Last Meeting and Links

Hey all,
Here are the links for next month's reading:
Marcuse
situationistmanifesto

http://libcom.org/library/art-form-reality-herbert-marcuse
http://www.cddc.vt.edu/sionline/si/manifesto.html

Next meeting is Sunday, Nov. 7 at 11 am

My thoughts on the readings from last month and notes from our conversation (you can either email or post additional comments on the blog):

The SCUM manifesto, though full of some funny and often clever anti-male invective, fell short in my view as a guide for revolutionary struggle because of its overly narrow focus--i.e. its identity politics. Much of the criticism, though, if it were viewed as a criticism of modern society in general and not "just" men, would be spot on. And I liked that her ideas for female liberation focused on living outside of the system rather than, like too many other minority movements, about getting your fair share of the pie. That said, there is perhaps a real basis to a criticism of society that focuses on patriarchialism. You could make a good case that oppressive civilizations don't need racism or homophobia or xenophobia or religious zealotry, but they do need patriarchy (and of course classism)--that there is something fundamentally anti-female, or anti-female as the embodiment of wild nature, in the concept of hierarchical rule. I also think it's important that whatever we decide "revolutionary art" means, it should be informed of the feminist critiques of earlier revolutionary art movements.

The info. about the Kronsdadt revolt is especially interesting in light of what's happening today in Latin America. The "new" socialist revolution seems to have learned much from past mistakes: the Soviet model of top-down imposed hegemony seems to have been abandoned in favor of work collectives and grassroots bottom-up organizational methods. That's great, but the Kronsdadt revolution (not to mention some of the Maoist "experiments") reminds me that state power is always a potential monopolistic threat, even when it's in the hands of socialists who talk the talk of equality and freedom.

Cafe Cultura

Juan will be reading here:


Spread the word...Bring your family & friends!!!!!

Join us for a special Cafe Cultura @ the University of Colorado, Denver (Auraria Campus)...

...celebrating 6 years of poetry, live art, free food, vendors, & community!

VOLUNTEERS PLEASE ARRIVE AT 6:30pm :-)
...
Note: Make sure to come early to sign up and get a good seat. As always, we welcome anybody who is willing to help in the organization of the event.

WHEN: 2nd Fri. of every month (October 8th, November 12th) @ 7:30 pm

WHERE: Tivoli Rm 440 (on the Auraria Campus)

October Features: Cafe Cultura Collective members....Stefanie Tsosie, Ara Cruz, Tanaya Winder, Chance Two Crow, Alejandro Jimenez, Mari Zepeda and More!!

WHAT: All ages Open Mic Night

Cosponsored by the University of Colorado at Denver Educational Opportunity Programs.

Come express yourself creatively or just chill with your people
Everyone is welcome!

For more info: cafe_cultura@yahoo.com; 720-394-6589 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 720-394-6589 end_of_the_skype_highlighting www.myspace.com/cafecultura; www.facebook.com/cafecultura

Revolution Takes Discipline

Hi everyone, my name is Drew and I'm new here. Tameca and I work together at Starbucks and we spend a lot of time talking about stuff and she invited me to join this group. I thought that as a way of introduction I would share some of ideas about revolution and how I view the concept.

It's nice to be here! :-)

The strength of a revolutionary paradigm is largely determined by the views and attitudes of its revolutionaries. Therefore any change that you wish to see you first have to exemplify in your own life. This does not mean that you have to be perfect! It isn’t about perfection but it is about aiming high. True, authentic and lasting revolution requires sacrifice and discipline. Of course anyone can quote Gandhi but what does it really mean to be the change that you wish to see in the world?

Paradoxically, one of the first important things to realize is that it isn’t about you, the revolutionary. It isn’t about your glory, it isn’t about being right, it isn’t about your vengeance and it isn’t about any kind of reward for you on the other side of the tunnel. It’s about creating change in the world that does more good for more people. That’s it. The first thing is to get your ego out of the way!

Violence is not the best way and it certainly is not the only way. Consider for a moment the United States’ Global War on Terror. We have rounded up and killed several terrorists but have we made the world any safer? If I were a twelve year old boy in Iraq watching foreign soldiers take away my father, I would probably be mad as hell. I’d probably carry that with me and swear to avenge. We may have taken down several leaders and members of current terrorist movement but how many of the next generation have we created in the process?

A violent revolution contains within it the seed of the next violent revolution. It is a cycle that never ends. If you destroy one violent system and replace it with another violent system then you haven’t really changed anything at all. It’s just the same old thing, repackaged. Creative solutions have to take the place of violent solutions. I find the Civil Rights movement and Gandhi’s revolution in India to be great examples of such solutions. Instead of using violence, both movements used mass civil disobedience to create change. Again, you have to get your ego out of the way, and you have to be willing to sacrifice for a cause that you believe in. Both violence and mass civil disobedience can shake a population out of apathy, but the later has far fewer consequences.

It is much easier to find creative, nonviolent solutions if you can give up on the religion of materialism. By this I mean the common belief that material reality is the absolute reality. And it isn’t absolute reality, any quantum physicist can tell you. What appears solid to us is simply molecules and atoms vibrating at speeds so fast that our nervous system can’t perceive it. It gives the perception of a solid reality, but perception is deception. Remember that people used to perceive that the Earth was flat or that the color of one’s skin mattered.

Giving up the religion of materialism mostly amounts to realizing that stuff doesn’t make one happy. This realization is a revolution in and of itself. How many of the world’s problems could be solved if people really, truly and deeply understood this one thing? So many problems have their root in the religion of materialism, think of any problem and you can point out how and where. Undoing those knots would be let a river of creative solutions flow. Waking up from this illusion might change the fact that one percent of the population of the United States holds ninety-five percent of the nation’s wealth, resulting in a rapidly disappearing middle class. Waking up from this illusion might help us see that we don’t have to be so hyper-competitive as a nation, obsessed with the profit margin to such an extent that we outsource jobs and fight wars to secure energy so that the game can continue. But these realizations on a large scale are far, far away, if ever.

For us as individuals, giving up on materialism simply means realizing that having that new iPhone isn’t really going to make us more content. It might for a few days, but there will always be another, newer, iPhone. We don’t have to play ‘Keeping Up With The Johnsons’ (or the Kardashians, whatever). Happiness and contentment does come from helping other people, from finding ways to do more good for more people. And that’s the whole idea of revolution in the first place anyway, right?

Being selfless, nonviolent and nonmaterialistic are three ways that I believe people interested in true revolution can start to make a vision become a reality. A revolutionary paradigm is the expression of its revolutionaries on a large scale. I hardly expect anyone reading this to fully buy in to everything I’ve said here, but I hope to at least make you think about it. Thank you for reading.

I Am Alarmed

Over a year ago, I posted the following essay on YourHub.com. I am reposting it here because we are actually talking about these things. To add to the following essay, I have the following questions: What is the solution to a depoliticized nation and what forms of activism work now (versus what has worked in the past, and if we explore what has worked in the past, which we should, why did they work)? I think it is extremely important that we all work with words and images here. If we are to make changes, we have to some degree use the same tactics that are being used against us. Another reason I am posting this here is because I want to become more educated so I can get out of the box I feel put in and thereby silenced by. If I write poetry, for example, how do I make my voice loud enough, and the words effective enough to break through to the other side of the box? I am asking the R.A.W. group because many of you have a larger breadth of knowledge than I do at present and the experience.

http://tlc-kitchensink.blogspot.com/2009/05/i-am-alarmed.html