Burning condos may slow the progression of gentrification, but (though it may be extremist and exciting), it will not STOP it. Moving out of a neighborhood that’s being gentrified is akin to social change through “lowering your carbon footprint” (expensive lightbulbs, shorter showers). Personal action does little but wipe away white guilt (although, personal action for self, such as healing, can go a long way in friendships). It also allows us to remain dishonest with ourselves about how close we are to anything different. Why stop at moving to another gentrified neighborhood when there is so much else you could feel self-important and in the right about? Even if you were never born, these communities would still undergo gentrification and it would be happening at the same rate.
If an insurrection happens it won’t be brought about by us, and if it is we are sure to crush it ourselves. In our impotence of fighting and the rarity of even negligible positive changes, we attack each other and/or ourselves. We are our own cannon fodders.
The life we are handed is our inheritance and includes ten thousand years of destruction and appropriation. For me, it is like being born into a family that I never wanted. We witness millions of crises that avert the final crisis. Civilization changes and adapts, absorbing all as potential sources of growth, and finds places to divert its destruction. We inherit an amalgamation of the ideologies that have sprung forth through time. Which, to me, means we should be critical of even the politics and actions we have been handed. Many anarchist beliefs and actions seem extremely Christian to me. One ponders the situation and disposes of certain parts but keeps others, in the same way Marx accepted industrialization. I’m not saying that we should throw out everything, but we should think critically about everything, including ourselves. This doesn’t mean waiting and watching for fuck ups, but thinking critically and reflecting on our experiences.

— Dear Chicago Inquisitors…

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