Economic Collapse Vs. Rewilding

13 Comments on “Economic Collapse Vs. Rewilding”

1. I moved from PDX to Podunk Nowhere in Vermont for school about a month and a half ago. I can’t say I’ve felt a single repercussion of the financial woes. It just has absolutely nothing to do with me or the way of life here. So many of everyone’s needs are taken care of within the community that what happens in a city faraway means nothing.

2. Well said, Scout, once again!!!!

   There are things that are happening along the way to the collapse of civ, and the economy collapsing helps in that it will slow down consumption, but not enough, specifically not enough to stop the destruction of the planet.

   I do think that it’s good in that it will piss people off, and while it might piss too many off about the wrong things (“waaa: why can’t i buy my flatscreen tv? “, for eg), being pissed is important fuel….

3. Yah!

4. Really the only sane response. As a general rule – only worry about that which you have some control over.

   I do f’ing wish I was back home in Vermont, though, I’m currently in Illinois and nobody here is ready for anything. The idiot panic and fear is what worries me the most.

5. At least we can have some “I told you so” moments 🙂

6. I just had to respond to what Joanne said, because, really, no matter where you live, so far nobody’s life has changed drastically, unless of course you actually had money in the stock market..it will take time for us to see how this will/has actually affected us. Even living in rural Vermont, you will eventually see changes because of this, unless of course you are living 100% off the land…if you buy anything at all, or pay for any services, like electricity, no doubt this economic “crisis’ will effect you..maybe not in a large way, like the folks who lost a bazillion dollars in the stock market, but it definitely will effect you to some degree…maybe some local stores will go out of business, leaving a few local people unemployed…maybe you’ll have to drive another 20 miles to get groceries…who knows? I think it will effect the poor in less substantial ways perhaps then the rich, but I could be wrong…the rural poor have it perhaps the best, especially the rural poor living close to forest or who own some land…

   I myself have yet to be effected and I live in Portland, OR, but again, I think three weeks of economic meltdown is not long enough to see substantial differences..give the economic meltdown six months or so and then we’ll see how things are different..

   I’m looking forward to seeing what enterprises stay afloat and which go under…what do people truely value?

   Thanks everyone for thought-provoking topics..

7. I perfer nicer civilization prior to meaner civilization (if you get what I mean) and if I have a quick chance to support one get nicer while I rewild and abandon my maximum harmful culture (similar to quickly voting for Obama if Obama stays our nicer choice) I plan to.

   Yet, ultimately “Fuck this noise.” I second that!

   ours,
   Eric

8. I was in New Seasons yesterday buying a copy of “The Oregonian” for my mom (unfortunately she’s still addicted to the capitalist press) when I struck up a conversation with the cashier about about the day’s headline (it really is the friendliest store in town, isn’t it?). On the front page was a giant graph charting the plummeting regress of the stock market and she commented that it was a poor choice of graphic by the editors when all the talking heads keep telling us to remain calm in the face of economic collapse. I made some comment about the lunacy of remaining passive at a time like this, which I think startled her somewhat. Then this morning I rode past a piece of fearmongering, Homeland Security propaganda on a billboard that asks us “In the case of an emergency, does your family have a plan?” About ten seconds later another piece of propaganda caught my eye, this time an Obama sticker that simply read “HOPE” with a strong but sage-like rendering of his countenance above the lettering.
   So it would seem that the dominant culture is sending me a few messages here, giving me clear instructions as for how to react to current realities: be scared, but not scared enough to panic or react, just frightened into a trembling state of passivity, like putty in the hand of the One, the Light, the Authority of Hope who will deliver me from my fear and uncertainty if only I will give him my faith, my vote, my campaign contribution. Surely someone else has a plan, someone far away and much smarter and more qualified than I, a plan that will get us out of this mess. I’ll just outsource the responsibility, surrender any agency I might have over my life and my reality and HOPE that things will be taken care of.
   But what about the other options? What about the possibility of facing the ensuing crash with a dynamic and complex mosaic of emotion including, fear, temerity, depression, excitement, curiosity, and sheer joy? What about seeing the beauty and opportunity within the horror and using this perspective to get your ass up and moving? What about turning off the fucking TV, putting down the paper, and getting together with those around you, those important to you in your life and figuring out how to create a healthy culture that works. Works for humans and non-humans alike and that celebrates the destruction of civilization at the same time it mourns the destruction of the the life it takes. If nothing else, the fact that real shit is going down right now has forced me to face the fact that I am still heavily attached to this culture and have a lot of work yet to do to continue my rewilding journey and that I need help with that. I’m sure others do too. Lots of others.
   But where’s our propaganda? We’ve got a few websites like this one, holding it down (kudos to you, Scout), but nothing on the scale wielded by the dominant culture. Like you say, Scout, your role is to put up a flag and say “You people think this is fucked up, I think this is fucked up too! Let’s get together and figure this shit out!” Well let’s get a bigger fucking flag! Lots of flags! A lot of people are pretty freaked out right now and instead of allowing them to continue believing their only option is to vote for Tweedledee or Tweedledumber, let’s show them another one. Let’s jam some billboards, tag and stencil some streets, all the streets. Make t-shirts, create a website, just get a message out there, any message the empowers people to Do It Ourselves!
   Sorry if this reply is inappropriately long and feels preachy. I just needed a place to rant and develop some of the thoughts I’ve been juggling. Thanks for the forum Scout!

9. Hey Gabe,

   Thanks for the great rant! I’m sure we’ve all had similar experiences. Thanks for sharing yours.

   As far as why isn’t there more rewilding media/marketing/propaganda… It’s a ton of work! Well, it depends on what market you want to break into. It’s easy as fuck to say, spray paint some stencils on the side walk. I’ve always dreamed of doing that, but never done it myself. I try to focus on getting shit in the mainstream as much as I can… which takes a lot of my time, not to mention that when you do that, all kinds of people attack you (speaking about myself here!). I receive mean-spirited shit almost on a daily basis. And from people who generally agree with me. WTF?

   The other thing you need, generally, is capital. T-shirts, billboards, fliers, posters, websites all cost a shit load of money. There are free services out there for some of that, but lets be honest, they suck visually and no one really looks at them. And in order to change them visually, you have to pay for that option… So it takes time and money to do this, time away from on the ground rewilding. Money away from field guides and tools and gas and bicycle repair, etc. etc. So you either have to sacrifice those things, or be filthy rich! Haha. I’m sacrificing those things while I try to become filthy rich!

   I also think that there is a lot of rewilding media out there, but it falls short because it doesn’t have a pop-cultural aethetic. Take Green Anarchy magazine. There is some really good writing in there… but the magazine looks like hell. I mean, it’s always just an ugly magazine. It’s great to read, but… People *do* judge a book by it’s cover. People judge a scene by the look of that scene. That’s why I do what I do. I have a knack for mimicing the hipster style of popular culture. And of course, who gives me the most shit? Green Anarchists!

   So yeah. I think in order to really get the rewilding message out there (not just as some novelty like MTV True Life or the Daily Show) but in a way that says, “We’re like this *and* We’re sexy.” A way that will get the ideas to “stick” is to learn to mimic the aesthetic of pop culture. Then spend a lot of money and time devoted to doing that, facing the fact that others are learning actual skills that will help them during the crash, and your not. Facing the persecution by those who should be on your side. Facing persecution by those who are not on your side. And worst of all, losing time that you could spend developing a relationship with nature and the community of life.

   Sorry if this reply seems inappropriately long and feels insanely subjective… Haha. But this is my story of doing what your saying we need more of. I agree with you 100% obviously. It just takes a lot more work and most people into rewilding don’t have the stomach to meet civilization on that superficial, commercial marketing plane.

10. Best way to spread rewilding knowledge? Have kids and teach it to them. Honestly. There is no way in fuck we are going to be able to reach people who refuse to be reached.

    I want to do this with my daughter but have no bloody idea where to begin or how to do this with her without risking losing her. Also, she got started on TV early. I’m afraid for what this means for her future. And yet I find myself picking up goddamn videos at the library for her too. Because the only person I have to help me with her is her dad and he’s a creep and constantly undermines me.

    “Hey, look at this! Wheat messes with your neurotransmitters!”

    “Wow, really? I didn’t know that.” *feeds my daughter crackers*

    *after my daughter goes apeshit hyper* “Wow… I guess she reacts to wheat.” *a week later, feeds her crackers again*

    jesus. I’m so tired of it.

11. I just had a scene in my head about you filing for divorce and requesting custody by saying “The dominant culture is destroying everything! And her dad won’t stop giving her crackers!” You would be entirely justified and also never get custody (This presumes you’re still married to the ‘creep’… you’re a stranger on the internet so I have to make a fair number of assumptions, heh). It is still a source of amazement and horror for me how simple and rational the anti-civ arguments are and how much they are willfully distorted.

    I don’t know if it means anything but I watched tons of TV as a kid and at 19 I’m only marginally fucked up. I’m into far leftist politics, so I guess I’m not every mother’s favorite son.

    Regarding the green anarchists – it seems like a manifestation of the same old bullshit, “we have the right way to live!” I feel like it needs to be said by everyone who thinks oppression and ecocide are bad, look, we don’t have to agree on every fuckin’ point, we’re destroying the earth and making everybody miserable in the process, so lets cut that shit out and then worry about what comes next when it comes. Instead of worrying about making utopia lets just make things livable. Instead of establishing hierarchies why don’t we try to appreciate diverse tactics towards the same ends? I don’t even know how to say it. Stop attacking the wrong people, I guess.

12. Just because I’m nitpicky, I wanted to ask if you meant to say “a less steep pyramid” instead of a steeper one? If you had less people on top and more on bottom, wouldn’t it be more of a gently sloping pyramid?

13. Haha, yes you are right.