Quakers are anarchists

This may seem like a very peculiar statement to anyone who associates anarchism with violence, and Quakers with peace, but this misunderstands the nature of anarchism.

People who promote and support violence at anything and for any reason are not "Anarchists". There is another name for these people, and it is "Idiots". I know that the media usually refer to these people as anarchists, but that is a label, not a philosophical statement.

So why do I say that Quakers are anarchists? Well, anarchism is about a rejection of authority - more specifically, it is a rejection of imposed authority, it is a rejection of the idea that another party can impose authority over us.

Let me explain: the American Footballers who took the knee - as a peaceful protest against the racism and hte racist killings - this was anachism, once the authorities told them not to. It was anarchism, because it was a rejection of the rights of the football authorities to rule on their peaceful protest.

For clarification, it is perfectly reasonable to accept the football authorities rights to define how the game is played, what the rules are and to have to abide by them, while still rejecting their rights to ban their protest.

The early Quakers did something that sounds minor today - they refused to doff their hats at the gentry. Big deal, right? Well, in a society where observing the social niceties was fundamental - where an acknowledgement of hte structure was at the core of maintaining the cohesion of the society - this was anachist. This was radically challenging to the structure of society. The reaction it provoked showed how problematic it was.

So yes, Quakers were anarchist, in their peaceful, and so intensely undermining, way. Today, in all sortf of often quiet, peaceful ways, Quakers are anarchist. That is - I guess - part of what attracts me.