this post was submitted on 30 Aug 2025
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Illegalism

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Illegalism is an anarchist philosophy which embraces criminality as a lifestyle. It's the second part of the renowned and enlightened charter: "Be Gay, Do Crime"

This is a place for exchanging tricks & experiences, discussing trends & events, sharing shitposts, and connecting criminality to theory & praxis.

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A Tumblr post by user "cock-holliday":

I think people need to be more comfortable with illegalism and I’m not kidding. Of course the more legal something is, the safer and easier it is to do, but the more people who disregard the law, the harder it is to enforce. There are plenty of laws on the books that people just ignore and are never or rarely policed.

Becoming more comfortable with little illegal activities makes you more comfortable with bigger more important illegal activities. Additionally, it is crucial to build a wall of silence. Nobody talks everybody walks.

People who give out food without a permit, hold a march without a permit, grow a garden without a permit, are more likely to be people you could turn to to work with on preventing an eviction, or keeping people out of cop hands, or helping your friend Jane get crucial healthcare when it’s not legal in your state.

Communities comfortable with these acts won’t call the cops, and then nobody knows that it’s happening.

People have got to shift from both the idea that lawful = good/ illegal = bad, and that the illegality of something means that’s the end of it, and the only fight left is to make it legal again.

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[–] ScoffingLizard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 22 hours ago

Grow a garden without a permit? Wtf do yall live where you need a permit to grow shit? Billionaires can't pay taxes but you need a gardening permit. What the fuck is this planet? How the fuck do we have to pay to live on a planet we were born on?

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 12 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I'm often taken aback by young people's views on the law. They seem terrified of stepping out of line. I suppose that's down to the way they got schooled, which is horrifying by my GenX standards.

When I was young, rebels were heroes. We delighted in fucking around and not getting caught.

[–] ghostlychonk@lemmy.world 6 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Considering how often the police shoot first and ask questions later with zero consequences, I don't blame them for being terrified.

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 6 points 4 days ago

I'm talking about even slightest offenses. Some of my young friends were over and I suggested we do a thing. I forget what, but it was utterly harmless and with no repercussions.

"Isn't that against the law?"

"Well, yeah, but how the hell would anyone even know?"

They looked at each other like they had never considered such a thing. They were just going bad illegal = bad.

[–] the_q@lemmy.zip 9 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Just remember that consequences are still very real and none of you are Trump.

[–] chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 4 days ago

It really depends. For example consumer level media piracy might be illegal, but you are not getting in trouble with the law for it (outside a few places like Germany, or narrow circumstances like torrenting porn videos produced by copyright trolls). Many other situations too where the consequences are only imaginary or vanishingly unlikely.

[–] e_chao@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago (1 children)

"One day you will be called on to break a big law in the name of justice and rationality. Everything will depend on it. You have to be ready. How are you going to prepare for that day when it really matters?

You have to stay ‘in shape’ so that when the big day comes you will be ready. What you need is ‘anarchist calisthenics.’ Every day or so break some trivial law that makes no sense, even if it’s only jaywalking. Use your own head to judge whether a law is just or reasonable. That way, you’ll keep trim; and when the big day comes, you’ll be ready."

https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/anonymous-anarchist-calisthenics

[–] TherapyGary@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)
[–] Flatworm7591@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

You should post that to lefty memes :)

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

This person is confusing morals and ethics.

[–] TherapyGary@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

I don't think they're talking about morals or ethics at all?

[–] ChicoSuave@lemmy.world -3 points 4 days ago (2 children)

This doesn't sound like a movement around something reasoned but a reason to practice hubris at the expense of others. Rules are not made as an affront to you specifically and saying you don't need to listen to others is destined to find you a bad time.

You know, I made an argument like this once, and some dumbass came in with

"WeLl i gUeSs wE ShOuLd jUsT StArT MuRdErInG PeOpLe hUh iF LaWs dOn't mAtTeR."

Completely missing the point.

I don't think you're a dumbass but I do think you're missing the point. These kinds of discussions aren't meant as a "no rules hehehe" movement, they're meant as a "there's a ridiculous systemic framework that is wildly outdated and it's only getting worse, with bad actors using it to pass horrible laws. We should get comfortable with resisting these laws using good reasoning"

What if every single person in the US suddenly started blocking ice from entering any buildings? There would be nothing, not a damn thing, that any executive order could do about it. We outnumber the lawmakers and thus it's up to us to keep their power in check.

That's what this is about, using little examples like this to get this idea of you do not have to follow ridiculous, dangerous laws into the public consciousness.

[–] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 0 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

steal anything that isn't nailed down. then get a hammer.