For an Anarchist Organization in Rochester!

Anarchists need an organization!

ROCHESTER ANARCHIST FORUM

General Interest Meeting
Friday, February 25
7:00 at the Flying Squirrel Community Space
285 Clarissa St.

Since the economic crisis began in 2008, the tension between what is and what could be has never been more acutely felt .

One the one hand, we find corporations making record breaking profits while workers across the county are told to tighten their belts in an already tough economy; we see the corporate lackeys in the federal and state governments smashing unions and social welfare programs in the midst of skyrocketing unemployment; we find students being forced to pay ever more for an education that no longer provides a guarantee of finding work after graduation - and all of this while the Democratic party repeatedly rolls over to the Right's demand for concessions in a time of crisis.

On the other hand, we see workers all over Europe, North Africa and the Middle East responding to crisis with resistance. From student strikes in the UK to general strikes on mainland Europe, to the overthrow of dictatorships in Egypt and Tunisia, it seems seems only a matter of time until the US, too, is rocked by large scale social upheaval. The recent occupation of the Wisconsin legislature by thousands of union workers who are being threatened with the loss of collective bargaining rights provides only a small scale example of what what may be just around the corner

The only question is: will we, as radicals, be ready for it?

A few things have become clear to many anarchists who have been involved in social movements in recent years. These are that

1) To be effective, anarchists need an anarchist-specific organization

2) That such an organization should be a space to develop a coherent, unified theory out of shared experience in struggle

and 3) That such an organization should participate in broader social movements and struggles so as to both learn from these movements and to offer our analysis to them.

It's time that anarchists find a clear answer to questions such as: how do we as anarchists engage this crisis and widen the fissures it has created in the system? How do we increase the influence of anarchism the political life of our community? And ultimately, how do we build a popular anarchism that has the power to usher in the free, democratic society we aim for?

Join with other anarchists on February 25 at the Flying Squirrel to help answer these questions and more - cuz we're makin' moves!