Monday, October 4, 2010

Micro Carnivalesque Rebellion

The following note was sent by our friends at AdBusters to individuals who've signed up for a week of anti-capitalist action or, as I promote in my response, pro-culture creation.



Our goal is to catalyze a sudden, unexpected moment of truth, a mass reversal of perspective – a global mindshift – from which the corporate/consumerist forces never fully recover.

Dear jammers, creatives, anarchists & revolutionaries,

As the days of Carnivalesque Rebellion draw near, a debate is emerging amongst our movement. On one side are those whose plans involve a raucous week of stopping traffic, letting off stink bombs and blackspotting billboards. Their argument is that only a festival of the most visceral kind of civil disobedience will shake consumerism to its core. Others, equally passionate and dedicated souls, say that the old lefty tricks of confrontation and escalation don't work any more. They urge a nuanced, slow revolution: a long-term meme war aimed at changing people's spirits and minds.

It strikes us that this is the same personal dilemma that each of us struggle with: deep down in our guts we know that the world demands a radical transformation of the global system. And yet, it seems impossible, perhaps even foolhardy, to topple consumerism and corporate capitalism by confronting it head on. Is there a way out of this impasse? What should we do this November? Send your insights to kono@adbusters.org


My Response:

Micro Carnivalesque Rebellion

To oppose a violent system with violence only reinforces the system itself. A fight against oppression will find strength and ultimately success through intelligent, peaceful action that exposes the greed and fear that corrupts any system it leeches onto, including capitalism. There's no sense in devaluing people just because they're a part of a system. Violence, anger, and aggression are immediate and dramatic, but they divert media and the masses away from real issues and create a smokescreen in which the freedom of plain and simple truth is lost.

We're all a part of this system to some degree whether we want to admit it or not; to war against potential allies postpones a win. For strong and sustainable success, our goal should be to win individuals and leave those who abuse the system to cling to power that is naked and ashamed, stripped of its numbing façade and seen for what it is, a system of twisted logic that will trample the individual for the 'good' of the whole.

With you,

Dave

2 comments:

Dave said...

As an example: http://www.oxfam.org/en/development/ethiopia-starbucks-campaign-anatomy-win

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