Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Call me Mickey (dis)Mantle


(photo by Nancy Ryan)

Sure, we know the term dismantle by its standard definition:, e.g. “to take apart.” However a variation on that standard definition—"to put an end to in a gradual systematic way"—gets closer to how “dismantle” is often used in a radical sense: dismantle civilization.

Why such a goal? Some persuasively posit that civilization is anti-nature because constant growth requires resources, forests, fuel, food, minerals, etc. Civilization “conveniently views humans as being above nature, its only perceived value as resources to plunder & pillage. Civilized people, cut off from nature and the landbase that supports them, do not perceive themselves as part of the natural world, and in fact often fear it.”

What does it mean to dismantle civilization? In the words of Derrick Jensen, it means: “Depriving the rich of the ability to steal from the poor and to destroy the world.”

So, if the rich (and the politicians they own) want to take away our rights, I say we get our shit together and fight to take away theirs: Their right to pollute, their right to exploit, to wage war, to steal, and to treat all living things as if they were disposable.

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Poem of Progress

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NYC Event Alert:

I’m speaking at the Veggie Pride Parade on May 17

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And don’t forget:

Mickey Z. on YouTube

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Posted on 05/05 at 05:55 AM
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