Why do anarchists call each other comrade?

Question

I thought it meant friend or something of that nature? Am I correct on this? What are some different thoughts?

Comments

Homie is the new comrade

Answer 1

Like the word Communism, Comrade is often considered tainted because of its expropriation by Marxists (especially of the Stalinist variety).

Because of the relative size of the anarchist movement in Spain and the relative success of the Spanish revolution, however, many anarchists who are fans of history will refer to each other as "companero/a" (can't make a tilde on my computer, but there should be one over the 'n'). In Spain (and Portugal, as well as their respective colonies in the Western Hemisphere), the term has always been used by anarchists.

Answer 2

Irony.

At least in the company i keep.

Answer 3

They’re Italian. Italians literally use it to mean “amigo”, so you were correct.

Answer 4

To me, it merely depends on the context and who you are talking to.

In France, most anarchists and anti-autoritarians call eath other "comrades".

Some, especially individualists in and out of organisations, but also some autonomous and insurrectionnary anarchists prefere the word "companions" or "compa(s)", as a specific anarchist term.

I heard that italian anarchists, like some french ones often use the word "friends", or even "buddies" ("les copains" in french).

There is also a big joke here that says :

Do you know the difference between a friend and a comrade for anarchists ?
 When a friend do some crazy shit with you : it's not a friend anymore.
When a comrade do some crazy shit with you... Hey ! At least... It's still a comrade ! ;-)