On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Two.1.2

1.2 Likelihood is not certainty. Certainty may not be the result of desire. This Modern Warrior Archetype must be emotionally prepared. The world will do as it will. Respect is the surest means of survival. Fighting should be a last resort, and as such likely be brutal. Anything else is not worth it. Outright intimidation will be answered by some one. Someone is always stronger (or luckier). The key for the best defense lies in making offense too costly. Some potential targets are not worth the price. This Modern Warrior Archetype seeks to be one such and allied to such. The whole is different than the sum of its parts. The gentle can kill. In fact, justification makes it all the easier through lack of remorse. They deserve it.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part Two.1.1

1.1 Although often considered as synonymous, in most realities, control and power represent opposite ends of a variable spectrum. In less stable conditions, the spectrum would be curved or even circular (in which case the two terms would in fact be one). If one goes around the world, one will eventually return. However, in the most stable states, the spectrum becomes truly linear. One has no need of control where power is balanced. The need for control is often an indicator of a loss of status or power. However, often, the resulting actions serve only to decrease power further as the result of backlash mechanisms. Hence, authority declines. This downward spiral will continue until either a different reaction is realized or no power remains. Eventually all power and control is lost and the world moves onward. Control destroys power. Real power is obtained and collected through respect. This Modern Warrior Archetype knows the difference.

Excerpts from ANARCHISTS IN THE SPANISH REVOLUTION by José Pierats #3

The war of fronts led the CNT into the mire of political collaboration and to give up our past without any kind of recompense, since the more we surrendered as we collaborated, the more was demanded of us. While the policy of collaboration went ahead, we anarchists were able to gain some influence, but it was inevitable that we would fall sooner or later on the side of the State, and we were soon absorbed by the State bureaucracy. Many of our comrades realized the inevitability of the process and found they enjoyed the seats of power.

What redeemed our role in the revolution of July 19 was the work of the regular militants, who echoed the position of our classic theorists, and fled the bureaucratising ambience of committees, trying instead to make the revolution in concrete ways, or who simply fought, without ever having read Bakunin or Kropotkin.

We still argue in our circles about whether we should have instituted full libertarian communism in Catalonia from the start, with all of its consequences. Assuming something which is very dubious, that "going all out" would have had the virtue of being able to extend anarchism to all of the loyal zone, I am still convinced, even without the Fascist presence, that we would not have been able to avoid a civil war. In such a situation, what would have happened? Most likely, the formation of a strong revolutionary government, which excluded the opposition - a supremely centralized power with a coercive apparatus to prevent and repress opposition. In such a situation the means would have completely obliviated our ends, as occurred in the Russian experience.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part One

Second Draft

Part 1-2
Part 3
Part 4-5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part One.12.0

12. This Modern Warrior Archetype requires balance and self-discipline to stay away from the shadows. One must be selective in belonging. Lest one descend to the realm of reptiles, certain lines should not be crossed. Only the insane embrace such retrograde natures. Insight can be an excellent guide away from such paths, but beware: too much introversion can devour one whole. One must be equally discerning in seeking a guide. Many desiring the roll have their own agenda that might prove detrimental. This Modern Warrior Archetype is not a tool. Agitation will attempt to prove otherwise. The state is a prime actor in such attempts. Unless goals and aims coincide, avoid it. The state will use and discard. Purpose can be higher. A government is not a nation; a nation is not a people. Sacrifice can be found elsewhere. Duty can be discharged in many ways. In matters of life and death, abstractions are mostly lies. Preservation for its own sake leads to stagnation. As a result, the final fall is from the greatest heights. Terminal velocity is the hardest hit. Very much may be done without lifting a finger. All else might lie within shadow.

End of Part One.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part One.11.0

11. Daylight does not require swagger. Presence may be conveyed by more subtle means. Why broadcast challenge? This Modern Warrior Archetype seeks to defuse tension. "Bring it on" is for idiots. Protracted battles are exhausting and leave long shadows at days end. Shadows are not cast in the dark. Intentions are less obvious and uncertain. Priorities and loyalties are masked. Freaks come out at night. Those whom feel the need to prove something walk at night. Certain deviants are harmful. The harshest battles are fought at night. Intimidation has its time. Power can be projected. Fear is best contained. Repression is for fools. This Modern Warrior Archetype can allow its passage to be felt and known.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part One.10.0

10. This Modern Warrior Archetype understands asymmetric and systemic warfare. Offense and defense are compliments. Weak points must be shored and/or exploited beyond Maximum Advantage in all Things. Mediocre strategies and tactics must be discarded. Error is worse compounded. One must have the courage to admit and correct mistakes. Reforms are lesser errors. Things can go farther. Progress is a dead end because it must never end. The world always moves onward and outward.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part One.9.0

9. The meek might be destined to inherit the Earth six feet under, but one need not hasten the day. This Modern Warrior Archetype has certain responsibilities towards others and commitments to others. Certain burdens must be born. Blatant disregard can never accomplish anything lasting in a world where all eyes see all. Suppression and repression are the herd's preservation instincts. Civilization is an attempt at neutralization. The warrior made itself more threatening and feared than the yoke. The civilizing drive often fails. It has created something worse the warrior. Killing has become detached and remote; this Modern Warrior Archetype is more personal, yet psychologically aware enough to recognize the damage. The personal toll had better be worth it. The surreal must be ignored. Lunatics deserve a purge.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part One.8.0

8. Chaos may be feared and reviled, or be a time for the reveler. A little decadence, every now and again, is not a bad thing. Coping mechanisms are an essentially defense against snapping. Too many gravitate towards intensity, thus leaving unnecessary destruction in their wake. Comrades can escalate atrocities. Ramping is necessary for struggle, but only produces needless agitation in other respects. The backlash produces a need for authority. Most people are simply ill-equipped to deal with massive violence. This Modern Warrior Archetype must understand that freedom is derived from service. It just does not need to be an abstraction or the state. Killing for no good reason must be avoided; retribution must be swift, decisive and deadly against those choosing otherwise. The code of silence is a failure in shadow. Inappropriate reaction is the road in shadow. This Modern Warrior Archetype does not require enemies.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part One.7.0

7. Commitments and codes are necessary to avoid shadow. Honor need not come from above. As Things Fall Apart, certain choices must be made. This Modern Warrior Archetype must step softly. Power can be more addictive than any mere chemical. The impulse towards domination must be resisted. The weak are a responsibility. Their mass is a grave danger and an easy weapon. When threatened, their unattended panic can bury one. Else, like one standing beneath an exploding volcano, survival is mere chance. Tasks and attainable goals, with something shown, are superior to projection. The world will not just go one's way because one wills it. It must be made to happen. The exceptions are coincidence or certainties. Folly is a dance. One is better off refusing certain steps. Codes of conduct must come from within, else once coercive force is removed it will evaporate. Laws are best ignored. What matters is self and those immediately around us. A group or individual code means something. The decrees of corrupt politicians are meaningless. Empathy is the primary tool for understanding others. One does not act indiscriminately against fellow human being, merely others. One can be free, but must accept limits to avoid the shadows and insanity.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part One.6.0

6. One needs outlets. Constant agitation uses and expends. This Modern Warrior Archetype must be whole to resist the shadow. Life must be worth living or misery will spread. One must be willing to cull (or at least retire) the un-whole. Unless actively prevented the worst will happen in war. In a hierarchal organization that which is allowed to happen is never accidental. If the shadow is found it is either condoned or willingly ignored. Anything else is a lie. Stratification is division. The denominator is always on the bottom and often gets reduced.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part One.4-5.0

4. The shadow does not fear deterioration of the spirit. Fanatics and tyrants believe the ends justify the means. The shadow can even not care. The daylight knows better and mitigates accordingly. One need not lose to win.

5. Struggle can often lead to accommodations. The high ground must be identified and set unless events require re-evaluation. Instincts must be developed to quickly identify the new high ground. High noon has less shadows. One must start somewhere.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part One.3.0

3a. This Modern Warrior Archetype sizes up all obstacles and opponents. Avoidance is best determined. Action must be decisive, but need not be fast. Time will often yield the better victory. Fear is a weapon that can be exploited beyond Maximum Advantage. Anything else amounts to digging one's own grave in shadow.

3b. The shadow would rather use others against others. This Modern Warrior Archetype does its own dirty work.

3c. Unless utterly brutal and sustained, the shadow's major flaw is impatience. The gun can be jumped. Only the fanatic can sustain the energy; the rest become (or already are) psychologically damaged by the means and methods of modern conflict. Blood stains on the street have meaning.

On This Modern Warrior Archetype Part One.1-2.0

Regarding the Shadow that must be avoided–

1. For warrior archetypes, as most feared, the shadow is the most discussed aspect. In fact, many warrior archetypes would appear to be nothing except shadow. This Modern Warrior Archetype can slide into shadow; it does not need stay. Violence is numbing. The shadow has no sense of honor and usually no real grounding.

2. Where the means must be avoided at any price, the shadow must be avoided at all cost. Death brings forth the shadow. The uninvolved must stay uninvolved. Having been drawn, enemies multiply and never go away. The eyes of the world should always be assumed to be watching. Once habitual, the spiral is always downward. The shadow sees collaborators everywhere; the light illuminates opportunities.

Excerpts from ANARCHISTS IN THE SPANISH REVOLUTION by José Pierats #2

Anarchism is largely responsible for its own bad reputation in the world. It did not consider the thorny problem of means and ends. In their writings, many anarchists conceived of a miraculous solution to the problem of revolution. We fell easily into this trap in Spain. We believed that "once the dog is dead, the rabies is over." We proclaimed a full-blown revolution without worrying about the many complex problems that a revolution brings with it. Nettlau said that those who believe that a society can change itself overnight through a heroic struggle have not learned the lessons of history. As Bakunin was wont to say, "a people develops extraordinary capacities when it is able to defeat its worst enemy: the State." But we must not forget what we have learned from more recent history (which Bakunin did not experience) - that the state is a virus that can take hold in each of us, and that revolutions set free not only the enslaved masses, but also millions and millions of viruses. For example, to the Iberian anarchist of my generation the notion that there is an inevitable reaction to any revolution was unthinkable, or unimportant. Some Spanish comrades still lament that our revolution happened to be accompanied by a civil war. But when had there been a revolution without a civil war? Is not a revolution a civil war by its very nature?

And yet we were caught unprepared when our revolution inevitably provoked a civil war. As I say in the text of this book, the Spanish anarchists suffered from an excessively urban orientation in their revolutionary, or rather insurrectionary, plans. If the insurrection was lost in the cities, the villages were written off. We never thought that we would have to prepare for civil war by organizing support bases for guerrilla actions in the countryside and the mountains, and by developing supply systems for such activities and training select troops as guerrillas. With its tortuous geography Spain is a good terrain for guerrilla warfare, and a wen organized guerrilla force would have defeated soldiers trained for a war of continuous fronts. In the last world war the Spanish Army itself used guerrilla warfare (which it called commandos), and the Vietnamese and the Palestinians are still using it. Guerrilla organization could have saved the North from Franco. Our trench warfare was a gift that we made to Franco, Mola, Quiepo del Llano, Yagile and the other strategists of the enemy camp.