Discuss: World at Gunpoint

5/22/2009 12:01:35 PM:  I guess I am finally reluctant to blame anyone that much, for the current condition of the planet.  As I see it, we were born with innate desires to live, reproduce, stay warm, comfortable, well enough fed, connect with others socially, and, yes, express love.
As with most animal life, we were born to take the easy way out because our bodies are naturally designed to conserve energy for when it is needed, either to escape harm, chase down dinner, or numerous other tasks of survival.
And, through millions of years of evolution, we seem to deal best with what is in our immediate surroundings, not what impact we might have that is beyond our gaze.
Put all this together, and we have become wildly successful at satisfying our desires.  Our propensity to conserve energy evolved into the technology of ‘labor saving’ devices, powered by energy not from our muscles.  Our influence has extended well beyond our sight or reach; our “out of sight, out of mind” nature has left us typically unaware of the damage we are doing remotely.  Switch on a light in my kitchen and a giant machine hundreds of miles away rips away at a seam of coal to make it possible.  The evidence of the damage I am doing with that light switch is well removed from my daily experience.
After seeing thousands of messages from all quarters extolling me to change my light bulbs, drive fewer miles, seal leaks in my house, etc., I finally stopped and asked myself, where are the “thank you"s?  Where is the forgiveness?  Where is the invitation to accept ourselves and our failings?  Is it possible to invite each other to respond to our planet’s “crisis” through the expression of love and support and caring instead of guilt and shame and fear?
In other words, in order to listen to the land, perhaps we first have the challenge to listen to ourselves, and to each other.
At the same time, I think of the homeless woman, living in a hotel room with her son, that I saw on the news last night.  Perhaps 100% of her mental energy is spent just trying to find work, make meals with the few dollars they have, and grab a few hours of sleep before starting all over again the next morning.  Does she have time to listen to the land?  I would certainly forgive her for not doing so, at least not now.  I hope she can forgive herself when she reads messages urging her to ‘save’ the environment.
Yes, there is a world of hurt out there.  My hope is that we can move forward in healing that hurt instead of making more.  (more thoughts at http://www.energystories.org)

Susan, I am with you. And this is how it is for me as well, a visceral pain. And the fact we must participate in this to some degree is very distressing for me.
What I mean is this: that there is a “logic” to our practices so those we deem as the “perpetrators” are most likely seeing what they do as “good” for someone or themselves. not that it is inherently “good” - that is not at all what I meant. Further we must stop seeing destruction as “out there” but rather its a way of life each one of us is involved in. Its how we intervene and produce radical interventions which is what we can do within our realms of influence and agency and power. A lot of these issues are of course about power. I just needed to clarify where I was coming from. Comparing ecological destruction to a murderer breaking into your house and killing one’s family on one level speaks to the emotional truth of the situation, and on another level obscures something vital, which is how our practices fit into existing ideological frameworks for some (eg those in power)in which the practices are acceptable.

I don’t know whether to write “this article was a catalyst for me” or “this article was the last straw”. Reading these comments after the article was helpful, but not conclusive.

I’m afraid that I keep returning to the same criticism of Jensen: “Nice foreplay, but ....” As the comments raise the point, “do exactly what?”.

Anyway, I did find that the article pushed me off the fence. (Hooray for Derrick, and good on Orion for giving him a column!)  I keep returning to an old quote I used to finish off my own impotent rants with, paraphrased here:

“The Earth is not dying - she is being killed. And those who are killing her have names and addresses.” -Utah Phillips

And that’s where I personally end up. We all know what must be done, we are just unable or unwilling to do it. Walmarts must be dismantled, logging equipment must be disabled, drilling rigs must be destroyed, rapacious global capitalists must be taught the lesson that their behavior is now prohibited, and consequences must be visited upon them. ... and on and on.  ... and those’r just the first steps.

That’s how you must live your life. You live in ‘interesting times’ you are called upon to do what is necessary - ‘by any means necessary’ - and quit simply talking about it. That’s the challenge of your lives. Or simply watch the Earth die for awhile.

Here’s another quote, just for reinforcement, “If you can’t even manage to force your own presumably democratic
governments to allow you to do good things for yourselves, then you probably
deserve to become extinct.”—-Ishmael/Daniel Quinn

If you are too passive, or too scared or unable to give up your current lifestyle, perhaps a re-dedication to both ‘resistance’ and support of those who are willing to take ‘direct action’ would be the answer for you as to ‘how to live your lives’.

I’m always searching in history for parallels. What did Gandhi/Jesus/Lenin/Geo. Washington/Tecumseh/, et al. ... what did THEY do? They quit talking around the problem, organized and they acted.  Uncomfortable action, law-breaking action, violent and non-violent action. Incomplete action, but successful action.

So I say as I have said for awhile now, “If you’re serious, get back to me when you are actually willing to blow up a dam or pull down a cell tower, organize a strike or a revolution, ... or can hook us up with those willing to do those things, and the other things it takes to stop them/us.” Get back to me when you’re willing to live your life that way.

Full circle for me, I guess, folks, for I truly end up not with the Utah Phillips quote, but another quote.

“How can we expect to stop them by emulating those that have been destroyed?” - The Holeyman

Howdie, Tom, and happy birthday. I like running into in these virtual modes of communication.  I agree with everything you say. It’s good to hear the truth, as uncomfortable as it may be. That’s why I look up to you.  I hope that we can see each other soon.

Tom—can you explain why you think saying you’re “willing to blow up a dam or pull down a cell tower, organize a strike or a revolution” counts as “serious”?  Such actions strike me as dramatic, but not serious.  To me, “serious” means being responsible for what happens next—how the story goes on.

Wow.  There was a time when human survival and human life itself was the aim of society.  Whether any of you want to believe it or not, capitalism, burning fossil fuels, and technology have brought us to a point where you can sit around and drink soy milk while typing on your laptops and ponder questions like this.  I’m aware that primitive cultures who didn’t respect the environment failed, as I know some of you will argue, however, it is a matter of degree. We have come to a point where we can actually be concerned with these issues without having worry about surviving another year.  Violence, environmental totalitarianism and extremism will not be excused by future generations just because some endangered species survive or we succeed in reducing the amount of plant-breathing CO2 in the air.  You people are nuts.

5/22/2009 12:01:35 PM:  I guess I am finally reluctant to blame anyone that much, for the current condition of the planet.  As I see it, we were born with innate desires to live, reproduce, stay warm, comfortable, well enough fed, connect with others socially, and, yes, express love.
As with most animal life, we were born to take the easy way out because our bodies are naturally designed to conserve energy for when it is needed, either to escape harm, chase down dinner, or numerous other tasks of survival.
And, through millions of years of evolution, we seem to deal best with what is in our immediate surroundings, not what impact we might have that is beyond our gaze.
Put all this together, and we have become wildly successful at satisfying our desires.  Our propensity to conserve energy evolved into the technology of ‘labor saving’ devices, powered by energy not from our muscles.  Our influence has extended well beyond our sight or reach; our “out of sight, out of mind” nature has left us typically unaware of the damage we are doing remotely.  Switch on a light in my kitchen and a giant machine hundreds of miles away rips away at a seam of coal to make it possible.  The evidence of the damage I am doing with that light switch is well removed from my daily experience.
After seeing thousands of messages from all quarters extolling me to change my light bulbs, drive fewer miles, seal leaks in my house, etc., I finally stopped and asked myself, where are the “thank you"s?  Where is the forgiveness?  Where is the invitation to accept ourselves and our failings?  Is it possible to invite each other to respond to our planet’s “crisis” through the expression of love and support and caring instead of guilt and shame and fear?
In other words, in order to listen to the land, perhaps we first have the challenge to listen to ourselves, and to each other.
At the same time, I think of the homeless woman, living in a hotel room with her son, that I saw on the news last night.  Perhaps 100% of her mental energy is spent just trying to find work, make meals with the few dollars they have, and grab a few hours of sleep before starting all over again the next morning.  Does she have time to listen to the land?  I would certainly forgive her for not doing so, at least not now.  I hope she can forgive herself when she reads messages urging her to ‘save’ the environment.
Yes, there is a world of hurt out there.  My hope is that we can move forward in healing that hurt instead of making more.

In comment #36 Rick Livingston asks:
“Tom—can you explain why you think saying you’re “willing to blow up a dam or pull down a cell tower, organize a strike or a revolution” counts as “serious”? 

Rick I suggest you read Derrick Jensen’s “endgame” <http://www.endgamethebook.org> as to what’s serious about dams and cell towers. I was simply borrowing his framing to comment.

And I would be disturbed if you REALLY thought strikes and revolutions are “not serious”.
Often those involved in strikes and revolutions are in fact assuming responsibility for “what comes next”, n’est-ce pas?

Howabout if I prefaced those suggestions to blow cell towers and dams and dismantle, disable, etc. with “Obtain Court Orders to ...”?

Would that placate you? Would that be responsible enough for you?