It’s the same old story but with a twist… the internet!

Originally posted November 1, 2011:               

I have lately been hearing a lot of people bring up social and political movements in the past, from uprisings in Rome to the civil rights era here in the US. Some people have suggested we are in an endless cycle of oppression and revolt and nothing ever really changes in part because we fail to learn from the past. I agree in part as far as human nature being more or less consistent, but the world has changed in some ways that I think will alter the way future generations view the history that some are currently trying to make. One of the main differences between then and now is the internet. For the first time in history everyone can instantly share information and personal experiences with every single other person who has internet access. History will no longer be written by a few individuals with the resources to make their version the most visible, but by an army of voices blogging from the front lines. Current events can be broadcast via social media more quickly than any news organization could have dreamed of in our parents generation. The media and government has no hope of successfully hiding anything from the public if a hundred witnesses can upload the truth to YouTube from their cell phones and laptops. We are now impossible to silence and difficult to discredit. I know mainstream media still dictates much of public opinion and influences how we record and remember events, but I think slowly this is changing. We can help it along by seeking out information from multiple sources and verifying and questioning what we find before passing it along. Alternatively, any one of us could choose to abuse our powers of self publishing to spread misinformation and chaos. I hope more of us choose the high road.

Originally posted November 8, 2011:

One of the most heartbreaking events in life is the moment you try to show someone you love a complex, beautiful thing that you also love and they can’t or won’t really see it the way you do. The people I spend most of my time with now in the park are not always people I get along with, or people I have a lot in common with, or (to be completely honest) people I’d trust all the time but together they are a community. I’ve tried so hard to explain (sometimes successfully, sometimes not) that you really do have to be there inside of it to judge. Yes, there are people who sometimes have problems or get upset, but 10 minutes later we might be hugging and singing and making passionate speeches about hopeful futures. If you can’t make it through a few minutes of the bad stuff, you never get to see the good stuff. I am starting to believe that the stronger more stubborn people of the world are often rewarded with beauty that the meek rarely see.

Mirrored from xiane dot org.

Priorities change and hope makes a rare appearance.

Originally posted October 28th, 2011:

Today really sucked at first, but I think it ended well. I saw a guy have a seizure in Mud House, talked to more news crews, had to use my powers of persuasion on loud drunk people and loud sober people with chips on their shoulders, carried a lot of heavy things, defended my belief in altruism for reasons other than “Jesus told me to be nice” (which imo implies that if Jesus told you to be an asshole you’d do that too) to religious people and to top it off, it has started sleeting.

However, I know that at least some people are listening and watching. We had a gift of muffins from an Anonymous(heh) donor. Maybe it’s silly, but it made my night much more awesome (well, that and meeting a new GA attendee and buying candy for no reason in the middle of the night with Jeremy like old times ). Sometimes I’ve felt like I’ve been ranting to myself lately, but the last day or two I’ve heard signs that give me some hope from various places. A few friends came through for me, and a few strangers did too. I hope it isn’t too late.

I have one request to everyone reading this. Whether or not you join me in the battles I’ve chosen, do something. Stop using the fallacious idea that every action requires the permission of another as an excuse to not act. We are so much more powerful than we have been told by those who wish to protect their own power, and by those who follow them because they see no alternative or have fallen into apathy. If you see something that is wrong in the world, try and right it. If you see something that is right, support it. If every person who has told me that they are only one and can’t have any meaningful impact got up every day and tried to live as the person they wish they were, we would not need heroes. Do not wait until it is safe to have a revolution. There is no such time and there never will be. Be dangerous. Act. Do. Change the world.

Originally posted October 30, 2011:

Some of my friends have asked me how Occupy Charlottesville is going, and it made me realize that (at least in my mind) it isn’t really just that anymore. It’s morphed into something else, and while letting go of the dream of Charlottesville joining in as the American people rise as one to tell the corporate world to go fuck itself has been a bit disappointing, what IS happening here is pretty damn exciting too. There are still quite a few people focused on national financial policy changes but for me the magic is happening at the local level. I couldn’t tell you how much of the change in myself lately is the antidepressants kicking in and how much is righteous fury fueled bravery and a renewed sense of community, but lately I’m wondering if I might actually not be a giant failure as a human being. Assuming things stay relatively stable, I’m even starting to allow myself to wonder if I could do something satisfying and important with my life eventually. Not that I’m going to get all crazy with the optimism and hope stuff, but I’ll say I’m willing to try despite the feeling that I’m being silly and possibly even delusional. Cool, right?

Mirrored from xiane dot org.