What constitutes an "anarchist" is subjective, but whether someone
identifies themselves as one on a survey or not is pretty concrete,
regardless of varying interpretations of the word.
The key here is whether "most" OWSers would have done that under any
circumstances or if this candidate is intentionally misleading people
by saying OWS is "largely" self-described anarchists.
We rely on data for this and we know that thousands of surveys
addressed this, so I'd like to make a response and present the
campaign with the most accurate information possible. - thanks, Gus W
On Apr 12, 2012, at 5:27 PM, Aaron Kreider wrote:
> I'm not sure why the surveys have been getting such a low number of
> anarchists, but they have and I think the numbers are flawed.
>
> My guess is that questioners aren't prompting for it.
>
> I'd guess Occupy Philadelphia is 5%-25% anarchists (especially now
> more that the movement is smaller and the core is more radical),
> and the most-active members are maybe 80% anti-capitalist. It
> depends on how you define "anarchism". There are flamboyant
> anarchists who dress like punks and go around waving black flags,
> and then there are laid back anarchists (like me) who will maybe
> tell you that is what they believe if you talk to them for five
> minutes.
>
> I think a lot of anarchists don't identify as such (due to a lack
> of positive anarchist role models and negative media), and you'd
> get a higher number for anti-capitalists.
>
> If you look at how many people are against capitalism and want
> participatory democracy (both core anarchist values), you'd get a
> different result than if you ask how many people identify as
> anarchists. You'd also get some cross-over with socialists,
> trotskyites (very few in Occupy Philly), and communists.
>
> My experience in the US student movement (United Students Against
> Sweatshops, Student Environmental Action Coalition, Movement for
> Demoracy and Education - 180) was that there were tons of anarchists.
>
> You'll also get different numbers if you ask the question at the
> start of the movement, versus asking it after the police have done
> their first mass arrest and/or evicted the occupation (and after a
> month or two of educational events) - there is a radicalizing
> effect of being involved in the movement.
>
> Aaron
>
> On 4/12/2012 4:34 PM, jake@??? wrote:
>>
>> Hi Occupy Research folks,
>>
>> There is a US senate candidate in WI whose new ad is saying
>> "OWS is largely a group of self-described anarchists who want a
>> hand out in the form of high paying jobs regardless of merit. What
>> ever happened to self reliance in America"
>>
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0VTPksbxgE
>>
>> He also says ows is like Wall Street itself because they "simply
>> want a free ride" off the taxpayer.
>>
>> I'd like use OR data to debunk this claim. I know preliminary
>> results of surveying suggested only a tiny fraction of survey
>> respondents self-described using a form of the word anarchism, but
>> I was hoping on more finalized data and will be contacting the
>> campaign directly. Thanks in advance,
>>
>> Gus Wynn, Editor
>> Opednews.com
>>
>>
>>
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