Anarchy isn’t stupid
The recently published opinion article entitled, “Anarchy is stupid,” [May 11] serves no other purpose than to reveal the authors’ horribly awkward and apparently malicious misunderstanding of anarchist theory; they seem to, perhaps intentionally, confuse some extreme form of green/eco anarchism with the whole of anarchist thought (an equation as such being wholly dishonest, as such thought is not among the more prominent theories within the contemporary North American anarchist community; have either of these writers even heard of anarcho-syndicalism?), but even there they get it wrong repeatedly. They honestly would have been better off running with the “chaos/bombs/angry kids with spray paint equals anarchism” stereotype instead. In its current state the piece is merely a factually meaningless mess of logical fallacies.
That the authors devote considerable space to asserting absurdities such as anyone who sympathizes with anarchist ideas and ideals should not utilize any of the current statist/capitalist infrastructure betrays their bias and lack of knowledge; the authors reveals not only a lack of respect for their subject, but for themselves as well.
This piece fails even at the level of propagandist screed, espousing such blatant falsehoods as: “In the socialist-anarchist fantasy, we have no electricity, no sanitation, no running water, no paved roads, no public transportation, no schools, no fire department, no internet, no phone, no mail, no money and no barter;” surely they could have rallied a more substantial smear campaign, or presented a more persuasive dystopia, as others regularly do in support of the power elite and their structures of domination.
The fact remains that the authors are simply not describing anarchist theory; they present neither the philosophy of any anarchists I personally know, nor the ideas I found presented in a careful overview of current anarchist thought. Obviously the title was quite an omen, however I was still surprised at the dishonest and deceptive sour spew which followed. If only this were a satire, and not a reflection of the ignorance which fills their heads and the malaise which fills their hearts.
Jermaine Wilson
No more Soto is a good thing
I’m an engineering student on campus, and though I’m not involved, I’ve followed the elections closely. Frankly, I was beginning to become fed up with ASPSU due to the simple lack of expediency and logic that was coming from the Rudy Soto case. I’m glad that the process is finally over, and I can’t think of a better result. I’m glad that Rudy Soto’s sketchy behavior won’t be leading this university for a full year. I mean if he can’t even represent himself how does he expect to represent 25,000 students? I certainly don’t want Ryan Klute to speak on my behalf. I think Patrick has the experience and leadership to take ASPSU to a new level of success, and while it is unfortunate that he only has a few weeks to transition, I believe he will do the best job possible.
Bryan Howden
Stop scapegoating
As a PSU student I have one simple comment to make: stop blaming Patrick! This has escalated to abuse, and I think it is misdirected and unprofessional for student leaders to continue to scapegoat someone who quite simply asked a question. Often people tend to blame others rather than looking within themselves. This is the case here. How many times have we heard the empty rhetoric from Rudy Soto about “cronyism” and “craven grabs for power?” It’s frankly nauseating. What Rudy needs to do is accept the fact that he got caught breaking the rules, and he ruined his own chances for success. Now he needs to back off and let ASPSU begin to rebuild its reputation. The student process was followed without folly and now it is time to respect it and start respecting each other.
Chelsea Filipas