Chemistry for Anarchists, Thursday, Period 4

[tyler_gone]

They met in a normal classroom, and the board bore an A inside a circle with a quote underneath: "I shall blow up your buildings a little more and be less open with you than I was before." -- Thomas Rainsborough.

Tyler sat on the desk, swinging his legs impatiently as he waited for students to gather.

"So this class," he said, swiping a hand over his hair, "might be where we should have started. We're going from the practice -- the nitro and Molotovs, and the stuff we'll get into in the next three weeks -- to theory." He turned to the board, tapped the symbol with his chalk. "This is not just a cool thing to draw on a leather jacket and play Sid Vicious. This symbol means anarchy, which is a social state with no state. No laws, no policemen, no congressmen or corporations. Just people with the freedom to go beyond whatever's holding them back, if they have that within themselves."

He tossed a thick packet at each student. "The question is, when do you rise up and start working for that by any means necessary. Your country is involved in a pointless, endless war: Is that enough? What if it's not only in a war, but trying to keep you down over the color of your skin: Enough?"

"What if your problem is with the way corporations are treating workers: Can you assassinate business leaders?"

"Or," he added, managing to keep his gaze off Evey if she's there, "what if your country's being ruined by fascists? Is it time to bring down their headquarters?"

"Think about it," he finished. "I want to hear when you -- you personally, as you are now -- would take this class and put it into use." He pointed to one student at random. "You go first."

Comments

Sign in [6/05]

[tyler_gone]

I would say anarchically, but I like pretty threads.

Re: Sign in [6/05]

[the_merriest]

Rikku

Re: Sign in [6/05]

[intraspective]

Yamanaka Ino

General Class STuff [6/05]

[tyler_gone]

Chat, pass notes, conclude the teacher's flipped his gourd, etc.

Re: General Class STuff [6/05]

[the_merriest]

Rikku was taking so many notes this week. And nodding enthusiastically and trying not to talk under her breath. And failing.

Re: General Class STuff [6/05]

[futureclone]

Alex totally thought the teacher had flipped his gourd, and may in fact have looked kind of horrified.

Re: General Class STuff [6/05]

[intraspective]

Ino was, for once, actually taking notes and looking thoughtful.

Re: General Class STuff [6/05]

[wannabehunter]

Jo took notes thoughtfully.

Re: General Class STuff [6/05]

[sarcasm-guy.livejournal.com]

Sokka frowned and flipped through the packet, taking notes. He wasn't sure WHAT to think, and for someone with normally rock-hard (if contradictory and hypocritical) beliefs, that was disturbing. Laws were bad, and kings sometimes SUCKED, but anarchy sounded worse.

Discussion [6/05]

[tyler_gone]

When is a bomb an appropriate tool? Is it ever one?

Re: Discussion [6/05]

[the_merriest]

Rikku stood up defiantly. "I'm Al Bhed. My eyes have spiral pupils and not round ones. None of my people believe in the religion of Yevon. I say those things here and people shrug because it doesn't matter to them, it's just words. Back home, it means my people spent a thousand years in exile: hated, abused, and killed. Our city is in ruins and many of my friends and family died, because we were different and we made an easy target. When the government needed to lie to its people, they blamed us. Everybody hated us. Hate's good at bringing people together like that."

She took a deep breath and kept going. "We took the system down. It meant killing some of the people who weren't going to listen. It meant bringing an end to the religion and its sacrifices. We were arrested and supposed to be executed for our 'crimes', which were mostly just that we knew too much. We stopped a war. We changed the world."

She was seriously, seriously talking too much, everyone was going to think she was insane, but she didn't care, this felt good to say out loud and she had a feeling the teacher would understand.

"I ... having said that, we did what we did ... as a last resort. We would have talked to people, tried to, first. Some people we could convince, others we had to take out. If planting bombs and wreaking havoc was the only way to bring change, then I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty, but ... sometimes the people involved are just bystanders, just hapless people who want what's right and don't know any better. I don't want to kill any civilians that I don't have to. I'd try hard not to take out the ones that didn't deserve it. If I had to, so be it, but ... until then, I'd try."

She sat down again, flushing and fidgeting and hoping no one thought she was insane.

Re: Discussion [6/05]

[tyler_gone]

Tyler's eyes were sharp, but he didn't think Rikku was insane. Far from it.

"Collateral damage is always a risk you take, if you start throwing bombs around," he nodded. "So what are things like at home these days?"

Re: Discussion [6/05]

[sarcasm-guy.livejournal.com]

Sokka chewed his lip thoughtfully. "Well, obviously killing people and blowing stuff up is always a last resort, when nothing else works. But sometimes you have to, because nothing else DOES work. And, you know, sometimes there's a war. And kings suck. And laws suck."

He stared at the packet in his hands and thought of his dad. "But... you can't just not have rules. I mean, if you do that, the bullies will just beat people up and take control. Things have to be fair."


...Which begged the question: After they'd assassinated Firelord Ozai, what then? A Fire Nation in chaos might be worse...

Re: Discussion [6/05]

[tyler_gone]

"That's the objection a lot of people have," Tyler nodded. "And anarchy does tip into fascism at the speed of a blink."

"So what can you do about the bullies?"

Re: Discussion [6/05]

[southernbender.livejournal.com]

"It's not," Katara said, her arms crossed. "It'll hurt innocent people and can't be controlled. My country is fighting a war. For the past hundred years." She shot a quick glance at Sokka. "But we're not going to sink to the level of the Fire Nation and kill innocents."

Re: Discussion [6/05]

[sarcasm-guy.livejournal.com]

"Not INNOCENTS, no!" Sokka protested.

Re: Discussion [6/05]

[tyler_gone]

"Have you heard of Hiroshima or Dresden?" Tyler asked neutrally. "This country -- or the country we're in when we aren't island-hopping -- dropped bombs killing thousands of civilians." He shrugged. "Some historians will tell you it was the only way to end the war. Maybe America's just another Fire Nation."

Re: Discussion [6/05]

[mouthy-ninja.livejournal.com]

"Bombs are always appropriate," Deidara said, crossing his arms over his chest. "But an explosion that accomplishes something is always more beautiful than one that simply burns."

Re: Discussion [6/05]

[tyler_gone]

Finally, someone who wasn't moralizing all over class. Tyler grinned at Deidara. "And what might you want to accomplish with an explosion?"

Talk to Tyler [6/05]

[tyler_gone]

After class, he's still a little worked up from the lecture.

Re: Talk to Tyler [6/05]

[southernbender.livejournal.com]

Katara came up to Tyler after class. "I got your message. I'm sorry. I - um, forgot I had this class."

Re: Talk to Tyler [6/05]

[tyler_gone]

Tyler looked at her blankly for a second.

Then, perhaps unexpectedly, he guffawed. "I can's say I'm flattered, but I figured it was something like that. Look, it's summer so I'm not gonna give you make-up work or whatever. Just try to show up from now on and it'll all be good."

Talk to Evey [6/05]

[tyler_gone]

After she tags in.

Re: Talk to Evey [6/05]

[remember5th.livejournal.com]

Evey was totally here the whole time. Really. And not pinged in super late because her player kind of spaced.

OOC [6/05]

[tyler_gone]

"If he gets up, we'll all get up, it'll be anarchy!"