Monday, November 08, 2010

and then I dreamt of yes

I’m not interested in an agony offset, an equation of suffering. Freedom, liberation, equality - thats not a trick conjured by trading the moments of power with the moments of powerlessness, however consenting either and each way. It’s not about a balance of submission and domination. It’s about everyone being free, about everyone having power with and through others, not over them. Even if you let them, or others - especially others - have power over you to convince yourself that makes amends. That’s a sham, a lie. That’s a world that still needs slavery, still needs hierarchy, still needs chains and prisons, no matter how gilded and long, no matter how comfortable and willingly accepted - it’s the algebra of choice that got us where we are now, and where we are now is fucked. And not in a good, respect you in the morning and fry you breakfast way, but a didn’t-want-that-damaged-for-life way.

Now, while we’re straying into that metaphor, I’m not saying we can’t play. I am saying we can’t use that game as a design for life. If thats your revolution, I’m not dancing. Thats not the change I want to see, let alone be. But we’re coming from where we are, and we all have our own way of working things out. It’s a journey, as they say. A process, not an event. Justice is not about scales, or about blindness. We make society and the basic rule, across the board, is just try and be better.

Consciously so.

So, if your offer is about a give and take of fucking over, a compromise where suffering is balanced, an equality of pain, but no aim to work to a gross reduction of suffering, forget it. I’m not playing a zero sum game, mine is a zero end game.
And I play to win. Because that way we all win, as much as possible, preferably always. And we all loose as little as possible. Preferably never.

Now, how we get there, that’s a tough one. But it would be great to have you with me as we try. Work with me on it, it just takes practice.