"Hipster" commentary

Orioneye · 02-11-12 06:27:12

Wow.

If you have an ear for someone reading a really interesting criticism on social patterns, listen to this:

http://notrehta.posterous.com/redone-vo … om-adbuste

Is this man (not sure if he is the author...) extremely cynical or quite insightful? Not sure if I agree with every single thing he says but I am very interested by the way he says it.

artemesia · 02-11-12 07:10:01

At work- can't listen to it from this side of the office sadly. I really like adbusters, I've been reading their publication for years now, but sometimes it comes off as a little skewed to the primitivist side.

Hafta listen to it tomorrow, got band rehearsal in an hour!

Orioneye · 07-11-12 00:03:15

I think I see what you mean Artemesia. What has brought you to said conjecture around Adbusters? (PS, or something. Hope band practice went went well. What do you play?)

After looking up primitivism, this is what wikipedia had to say:

"...critique of the origins and progress of civilization. According to anarcho-primitivism, the shift from hunter-gatherer to agricultural subsistence gave rise to social stratification, coercion, and alienation. Anarcho-primitivists advocate a return to non-"civilized" ways of life through deindustrialisation, abolition of the division of labour or specialization, and abandonment of large-scale organization technologies."

artemesia · 07-11-12 04:49:06

That is the definition yep. I think society has somethings going for it, and some not. Anarcho-primivitist don't recognize any benefits of modern technologies at all. I guess I just associate the primivists with dole-bludgers (you get those in your land too i bet, just don't know what they'd be called there). Recently a flat-mate of mine (who has been on the pension since the age of 21) refused to vote in the local elections. Even after he nearly got us all evicted due to a battle he had with the council. It frustrates me that some people don't get it, local elections matter, it's grass-roots politics that we're all talking about. That's where the change is going to happen. Sure don't vote in the big elections, but local council stuff should surely be important to you, since you nearly made us all homeless..

Same with primivitists. There is no way you could maintain anything close to the standard of living you enjoy now, with modern technologies. And these idiots wanna blow up power stations. Cause you know it would make society better.

Uh, not having the best day, sorry if this is a little ranty.

i play ukulele... in a punk band.

Orioneye · 07-11-12 06:39:20

I hope the "rant" helped make your day more bearable.

If you mean dole as in doling, handing out. Does this mean a dole-bludger is someone who lives on the social aid provided by government?

Yeah I am not sure that destroying a power station would help. I agree that destroying something like a power plant may not create change. Maybe it would only cause waste and more human suffering...

What about building a completely/mostly self-sufficient house? That is subversive but in a constructive manner. Live on a farm and grow your own food or something.

I have my doubts about voting, though. Maybe you are right that local changes are important but I am disillusioned by political systems. They seem like a great big façade.

Last edited by Orioneye (07-11-12 06:40:41)

artemesia · 07-11-12 07:07:14

Ahhh. Doing some exercise is helping with my day, and practising with an online metronome (in case anyone is wondering why I'm stalking the forums outside of the office). Yeh, you got it, hole-in-one, dole bludgers aren't a uniquely Australian phenomenon but one widely popularized in the 70's by Australians who could afford to live handsomely offshore all the while collecting government monies.

I agree with you about the main political system being a facade, Bauknin writes that the problem with political parties is that they become political, and they attempt to emulate the very thing they wish to dethrone. But how de-centralised can a government become? Some-one has to make the big bad decisions. The ones about which suburb will have to deal with the aeroplane noise, which suburb has to live near the big garbage dump, who gets their bin collected at 5.30 in the morning as opposed to 11am.

I love council elections, because it's all about people. People get into council elections for a few reasons, and the ones doing it for political fame and glory are so easy to weed out (classic example, one of the Councillors was using a facebook photo on her promo material). But the folks who were really into their issues were obvious and deadly serious. One of the guys running was already an active member of a bike's user group, you could tell he was passionate about his issue. The stuff he does in the community is already great, with council backing this part of melbourne would become even more cyclable!

We all try to do the sustainable thing here at home and the households i frequent. Gala's house is amazing. They grind their own flours, bake bread and even host tempeh making demonstrations and other such wonders. You are right, living self-sufficiently would be the most subversive thing, but when you see primitivists in the city, you know that they're mostly living off the system they profess to hate.

Last edited by artemesia (07-11-12 07:07:52)

blissed · 07-11-12 21:14:10

I use low and high tech. Which ever works best. I use an indian peasant way of washing without soap using a sponge and a small bowl of water, which feels nice and gentle on your skin and lungs compared to a steamy hot shower full of heated chemicals. But I'd love a reprap 3d printer that prints itself when they're much more developed and can print recycling machines so I could recycle or sell my light and heavy rubbish. I want technology to move in the direction of sustainability so we occupy the planet as ants do by the billions while contributing to it's health and diversity. I think things are moving in that direction too. Robots tend plants and intricately dissect and recycle, while 3d printers can use the material to make a computer, coffee cup or a small robot that can dig clay, fashion it into a mug and fire and glaze it or hunt for insects and prepare them for us to eat. Depending on how advanced the tech is we could do amazing and exiting things With this kind of technology in our hands we could join communities that print spaceships, homes that move on legs and fertilise the land they temporarily occupy with rooms in them with floor to ceiling screens and climbing frames and omni directional tread mills. It'll be for things what the 60s was for ideas.

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#1 02-11-12 06:27:12

"Hipster" commentary

#2 02-11-12 07:10:01

Re: "Hipster" commentary

#3 07-11-12 00:03:15

Re: "Hipster" commentary

#4 07-11-12 04:49:06

Re: "Hipster" commentary

#5 07-11-12 06:39:20

Re: "Hipster" commentary

#6 07-11-12 07:07:14

Re: "Hipster" commentary

#7 07-11-12 21:14:10

Re: "Hipster" commentary

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