147
official spaces, interacted as secretly and as briefly as possible with mainstream actors,
and had no permanent homes. In this latter regard they were nomadic (see Deleuze &
Guattari 2004) in that they shared a stable territory, but no one spot or space in the
landscape representing a permanent home - cognitively, actually, or even perhaps
spiritually. This fluidity of place, navigated by a game of push and pull with and against
various dangers, is a defining characteristic of the plane of interaction in which Christos
and his broader group made a life.
On a more intimate level, the intersubjectivity these individuals engage in is a
primary unifying aspect of their social space. These are friendships and working
partnerships founded, on the one hand, on discourses of struggle and, on the other, on
acts of agency over one’s condition. This discourse occurred variously through verbal
exchanges and on bodies (in the form of scars, tattoos, and in displays of exhaustion).
The acts of agency against social oppression in which individuals engaged included
overtly illegal activities like stealing and vandalism, brazen taunting and intimidation of
community outsiders, and even dangerous activities like walking into traffic and drunk
driving. There was a sense among group members that their broader social network
which, again, existed and moved within Iiminal spaces and which was defined by
difficult history and transgressive activity, was always in flux. Besides a handful of core
friends, Christos’ contacts changed regularly as individuals, dangers, and work
opportunities moved, and connected various subaltern groups through their most Iiminal
members. For example, Jigo was on the periphery of this network. During the time
when he sold counterfeit goods, Jigo relied on a varied network of friends and illegal
importers and transporters for stock, but was never close to them. Instead, and like the