Another Way Another World

I don’t know when it was when I came to the conclusion. An obvious conclusion I had always known, but was unable to explain for so long. Perhaps I had kept it buried in my brain, an abstract notion, intangible in my reality. And then when it leaked into my objective lens all hell broke loose. To put aside philosophy, I figured out things were kind of fucked up in an otherwise magical universe and that not too many people were willing to offer a lifespan in the pursuit of world redesign. 

But it’s really not that simple. Nothing’s really that simple. Or maybe that’s the problem right there. Either way, it’s a slight challenge when you finally fathom that your life mission isn’t really all that welcome in casual company. You know, the flocks that would rather graze through life in pace with unsustainable lifestyles of commerce and little worldly thinking. You can either divulge your radical, bohemian tendencies and accept blank stares or shrink yourself down into the desired definition of marketability. 

I just won’t do the latter. Forget about it. No one is free from hypocrisy, but I made a decision to live this life celebrating the earth, dancing at the eve of change, and writing up a storm for the wake. I guess that’s pretty confusing to some people. And I get it, I get it, people today adore their comfortable little lives. But today’s not going to last that long…

I’m not really sure if this addition to the blogosphere is venting or a self righteous rant. Regardless, I offer this to all my fellow free thinkers, artists, activists, and radicals, who are in the midst of trying to balance fighting the system and the desire to run off into the woods in order to be completely free from the burden of so-called civilization.

I care

 

Solidarity with my sisters and brothers and their defense of freedom in Iran 

Solidarity with my sisters and brothers and their defense of mother earth in Peru 

Solidarity with my sisters and brothers the world over 

 

It’s the same story isn’t it? Power vs. the people. A plea for justice, for honesty, for freedom, for mother earth. And a powerful minority who could care less about what truly matters. A revolutionary spirit embedding each soul and those who stand in the way and make each resistor’s life miserable, hopeless, and worth fighting for. 

 

Despite how long it will take, how unfortunate and horrendous the struggle is, love will prevail against oppression. One day, in every land the people will rise. A domino effect. The urge to take back this planet. From capitalism, from corrupt governments, from car culture, from pollution, from environmental devastation, from militarism, from imperialism, from patriarchy, from heterosexism, from racism, from neo-colonialism and on and on and on. Or we won’t make it. 

 

Let’s take back this place.

From apathy

From “I’m apolitical”

From consumerism

From reality tv 

From drunken escape

 

Every thing you do has an impact. 

 

Let’s join the revolution and send our solidarity around the world. 

Oh Canada, our stolen native land

”My country is the world, and my religion is to do good.” (Thomas Paine)

Canada day is coming up. I can already sense the excitement and preparation. You know, it’s that joyous day where we celebrate the autonomy of a nation founded on cultural genocide of the original inhabitants of Turtle Island.  A day where we systematically ignore the fact we (non-indigenous folk) are living on stolen land and a history (and present) characterized by racism and violent occupation.  A day where we avert our eyes to the complicity our country may have in the egregious affairs around the world.  A day where we immerse ourselves in the asinine concept of pride in the walls that surround us. Quite a cause to celebrate… if you don’t really think.

National pride in general is odd to me. When we live on such a beautifully diverse planet, I find it difficult to understand why we choose to accept our national borders as individual fragments of dignity. “Love it or leave it,” they say. But you don’t understand! I don’t love it. I love my entire planet.  This soil has been here millions of years before us. And will be here when we leave it.  No matter what arbitrary separation we assume to reinforce hostilities, we haven’t fooled the ecosystems and the circle of life.  The planet lives on…for now anyways

Besides who really benefits from these borders? It couldn’t possibly be the powerful, as corporations cross borders for profit, while the people left in an unequal economic state are not allowed to cross fences could it? I think it could.

What do flags serve other than rallying people of different nations against each other so that the political/economic elites can gain? A symbol? Well then let’s amalgamate the mofos and symbolize our common humanity. Sound good?

Oh Universe. I stand on guard for thee.

not to exclude the extra-terrestrials of course!

the curious carnivores

I hear a lot of reactionary meat-eaters defend their comfortable choices by saying “well animals eat each other in the wild.” That’s right they do. But they don’t keep each other in tiny cages their whole lives and then hang each other up on hooks for slaughter. And what’s more they rely on nature. We control nature. Aren’t we the same species that decided to dominate the earth? We can’t claim to be above nature (which I find itself ludicrous. I believe in unity with the earth) and then in a last refuge to retain personal dietary habits attempt to equate ourselves with the actions of the other living inhabitants. You can’t have it both ways my friends. So make up your mind.  

Let me end by saying that I’m a vegetarian. I’m not a vegan and thus in some ways I recognize that what I say may seem hypocritical when some of my dietary habits reinforce the system of animal exploitation. However, I have vegan aspirations/tendencies and I am trying to reduce the footprints I leave upon the animal world and live a more ethical lifestyle everyday. One step at a time I guess. But maybe it’s just not fast enough.

Bad Friday

Happy Good Friday. I believe today has something to do with a rabble rouser’s death culminating in a science fiction story about him supposedly having died for our vices and then rising again in a surprising turn of events a few days later. Hum. I don’t really want/need a saviour. I’d rather grow up than be born again. So why this is all good I do not know. 

You see there’s so many other things you could do that are actually helpful to the planet than to just sit in a church service mourning the death of someone whose rebellion you have distorted, while not paying attention to the people today who are still being killed or tortured for their beliefs. 

I found the propagandhi blog post about this day from a few years back to be quite accurate in regards to what I’m thinking. So check that out.  And this one. 

P.S  I cannot recommend the film “Fierce Light,” made by canadian film maker Velcrow Ripper, enough. It is amazing. Truly amazing. If it’s screening in your area check it out. 

Primitivist ponders..

This rant sort of jumps around at bit. Hopefully the connections are recognizable enough 

Some days I feel like a primitivist. Don’t get me wrong. I love technology; too much some days in fact. But industrialization really lead to a lot of planetary rape didn’t it? This relates a bit to my last post in that I think we need to slow down. What are we working so incessantly for anyway? To buy more plastic waste so we can boost our social status and then work more at higher paying jobs? Upward mobility. It all boils down to the competition in our economy. Selfishness credited over the community. But then again, even in the animal kingdom there’s competition. But it’s all kept in equilibrium. Humans decided to say “fuck you!” to the equilibrium and titled themselves “heads of the food chain.” Of course that human centered worldview isn’t going to save us now is it? It’s more of a specific person centered worldview. The powerful vs. the oppressed. How dare humans boast about their progress in technology when there’s people sleeping on heating vents in the same city where microsoft and the perpetrators of ecocide walk their quarters in the highest towers. 

I guess it all comes down to community. Unconditional care not only for one another, but for the planet that we all share and the ecosystems we are all a part of. Maybe just take the time to ask why you’re moving so fast. And maybe one day we’ll value progress in not only technological terms but in compassionate and communitarian terms. Or else we’ll take the whole planet with us….

And by the way for all you military contractors out there that have the nerve to call any form of artillery a “technological advancement,” I wish you aren’t so heartless as to not even give a moment’s thought to all the dead children you produce.

Out of control

Relax! 

I think this is an imporant video for our times. It seems were on a cycle of working more and more to consume more and more useless shit. The environmental and social consequences are palpable, but does anybody ever think about the consequences of just…slowing down?

Hello

I just started this wordpress thing. So give me time and I shall have it full of dissident goodies. I think it is both the job of the artist as well as all the earthlings of the world, to critically reflect upon what it is we are doing to this planet of ours. Stay tuned.