PORTLAND ANARCHISTS FIX POTHOLES

Pretty much all cities have pothole problems. Portland, Oregon has a group of anarchists that are taking things into their own hands. A group calling itself Portland Anarchist Road Care says state neglect is to blame for the poor condition of the streets. The group, working anonymously, has – without government permission – patched a handful of potholes on Southeast Salmon Street back in late February, and the group is planning more actions. Part of the motivation, the group says on its Facebook page, is to squash perceptions that anarchists only break windows and block roads. In an email to the Oregonian newspaper, the anarchists wrote: “By creating structures to serve the same purpose as state structures, such as our organization, we have the ability to show that government is not necessary for society to function, that we can have a truly free and liberated society.” The group said it is now exploring alternatives to patching potholes, including mobilizing people to fix roads in their own neighborhoods and increasing pothole visibility, particularly around bike routes.
* That’s great, kids. Now go build a bridge, or lay some railroad track or something.
* Cool! Just like “V for Vendetta,” in a really stupid way.
* Would you at least agree that government is good at things like air traffic control?
* I know one thing: I don’t want a bunch of anarchists directing the planes around.
* If you want to know how smug and strident these kids are just consider that one sentence: “By creating structures to serve the same purpose as state structures…” It goes on but I can’t take anymore.
* How close to the state structure are they? Do their pothole repair workers stand around the pothole for four hours doing nothing?
* Once again, I only hope that someday many years from now, they’re all at a party and someone brings this up. They’re going to feel really embarrassed and you know what? They should be.
* Why can’t they just sit around smoking pot and forget the potHOLES?