small pieces of truth that fall into our realm of understanding. Without this meandering stumbling, we would be stuck forever in the seedy darkness that prevents so many from seeing the truth of reality. That we are not alone, we are one, and we are powerful enough to change the world.

Know Thyself

The basis of solitude is getting to know yourself better. This is healthy for you and for your loved ones, they will undoubtedly appreciate the fact that you know who you are and what you want. In order to show up for those in your life, your own self must be familiar to you. We cannot grow as a person while stuck in a relationship with another person who we cant talk to about our feelings. If this is the case, then get out now, if not, then you risk being absorbed into this other person, unable to plan and think for yourself.

You cannot fill someone’s cup when yours is empty. This is no mere platitude, it is a fundamental part of successful organizing. Compassion will only get you so far, you must take care of your emotional health when engaging in this work. Clear boundaries must be set and enforced and steps taken to ensure that your thoughts are your own. We are so easily influenced by those close to us, solitude allows us to escape this influence and really connect to our internal selves. By spending time in deep reflection and contemplation we can make the realizations that are necessary to survive. Our survival is typically dependent on others, but solitude reminds us that we can (and should) take care of ourselves. This makes our movements more resilient and joyful.

We Are Coming To Join You In The Woods

The goal of the collectivist is not to get everyone to live a few mega cities with green spaces in between, or at least it doesn’t have to mean that. It can mean whatever we talk about and agreed to with our loves. Even the collectivist yearns for the green woods and the dappled sunlight. We all want to join you individualist in the woods, making magic and eating berries off the stem. We all want to run naked through fields of flowers, making love under the stars, and drinking from the river. But the individualist seeks these experiences by themselves. The collectivist sees through the trauma of isolationist politics, and seeks to strengthen the bonds between humans and the rest of the living world by committing acts of service in their community.

Will you have us, in your cabin, in the forest? Can’t we join together in feral dancing mischief? We respect your needs for solitude, but please don’t isolate yourself. We need you here and kicking. This struggle for freedom is not one that can be done without the participation of people who have the skill of being alone. Those skills are valuable in our modern world, so alienated from everything by capitalism. You can teach us collectivists how to disconnect from the joy work that can be so painful sometimes. You can help our self care routines by providing us guidance on solitude. We can help you by preventing your alone time from turning into isolation. We are coming, prepare the table for friends.

Now its time for a musical break so here is Little Boxes by Malvina Reynolds


Music:


Segment two:

Welcome back to Molotov Now!

Little Boxes in Need of a Hammer

The act of relating to another human is inherently anarchistic at its core, relationship anarchy (RA) is the act of realizing this fundamental truth. It is our nature to love hard and love many. Only through social convention do we find ourselves forced into specific boxes of friend, lover, partner, or fling. These little boxes are designed to limit our potential for true love, with the number of people being set my social convention. We need to smash these boxes to bits if we have any hope of freeing ourselves from the multitude of cages that surround us. It is the littlest box, the tightest cage. It wraps itself around our hearts and leaves us incapable of doing the labor necessary for true liberation. The care work, the joy work, the feral love work of forest magic and the work that will help our rivers break their banks. We need to swell the love in this world until it drowns every last capitalist and politician. We can never save ourselves without each other. How do we connect to each other when we are limited by the boxes that we unthinkingly fall into. It is time to wake up and realize that we are caged at this level. It is time to act upon our deepest desires and commit to learning what the people in our lives truly need from us, and what we need from them.

False Scarcity of Love as a Resource

“Love abounds” is the way that the seminal text of RA puts it. In The short instructional manifesto for relationship anarchy by Andie Nordgren, the author says the following,

Relationship anarchy questions the idea that love is a limited resource that can only be real if restricted to a couple. You have capacity to love more than one person, and one relationship and the love felt for that person does not diminish love felt for another. Don’t rank and compare people and relationships — cherish the individual and your connection to them. One person in your life does not need to be named primary for the relationship to be real. Each relationship is independent, and a relationship between autonomous individuals.

By acknowledging that people have a limited capacity, but no actual limit on the amount of love they can give or receive, we can see that love is unique in our repertoire of emotions. No other sense is as limitless as love is, because no other sense is as regenerative. Many of the things we do to care for others is taxing on our capacity because it is not reciprocal. A one way exchange of resources is never truly sustainable, we must get recharged from somewhere. Love, on the other hand, must be reciprocal to be functional. This makes it capable of actually giving us energy and vitality, as opposed to draining it from us.

We should strive to cultivate as much love as we can for this reason. Not only will it energize our movements and bring a central focus to the joy they hold, but it is well worth any investment of time or capacity since it has such a positive net effect on us. Love can actually increase our capacity to do other things within our movement spaces, such as conflict resolution, de-escalations, riot labors, and even showing up for meetings! Everything gets better when love is spread as far and wide as possible. Not only will it make us more able to engage in liberation struggles, but it will make them more raucous and joyful.

Core Value Consistency

If we are expected to show up for other people in a truly engaged and honest way then we must first know ourselves and be able to identify our own needs in a relationship. Setting and enforcing boundaries, practicing self-care, communicating needs and desires, and saying no when you don’t want something are all parts of what keeps us from being absorbed fully into another person. This is not the goal of RA, to dissolve into someone. The goal is to meet them where they are at and support them however they need it. The goal is to connect with someone on the level of a dopamine response in the brain, but not to become an addict to their presence.

But how do we establish such strong and lasting relationships without first knowing oneself? The answer is we cannot, nor should we try. Trying to be a support person for someone before you know how to support yourself is a dangerous and yet all too frequent proposition. By examining your own values, what you place importance on in a relationship, you can be more confident in entering any relationship boldly and honestly. You must define these core values and you must adhere to them in all your relationships. There shouldn’t be any cases of special treatment of someone, to show them you “really do love them”. We shouldn’t be violating our core values for anyone. Anyone worth your love should understand this too. We must be strong for our loves, and the only way to do that is to have our own shit together, to have a solid foundation on which to stand together. Do not invite someone onto your island if its crumbling, that is not love but desperation.

Assume Best Intentions

The best way to make sure that we allow the space for people to be vulnerable (the basis of real connection) is to assume best intentions when they speak. They may use the wrong language, they may be offensive even, but don’t assume that they meant to be. This helps keep trust intact between you, and stalls many potential arguments before they happen. If you need clarification then just ask. Chances are they did not mean to harm you after all. We all fuck up sometimes, and you know that when someone shows you the assumption of bad intent that it doesn’t feel great. So why do that to someone you love?

When we do mess up ourselves, we must be ready and willing to own up to it and be called in to a safe space of education and healing. We shouldn’t throw up defenses and try to explain ourselves, we should stop and listen. Try to be present with the mistake and its consequences before jumping into talking about how sorry we are. Many times someone harmed simply wants to be heard and things can begin to heal. Don’t isolate yourself from love by assuming that people are out to harm you in the first place. You will get hurt in this thing called life, but with love by your side this too shall pass. Heartaches can heal, but the grief of never having loved in unspeakable.

Intentional Negotiations

Another practical concern for anyone committed to RA is how to establish this sort of relationship to begin with. Do you tell the person you love that you want to practice RA? Do you wait until the first fight about values to address what you want? How about sex? Do you ask them what they want and what they like, or just do what you’ve done before? All of these questions are valid and have their own answers, but for someone practicing RA, it is critical that these things be addressed right away, at the start of any relationship, or as soon as possible if its already begun. This is a negotiation with your love about what they want out of the relationship and what you want and can offer in return. You will be establishing the rules and protocols of this relationship here in a direct and explicit manner.

This is a living document, as it were. Nothing said in the original negotiation is law, police do not have jurisdiction over the heart. It is up to you to talk together constantly about what is working and what could be improved. Each day is a new chance for change, a new opportunity to learn and grow together. By communicating about what you want and need and what you have to give, both parties can rest assured that the other is content in the relationship, so long as the established rules are followed. This means more openness, vulnerability, connection, and love. This means that when it comes time to potentially part ways, neither can assign all the blame to the other and become bitter over it, both of you knew what you were getting into and can sever the relationship as it suits you. This keeps things happy and fun, by ensuring that both people are enjoying the state of play at any given time, and by removing unpleasant relationships as they happen.

Open Honest Communication In Real Time

As mentioned in the last section, real time communication of ones state of mind is imperative for RA to work. Not only must you communicate, you must do so with radical honesty, regardless of the impact on the other person. Not to say you should strive to cause harm, but how you feel is how you feel and they have to know your truth. But truth once is not enough, truths change, feelings shift, people grow in different directions sometimes. This is healthy and normal, but you should inform your love if you have any new emotions or needs. When we say real time we mean it, this communication is minute to minute. Imagine having consensual sex with a person and then, for whatever reason, they want to stop. If you don’t stop, or worse, if they don’t feel like they can even communicate the desire to stop to you, then you have assaulted this person. This is not love, love requires constant updates to be safe enough to engage in such a vulnerable activity. This is but one example of how real time communications can save a relationship from potential disaster. By asking our loves what they need, what feels good, and if something is OK, we can make sure that we are attentive to those needs and guarantee the ability to make each other happy in the face of some pretty challenging circumstances.

Spontaneity/Ritual, a case for both/and-ing Love

In our work organizing and building community here in Aberdeen, WA we have found time and time again that when confronted with a choice of doing action A or action B, the best option is almost always both/and rather than either/or. This has taken on a term of its own “both/and-ing”. This is the idea that we can hold two distinct and perhaps even contradictory ideas in our heads at the same time. Such as love and rage, hope and fear, apathy and desire. When talking about spontaneity and ritual we are speaking of the modes in which people engage in their relationships. Whether they prefer the first or the second is irrelevant, the deeper realization is that both are needed for a successful relationship.

Spontaneity is the spark that lights many fires in us. It keeps things interesting and fresh for an older relationship. This can take work for the more ritually minded of us (like this author) but its not something anyone is unfamiliar with. Tapping into this side of ourselves let us be silly and develop a unique relationship with others, shattering those boxes. We must break down the barriers to long term love and stagnation is a big offender. We can stave off stagnation and keep things fun and interesting by injecting whatever level of spontaneity we are comfortable with into our relationships.

A note on spontaneity:

While this is healthy when practiced mutually and with consent. Do not feel as though you have to exit your comfort zone for this other person. They should be happy with you just lounging on the couch if that’s what you want to do also. But at the same time let them challenge you in stepping into new worlds, and new experiences. Nothing should supersede the desire to spend time together. What you are doing together is virtually inconsequential, what matters is that you do it together. This spontaneity can look however you two agree it should. From going out to a new place, to staying home and watching a new show on TV. You must feel comfortable in each others presence, whatever the activity may be.

Ritual is more than simply routine. It means that we elevate our day to day affairs, the possibly mundane and repetitive, into things that hold meaning and places of importance in our day. It can be anything really, from how you wake up, to what you do at lunch, or even how you comb your hair. These can all be ritualized. How to relate this to your relationships is easy, simply find what you two can do and enjoy together and do it consistently and deliberately. With rituals in your relationship you will make meaningful connections everyday, building upon that connection with each dose of ritual.

On Endings

One of the hardest parts of a relationship is ending it, or knowing when the time has even come to do so. This is never an easy decision, yet for the studied RA enthusiast it is a necessary skill to build. This is part of everything we have discussed so far, from knowing oneself, to advocating for your needs through open honest communication. When it does come time to end a RA relationship, it is likely to be more mutual than the average relationship circumstances. This is because you have both been communicating directly about how things are going and you are hopefully aware that things are reaching their conclusion. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it doesn’t have to hurt either person if both have the understanding that this was always possible if things weren’t adaptive to each others desires. On one hand, both of you will have new relationships to look forward to because the health of your own mind was never wrapped up in the presence of this other person. On the other hand, you both have pleasant memories and experiences to look back on and feel happy that, for a time, you loved each other.

That brings us to the conclusion of this short piece on RA, how it works, and why it works. I hope that this brings you and your future relationships some perspective. It is my belief that RA can benefits everyone’s lives. Its not about just sleeping around, or not committing to someone fully. It is whatever you need it to be, as all anarchy is. It adapts and conforms to the wishes and desires of those practicing it. We are building this movement from the bottom up. It is as much defined by you and your love as it is by authors and their writings. Wont you join us in building the new world, from our hearts, outwards and onward?


Music:

Conclusion:

S:  So what did we learn? that love is ever changing and expansive. It cannot be chained or caged without severe violence of the soul. Its the root of our movements, the reason we do what we do. Anarchy is not merely the destruction of the old world, but it is creation of a new world built by love for love.

C:  So what did we unlearn? We found that it is wrong to think of love as a finite resource, something to be hoarded or saved up. It is free and regenerative, making it the fount of all energy animating our spaces. With more relationships built on anarchy, we stand a better chance of realizing this dream of ours.

S:  We also discovered that the human condition requires some solitude, and when done deliberately and with care, this too recharges us. But the drain of isolation, the depression it brings about ,is truly a toxic brew of emotional trauma. Let not fear of being hurt keep us from reaching out for connection. We only have each other in this struggle we call life, and we must use all of everything we have at our disposal in order to defeat the behemoths that threaten our lives.

C:  We hope that these topics inspire you to think about what you do for collective care rituals in your life. Bring this stuff up with friends and family, in romances and flings. Everyone will benefit from being in touch with oneself and making meaningful connections based in radical honesty and trust. With trust in our pockets, we can do ever more spicy things together. May we all meet those who make us whole and let us find the beauty within each of us. Take care comrades.


Outro:

Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Molotov Now! We hope you found it informative and inspiring. Our goal with the podcast is to reach out beyond our boundaries and connect the happenings in our small town with the struggles going on in major urban centers. We want to talk to you if your a big city organizer, we think we have a lot you can learn from, and we know you have much to teach us. If you would like to come on the show please email us at sabot_media@riseup.net with the header “Molotov Now!” and we will be in touch about setting up an interview and crafting an episode to feature you.

We want to give a shout out to our friends at:

  • C: Sabotage Noise Productions for putting on awesome benefit shows, including one for The Blackflower Collective, and for being all around awesome people who help us with the upcoming events section of this podcast.
  • S: The South Florida Anti-Repression Committee who have launched a solidarity campaign for two individuals facing 12 years for an alleged graffiti attack on a fake Christian anti-choice clinic that does not provide any reproductive care. This Federal overreach and use of the FACE Act, an act meant to protect people visiting reproductive clinics from harassment, is unprecedented. To support this solidarity campaign please visit bit.ly/freeourfighters
  • C: We want to thank The Blackflower Collective for their continued support and wish them luck in their fundraising efforts. To support them or learn more their website is blackflowercollective.noblogs.org.
  • S: Kolektiva, the anarchist mastodon server, is growing faster than ever thanks to Elon Musk’s stupidity as many activists close their accounts for bluer skies as can be seen in the fluctuation of followers over on IGD’s socials, join at kolektiva.social and follow us and other online activists on decentralized federated internet.
  • C: Chehalis River Mutual Aid Network is holding a fundraiser for their weekly meals with Food Not Bombs. To donate visit linktr.ee/crmutualaidnet
  • S: The Communique is looking for artist and upcoming event submissions, please write to sabot_media@riseup.net to submit your entry.
  • C: Thank you to Molotov, please check out their website at www.radicalpraxisclothing.com and check out their portfolio in our show notes
  • S: and Thank you to the Channel Zero Anarchist Podcast Network. We are proud to be members of a network that creates and shares leading critical analysis, news, and actions from an anarchist perspective.

Remember to check out sabot media’s new website for new episodes, articles, comics, and columns. We have new content all the time. Make sure you follow, like, and subscribe on your favorite corporate data mining platform of choice and go ahead and make the switch to federated social media on the kolektiva mastodon server today @AberdeenLocal1312 for updates on Sabot Media projects such as The Harbor Rat Report, The Saboteurs, The Communique, our podcast Molotov Now! and many other upcoming projects.

That’s all for tonight. Please remember to spay and neuter your cats and don’t forget to cast your votes at those who deserve them.
Solidarity Comrades,
This is Molotov Now! Signing off


Music this Episode:

Molotov Now! soundtrack by Pixel Passionate

Anthem for My Beloved by Dinero Muerto

Little Boxes by Malvina Reynolds

Learning Curve by Escape From The Zoo!