jacobito (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} jacobito) wrote,@ 2006-03-28 14:16:00 |
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shit is going down!
no really. general strikes in france. massive demos in Belarus. Latin America is going left. civil war in iraq. massive slums the megapolises of the south. infinite migration. the other campaign. ecuador strikes. bolivian strikes. european derives. the precariat. multitudes. the rebirth of anarchism, again and again.
But what I'm really talking about is Latin@s in the United States taking to the streets!!! Massive student walk-outs, and general street protests everywhere. Tons of cities. For weeks now! and the TV MEDIA DOESNT COVER SHIT! And tHE WHITE LIBERAL LEFT DOESNT CARE FOR SHIT. I dont know. maybe they do. I got an email from UFPJ saying how this hr4437 bill sucks. But perhaps this is the issue. The relation between politics and life, alienation and anger vs. exploitation and rage. I mean the difference between feeling mad and knowing that whats going on is wrong and still trying to put yourself in a relatively comfortable position to be happy enough to survive while still trying to challenge everything you can, vs. the lived effects of exploitation that things like Hr4437 will do to some folks and the rage and impossibility of survival without resistance. Are these dichotomies so deep? Is HR4437 really "causing" this national uprising? Or was it there before? I think a deleuzian analysis would work, a sort of mixing of emotions and thoughts that bounces around, causing the irruption as it creates it. The effects producing the cause. Although anarchists and activists can organize forever to get people in the streets, when the time comes, it just happens.
Or does it? In LA, it was our friends, Jesse Diaz and Micaela and others who helped call the big demo. It was radio DJ's that plugged it. It was volunteers who passed out flyers. It was folks like Nohelia too. But what about the high school students in LA and the college students in France? Is it autonomous? Is it networked? Is it led? If its self-organized, nonheirarchical, collective and individual, strung between the spontaneity of some and the organization of many, and if its a desire for freedom, a form of direct action, and a ethic of mutual aid, then thats anarchism. no doubt. Not political, but social. Not as ideology, but as ethics, as social life.
But the flags. Oh the flags. mexican. american. guatemalan. che. Fmln. and hence the divide - a spontaenous planned organized individual collective movement for freedom of movement and the right to stay and be a citizen in a country that exploits its citizens lies to them sends them to war kills steals rapes pillages and all with a happy liberal or conservative face and "we" are fighting to be a part of this country not because of that but because at least that is a bulwark against the law, the managers, and those who locally exploit. Its abolitionists fighting to get the federal govnt to enforce non-slavery in pro-slavery states. but how the govnt is the problem here as well! so its not anarchist. of course not. that stupid appropriation. but is it an upsurge and desire for freedom against authority...well, no, because it wants authority, just a different one, a national one against a capitalist one (ie, protection of the state agains the capitalists that try to exploit and the populace that harasses) but the state pigs are exactly those ones who most exploit and terrorize undocumented people so what the fuck do we want. Why am i saying WE? I am not undocumented. i'm not even really mexican. but part of me is. a big part. two generations have lived there, going back to the mexican revolution even! but its different. and how come its ONLY latin@ immigrants demonstrating when this is an TOTAL Anti-immigrant bill. Aha! here we come to the politics of race and how immigrant means all but 'illegal' is synonmous with mexican but thats strange given how many chinese, korean, domincan, etc undocumented folks there and what the fuck where is everyone? is this really a movement for immigrants? or is this identity politics en masse? Of course its identity politics. The marches have been 99.9$ latin@ and mostly mexican but the ISSUE is global, transnational. if there was an issue of the mutltitude, THIS would be it. included in this political project is: poverty, women, global south, labor, human rights, freedom, race, the economy, democracy. Aha, but its not about WAR. Its not about White people. ITs not about Iraq. Its not about Bush. Its not about dems and repubs. so what the fuck is this about and why is not an opening to action for all? Is it contained or restrained? is it the most inclusive ?
but this is not global. is it? Why is this not the anti-war movement? why is this not the anti-globalization movement? Or is that what we should avoid? Why IS this all of the movements? How is the fight to contain freedom of movement, control cheap labor, and create social underclass INEXTRICABLY tied to global militarization, corporate globalization and neoliberalism. IS MIGRATION RESISTANCE? NO. YES. STAYING IS RESISTANCE (ie, see mayan myths combined with zapata combined marcos to learn about the revolutionary practice of NOT moving:
"Our oldest ancestors had to confront the stranger who came to conquer these lands. The strangers came to give us other ways, other words, other beliefs, other gods and another justice. It was his justice only so that he could have it and strip us of ours. Gold was his god. His superiority was his belief. Lies were his words. Cruelty was his way. Ours, the greatest fighters fought them, there were great battles between the aboriginal of these lands to defend the land from the foreigner's hand. But great also were the forces that the foreign hand brought. Great and good soldiers fell fighting and died. The battles continued; there were few warriors left, and the women and the children took up the arms of those who fell.
So, the wisest of the ancestors met and told the story of the sword, the tree, of the rock and the water. They told of the olden times and that far away in the mountains things that men need to work and defend themselves were brought together. The gods went around as it was their custom to do, which is to say that they were sleepy because the gods who were not the most powerful gods--those who birthed the world, the first ones-- were very lazy. It was the man and the woman spending their physical energies and growing in heart in one corner of the dawn. The night was silent. It was quiet because it knew that it had little time left. And so the sword spoke.
--A sword like this--Old Antonio stopped and brandished a two-edged machete. The light of the fire created some sparks, just an instant, then the dark returned. Then Old Antonio continued:
"So the sword spoke and said:
--I am the strongest and I can destroy everything. My edge cuts and I give power to the person who takes me and death to those who confront me--
--Liar!--said the tree--. I am the strongest, I have resisted the wind and the most ferocious torment.
The sword and the tree fought. The sword fought strong and hard, and confronted the sword. The sword struck and struck until it had chopped the trunk and felled the tree.
--I am the strongest--the sword said again.
--Liar!--said the stone---. I am stronger because I am hard and old, I am heavy and full.
And so the sword and the stone fought. The stone fought hard and strong and confronted the sword. The sword beat and beat and could not destroy the stone but it broke it into many pieces. The sword was left without a sharp edge and the stone was in many small pieces.
--It is a tie!--the sword and the stone said and the two cried because of the futility of their battle.
Meanwhile, the water in the ditch only watched the battle and said nothing. The sword looked at it and said:
--You are the weakest of all! You can't do anything to anyone! I am stronger than you! --and the sword attacked the water in the ditch with great force. It made a great scandal and noise; it shocked the fish and the water did not resist the blow of the sword.
Little by little, without saying anything, the water returned to its original form, enveloping the sword. And it continued its path to the river that would take it to the great body of water that the gods made to heal their thirst.
Time passed and the sword in the water began to grow old and rust, losing its edge, and the fish came near it without being afraid and made fun of it. With shame the sword withdrew from the water in the ditch. Without an edge and defeated, it complained: I am stronger than it, but I couldn't hurt it, and it, without fighting, has beaten me!
The dawn passed and the sun came to wake up the man and the woman who had slept together in order to renew themselves. The man and the woman found the sword in a dark corner, with the stone in pieces, the tree felled and the water in the ditch singing..."
The ancestors ended the telling of the history of the sword, the tree, the stone and the water and said:
"There are times when we have to fight like we were the sword in the face of the animal; there are times when we have to fight like the tree in the face of the torment; there are times when we have to fight like stones in the face of time. But there are times when we have to fight like the water in the face of the sword, the tree and the stone. This is the hour to make ourselves like the water and to continue our path to the river which will take us to the great water where the great gods soothe their thirst, those who birthed the world, the first ones".
--That's what our ancestors did--said old Antonio--. They resisted like the water resisted the most fierce blows. The stranger came with his force, surprising all the weak ones, thinking that he had won and in time he started to become old and rusty. The stranger ended up in a dark corner full of shame and without understanding why, if he had won, he was losing.
The old Antonio again lit his pipe and the firewood and added: --That's how our oldest and wisest ancestors won the great war against the stranger. The stranger left. We are here, like the water in the ditch, we continue to go towards the river that has to take us to the great water that soothes the thirst of the greatest gods, those who birthed the world, the first ones...
The dawn left and with it old Antonio. I continued in the path of the sun, to the west, crossing a ditch that snaked towards the river. In front of the mirror, between the sun of the dawn and the sun of the afternoon is the tender caress of the midnight sun. An alleviation that is hurting. A water that is thirst. A meeting that continues to be a search...
Like the sword in the tale of old Antonio, the government's offensive in February entered without any difficulty into the Zapatista territories. Powerful, lumbering, with a beautiful handle, the sword of Power beat the Zapatista territory. Like the sword of the tale of old Antonio, it made a lot of noise and scandal, like it, it surprised some fish. Like in the tale of old Antonio, its blow was great, strong...and useless. Like the sword in the tale of old Antonio, it stayed in the water, rusting and aging. The water? It continued its way, enveloping the sword, and without paying any attention to it, going to the river which will have to take it to the great water where the greatest gods soothe their thirst, those who birthed the world, the first ones...
Vale again.
Health and that the water alleviate and quench.
But is not moving all we can do?
for all the stories of walk-outs, etc, see:
latimes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
New york city
writing fast and confusedly.............
no really. general strikes in france. massive demos in Belarus. Latin America is going left. civil war in iraq. massive slums the megapolises of the south. infinite migration. the other campaign. ecuador strikes. bolivian strikes. european derives. the precariat. multitudes. the rebirth of anarchism, again and again.
But what I'm really talking about is Latin@s in the United States taking to the streets!!! Massive student walk-outs, and general street protests everywhere. Tons of cities. For weeks now! and the TV MEDIA DOESNT COVER SHIT! And tHE WHITE LIBERAL LEFT DOESNT CARE FOR SHIT. I dont know. maybe they do. I got an email from UFPJ saying how this hr4437 bill sucks. But perhaps this is the issue. The relation between politics and life, alienation and anger vs. exploitation and rage. I mean the difference between feeling mad and knowing that whats going on is wrong and still trying to put yourself in a relatively comfortable position to be happy enough to survive while still trying to challenge everything you can, vs. the lived effects of exploitation that things like Hr4437 will do to some folks and the rage and impossibility of survival without resistance. Are these dichotomies so deep? Is HR4437 really "causing" this national uprising? Or was it there before? I think a deleuzian analysis would work, a sort of mixing of emotions and thoughts that bounces around, causing the irruption as it creates it. The effects producing the cause. Although anarchists and activists can organize forever to get people in the streets, when the time comes, it just happens.
Or does it? In LA, it was our friends, Jesse Diaz and Micaela and others who helped call the big demo. It was radio DJ's that plugged it. It was volunteers who passed out flyers. It was folks like Nohelia too. But what about the high school students in LA and the college students in France? Is it autonomous? Is it networked? Is it led? If its self-organized, nonheirarchical, collective and individual, strung between the spontaneity of some and the organization of many, and if its a desire for freedom, a form of direct action, and a ethic of mutual aid, then thats anarchism. no doubt. Not political, but social. Not as ideology, but as ethics, as social life.
But the flags. Oh the flags. mexican. american. guatemalan. che. Fmln. and hence the divide - a spontaenous planned organized individual collective movement for freedom of movement and the right to stay and be a citizen in a country that exploits its citizens lies to them sends them to war kills steals rapes pillages and all with a happy liberal or conservative face and "we" are fighting to be a part of this country not because of that but because at least that is a bulwark against the law, the managers, and those who locally exploit. Its abolitionists fighting to get the federal govnt to enforce non-slavery in pro-slavery states. but how the govnt is the problem here as well! so its not anarchist. of course not. that stupid appropriation. but is it an upsurge and desire for freedom against authority...well, no, because it wants authority, just a different one, a national one against a capitalist one (ie, protection of the state agains the capitalists that try to exploit and the populace that harasses) but the state pigs are exactly those ones who most exploit and terrorize undocumented people so what the fuck do we want. Why am i saying WE? I am not undocumented. i'm not even really mexican. but part of me is. a big part. two generations have lived there, going back to the mexican revolution even! but its different. and how come its ONLY latin@ immigrants demonstrating when this is an TOTAL Anti-immigrant bill. Aha! here we come to the politics of race and how immigrant means all but 'illegal' is synonmous with mexican but thats strange given how many chinese, korean, domincan, etc undocumented folks there and what the fuck where is everyone? is this really a movement for immigrants? or is this identity politics en masse? Of course its identity politics. The marches have been 99.9$ latin@ and mostly mexican but the ISSUE is global, transnational. if there was an issue of the mutltitude, THIS would be it. included in this political project is: poverty, women, global south, labor, human rights, freedom, race, the economy, democracy. Aha, but its not about WAR. Its not about White people. ITs not about Iraq. Its not about Bush. Its not about dems and repubs. so what the fuck is this about and why is not an opening to action for all? Is it contained or restrained? is it the most inclusive ?
but this is not global. is it? Why is this not the anti-war movement? why is this not the anti-globalization movement? Or is that what we should avoid? Why IS this all of the movements? How is the fight to contain freedom of movement, control cheap labor, and create social underclass INEXTRICABLY tied to global militarization, corporate globalization and neoliberalism. IS MIGRATION RESISTANCE? NO. YES. STAYING IS RESISTANCE (ie, see mayan myths combined with zapata combined marcos to learn about the revolutionary practice of NOT moving:
"Our oldest ancestors had to confront the stranger who came to conquer these lands. The strangers came to give us other ways, other words, other beliefs, other gods and another justice. It was his justice only so that he could have it and strip us of ours. Gold was his god. His superiority was his belief. Lies were his words. Cruelty was his way. Ours, the greatest fighters fought them, there were great battles between the aboriginal of these lands to defend the land from the foreigner's hand. But great also were the forces that the foreign hand brought. Great and good soldiers fell fighting and died. The battles continued; there were few warriors left, and the women and the children took up the arms of those who fell.
So, the wisest of the ancestors met and told the story of the sword, the tree, of the rock and the water. They told of the olden times and that far away in the mountains things that men need to work and defend themselves were brought together. The gods went around as it was their custom to do, which is to say that they were sleepy because the gods who were not the most powerful gods--those who birthed the world, the first ones-- were very lazy. It was the man and the woman spending their physical energies and growing in heart in one corner of the dawn. The night was silent. It was quiet because it knew that it had little time left. And so the sword spoke.
--A sword like this--Old Antonio stopped and brandished a two-edged machete. The light of the fire created some sparks, just an instant, then the dark returned. Then Old Antonio continued:
"So the sword spoke and said:
--I am the strongest and I can destroy everything. My edge cuts and I give power to the person who takes me and death to those who confront me--
--Liar!--said the tree--. I am the strongest, I have resisted the wind and the most ferocious torment.
The sword and the tree fought. The sword fought strong and hard, and confronted the sword. The sword struck and struck until it had chopped the trunk and felled the tree.
--I am the strongest--the sword said again.
--Liar!--said the stone---. I am stronger because I am hard and old, I am heavy and full.
And so the sword and the stone fought. The stone fought hard and strong and confronted the sword. The sword beat and beat and could not destroy the stone but it broke it into many pieces. The sword was left without a sharp edge and the stone was in many small pieces.
--It is a tie!--the sword and the stone said and the two cried because of the futility of their battle.
Meanwhile, the water in the ditch only watched the battle and said nothing. The sword looked at it and said:
--You are the weakest of all! You can't do anything to anyone! I am stronger than you! --and the sword attacked the water in the ditch with great force. It made a great scandal and noise; it shocked the fish and the water did not resist the blow of the sword.
Little by little, without saying anything, the water returned to its original form, enveloping the sword. And it continued its path to the river that would take it to the great body of water that the gods made to heal their thirst.
Time passed and the sword in the water began to grow old and rust, losing its edge, and the fish came near it without being afraid and made fun of it. With shame the sword withdrew from the water in the ditch. Without an edge and defeated, it complained: I am stronger than it, but I couldn't hurt it, and it, without fighting, has beaten me!
The dawn passed and the sun came to wake up the man and the woman who had slept together in order to renew themselves. The man and the woman found the sword in a dark corner, with the stone in pieces, the tree felled and the water in the ditch singing..."
The ancestors ended the telling of the history of the sword, the tree, the stone and the water and said:
"There are times when we have to fight like we were the sword in the face of the animal; there are times when we have to fight like the tree in the face of the torment; there are times when we have to fight like stones in the face of time. But there are times when we have to fight like the water in the face of the sword, the tree and the stone. This is the hour to make ourselves like the water and to continue our path to the river which will take us to the great water where the great gods soothe their thirst, those who birthed the world, the first ones".
--That's what our ancestors did--said old Antonio--. They resisted like the water resisted the most fierce blows. The stranger came with his force, surprising all the weak ones, thinking that he had won and in time he started to become old and rusty. The stranger ended up in a dark corner full of shame and without understanding why, if he had won, he was losing.
The old Antonio again lit his pipe and the firewood and added: --That's how our oldest and wisest ancestors won the great war against the stranger. The stranger left. We are here, like the water in the ditch, we continue to go towards the river that has to take us to the great water that soothes the thirst of the greatest gods, those who birthed the world, the first ones...
The dawn left and with it old Antonio. I continued in the path of the sun, to the west, crossing a ditch that snaked towards the river. In front of the mirror, between the sun of the dawn and the sun of the afternoon is the tender caress of the midnight sun. An alleviation that is hurting. A water that is thirst. A meeting that continues to be a search...
Like the sword in the tale of old Antonio, the government's offensive in February entered without any difficulty into the Zapatista territories. Powerful, lumbering, with a beautiful handle, the sword of Power beat the Zapatista territory. Like the sword of the tale of old Antonio, it made a lot of noise and scandal, like it, it surprised some fish. Like in the tale of old Antonio, its blow was great, strong...and useless. Like the sword in the tale of old Antonio, it stayed in the water, rusting and aging. The water? It continued its way, enveloping the sword, and without paying any attention to it, going to the river which will have to take it to the great water where the greatest gods soothe their thirst, those who birthed the world, the first ones...
Vale again.
Health and that the water alleviate and quench.
But is not moving all we can do?
for all the stories of walk-outs, etc, see:
latimes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
New york city
writing fast and confusedly.............
