[Wednesday]

In the preface to his books, Tolkien explained that the concept of Mordor was the encroaching industry on his beloved rural England.

Our oil fetish is the Precious that must be returned to Mordor and like the brave races that fought for the future of Middle Earth, we have to ride out and fight an unwinnable battle againt uncomprehendable evil.

Tolkien was right, and all along i thought it was only fiction.

We've got to protect the Shire.

[mindfarkk]

i think the message in LOTR was that the real evil is our own greed and fear.

be wary of neocondite mythologies like ultimate good and evil.

[satjeet]

yes - protect the shire! and read John Clare

[Sencha]

If only this were the medieval ages...but how can the people stand up to ICBM's, tactical nukes, smart bullets, "non"-lethal weapons?

There is a strategy called "Win first, fight later."

The neocons have all their bases covered, and trust me, they've already won. If the people ever revolted, they'd probably be defeated before they ever knew what hit them.

Personally, I think the way we protect the Shire is by withdrawing from American society. I'm talking about some kind of passive resistance effort. If we could somehow live independently from the system, they'd stop owning us and we would be taking away the influence they have over our lives.
The reason they can hold control over so many aspects of ourselves is because we play into their hands, we abide by their rules in their sick expoitive game. Most people don't care, because it provides them with enough vices not to notice when they are being screwed. We've got to stop indulging the neocons in their ability to take advantage of the people.
They may not act like it, but they're human beings too. They have to eat, sleep, crap like us. Should we really subject our fates to the wills of a few white rich men? Where is the majority rule in that? Or maybe majority rule isn't good enough anymore, because the majority of America is clearly too weak minded to realize what's going on. Just look to the last election for proof.

Maybe resisting passively would work, maybe it wouldn't, but it sounds better than trying to stand up to depleted uranium shells fired from the guns of brainwashed, indoctrinated terror troops. But then again, aren't they all in Iraq?

[slick50]

Sencha, my feelings exactly. Having traveled to Europe a couple of times, and seeing how carefree life can be without a car I have decided to get rid of my car as of this past September. I work out of my home and even if I didn't I would not go back to having an auto. They are very nasty machines killing 40k Americans per year.

My friends have noticed I've been more contented lately, my life has slowed down tremendously. I no longer get bored during my time off. Every day is an adventure onto itself. Now to just convince my kids to follow my example....

[Dane]

Sencha: Excellent post! You have found the proper words to express my beliefs. Passive resistance is the only way, but it is going to be a hell of a lot harder than aggressive resistance. It will require will power, open mindedness, and selflessness. I'm not sure us Americans are known for those qualities.

[Sencha]

Wow, I'm glad to see that people agree with me! Most of the time, I post and cringe for fear of the backlash. But its good to know there are like minded individuals out there. And it's true, passive resistance will be very difficult, but it is also very powerful. It has been done before, as the case with Ghandi. Unfortunately, he's probably the only example, but it proves its possible.

The elite's greatest source of power are the people that give it to them.

[CarlinsDarlin]

The elite's greatest source of power are the people that give it to them.

Reminds me of a statement by a very wise man, Ali ibn Abu Talib. He said, paraphrasing, "People deserve the government they have."
(i.e., be the change you desire to see)
K

[Dane]

The elite's greatest source of power are the people that give it to them.

Oh yea? Well it reminds me of The Matrix

Hah just kidding. Very true statement. I find Gandhi to be absolutely fascinating. His actions were truly super-human. He changed the world by doing what everyone else spends their life trying to avoid: being beaten and starving.

[Itch]

Interesting interpretation of "Lord of the Rings." To me, it seemed like another one of those "Us vs. Them" movies. The pure, Aryan humans, elves, dwarves were destined to do battle with the darkie orcs, who coincidentally come from the East -- the west's eternal foe. Of course, I only saw the movies, and I don't remember too many details due to my opinion of the quality of the movie. I was probably intoxicated at the time, too.

So here we are with "Us vs. Them" again, only there is no confrontation this time, because "they" have already won, and have maintained their victory for some time. Squatters who provide their own sustenance are the only ones who deny power to those who seek it; for the rest of us, we can only reduce our contribution to them.

As far as resistance goes, lets forget about these dubious figures in the government for a moment, and consider that there are probably a few hundred million creepy motherfuckers supporting the current government; the other millions would have opted for a sound corporatist, which is frightening because many of these people failed to see this man for who he is. I can, of course, sympathize with the rationale the future emerging scapegoats used to vote for this man. Nevertheless, it's more frigtening to have a man who is not only a corporatist, but also apparently talks to God on the telephone on a frequent basis. I reckon that most of the voters are guided by emotions, which is enough to give me the motivation to stay the fuck away from these people. As for those, like me, who didn't vote, it doesn't really mean shit. If no one voted, it would be easier for the powerful to usurp power; if everyone votes, then permission is given to usurp power. Either way, Joe Fuckup gets fucked.

Given that most of the people favor some form of covertly oppressive entity governing their lives, why would anyone genuinely rebel at this point? I have the most sincere doubt in the marketed mettle of the American people. Most of those who are opposed to current government will continue to badmouth their masters, while using automobiles and US dollars on a daily basis.

India then is not America today. The racial and political groups in this country are heavily fragmented, which makes it harder for a common foe to emerge. When shit happens there will be greatly different applications of blame -- which means a greater variety of enemies. I think that people with darker skin colors will blame those with lighter skin colors. The Bush voters will blame their light-skinned counterparts who think differently than them, and will also enjoy blaming those who fuck or wish to fuck people of the same sex. The former will blame the corporations, the latter, I think, will not be in a poisition to blame, and would rather arm themselves and stay the fuck away from those who froth at the mouth by the mention of their well-known derogatory names. Those who have traditions that don't revolve around blame will probably have an easier time, unless, of course, they are the ones being blamed.

A primary scapegoat is usually marketed by those in control, but in this case it would be very hard to convince various groups of people who to hate, so if there is going to be a resistance, it will be against different groups of fellow peasants. We don't work well together, anyway, so why would anyone expect collective action? One loser's enemy is another loser's friend.

I suggest staying the fuck out everyone's way, especially the government. When an animal detects the presence of its natural predator, it does its best to get the fuck away from its hungry adversary; it doesn't lie to itself by thinking that it has a bigger dick than its enemy and charges toward its foe. The prey is thinking, "Oh shit; I better get the fuck outta here." We, at least on this part of the planet's land mass, think, "I have a bigger dick than that loser, so I think I'll throw my own shit at him, even though I know my natural defenses are saying 'Fuck this shit, run, you asshole,' but fuck it, I want feel better about myself and hopefully impress potential mates" while confronted by the only natural predator -- his own kind. The non-primate either retreats to safety or dies; the primate deludes himself -- because the craziest ones are the males -- and gets hammered by his indisputably more powerful opponent.

Overtly resist, and you will find yourself walking into the chomping jaws of death. If you connceal, evade, and try your best to attain anonymity to the highest degree, then your masters will cease to be your masters. I believe that this is genuine resistance in our case. Not everyone can do it, but maybe not everyone should.

The limits to all kinds of things is frequently discussed on this board. Limits apply heavily to effectiveness of predator versus prey. Other animals usually have advantages and disadvantages. For instance, deer have an exceptional sense of smell and hearing, which gives them the ability to sometimes avoid predators before they even see them. If the collective government is the enemy, then they are an enemy with plenty of bodies who are masters at war and control. If you violently resist, you will be shot and killed. If you protest or block the business that most people are certain they depend on, then you will be arrested, and probably soon be killed. These tactics are an attack against something that is stronger than the populace, since they have the power to control the distribution of life's necessities.

The only defense against this beast that I can think of is to make yourself not worth being hunted.

[Cash]

The LOTR Trilogy is, at its heart, Tolkien mourning the loss of the verdant English countryside where he grew up. His childhood home and the farmland around it were destroyed to make way for a factory complex and worker housing. It is also (remember when it was written) the story of a common English country squire going off to defend home and hearth from the rapacious Hun (the Germans) of World War I, called the Great War and the War to End All Wars in the 1930s when Tolkien did most of his work. The Hun came from the East, and if you have ever seen any of the posters and cartoon depictions of German soldiers common in England during that war you'll see where Tolkien got the idea for his Orcs. And yes, it's Great Good against Ultimate Evil, in which the humble become heros, and where heros become kings.

Cash