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| Peter Hercules |
 Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 6:19 am |
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Site Admin
Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 175
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Dear Untamed Newsletter Subscriber,
Over the last several months, the Untamed Newsletter has been inactive for an array of reasons.
I have decided that it is time to reconnect.
I came upon a very interesting article in Rolling Stone magazine lately, entitled "The Great American Bubble Machine" (subtitled - "How Goldman Sachs took over Washington by engineering every major market manipulation since the Great Depression") by Matt Taibbi - http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/29127316/the_great_american_bubble_machine . It's a must read.
Also well worth the investment of time regarding Goldman Sachs and its manipulation of the civilized masses is this discussion - http://blip.tv/file/2365186 - involving Max Keiser ( for more on Max Keiser see http://maxkeiser.com/). Keiser does not mince his words, labeling the Goldman Sachs crew as thieves and terrorists.
Taibbi finishes his article with the following....
"This is the world we live in now. And in this world, some of us have to play by the rules, while others get a note from the principal excusing them from homework till the end of time, plus 10 billion free dollars in a paper bag to buy lunch. It's a gangster state, running on gangster economics, and even prices can't be trusted anymore; there are hidden taxes in every buck you pay. And maybe we can't stop it, but we should at least know where it's all going."
Taibbi refers to "the world we live in now." Where I would differ with him is that this is the world that we have lived in throughout the course of civilization.
Civilization has consistently been the world of the gangster.
The definition of the word 'gangster' is "a member of a gang of criminals, a racketeer."
Gangs of criminals have taken over human reality during the past ten thousand years, destroying natural wild tribal communities, and have violently used their enslaved human herds to serve the rackets that they have engineered.
Goldman Sachs is just another one of these gangs, one that apparently has clawed its way to a preeminent position in the present gang hierarchy. What they are doing has been done over and over again in various forms by many thugs throughout the era of human domestication.
At a personal level, I was recently reminded of my own ancestral exposure to extreme gang brutality when I listened to an NPR radio piece discussing the 1930's artificially created famine in the Ukraine - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106835755 .
Josef Stalin, head thug of the gang called the Soviet Union at that time, decided to break the spirit of the Ukrainian people by starving the small independent farmers to death who resisted the agrarian collectivization program that he imposed upon them.
In that process, my paternal grandfather was dispossessed of his small farm and sent to die in a Siberian prison camp.
My grandmother was left destitute to look after their five children who, except for one child, amazingly survived one of the worst horrors of the twentieth century (well described in graphic detail in the book "The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivization and the Terror-Famine" by Robert Conquest) while millions of others did not.
I know that to this day I bear the scars of those experiences.
I also know that all of my newsletter readers have ancestral histories of being brutalized by such gangsters, histories that have led all of us to become the domesticated shadows of our possible wild selves that we find staring back at us from our mirrors today.
What Taibbi and Keiser describe is just the latest round of mass gangsterism.
As they both point out, the gangs' present lead spokesperson/herd manager, Barack Obama, is (of course) obediently following his bosses' directions.
Recognizing that the last batch of public faces that they presented to the masses (Bush et al) eventually grated a little too much on the sensibilities of the herd, the gangsters decided to change style somewhat with this very telegenic 'Audacity of Hope' Trojan Horse.
Their clever move has paid off very well (literally) so far.
As the Rolling Stone article suggests, we are constantly being duped by those who have loaded the game and know our moves well before we have even begun to make them.
The fact that Taibbi and Keiser can present their viewpoints in such mainstream media venues just shows the degree of confidence that the gangsters have in their invincibility (and/or support for these viewpoints by a rival gang trying to usurp Goldman Sachs' position in the gang hierarchy).
So, if we are the vassals of gangsters (both now and for many generations past), what can we do about it?
Most civilized human animals do not even consider this situation to be a problem.
Instead, they genuinely appreciate the benefits and protection received within this order of things and are content to eke out the best that they can for themselves, understanding and accepting their roles as pawns to be pushed about this way and that (although inevitably griping at times, complaining that their 'rights' have been abused or ignored).
At a core level, they fear the possibility of uncivilized reality.
They go so far as to fight for and to even sacrifice their lives for the gangsters, identifying their best interests as being those of the gangsters - like sufferers of 'Stockholm syndrome' (as Keiser alludes to in the video recommended above - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome ).
For those, however, who do consider gangster reality to be problematic, there are three basic options.
One interesting approach is to become a gangster oneself and to strive to win at the gangster game.
While I have more respect for this type of individual than for the obedient slaves, I do not consider it to be in our true nature to become what one must transform oneself into to pursue this avenue successfully.
A second alternative is to acknowledge gangster reality as being truly undesirable and then to acquiesce to it, with no plan for or hope of escape. This is pure hell.
Those who accept such a strategy of existence commit the highest acts of self-betrayal. They know that what they are doing is wrong, but they do it anyway. Choosing this path requires an extremely destructive level of cynicism and reality escapism, avoiding, above all else, self-confrontation in order to dodge the feelings of self-loathing that inevitably accompany it.
There is, however, a third possibility. One can confront gangster reality, reject it, and then do everything possible to extricate oneself from it and to, both passively and actively, work to undermine and eliminate it. Admittedly, this is a very tall order, but ultimately the only one worth considering.
While the strength of gangsterism to some degree is due to the non-human resources available to the gangsters and the ruthless measures that they are prepared to take to achieve their objectives, most importantly it is due to the acquired submissiveness and obedience of the flocks that they control.
When a human animal ceases contributing to gangster reality, it subtracts its corresponding degree of power and support for that brutal regime. Each one of us has the option to affirm or reject gangsterism.
That being stated, even if an election were held and people voted to end gangsterism, unless all of those who voted against it continued to meaningfully rebel against it on a daily basis within their personal lives, there would be no net change. Because this does not happen, however, old tyrants are consistently replaced with new tyrants (the Russian Czar was soon followed by Stalin, etc.).
For real change to occur, individuals must enact personal revolutions, eliminating external control of their own lives and truly committing to their self-actualization.
I am well aware that at this point in the history and evolution of gangsterism/civilization, a commitment to self-actualization is a very rare event. Those familiar with my writings will know that their core message is that well-being is the result of an ongoing commitment to the fulfillment of one's genetic program - i.e. a commitment to self-actualization.
The rise of gangsterism over the course of civilization has been the driving force behind the betrayal of commitment to self-actualization. In this regard, therefore, the pursuit of well-being (and thus self-actualization) has significant social and political implications, and is not just some poetic psycho-philosophical position.
In its essence, this pursuit comes down to power. The power that you have is to choose between obeying your own internal natural human animal agenda or that of the gangsters that presently dominate you. Choosing to obey your internal agenda means choosing wildness.
I have encountered significant misunderstanding regarding the term 'wild' - a term that I use frequently.
According to the dictionary, 'wild' means 'not tamed or domesticated'. The word 'tamed' is defined as 'tractable, docile, or submissive; brought into service; rendered useful and manageable; under control, as a source of power'.
When I recommend wildness, I am not promoting living in a cave and abandoning all knowledge and options acquired over the last ten thousand years. What I am advocating is reclaiming ownership of your own life from the gangsters who have taken control of it, and then pursuing your natural healthy self-interests.
I, therefore, unreservedly encourage each person to attain a wild state of selfhood and consider doing so to be both possible and highly desirable - in fact, the most important and desirable objective of all.
The fact that almost nobody is interested in or willing to aim for wildness does not diminish the validity of the position that I propose. It is simply a description of present day political reality.
The few who are pursuing wildness tend to find themselves engaged in a solitary endeavor.
There are reasons for this.
Importantly, there has been an overall dilution of this desire for wildness within us due to the fact that we are a long-domesticated species (ten thousand years). Thus, this is a rare agenda - leading to difficulty finding other like-minded humans out there.
Furthermore, those presently aiming to become wild typically have extreme individualistic tendencies due to having suffered past trauma whenever others have had any degree of control over their lives, leading to a fundamental mistrust of group activities (all of this being based on their previous civilized group/interpersonal experiences).
The result, of course, is that those occasional ones who are on this path lead isolated lives and, when confronted with the tremendous power of the gangsters, find themselves overwhelmed and then hide, give in, or are destroyed.
When they do occasionally connect with others committed to their own wildness, their sometimes pathological degrees of individualism prevent them from co-operating due to conflicts over what are often trivial issues. This works to the benefit of the gangsters, who either do not even have to worry about the minimal impact that such people might have upon the monolith of civilized society, or else are able to neutralize them in one form or another.
It is very important to recognize that humans are naturally tribal animals. Thus, both in terms of better dealing with the challenges of confronting gangsterism, and also having the chance to operate within a social structure that is healthy for us and in synch with our essence, part of the process of untaming oneself is the establishment of a tribal community.
Again, this does not have to involve wearing a feathered head-dress and dancing naked around a fire, or living within the same building or on the same property, or even within the same immediate geographical area as other tribe members.
What it does mean, however, is the creation of a meaningful network of sufficiently compatible individuals committed to the common agenda of their self-liberation and in that process ending the tyranny of the gangster regimes by which they have been dominated.
I have had the rare privilege of having a female partner for over twenty-five years with whom I have been able to create a tiny community in the form of a nuclear family whose agenda has been largely focused on achieving self-actualization for all of its members.
The fact that we have shared genes has been significant to this process and certainly a very natural, although not absolutely essential, component to maintaining our small tribe intact so far.
I have discovered that having even this small a community striving for wildness is exceptional. Most whom I have encountered that are interested in this journey have found themselves to be completely alone.
However, in the particular case of my partner and myself, despite our reasonable talents and efforts, having no real personal support system has created many challenges for us over the years and has definitely diminished both the quality of our experience and the results that we might have otherwise achieved within a larger like-minded community.
It is time that those seeking wildness and freedom make it a priority to form tribes committed to self-actualization and the liberation from gangsterism.
I have previously expressed my fondness for cats, and often when one discusses creating consensus among anarchic individuals, the analogy of 'herding cats' is used.
I am glad that such is the case because I believe that it represents an accurate description of what has gone on. 'Herding' is probably exactly what has been attempted in these cases - i.e. forming a herd - a faceless collection of creatures whose individuality is lost in that creation. No wonder these freedom lovers have rebelled against that agenda.
A tribe, on the other hand, in the natural tradition of our species, is an integrated group of individuals in which each participant's needs must be adequately met for it to function successfully.
Tribal decision making takes place by sometimes slowly achieved consensus, whereas the herd typically moves rapidly in a mindless and often fearful manner.
Human herds have been the creation of the gangsters of civilization, who have understood that destroying the tribal structure, with its thoughtful decision-making processes and bonds of caring, is essential for effective manipulation of human animals in order to achieve the objectives of the rackets that they run.
It requires a great deal of time, re-learning, effort, and commitment for modern humans to create a tribe. Herds, however, can be thrown together rapidly, sometimes instantly.
Those whose goal is wildness can maintain their individuality while still operating within a tribal structure.
For an individual to fully move toward self-actualization, at some point, having sufficiently consolidated its commitment to that goal and having acquired a significant degree of internal strength, it will find that it needs a tribal community.
In previous writings I have often discussed the integral role of disempowerment of females within the structure of civilization.
A friend and subscriber to this newsletter recently sent me a story describing how thousands of severely and chronically disempowered women in India decided to fight back against male oppression and overall corruption and formed a vigilante group known as the 'Pink Gang'.
While clearly not a tiny tribal unit as alluded to just above, this group of women who finally had enough of the relentless abuses committed against them decided to solve their problems by unifying and taking action themselves, with significant success - http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2009%2F06%2F13%2FMNRR15FURD.DTL .
In this instance, stopping the violence of males ganging up against females within a society deliberately structured to subjugate women required the females to form their own counter-gang - although their objective was not to abuse men, but instead to end injustice.
As one member of the Pink Gang states in the article - "I learned that the more you suffer silently, the more your oppressor will oppress you."
Their leader, a forty-seven year old woman, Sampat Pal, describes the results of no longer tolerating gang abuse - "There used to be a pervasive feeling of helplessness, a collective belief that fighting back is just not possible. But that is slowly changing."
These women have been among the most disempowered humans on the planet. Their actions are a beacon to us all of what is possible.
It is also worth noting that they have (unknowingly, one would assume) pursued and proven the effectiveness of the bonobo chimpanzee approach of females unifying to stop male oppression and, in the process, improved the overall quality of life for their community - the best option that I have been able to discover for our species to end the patriarchal gangsterism which has taken us over.
Part of the reason that I have not been communicating via newsletter is that I have been busily organizing my life to, in a sense, regain what my grandfather had taken away from him over seventy years ago, and to extricate myself as much as possible from the control of these gangsters.
I have purchased a small property on which I intend to create a more self-sufficient and wild lifestyle. To that end, for the last several months I have been occupied with the construction of a new home there, one that is energy efficient and designed to facilitate handling the many tumults that I anticipate in the years ahead.
I expect to move onto the property within the next couple of months and once there will begin transforming what is presently raw farmland into an edible forest garden, to use permaculture terminology (see http://www.edibleforestgardens.com/about_gardening , http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2007-08-01/Plant-Edible-Forest-Garden-Permaculture.aspx ).
The final product of this process will be a jungle within which several human animals can, on an ongoing basis with a relatively minimal amount of effort, harvest the foods that they need.
I have invited Toby Hemenway, author of the wonderful book, "Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Homescale Permaculture" , and a leading North American permaculture expert, to visit our place from his home in Oregon to present a one day workshop on edible forest gardening, focusing on developing a design for our property.
(If any newsletter readers are interested in attending, please let me know. It will take place on Saturday, October 24 and the participation fee will be $20.)
I have no illusion that creating an edible forest garden and reorganizing my life to become more self-reliant and less integrated into the civilized order of things will have any major impact upon gangster reality. The racketeering will go on without even noticing my diminished participation.
I am exploring these avenues as part of my personal untaming/self-actualization process.
I am fully aware that, depending on the gangsters' whims, whatever I am able to achieve on this small property might eventually be stolen from me or destroyed. However, even if that happens, my commitment to ever-increasing wildness is something that cannot be taken away from me.
Breaking that commitment would mean betraying myself and the life-force within me - I would once again become just one more of the living dead, shuffling along to the gangsters' sad death-march beat.
Have you had enough yet of being robbed, duped, sold, raped, killed, herded, and humiliated by the gangsters?
It is only happening because we let it.
It is time that we do what it takes to reclaim ownership of our lives.
Regards,
Peter Hercules |
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| Peter Hercules |
| Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 9:26 pm |
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Site Admin
Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 175
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As you may be aware, the 'Forum' on my website ( www.untamedlife.com ) ceased being a true forum some time ago due to difficulties that I had controlling spam (I am again in the process of exploring how to solve this problem and thus reopen the forum format).
I do, however, receive emails regarding newsletter articles, as well as other topics relevant to the site.
I recently was sent an interesting note regarding the newsletter that I sent out in August entitled 'Gangsterism' ( http://untamedlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1574&sid=a7b4de0eb575b573511236934bc9cf65 ) from a fellow named Jon Addison.
I am sending it for your review and invite your feedback which I will be happy to post and share with others (if you wish)....
"Took a moment to read your post on gangsterism/community. Good stuff. I too have been pondering the path a wolf must take to live in dogworld. I agree we are genuinely social animals, a man alone is an incomplete thing. But the only society available to us is corrupt, and covers the earth. There is no place to found a community the dogs won't eventually overrun. Dick Proenneke (Alone in the Wilderness) lived a wild life alone in Alaska, but as impressive as his life was, it was incomplete. Regardless, few of us have the skills he did and I personally do not wish to be that isolated.
Meta-society is using up the earth at a frightening rate. Pockets of resources currently too small to bother with will come under scrutiny as the noose tightens around the neck of civilization. Even if a small group could find a place to drop out and live wildly, it's just a matter of time until society at large usurps the necessary resources for life. No legal rights are going to prevent the masters from taking every last blade of grass to fuel their dominance. Their world is doomed and as it crumbles, desperate refugees by the millions will destroy any Eden they can reach.
So, I feel a wolf must learn to hide in plain sight. Call it dishonesty if you like, I prefer to think of it as camouflage. Given the ability to walk amoungst the dogs undetected, what's a wolf to do? Wolves, like hunter-gatherers, are predators. And the mono-culture mentality so prevalent today has left only one potential class of prey. Since the dogs have laid claim to all the resources a wolf needs to survive, the wolf must take what he needs. Nuff said.
As for community, I admire the mother-earthers to some extent, but farmstead communities are just civilization writ small. Property taxes (which will become more punitive as the masters consolidate their control) keep even subsistence farmers tied to the marketplace. Farming makes you both master and slave to the barnyard animals and crops, not at all natural for a wolf. Isolated farming communities oscillate between apprehension and boredom. And the whole process of farming tends towards greater dominance and control of the landscape as apprehension of crop failures erode confidence in the future.
Given some land, I would indulge in what I call lazy farming. I would partner with the ecosystem to encourage growth of useful plants and animals. Minimal inputs of time and effort, no chemicals or gross usurpation of natural resources. But I would not expect to live off the land for extended periods, nor attempt to found a self-sufficient agricultural community. One day they are going to come take that land, I can't hide it or spirit it away. Individual wolves can hide, packs trapped on a given chunk of terrain cannot.
A modern wolf pack can be diffuse. Telecommunications can allow cooperative action over distance. Tribal councils of reasonable size can be instantly teleconferenced. I have for many years held out hope that the internet would allow a non-hierarchal yet globally coordinated revolution of sorts. But tho the tools exists, dogs will never pick it up, so now my hope is more an integrated counter culture. But the key is like-mindedness. Unless all in the group agree regarding values and goals, obediance to authority is the only way to coordinate effectively.
Here I must abandon my analogy, as even a wolf-pack is hierarchal. In the movie "Dances with Wolves", a tribal leader listens, ponders and speaks, "Of course, no man can tell another what to do..." I could not agree more, I am a dedicated anarchist. But I know people working together can build much more and much better than individuals working alone. So when I feel the need to lead, I never look back over my shoulder to see if anyone follows. When I follow, it's my choice. I am always examining the path I am on, if I am being led astray, I strike out on my own. I prefer getting lost on my own compass rather than another's.
I was not raised as an Apache, nor a wolf. I was raised by an accountant, to the extent I was raised at all. I have spent my whole life lost in dogworld, and my attitudes towards my fellow citizens would not work in a tribal situation. So I will need to adjust my sensibilities. The key is trust. Trust is hard. Frankly, I doubt any group of anarchist drop outs can long cooperate unless they are genuinely friends. Friends who share the same values and philosophy of (wild)life. How many of us are there?
In the traditional tribe, trust results from shared childhoods. To expect (once) civilized strangers to develope that same level of trust is probably unreasonable. But as civilization deteriorates and desperation increases, survival may dictate banding together in some way. Sadly, no one amongst my few genuine friends is ready to be wild, so for the time being I am a lone wolf. I hope that changes. To that end I would like to make connections, which is to say, like minded friends. Peter's site, both cyberspace and real estate, looks like a possible nexus. It's as good a start towards a networked community as any."
- Jon Addison
Thanks for your comments Jon.
Regards,
Peter Hercules |
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