We were moved enough by the essay We Intend To Live In Peace that we decided to publish a zine version. Print out two sheets double-sided, short-edge binding, fold, staple, then cut in half. This provides two copies.
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The internet version works and looks beautiful but the print versions say “cannot extract the embedded font”.
This seems to happen from time to time. Try redownloading it, see if that works.
I thought I’d already posted this but I guess not…
I downloaded the newest version of Adobe Reader and that fixed the problem!
The sentiments expressed in this zine are nice, but it has a few problems. The first being that we can simply walk away from this system (from all coercive systems) and be “left alone.” Seriously? The authors clearly don’t understand the insatiable appetite of industrial civilization. It will never stop, it will never allow autonomy to individuals or communities, for it must always expand and always subsume others. Would that it were possible to simply say “leave us the fuck alone” and they would comply. Would that this worked with the cops and military grunts. Reality shows a much different truth, however.
Also, the promotion of defensive violence (which I’m all for) combined with the aversion to “crime” is a ridiculous contradiction. Because the world-destroying forces are everywhere and because their power relies on aggression and coercion, every single action we take that can be perceived as violent is defensive. And all of these actions are illegal, criminal.
What exactly does this leave us with? Ah, yes, pacifistic thumb twiddling and the hope that they’ll one day let us be. That seems to have worked pretty well in the past, right?
Another detail I find disturbing is the humanistic focus of the essay. It only briefly touches on the fact that ALL LIFE! is being destroyed (not just us self-important, big-brained apes). This is why, contrary to what the essay suggests, we must act (dare I say aggressively) to bring down these fucked up systems around us, because, even if they let us (human beings) be free and autonomous, they will NEVER stop destroying the natural world. And this is killing us all, humans and our animal and plant cousins alike.
This is a pretty little zine, Strangers, but enough with the manifestos. Wishful thinking will get us nowhere, take action and make the world you want to see!
Quickbeam: Many good points. A few that I would debate back with a bit, however.
To me, the whole “if you leave us alone we’ll leave you alone” attitude is what is interesting about this peace. I genuinely believe that the authors of it (whom I know not) agree with you that they will not be left alone in an industrialized world. Therefore, this piece is far from pacifist: they know that they will not be left alone. It is a call to action.
As for the humanistic focus… I don’t believe that every written piece needs to specifically address every form of oppression. No single work is everything. No single work is for everyone, either. We need more works, diverse works, that speak to different sorts of people. What I found attractive about this work is that it spoke to a very different audience than much of what I’d seen.
I agree with you about that crime bit. That part is whack.
well, it wasn’t really saying that they were against crime, so much as they were saying that they weren’t simply looking to create a haven for criminals. Like making the distinction between anarchists and thiefs who use chaotic riots to steal from buildings.
I don’t really understand this one at all. Much less “agree” with it. Yes, of course I am anarchist.
People everywhere are waking up, and it is very exciting. You hear about “Tea Parties,” the Zeitgeist Movement, Libertarians, SEDM.org, Mary Elizabeth Croft, Ron Paul, and others like your organization taking up the banner of liberty.
UNFORTUNATELY, even though the internet is a wonderful place to get your word out, it is also subject to saturation of common themes, which dilutes all the messages. Who will take charge? What charismatic leader will bring all these like-minded people together towards the common goal of breaking our chains from the beast?
I only want to carry my own burden in Natural / Common Law, but I will sacrifice for the rare chance be able to do so. Who will I follow? Who can I stand shoulder to shoulder with? Who will bring all the people together?
“IMAGINE ALL THE PEOPLE…”
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