Freetown Christiana, Remind anyone of Berlin? Options

[OptimumStratego]

http://mic.com/articles/92521/inside-denma...campaign=social

I hadn't heard of them before, and the article was an interesting read, so I thought I'd share it and see if it reminded anyone else of our poor lost Berlin Flux State.

[ShadowDragon8685]

Reminds me more of an Autonomist An-Coll habitat from Eclipse Phase than the Berlin Flux State.

In the Berlin Flux State, there was no rule beyond that set down by the guys with the largest guns, and if you came in with a bigger gun, you could set down your own rules, at least until Lofwyr said fuck you.

This is more like an EP-style Anarcho-Collectivist habitat, where the community sets rules by horizontal democracy and enforces them. It's very unlike most EP Anarcho-Collectivist habitats in banning weapons, hard drugs, colors, bulletproof clothing (wtf? why?!), fireworks/thunderflashes (what's a thunderflash - a noisemaker?) and stolen goods.

But hey, it's still the same horizontal governmental principle in action.

[Sendaz]

Yeah I noticed that bit about the bulletproof clothing as well.

Seems odd, but then their logic is probably along the lines of there are no weapons so you do not need the armor and then following on with this line of thought they would say that having body armour would only encourage weapons.

Hey baby, that's some hot FFBA you got going on there.

Buzz off creep

I am serious, I bet that can stop light ammo all night long, if you know what I mean. How about you and me go out back and let me cap a few rounds in you...

No way freak.... get the hell away from me...

Frag you slitch!!

*Blam Blam*

Later while giving his statement to the Danish Police*

I didn't know it was APDS ammo! Besides, you saw how she was dressed...she was begging to get shot....

[hermit]

In the Berlin Flux State, there was no rule beyond that set down by the guys with the largest guns, and if you came in with a bigger gun, you could set down your own rules, at least until Lofwyr said fuck you.

Except this wasn't how Flux Berlin worked, but hey, why read books when you can make shit up.

This is more like an EP-style Anarcho-Collectivist habitat, where the community sets rules by horizontal democracy and enforces them. It's very unlike most EP Anarcho-Collectivist habitats in banning weapons, hard drugs, colors, bulletproof clothing (wtf? why?!), fireworks/thunderflashes (what's a thunderflash - a noisemaker?) and stolen goods.

Because, in a nutshell, most Northern Europeans don't like weapons as much as Americans do, and want to keep them out of their lives as much as possible (Christianans, grown out of the peace movement, also tend to be pacifists). Bulletproof clothes are necessary only if there're weapons around (though I suspect this is also a jab against the police). Thunderflashes are very large, loud thundercrackers that carry enough punch to be considered weapons in most of Europe, usually imported from China. the no stolen goos/drugs ban might well be to keep themselves in the clean with the government. Tha cars ban is ideology as well as a desire to not have their narrow little streets clogged by them. The ban on biker clothes is necessary because MCs are the North European mafia equivalent.

Seems odd, but then their logic is probably along the lines of there are no weapons so you do not need the armor and then following on with this line of thought they would say that having body armour would only encourage weapons.

Also because of rather radical pacifism, but that's the line of reasoning in a nutshell. It also makes cops dress down when going there, I suppose.

[Sengir]

In the Berlin Flux State, there was no rule beyond that set down by the guys with the largest guns, and if you came in with a bigger gun, you could set down your own rules, at least until Lofwyr said fuck you.

The whole concept of the "Status Flux" was that any accumulation of power was quickly dealt with by an ad-hoc group of everybody else. That would include Big L (who does not roost in Berlin, although people somehow tend to assume it)

bulletproof clothing (wtf? why?!)

Why would anyone wear bullet protection in a hippie enclave? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Larsine]

Shadows of Europe, page 139.

I've been to Christiania a few time, and it's not as glamorous as it sounds. A lot of their "laws" are frequently broken, especially by the hashish dealers, who do not always live the way the real christianites would like.

[Kyrel]

Hermit's pretty much on target in his post above.

Christiania was originally an old military area that was shut down and then illegally occupied by a bunch of left-wing socialist individuals who stayed there, and kind of made their own little community in the middle of Copenhagen. Ultimately they never got evicted, and today the inhabitants have bought the area, as I recall, so the place is somewhat normalized in legal terms at least. The place is still a strange mix of left-wing socialists wannabe hippies and drugdealers. You have a street that's quite literally called "Pusherstreet", where you at least historically have been able to purchase various forms of drugs, though mostly in the soft end like "marihuana" (spelling?). This have lead to a bunch of clashes with the police over the years, and the signpost in the link is basically a stab at both the criminals and the police combined with a bit of left-wing eco-hippie ideas. The peaceful inhabitants would prefer that both the criminal elements and the cops staying away from the place.
Guns are illegal to own in Denmark, and that's a stab at the criminal elements. Having guns escalates the confrontations with the police and the peaceful people there don't want that.

You have two major biker groups in Denmark. Hells Angels and Banditos, on top of which you get a load of other affiliated clubs. Both of the major groups are involved in various forms of crime, including the drugtrade. The two gangs have clashed once in a while over the decades, and today you also have some clashes between them and some of the newer ethnic groups finding their members amongst 1st-3rd gen. immigrants from various middleeastern/islamic countries. These clashes typically have to do with control of turf and the drugtrade. Basically the presence of bikers on Christiania is a cause of provocation to some of the people in that area, and their presence can lead to fights and similar unrest. The people behind the sign in the link want to prevent that kind of fighting in the area. Hence the "ban" on biker colours.

As mentioned "Thunderflashes" are basically oversized firecrackers. If you put one into a metal case you'd basically have a handgrenade. They are illegal in Denmark and sometimes used by left-wing/anarchist individuals during clashes with the police and similar. The ban is a stab at those groups, again founded in the desire to keep violent clashed out of Christiania.

No body armour is a stab at the police. Their presence in Christiania provokes some of the elements out there, and leads to clashes. The body armour simply makes the cops stand out more and thus heightens the level of provocation their presence bring.

No car is a combination of lack of space and left-wing eco/collective transport ideology.