Flashback: Dishwashing with Anarchists

It was an evening in June of 2011 when I still interned for Elsewhere Artist Collaborative. The interns, residents and staff had just finished their dinner of vegan and organic courses when I found myself washing dishes with a couple of anarchists who where exchanging their services for a place to sleep. A married couple, both decked in baggy black clothes and piercings in all places that could be pierced. The words "Fuck cops" adorned the man's right cheek as his wife wore matted blonde dreads. Both were still drenched from the rain they recently escaped.  We were an odd sight as I stood next to them in a fairly conservative t-shirt and denim capris.

Over the sound of plates being scratched and scrubbed, I listened to their stories of hitching freight trains across the country. I didn't have a choice-- I thought that life died in the advancement of locomotive technology and post-WWII economic development. Besides, don't trains run too fast for people jump on them anymore? Well, they explained their jumping strategies (which is NOT we see in the movies), but how they survived in uncontrolled conditions, and even the legal risks they took in doing what they did.  somewhere in the conversation "Mrs. Freight" mentioned having a daughter who lived with her mother in Arkansas. This part bothered me a bit but I let it go for the moment just so I could ask more about their travels via this transit method.

"Anywhere the train stops" She said. Specifically, anywhere the train stopped that had an anarchist or anarchist-friendly community. I guess that also included free shelter, which usually meant large or moderately-sized cities like Greensboro, NC. They claimed of all the cities they lived in, the one to avoid was New Orleans.

And this bit of curiosity is what gets cats killed.

When I asked them about it, New Orleans, they claimed, had a low tolerance for vegans. I wouldn't say they were lying-- What about hindus, people with health problems, and anyone with food allergies? Or Mormons?  Cajun food has to survive but at what cost to certain populations? But then do those populations even make an impact on the food service businesses?  Probably not.

While I understood the frustration of such intolerance I remember what I did when it reached a point of no return-- I eventually moved away to a city that let me be. I'd figure a couple that migrated on a freight would have figured out which city to avoid by now.

The dishes finally complete, I picked up one last cooking pot, stared into the reflection, then my hands, starting to get blackened by the summer sun, and realized who exactly was telling me all this: Why was this couple seeking shelter when they had a child at home with Grandma? If the grandma would care for the child, can she provide shelter for the parents? As soon as they received the news that no bed would come, the dishwashing ended. Why do all that work when you won't even get the most basic of amenities in return? Maybe they could get a job? Nevermind.

I guess life isn't easy for the anarchist couple who can drop off the kid at grandma while they freely jumping freight trains and call out people who reject their freedom to wear their social views on their sleeves. What injustice.


Sidenote:
This was not the only anarchist couple I met with children, but the only one somehow decided to reject the tradition of being a parent too.  Anarchists vary in their ideals but all those ideals, whether I agree with them or not, fascinate me and I do not regret the experience of meeting the anarchist community at all.