I am a 22 year-old straight Caucasian male who happens to be a mutualist anarchist and atheist living in a small town within the state of Alabama. I know, it definitely doesn’t sound like a place you would expect to find an anarchist. For the most part I am still in the closet concerning my atheism and anarchism. I sometimes feel surrounded by way too many religious conservatives who would probably maul me if they ever knew what I really think. Ok, that may be an exaggeration, but living in the Bible Belt definitely makes you tread lightly so that the wrong people don’t catch wind of your unorthodox beliefs. There isn’t much of an outlet around here for me to express my anarchist beliefs, and I would probably move away if I didn’t have a loving family and friends keeping me here. I would say that my road to anarchy began when I started becoming an atheist towards the end of high school. I went to a private high school in Alabama and was a really quiet loner. I don't know for sure, but it is possible that my detachment from society allowed me to more readily turn a critical eye towards things. Being largely an outsider may have helped me become more observant and inquisitive. Since I wasn’t looking to impress others or become accepted by anyone, I did not have to worry as much about coming to unpopular conclusions.
Anyways, I was never really religious. I had never really questioned the things around me that everyone else just seemed to accept. I would just nod and say that I believe in God without really taking the time to understand what that meant. My curiosity was eventually peaked by religious imagery in movies, music, and on TV. I set out to become a religious person of some kind, but I quickly found myself becoming an atheist. After rejecting the Christian God I almost became a Gnostisc and then later I almost became a Buddhist. However, the more I looked, the more illogical all religions seemed. Ultimately, I ended up the atheist that I am today. The Internet was definitely an invaluable tool in helping me investigate and discover who I am.
After becoming a atheist and a skeptic, I began turning my eyes towards politics. The whole World Trade Center incident probably contributed to my increasing interest in the political realm. I had always considered myself a Republican because of parental influence. Like religion, I hadn't really taken the time to give politics much critical thought. I had just assumed that figures of authority, like my parents, knew what they were talking about. I even started out supporting the War in Iraq and rigorously defending it against people I talked to. Luckily my support didn't last too long. I shudder to think about who I was and who I could have become. However, I was never much of a Republican, so after some research I found that my own ideas lined up closely with US Libertarianism. College economics classes and a particular professor helped further cement my right-libertarian ideas. I was always pretty liberal socially and conservative economically.
Essentially, what happened was that through my atheism I happened upon a site called Hell Bound Alleee. It was one of the many of websites I would frequent for atheist views. Francois Tremblay and Alison Randall hosted this amateur radio show, and I would listen on occasion. The both of them were minarchist Libertarians at the time I started listening, but they eventually moved towards anarcho-capitalist market anarchism. I believe that it was through their website that I first noticed a website containing articles and podcasts from an anarcho-capitalist perspective. It was a site called Freedomain Radio, which is hosted by Stefan Molyneux. Curious about learning about an even more radical libertarian perspective than my own, I began listening to Stefan's shows. I was never expecting to agree with anarchism, and went in with the attitude that I would easily be able to find glaring flaws. I went in with a very skeptical attitude, but I eventually found myself agreeing more and more until I concluded that I had become an anarcho-capitalist. In my opinion it does become evident that anarchism is the logical conclusion when one consistently applies libertarian principles.
Through Stefan Molyneux's message board and podcasts, I was guided to a social networking site called Essembly. I joined the site along with an infamous influx of anarcho-capitalists. We were all curious about what we would discover about other people and what kind of impact we could have through such a social networking site. Our views are certainly not aired anywhere in the mainstream media, so we were searching for a way to reach out to people. Anyways, I started having conversations with an anarcho-syndicalist on essembly. Thus, I began more vigorously researching the left side of the anarchist spectrum. I looked at things such as An Anarchist FAQ. I began slowly drifting leftward until I eventually became very confused about which anarchist label I could use to best describe myself. Today I consider myself a mutualist anarchist, which could probably be considered somewhere between left and right, but it is definitely left of center. Kevin Carson’s great blog has had a huge influence on my current beliefs. I am no longer a fan of anarcho-capitalism and am very shaky about their classification as anarchists. However, to remain a consistent anarchist I don’t deny people the ability to organize along capitalist lines as long as they don’t interfere with those of us who desire libertarian socialism. The ideas of Agorist anarchists also fascinate me and overlap with some of my own beliefs. Agorism can interestingly be considered a form of leftist anarcho-capitalism or Left-Rothbardsim. I definitely still have plenty more to learn about anarchism. Ultimately, I support the idea of anarchism without adjectives. I believe that anarchists with passionate disagreements can find common ground, work together, and co-exist peacefully while creating a more free and equal world.
Anyways, I was never really religious. I had never really questioned the things around me that everyone else just seemed to accept. I would just nod and say that I believe in God without really taking the time to understand what that meant. My curiosity was eventually peaked by religious imagery in movies, music, and on TV. I set out to become a religious person of some kind, but I quickly found myself becoming an atheist. After rejecting the Christian God I almost became a Gnostisc and then later I almost became a Buddhist. However, the more I looked, the more illogical all religions seemed. Ultimately, I ended up the atheist that I am today. The Internet was definitely an invaluable tool in helping me investigate and discover who I am.
After becoming a atheist and a skeptic, I began turning my eyes towards politics. The whole World Trade Center incident probably contributed to my increasing interest in the political realm. I had always considered myself a Republican because of parental influence. Like religion, I hadn't really taken the time to give politics much critical thought. I had just assumed that figures of authority, like my parents, knew what they were talking about. I even started out supporting the War in Iraq and rigorously defending it against people I talked to. Luckily my support didn't last too long. I shudder to think about who I was and who I could have become. However, I was never much of a Republican, so after some research I found that my own ideas lined up closely with US Libertarianism. College economics classes and a particular professor helped further cement my right-libertarian ideas. I was always pretty liberal socially and conservative economically.
Essentially, what happened was that through my atheism I happened upon a site called Hell Bound Alleee. It was one of the many of websites I would frequent for atheist views. Francois Tremblay and Alison Randall hosted this amateur radio show, and I would listen on occasion. The both of them were minarchist Libertarians at the time I started listening, but they eventually moved towards anarcho-capitalist market anarchism. I believe that it was through their website that I first noticed a website containing articles and podcasts from an anarcho-capitalist perspective. It was a site called Freedomain Radio, which is hosted by Stefan Molyneux. Curious about learning about an even more radical libertarian perspective than my own, I began listening to Stefan's shows. I was never expecting to agree with anarchism, and went in with the attitude that I would easily be able to find glaring flaws. I went in with a very skeptical attitude, but I eventually found myself agreeing more and more until I concluded that I had become an anarcho-capitalist. In my opinion it does become evident that anarchism is the logical conclusion when one consistently applies libertarian principles.
Through Stefan Molyneux's message board and podcasts, I was guided to a social networking site called Essembly. I joined the site along with an infamous influx of anarcho-capitalists. We were all curious about what we would discover about other people and what kind of impact we could have through such a social networking site. Our views are certainly not aired anywhere in the mainstream media, so we were searching for a way to reach out to people. Anyways, I started having conversations with an anarcho-syndicalist on essembly. Thus, I began more vigorously researching the left side of the anarchist spectrum. I looked at things such as An Anarchist FAQ. I began slowly drifting leftward until I eventually became very confused about which anarchist label I could use to best describe myself. Today I consider myself a mutualist anarchist, which could probably be considered somewhere between left and right, but it is definitely left of center. Kevin Carson’s great blog has had a huge influence on my current beliefs. I am no longer a fan of anarcho-capitalism and am very shaky about their classification as anarchists. However, to remain a consistent anarchist I don’t deny people the ability to organize along capitalist lines as long as they don’t interfere with those of us who desire libertarian socialism. The ideas of Agorist anarchists also fascinate me and overlap with some of my own beliefs. Agorism can interestingly be considered a form of leftist anarcho-capitalism or Left-Rothbardsim. I definitely still have plenty more to learn about anarchism. Ultimately, I support the idea of anarchism without adjectives. I believe that anarchists with passionate disagreements can find common ground, work together, and co-exist peacefully while creating a more free and equal world.
