Grand Rapids Anarchists

I am lucky to have in my possession a really priceless and powerful tool, and probably one which will, single-handedly, cause the collapse of capitalism.  It’s called the Anarchy Dragon.

It was once a boring red shopping cart at a local corporate chain, but, luckily, it was rescued from its dull life and underwent a beautiful transformation at the hands of three adventurous teenagers.

We began by dumpstering, salvaging, and reclaiming the materials we would need:  Cardboard, paint, duct tape, and miles of used bike tube.  It is difficult to explain the specifics, as the Dragon is so complex, but, essentially, we cut out cardboard jaws and facial features in ferocious designs and taped, tied, and bike-tubed them to the shopping cart, creating a horned, sharp-toothed cardboard beast head on the shopping cart itself.  We then painted the Dragon red, giving it green eyes and white teeth, with great big grey horns (which are secretly also a very strong slingshot).  We used extra cardboard to make a body for the Dragon which attaches to the head (the shopping cart) and which can be operated by two to three people.

The general effect is amazing.  The loud noise of the wheels and noticeable visible presence the Dragon creates always attracts attention.  When it’s just me, I can push the head around without the body, and it’s still cool.

Also, the adaptability of the Dragon is very useful.  Because the shopping cart has so many good places to tie new appendages on, it is very easy to attach new necessary parts.

Yesterday, in heat of the early afternoon, I took the Dragon into my front yard and attached two 2x4s to the back of its head and attached a sign which read “Free Radical Literature” to one of the boards and put several Crimethinc stickers on display on the other, then I put a giant black flag into the cart and loaded it up with some of my favorite anarchist literature.  I walked the Dragon (and occasionally rode on it) down to the Eastown Street Fair, getting a lot of attention along the way.  I don’t know if you have ever pushed a shopping cart on bumpy sidewalk, but it is quite loud.

As I approached the fair, two girls came up to me from across the street and asked for some free literature.  I gave them both a few stickers and some copies of Fighting For Our Lives and a few posters about the recent economic collapse.  They asked if I belonged to the most well known local collective, and I insisted that this action was being carried out by me, on my own.  They were very interested, and I was encouraged.  I weaved my way through the crowded street fair, scoping the crowd out, and then, risking public humiliation in a thrilling moment of daring, began to yell.

“Dangerous insurrectionary literature!  Free of charge!”

“Literature so radical, you could get into trouble just for reading it!”

“Anticapitalist stickers and posters!  Donations not accepted!”

“Take it, but don’t be seen with it!”

“Tired of your boring old politics?  Give anarchism a try!”

The tension was broken when people started to chuckle and came over to have a look.  I was typically walking up and down the crowded street, so I wasn’t isolated in one place, and in what I think was probably less than an hour, I was totally cleaned out.  Around 100 sticker cards, close to 100 copies of Fighting For Our Lives, and around 75 posters were eagerly scooped up by curious shoppers.  Our interactions were typically pleasant, and I didn’t get challenged or openly made fun of by anybody.  In fact, a good deal of the people seemed genuinely interested in anarchism when I explained the basics to them.  It was a very effective action, in my opinion, and I feel that my approach was effective.  If I had been representing a group or a collective, I probably would have been tamer with my yelling, but that’s the fun of autonomous action.

Eastown is an area that is, although not necessarily radical, not too difficult to discuss progressive politics in, so my experience may have been affected by that factor.  The action was very fun and I feel that it was very effective, especially given how little effort was put into it.