[-empyre-] if only bricks could talk as they smash into windows

[fmadre at free.fr]

Quoting Ryan Griffis <ryan.griffis at gmail.com>:
> yeah action's great as long as it's the action you want. but what do  
> you do when the "rebellion" has its sights set on your  
> car/house/wallet?

I hope it has!
in a generic sense, what can you rebel against nowadays except the 
totalitarian
dictatorship of products and property ? (I'm not sure the word 'product' is
right in english, I mean "marchandise" actually)

> while we're geeking out on the smashed starbucks window and patting  
> ourselves on the back for "breaking the spell" of capitalism, some 
> CEO  is getting his jollies as the markets are deregulated and our 
> civil  rights further restricted. is this really a battle of actions? 
> about  who can inflict the most damage? come on, we know who wins 
> that one.  it's not the ELF. (Earthfirst is a different story...)
> i'm not saying there's not something exciting about f-ing shit up,

you misunderstand what direct action is, altogether, it seems
in the spectacular world there is very little interruption to the smooth soft
lie of capitalism, smashing a starbucks in itself is probably fun (albeit
dangerous) for those who do it but smashing a starbucks knowing that it 
will be
broadcasted all over the world is an extremely welcome rip into the mediated
lie, a message which suddenly becomes as global as starbucks wants to be, and
is. It is also a message that the CEO gets and understands right away and can
integrate in a more internal way (of anger perhaps too) than some well meaning
blah blah or negotiations by no-hopers and reformists

> but  it goes both ways. i was just listening to an old On the Media 
> show and  a film critic was discussing the use of films generally 
> considered  anti-war (Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, etc) to 
> "pump up" troops  about to go into battle. Made me think about the 
> the ways that the riot  cops prepare for protests, and me (while 
> usually running quickly in the  other direction) wondering what in 
> the hell makes them so amped to beat  us up.

they don't read, they are in the streets and obey orders, they have 
internalized
their mission as good because orders are unquestionable, and when they are in
the streets and you throw bricks at them they hit back, this is beyond theory
for them

> but your bringing up life_sharing begs the question... are your only  
> choices either a brick or elitist aesthetics?
> that's pretty limiting.

I thought that is what you offered in your piece! and also your backing up of
the rhizome pay-scam got on my tits real bad, eh
just look at the next sentence and confront it with it:
> esoteric and hidden web site (as the gift economy article does). but,
the gift economy piece is perhaps endangered by the fact that it is not
well-know (actually I think it is quite known) but, this is my point 
for action
against discourse, it is blasted away by rhizome charging 5$ for a bloody
mailing list

that is why and how actions speak louder than words
I unsubbed from rhizome when they announced this because I thought it was a
disgrace and an insult to the Community that we, the people, had built.

you can say and write all you want, if you act differently or your actions
produce an opposite result that is all that remains and is 'true'

f.