-Caveat Lector-
In a message dated 99-09-16 18:54:02 EDT, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
>Could you give us some specific examples of what you suggest folks can do
>against global corporationalists besides whine. Perhaps some examples of
what you,
>specifically, are doing would be helpful.
I have no suggestions, at this particular point. But when I DID have
suggestions-- the most concretely practical program I could come up with-- 20
years ago, everyone with whom I discussed it recognized its value "in theory"
but weaselled out because it would be "too much trouble," demanding too big a
change in one's lifestyle, asking too many sacrifices of the things that are
REALLY important to people (never mind FREEDOM!)
I came to realized that 95% of people --ESPECIALLY those who "whine" and
"complain" about the increasing threat to liberty posed by State
totalitarianism-- really prefer the "security" of a prison to the effort and
the risks involved in becoming free. When a choice between the two becomes
inescapable, as a life-or-death dilemma, they might surprise even themselves
by WHICH alternative they actually choose. But no surprise to ME, because
I'm a student of history and the sociological precedents for making the
"wrong" choice are almost endless. So, you're on your own, I'm afraid. I'm
no longer in the "solutions" business. All my energy goes into just trying
to survive the times.
>Are you suggesting armed revolt? mass suicide?
Use your own judgment. What will be, will be. Whatever happens, ultimately,
won't be due to any "suggestions," mine OR yours. Whatever *I* might think a
proper response is meaningless. Where do you see anybody acting on my
instruction or following my example? I'm not a leader and don't want to be.
Not MY job to decide for others.
BTW, which of the two, in your view, is more "mass suicide," ACCEPTING life
as one of the walking dead under a fascist dictatorship or dying in an armed
revolt AGAINST it?
>Frankly, I'm a little surprised at this coming from you. In part, it sounds a
>bit like Adolph's view of Germany's Jews.
Yes, I hope it WAS surprising! I INTENDED it to be shit-disturbing.
Rhetorically, it was rather exhilirating to speak through the persona of an
opposite type, looking at people through the eyes of those I consider my
opponents -- whose attitudes I know pretty well, from having had powerful
people confide in me and speak freely as if I were a "protege."
In the master/slave world of "us and them," I've several times come close to
becoming one of "them" ("them" from YOUR point of view) as one of "us," your
de facto Masters.
Due to my own moral and ethical values, I chose to REJECT that path and to
become instead an adversary and critic, a "traitor to my 'class' " as I was
once actually called!
Now, IRONICALLY, whenever I tell "prey" factually what our "predators" REALLY
think of them and say about them behind closed doors, they simply refuse to
BELIEVE it, instead persisting in the same delusions that MAKE them "prey,"
diehard "suckers" whose Self is so exasperatingly lacking that EVEN I begin
to feel contempt for them
and I have to consider, bitterly, after all this. that maybe I'd made a
mistake CARING.
Could there be anything more disillusioning than ACTING on one's highest and
purest motives, to genuinely try to "save" others ... only to discover that,
for the majority of people, ethics or principles is all just HYPOCRISY, a
game of WORDS and ONLY of words, and SINCERITY is the very thing that
"spoils" that game for them -- because it exposes, simply by way of contrast,
the deep, dark, dirty secret of hypocrisy CENTRAL
to their ego-structure? Nothing could be more ABSURD than trying to "save"
those who --come the test, with its just price-- in the depths of their souls
WANT to be "lost" -- as demonstrated by their choices, proving how COMMITTED
they are to HOLDING ON to the very conditions which cause them "suffering"
(or so they SAY) and from which therefore they want to "escape" (or so they
SAY), appealing to others for "help" in doing so. The true measure of
AUTHENTICITY in a person's desire to change (or to solve any social problem)
is their degree of willingness to ACT on that desire. Thus, if his or her
actions are more than fifty percent to the CONTRARY --OPPOSING feelings
(expressed in action) being stronger-- then it's totally hopeless -- such
division is SELF-defeating.
In most people, FEAR of pain and death (fear often of RISK, even of EFFORT)
is so much stronger than the DESIRE to LIVE--in any worthwhile sense-- that
there's not enough soul-stuff or will or PURPOSEFUL thought to justify even
thinking of them as HUMAN, as anything other than CATTLE. Where *I* differ
from our human predators
(like Adolf, to whom you compare me for stating this) is in wanting to CHANGE
that
condition in myself and others around me, rather than EXULT in it and PROFIT
from it by playing the game as the secret rules for "winning" require -- by
telling you only what your baseless vanity hopes to hear, feeding the
weaknesses in you that will keep you blind and powerless, defenseless "prey"
in any relationship with actual "predators.".
BTW, yes, the "voice of the Beast" I've spoken with here COULD be attributed
to Adolf Hitler, but NOT as applied to the Jews -- as applied to the GERMAN
PEOPLE --his own followers, who GAVE him the power he desired-- whom he fully
UNDERSTOOD to be "sheep," but to whom he --of course-- LIED about their true
status, flattering their egos.
The Jews were simply a scapegoat onto whom Hitler's sub-human GERMAN devotees
could project the ugly truth about THEMSELVES -- loathing THEMSELVES by
proxy.
Hitler (who described "the masses" as a "woman," who could be seduced by
playing upon "her" vanity) knew that such "sheep" could be (unworthily) made
to feel "human" only by attributing their own non-humanness to OTHER sheep,
from an "enemy" flock.
Hitler would NEVER have told his people what I've earlier told you. If he
had, he'd have been HATED by them and DENIED the power he aspired to.
Predators only gain power by LYING, by telling their prey the same lies used
when "sheep" lie to THEMSELVES to feel good about themselves despite their
worthlessness and the meaninglessness of their lives. A Master's lies and a
Slave's self-deceptions are two sides of the same coin -- HYPOCRISY, rooted
in the infantile desire to be rewarded "effortlessly," without the necessity
of EARNING such rewards FAIRLY and HONESTLY through the EFFORT demanded by
the laws of nature, such effort alone making one WORTHY of reward --
because only by conscious, voluntary struggle does one's HUMAN potential
develop.
Two sides of a coin. A predator PILFERS all he has. Prey get what they
deserve --"you can't cheat an honest man"-- by believing they can get
something for nothing, by trading
things of concrete value (including their own power) for things of value only
to their ego. A Master is nothing --utterly lacking in worthwhile human
qualities-- without Slaves to reassure him that he's powerful. A Slave is
nothing without a Master or Master CLASS upon whom he can depend for
everything he desires and hopes for -- rather than ever face the necessity of
EARNING those goods through his own thought, will, and so on.
Such things, for example, as "principles," which he can find only in OTHERS
whom he admires for having them (or so he BELIEVES, falsely, because how
could HE judge?)
or "power," which only OTHERS seem to have, by some special "right," he
assumes.
PRETEND qualities which all over-minus "prey" imagine in their over-plus
"predators."
The unnecessarily Low and the unjustly High, wed in sadomasochistic
codependency, BOTH EQUALLY TO BLAME for the social injustice of the con-game
"civilization."
No, really, I hate each and every member of the predatory Master class
--ADMIRED or DESPISED-- to whom we the people yield all honor, privilege, and
power to govern us.
But I ALSO hate each and every member of the sheeplike Slave class -- whether
they SUPPORT the way things are in society, "patriotically" or "religiously,"
or OBJECT to it, UNLESS they're willing to DO something about it -- because
SHEEP complain TOO, if their needs AS SHEEP are not satisfied adequately by
the WOLVES they long for ...
AUTHENTIC human beings do not fall into EITHER category. Something to aspire
to --
And in answer to your question, what I myself DO (I can't "do" for anyone
else!) would not be anything to admire, because it's mostly been "negative"
-- refusing to lend my will to anything perceived as unjust in its goals
(even if it might reward me PERSONALLY) wherever my single unit of action
could be combined with the actions of others, thus augmenting them. (That
choice alone has made me an "outcast," virtually a recluse, and I accept
responsibility for the consequences of my own choice, in pain or in lack.)
However, being admittedly myself a "sheep" in my unwillingness to die in
defense of a "principle" when my death would almost certainly have no effect
whatsoever on the balance of forces, and being unflatteringly realistic about
myself in terms of the effect
my fighting for a given "principle" (against superior forces entirely
indifferent to me) would have on the lives of others in the long run
--believing "Where one has no power, one has no responsibility" and aware of
the limited radius of any effects I DO have--
I still have to lend my mind and will to certain structures in order to earn
the common necessities of survival -- food, shelter, etc. So, all I can do
in that particular sphere is to earn my keep by working for companies that
are LEAST offensive in goals and services -- and even so, should I be
required to "kiss ass" too much or to deal unethically with others in the
course of my job, I'll raise hell and try to change that condition, or, that
failing, simply quit and go try elsewhere. I won't go anywhere where I can't
take my conscience with me. That choice, too, makes it impossible to be a
"team player" and "successful" in the corporate structures where the highest
rewards and greatest status is available. I tend to float around between
jobs and professions where I get less than I "deserve" for my skills and
experience (which propel me quickly to upper-level positions and greater
responsibility in that limited sphere) but that, in fact, IS all I "deserve,"
in light of the foregoing. So be it. I was never materialistic anyway; I'm
an inner-directed, rather spartan type. As I've said before, I've been close
to various "movements" in years past --I'm a lone wolf by nature but I
recognize that the effectiveness of any ideal is in its COLLECTIVE
implementation-- and just somehow naturally wound up "leading" (my style was
what's called leadership by "influence," rooted in egalitarianism instead of
authority and command) even while more concerned with "getting the job done,"
which often means doing the shit-work myself, alone, for the greater good.
But experience has shown me that, almost without exception, the TRAPPINGS of
leadership --special status, special privileges-- are far more important to
the elitist clique of "leaders" than the ostensible PURPOSE of any movement,
just as their "followers" (besides emulating their superiors in self-centered
petty-mindedness) are more interested in the emotional benefits of being part
of an "in-group" ("us" versus "them") society-in-miniature than in doing
anything productive toward actually achieving the more objective goals they
profess to care about. As in "cults," so too in corporate structures, all
characterized by the same "corporate culture," sociologically, regardless of
the corporation's BUSINESS. "The MEDIUM--" (in this case, corporate
"culture") "--IS the message," and whatever publicly differentiable "message"
(concrete business) they've been organized to promote is really subordinate
-- beside the point, mere window-dressing for outsiders. There's negligible
difference in psychology or behavior between Scientologists and corporate
drones in IBM, or between Moonies and stock brokers, in my view, when you
strip away the superficialities that most outside observers would see as
essential. I contend that HIERARCHY itself is a kind of religion, in which
"salvation" is rising to the top in the pecking order, and the money/status
reflecting that rise just hallow the HIERARCHY, sanctifying the "baboon
politics" of its purely EGO-driven (NOT task-oriented) members. It really
doesn't matter WHAT some organization is supposed to be doing to justify its
existence. In reality, it's primarily --and usually SOLELY-- just another
arena for the selfish personal concerns of its participants -- just another
"cult" manufactured to satisfy the irresponsible, infantile ego-needs of
players in the same old Master-Slave game ...
Anyway, back to the point, the last time I actually JOINED with others in
what I thought (judging by its expressed goals and its stated principles) was
a worthwhile movement to DO something was when I was with the local Greens
(during which period I founded and moderated the first Green group at my
university). Very disillusioning. Again, I'd found myself dealing with a
"whitebread" (no "meat") enviromentalist "social club," hopelessly stuck in
its own inertia thanks to the psychological foibles of its membership.
Quickly welcomed into its small circle of "leaders" ("leadership" is a taboo
concept for Greens), I tried to raise their sights and increase their
effectiveness in the REAL world --defined by PRACTICAL accomplishments-- but
that only antagonized the existing "leader" clique, who saw their customary
positions and fond self-image as "activists" suddenly put at risk, so they
sidestepped me, steering the focus of the group always back toward the absurd
circle-dance of "pretend" activity. The ONE time they rose above pettiness
was when the SF Greens were under attack by faux-Green Maoists who were
attempting to infiltrate them in order to co-opt the movement. I was the
first to recognize the subtle group-dynamics of what was really going on and
to identify both the provocateur-group's identity and its goal -- so when I
finally opened their eyes (they were kinda slow-witted and not hip to
"hardcore" politics), other "leaders" of the Greens rallied around me and
chose me to draft our "position paper" on this development, to be passed
upward to the higher echelons of the Greens organization. (Apparently it
takes some kind of external THREAT to illuminate who's REALLY at the driver's
wheel, whose "authority," based more on COMPETENCE, is to be sought out.)
Regarding the "followers" there, the rank-and-file membership of the local
Greens, I was appalled at how little DIRECTION they were given and how
regularly they were left to function below capacity, "lowest common
denominator" setting the standard. They would do the same routine tasks time
and time again, unimaginatively, and not once did I see them presented by
their "leaders" with a new idea or faced with a real challenge which might
ASK more of them but could OFFER them more from the results. On the other
hand, what they usually contributed was minimal anyway -- just enough to
enable them to feel good about themselves, by "belonging" to such a group and
"sharing" its worthy ideals. So, the "leaders" were not wholly to blame; the
"followers" were stolid in their inertia, sheeplike "counterculture yuppie"
types ... But I've long observed that, in our American culture, individuals
who are DYNAMIC in an other-oriented SOCIAL cause --strong-willed, smart and
productive in affiliative or collaborative enterprises, in contrast to
competitive, purely self-interested ones-- are a rarity, few and far between.
This is not a society which rewards those with a cooperative orientation,
except as a PRETENSE -- for example, politicians, business executives, and
religious leaders whose "noble" public image functions primarily as a
deliberate smokescreen for their predatory motives.
I'm a cynical "outsider" now. What will I DO next, with whom?
Well, that depends on how tightly the screws get turned on us ...
The times shape us, much more than we shape the times.
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