r/Anarchy101 Jun 15 '23

Please Read Before Posting or Commenting

111 Upvotes

Welcome to Anarchy 101!

Before you post or comment, please take a moment to read the sidebar and familiarize yourself with our resources and rules.

And if your question is likely to be of the frequently asked variety, take a minute to make use of the search bar. Some questions, like those related to "law enforcement" or the precise relationship of anarchy to hierarchy and authority, are asked and answered on an almost daily basis, so the best answers may have already been posted.

If your question seems unanswered, please state it clearly in the post title, with whatever additional clarification seems necessary in the text itself.

Please keep in mind that this is indeed a 101 sub, designed to be a resource for those learning the basics of a consistent anarchism. The rules about limiting debate and antagonistic posting are there for a reason, so that we can keep this a useful and welcoming space for students of anarchist ideas—and for anyone else who can cooperate in keeping the quality of responses high.

We welcome debate on topics related to anarchism in r/DebateAnarchism and recommend general posts about anarchist topics be directed to r/anarchism or any of the more specialized anarchist subreddits. We expect a certain amount of contentious back-and-forth in the process of fully answering questions, but if you find that the answer to your question—or response to your comment—leads to a debate, rather than a clarifying question, please consider taking the discussion to r/DebateAnarchism. For better or worse, avoiding debate sometimes involves “reading the room” a bit and recognizing that not every potentially anarchist idea can be usefully expressed in a general, 101-level discussion.

We don’t do subreddit drama—including posts highlighting drama from this subreddit. If you have suggestions for this subreddit, please contact the moderators.

Please don’t advocate illegal acts. All subreddits are subject to Reddit’s sitewide content policy—and radical subreddits are often subject to extra scrutiny.

Avoid discussing individuals in ways that might be taken as defamatory. Your call-out is unlikely to clarify basic anarchist ideas—and it may increase the vulnerability of the subreddit.

And don’t ask us to choose between two anti-anarchist tendencies. That never seems to lead anywhere good.

In general, just remember that this is a forum for questions about anarchist topics and answers reflecting some specific knowledge of anarchist sources. Other posts or comments, however interesting, useful or well-intentioned, may be removed.

Some additional thoughts:

Things always go most smoothly when the questions are really about anarchism and the answers are provided by anarchists. Almost without exception, requests for anarchist opinions about non-anarchist tendencies and figures lead to contentious exchanges with Redditors who are, at best, unprepared to provide anarchist answers to the questions raised. Feelings get hurt and people get banned. Threads are removed and sometimes have to be locked.

We expect that lot of the questions here will involve comparisons with capitalism, Marxism or existing governmental systems. That's natural, but the subreddit is obviously a better resource for learning about anarchism if those questions—and the discussions they prompt—remain focused on anarchism. If your question seems likely to draw in capitalists, Marxists or defenders of other non-anarchist tendencies, the effect is much the same as posting a topic for debate. Those threads are sometimes popular—in the sense that they get a lot of responses and active up- and down-voting—but it is almost always a matter of more heat than light when it comes to clarifying anarchist ideas and practices.

We also expect, since this is a general anarchist forum, that we will not always be able to avoid sectarian differences among proponents of different anarchist tendencies. This is another place where the 101 nature of the forum comes into play. Rejection of capitalism, statism, etc. is fundamental, but perhaps internal struggles for the soul of the anarchist movement are at least a 200-level matter. If nothing else, embracing a bit of “anarchism without adjectives” while in this particular subreddit helps keep things focused on answering people's questions. If you want to offer a differing perspective, based on more specific ideological commitments, simply identifying the tendency and the grounds for disagreement should help introduce the diversity of anarchist thought without moving us into the realm of debate.

We grind away at some questions—constantly and seemingly endlessly in the most extreme cases—and that can be frustrating. More than that, it can be disturbing, disheartening to find that anarchist ideas remain in flux on some very fundamental topics. Chances are good, however, that whatever seemingly interminable debate you find yourself involved in will not suddenly be resolved by some intellectual or rhetorical masterstroke. Say what you can say, as clearly as you can manage, and then feel free to take a sanity break—until the next, more or less inevitable go-round. We do make progress in clarifying these difficult, important issues—even relatively rapid progress on occasion, but it often seems to happen in spite of our passion for the subjects.

In addition, you may have noticed that it’s a crazy old world out there, in ways that continue to take their toll on most of us, one way or another. Participation in most forums remains high and a bit distracted, while our collective capacity to self-manage is still not a great deal better online than it is anywhere else. We're all still a little plague-stricken and the effects are generally more contagious than we expect or acknowledge. Be just a bit more thoughtful about your participation here, just as you would in other aspects of your daily life. And if others are obviously not doing their part, consider using the report button, rather than pouring fuel on the fire. Increased participation makes the potential utility and reach of a forum like this even greater—provided we all do the little things necessary to make sure it remains an educational resource that folks with questions can actually navigate.

A final note:

— The question of violence is often not far removed from our discussions, whether it is a question of present-day threats, protest tactics, revolutionary strategy, anarchistic alternatives to police and military, or various similar topics. We need to be able to talk, at times, about the role that violence might play in anti-authoritarian social relations and we certainly need, at other times, to be clear with one another about the role of violence in our daily lives, whether as activists or simply as members of violent societies. We need to be able to do so with a mix of common sense and respect for basic security culture—but also sensitivity to the fact that violence is indeed endemic to our cultures, so keeping our educational spaces free of unnecessary triggers and discussions that are only likely to compound existing traumas ought to be among the tasks we all share as participants. Posts and comments seeming to advocate violence for its own sake or to dwell on it unnecessarily are likely to be removed.


r/Anarchy101 5h ago

How easy is it to live on the outside and be ungoverned?

10 Upvotes

So I've got this idea that's been stuck in my head forever now , of just living off a bicycle traveling up and down the east Coast to avoid shitty temperatures and living on side to society, have nice set of clothes in my pack to blend in when not traveling, shop lifting from mega corps when I need something, maybe do a performance act whenever I wanna get money. And hang out at libraries and colleges for the WiFi and access to media

I've lived without a phone plan for about 2 years now , don't own a car and ride an ebike in rural area , sleep in a hammock in the house, and shoplift 60% of my grocery bill . I'm 20 something and live with my partner which is the only reason I haven't gone off and done it yet because they wanna live a normal life , I'm gonna get a job at Wally world grabbing carts cause I just wanna listen to audio books all day and use my body

And my main question is , would doing it be all that much of jump for me or is probably just day dreaming for me ?


r/Anarchy101 14h ago

Am I wrong in my understanding of Mutual Aid?

44 Upvotes

It's very trendy right now, especially on Bluesky and in some Discord servers I'm on, to set up GoFundMe's and share Cashapps for people who are short on rent money or who need help with medical expenses, and to brand those as "mutual aid requests." It's often from people who are not likely to be able to return the favour to someone else (and no shame in that).

I had always taken Mutual Aid to mean that it's, well, mutual. That it's distinct from charity in that everyone involved benefits from it, rather than being a top-down approach in which the donors don't benefit from it except for maybe feeling some gratification. So it strikes me as odd that that those requests are being called MA, when it looks a lot more like charity.

I think what I'm seeing is that it's trendier to call these types of requests for assistance MA requests, rather than accurately describing them as charity. But it's also so prevalent that I wonder if I've just misunderstood what MA is all along. Am I wrong about what MA is supposed to be?


r/Anarchy101 8h ago

How will we have common ownership over things without a large government?

14 Upvotes

this is a very common objection i hear and i was wondering if could get an answer.

how will we enforce communal ownership in a large society without a centralized super government to moderate those exchanges?


r/Anarchy101 12h ago

Any examples of successful anarchist groups in modern day?

17 Upvotes

r/Anarchy101 9h ago

Labour and distribution in anarchy

9 Upvotes

I’m fairly new to anarchism, and my education so far basically amounts to some of the broader concepts Chomsky talks about and various videos online. I was having a discussion with a liberal friend recently about how I’ve become more skeptical that capitalism can be reformed, and that I believe the root cause of the problem to fundamentally be the tyrannical hierarchies that private corporations subject us all to. I believe that anarchism provides the only moral and ethical basis for a true freedom, although I am not sure how it would work in practices in a lot of ways. I feel we had a pretty productive discussion about these broad fundamental problems, but then we diverged into a discussion about how society would organise on a larger scale, how goods and services will be produced and distributed, and how conflict will be addressed. They were pretty certain that such a society could never exist, and I pointed to movements in rojava, southern Mexico, republican Spain etc. but they were pretty dismissive this would work in a broader context. I was wondering how anarchists envision labour and the distribution of equity from the product of labour would work?

I believe that workers should own the means of production, but I’m not sure how society would work without money? Say you’re part of a collective of workers that performs one job, and the product of this work is distributed amongst the people, who decides how much this product is worth? What if you want to acquire a phone for example, how does one know how many of my collectives product is a phone equivalent to? Maybe I am stuck in an a capitalist way of thinking after many years, I plan to do some reading on these kinds of things so if anyone could provide some good resources that would be great. Equally, a basic overview of how these concepts are addressed would be highly appreciated!


r/Anarchy101 11h ago

How are "criminals" dealt with in anarchy?

10 Upvotes

For example how would a serial killer who just kills for fun like ted bundy be dealt with. Are there prisons?


r/Anarchy101 22h ago

Can you be an Anarchist and a pacifist at the same time ?

59 Upvotes

I know Tolstoy was both but I'm curious about how popular or unpopular this notion is. Most people associate anarchism with violence and destruction but then again most people don't know much about anarchism any way. My current dilemma is that modern states tend to monopolize violence and competing with them in that level seems to only increase the violence of the state and/or create more profits for entities such as the military/industrial complex and war profiteering/weapons manufacturers in general so I'm curious about what classic/contemporary anarchists had/has to say about this. And has there ever been anarchists through out history who were as pacifist as Ghandi or MLK ?


r/Anarchy101 9h ago

What is Autonomism?

3 Upvotes

Or Autonomist Marxism, I heard that there are also Anarchists who identify as Autonomists, so I chose to ask this there


r/Anarchy101 12h ago

Intentional Living to reach an Anarchic Society

3 Upvotes

As an abolitionist, I see our current world as limiting beyond belief. We’ve taken so many things for granted that we’ve entered an automated living experience where nothing is questioned and nobody yearns for change or improvement. We are in a time where conformity is praised and rewarded, and intentional living has been put on the back burner in favor of consumerism and individualism.

As a collective, we center institutions over humanity, then wonder why there is so much injustice in the world. This reality has made it impossible to live a quality life outside of the very systems that hold us back from progress. Those of us who desire true freedom, which only comes once every person, animal and plant are free, have noted several institutional and systemic forces that should be dismantled. The problem is, too many cannot possibly imagine what kind of world could exist without the pillars that have sustained their current lifestyle.

Rather than seeing life as a fluid state of being that involves a variety of experiences influenced by our background, everybody is assumed to go through life in irreversible stages. This makes many act as if life would be nothing and complete disorder without rigid boundaries and expectations. I believe that by holding on so tightly to previously held beliefs and long held traditions, we are preventing the integration of collective practices that could center healing, personal agency, and collective well-being.

I’m putting together a list of things I believe we should abolish, compared to the proposals of what we might be able to set in their place if we can collectively deconstruct and dismantle these oppressive structures. I wish to explore how we could live alternatively to the status quo via Intentional Living as a means of reaching self actualization and global liberation.

Here’s what I’ve worked out so far:

Family vs Community Childhood vs Shared Growth Adulthood vs Self-discovery Parenthood vs It Takes a Village Gender binary vs Authentic Selfhood Healthcare vs Healing Control vs Autonomy Schooling vs Education Work vs Purposeful living Policing vs Accountability Punitive vs Restorative Justice Surveillance vs Trust & Consent Social stratification vs Radical Equity Borders vs Mapping Property vs Access Charity vs Mutual Aid Wealth vs Abundance Corporations vs Libraries Ownership vs Stewardship Extraction vs Regeneration Militarizing vs Self-defense Domination vs Interdependence CONFORMITY vs INTENTIONAL LIVING

(P.s. Hello, fellow anarchists, I wrote this for my Self-ruled Intentional Community group and would love to hear y’all’s thoughts and/or feedback!)


r/Anarchy101 7h ago

Should Anarchists still read Marx & Lenin and such?

1 Upvotes

Title says it all really. Im currently figuring out what to read to educate myself on Anarchism as im not an anarchist.


r/Anarchy101 1d ago

Doing the Thing

35 Upvotes

Hi all, this is my first time posting :3

I’m a stay at home mom, and my SO is our sole income. That being said, I am trying to figure out how to Do the Anarchist ™️ Thing and help my community (and thus work on saving the world, you get the idea) but I don’t know where to start. I would say I live in a small town, but a quick google search just told me we are the 10th largest town in my state. I’m sure there are other people like me locally, but I haven’t a clue how to find them, or organize, or start doing the community and mutual aid thing. There are several ”blessing boxes” in church parking lots in the community as well as a few library boxes, but I want to do more. I have noticed a large number of homeless/unhoused people near where we live, and I have ideas for making filled backpacks for them, but I am just one person who wants to fix everything with a very small household income and that reality makes it seem impossible to start or provide any meaningful change (ugh sorry for the long ramble).

tl:dr - how do you do anarchism in real life in a meaningful way that aids you and the world around you

Edit: thank you to everyone in the comments & for sharing resources on what communities around me that may already exist. I have several good ideas (and good additions) from the recommendations on this post. See y’all in the streets!


r/Anarchy101 1d ago

Looking for a book

8 Upvotes

A friend of mine, long ago, He had lent me a book whose name I don't remember or the author. The book was about anarchist individualism. I remember that the author was French and signed with a pseudonym. Thanks in advance.


r/Anarchy101 1d ago

Making an anarchist story

21 Upvotes

So I just thought of an idea. It's so easy to just think of dystopia stories that strip away your hope. But what about stories where anarchists win? That's why I've thought of a story set in a post revolutionary world, seen from a POV of someone who has travelled there from the past, which should highlight the differences between our present world and our target world. So....

The premise: Anarchists have successfully won the world through a long term revolution. God intervened in the world and gave many anarchists powers, which enabled them to win the world. But now they’re facing a problem. The earth’s core is set to explode in 300 years, and none of the scientists from the present world have a solution. Which is why one anarchist with powers over time summons a queer scientist from the past who has the intelligence and capability of solving this problem. THEY are an incredibly brilliant polymath who were taken too soon from this world by crime. Now normally fixing the world would be no problem, but unfortunately, the fascists have also acquired powers of their own, and want to remake the world in their image. So now, the real challenge begins. How will the anarchists prevail?

My name is Siddharth, and I'm an anarchist from India. I want to create a story that inspires more people to become anarchists, and hopefully this should help. I want y'alls feedback on this. Should I continue and try to create a story or should I just shut up and go on with my life?


r/Anarchy101 1d ago

was there a consensus in anarchist catalonia

10 Upvotes

please with sources


r/Anarchy101 1d ago

Magical Anarchist Story Pitch?

4 Upvotes

I got inspired by another redditor’s post of their idea of a story so I’ll throw my own out here too! (tho this is probably better posted on r/anarchism or r/anarchistwritersbloc)

The pitch: It’s 1970s MA, America. A queer working class boy goes freighthopping in a literal magical underground railroad and ends up in a small town’s magical school ‘Sui Generis’ (placeholder name). Here, mages are ostracized and live in secret societies (such as the one the main character finds himself in). The main character learns how to participate in community, making friends along the way while going through magical shenanigans (maybe the students have to work together to find and help a magical beast? Not quite sure)

TL:DR; Harry Potter but without all the icky stuff + anarchist + solarpunk if you squint really hard

It’s been a while since I've tinkered with this concept, but I had it in my mind since July when I found Margaret Killjoy’s podcast cool people who did cool stuff and the episode on Francisco Ferror and the modern school.

Would any of you find it interesting? What could I do to help my vision? like what books, movies, documentaries, etc should I study and take inspiration from? 

I’ll definitely give the episode another listen, reread Killjoy’s book ‘The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion’, read some of Ursula K. Le Guin’s books like The Dispossessed and EarthSea. Hopefully there are primary sources of students' experiences in anarchist schools like La Ruche and Prevost orphanage where Paul Robin taught so I can see how classrooms would’ve functioned.


r/Anarchy101 2d ago

Has anyone got "Anarchy explained to children" in Arabic?

27 Upvotes

Has anyone got "Anarchy explained to children" by J.A Emmanuel? I know its there and my tutor actually had the pdf file, I remember it beginning with adressing the ignorance of Muslims to Anarchy which influenced whoever to translate it in arabic. I can't seem to find it anywhere online, I'd appreciate the pdf file


r/Anarchy101 2d ago

Espionage from states

7 Upvotes

What do you think about the data spied on by governments, I had read that a lot of research is used by governments, do you have any experience


r/Anarchy101 3d ago

What things in our current society would we need to sacrifice in order to sustain/maintain a anarchist society?

13 Upvotes

What aspects of our society would we need to give away in exchange for a world where everyone is equal and happy or is there a way to find sustainable and non-exploitative alternatives to maintain them and share them with everyone?


r/Anarchy101 4d ago

Ostracism and anarchism

42 Upvotes

For those who don't know this is a practice originated in Athens where as punishment someone is exiled from their community. I witnessed this practice being proposed and actuated in my own anarchist circle tor abusing one's mandate and therefore compromising the internal democracy and sovereignity of the assembly. I never vetoed its application but always spoke out against its use, which in my opinion is in most cases counterproductive and divisive. I ended up seizing my participation in one assembly over the latest misuse/overuse(imho) of this practice. What do y'all think about it?


r/Anarchy101 4d ago

Hard determinism and political activism

14 Upvotes

While there's no substantial evidence for hard determinism, I find that the burden of proof lies on those that claim that conscience and human agency is somewhat more than just the product of mechanical cause and effect phenomena. I would say that I'm agnostic about it but I lean towards a hard deterministic perspective. A comrade of mine says that it's incompatible with individual responsibility and I agree with them but I don't agree that individual responsibility is a conditio sine qua non for political activism. I think that organising society in a libertarian-socialist manner is just the rational imperative for the survivability of the biosphere that humans are part of. We evolved to be empathetic and we owe much of our advancement as a species to this quality of our condition.


r/Anarchy101 5d ago

Is there a place for religion in anarchism?

153 Upvotes

I’m an agnostic personally, but slogans like “no gods, no masters,” makes me feel like we’re excluding… y’know, almost everyone. My girlfriend is Hindu, my D&D table is Christian. What about the Chinese popular religion(s) and Shinto? Are there no Muslim comrades who believe that the only lord is Allah?


r/Anarchy101 5d ago

Potentially "rediscovering" anarchism, but i have questions.

12 Upvotes

When i was a teenager, i considered myself an anarchist, although in reality i think back then i was more of an edgy liberal who wanted to stand out, and ended up being a demsoc type for a few years. Recently, however, major personal and world events have shaken me awake and i don't think i can in good conscience continue to be a bystander to, or supporter of the utter rottenness of the world. I now have a serious interest in anarchism, after a pretty brief skim of some videos and articles, i just have some questions that are burning in my mind.

1. What is essential reading for someone who is basically new to anarchism? I've entirely lost faith in existing institutions, and anarchists seem to have the view of the world that's most accurate and realistic, from where i stand anyway. So, i decided that i couldn't do anything if i didn't have an understanding of what i would probably end up advocating. I haven't ever been someone who does heavy reading, but i think i need to change that, and I'm wondering what's necessary to read for a 'baby' anarchist. Both the intro level stuff, and things i can look into later when i have a better understanding. Anarchists, or people in general who are important for understanding anarchism. On this point, I'd like to know if there are audiobooks available for these, or versions that put any 100+ year old texts into more accessible language without dumbing any ideas down.

2. How can i stay informed while avoiding propaganda? Scrolling the internet, especially in regard to politics, I'm just met with this tsunami of 'news' from mainstream or otherwise right-wing sources, and its not always obvious what agenda something has at first. I want to know what's going on in the world, but not have to just helplessly rely on the media of giant corporations, states, and billionaires. Are there some sources that have an anarchist angle? Especially ones that aren't trying to provide some sort of comfort or cope, just what's really going on, things to know, from an anarchist angle.

3. How do i genuinely meet other likeminded people and make any sort of difference? I can't just try to ignore the monumental injustice in the world anymore, its wrong. I've had something sort of snap in me, and i have this stomach-turning feeling of being hyper-aware of the perpetual infliction of suffering and denial of basic life necessities by the powerful. At least, as 'hyper-aware' as someone from my admittedly fortunate position can be. I want to take action, and do something that will genuinely be of benefit to people, or the general anarchist cause, or be undesirable for the global system of control and robbery. I just want to do anything i can to help.

4. How do I stop thinking like a liberal, and where do anarchists stand on 'liberal' positions like humanism, idealism, etc.? Kind of two parts to this one, i guess. I find myself generally agreeing with anarchism, but still having liberal ways of thinking active in my head. It just comes naturally after thinking that way for so long. I want to know if there are any ways to fight that programming. My second, related point on that question was where anarchists tend to stand on these ideas i don't quite have the words for unfortunately, but associate with liberalism. I've seen Marxists online criticize anarchists as being idealistic, and my impression is that this is untrue, but I've also seen some anarchists say some pretty liberal sounding things. I ultimately ask these because i currently can only see liberalism as a core part of the existing oppressive systems, and i don't want to think like them, or to inadvertently promote a political stance that ends up reinforcing them. I also just see liberal thinking as superstitious, for lack of a better word. There is no inherent goodness, or morality, or values or meanings that just drift down from the aether. I'm interested in seeing the world more objectively, and don't believe in utopias.

5. How do i convince people in my life of anarchism? I've never been able to keep my mouth shut about politics around people i trust, and i doubt it could hurt if I ended up getting a couple more people on board with anarchism. However, if i just say to someone who's less interested in politics, or just unconvinced in general that I'm an anarchist, well, it'll raise eyebrows, and prompt some arguing. I want to make clear to people that what I'm talking about isn't just disorder and destruction.

6. What's the general anarchist attitude towards technology? It seems like I've seen anarchists online, in my limited research before this post, express a general skepticism towards technology. Not being luddites, but, often seeming say that it's "gone too far" in some way, or that technology is necessarily in conflict with nature to some degree. I don't even know where i stand on this, i just want to get an approximation of if this is the general attitude. Also on this point, purely asking out of curiosity because i heard a bit more about it recently, not any bias, but is there an "anarchist accelerationism?" i skimmed some stuff on Wikipedia about l/acc, and related stuff and just wondered what anarchists think of accelerationism. I won't pretend to understand it deeply at all.

7. How do anarchists think "crime" should be handled? As far as I'm aware, the anarchist position is that the law should not exist, and that enforcing your will on others (like with a violent crime) shouldn't be something people have freedom to do, even if they're free in basically every other way. My question, then, is how do anarchists say someone like a spree killer should be handled, if there's no law? And how does whatever structure is tasked with preventing or otherwise stopping this behavior not become an authority?

Thanks


r/Anarchy101 5d ago

Anarcho-Nihilist and Post-civ texts?

8 Upvotes

I read "Blessed is the Flame" by Serafinski and I loved it, so I'm looking to expand my knowledge with similar texts. I'm just really interested in nihilism and anti/post-civilisation. I prefer longer books that approach this more philosophically, but any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

What are your favorite nihilist or post-civ anarchist texts?

Thank you in advance :)


r/Anarchy101 6d ago

What are the hottest anarchist lines you got?

143 Upvotes

Slogans. Jingles. One liners. Hot takes.

A message that cuts through the din of liberal pablum with precision and brevity but that still explains some core piece of anarchist thought. Now more than ever we need to find new and novel ways to condense the basics of anarchist theories and principles down to bite sized forms for the people to consume. We must find ways of creating anarchist koans.

So I ask of you, what's the best you got? Something sharp, something short, something true, something that you think resonates with the anti establishment sentiment running through the US of A.

We ought to make such sharp rhetorical instruments available to everyone no? So what you got?


r/Anarchy101 5d ago

I have some questions.

2 Upvotes

I'm genuinely curious so please no hate. (if you don't ask, you won't know, right? lol)

So how do most anarchists feel about social media requiring ID? This question is inspired by a conversation in another sub that I got involved in and thought I would come here and ask. I'm talking about politicians passing laws that require ID for social media, not social media requiring ID of their own volition.

How do most anarchists feel about the Luigi Mangione/ceo situation? I see most of the support for Luigi coming from liberals and the Left but I've also seen support from conservatives and the Right, although not as much support from that side. But I've seen support from both sides and condemnation from both sides. So I was curious to hear what anarchists think.

Is being an anarchist the same as being anti-government or is that two different labels/two different groups of people? If anarchist and anti-government are two different things, what do you think about the label "anti-government" (some people associate the term with the Right-Wing, which is why I ask)? And is it possible to take hatred of the government too far (see my very recent comment history haha, may have to scroll a little lol) or to be too extreme in anti-government views (I'm talking about just views and sentiment, not violence or anything)?

I know anarchists believe in no government (correct me if I'm wrong). But is that the same thing as anti-government or two different sentiments?

And do you associate the label "anti-government" with the Right or the Left, or both? This question is inspired by a conversation I had with somebody (who wasn't an anarchist).

According to anarchism, does being anti-government also mean being anti-police and anti-military since those are government organizations? And are the majority of anarchists also anti-military and anti-police?

And how does most anarchists feel about vigilantism? This question isn't about Luigi. I'm talking about like taking matters into your own hands, vigilantism against abusers, for example. If you're opposed to vigilantism, what if you caught someone in the act? Then it would be defense, right, and not vigilantism? Thoughts?

So those are my questions and I'm probably forgetting some questions that I forgot to ask. They may seem like stupid questions but I'm genuinely curious as I honestly don't know the answers. So I came here to ask in good faith.

I also posted in the libertarian sub and asked them the same things. So I figured I'd come here and ask you guys.