Krispin Preaches Revolution!
Kent Crispin wrote:
On Thu, Aug 28, 1997 at 06:17:09PM -0500, snow wrote:
Well, the current system stinks, but enough people are buffalo'd into thinking that it works, so it is doubtful that it will get better.
People are not "buffalo'd" -- they are happy with a system that gives them a good life. Therefore, it has to get worse before it gets better.
I am happy that Kent has finally realized the need to Monkey Wrench the "system" to the point where enough citizens get off of their too- comfortable asses and address the issues which are leading to an increasing number of their fellow citizens being persecuted and fucked over by the government. "Then they came for the fat-asses, and I was a fat-ass, but nobody spoke up." -Roseanne "If you want to keep people from claiming they're Jesus, you have to break a few eggs." -Janet Reno/Pontius Pilate Now that Kent has realized, like McVeigh, that "it has to get worse before it gets better," perhaps he is ready to break the Big Egg. I'll be more than happy to chip in to fill Kent's private plane with fuel, and Peter Trei is at the airport, right now, stripping the identifying numbers off of Kent's aircraft. (Ever since he started forging posts to the list, Peter's gotten really radical.) TruthMonger {Now that we've got Peter Trei forging posts and Kent Crispin is ready to nuke D.C., how long can it be before we convince Blanc to bomb a daycare center?}
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- At 09:39 AM 8/29/97 -0700, Kent Crispin wrote:
I have known since I was a grasshopper that people trying to effect change have a vested interest in making current reality look bad. People entrenched in the power structure, on the other hand, have a vested interest in making current reality look good.
When change doesn't happen, or especially when it goes in a direction undesired by the revolutionaries, but liked by the citizens, the effort to make current reality look bad intensifies. When change irrevocably passes to an unwanted state, and the revolutionaries "lose", a residue of Bitter Old Revolutionary Extremists (BOREs) results. These toothless old tigers, clinging to their youthful dreams, rage at a reality that passed them by. Snarling and perpetually misunderstood, they wither and waste away, Cheshire cat evil grimace postcripts to history.
Course the analysis fails when faced with those who think things are good and getting better in revolutionary ways disliked by the "powers that be". None of us have had time to become Bitter Old Revolutionary Extremists yet. Tim and I am members of the same birth cohort. He tends towards depression and I tend towards optimism but both of us have seen quite a few changes over the years and neither of us are in the position of the American Marxists of the 1930s or 1960s New Left radicals who saw their dreams die. Market liberalism is ascendant. And it is still in its early period of ascendancy. The Economist observed earlier this year that "We are all liberals now". Pointing out that illiberal philosophies had shuffled off the world stage. Note that "socialism" started circa 1850, rose steadily until the middle of this century, and then crashed and burned. "Red Tony" in the UK is showing himself to be slightly to the right of John Boy Major as the students, aliens, and pro-inflationists of the UK have recently discovered. Market Earth continues to take names and kick ass worldwide. I felt much more depressed about the possibilities of a society built on voluntary interaction 30, 20, or 10 years ago than I do now. The fact is that change is continuing and accelerating because people have the means to change their own lives. Since "revolution" which originates from the independent and unled actions of millions of people cannot easily be suppressed, traditional political analysis fails. Conquering an "anarchy" is hard enough because of the lack of anyone to surrender. Conquering an "anarchy" that is springing up all around you at the "speed of business" or in "net time" is even harder. The only tactical option that would work for our rulers in the current political situation is to "nuke us back to the stone age" so that they could regain their traditional force ratios. If the people are not deprived of the wealth and physical powers that they now possess (at least in the OECD countries), they are no longer controlled in a real sense. Nominal controls exist but they are weak and ineffective. If you doubt this, ask any cop. DCF Needed: A lion untamer. The cage has been removed but the lion continues to pace back and forth over his old ground out of habit. We need a lion untamer who can convince the lion that he's no longer in a cage. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP for Personal Privacy 5.0 Charset: noconv iQCVAwUBNA7VwYVO4r4sgSPhAQFNTQP/e4ilGsrRYtLafQeF8IVj0Cuhi7MfuPhY 2bkmj7xJQ0/i8m4hJduXOdHGd0wrgvTqkvP7AwsBFAAaCae6kFxYqxo4N1WPBx08 lNKZWHoKARLKo0OfxlFmEnMdhY4H13AEW9DdtoZYXVu75HucJkjzln7bdBX3L2eQ QEzi4k044v0= =vsG9 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
On Fri, Aug 29, 1997 at 11:19:32AM -0400, Anonymous wrote:
Kent Crispin wrote:
On Thu, Aug 28, 1997 at 06:17:09PM -0500, snow wrote:
Well, the current system stinks, but enough people are buffalo'd into thinking that it works, so it is doubtful that it will get better.
People are not "buffalo'd" -- they are happy with a system that gives them a good life. Therefore, it has to get worse before it gets better.
I am happy that Kent has finally realized the need to Monkey Wrench the "system" to the point where enough citizens get off of their too- comfortable asses and address the issues which are leading to an increasing number of their fellow citizens being persecuted and fucked over by the government.
I have known since I was a grasshopper that people trying to effect change have a vested interest in making current reality look bad. People entrenched in the power structure, on the other hand, have a vested interest in making current reality look good. This is an interesting competition for observers, bystanders, and citizens. If the power structure is flexible, and incorporates changes that are viewed favorably by the citizens, then the power structure "wins". But so do the citizens. When change doesn't happen, or especially when it goes in a direction undesired by the revolutionaries, but liked by the citizens, the effort to make current reality look bad intensifies. When change irrevocably passes to an unwanted state, and the revolutionaries "lose", a residue of Bitter Old Revolutionary Extremists (BOREs) results. These toothless old tigers, clinging to their youthful dreams, rage at a reality that passed them by. Snarling and perpetually misunderstood, they wither and waste away, Cheshire cat evil grimace postcripts to history.
{Now that we've got Peter Trei forging posts and Kent Crispin is ready to nuke D.C., how long can it be before we convince Blanc to bomb a daycare center?}
I can't speak for Peter or Blanc. I have no desire to nuke anyone. -- Kent Crispin "No reason to get excited", kent@songbird.com the thief he kindly spoke... PGP fingerprint: B1 8B 72 ED 55 21 5E 44 61 F4 58 0F 72 10 65 55 http://songbird.com/kent/pgp_key.html
At 8:37 AM -0700 9/4/97, Duncan Frissell wrote:
None of us have had time to become Bitter Old Revolutionary Extremists yet. Tim and I am members of the same birth cohort. He tends towards depression and I tend towards optimism but both of us have seen quite a few changes over
I prefer the term "pessimism" to "depression." The opposite of optimistic is pessimistic, not depressed, which has a clinical sound to it.
Conquering an "anarchy" is hard enough because of the lack of anyone to surrender. Conquering an "anarchy" that is springing up all around you at the "speed of business" or in "net time" is even harder. The only tactical option that would work for our rulers in the current political situation is to "nuke us back to the stone age" so that they could regain their traditional force ratios.
And this is what I think they may try: a global crackdown to try to stamp out the wildfire of anarchocapitalism before it spreads beyond any hope of control. Our opponents understand full well the power of strong crypto and unassailable privacy to facillitate this kind of anarchy and this kind of voluntary, self-selected, virtual communities. They understand, we understand, and even some in the media understand. The politicians don't, for the most part. Louis Freeh is no dummy. He understands the power struggle. But he has to speak babytalk to Feinswine and Kyl to let them glimpse what the issues are. --Tim May There's something wrong when I'm a felon under an increasing number of laws. Only one response to the key grabbers is warranted: "Death to Tyrants!" ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^1398269 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."
participants (4)
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Anonymous -
Duncan Frissell -
Kent Crispin -
Tim May