How do we want Milwaukee to change or not change? What can we do to work toward this change?

It's very important that we can relate anarchy and its practicality to everyday struggles and issues in the communities that we live in. If we can't then what value do our ideas have?

Oi, where to start!

I'd like to see the police taken to task for racism and abuses of power. More community spaces, especially things like gardens and workshops, would also be a nice start. Also getting in touch with folks over a wider area within the city, instead of being more or less confined to one neighborhood/group of people.

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The Spectacle wished to make us appear dreadful. We intend to be much worse.

I'd like to see more direct action events taking place, symbolically or DIRECT!!! but something that really confirms our presence as a big ol' thorn in the side to, you know, the machiiiine. Y'dig?

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"Faith is believing something you know ain't true."
-- Mark Twain

I'd like to see less division between our "radical community" and the broader citizens of Milwaukee in general, but without making compromises or watering down our position.

I also think we've made a comfortable niche in the "activist ghetto" of Riverwest and should be consciously expanding outside of that realm.

i agree that we shouldn't necessarily compromise our position or beliefs but i do think many radicals and particularily anarchists come on way to strong and have a tendency to write people off once they don't get it right away. I know i'm particularily guilty of the first half of that.

People don't liked to be talked at like they are being recruited and intelligent people don't like being schmoozed. Given the belief that i'm just as stupid or intelligent as anyone else, it's important to realize the friend and potential comrade that exists in everyone.

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"Faith is believing something you know ain't true."
-- Mark Twain

A move away from associating anarchy with so much subcultural bullshit would be a good step in the right direction to diversify the milwaukee anarchist scene, but more importantly if anarchists in milwaukee start doing work and getting thigns done that do have a practical value to people in the community it will broaden. They are starting to do this, but such connections take a long time to create. I would argue that we're less of an elitist activist qhetto than we were last year, we're making an effort to be more accessible and open about the things we're working on (with things like this website, the CCC, the zine). A year and a half ago we didn't have any of those things, people had a harder time being able to work on anarchist projects.

Could you elaborate, Newsie4lyfe, on how we've made an activist ghetto in milwaukee? What are its characteristics and how do you hypothesize we get out of it?

I actually was referring to geography primarily. Many of us are very comfortable spending a lot of time in the Riverwest area even if there are events and exciting things happening in other parts of MKE. And while it's true that building real community takes a long time, I think we should all make more efforts to get out of our comfy surroundings.


In terms of the activist ghetto, those bridges too take a long time to traverse and honestly I've got a lot of hope that we're capable. Lately more attention has been paid to encouraging folks outside of our radical scene to find out about what may interest them and that's awesome. So I think we're doing a decent job, just more visibility is needed.

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I will lay down my bones among the rocks and roots of the deepest hollow next to the streambed
The quiet hum of the earth's dreaming is my new song