Bomb-Throwing Anarchists: Difference between revisions

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Anarchism is an umbrella term for a bunch of views that advocate the reduction or elimination of hierarchic power.

Since the 19th century, after anarchism began to take form as a social movement, news, propaganda, and fiction have vilified anarchists as [[Ax Crazy|maniacs]] who [[Anarchy Is Chaos|just want nothing but chaos]], [[For the Evulz|destruction]], [[Captain Obvious|and anarchy]]. Anarchists often fill the role of [[Terrorists Without a Cause]].

The "bomb-throwing" image of the anarchist was locked into the mindset of the public after the 1886 Haymarket Square riot in Chicago, where eight anarchists went on trial for a bomb that was thrown at a rally (not to say that these eight anarchists threw it, as some weren't even at the rally and were rather targeted for being influential anarchist figures in Chicago). Most people had probably never paid much attention to one of the 19th century's many radical social movements before, but the sensationalized spread of the incident left a negative impression in media for a long time.

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* V from ''[[V for Vendetta]]'' partially counts. He is an anarchist, and he is quite mad, but unlike the other examples of this trope, he does have some empathy and does not mindlessly destroy everything.

** Moreover he's [[The Hero]].

*** Given that [[Alan Moore]] is himself an anarchist, albeit of the non-bomb throwing variety, this isn't surprising.

*** [[Word of God]] (the author, not the artist, anyway) is that V is not necessarily [[The Hero]]: readers are supposed to decide for themselves.

* Batman villain (and obvious [[V for Vendetta]] [[Expy]]) Anarky is also a subversion. Sure, he's regularly put against Batman, but he's able to explain his motivations clearly and is often painted as more of an [[Anti-Hero]] who just happens to think violent means are okay against certain targets. He even had his own book for a few issues. As of late, however, there seems to be a new guy behind the mask who hews closer to this trope, and the actual Anarky is stuck in a technopathic coma seeking revenge. The original author is apparently not pleased with this development.

** Also, unlike [[V for Vendetta|V]], he was a [[Technical Pacifist]].

* The Trope Image is taken from Larry Gonick's ''Cartoon History of the United States'', part of his ''[[Cartoon History of the Universe]]'' series, humourously lampshaded the common stereotype of anarchists as [[Older Than They Think|mad, bearded bombers]] ("smell like garlic... foreign accent... burning fuse") during the 1880s Red Scare after the Haymarket Bombing.

* Referenced in [[Tintin|Tintin The Scepter of Ottokar]]. When Tintin sneaks into the palace to warn the king about the plot, he is captured by guards in the middle of a ball. The guests are told that Tintin was an anarchist, causing one of the guests to faint.

** Of course the book was written around the time when anarchists were practically synonymous with terrorists.

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** The story also includes the grotesque figure of Karl Yundt, who is expresses himself thus: "I have always dreamed of a band of men absolute in their resolve to discard all scruples in the choice of means, strong enough to give themselves frankly the name of destroyers, and free from the taint of that resigned pessimism which rots the world. No pity for anything on earth, including themselves, and death enlisted for good and all in the service of humanity -- that's what I would have liked to see." He has long since forgotten what he hoped to build in place of the old order.

* From about the same era (1908, to be precise), the anarchists in [[G. K. Chesterton]]'s ''[[The Man Who Was Thursday]]'' are actually proud of being devoted to destruction as an end in itself, considering partisan terrorists weaklings. "The outer circle are sad because the bomb did not kill the king; the inner circle are glad because the bomb killed somebody."

** ''The Man Who Was Thursday'' is actually a Christian parable of sorts. The "anarchists" are not rebelling against society but against God.

*** And {{spoiler|most of the alleged anarchists are merely disguised as such. The full title is ''The Man Who Was Thursday: [[In Which a Trope Is Described|A Nightmare]]''}}.

* This is a staple of the era, so much so that the titular short story of [[H. G. Wells]]' first collection, ''The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents'', mocks the idea of an anarchist committing bioterrorism. <ref><big>A Bacteriologist, after a bit of prompting, shows a young man a vial containing a live culture of cholera, then leaves the room momentarily to answer the door, his return quickly followed by the visitor apologizing for wasting so much of the Bacteriologist's valuable time and leaving. The Bacteriologist then notices that there's something missing. One [[Standard Snippet|Yackety Sax]]-worthy taxi chase (one taxi for the anarchist, one for the Bacteriologist, and one for his wife with his hat, shoes, and overcoat) later, the vial breaks in the anarchist's hand and the anarchist decides to act as the first carrier and drinks what's left, at which point he feels free to exit the cab, yell "Vive l'Anarchie! You are too late, my friend. I have drunk it. The cholera is abroad," and walk off into a crowd. On the ride home, the Bacteriologist reveals that he had just told the anarchist that the vial had contained cholera to impress him, while it actually contained a bacterium [[Cool and Unusual Punishment|that turns animals blue]].</big> </ref>

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* The Anarchist in the ''[[Blackadder]] the Third'' episode "Sense and Senility", who actually throws a [[Cartoon Bomb]] at the Prince Regent, while ranting about such industrial inventions as the "Going-up-and-down-a-bit-and-then-moving-along Gertrude".

* In his acting debut, [[Justin Bieber]] ([[Playing Against Type|of all people]]) plays unhinged anarchist Jason McCann on ''[[CSI]]''. He's a troubled teenager, with personal issues on top of a long list of others. He's appeared in two episodes of the 11th season, {{spoiler|but is unlikely to appear in any more, because in}} the episode ''Targets of Obsession'' (the title itself poking fun at Justin's superstar status), {{spoiler|Jason is shot around eight times, and killed by the police who corner him as he holds a man hostage on the road. [[Self-Deprecation]] at its best, good on Bieber for being a good sport.}}

* The 1900s version of ''[[Casualty]]'' had a storyline based on an explosion in London thought to be the work of Russian anarchists/communists, and the police invade the hospital receiving room looking for the perpetrators, subjecting anyone of vaguely Eastern European extraction to intense questioning, one of whom is injured in the conflagration...{{spoiler|before the explosion is revealed to have been due to gas.}}

== Music ==

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** On the other hand, the Free League faction is more or less made up of [[Averted Trope|not-bomb throwing anarchists]], being a loose association of individuals trying to get with their lives without the other factions telling them what to do. They even organize themselves in a non-hierarchical way.

* ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade]]'' averted this in two ways:

** The Brujah clan, once known as a clan of passionate philosopher-kings, who tended more towards impulsive radicalism in modern nights. While the clan tends more towards the "throw a brick through a Starbucks window" school of anarchy, however, it does have its share of passionate intellectuals who prefer to argue the merits of anarchy rather than enforce it with their fists.

** The Anarchs, a general faction of vampires who believe [[Ancient Conspiracy|the Camarilla]] are a bunch of outmoded feudal lords with their heads up their butts and [[Ax Crazy|the Sabbat]] are a band of psychopaths. They institute their own systems and fight to establish baronies free from Camarilla control, with political systems varying from baron to baron.

*** It should be notable that by the mid-nineties in which the setting is set, the only Anarch holdings left in the world is the US West Coast, which is being invaded by the Sabbat from Mexico, the Camarilla from the east, and the Kuei-Jin coming in by boat from the east, which showcases just how successful the Anarchs are.

* The Jammers from ''[[Feng Shui]]'' definitely fit the trope, with a fondness for blowing up Feng Shui sites in order to carry out Battlechimp Potemkin's dream of a world without chi.

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== Theatre ==

* The play "Last Meals" has in one of its vignettes a Timothy McVeigh [[Expy]] with a thing for mint chocolate chip ice cream. He is shown making a speech to the camera and does an [[Unflinching Walk]] from a building he has just blown up, while eating his ice cream.

* The play "The Just Assassins" by french writer Albert Camus explores the moral issues faced by a group of Russian terrorists plotting to kill the Governor General of Moscow by throwing a bomb at his carriage.

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* In [[Scribblenauts]], "terrorist" and "anarchist" are represented by the same character model.

* In ''Urban Chaos: Riot Response'' the main villains are a bunch of anarchist [[Kill It with Fire|pyromaniacs]] called [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|"The Burners"]] who [[Complete Monster|kill indiscriminately]], wear [[Faceless Goons|painted hockey masks]], and {{spoiler|are really brainwashed employees of a corporation who want to "burn the city alive" to "make the country pay for its exploitation of 3rd world countries."}}

* ''[[Victoria an Empire Under The Sun]]'' has a variety of "Crime buildings" that can appear if your crime spending gets too low, one of these is "anarchist bomb-throwers" that greatly increases the chance of a "Political assassination" event.

* ''[[Victoria: An Empire Under The Sun]]'' has a variety of "Crime buildings" that can appear if your crime spending gets too low, one of these is "anarchist bomb-throwers" that greatly increases the chance of a "Political assassination" event.

* The Freakshow in ''[[City of Heroes]]'' are a group of anarchistic cyberpunks who take more than a few hints from [[Fight Club|Project Mayhem]].

* Aversion: Ryan from [[The Nameless Mod]] ''looks'' like he's just a [[Terrorist Without a Cause]] at first, who happens to be fighting against the [[Big Bad]] of the game. But when you talk to him and learn that he's an anarchist, he explains his motives, he comes off as much more sympathetic, and it makes him into a [[Chaotic Good|different type of character.]]

* The Intellivision game ''Bomb Squad'' uses this as the premise behind the game. One of these has planted a really big bomb under downtown and you're set to disable it. While you and your pal are trying to disable it, he taunts "It won't be easy!" in what ''might'' be an East European accent.

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== Western Animation ==

* [[Batman Beyond|Mad Stan]] has a problem with institutionalized centers of information (i.e. Libraries, the Internet) and his solution is to lob explosives at the issue until it goes away.

* [[The Tick|"Yeah, baby, yeah!]] [[Department of Redundancy Department|I'm the Evil Midnight Bomber what bombs at midnight!"]]

* [[The Tick (animation)|"Yeah, baby, yeah!]] [[Department of Redundancy Department|I'm the Evil Midnight Bomber what bombs at midnight!"]]

* Verminous Skum from ''[[Captain Planet]]'' was one of these a lot. Trying to spread panic through inaccurate AIDS information and getting everyone in Washington DC hooked on a drug called Bliss to create his own zombie army are a few examples.

* The Blow Out, a [[Looney Tunes]] cartoon, had [[Cross-Dressing Voices|Lucille]] [[Large Ham|La Verne]] - [[Hey, It's That Voice!|aka]] [[Snow White (Disney film)|The Queen]] - as [[No Name Given|The Bomber]]. He adorably is foiled by [[Characterization Marches On|a child version]] of Porky Pig.

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* The Weather Underground fell into the same trope; despite consciously attempting to avoid being portrayed as crazed bombers, they assumed that "bringing the Vietnam War home" would radicalize America. Instead, several of them ended up blowing themselves up in Greenwich Village (although most of the Weathermen merely dropped out, and the former leadership were mostly pardoned) and had a similar film, ''[[The Weather Underground]]'' made about them.

* Real life example: Anarchists assassinated President of the USA William McKinley, Sadi Carnot (the President of France), Jose Canalejas (Prime Minister of Spain) and King Umberto I of Italy.

** We should note, however, that all of the said leaders ordered violent actions themselves, usually against labor unionists, or in the case of President McKinley, crushing Filipino nationalists ''and'' striking American workers. The former is named ''The Forgotten War'' by some.

** [[Pinkerton Detective|Locked up striking workers]] in boxcars in the Arizona Desert, IIRC. Had an actual anarchist done something like that, they'd be writing tropes about it today. Said rule generally applies, of course.

** Leon Czolgosz was generally accepted as not an anarchist within the anarchist community and he was rejected from the general culture and movement along with his actions. Most anarchists though had mixed feelings from sympathy like Emma Goldman the anarcho-communist (whose political lectures Czolgosz attended and claimed an inspiration from) to outright rejection from the individualist anarchist Henry Bool. Some even thought Leon was a spy because at meetings he went to he seemed to lack any knowledge on the subject of anarchism and many anarchists thought he was a secret spy for the police (which is the real life inspiration for Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent). Spies and agent provocateurs (infiltrators who committed or instigated violence to discredit radicals) were a constant concern, suspected of entrapping people.

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*** It's important to note that Anarchism and Communism started out as extremely similar ideologies. The anarchist movement has been leftist and 'red' (For example, the anarchist Emma Goldman was referred to as Red Emma) for most of their history, with the least communistic strain being individualist anarchism and mutualism, which is still essentially a libertarian socialist thread, albeit one that also supports an unfettered free market. It does this by replacing 'property' with 'possession' of capital. Not until recently have there been 'anarcho-capitalists', and a large part of the anarchist movement does not consider them to be anarchists at all.

* The [[Trope Namer]] came from an incident on May 4, 1886 called the Haymarket <s>Riot</s> <s>Massacre</s> Affair where during a rally in support of striking workers recently gunned down by police and [[Pinkerton Detective|Pinkertons]], someone threw a bomb at police, killing one of them. Eight anarchists were put on trial for this and the internationally publicized trials led to the caricature of the Bomb Throwing Anarchist.

** Four of the anarchist leaders were sentenced to death, and one killed himself in prison. Interestingly, no one actually knows who did it, and it seems like they never will - however, one of the main theories is that it was [[False-Flag Operation|an agent provocateur]]. For that matter, the initial blast only killed one police officer; the other causalities were due to the police opening fire on the crowd, and, apparently, themselves (it was dark.) One report put the number of civilian deaths at around 50. The Other Wiki, of course, has more information and details. There were no charges over these deaths, and indeed the anarchists on trial were charged with inciting the violence through their writings or speeches, rather than committing it directly.

** A statue of the officer killed by the bomb, erected in the square, has been defaced and repeatedly blown up as recently as the 1970s. Its current incarnation is installed in the Chicago police station.

** At the time, "mad bombers" were all assumed to be anarchists, and vice versa, based on the notoriety of the assassination attempts, hence the origin of the stereotype. Ironically, in reality, most anarchists at the time were basically [[wikipedia:council communism|council communists]] -- the people who wanted Russia to be run democratically from the ground up by workers councils. They all got killed by Lenin. So basically, anarchism at the time was another name for communism ''without'' the dictatorship part, not nihilism. (In the US, they briefly took over East Saint Louis during a General Strike and turned local governance, mail, etc. over to the Unions until the Federal soldiers seized control of the city). The same thing happened with the Seattle General Strike in 1919.

** The 1910 Los Angeles Times Bombing was linked to attempts to unionize the iron workers, but were commonly called Bomb throwing anarchists.

* Italian anarchists and revolutionaries of the Turn-of-the-Century seemed to be particularly [[Ax Crazy]] when compared to others, and it wasn't rare for them to attack rulers from [[wikipedia:Michele Angiolillo|other]] [[wikipedia:Gennaro Rubino|countries]] that had no relation whatsoever with Italy or even [[wikipedia:Felice Orsini|sympathised with it]].

* Late 19th-early 20th century terrorists in the Russian Empire were and still are popularly known as "bombists" due to their love for home-made explosives. Of course, far from all of them were anarchists (the Socialist Revolutionaries - eSeRs - outnumbered them as time went on), but then again, many of them were pretty nihilistic in character if not in their party ideology and otherwise fit this stereotype quite well.

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** [[The Big Lebowski|Nihilists believe in nothing!]] Say what you want about [[Anarchy Is Chaos|Anarchism]]... [[Memetic Mutation|at least it's an Ethos!]]

*** Here "Nihilism" referred to belief that the existing society would have to be "annihilated" before a better world could emerge, rather than believing in nothing.

* Czar Alexander II of Russia was killed by one of these, the twist being that he was killed by the ''second'' bomb thrown at him after the first failed. And that he was killed the very day he'd agreed to call a constituent assembly, among more reforms.

** Calling the constituent assembly probably wouldn't have changed his assassins mind, he had done the same thing almost every time there was a major political upheaval and he disbanded it every time it disagreed with him.

* In Ancient Rome, it was those dastardly Christians who were held to be fervently wishing for the demise of the state, and blamed for the [[While Rome Burns|fire that destroyed Rome]], along with promoting class mixing and attacking the state-sponsored religion; resulting in centuries of persecution. They were also called ''atheists'', as they rejected the civic gods of the state religion, including the "divine" Emperors.

** In fact, many Biblical scholars interpret the Book of Revelations as an anarchistic screed foretelling the fall of the Roman Empire.

** Somewhat more plausibly in the 14-16th century, when some of the [[Torches and Pitchforks|peasant revolts]] during the Reformation ''were'' anarchist. The leader of the Anabaptists was drawn and quartered for proclaiming that he would rather the Turks invade Germany ([[Values Dissonance|a realistic proposition at the time]]) instead of having self-proclaimed Christians [[Technical Pacifist|rule by force]]. In England in the 1300s, [[wikipedia:Occams Razor|William of Ockham]]'s seminary students were Socialists of sorts who tried to eliminate all rulers in England and set up... they weren't sure yet. Their Peasant's Revolt [[What Could Have Been|nearly deposed the monarchy]] [[Alternate History|in the 1300s]], but was turned back at the gates of London. The leaders then met with the king to discuss reforms. He promptly killed them all, promised reforms to their followers (that never happened) and pardoned them, staving off any further revolt. The Diggers in the English Civil War were also essentially Christian anarchists and [[Actual Pacifist|Actual Pacifists]], meaning they didn't last long when the government cracked down. This was also when the word "anarchist" was used the first time in the modern sense, referring to such radical groups.

* Anarchists were blamed by most of the media for turning the relatively peaceful 1999 WTO protests into a riot.

** Have also been blamed for frenzying the police during the more recent Occupy Movements on the West Coast area.