4 ms·

I got in trouble for reading this on a school iPad in middle school. The anarchists cook book is severely outdated. Most of the info it contains is straight up

I got in trouble for reading this on a school iPad in middle school. The anarchists cook book is severely outdated. Most of the info it contains is straight up fabricated. It's no longer worthy of the controversial reputation that it has.

mingus88 4y ago
The prevailing theory when I was in high school was that this AC was a honeypot. Anybody trying to order the misspelled chemical names in the AC to cook homemade explosives would get a visit from the FBI Even the size of it suggests that it’s not an actual revolutionary manual. The thing was huge, and couldn’t fit in a bookshelf. Not exactly something you could hand out and conceal if it wanted to do covert ops outlined in it like blowing bridges and sabatoge. It’s like the only purpose it served was to be found and tip off who was interested in that stuff. And it also served to indoctrinate a generation of us that Anarchism as a social movement was nothing more than blowing up shit; illegal and violent by definition.
- greesil 4y ago
  The term "bomb throwing anarchist" has been around a lot longer than the cookbook. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haymarket_affair https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haymarket_affair
  - mingus88 4y ago
    Yes the AC didn't start that bit of indoctrination, but renewed it for a new generation. It was published in the 70s when the counter culture was at it's strongest.
    - greesil 4y ago
      Maybe it's time for a re-brand with a new name. This worked for Joe Camel. Also, Christianity.
      - boq 4y ago
        Well, there exists "libertaire" in French (and other languages as well I guess) as a synonym, but nowadays people would hear "libertarian".
- horns4lyfe 4y ago
  As a Portland resident, I haven’t seen anything evidence against that.
  - mejutoco 4y ago
    Noam Chomsky identifies as an anarchist, and he is not violent and blows things up, so evidence exists that it is possible.
    - yakshaving_jgt 4y ago
      Chomsky seems to be pretty cool with the appeasement of a genocidal terrorist regime though. He’s not one of the good guys. https://www.e-flux.com/notes/470005/open-letter-to-noam-chomsky-and-other-like-minded-intellectuals-on-the-russia-ukraine-war https://www.e-flux.com/notes/470005/open-letter-to-noam-chom...
      - fancybouncy 4y ago
        who decides who the good guys are? if you get a good anthropology book, you'll find plenty of societies that value violence (to varying degrees). in fact, you don't even need an anthropology book, just open the old testament.
        tdeck 4y ago
        Apparently a blog post by 3 economists and a professor of finance decides.
        CamperBob2 4y ago
        who decides who the good guys are? Simple. Look at the guards at the border. Are they employed because people keep trying to sneak into the country, or out of it?
        deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
- alchemist1e9 4y ago
  > Even the size of it suggests that it’s not an actual revolutionary manual. The thing was huge, and couldn’t fit in a bookshelf. Not exactly something you could hand out and conceal if it wanted to do covert ops outlined in it like blowing bridges and sabatoge. What are you talking about, it’s 160 pages. I remember carrying around a binder in my school backpack, it’s fairly slim actually.
  - edmundsauto 4y ago
    My copy was a very tall book, black cover. I think this is what OP meant - not book length.
    - alchemist1e9 4y ago
      Oh I see. I’ve only ever seen printed copies of it on regular sized paper.
- starkd 4y ago
  In secondary school, I remember some people buying this book. You could not buy it off the shelf, but you could order it just fine. They were more interested in the drug recipes, but I don't think any of the recipes worked out or were practical.
- JoeyBananas 4y ago
  > And it also served to indoctrinate a generation of us that Anarchism as a social movement was nothing more than blowing up shit; illegal and violent by definition. Anarchism has earned this reputation for a reason, and it's definitely not a conspiracy.
  - sofixa 4y ago
    There are different movements/leanings of Anarchism, and some of them are outright mainstream in multiple countries (e.g. Anarcho-Capitalism is very popular in the US).
    - vorpalhex 4y ago
      Those folks also believe in blowing things up and burning down government buildings. They just believe that capitalism will be sustainable in the absence of a dominant power.
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
- Spooky23 4y ago
  That’s probably true. There’s a program down to the county level where law enforcement establishes relationships with places that sell certain materials. If you show up and buy a big bag of ammonium nitrate or order a few hundred pounds of sugar and aren’t known to the seller, you’ll be looked into or talked to.
  - brudgers 4y ago
    It is true now. Fifty years ago, not so much. The first crackdown on chemicals was - I think but could be wrong - the precursors for quaalude manufacturing…it came even before the US got serious about drunk driving…around 1982. Oklahoma City made explosive precursors an area of concern, but meth precursors are a 21st century prohibition/restriction. Anyway, your local police are likely to have live access to security cameras in area businesses in addition to real time license plate readers in cruisers.
- autoexec 4y ago
  > It’s like the only purpose it served was to be found and tip off who was interested in that stuff. it'd be a shame then because the FBI must have spent several years worth of man-hours investigating 13 year old edgelords instead of concerning themselves with actual threats.
- astrange 4y ago
  > And it also served to indoctrinate a generation of us that Anarchism as a social movement was nothing more than blowing up shit; illegal and violent by definition. This is somewhat more productive than what anarchism is actually about (holding so many meetings about everything you never actually do it). But I think people got a better picture from watching Life of Brian.

mingus88 4y ago

The prevailing theory when I was in high school was that this AC was a honeypot. Anybody trying to order the misspelled chemical names in the AC to cook homemade explosives would get a visit from the FBI Even the size of it suggests that it’s not an actual revolutionary manual. The thing was huge, and couldn’t fit in a bookshelf. Not exactly something you could hand out and conceal if it wanted to do covert ops outlined in it like blowing bridges and sabatoge. It’s like the only purpose it served was to be found and tip off who was interested in that stuff. And it also served to indoctrinate a generation of us that Anarchism as a social movement was nothing more than blowing up shit; illegal and violent by definition.

greesil 4y ago
The term "bomb throwing anarchist" has been around a lot longer than the cookbook. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haymarket_affair https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haymarket_affair
- mingus88 4y ago
  Yes the AC didn't start that bit of indoctrination, but renewed it for a new generation. It was published in the 70s when the counter culture was at it's strongest.
  - greesil 4y ago
    Maybe it's time for a re-brand with a new name. This worked for Joe Camel. Also, Christianity.
    - boq 4y ago
      Well, there exists "libertaire" in French (and other languages as well I guess) as a synonym, but nowadays people would hear "libertarian".
horns4lyfe 4y ago
As a Portland resident, I haven’t seen anything evidence against that.
- mejutoco 4y ago
  Noam Chomsky identifies as an anarchist, and he is not violent and blows things up, so evidence exists that it is possible.
  - yakshaving_jgt 4y ago
    Chomsky seems to be pretty cool with the appeasement of a genocidal terrorist regime though. He’s not one of the good guys. https://www.e-flux.com/notes/470005/open-letter-to-noam-chomsky-and-other-like-minded-intellectuals-on-the-russia-ukraine-war https://www.e-flux.com/notes/470005/open-letter-to-noam-chom...
    - fancybouncy 4y ago
      who decides who the good guys are? if you get a good anthropology book, you'll find plenty of societies that value violence (to varying degrees). in fact, you don't even need an anthropology book, just open the old testament.
      - tdeck 4y ago
        Apparently a blog post by 3 economists and a professor of finance decides.
      - CamperBob2 4y ago
        who decides who the good guys are? Simple. Look at the guards at the border. Are they employed because people keep trying to sneak into the country, or out of it?
        deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
alchemist1e9 4y ago
> Even the size of it suggests that it’s not an actual revolutionary manual. The thing was huge, and couldn’t fit in a bookshelf. Not exactly something you could hand out and conceal if it wanted to do covert ops outlined in it like blowing bridges and sabatoge. What are you talking about, it’s 160 pages. I remember carrying around a binder in my school backpack, it’s fairly slim actually.
- edmundsauto 4y ago
  My copy was a very tall book, black cover. I think this is what OP meant - not book length.
  - alchemist1e9 4y ago
    Oh I see. I’ve only ever seen printed copies of it on regular sized paper.
starkd 4y ago
In secondary school, I remember some people buying this book. You could not buy it off the shelf, but you could order it just fine. They were more interested in the drug recipes, but I don't think any of the recipes worked out or were practical.
JoeyBananas 4y ago
> And it also served to indoctrinate a generation of us that Anarchism as a social movement was nothing more than blowing up shit; illegal and violent by definition. Anarchism has earned this reputation for a reason, and it's definitely not a conspiracy.
- sofixa 4y ago
  There are different movements/leanings of Anarchism, and some of them are outright mainstream in multiple countries (e.g. Anarcho-Capitalism is very popular in the US).
  - vorpalhex 4y ago
    Those folks also believe in blowing things up and burning down government buildings. They just believe that capitalism will be sustainable in the absence of a dominant power.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
Spooky23 4y ago
That’s probably true. There’s a program down to the county level where law enforcement establishes relationships with places that sell certain materials. If you show up and buy a big bag of ammonium nitrate or order a few hundred pounds of sugar and aren’t known to the seller, you’ll be looked into or talked to.
- brudgers 4y ago
  It is true now. Fifty years ago, not so much. The first crackdown on chemicals was - I think but could be wrong - the precursors for quaalude manufacturing…it came even before the US got serious about drunk driving…around 1982. Oklahoma City made explosive precursors an area of concern, but meth precursors are a 21st century prohibition/restriction. Anyway, your local police are likely to have live access to security cameras in area businesses in addition to real time license plate readers in cruisers.
autoexec 4y ago
> It’s like the only purpose it served was to be found and tip off who was interested in that stuff. it'd be a shame then because the FBI must have spent several years worth of man-hours investigating 13 year old edgelords instead of concerning themselves with actual threats.
astrange 4y ago
> And it also served to indoctrinate a generation of us that Anarchism as a social movement was nothing more than blowing up shit; illegal and violent by definition. This is somewhat more productive than what anarchism is actually about (holding so many meetings about everything you never actually do it). But I think people got a better picture from watching Life of Brian.