Class War / Skull and Cross Bones

Description

The Jolly Roger as a black flag with skull and bones has recently gained a popularity among anarchists.

Some claim to use the Jolly Roger as a form of appreciation for the Pirate way of life in freedom and a lack of authority. Many Pirate ships were loosely democratic and most crew mates were working class fugitives from the highly repressive societies in which they were born. Anarchists may find affinity with the concept of pirate utopias, especially the island of legend, Libertatia. The Libertatian pirates have been identified as precursors to anarchists. Some Internet and techno-anarchists consider themselves pirates due to their free lifestyles in the world of technology and their defiance of copyright laws which is called “pirating”. Several articles relating to the connection between anarchism and piracy can be found in the libcom.org library

Nestor Makhno‘s The Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine, an Anarchist militia, used a variation of the Jolly Roger. It has become most associated in recent times with the Class War paper.