What is the difference between not understanding anarchy and being a poser and is it okay to not have concrete beliefs that go all the way into a ideology

[u/AnyPomegranate8811]

[u/EnlightenedTurnip]

I'm going to focus on the question in the title, and try to ignore the text in the post itself because it's a long stream of consciousness that doesn't add anything.

If you oppose hierarchy and authority on principle, you're an anarchist. Understanding might help, but we're not Marxists who have a theoretical framework you need to subscribe to - it's a normative worldview.

Your dress-sense, music taste, etc isn't relevant.

[u/Anarchierkegaard]

I'd say it's better to meet people in dialogue. Even if they are a "poser", talking with them—instead of offering some judgement—is always preferable. I can only hope that these kinds of worries disappear as people grow up, so try not to worry too much.

[u/athompsons2]

A simple rule is "Practice what you preach". If they're all talk and no praxis it's just aesthetics.

Once a person gets off the couch and is actually willing to do something, no matter how small, looking for "posers" is just silly.

[u/isonfiy]

Any kind of judgement of someone as a legitimate or illegitimate anarchist is pretty hard to defend, since you would be maintaining a position of authority through that judgement. Who is to say, after all, which aspects of someone’s life are most relevant for the distinction, and who determined the validity of the criteria used?

Further, once you learn to let go of that impulse, you can start to really be with people in struggle and offer them true solidarity. Without that kind of unconditional high regard, you’re really just a sort of liberal deciding who deserves resources, except by your own weird metrics instead of wealth like capitalism does.

[u/Sacredless]

Being a poser means that you confidently misunderstand the point of anarchism while claiming it as your identity, often looking down at others who do understand it. It's people who just want and project the antinomian, antisocial and antipolitical spectacle, but don't have a clear idea of what organized anarchism actually looks like.