Hello liberals, progressives, and maybe even tankies. After last week’s popular ratification of white Christian fascism as holder of US state power, you might be ready for anarchism right about now, yes?

Or maybe you’re already doing anarchism in spirit but just don’t know it? Or haven’t seen anarchism as a whole way of being and acting in the world, without the pesky violence of hierarchy and coercive domination—indeed, as its replacement with “the beautiful idea” of liberatory social relations and social organization?

No one can make you an anarchist; it’s about us all drawing from the deep wellsprings of our passions, desires, skills, wisdoms, capacities, imaginations, and so much more to self-organize everything for everyone, freely and abundantly, in myriad ways, toward myriad forms of freedom. It’s about self-determination and self-governance, in which there’s room for us all to experiment and play with and inhabit lives worth living. It’s about love as a verb, and care as collective, and solidarity as hard as rock and soft as our hearts when we dare to break them open to each other.

How do you “join” in anarchism? You think and act for yourselves with others!

Where to begin? Anywhere you see something that needs doing! Anywhere that there’s already mutual aid going on, plug in (from mutual aid in ecological disasters like hurricanes and floods—see @mutualaiddisasterrelief—to mutual aid in fascist catastrophes like the genocide in Gaza—see @gazamutualaid—to so, so much more). Or crack open a book or zine on anarchism with friends and create your own study group, which likely will inspire you to practice what you’re reading.

I’ve barely skimmed the surface of anarchism here, because anarchism is never done. We must constantly walk together toward horizons of possibilities—including and especially in times when fascism wants to crush our aspirations and us.

Walk with me, toward anarchism, finding your own footing on the way, but with the help of anarchistic folks who hold out warm embraces to you (like me)!

Walk with me through this crossroads; because it’s anarchism or fascism.

Pick anarchism. Do anarchism. For life.

(photo: my feet, in black sneakers, finding a circle A, stenciled on a sidewalk in black paint set against bright orange paint, outside a longtime anarchist bookstore)