The State of Exception & Community Anarchists: St. John's in a State of Emergency
From the time that Mayor Danny Breen declared a "state of emergency" in St. John's on Friday—and through the immediate heralding of his leadership that followed—all I could think of was Giorgio Agamben's "state of exception." In his 2005 State of Exception, Agamben, an Italian political philosopher, proposed that in states of emergency—like the ongoing one in St. John's right now—the power of the government to suspend the rights of its citizens is exposed. In other words, in proclaiming and maintaining such a state, the government operates above and beyond the codes and laws applicable to its jurisdiction under normal circumstances. The fragility of our rights and ways of life are revealed—along with the extent of the power of our government. Many Newfoundlanders felt a suspension of our freedom of movement during the "state of exception" which has loomed over us for the past three days. We were ordered to "return home" and to