# anarchism~capitalism~the Spectacle~Ferguson MO~Michael Brown~riots~and now a word from our sponsor



## goldendose (Dec 3, 2014)

the undeniable genius of capitalism is the ability to exercise total and complete control of human thought and emotion through the hypnotizing power of *the Spectacle*. 

"The spectacle is not a collection of images, but a social relation among people, mediated by images."
-Guy DeBord
(Situationist, author of 'Society of the Spectacle')

Let's take a look at the recent events in Ferguson, MO:
-Michael Brown is shot and killed by a police officer. He is young, black and, perhaps, innocent of any wrongdoing besides shoplifting, a petty misdemeanor offense. He is not a homosexual, a drug addict, or a person with any history of mental illness. 
-Taking these key factors into consideration, the media/controllers of the spectacle recognize Michael Brown for what he is- a suitable image to represent the public's collective outrage and anger towards instances police brutality in their community and elsewhere around the country.
-This image is a valuable commodity that can be sold to the public.
-Michael Brown becomes a tee shirt, a movie-of-the-week, a [HASHTAG]#hashtag[/HASHTAG].
-Outrage/feigned outrage manifests itself through protest marches that are merely organized emotional reactions to the image that has been presented to the protesters.
-These protest marches are utterly predictable and completely within the bounds of the collective experience of the authorities.
-These actions can only fizzle out or explode into a "riot," which the media will select as another powerful/profitable image- one that represents class/race division.
-Meanwhile, the next Michael Brown waits in the wings.
-Rinse, repeat.

Thoughts?


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## Odin (Dec 3, 2014)

You can't rinse and repeat instances of public rage to pinpoint the initial cause unfortunately. (unless maybe we live in the matrix... heh
We need intelligent thought before causation, otherwise unfortunately we are just doomed to go through another laundry cycle.


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## drewski (Dec 3, 2014)




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## goldendose (Dec 4, 2014)

Odin said:


> You can't rinse and repeat instances of public rage to pinpoint the initial cause unfortunately. (unless maybe we live in the matrix... heh
> We need intelligent thought before causation, otherwise unfortunately we are just doomed to go through another laundry cycle.



what do you mean, Odin? I _think_ I understand what you're getting at but I'm not sure

and fuck yeah Travis Bickle! That picture is the perfect embodiment of what I consider to be the only sane response to the spectacle! He is ENJOYING the show despite the fact that he is disgusted. In that perfect moment he is savoring his own displeasure. Perfect!

I can usually enjoy the spectacle but what gets to me is knowing that huge sums of money are changing hands around a situation like this- the death of an innocent. Usually I can just sit back like Travis and clap clap clap. But when I think of the advertisement revenue, the tell all books, the 60 minutes specials.... I lose the ability to be entertained. 

now I really want to watch Taxi Driver


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## drewski (Dec 4, 2014)

::joyful::::joyful::::joyful::::joyful::::joyful::::joyful::::drinkingbuddy::


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## goldendose (Dec 4, 2014)

emoticons! emoting! emotions!


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## Odin (Dec 4, 2014)

goldendose said:


> what do you mean, Odin? I _think_ I understand what you're getting at but I'm not sure
> 
> and fuck yeah Travis Bickle! That picture is the perfect embodiment of what I consider to be the only sane response to the spectacle! He is ENJOYING the show despite the fact that he is disgusted. In that perfect moment he is savoring his own displeasure. Perfect!
> 
> ...



Sorry... I'm in different stages of drunk of late. Some nights my thoughts are more disjointed than others.

I suppose what I was getting at is that all these protests (rinse and repeat actions) although very relevant and necessary... are not exactly solving or even addressing the real problem.

And I can't even began to encompass all the factors in the real problem, be it racism, economic disparity, violent and uncompasionate/disproportionate/lethal tactics police are trained in, education and a highly aggressive competitive world... human nature and or just sum it up as stupidity.

I wish people could take a more direct action. I mean... if enough people demand change in police tactics... change should happen. Think what would happen if a community for example could cut off the purse strings that fund a police department if they're concerns were not met? I mean if the majority of a community could protest but then back that up with direct action. "cops... you will wear a camera... and your first option will be to exercise nonlethal options of apprehension... or no paycheck no pension" right? But the average protester doesn't have that kind of clout or political access...

I dunno.
It's just like you say, a spectacle.

And clapping might be the only possible reaction.

Gotta watch Taxi driver? haven't seen that one yet for some reason.


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## goldendose (Dec 9, 2014)

agreed, cosign that. Protesters are reacting inside an area that is fenced off within their consciousness. Working people can have _big ideas_ but it's difficult to organize any group of people who have been conditioned to think that political discourse is reserved for effeminate intellectual types. 

and Taxi Driver is a classic, fo sho


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