Jeff Monaghan, the former Environment Canada contract employee arrested for allegedly leaking secret government documents concerning Kyoto, is upset that he has been labelled an anarchist:
I am writing to correct the inaccurate use of the label "anarchist" as applied to me in your article.
At no time have I self-identified as an anarchist. Although I share many of the political ideals of anarchism -- mutual aid, self-determination, equality and freedom ---- I eschew labels and identity politics. My ethical standpoint is my own and not that of any ideology. I support people, not an ideology.
My concern for social and environmental justice has led me to work with many different organizations. The choice to work with a particular group at a particular time is based on the issues being addressed and, more importantly, my belief that organized, reasoned and collective participation is the most powerful method to pursue environmental, social, and economic justice.
It is easier to apply a label than to look carefully at the people or ideas that are involved in any particular social setting.
Jeffrey Monaghan,
Ottawa.
If it walks chaotically like a duck...
But the label was not attached capriciously by a media looking for a simple categorization for Monaghan. It is true that the bookstore he helps to run is an anarchist bookstore, but that might not mean he is an anarchist. He might be in it for the money. However, in this article by the Ottawa XPress, the writer Lara Purvis maintains that the eight owners of the bookstore, including Jeff Monaghan, are "self-proclaimed" anarchists:
"We will be the living room, the convergence space, for anarchists and the broader Ottawa community alike." These hopeful words are that of Ottawa activist Pascal Arpin. She belongs to a new anarchist collective in Ottawa dedicated to fostering dissent and bringing intelligent change to Canada's capital.
Each member of the collective is a self-proclaimed black sheep, an identity that they've embraced by choosing that animal as the logo for their new, fittingly named venture: an anarchist infoshop called Exile.
But to underestimate these young activists would be a mistake. Regarding Exile's ultimate goal, collective member Sarah Armstrong responds with strong words, "We shouldn't just 'rock the boat'- we have to sink the fucker!"
And if there are any doubts remaining, here is the picture that accompanies that article. I've helpfully circled Jeff Monaghan:
Did the other seven members, including the human torpedo aimed at the ship of state, Sarah Armstrong, self-proclaim themselves as anarchists to Lara Purvis while Jeff Monaghan was out of the room, perhaps explaining to customers in the main part of the store that he wasn't really an anarchist?
Or is Jeff Monaghan distancing himself from his anarchist colleagues, perhaps on the advice of this lawyer?
Amusing Aside:
Take a look at the picture above, and this one dated a day earlier:
Notice Pascal Arpin has a change of clothes. Jeff Monaghan is wearing the same shirt and same hat.
As one person noted, if Monaghan did indeed leak the government documents, there is a strong possibility he was ratted out to the police by his own mother, desperate for Jeff to shave and put on a nice shirt and tie for once:
