Self-defense? Absolutely. Over the last few days, a heat dome in the Gulf of Mexico has subjected tens of millions of humans to extreme temperatures from Central America to Florida, with temperatures reaching 44C (111F) on the Río Grande, and monkeys dropping dead out of trees in southeast Mexico (On May 26, 25 million people in the US alone were facing conditions of "extreme heat"). A heat wave in Sindh, Pakistan, has reached temperatures of 52C (126F). Millions of people in Zambia and neighboring countries are threatened with famine due to a major, persistent drought which has halved the electrical supply in the country as dams cease operation and wrecked the harvest (the global economy and the IMF force Zambia to monocrop a non-native grain, maize, which it also exports to neighboring countries).
Tens of millions of people are forced to migrate to more resourced countries farther from the equator, but in those countries (in Europe and North America) the media are encouraging xenophobia, which far Right parties ride into power, making coalitions with center Right politicians who pass dangerous anti-immigrant legislation along with pro-fossil fuel policies. The center Left, in turn, shifts to normalize the criminalization of immigrants. Everywhere, killings on the border and killings by cops and rightwing thugs are on the rise.
Well, this is embarrassing. I obviously see your point in juxtaposing the two scenarios. But sadly i happen to be a super easy mark for intimidation tactics by state and capital. Because jail and prison time are my biggest nightmare. i am extremely claustrophobic and would not last for one week inside before i would top myself. I am slowly working myself towards the point of no return. But just to say, despite seeing through it as a mechanism, intimidation does also function (on some people, like myself).
I really appreciate you bringing this up. There are so many roles that are required to transform this society into one that is remotely healthy. The point is not for everyone to be on the front line, but for everyone to see how the roles fit together and support one another. And you're clearly not someone who discourages self-defense and direct action.
Jail sux and not wanting to go there is the most sane reaction ever, scares the shit outta me too. But it's worth adding that keeping your nose clean by no means keeps you safe from a jail/prison scenario. Above board legal work gets punished by the state all the time.
ive had bouts of that feeling, but i remember it feels like running out of air. however, that's what i understood the article's point to be. not to convince you to do direct action that's risky, but to say that the fear of violence enacted upon you (whether physical, legal, mental (like what you're naming, bc that is violence to lock up a human being) should not be imagined only by doing "legally wrong" actions but recognized as a reality we are all headed towards and present with minute by minute. violence, death, destruction is here. and it will only keep growing until it swallows us.
the only way we minimize the amount of death we are already in (and will rise exponentationally) is for us to face that together. the only hope we have is in each other.
On the construction of collective memory against official history, we're lucky enough to have quite a few accounts of the George Floyd uprisings that were ongoing 4 years ago this week.
What are your thoughts about all this in a country that comes down pretty harshly on any form of pushback against the status quo, where people get red-tagged and taken from their beds and murdered, etc. Not put in prison, but pretty much "disappeared". Farmers, indigenous people, journalists.
I'm imagining the best thing is developing mutual aid networks, community work?
I trust the decisions people make in those countries, and from what I've seen it seems to differ quite a lot country to country and movement to movement, in parts of the world where disappearances are common. That's also another reason those of us who are less likely to face disappearance might consider taking more risks.
Hey Peter. As you know, I love taking your writing and "translating" it for other audiences... I'll need to think about this one a bit as the starting point is similar to how Roger Hallam frames things... And it might be that I am super sensitive to this since I have been supporting people for years who are trying to (or have left) the unhealthy ecosystem that is Roger Hallam. The use of fear and the way that it is framed as being: you either go to prison or you are complicit in all these bad things happening to you and your loved ones. I know you move on from there as the article progresses, but that was the initial nervous system response for me... And as some people have said in earlier comments, the focus can settle on "You have to be willing to go to jail or prison."... and then this detracts from the wider message... Curious to see if you know what I am getting at here....I love what you are saying in the article, putting the risk into perspective of how the system actually works, like likelihood etc. But those are my concerns...
This felt like I was in your mind … I don’t know how to describe it. I love the way you write! Thank you so much for this, have to come back and think about this.
Self-defense? Absolutely. Over the last few days, a heat dome in the Gulf of Mexico has subjected tens of millions of humans to extreme temperatures from Central America to Florida, with temperatures reaching 44C (111F) on the Río Grande, and monkeys dropping dead out of trees in southeast Mexico (On May 26, 25 million people in the US alone were facing conditions of "extreme heat"). A heat wave in Sindh, Pakistan, has reached temperatures of 52C (126F). Millions of people in Zambia and neighboring countries are threatened with famine due to a major, persistent drought which has halved the electrical supply in the country as dams cease operation and wrecked the harvest (the global economy and the IMF force Zambia to monocrop a non-native grain, maize, which it also exports to neighboring countries).
Tens of millions of people are forced to migrate to more resourced countries farther from the equator, but in those countries (in Europe and North America) the media are encouraging xenophobia, which far Right parties ride into power, making coalitions with center Right politicians who pass dangerous anti-immigrant legislation along with pro-fossil fuel policies. The center Left, in turn, shifts to normalize the criminalization of immigrants. Everywhere, killings on the border and killings by cops and rightwing thugs are on the rise.
https://apnews.com/world-news/general-news-ec54ee8125dc8e259a3f464e64f6c523
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/28/asia/pakistan-heat-wave-sindh-climate-intl-hnk/index.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/28/crippling-drought-in-zambia-threatens-hunger-for-millions-says-minister
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/28/former-intelligence-chief-to-become-dutch-pm-as-part-of-business-cabinet
Well, this is embarrassing. I obviously see your point in juxtaposing the two scenarios. But sadly i happen to be a super easy mark for intimidation tactics by state and capital. Because jail and prison time are my biggest nightmare. i am extremely claustrophobic and would not last for one week inside before i would top myself. I am slowly working myself towards the point of no return. But just to say, despite seeing through it as a mechanism, intimidation does also function (on some people, like myself).
I really appreciate you bringing this up. There are so many roles that are required to transform this society into one that is remotely healthy. The point is not for everyone to be on the front line, but for everyone to see how the roles fit together and support one another. And you're clearly not someone who discourages self-defense and direct action.
Yes, not at all. It's also about knowing your strength and weaknesses. Diversity of tactics in that sense as well.
Jail sux and not wanting to go there is the most sane reaction ever, scares the shit outta me too. But it's worth adding that keeping your nose clean by no means keeps you safe from a jail/prison scenario. Above board legal work gets punished by the state all the time.
ive had bouts of that feeling, but i remember it feels like running out of air. however, that's what i understood the article's point to be. not to convince you to do direct action that's risky, but to say that the fear of violence enacted upon you (whether physical, legal, mental (like what you're naming, bc that is violence to lock up a human being) should not be imagined only by doing "legally wrong" actions but recognized as a reality we are all headed towards and present with minute by minute. violence, death, destruction is here. and it will only keep growing until it swallows us.
the only way we minimize the amount of death we are already in (and will rise exponentationally) is for us to face that together. the only hope we have is in each other.
On the construction of collective memory against official history, we're lucky enough to have quite a few accounts of the George Floyd uprisings that were ongoing 4 years ago this week.
https://paper.wf/downas/partisan-accounts-of-the-george-floyd-uprising
(Of course, there could always be more.)
What are your thoughts about all this in a country that comes down pretty harshly on any form of pushback against the status quo, where people get red-tagged and taken from their beds and murdered, etc. Not put in prison, but pretty much "disappeared". Farmers, indigenous people, journalists.
I'm imagining the best thing is developing mutual aid networks, community work?
I trust the decisions people make in those countries, and from what I've seen it seems to differ quite a lot country to country and movement to movement, in parts of the world where disappearances are common. That's also another reason those of us who are less likely to face disappearance might consider taking more risks.
Hey Peter. As you know, I love taking your writing and "translating" it for other audiences... I'll need to think about this one a bit as the starting point is similar to how Roger Hallam frames things... And it might be that I am super sensitive to this since I have been supporting people for years who are trying to (or have left) the unhealthy ecosystem that is Roger Hallam. The use of fear and the way that it is framed as being: you either go to prison or you are complicit in all these bad things happening to you and your loved ones. I know you move on from there as the article progresses, but that was the initial nervous system response for me... And as some people have said in earlier comments, the focus can settle on "You have to be willing to go to jail or prison."... and then this detracts from the wider message... Curious to see if you know what I am getting at here....I love what you are saying in the article, putting the risk into perspective of how the system actually works, like likelihood etc. But those are my concerns...
This felt like I was in your mind … I don’t know how to describe it. I love the way you write! Thank you so much for this, have to come back and think about this.