Fuck Marching

A lot of young Americans are fortifying their souls for a crucible of activism starting pretty soon here which has stirred in me some thoughts that seem relevant from my Grandma’s porch in a trailer park in Mid-Michigan. I will admit that I am living in an extremely self-centered delusion right from the beginning. This is a kind of rationale for why self-centered delusion is, in my esteem, not only a valid political and cultural reaction to an unreasonable America, but maybe better than it’s pretentious alternative: activism.

Firstly I feel it is important to address the way people’s hearts throb when anyone begins to criticize this holiest of time sinks. Many will question why one would even want an alternative to the current trend in activism, this pathetic occupy movement. I will use it as an example of why something new or different is called for and in the meantime try to persuade any offended activist types to consider being a little more critical of their work, and not just doing things so as to not alienate friends in established social hierarchies. I know that everyone involved in these activities dedicate an enormous amount of energy to making them “work”. But when they aren’t working we shouldn’t be scared to question ourselves and our motives. That is still an individual right.

So, the root of my concern, aside from all the We-think, is that when we protest, sit in front of buildings, talk amongst ourselves etc. we are allowing ourselves to become consumed by our subject, which is the same thing that we were trying to divorce, right? The modern world and all of it’s evil shenanigans, wars, profiteering, yada yada. We train ourselves to talk about them, to think about them, to devote free work into abstractly declaring war on complicated issues. In the end activism leaves people looking confused, starved and severely unqualified for socializing with the rest of the world that doesn’t live in a Metropolitan area.

Now, activist, socialist, whatever, do you really think that middle America gives a fuck about your protest? They are trying to raise families in the dried up scrap heap of the rust belt while you extoll the virtues of their rights. They don’t need you to speak for them. They aren’t dumb. They’re just specialized in other forms of labor than having opinions.

I learned the whole shpeal because I was eager for new friends who had open minds. I learned to say all the right things to not offend the many kinds of people in the world who were all very sensitive. These fucking classifications kept coming out of the woodwork and I’d have to become more vague to not end up in some shitty conversation with a bible beating hippy about why somebodies feelings are hurt. Get the fuck over it. We’re protesting things like the War. People get shot, get called sand-niggers and faggots, bombs explode. This shit happens. So put your stupid feelings away. Nobody gives a fuck. Nobody. A tougher skin is usually the answer, rather than trying to change the speach of the entire world. In the end words aren’t worth a damn thing anyway, so don’t stress your overly educated head about it. Worry about actions.

And purchases are actions. I’d wager you probably make a few of those every day. Who profits from that? I bet it’s not very radical. When I see a march now all I can think of is all of these people buying Mocha Frappachino’s from Starbucks, getting the Subway veggie delight, grabbing a quick Monster from the 7/11. Or a pack of cigarettes? Meanwhile you got papers flying everywhere, littering whole paths of destruction with socialist propagandha that some poor city worker will have to pick up with calloused hands, reading up on his Marxist philosophy during his smoke break, mayhaps? Not.

And again, middle America missed it because Dancing with the Stars was on, then they had a few more shows on Tevo.

Through all the protest and actions and political correctness what has really changed? The cell phones, the price of gas, the fabric of the soldiers uniforms and the vehicles adopted to counter street protests. Other than that we’re still warring, driving, eating and spending as much as we ever have.

I watch my grandma quietly decorate eggs and I can’t help but to think that our generation has something entirely wrong. We tried to turn away from something and we ignored old values that would serve us much better than the snotty behavior we endorse as political change. Maybe if we were more thrifty, resourceful, tough. Less whiny, indulgent and spaced out on technology. Maybe if instead of freaking out about what the rich assholes that run the world are going to do anyway we focused on doing something that made our time here more special, bettered ourselves so that we could offer more to our friends, challenged ourselves more to not just fit into something because we’re lonely and need friends. In short, if we all focused on ourselves more and less on giant, abstract concepts, we could find a different door into the future so that we can finally just leave this husk of a culture behind.