The Big Red

Communism:

An economic and social system envisioned by the nineteenth-century German scholar Karl Marx.


~In theory, under communism, all means of production are owned in common, rather than by individuals (see Marxism and Marxism-Leninism).


~In practice, a single authoritarian party controls both the political and economic systems. In the twentieth century, communism was associated with the economic and political systems of China and the Soviet Union and of the satellites of the Soviet Union.



I know that I might called out on this issue by some of you, but that's fine with me, and I would like to hear your interpretations of the issue. First off I would like to say that I'm not communist at all, to be honest I believe that any ideals, pertaining to politics and religion have lead to the deterioration of the human spirit and resulted in our base history of murder, drugs, and sex; blinding us from any real purpose in our lives.

So now on to the real reason why I wrote this blog. I remember when I was smaller, I would go out shopping with me mom and occasionally we would see people wearing the typical Che Guevara shirt, his stare off into the distance resembled a stone of sorts, strong and determined. I wanted a shirt with the face of this man who i realized I didn't know anything about, just because I believed him to be someone strong who probably did something pretty amazing to have so many young kids admiring him. I went up to my dad and asked who he was, and my dad told me he basically slaughtered people in Cuba in order to achieve his goals, and then became greedy alongside his close friend Castro, a simplified version for even a 12 year old to understand. Well I still wanted the shirt, so I tried my best my dad to let me get it, but he told me to do some investigating first. So i went on line and I found my self captivated by this man's thoughts on equality, but then followed the nasty history that preceded him. Death seemed to abound, as i learned on all the injustice that had been caused because of one man, I was angered by how stupid I had been.

But to this day I still believe that if it were not for people's selfish thirst for money and conflict, the theory of communism could work. I'm not looking at this from a financial aspect, but a personal one. People are grumpy because their house is smaller than their neighbors, well what if all the houses were the same? Why couldn't there be a section for people who want this house and a section for that house, and they all cost the same price? Why can't all the products that we make be of high class and stylish, why do we need to make crappy things that break and fall apart?


Isn't living in a common society, with common objects better than living in our present day, separatist culture. Individuality is pushed constantly, "I don't care about them, I want you to have a bright future", " It's my problem, not yours".

We are all the same species, yet because we're born under different nationalities, given different sounding names, brought up on different sides of that little line on the map that says you're in a different country or state, well then you become different. You begin to believe that because someone worships a different god or speaks a different language, then they must be from a completely different world.

I do not see social individuality, the pushing away of ourselves farther and farther from other people, as something good. I think that major companies have fed off of this idea to make us believe that the more different, the more apart from others, the better for them.

Mrs. Stocklosa spoke of sharism, the idea that we all should communicate in order to advance as a culture.

Well Capitalism is an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations

as a contrast to cooperatively.

Yes it has helped us grow, but into what? What has the American nation become?
Isolated from the world events and occurrences, i have only read on how the government did things to improve itself, but not the world. If we had tried to make things better for everyone, instead of a select elite that seems to have no limitations to what they can do and what beliefs they may impose, we would be better off, and of that I have no doubt.

Anarcho Punks...

As I shuffled around my brain on what to write for my blog tonight
I was listening to my iTunes and one of my favorite songs,
Those Anarcho Punks Are Mysterious by Against Me!,
started to play.






I personally think this song has a wonderful message. I think that it flat out spells out modern anarchistic thought and does it better than any book ever could. We, as anarchists, envision a society of, by, and for the citizens of the society. A world in which the governed are able to directly govern themselves. And most importantly a world where the people of the society are able to focus and work together towards a common goal with others of a like mind.
When people walk down the street and see an anarcho-punk teenager they see a kid who's angry at their parents and who will grow out of it. That teenager may have the right goal but no clue how to get there and may think that random vandolizations and angry actions work towards his goal. Any one who has a brick thrown through their window is going to harbor ill feelings towards whoever did it, regardless of intent or purpose. Not withstanding actually having possibly targeted an institution which is in dire need of an overthrow like a wal-mart or a starbucks.
The point is that throwing bricks accomplishes nothing but creating ill-will towards the movement. And the truly sad part is that the kid throwing the brick does it with all the best intentions in the world, but those kinds of people don't see how they're sabotaging themselves in the process. That's the song. It makes all the difference in the world how we conduct and present ourselves.
I can guarantee that I'm the best neighbor that the people who live around me have ever had. And because of it when the topic comes up in conversation and I express my dissatisfaction with the current social, economic, and political system in America they might actually listen. The may agree or not, but the fact is that without a little respect for them as individuals regardless of their willingness to buy into a system I personally hate.
Not to say that direct action isn't a necessary part of the anarchist movement. It is. And it works. There's a time and a place for direct action and I'm firmly of the opinion that it has to be a last resort if anarchists are to be taken seriously. And even then, it should only be used against the powers which are directly doing the oppressing and not on the people who would allies in the struggle.
Like all art, songs are subject to opinion. I hear this song and I hear what I want to hear. But I'm very comfortable with that and I think that as many people as possible should hear it and form their own opinions. And then use those opinions to have a discussion, because a discussion about our future is something that has been sorely missing from everyday conversation for a great many years.

Turkey Day

American's have come to celebrate thanksgiving as a time for thanks and giving
instead of what it originally stood for, the destruction of a civilization
that had survived for centuries in harmony. Well there are pros and cons to this
holiday I guess. Yes, it can be argued, "survival of the fittest", or hey look at the
amazing country that resulted from all those battles with the Native Americans. But then why is our present day government, who chooses to hide all the ugly little stains it has earned a long it rule, choose to keep immigrants out of it's borders? If you ask me there shouldn't even exist the word "immigrant", I mean it's not like Americans actually own this country. Just because they killed and enslaved people to get here doesn't make things right. The fact that different races such as African American, Latino's, etc, will make up most of the American population in a couple of years makes me smile. I see it as Karma, you take of their country, okay, cool, then we'll come and take over yours. Oh and I'm not saying we shouldn't have thanksgiving at all, I'm just saying remember the holiday as what really happened. Some crooks and murders lead by a guy who wasn't supposed to find anything stumbled onto some nice little patch of land on which he decided to claim for his own. He brought with him the precious gifts of disease and death, then proceeded to destroy the nature and people without pity. May I remind you that history books have actually made the Native American seem like a mindless savage, even though they were far more advanced than Europeans. There is evidence that the Native Americans had communication with one another, had medicinal technology beyond that of Europe, and never had wars on the scale of those going on in the "civilized" world.


Thank you mass media, pseudo politicians, and simple minded folks who
uphold beliefs based on faith that there fantasy
world doesn't need to be explained. We couldn't of dumbed down my generation
without your generous contributions.

The Beauty of Slow

We're often told by our peers how we're a lazy generation of kids that do nothing but lay around and soak up the sun like some withering plant in it's little cramped pot. So grunting and with little trails of steam pouring out of our heads we trudge towards our tasking, inhaling with drudgery filled lungs.

Well I don't see anything wrong in taking your time, in living up every moment that you can. I see all these so called "adults" scrambling around worse than bee's at a hive. I mean at least BEES, insects with brains smaller than our pinkie's, have the capability of stopping to smell the flowers every day.


What has humanity created for itself? It seems to me like every day that we make bigger buildings, more intricate roads, and more dastardly ideas of what seperates us from the general natural world. Who ever gave us the right to consider ourselves better than other living things?

We go about our lives, squishing the bugs that get in our way. I think if anything
we're the lowest life forms out there. We have all this power, to make the world better not just for our children and for ourselves, but for every organism. It seems like we've made it common to believe that if you don't have a voice, it doesn't matter what the world decides to do to you.


I cringe at the idea of speeding up my life so it can fit into yours. But I also understand that it must occur for this is what my society demands from me in order to be a valuable member in it's ever growing sticky little web. The thing is, if everyone keeps trying to catch up to that moving car that is slowly picking up the miles it travels in an hour, well, someone's bound to trip and fall towards pain and suffering.


I just hope it isn't me.

So, please take time out of your day to see how when you stare up at the clouds it seems like the world stopped moving. Or take the time to raise up your arms as a cool breeze wraps itself around you. Trust me, the feeling of knowing your alive instead of hearing about it on some television screen is oh so gratifying, euphoria galore if you ask me.

The Love Movement :)<3

MISSION:

The Love Movement was established with one concept in mind, to make a difference. A collaborative effort of public art and gallery work by a group of designers, artists, and teachers from different backgrounds, TLM's mission is simple, to create art that critiques and pokes fun at society and pop culture while also drawing awareness to the current state of the world. Often using discarded materials, TLM creates something new by destroying something old, by creating beauty from that which society leaves discarded to decay. The Love Movement has been known to make a difference in our society. Through their art sales, TLM provided a fresh water well in the African country of Benin; and payed for the school supplies, transportation, and fees for the children in Colby, Benin and Bali, Indonesia.


I had known about this website for a while now, glancing at there amazing
messages portrayed through mediums. A lot of people talk about change, a lot
speak of how they could cause it, but very few ever know what it means to BE change.
So if you're waiting on your friends to come pick you up or if your just having
trouble finding something to do, then go on http://www.tlmphilly.com/index.html
and look through their artist influenced merch( merchandise for those of us that
aren't up to date) and buy something you like. It'll make ya happy to know
you aren't just being selfish, you're also helping someone out half way around the
world!

I promise, it won't let ya down, they have some pretty "cool" stuff

Fox News and Their so called "reporting"

While this is really amusing. It’s scary and wrong that people are treating this as news or journalism.
The American people deserve better than this. The media should be a tool for the people to have access to information, question authority, and gain knowledge.
Fox should be ashamed of themselves and so should the American public at what has happened to the media in this country.
Notice in the end he says NYC is “under control” and indeed it is.

It's about the feeling they're trying to convey....

Herbert Baglione was recently interviewed in his native São Paulo, Brazil from The Run UP series by Fifty24SF Gallery and Upper Playground. The video is just shy of eight minutes, but this short packs a huge punch in that time, as Baglione talks about his past, his perception of the world, the deeper meaning behind his aesthetic, and why he sees chaos as inherently void.
“When you start to realize the immensity of things and their value, like the relationship between the sand and water, the sea, the ocean itself, you see that everything that you do, your work, are such small things,” the painter muses. “There isn’t a reason why there should be this tension between egos…this thing that exists in the graffiti world.”
Baglione continues, “I have two aims when I work: to prevent conflict on one hand but also seeking to create new ones.”