Taking authority apart
August 2016 - Switzerland
[ In July 2016 , an incendiary attack took place against an urgency telecommunication tower station belonging to the Zurich Police . As explained in the following article published in the biweekly anarchist newspaper Dissonanz issue 34 , a repressive situation followed this sabotage with different house searches and one anarchist comrade wanted . Apart from the need to open up a space for solidarity with this wanted comrade and the anarchists from Zurich , this article draws up , according to us , a crucial point for anarchist insurrectional projectuality : the identification of the enemy . The deepening of this aspect , in thought as in action , seems to us of concern for every anarchist who wants to find herself or himself at daggers drawn with the existent and is looking for ways to disorganize the forces of authority and acceptance .]
A month has passed since the attack against the antenna of Zurich-Waidberg , a month of suspicious silence from the side of the media and the authorities . Only last week the first details have started coming to light , and we have learned from the media that the attacked antenna was nothing less then the urgency radio system of the Zurich police , which is supposed to be a back up in case the normal radio system wouldn ’ t function any more . A fire destroyed the cables at the basis of this antenna , causing hundreds of thousands of franks of damage , and putting the antenna out of service “ for several days ”. We also learned that an international warrant has been issued against the comrade the cops are looking for [ see Ding Dong , it ’ s the State in Dissonanz , n ° 32 ].
In the light of this new details , the silence that followed this sabotage isn ’ t surprising us , because what has been touched by this attack , is a raw nerve that has embarrassed the whole of the police forces of Zurich , showing their vulnerability . What could have happened if at that moment , for one reason or another , there would have been a break down of the radio system of the cops ? Without the use of the radio to communicate , transmit orders and informations , the police of Zurich would probably have been seriously limited in its capacities to coordinate and react , creating a favourable situation for anyone who has some scores to settle with this society . But let ’ s go a step further . And what if such a sabotage would have taken place during moments of social tension , for example during the riots in Bellevue a few years ago or the ones in the Europa-Allee ? When the defenders of order are not able to coordinate , they would have faced serious trouble to retake control of the situation and guarantee a return to normality . These riots , instead of swift riots of some hours , could maybe have had enough oxygen to spread in space and time . Even their characteristics could have transformed into something different : by creating a cartography difficultly controllable by the authorities because of their incapacity to coordinate , they could have opened up new spaces of thought . Europa-Allee , and then ? What do we want ? How do we want to live ? Questions that would have got practical and immediate answers on the spot . The problem of gentrification for example is linked to the problem of wealth , of those who have and those who haven ’ t , and without the protection of the police forces , expropriation by those who haven ’ t could have been an answer . The revolt could even have gone beyond the single issue of gentrification , putting into question private property , and therefore one of the roots of the society of authority .
Facing the injustice and the abuse of this society , we feel often impotent . In the end , transforming society is an almost impossible objective , so what can a single person then do about it ? Without giving it to much thought , we surrender ourselves to traditions , rituals , collective identities and repetitions of acts simply because it is what has always been done . The quantity of people in the streets , of the provoked damage and of the injured cops become parameters of success or not for a demonstration . We do not want to admit that only measuring the quantitative side isn ’ t anything else than an illusion we create for ourselves in order to keep on repeating the same rituals . The logics of “ ten today , hundred tomorrow ” prevents us from looking beyond our own nose , to see that something else can be done , that even a small
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