LJ Idol part 20 - Week 1

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 17:42:04 GMT

Open topic! Nice. Since we are still getting to know each other, let me take a moment to talk about my love for political anarchism and what it means to me:

My view of political anarchism begins with the belief that all beings are here with me, not for me. Coincidentally, this is also the foundational belief for my veganism, Buddhism, anti-capitalism, feminism, anti-racism, anti-colonialism, etc., etc. It is also worth noting here that I am a socialist, and all anarchists are socialists, but not all socialists are anarchists. I call it political anarchism because of the unfortunate contemporary practice of equating anarchism with chaos. Political anarchism is not chaotic. It holds that all authority is illegitimate until proven legitimate, and the bar of proof is very high, perhaps beyond even a somewhat unreasonable doubt. But some authority can be legitimate. If a child starts to run into traffic, and a parent grabs the child to halt their movement, that parent is exerting authority over the child. This is legitimate authority. It protects the child and is in the interest of social wellbeing. Authority, however, is never absolute, even the authority of a parent over their child. Authority can always be questioned. Authority can also come from expertise. For example, the opinion of a hydro-electric engineer would count for more in matters of the safe operation of a hydro-electric facility than my opinion as a nurse. Likewise, my opinion as a nurse would count for more in matters of patient safety than that of a hydro-electric engineer. That being said, both myself and the hydro-electric engineer have a right to voice opinions on matters outside of our realms of expertise because collaboration is foundational to political anarchism. Therefore, in political anarchism, authority is always questioned, limited, and collaborative. If you are interested in learning more about political anarchism and how it can function, I recommend checking out the free online resources at The Anarchist Library theanarchistlibrary.org. I also highly recommend my favorite fictional representation of anarchist society: The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin. Also, Le Guin's short story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas is a wonderful story that explores the idea that beings are here with us, not for us.

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LJ Idol part 20 - Week 0

Sat, 05 Sep 2026 19:10:26 GMT

Hello! My name is mezzomint (or mezzominty if you knew me back on LiveJournal). I am a nurse, but all my patients are dead because I work in a medical examiner's office (which is nice because I have poor people skills). I collect data on violent deaths related to overdoses, homicides, and suicides. I review autopsy and police reports, medical records, toxicology results, and I read suicide notes if the investigators include them in the file. And here's the bad news about suicide notes: most of them are not well written. The good news is I have written a guide to writing better suicide notes, and it was included in the second volume of LJ Idol anthologies, Idol Meanderings. If you happen to have I copy, I recommend you check out my essay before you write your own suicide note. It's very helpful! Some have called me the Strunk and White of suicide note writing. Anyhow, nice to meet you, and here's hoping I don't run into you at work.

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Tue, 01 Sep 2026 13:31:06 GMT

I am participating in the 20th anniversary LJIdol competition. Gary definitely does not have a gun pointed to my head.

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