Glossary of Terms

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

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A

Anarchism - A stateless society that allows total individual freedom.
Anarcho-syndicalism - A branch of anarchism which focuses on the labor movement. Syndicalism is a French word meaning "trade unionism." Anarcho-syndicalists view labor unions as a potential force for revolutionary social change, replacing capitalism and the State with a new society democratically self-managed by workers. Anarcho-syndicalists seek to abolish the wage system and private ownership of the means of production, which they believe lead to class divisions.
Agnostic - The belief that at our present level of knowledge we cannot know whether or not a God exists.
Atheism - The doctrine or belief that there is no God.
Autonomy - Independence or freedom; the right of self-government.

B

Black Flag - The color black has been associated with Anarchism since the 1880s. Many anarchist groups contain the word "black" in their names. There have been a number of anarchist periodicals titled Black Flag.
The uniform blackness of this flag is a representative of the negation of all oppressive structures. A plain black flag is almost an anti-flag (colorful flags being the usual symbols for nation states). Additionally, a white flag is the universal symbol for surrender to superior force — thus a black flag can be viewed as the polar opposite of surrender. Others have suggested that the black flag symbolizes mourning for those martyred in the course of the struggle.
Bonehead - A racist posing as a Skinhead
Buff - To paint over or remove graffiti in some other way. My tag was only running for two days before it got buffed.

C

Capitalism - An economic system in which the means of production are mostly privately owned, and capital (money) is invested in the production, distribution and other trade of goods and services, for profit.
Character - As in cartoon character, when referring to graffiti art.
Circle A - The symbol for Anarchism.
Communism - Communism is the final stage of the political reform started with a revolution, according to Marx. First masses of workers will rebel in a industrialized country; they will implant a socialist government in order to adapt the country for later changes. After private property is banished, and the people possess everything, then there will be no need for government, thus the state will be destroyed, to form a society with no social classes. The flaw in this theory is that power corrupts. If you create an absolute state it will never want to give up its power.
Consignment - You send us some of your product and we sell what we can. We then send you back the money and what we couldn't sell.
Crew - 1. The people one does graffiti with. 2. A group of friends in the Hardcore Punk scene.

D

Dissent - Difference of opinion or feeling, disagreement.
DIY - Do It Yourself, a major ethic of the punk community.

E

Egalitarian - A social relationship in which neither member of a social pair consistently wins when the two have social conflicts

F

Fascism - An extreme form of nationalism that played on fears of communism and rejected individual freedom, liberal individualism, democracy, and limitations on the state.
Freedom - The power to act, speak or think without externally imposed restraints.

G

Green Anarchism - A school of thought within anarchism which puts an emphasis on the environment. Green anarchists can be described as anti-civilization anarchists and sometimes anarcho-primitivists, though not all green anarchists and anti-civilization anarchists are primitivists. Likewise, there is a strong critique of technology among green anarchists, though not all reject it entirely.

H

Hard Copy - Printed out on paper.
Hierarchy - A system of ranking and organizing things or people, where each element of the system (except for the top element) is a subordinate to a single other element.

I

Internalized Oppression - The process by which a member of an oppressed group comes to accept and live out the inaccurate myths and stereotypes applied to the group.
ISO -

L

Left Hand - To shoplift something by paying for one item, but "forgetting" to pay for the item in your other hand.

M

Monarchy - A form of government in which a monarch, usually a single person, is the head of state.

N

NEFAC - The North Eastern Federation of Anarchist Communists or the Fédération des Communistes Libertaires du Nord-Est is a platformist, anarchist communist organization, associated with International Libertarian Solidarity and consisting of active member collectives in Canada and the United States. This is one of the largest anarchist societies in North America. The group is dedicated to the abolition of capitalism and the State. Some supporters of NEFAC were members of the anarchist group Love and Rage and joined NEFAC several years after Love and Rage's demise. The Northeastern Anarchist is the official English-language publication of NEFAC.

O

Oppression - The unjust keeping down of others by force.

P

Patriarchy - A society dominated by men in all ways: (i.e... religion, history, governments, business, interpersonal relationships, self-image and the list goes on)
Piece - Short for a graffiti art Masterpiece, it is usually a name with three or more colors.
PPD - Postage Paid; Shipping included in the price.
Primitivism - The belief that the shift from hunter-gatherer to agricultural subsistence gave rise to social stratification, coercion, and alienation. They advocate a return to non-"civilized" ways of life through deindustrialisation, abolition of division of labour or specialization, and abandonment of technology. Primitivism is not to be confused with Anarchism.

R

RASH - Red and Anarchist Skin Heads
RCP - Radical Communist Party
Red Anarchism - A school of thought within Anarchism that puts emphasis on classical issues like labor and collectivism as opposed to individualism.
Rocking' the Heavens - To do graffiti art on the back of a freeway sign; "perfect place to educate the masses."

S

Screen Printing - Also known as serigraphy, is a method of creating an image on paper, fabric or some other object by pressing ink through a screen with areas blocked off by a stencil. The technique is used both for making fine art prints and for commercial applications.
Security Culture - Keeping your mouth shut when it comes to activist actions.
Serigraph - The original term used for screen print.
SHARP - Skin Heads Against Racial Prejudice.
Socialism - An economic system where the means of production, distribution and exchange is determined by the state/public sector in some form. Can be centralized, decentralized, democratic or undemocratic.
Solidarity - A unanimity of attitude or purpose between members of a group or class, captured in the slogan, "All For one, and one for all."
Spanish Revolution of 1936 - Began during the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. Much of Spain's economy was put under worker control; in anarchist strongholds like Catalonia, the figure was as high as 75%, but lower in areas with heavy Communist influence. Factories were run through worker committees, agrarian areas became collectivized and run as libertarian communes. It has been estimated by Sam Dolgoff, author of The Anarchist Collectives: Workers' Self-Management in the Spanish Revolution, that over 10 million people participated directly or at least indirectly in the Spanish Revolution. Even places like hotels, barber shops, and restaurants were collectivized and managed by their workers. George Orwell describes a scene in Aragon during this time period in his book Homage to Catalonia.
Squat - To live on property that you don't own or have permission.

T

Tag - A simple graffiti alias written quickly.
Throw-up or Throwie - Graffiti term for a quickly applied outline usually using only one or two colors.
Traditional Skinhead - (aka Trad Skin or Trojan Skin)

V

Vegan - Does not eat meat, fish, dairy products, eggs, or any other animal product, sometimes called "strict vegetarians".

W

Wheat Paste - a home made glue used for putting up paper posters around town.
Writer - Someone who "writes" there alias in graffiti.

Z

Zapatistas - the first "post-modern" revolution: an armed revolutionary group that has abstained from using their weapons since their 1994 uprising was countered by the overpowering military might of the Mexican Army. The Zapatistas quickly adopted a new strategy by trying to garner the support of Mexican and international civil society. They try to achieve this by making use of the internet to disseminate their communiqués and to enlist the support of NGOs and solidarity groups. Outwardly, they portray themselves as part of the wider anti-globalization, anti-neo liberalism social movement while for their indigenous base the Zapatista struggle is all about control over their own resources, particularly the land they live on.