In my last blog I told a story about the "freedom of the streets" now cost money. I assumed that this was an underclass imitation of the "real" world, where everything has a monitary value now.
Of course, I should have realised that it was indeed the daily barter and trading by the ancient underclasses and slaves which was later copied by bankers and systems that underpin capitalism.
Oh, well. I'll just keep the freedom in my mind and make sure I hide better when I want to smoke a joint.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Thursday, August 04, 2005
OH, No, No, No, No . . . .. . . .
I have re-edited this blog-thing. I think we've entered bad times. We need to be friendly to each other, instead of offensive, as some of the postings I had up before might have been.
So, after all these years, I've finally accepted that the Enlightenment is probably over. In future times we will look back on it as a Golden Age, destroyed by human greed. Those of our kids not protected by distance or fences from the growingly desperate real people will have lots of trouble. And it's no point heading for the hills. There are more ruthless heavily-armed nutters up there than in the worst city ganglands.
Let me tell you a story. Quickly. I was staying away from home two weeks ago in a fairly dodgy area. I hate staying in, so I walked around for a while in the evening. I smoke cannabis sometimes. I lit up and sat on a bunch of concrete blocks by the main road. Three teenagers moved my direction when the smell hit them.
"Eeh, Grandad, you got a light?" A preliminary, you might think to a robbery, attack or some other horrible fate. But no. They just wanted a light. As they moved off, one of them commented, "You'll need to buy protection if you expect to get away with this again."
That was it. The end of Enlightenment. All people now have to assure safety for themselves and their loved ones. The normal civil rules are once again back to the Middle Ages -- a great historical period, but one of terrible "normal life".
"Normal Life" will never be normal again for me. I had always been tough enough to see off all but the worst bullies and thugs, and I could run faster than those. Being on the civilised fringes of the drug culture, I always had pretty up-to-date knowledge of the places and people to avoid. As I got older and greyer, I became more invisible, which is an added protection in urban hostile ecosystems. On top of that, I have the kind of education and continued exploration that makes me able to change to suit environments -- withoutbeing a hypocrite. Finally, I have an "Order!" voice which scares the shit out of hardened drill sergeants, when I turn it on. It's the kind of voice which Battle Commanders used to address massed troops and actually be heard. I quelled a crowd panic once with a single word. It even scared me.
What worried me so much was not the implied violence of my three youths. It was the fact that they planned to make money out of providing freedom!
Friends, this is so obscene. Humans are supposed to be born with freedom. But now, well -- you just have to buy it.
Yeccchhh.
So, after all these years, I've finally accepted that the Enlightenment is probably over. In future times we will look back on it as a Golden Age, destroyed by human greed. Those of our kids not protected by distance or fences from the growingly desperate real people will have lots of trouble. And it's no point heading for the hills. There are more ruthless heavily-armed nutters up there than in the worst city ganglands.
Let me tell you a story. Quickly. I was staying away from home two weeks ago in a fairly dodgy area. I hate staying in, so I walked around for a while in the evening. I smoke cannabis sometimes. I lit up and sat on a bunch of concrete blocks by the main road. Three teenagers moved my direction when the smell hit them.
"Eeh, Grandad, you got a light?" A preliminary, you might think to a robbery, attack or some other horrible fate. But no. They just wanted a light. As they moved off, one of them commented, "You'll need to buy protection if you expect to get away with this again."
That was it. The end of Enlightenment. All people now have to assure safety for themselves and their loved ones. The normal civil rules are once again back to the Middle Ages -- a great historical period, but one of terrible "normal life".
"Normal Life" will never be normal again for me. I had always been tough enough to see off all but the worst bullies and thugs, and I could run faster than those. Being on the civilised fringes of the drug culture, I always had pretty up-to-date knowledge of the places and people to avoid. As I got older and greyer, I became more invisible, which is an added protection in urban hostile ecosystems. On top of that, I have the kind of education and continued exploration that makes me able to change to suit environments -- withoutbeing a hypocrite. Finally, I have an "Order!" voice which scares the shit out of hardened drill sergeants, when I turn it on. It's the kind of voice which Battle Commanders used to address massed troops and actually be heard. I quelled a crowd panic once with a single word. It even scared me.
What worried me so much was not the implied violence of my three youths. It was the fact that they planned to make money out of providing freedom!
Friends, this is so obscene. Humans are supposed to be born with freedom. But now, well -- you just have to buy it.
Yeccchhh.
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