shabti
Well-known member
The Ultimate Swiss-Army Knife
The Ultimate Swiss-Army Knife is not from Switzerland...nor is it a knife. It's the computer.
There are a lot of green anarchists, primitivists, luddites, etc who argue (with quite a valid point) that the “information age” is just one more way that dominance and slavery is found.
I'll never forget the front cover of the first 1981 issue of the anarchist zine “Processed World.”
The Human being's head changed out for a monitor, and the question:
“Are you doing the processing?
…...or are you being processed?”
Many of us would argue that yes. We are being processed. We are being grown, harvested, and run through the giant meat grinder of capitalism. As far back as the mid 1800's, when anarchist thought really became institutionalized, great thinkers like Goldman, Bakunin, Reclus, Most, Kropotkin, and many others began to cry out against the predicament of humanity; that we were all being processed into one giant machine. That tyranny, dominance, and control were reaching an apex never before imagined. They told us that the condition of all life is best..when it is free.
I remark on these long dead thinkers, because as far as computing goes, many would say that we are not free. People walking around with their heads in their cell phones, wasting countless hours on Facebook or playing some stupid trivial video game...it's not hard to see.
How can synthesized, digital, proprietary music played from an over-expensive slave-made piece of toxin laden gagetry be more beautiful than the sound of birds singing? Of the wind rustling through the pines? How can people prefer the crackling of static to the crackling of firewood and the buzzing of katy-dids in the summer?
Well, I don't know. But sometimes, I WOULD rather listen to Arch-enemy than the dull and distant roar of traffic.
And there's my point. That so much of technology is forced on us. It has served the purpose of the Boss class, of the masters, to keep us entertained, distant from each other and nature, perpetually unhappy with what we have....to keep us slaves.
So there are three courses of action. Only really three things that can be done.
1. Become a henchman. Who gives a fuck about _______ right? There's no way to do anything about __________ so why bother? Just go with the flow and stop complaining about _________. You can't change it anyway.
2. Become an apostate. The sour grapes aproach! Fuck _______. That thing is ebil. I refuse to partake of it, to support it, to purchase it..in fact, the only thing I'll have to do with ________ is to consider ebil.
And finally, (My favorite)
3. Become a PIRATE! Steal your shackles and turn them into a highly portable flail with which to beat back the oppressors!
The question of how to be truly free is a question I try to answer every day of my life. Capitalism, Racism, Sexism, Patriarchy....those are the external shackles. Ignorance, apathy, addiction....internal chains.
I propose that computers can be a way to liberate the mind, body, and spirit of oppressed people everywhere.
What a load of pompous shit, right?
I have to admit, that up until recently, I didn't really think of microprossors and bits of code as being able to “free” anyone, or make life better.
They were distractions to me. You log in, log on, waste time. Little bits of light and sound creating a dopamine surge in the brain. No different from the people sitting in front of the slot machines in Vegas.
But then I accidently deleted windows. Oops. I was having such a headache on the house computer, trying to deal with Windows. I'd previously had a Mac, and thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. (I think they're pieces of shit now)
So, I wanted a computer that :
-was easy to use
-a joy to use vs. a headache
-something that gave me more control than Windows.
Not having any money, I researched alternatives to Windows, and found Linux.
I installed it, I used it, and Linux served it's purpose. I meant to leave half the computer as windows for the other (aged) people in the house who'd grown accustomed to it, but I didn't partition it properly, and the windows installation was erased.
Best. Mistake. Ever.
Because now I had nothing framiliar to go back to.
When Dostoyevsky found that he had grown too comfortable, too rich, too famous, he would take all of his money and go gamble it away. He would sit in the casino for days at a time if necessary, until he had absolutely no money left. Forcing himself to interact with the world with a “make it or die” philosophy, he rekindled his desire to live.
I was stripped of everything framiliar, and was on completely new grounds. I had to figure out where everything was, what to do if it broke, how to complete an endless list of tasks that were now being accomplished through a totally unknown medium.
(for the interested parties, I started on Elementary OS Luna. http://elementaryos.org/ )
It's been two years since then. I'm no expert, but I see that far from just “using a free computer”, I've begun to take control of the technology that I use every day in my life.
Traveling train hoppers can be some of the most generous people in the world. There were times in the belly of a dumpster that I remember bursting out laughing. “You take the (delicious food item) dude. I can always find more later.”
“No, no, no, YOU go ahead man. Eat up, eat good.”
“Fuck it dude, let's just cut the cherry tomato in half”
Like yuppies fighting over who gets to pay for dinner, we would fight over who got to give away the best part of the meal, being inherently generous. The kind of people you'd want to surround yourself with.
THOSE are the kind of people who make GNU/Linux.
They have it written into every piece of software that you can take it, do with it what you will, give it to anyone you want, and it MUST be free.
:0
I got inspired to write this rambling blurb (poorly) extolling the virtues of the open-source community because I've become addicted to Debian.
These people have dedicated YEARS (decades in many cases) of their lives to making sure everyone has equal access to technology...making sure that your computer is virus, government, and bug free. Making sure that no matter what piece of shit, old-ass hardware you're using, it will run as safely, and efficiently as possible.
The tens of thousands of people who contribute, writing code, editing documents, translating, de-bugging....or like me, just USING (and attempting to understand) this free, community driven, free, always free, software, these people are fighting for a better world, where people can use this technology to better their lives instead of just blowing up bubbles on a corporate honey-pot like Facebook. These are people trying to fight the slavery and dominance of Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Adobe, Oracle, Google....(the list goes ever on.) and make the world a more free, capable, and intelligent place.
Awesome people, in other words.
I opened this article with a picture from the first issue of “processed world”, that anarchist zine who's authors would don business suits and wear giant computer-monitor masks as they passed their zine out in silicon valley. That was the very first issue, 1981. I still think of that question.
“Are you doing the processing?
…...or are you being processed?”
And today, it has become apparent that while I'm not a techno-wizard who can compile the kernel and write in C+, I'm definitely someone who wants to stand up and seize control of the technology that has prevaded my life for so long.
I want to set up automatic sprinker systems connected to perma-culture water traps. I want to create solar panels, and the programming needed to auto-detect where the sun is. I want to speak at least 3 human languages, and twice that many machine languages. Being a linux user, just a simple user, has made me want to take an active part in the design, manufacture, and implementation of all the technologies that I currently use. I'm no longer satisfied with having things foisted on me. I want control.
So hopefully, you want control too. Hopefully, you'd be down to help out and get involved with any number of the amazing “fight for a better world” technology projects out there.
The last image is from the last issue of Processed World, ten years ago. And it communicates an entirely different stance regarding technology. Whereas the first issue had the human being “processed” by technology....
This one indicated that even the editors of that magazine had begun to see the need to fight back and seize control.
Thanks for reading.
If that rambling garbage got you inspired, read this book!
http://debian-handbook.info/
and never stop fighting! We deserve the best that life has to offer! Proprietary technology is NOT the best. Never has been, never will be.
The Ultimate Swiss-Army Knife is not from Switzerland...nor is it a knife. It's the computer.
There are a lot of green anarchists, primitivists, luddites, etc who argue (with quite a valid point) that the “information age” is just one more way that dominance and slavery is found.
I'll never forget the front cover of the first 1981 issue of the anarchist zine “Processed World.”
The Human being's head changed out for a monitor, and the question:
“Are you doing the processing?
…...or are you being processed?”
Many of us would argue that yes. We are being processed. We are being grown, harvested, and run through the giant meat grinder of capitalism. As far back as the mid 1800's, when anarchist thought really became institutionalized, great thinkers like Goldman, Bakunin, Reclus, Most, Kropotkin, and many others began to cry out against the predicament of humanity; that we were all being processed into one giant machine. That tyranny, dominance, and control were reaching an apex never before imagined. They told us that the condition of all life is best..when it is free.
I remark on these long dead thinkers, because as far as computing goes, many would say that we are not free. People walking around with their heads in their cell phones, wasting countless hours on Facebook or playing some stupid trivial video game...it's not hard to see.
How can synthesized, digital, proprietary music played from an over-expensive slave-made piece of toxin laden gagetry be more beautiful than the sound of birds singing? Of the wind rustling through the pines? How can people prefer the crackling of static to the crackling of firewood and the buzzing of katy-dids in the summer?
Well, I don't know. But sometimes, I WOULD rather listen to Arch-enemy than the dull and distant roar of traffic.
And there's my point. That so much of technology is forced on us. It has served the purpose of the Boss class, of the masters, to keep us entertained, distant from each other and nature, perpetually unhappy with what we have....to keep us slaves.
So there are three courses of action. Only really three things that can be done.
1. Become a henchman. Who gives a fuck about _______ right? There's no way to do anything about __________ so why bother? Just go with the flow and stop complaining about _________. You can't change it anyway.
2. Become an apostate. The sour grapes aproach! Fuck _______. That thing is ebil. I refuse to partake of it, to support it, to purchase it..in fact, the only thing I'll have to do with ________ is to consider ebil.
And finally, (My favorite)
3. Become a PIRATE! Steal your shackles and turn them into a highly portable flail with which to beat back the oppressors!
The question of how to be truly free is a question I try to answer every day of my life. Capitalism, Racism, Sexism, Patriarchy....those are the external shackles. Ignorance, apathy, addiction....internal chains.
I propose that computers can be a way to liberate the mind, body, and spirit of oppressed people everywhere.
What a load of pompous shit, right?
I have to admit, that up until recently, I didn't really think of microprossors and bits of code as being able to “free” anyone, or make life better.
They were distractions to me. You log in, log on, waste time. Little bits of light and sound creating a dopamine surge in the brain. No different from the people sitting in front of the slot machines in Vegas.
But then I accidently deleted windows. Oops. I was having such a headache on the house computer, trying to deal with Windows. I'd previously had a Mac, and thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. (I think they're pieces of shit now)
So, I wanted a computer that :
-was easy to use
-a joy to use vs. a headache
-something that gave me more control than Windows.
Not having any money, I researched alternatives to Windows, and found Linux.
I installed it, I used it, and Linux served it's purpose. I meant to leave half the computer as windows for the other (aged) people in the house who'd grown accustomed to it, but I didn't partition it properly, and the windows installation was erased.
Best. Mistake. Ever.
Because now I had nothing framiliar to go back to.
When Dostoyevsky found that he had grown too comfortable, too rich, too famous, he would take all of his money and go gamble it away. He would sit in the casino for days at a time if necessary, until he had absolutely no money left. Forcing himself to interact with the world with a “make it or die” philosophy, he rekindled his desire to live.
I was stripped of everything framiliar, and was on completely new grounds. I had to figure out where everything was, what to do if it broke, how to complete an endless list of tasks that were now being accomplished through a totally unknown medium.
(for the interested parties, I started on Elementary OS Luna. http://elementaryos.org/ )
It's been two years since then. I'm no expert, but I see that far from just “using a free computer”, I've begun to take control of the technology that I use every day in my life.
Traveling train hoppers can be some of the most generous people in the world. There were times in the belly of a dumpster that I remember bursting out laughing. “You take the (delicious food item) dude. I can always find more later.”
“No, no, no, YOU go ahead man. Eat up, eat good.”
“Fuck it dude, let's just cut the cherry tomato in half”
Like yuppies fighting over who gets to pay for dinner, we would fight over who got to give away the best part of the meal, being inherently generous. The kind of people you'd want to surround yourself with.
THOSE are the kind of people who make GNU/Linux.
They have it written into every piece of software that you can take it, do with it what you will, give it to anyone you want, and it MUST be free.
:0
I got inspired to write this rambling blurb (poorly) extolling the virtues of the open-source community because I've become addicted to Debian.
These people have dedicated YEARS (decades in many cases) of their lives to making sure everyone has equal access to technology...making sure that your computer is virus, government, and bug free. Making sure that no matter what piece of shit, old-ass hardware you're using, it will run as safely, and efficiently as possible.
The tens of thousands of people who contribute, writing code, editing documents, translating, de-bugging....or like me, just USING (and attempting to understand) this free, community driven, free, always free, software, these people are fighting for a better world, where people can use this technology to better their lives instead of just blowing up bubbles on a corporate honey-pot like Facebook. These are people trying to fight the slavery and dominance of Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Adobe, Oracle, Google....(the list goes ever on.) and make the world a more free, capable, and intelligent place.
Awesome people, in other words.
I opened this article with a picture from the first issue of “processed world”, that anarchist zine who's authors would don business suits and wear giant computer-monitor masks as they passed their zine out in silicon valley. That was the very first issue, 1981. I still think of that question.
“Are you doing the processing?
…...or are you being processed?”
And today, it has become apparent that while I'm not a techno-wizard who can compile the kernel and write in C+, I'm definitely someone who wants to stand up and seize control of the technology that has prevaded my life for so long.
I want to set up automatic sprinker systems connected to perma-culture water traps. I want to create solar panels, and the programming needed to auto-detect where the sun is. I want to speak at least 3 human languages, and twice that many machine languages. Being a linux user, just a simple user, has made me want to take an active part in the design, manufacture, and implementation of all the technologies that I currently use. I'm no longer satisfied with having things foisted on me. I want control.
So hopefully, you want control too. Hopefully, you'd be down to help out and get involved with any number of the amazing “fight for a better world” technology projects out there.
The last image is from the last issue of Processed World, ten years ago. And it communicates an entirely different stance regarding technology. Whereas the first issue had the human being “processed” by technology....
This one indicated that even the editors of that magazine had begun to see the need to fight back and seize control.
Thanks for reading.
If that rambling garbage got you inspired, read this book!
http://debian-handbook.info/
and never stop fighting! We deserve the best that life has to offer! Proprietary technology is NOT the best. Never has been, never will be.
