February 6, 2025
Non-conformist Utopia, or Politically Correct Hell?
Occupiers compare it to Christiania, a Danish commune. Believe me, itā€™s not that.
Occupiers compare it to Christiania, a Danish commune. Believe me, itā€™s not that.

I like quirky places. So when I heard that a ragtag group of left-wingers, anarchists, and street people had taken over a six-block-by-six block section of downtown Seattle, I was intrigued.

Secession is considered treason by mobs hauling down Confederate statues in other cities, but itā€™s the very basis of CHAZ, Seattleā€™s separate ā€œautonomous zone/ā€ Signs at the barricades read ā€œProperty of the Peopleā€ and ā€œLeaving USA.ā€ But from a video tour of the new country, it doesnā€™t look promising so far.

Solomon Simone, a 30-year-old dreadlocked artist whose nom de guerre is Raz, is the self-styled leader of the 300 or 400 CHAZians. Critics call him a ā€œwarlord.ā€ But itā€™s been discovered that he sent out ugly homophobic tweets several years ago, so he could be deposed. Raz claims ā€œsomeone is creating fake tweets from my page somehow.ā€

Many sympathizers make excuses for CHAZ. In a New York Times news story it was described as ā€œa homeland for racial justice.ā€ Liberal blogger Steve Leslie says of CHAZ: ā€œAs far as internal governance goes, there is none of course. . . . Itā€™s probably most similar to Freetown Christiania which is an intentional commune in the borough of Christianshavn in the city of Copenhagen, Denmark.ā€

Christiania was formed in 1971, when hippie squatters took over a vacant 19-acre military base in Copenhagen and declared independence. While itā€™s seen changes, Christiania still exists and will mark its 50th anniversary next year.

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See Also:

(1) Class, Not Race, Divides America

(2) Obama Left African Americans No Choice

(3) My Name Is Joe Oā€™Biden, And I Am Here To Defund the Police!

(4) The Confederate-Monument Controversy Is a Democrat-vs-Democrat Question

(5) Seattle anarchists and their lunatic fringe list of demands