Community is the people I’m willing to go through conflict with. In this Anarchapulco 2022 speech, I talk about the freedom to be yourself, the responsibility to own your reactions and the boundaries that make community possible.
Archive note. This speech was delivered at Anarchapulco 2022. Homestead Guru uploaded the recording on April 25, 2026. These selected excerpts are lightly edited from automatic captions for readability. My speech ends at about 23:21; the promotional clips that follow are not part of these excerpts.
Watch the original 2022 speech
People we can do conflict with
Excerpt begins at 1:28.
I want to be able to create with people who I can do conflict with. And that right there, when I was thinking about coming up here today, what really community is, to me it’s the people I’m willing to go through conflict with.
You don’t have to be just like me. You don’t have to think the same things I think or think the same way I think. You don’t have to have the same opinion. We can disagree on every single thing. But if you are good to me and I am good to you, who cares what we think? Because we have each other.
The freedom to truly authentically be yourself around other people. That is community.
Community takes grace
Excerpt begins at 3:38.
Really, there’s an art form to being in community. It takes art. It’s living, breathing, functional art.
Be graceful when they step on your toes and be graceful when you step on theirs, and continue to make art together. This is true community because we are all imperfect human beings and we’re all going to screw up and we’re all going to make mistakes.
Own your reaction
Excerpt begins at 6:43.
That responsibility means taking ownership for yourself. It means you own your reaction when people speak to you in a way that you don’t like or understand. You don’t blame other people. You take ownership for it.
You talk to me in a shitty way, how I respond is on me. You doing that is on you. I don’t feel disrespected when you’re nasty to me because I respect myself and I know who I am.
Choose strong boundaries
Excerpt begins at 15:51.
Tyranny can come from many places. Tyranny can come from a political institution. Tyranny can come from within a community. And tyranny can come from within your own self, your own mind.
And if we’re choosing freedom in all ways, then we need to choose strong boundaries. Be mindful of who you let in your life. Be mindful of who you go into business with. Because somebody saying, “I’m an anarchist,” does not mean that they are someone you want to do life with. Be diligent.
Continue with my 2020 speech about personal responsibility and my 2023 speech about The Four Agreements.
