I was out of the house by 6:30AM, so I didn't know anybody was going up to the demonstration. When I got home and saw the posts I felt bad that I hadn't tried to hook up. Problem is, I only felt that way because I missed my friends; otherwise, despite my sympathies, I don't have much taste for such events. If I had a sidekick I would have know; instead I occupied the peripheral (or ascetic) position which seems to be native to me. I could even hear noise from the event, although I didn't learn what it was until late in the afternoon. I didn't like the noise, but I know it's important for it to be heard. My resistance follows from the 60s era split between political activism and quasi-spiritual disengagement. As the hippies noted, protests have a way of mirroring the thing they oppose. I think cultural trends nourished in that era have changed this country more than any political activism per se, but perhaps these things are not really separable. I do believe that the people of the US are less sheep-like than they were, but the current situation (i.e. "we" were "attacked first") lends itself to manipulation by Power. I don't think the debate is settled, but like Mike, I'm pessimistic about disabling the anti-ecstasy currently building towards wargasm. That being said, I'm somewhat interested in the DC event, I hope not merely out of guilt. I do fear that fighting war on its own terms is a losing battle: massing of personnel and resources is the technique of war; peace is evenly distributed all over. Maybe once we all have sidekicks (or something (unimaginably) better) everybody will be in the know, and the terms will change. Exposed, the strategies of war are rendered useless; peace is a non-strategy that should be known by all. Thanks for trying to spread the word.
of course it's wildly improbable that these marches will "stop the war" and of course the war is a symptom (although a really fucking hurtful one) and we need new energy policy and perhaps systemic reforms etc etc but sarah's right, it's fun to protest and it definitely doesn't mean nothing! i hope the rally in DC is 10 times bigger than anyone expects! let's go!
Long live the wildly improbable weeds of fuck shit up!
I'm just trying to be honest about my feelings and motivations.
I have a lot of respect for my friends' opinions, but I'm not going to pretend I always agree. If there's a gap between temperament and reason, guilt may be corrective. That's a basic heritage of the Christian West. Of course, Christians also used to preach "turn the other cheek", but that goes back to when it was a faith of the powerless. There is power in numbers, but it has a way of getting out of hand. The same sort of crowd psychology too often obtains, whether it's a peace march or a right wing rally. Rhetoric always outweighs narrative at these events. Before you know it, anyone who doesn't toe the party line is stigmatized. In such cases, the marginal position is corrective for society, but problematic for the individual. Power consolidates when everyone thinks the same way. I guess that's part of my vision of the eshcaton: everyone coming to the same realization; agreement so complete that it levels the distinction between collective and individual, bringing us all together as one. It's a scary passage at best, and pushing too hard for that agreement has often been disastrous. Still, I do believe that good can come from these efforts, though I find it easier to be optimistic in the long run than the short. There are also unintended consequences, beyond our abilities to sort out. The protests of the 60s/70s certainly helped end the Vietnam war, but they also had a lot to do with the ascendancy of the right in America, a consequence we're still living with. Not that I know how to plan based on the unknown.
As far as fun goes, I see resistance as a necessity, or an unpleasant passage we're obligated to go through. Maybe I see Life in the same way. If it's fun, it's because we make the best we can of the situation in which we find ourselves. I've learned a lot about enjoying life from the example of my friends, and I'm still listening.
It is hard to plan based on the unknown. That was one of the useful benifits of going to the demonstration on Sun. It served as a way to gather information. The press is so one sided. There was one point where the crowd was asked to read the pledge of resistance, it was just like being in church. It must have made alot of people uncomfortable, but most people had a chance to read it before the" group reading".
THE PLEDGE OF RESISTANCE
We believe that as people living
in the United States it is our
responsibility to resist the injustices done
by our gov., in our names
Not in our name
will you wage "endless war"
there can be no more deaths
no more transfusions of blood for oil
Not in our name
will you invade countries
bomb civilians, kill more childern
letting history take it's course
over the graves of the nameless
Not in our name
will you erode the very freedoms
you have claimed to fight for
Not by our hands
will we supply weapons for
the annihilation of families
on foreign soil
Not by our mouths
will we let fear silence us
Not by our hearts
will we allow whole peoples
or countries to be deemed evil
We pledge resistance
we pledge alliance with those who
have come under attack
for voicing opposition to the war or
for thier religion or ethnicity
We pledge to make common cause
with the people of the world to
bring about justice,
freedom and peace
Another world is possible
and we pledge to make it real.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seems reasonable. You have to start somewhere. A demonstration, after all, is a huge group of people, coming from many different places. How do you organize that? people are just formulating their oppinions as they go.
I found this page while doing a search on the word eshcation.
that jogged my memory a bit. i was sloganeering in my half-sleep the other night only to forget what i was thinking by morning. and im hardly one for signs but i liked the sound of "Resistance is Fertile."
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- alex 10-07-2002 9:50 pm
of course it's wildly improbable that these marches will "stop the war" and of course the war is a symptom (although a really fucking hurtful one) and we need new energy policy and perhaps systemic reforms etc etc but sarah's right, it's fun to protest and it definitely doesn't mean nothing! i hope the rally in DC is 10 times bigger than anyone expects! let's go!
- big jimmy (guest) 10-08-2002 2:03 am [add a comment]
Long live the wildly improbable weeds of fuck shit up!
- frank 10-08-2002 2:11 am [add a comment]
I'm just trying to be honest about my feelings and motivations.
I have a lot of respect for my friends' opinions, but I'm not going to pretend I always agree. If there's a gap between temperament and reason, guilt may be corrective. That's a basic heritage of the Christian West. Of course, Christians also used to preach "turn the other cheek", but that goes back to when it was a faith of the powerless. There is power in numbers, but it has a way of getting out of hand. The same sort of crowd psychology too often obtains, whether it's a peace march or a right wing rally. Rhetoric always outweighs narrative at these events. Before you know it, anyone who doesn't toe the party line is stigmatized. In such cases, the marginal position is corrective for society, but problematic for the individual. Power consolidates when everyone thinks the same way. I guess that's part of my vision of the eshcaton: everyone coming to the same realization; agreement so complete that it levels the distinction between collective and individual, bringing us all together as one. It's a scary passage at best, and pushing too hard for that agreement has often been disastrous. Still, I do believe that good can come from these efforts, though I find it easier to be optimistic in the long run than the short. There are also unintended consequences, beyond our abilities to sort out. The protests of the 60s/70s certainly helped end the Vietnam war, but they also had a lot to do with the ascendancy of the right in America, a consequence we're still living with. Not that I know how to plan based on the unknown.
As far as fun goes, I see resistance as a necessity, or an unpleasant passage we're obligated to go through. Maybe I see Life in the same way. If it's fun, it's because we make the best we can of the situation in which we find ourselves. I've learned a lot about enjoying life from the example of my friends, and I'm still listening.
- alex 10-08-2002 6:26 pm [add a comment]
It is hard to plan based on the unknown. That was one of the useful benifits of going to the demonstration on Sun. It served as a way to gather information. The press is so one sided. There was one point where the crowd was asked to read the pledge of resistance, it was just like being in church. It must have made alot of people uncomfortable, but most people had a chance to read it before the" group reading".
THE PLEDGE OF RESISTANCE
We believe that as people living
in the United States it is our
responsibility to resist the injustices done
by our gov., in our names
Not in our name
will you wage "endless war"
there can be no more deaths
no more transfusions of blood for oil
Not in our name
will you invade countries
bomb civilians, kill more childern
letting history take it's course
over the graves of the nameless
Not in our name
will you erode the very freedoms
you have claimed to fight for
Not by our hands
will we supply weapons for
the annihilation of families
on foreign soil
Not by our mouths
will we let fear silence us
Not by our hearts
will we allow whole peoples
or countries to be deemed evil
We pledge resistance
we pledge alliance with those who
have come under attack
for voicing opposition to the war or
for thier religion or ethnicity
We pledge to make common cause
with the people of the world to
bring about justice,
freedom and peace
Another world is possible
and we pledge to make it real.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seems reasonable. You have to start somewhere. A demonstration, after all, is a huge group of people, coming from many different places. How do you organize that? people are just formulating their oppinions as they go.
- sarah 10-08-2002 11:03 pm [add a comment]
I found this page while doing a search on the word eshcation.
- steve 10-08-2002 6:42 pm [add a comment]
that jogged my memory a bit. i was sloganeering in my half-sleep the other night only to forget what i was thinking by morning. and im hardly one for signs but i liked the sound of "Resistance is Fertile."
- dave 10-08-2002 7:02 pm [add a comment]