#bemundolack

[dearyallfrommatt]

Anarchists Should Vote and Here's Why

 For the most part, I’m with this argument from Bemundolack of Things Not Art. I used to be a hard ass about voting, thought it was everyone’s civic duty. I have sense mellowed. As far as national elections go, who cares? It’s probably better off. As for local concerns, well... you know, no one really gets into that, do they? I think that sort of misses the whole point.

 That’s one thing that’s always bothered me about debates that tackle voting versus not voting. It’s always the President and, once in a while, Congress critters. Almost never does it consider state and local, and at least for anarchism-friendly types, that seems like it would matter most of all. Maybe it’s because I live in Mississippi, and our bullshit is such that the rest of the country, much less the Federal Government would rather just pretend we don’t exist.

 Willie Nash was just sentenced to 12 years for doing something he wasn’t told not to do nor was he prevented from doing it by jail officials. The people who owned the chicken plants that ICE raided last year won’t even get a slap on the wrist for exploiting undocumented workers, which is supposed to be bad.

 Destroying imperialism and dismantling the State is all fine and good, but at the end of the day the poor people that weren’t as important at the time are still just as screwed. Arguments that voting either doesn’t matter or is equally harmful have yet to swing me and I just think it’d do more good than harm. Convince me otherwise.

 Another thing I have with what I’ve seen of, at least, Social Media Anarchism (for lack of a better phrase) allows for too much for some of the foundation thinkers of the past. Kropotkin maybe, Marx for sure, but that may just be me and my own cynicism. I do think they’re useful up to a point, but past that point the handiness gets increasingly diluted. Sort of like the conflict between Standard Model and quantum physics, and scientists inability, so far, to make the mesh together in a working Theory of Everything. Assuming such a thing exists, and apparently they think so. 

 Again, I could be talking through my hat here, but I feel and logic leads me to believe that we (scientists of the future) will figure out a new paradigm to get the job done. Same thing with the professed end goals of Marxism and Leninist Communism. It’s useful to a point but it might be time to come up with something new that will do what the past can’t do anymore.

 It’s sort of the same way Leftists view Capitalism, really. Maybe it’s my inability to mesh collectivism with my own extreme dislike of company, I could be just that wrong, so grain of salt. Still, the way a lot of Leftists and Anarchists talk of Capitalism, they make it seem like some sort of pernicious, malicious force of intentional evil like it’s some sort of Devil tempting Johnny with a golden fiddle. Maybe it ain’t that deep. Maybe it’s just a structure to view reality and people have always been the wrenched knee in all this. It’s not so much a matter of good or bad as it’s a matter of bread and circuses, especially in the Western world. Sure, there’s a lot of predatory capitalists, but those sharks swim in an ocean of a whole lot of folk that simply don’t give a shit.

 As I’ve said before, I’m sympathetic to Anarchism but I’ve never found one that’s properly grooved me. It’s a deficit that I intend to remedy. I eventually reached a comfortable place in my spiritual and ontological views, I can do this, too. One thing I do like about it, though - and I can’t remember where I got this, maybe Emma Golden - but it’s not so much Smashing The State/Corporation/One And The Same as it is using that edifice to do some good in the world and the 24-hour, rock & roll freedom party that life should be is a long-term result. She uses the Paris Commune as an example, & I think that’s apt.

 So, I said all that to say all this. Vote if you want or don’t if you don’t. Be honest about why, at least to yourself, and maybe think about what can be done about the mess across the street. And don’t worry about the “if you don’t vote, don’t bitch” stroke, as likely as not I won’t pay much attention you one way or another.

 I will say this, though. I cannot buy Donald Trump as a slick, Machiavellian operate, someone who manipulated the public with his clever appeals to racist populism and 11th-dimensional chess moves against the Media and his opponents. He ain’t that bright, y’all, I’ve been paying attention. We’re just that awful and desperate enough to be told it isn’t bad, it’s good in fact. The GOP has been building to the MAGA base for almost 40 years, a populist demagogue was bound to happen. Finally and most unfortunately, far too many of us are so terrified of the Cosmic Spin that our only option is being a sandy butthole. Trump just happened to be the right bastard at the right time and Television if the crystal meth of the masses. We’ve known that, we just want to pretend it wasn’t our fault.

[masaotheheckindog]

Very good video about art, alienation, and material conditions by a comrade of mine. This is in the same vein as the project I’m currently working on, but they have a more developed academic background than me, so I feel like they actually say it quite a bit better. I hope that I have something to offer to this conversation, though <3

[forgottenbones]

Don't join the fucking military.

— winter bemundolack 🌨❄🌒 (@Bemundolack) January 3, 2020

[hopetomorrow]

when you get this, reply with 5 things that make you happy, then send it to the last 10 people you have notes from in your activity!! 💛

1. New episodes of my favorite podcasts (Mysteries Abound, MBMBAM, Sawbones, WTNV, all sorts of Stuff)

2. My dog, Bean. She is better than everything, is pretty much always by my side at home and loves me even when I’m awful.

3. Spending time doing basically anything with my close friends, who are hilarious and fascinating and love me. And I love them.

4. Watching Antiques Roadshow

5. Gardening, especially as my plants get close to done growing their produce. I hope y'all like sugar snap peas because JESUS H CHRIST do I have some sugar snap peas.

I’m tagging rapidbutterfly, bemundolack, emiemipearl, mouse-bites, cizgiselanlati,  toska-heart, oblicious, arostegi, lianabakbakbak and of course patomatic!

[monsterlets]

I have Pokes installed on my xkit and I just tried to "catch" your icon lol

i didn’t know this was a thing i’m getting that extension immediately

[maybe-this-time]

bemundolack replied to your post “i finished Steven Iniverse. Now what do i do with myself?”

Wait in misery and anticipation until July 13th

I decided to start watching Star Vs. The Forces of Evil