International Q.U.E.S.T.I.O.N.

As I've already mentioned, at the time QUESTION was a joke. But recently, I've been thinking it would be fun (and beneficial) to create a real QUESTION. Of course, we'd have to rework the acronym. (I have no intention of quickly uniting extreme statist tyrants in our name.) I envision the new QUESTION as an anti-authoritarian alternative to ANSWER, which could perform similar tasks as ANSWER but without all the authoritarian, cult-like bullshitting. By usurping ANSWER's role as the organizer-in-chief of mass protest rallies, this new organization could (hopefully) lead to ANSWER's demise.

I know there is a lot of disdain for mass demonstartions on the part of many anti-authoritarians, anarchists, etc. I definitely think mass rallies can be stupid. However, I do understand that negative opinions of protest rallies are based partly on how they are run currently - as mass flyering/tabling orgies for authoritarian leftist groups - and not how they *could* be run. If we anti-authoritarians could organize large, inclusive rallies, similar but not identical to ANSWER rallies, we could radicalize them, making them more effective and direct action-oriented.

I had an interesting experience organizing a little protest march in Burlingame on April 30th. We only advertised the event for about a week, so we only got about 30 people (to be honest, that's more than I expected, so I was happy). The group was about 50-50 anarchists and liberals. At the outset, I was worried what kind of results this mix would produce; I was even apprehensive about employing any "radical" or "anarchist" cheers/chants because of fear of alienating the liberal daytripper protestors. But a funny thing happened as we marched up Burlingame Avenue: the anarchists started chanting "No war but the class war!" and the liberals joined right in! I personally witnessed a 40-something, liberal, suburban single-mom with two kids yelling at the top of her lungs, "CLASS WAR!" It was fantastic.

My experience with the last big breakaway march was similar. Not everyone in that crowd were anarchists or even socialists/communists. There were greens, liberals...I saw more than a few Kucinichistas! Yelling chants against capitalism and the state while dancing freely in the streets, I think these normally "good citizens of America" were able to experience a little internal revolution on that day. Mixed in amongst the anarchists, they seemed to really be enjoying a chance to break free from authoritarian paradigms. The breakaway march was organized (as far as it was *organized*) by anarchists. The liberal friends I was marching with knew this, and respected the anarchists for their commitment and their radicalism.

The anti-war movement must not be limited to peaceful protest ralies and marches, but even so, there is still a place for these kinds of mass demonstrations. They can help serve as rallying points and can lead to more creative and radical actions. They also help increase visiblity and can be used to win the "hearts and minds" of average people. In Chicago and other places during the movement for the 8-hour day, anarchists were at the forefront of the struggle. They were the leaders, not in the authoritarian sense, but in the sense of taking the initiative. They were the ones organizing the strikes and protests.

I'm sick of complaining about ANSWER. We should replace it. If we are the ones printing the signs, we won't have to complain about them anymore. If we are the ones carrying the huge banners, we wont have to laugh at them anymore. If we are the ones making up chants and yelling them over loudspeakers, we won't have to mock them anymore. We can have an authentic movement if we take things into our own hands. I don't know what everybody thinks about International QUESTION; it's just an idea. What is essential is that we develop a powerful, visible, anti-war (and more generally, anti-state, anti-capitalist) movement with mass appeal, without relying on ANSWER and similar groups. How we do this is of little concern to me.

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Anyone interested in discussing this idea further? Any ideas for what QUESTION could stand for? New joke acronyms making fun of ANSWER are also welcome.