"Why is our flag black? Black is a shade of negation. The black flag is the negation of all flags. It is a negation of nationhood which puts the human race against itself and denies the unity of all humankind. Black is a mood of anger and outrage at all the hideous crimes against humanity perpetrated in the name of allegiance to one state or another. It is anger and outrage at the insult to human intelligence implied in the pretences, hypocrisies, and cheap chicaneries of governments . . . Black is also a colour of mourning; the black flag which cancels out the nation also mourns its victims the countless millions murdered in wars, external and internal, to the greater glory and stability of some bloody state. It mourns for those whose labour is robbed (taxed) to pay for the slaughter and oppression of other human beings. It mourns not only the death of the body but the crippling of the spirit under authoritarian and hierarchic systems; it mourns the millions of brain cells blacked out with never a chance to light up the world. It is a colour of inconsolable grief. "But black is also beautiful. It is a colour of determination, of resolve, of strength, a colour by which all others are clarified and defined. Black is the mysterious surrounding of germination, of fertility, the breeding ground of new life which always evolves, renews, refreshes, and reproduces itself in darkness. The seed hidden in the earth, alll these the blackness surrounds and protects. "So black is negation, is anger, is outrage, is mourning, is beauty, is hope, is the fostering and sheltering of new forms of human life and relationship on and with this earth. The black flag means all these things. We are proud to carry it, sorry we have to, and look forward to the day when such a symbol will no longer be necessary." I hold the black flag high and wave it with pride. If I could stand upon the steps of the capitol and declare to the world that I am an anarchist, I would. If we stand by and let the answers come to us then I can no longer wave my flag with pride, but only in mourning. I would mourn for those who have fought for the cause, who have devoted their lives to the benefit of mankind. I would mourn for them because their dream would be just that; a dream that will never come. We must unite. Not in some beuricratical unification but in a brotherly symbol that love and compassion for all people is possible. We must all stand on the forefront of the philosophical battleground and wage war for each other instead of ourselves. We must be the ones who inspire and give hope to the masses. I wave the black flag with pride! Do you?