As many folks here know, I have been posted up in the squatter town of Slab City for almost three whole years, running and working on the library.
I've been through a lot of fucked up situations. People trying to steal my stuff, trespassing in my home, multiple people threatening to hurt and/or kill me, I chased down a guy that murdered two women, one of which was in front of me after he had emptied a clip in my and my friends' direction. I even went to court for a questioning time total of 15 entire hours to testify with video footage of my shit ex-neighbor making terrorist threats again me, my friends and Slab City in general (he was freed and the case was dropped and that's a whole other conversation entirely). Through all of that, I've learned different methods of handling hostile people.
Standing up for yourself and being 100% straight-up is extremely important in this environment, and taking direct-action against those that are fucking things up is a basic natural right. But the absolute most valuable thing that I have learned is to keep my nose out of other people's lives and business, especially those that I fucking hate and can't stand. If they want to be a toxic person, it's not my problem and it sure as hell isn't my job to control them.
Sometimes I hear about people doing the most fucked up shit to each other and because I have a reputation of being able to throw down, people are constantly trying to get me involved in their cause. The important thing is to recognize that unless an issue directly involves you, you're probably not going to be much help anyway.
Ask yourself these questions:
How does this issue affect me?
What will my involvement provide?
Is this taking direct action, or is it just being aggressive?
That doesn't mean to just put your fingers in your ears and hum whenever you hear of any sort of dispute. It just means to recognize your role in the situation, keep your ego in check, and ask questions.
Anarchy doesn't mean that there is no law, it means that you are your own law in the space that you occupy. So if something effects you, it's your privilege to have a hand in it, and if something doesn't effect you, it's your privilege to walk away.
Any thoughts?
I've been through a lot of fucked up situations. People trying to steal my stuff, trespassing in my home, multiple people threatening to hurt and/or kill me, I chased down a guy that murdered two women, one of which was in front of me after he had emptied a clip in my and my friends' direction. I even went to court for a questioning time total of 15 entire hours to testify with video footage of my shit ex-neighbor making terrorist threats again me, my friends and Slab City in general (he was freed and the case was dropped and that's a whole other conversation entirely). Through all of that, I've learned different methods of handling hostile people.
Standing up for yourself and being 100% straight-up is extremely important in this environment, and taking direct-action against those that are fucking things up is a basic natural right. But the absolute most valuable thing that I have learned is to keep my nose out of other people's lives and business, especially those that I fucking hate and can't stand. If they want to be a toxic person, it's not my problem and it sure as hell isn't my job to control them.
Sometimes I hear about people doing the most fucked up shit to each other and because I have a reputation of being able to throw down, people are constantly trying to get me involved in their cause. The important thing is to recognize that unless an issue directly involves you, you're probably not going to be much help anyway.
Ask yourself these questions:
How does this issue affect me?
What will my involvement provide?
Is this taking direct action, or is it just being aggressive?
That doesn't mean to just put your fingers in your ears and hum whenever you hear of any sort of dispute. It just means to recognize your role in the situation, keep your ego in check, and ask questions.
Anarchy doesn't mean that there is no law, it means that you are your own law in the space that you occupy. So if something effects you, it's your privilege to have a hand in it, and if something doesn't effect you, it's your privilege to walk away.
Any thoughts?
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