National Anarchists on the SPLC

“‘National Anarchism’: An Article Fact Check”
from Bay Area National Anarchists, May 28, 2009

While we normally don’t write about articles written about the BANA network but the recent “‘National Anarchism’: California Racists Claim They’re Anarchists” contains a number of factual and fanciful embellishments we want to fix for the public record.

CLAIM:

“We are racial separatists for a number of reasons, such as our desire to maintain our cultural continuity, the principle of voluntary association, and as a self-defensive measure to protect each other from being victimized by crime from other races,” BANA co-founder Andrew Yeoman told the Intelligence Report.

FACT:

Andrew Yeoman is the founder of the BANA network however the network is run collectively.

CLAIM:

“Calling themselves the Bay Area National Anarchists (BANA), they envision a future race war leading to neo-tribal, whites-only enclaves to be called “National Autonomous Zones.”"

FACT:

As mentioned in our Frequently Asked Questions page does not advocate for race war, quite the contrary. Neither do National Autonomous Zones have meaning only for a single racial group. A NAZ is formed either deliberately or ad hoc when a group defends it’s interests.

CLAIM:

“The group also recently formed at least a fleeting alliance with the American Front, a skinhead group based in Sacramento, Calif. American Front leader David Lynch credits BANA online with helping raise funds on behalf of a member of the domestic extreme-right terrorist group The Order who’s due to be released from prison early next year.”

FACT:

BANA supports a variety of political prisoners of which The Order is one. It has been our policy not to discuss our prisoner support efforts publicly.

CLAIM:

“National anarchists appeal to these youths in part by avoiding the trappings of skinhead culture — flight jackets, shaved heads and combat boots — in favor of hooded sweatshirts and bandanas. They act the part of stereotypical anarchists, as envisioned by most Americans outside of far-left circles: black-clad protesters wreaking havoc at political conventions and anti-globalization rallies.”

FACT:

Implying that we are (or are all former skinheads) misrepresents who we are and our individual backgrounds. We are not nor have we ever been a skinhead movement, we have nothing to offer people who find the skinhead lifestyle appealing.

CLAIM:

“Yeoman said it was this do-it-yourself ethos that inspired him to become involved with the anarchist movement not long after the sometimes-violent 1999 anti-globalization demonstrations in Seattle drew international notice.”

FACT:

Andrew Yeoman’s interest in anarchism started from his first-hand experience of anarchism in Detroit Michigan and not from the 1999 WTO protest.

CLAIM:

“BANA first began appearing in public in San Francisco only in late 2007. Since then, BANA members with “Keep Our Children Safe” signs have protested alongside Christian Right demonstrators outside a gay leather subculture festival in San Francisco and organized a cleanup of San Francisco Bay shores.”

FACT:

Our anti-Folsom Street Fair protest was not done alongside Christian Right demonstrators. If there were any so-called Christian Right demonstrators that day we certainly didn’t see them.

CLAIM:

“Practicing full-blown entryism, they marched between groups carrying the Palestinian flag and the gay-pride flag, while shouting, “Fuck, Fuck, Fuck Zionism!”"

FACT:

The exact phrase was “Fuck, Fuck, Zionism!”

CLAIM:

“The “network” has caches of food stashed throughout the Bay Area, which members collect and bring together at a “National Autonomous Zone, where people can be trusted to keep the zombies away.” The “zombies” are non-whites, who “emerge from the confines of the projects and barrios where the city likes to keep their surplus labor contained.” ”

FACT:

The zombie metaphor is a common description for people in a crowd and is not limited to race. Claiming it only means non white people is an attempt to sex up the article to the SPLC’s cash cow demographic. In fact in our experience white people tend to be the most numerous zombies around.

CLAIM:

“”A PLE has all the problems inherent with an open-door hippie commune in the 1970s, with the free-love mentality,” Yeoman said. “We’re what a PLE would be if it had higher standards.”"

FACT:

A NAZ is what a PLE would be if it had higher quality control standards.

CLAIM:

“The movement, PRA concluded, could become the new face of the radical right.”

FACT:

As stated in our FAQ we thoroughly and unconditionally reject the labels of right-wing or left-wing. Our rejection of the mainstream political process assures that we do not fit into neat categories the SPLC would like to fit us in.

If you would like further information about National Anarchism or the Bay Area National Anarchists please feel free to write us at info@bayareanationalanarchists.com or BANA 7172 Regional St. #338 Dublin, CA 94568.