Recently London was tousled by a series of riots led by outraged anarchists who were probably just really bored. As usual, it looked like a good time. But it also made us wonder who really has the superior lifestyle: hand-to-mouth agitators or the city-boy* capitalists they abhor? So we assigned one staff writer to pose as a punk and another as a plutocrat to investigate. Here’s what happened.
*“City boy” is the London equivalent of “Wall Street scumbag.”CITY-BOY CRITERIA:1. Drink champagne and brandy and smoke cigars every night2. Dress like Charlie Sheen in3. Travel by tube or black cab—no walking allowed4. Eat only sushi, dim sum, or food from gastropubs5. Frequent Central London strip clubs6. Read the entireevery day—even the bits that look like binary code7. Pretend to be stinking rich at all timesCITY-BOY DIARY
BY BRUNO BAILEY, PHOTOS BY JAMIE LEE CURTIS TAETE AND JUSTIN MULCHAHYMONDAYTUESDAYLohengrinWEDNESDAYTHURSDAYFinancial TimesFRIDAYANARCHIST CRITERIA:
1. Don’t engage with the system in any way—no mobile phones, bank cards, or public transportation 2. Live in a squat 3. Hang out with a dog 4. Don’t pay for food 5. Look like a member of Extreme Noise Terror (or at least Doom) 6. Make some new crusty friends 7. Attend at least one punk showANARCHIST DIARY
BY JAMES KNIGHT, PHOTOS BY JAMIE LEE CURTIS TAETE AND MICHAEL OTEROMONDAYTUESDAYNews at TenThe Ungovernable ForceWEDNESDAYTHURSDAYFRIDAYIn conclusion: Being a champagne-swilling millionaire who shits on the weak and downtrodden while raking in profits culled from the genocidal rape of the earth causes heartburn and makes you miserable as sin.By contrast, people who lie in the gutter begging for change while drinking a rusty old can of Special Brew as a dog dribbles on their filth-encrusted combat trousers are happy, morally praiseworthy humans. We cannot recommend becoming one highly enough!
ΔΙΑΦΗΜΙΣΗ
BY BRUNO BAILEY, PHOTOS BY JAMIE LEE CURTIS TAETE AND JUSTIN MULCHAHYMONDAYTUESDAYLohengrinWEDNESDAYTHURSDAYFinancial TimesFRIDAYANARCHIST CRITERIA:
1. Don’t engage with the system in any way—no mobile phones, bank cards, or public transportation 2. Live in a squat 3. Hang out with a dog 4. Don’t pay for food 5. Look like a member of Extreme Noise Terror (or at least Doom) 6. Make some new crusty friends 7. Attend at least one punk showANARCHIST DIARY
BY JAMES KNIGHT, PHOTOS BY JAMIE LEE CURTIS TAETE AND MICHAEL OTEROMONDAYTUESDAYNews at TenThe Ungovernable ForceWEDNESDAYTHURSDAYFRIDAYIn conclusion: Being a champagne-swilling millionaire who shits on the weak and downtrodden while raking in profits culled from the genocidal rape of the earth causes heartburn and makes you miserable as sin.By contrast, people who lie in the gutter begging for change while drinking a rusty old can of Special Brew as a dog dribbles on their filth-encrusted combat trousers are happy, morally praiseworthy humans. We cannot recommend becoming one highly enough!