Thursday, June 24, 2010

Digital Trees Don't Smell Good

So this shitbag wrote an article crying because lame-ass newspapers were going out of business because of digital media. Plus, he blames trees. What a PRICK. So here's the deal, peeps:

This is the era of digitized, decentralized, mass media.

Yeah, the big boys are still around, whipping up fear with bullshit propaganda and misinformation wrapped up in loud and bright graphics, but information is flowing like it never has, and because of that, the old ways of sharing information are being made obsolete. The newspapers are dying.

The more that is virtualized, the better. And before people start bawling about the beauty of tactile shit, shuuuuuuuuuut the fuuuuuuuuuuuck up. Seriously. Go camping, buy a used book, get a sexual partner who will allow you to place your clammy hands on them. There are plenty of tactile experiences that await you beyond the virtual world. Yes, there is a danger of closing ourselves in doors because of the digital age...SO DON'T CLOSE YOURSELF UP IN YOUR HOUSE!!! Stop blaming shit for you not going outside and getting a little exercise. The devil did NOT make you do it. Neither did World of Warcraft.

The wealth of media out there means we have to be discerning. We have to check sources. Or not. Who gives a shit? Get lost in searches for obscure information and opinions. Who knows what you'll stumble upon? Maybe you'll stumble upon this blog and begin exploring agorist and post-civilization ideas? The decentralized media dumps information on you, and you must work to sift through it, but it can be fun work, guided by you and your whims.

I'm not JUST baked and rambling, I DO have an over-arching point that ties into the whole theme of this blog. Part of living successfully and sustainably in a post-civilization world will be through social decentralization. The decentralized mass media allows us to begin participating in the concept. Instead of waiting for civilization's collapse to happen TO us, we can make it something we are in control of through free association and open source information sharing via the digitized world. Groups like this are an example.

So yeah, the old newspapers are starting to collapse and go by-bye. Fuck em. They can't help us transition through the collapse of industrial civilization, peak oil, fiat money, or any of that. The virtual world can. Sure, there are dangers throughout the digitized world, but they are absolutely worth risking, given the unprecedented opportunity we have to connect with each other as free people.

Besides, it's more trees for the planet. I'll trade USA Today for that.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Agorism and the Irrelevance of Cops

With economic downturn we can always expect crime to rise, which is accompanied by increased police violence. Combine the downturn with oppressive laws against non-violent behavior, and the result is even more oppression from the police organization. The laws are oppressive, cops apply said laws in violent and often DEADLY manners, therefore the police organization is a violent and oppressive one. It is also monopoly.

So let's sum up:

The police are a violent, oppressive monopoly.

WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK?! (I assume you have just shouted this after reading my badass Lost-style reveal that ends up being really obvious and mostly just makes you feel retarded.)

So, it follows that if someone wears the uniform of this organization (no YMCA jokes, please) then it follows that they are members of a violent, oppressive monopoly. As such, they are to be mistrusted, avoided, alienated, and for some folks, FOUGHT.

Now here's my pickle. Not my penis, but pickle, like a problem that is sour and crunchy, and a giant stork is taking a bite out of it and grinning at you, and you have NO idea what to do next. That's what I mean by pickle. NOT my penis. So stop asking me about my penis. Thanks.

So here's my pickle: I'm an individualist, as such I am in the weird position of considering cops as individuals when I meet them in society, which in my case is in food service. There are a couple cops in particular that I like. One seems mellow and laid back, the other seems stern but fair. I know a LOT of people that fit these bills. But these dudes are ALSO members of the aforementioned organization. The violent oppressive one. That's bad. A fucked up conundrum.

Agorism offers a compelling answer to this dilemma. The main issue is that there is demand for security. The illusion is that the police are the solution to that demand. That's partly true, it is A solution, and is a really really really really bad one. Agorism looks to create the new within the shell of the old through counter-economics. Counter-economic activity is decentralized and bottom up trading occurring amongst individuals. This activity, even when unrealized, withdraws support from the power structure, thereby weakening it. Realized, it creates the effects of a mass movement without actually needing a mass movement. In short, agorism offers a viable way to compete with the police institution, and innovating to the point of rendering it obsolete. Engaging in true freed market activity is fertile ground for rapid social and industrial innovation.

For the practical reader I offer a few agorist options:

1. For the Randian survivalist: Buy some guns, dogs, and alarms. Good luck.

2. Trade amongst people you trust. Do you know someone who can work on an engine? Do you know a naturopath? A permaculturalist? A farmer? Working to create these networks of trade lay the groundwork for collective security via voluntary cooperation and mutual aid.

3. Abolish money (as we know it). Try and find any and all reasons to use cash, or better yet: nothing. Trading for free undercuts this fucked market by 100%. Fiat money is FUNDAMENTAL to the oppressive and violent institutions of civilization.

The agorist solution is to withdraw support and build voluntary relationships with those you trust. To answer the demands of communities through decentralized trading and mutual aid.

So be sure to commit an agorist act this week, and begin building the free society NOW in your own life. A society in which the "good" cops find a real place in community security, and the bad cops are held FULLY accountable for their crimes.