Many anarchists view credit cards as simply another type of ID card used to track an individuals location, spending habits, income, etc.
They are also be viewed as a way of economically repressing individuals of marginal income, a demographic the banks like because they can often get caught in the credit trap and are rarely able to do much more than make the minimum monthly payment — and we all know how much banks like their interest.
It is said that “members of the collective contributed their own funds to open the space and also received a grant from a private American citizen to contribute to the lease and the purchase of merchandise.”
Private American citizen? Sounds like same old, same old to me. I may be wrong but isn’t rejecting the predators’ outrageous mores one of the main attributes of being an anarchist? So here we have the same kind of secretive funding of infrastructure. Hmmm!
You’ll have to explain why a gift from a sympathetic individual, regardless of where they live, is an issue.
Maybe you could also explain why, if that individual does not want to be identified, that is a problem - personal privacy is supposed to be a right, is it not?
Whether the philanthropist lives here or there is not the issue. Secretiveness is!
A while back, I did a bit of research on the issue of Canada/US integration and found that the main ‘investor’ in that project was the Donner Foundation. I remember having had difficulty finding what they were funding back then. Even now, supposedly “[t]heir Web site includes information on: the foundation, its trustees, a biographical profile on the founder, grant making policies,
grant listings and detailed descriptions of their programs. Not so! Anyway, ever since I have had a profound aversion for all manner of secretive philanthropy.
“Many anarchists view credit cards as simply another type of ID card used to track an individuals location, spending habits, income, etc.”
Credit card companies also charge the merchants for their convenience. And since the merchants are not known for swallowing costs gracefully, they pass along the cc charges to the consumer, resulting in high prices. So, not allowing the use of credit cards is one way of keeping prices down.
And good for Exile for going this route. I wish more merchants were this smart.
Clarification re. “The Anarchist” posted at Gauntlet.ca, in particular this update from the owner of Gauntlet.ca:
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Update again: A mysterious writer associated with Stageleft (and who evidently doesn’t want to get a google account) wrote me to point out this article on the opening of the anarchist bookshop. They not too subtly suggest that this leak may have been a publicity stunt on his part because his bookshop had just opened on May day. I’m skeptical, but there you have it. If it’s true, the fact that the Conservatives brought in the RCMP and made a big deal of the whole thing was playing to this guy’s advantage, in addition to being heavy-handed.
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I am the ‘culprit’ here. I sent an email to Gauntlet.ca regarding his post on “The Anarchist” & I am posting this comment at Stage Left because it has been implicated in this, obviously owing to a misunderstanding between myself and Gauntlet.ca. I did not say in my note that I was “associated” with Stage Left although I can understand how the wording about reading my comment there could have been interpreted that way. Here is the email I sent to Gauntlet.ca for his post on this issue:
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Hi! I do not have a Google account and do not plan to have one - too intrusive & a big pain when you need to cancel. Your blog does not allow comments from anybody but Google account holders. So here goes. The new shop is said to open this week (well, last week actually) - http://www.stageleft.info/2007/05/07/a-new-shop-in-town
Coincidence? Or should I retrieve my tin-foil hat and start ‘analyzing’ this? BTW, you can read my comment at Stage Left re. the “secretive philanthropist”. Something smells funny here. Truly!
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I did not think that there was anything mysterious in that email. It is just an opinion and were I allowed to post comments at Gauntlet.ca other than through a Google account, that’s where that comment would have been posted.
I regret any inconvenience that may have caused to Stage Left and trust that this clears matters up.
Heck, we love being embroiled in conspiracies. Ever since Stageleft engineered the collapse of Enron things have been too quiet in the Bunker.
Welcome to the gang! Plus on est de fous …
Thanks for taking this so lightly!
It’s just blogs, after all. I think we’re all taking ourselves a bit too seriously lately. Given the inevitable collapse of the universe through proton decay, and all that.
LOL!
… though taking oneself seriously ever so often is part of the fun, don’t you think?
Proton decay? Dag-nammit balbulican, must you always give away the ending — now it’s not worth watching anymore.
“Taking oneself seriously every so often is part of the fun, don’t you think?”
I suppose. It’s just that I read this the other day on a blog which shall remain nameless, and I couldn’t help thinking that we might be getting a bit too self-important.
“99% of the blogs out there are complete rubbish, but a few of us are turning out quality products that rival and even surpass those found in the mainstream media…I am simply sick and tired of the rubbish and riff-raff that populates the blogosphere. I am also implementing these rules primarily for the benefit of the many daily readers (from the federal and provincial governments, the US government, the UK government, …, the media and the general public) who come here regularly (this site has a large number of return and first-time readers) in search of a good read and discussion.”
If I ever start to take myself THAT seriously, please shoot me.
Tut-tut….. you’re reading Weiner Prattles, the Alberta Spectacle Himself again aren’t you?
Busted.
1 year ago: 07/05/2007
2 years ago: 07/05/2006
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When reading here you reminded of the words of Buddha: Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held. Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books. Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin. Believe nothing just because someone else believes it. Believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true.
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Ok, SL, I realize you are quoting in this instance but could either you or Mike explain the apparent opposition to “capitalist credit cards” from anarchists?