Shortly after the scary fliers about anarchists and outsiders came out, my family had a medical emergency. I suppose the buzz has now all died down, but I did want to say just a couple of words.
Cindy Spoon and Will Wooten are not outsiders. They live in Denton and they care very much about this place. There is no international organization pulling their strings. They are not puppets – they are thoughtful, autonomous adults. So what if they draw some inspiration from an organization that has its historical roots abroad? Christianity, anyone? And don’t Republicans and Democrats have ties with “Washington, D.C.”? How scandalous this all is!
I know Cindy better than Will and can, thus, speak more to her character. I think she has become one of the smartest political minds in our town. I mean not just that she is savvy, but also that she has a very strong grasp of the perennial themes at stake in politics — about power, privilege, community, and communication.
I think anarchy, understood in its philosophical sense, is a beautiful thing. I’m probably too much of a fuddy-duddy (I won’t say ‘realist,’ cuz that is a total cop out) to live up to that ideal. But I like that it is part of our intellectual/political milieu around here. I keep a copy of To Change Everything in my backpack. It’s good stuff. What’s so wrong about thinking radical thoughts? After all, much of our world – the world we take for granted – is utterly fucked up and unjust.
And what is so wrong with civil disobedience? Yeah, we’ve had some encounters with the FBI. So what? Given that our existing legal order is in such dire need of change, I think we should be suspicious of anyone the FBI has NOT visited. What’s so wrong with you that you are so normal in the midst of this insanity?
Now, keep in mind that I am a supporter of Joey Hawkins, though I wish that his statement would have been much stronger against the fliers.
Adam Briggle 