Linky Roundup

Ages ago, I'd post semi-regular posts with cool links and stuff I'd recently discovered on this blog.  But, I fell out of the habit of doing so, and I've been realizing recently how much cool stuff I find online then lose completely, never to see again.  So, I've decided to start doing (roughly) weekly posts, most likely on Sundays (just because I arbitrarily decided I want to do so on Sundays), with the cool stuff I've read/seen/discovered in the past week.  Welcome to the first installment of the weekly link roundup!

Education, Unschooling, Learning, Youth Rights

A cool looking calendar put together by a couple who traveled through Asia visiting "innovative educational organizations", and are selling a calendar with photos from their trip to finance a documentary about said trip.



"Love Letter To Albuquerque Public Schools" is a truly terrific group slam poem.

 

"Reading articles about 'school reform' is like reading articles about how to build a better zoo. God bless all the kids who are running wild in the woods whether they 'get an education' or not. There are more important things in life." -Bob Collier

 

“Education itself is a putting off, a postponement; we are told to work hard to get good results. Why? So we can get a good job. What is a good job? One that pays well. Oh. And that’s it? All this suffering, merely so that we can earn a lot of money, which, even if we manage it, will not solve our problems anyway? It’s a tragically limited idea of what life is all about.” -Tom Hodgkinson

"Whenever I see kids in school uniforms I think of totalitarian societies and their unfree subjects. I think of prisoners in their jumpsuits. I sometimes think of the UPS guy and the clerks at Home Depot. I never think of freedom. Not ever." -PS Pirro, in her book 101 Reasons Why I'm an Unschooler.

"Breakthroughs are made by the non-conformists and unconventional people. And that requires stepping outside of one’s comfort zone, outside of the familiar or the contrived. It requires imagination." -Beatrice Ekwa Ekoko, from this months Life Learning Magazine.

The November issue of The Carnival of Unschooled Life is out.

I found this wonderful anti-school video on Facebook, called Herd Mentality - The Schooling System. "School is an 18 year forced government training program..."

Recently released is the English version of the trailer for a web series on education which will be airing soon. The translation is a bit shaky, but not too bad! The first few episodes will focus on what's wrong with schools and schooling, and the following episodes will focus on solutions (he talks to freeschoolers, homeschoolers, & unschoolers, including me and my mother). The director is a co-conspirator in multiple cool projects here in Montreal, and I'm really excited to see this!  


"When we adults think of children, there is a simple truth which we ignore: childhood is not preparation for life; childhood is life. A child isn’t getting ready to live; a child is living. The child is constantly confronted with the nagging question, 'What are you going to be?' Courageous would be the youngster who, looking the adult squarely in the face, would say, 'I’m not going to be anything; I already am.' We adults would be shocked by such an insolent remark, for we have forgotten, if indeed we ever knew, that a child is an active participating and contributing member of society from the time he is born. Childhood isn’t a time when he is molded into a human who will then live life; he is a human who is living life. No child will miss the zest and joy of living unless these are denied him by adults who have convinced themselves that childhood is a period of preparation. How much heartache we would save ourselves if we would recognize the child as a partner with adults in the process of living, rather than always viewing him as an apprentice. How much we would teach each other… adults with the experience and children with the freshness. How full both our lives could be. A little child may not lead us, but at least we ought to discuss the trip with him, for after all, life is his and her journey too. – Professor T. Ripaldi, discovered via this blog post.

Equality, Social Justice, Radical Politics.

Charges against G20 activist dropped.

“Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution” -Clay Shirky

"I don’t believe in charity. I believe in solidarity. Charity is so vertical. It goes from the top to the bottom. Solidarity is horizontal. It respects the other person. I have a lot to learn from other people.” – Eduardo Galeano 

Miscellaneous

Unjob Yourself!: A New Paradigm of Work and Life by Wendy Priesnitz is a great article on unjobbing and working for yourself.

Green Anarchy

If I wait until I feel ready to explain green anarchy in my own words, I will never write that post.  So I decided, instead, to give you the link to a great introductory article on the subject, and to comment a bit on specific parts of that article.

Before going into that, I'm going to say this: I'm not looking to start debates, and as I've mentioned previously, I find posting highly politicized posts to be nerve wracking.  I've decided to keep the comments on this post open for now (depending on the nature of the comments, I *may* choose to close commenting at a later date.  I don't think I will, and I don't want to, but I also want to keep that option open in case I find the feedback I'm getting is stressing me too much!  Yeah, I know, I'm overly sensitive.), but I ask that you please refrain from attempting to start any big political debates!  I feel a need to add a bit extra to this anti-debating thing, that I feel in my last couple of posts I didn't address as much as I should have.  I have no problems having my opinions questioned.  I do have a problem with my opinions being questioned in a confrontational, adversarial, disrespectful, way.  I love talking in person about my views with people whom I know to be open-minded and respectful, and the person I spend the most time having in-depth conversations with is my sister.  She's a more analytical thinker than I am, and we complement each other wonderfully in discussions.  She'll often point out things I may not have seen, or tell me when something I say doesn't seem thought through very thoroughly.  I don't, however, like having those conversations online, where it's often hard to tell how the other person feels.  But I seriously digress.

There's a lot of information to be found on green anarchy online, but almost none of it is information for "beginners", just for those who already have a basic understanding of green anarchist philosophies.  So I was very happy to find this article, from Green Anarchy magazine, called An Introduction to Anti-Civilization Anarchist Thought and Practice.  I warn you, it is quite long, but it's also a wonderful introduction to the types of things that most green anarchists question and think about.

This article covers many different things, including the all important thing, when talking about being anti-civilization, of What Is Civilization?:

"Green anarchists tend to view civilization as the logic, institutions, and physical apparatus of domestication, control, and domination. While different individuals and groups prioritize distinct aspects of civilization (i.e. primitivists typically focus on the question of origins, feminists primarily focus on the roots and manifestations of patriarchy, and insurrectionary anarchists mainly focus on the destruction of contemporary institutions of control), most green anarchists agree that it is the underlying problem or root of oppression, and it needs to be dismantled."

And in the section Biocentrism vs. Anthropocentrism, it talks about one of the things I consider to be my core values:

"Biocentrism is a perspective that centers and connects us to the earth and the complex web of life, while anthropocentrism, the dominant world view of western culture, places our primary focus on human society, to the exclusion of the rest of life. A biocentric view does not reject human society, but does move it out of the status of superiority and puts it into balance with all other life forces. It places a priority on a bioregional outlook, one that is deeply connected to the plants, animals, insects, climate, geographic features, and spirit of the place we inhabit. There is no split between ourselves and our environment, so there can be no objectification or otherness to life. Where separation and objectification are at the base of our ability to dominate and control, interconnectedness is a prerequisite for deep nurturing, care, and understanding. Green anarchy strives to move beyond human-centered ideas and decisions into a humble respect for all life and the dynamics of the ecosystems that sustain us."

In Division of Labour and Specialization, another important point is brought up, that of how disconnected we are from the mechanics of our own well-being:

"The disconnecting of the ability to care for ourselves and provide for our own needs is a technique of separation and disempowerment perpetuated by civilization. We are more useful to the system, and less useful to ourselves, if we are alienated from our own desires and each other through division of labor and specialization. We are no longer able to go out into the world and provide for ourselves and our loved ones the necessary nourishment and provisions for survival. Instead, we are forced into the production/consumption commodity system to which we are always indebted."

It also talks about decentralization, something I think is incredibly important. From Against Mass Society:

"We reject mass society for practical and philosophical reasons. First, we reject the inherent representation necessary for the functioning of situations outside of the realm of direct experience (completely decentralized modes of existence). We do not wish to run society, or organize a different society, we want a completely different frame of reference. We want a world where each group is autonomous and decides on its own terms how to live, with all interactions based on affinity, free and open, and non-coercive. We want a life which we live, not one which is run."

Of course, as the author even says in Influences and Solidarity, many green anarchists come to different conclusions on various points from those of the author:

"It is also important to remember that, while many green anarchists draw influence from similar sources, green anarchy is something very personal to each who identify or connect with these ideas and actions."

However, I definitely think that this is a very good introduction!

I hope that if you're interested in truly learning about green anarchy, you choose to read the entire article, not just the bits I've included in this post, because those bits really only give you a part of the whole story (hell, they just give you part of the whole story, taken from an article that is itself just a small part of the whole story!).  And I hope that it gives you a better understanding of where I'm coming from, as well!

How I ended up considering myself a green anarchist was actually by process of elimination: anything that didn't jive with my core values, I just didn't agree with.  I had no faith in politicians or governments, and had been interested in anarchy, in a very vague sense, for years.  However, I just always believed everyone around me when they said that it was a load of crap, and so I didn't look into it myself for a while...  But when I did, I sure liked it!!  However, with most anarchist philosophies, I saw a major flaw: they were concerned entirely with humans and with human society, and didn't really seem to consider the environment or the greater web of life.  So when I found green anarchy, it just felt right.  Here was something that finally made sense to me!

I also hope that by reading that article, it'll cause you to think about and question some things that you may never have thought of before...

For a currently small but ever growing resource list of interesting stuff on green anarchy and post-leftist anarchy, go to the bottom of my Links and Resources page!

Peace,
Idzie

Canadian Olympics 2010

My grandmother, a lovable but frustratingly conformist person, says I'm against everything.  What she doesn't realize is that every single thing I'm *against* can be flipped around to be something I'm for!  I'm anti-sexism, which means I'm pro woman's rights.  I'm anti-colonialist, which means I'm for Indigenous rights.  I'm against governments, but for decentralization, and community organization.

It's all in the way you look at it (by the way, I've used the positive ways of saying these things when speaking to my grandmother as well, but she seems to only remember the "negative" ones.  I think I need to remember to ONLY say "I'm for..." when talking to her, thus making it much harder for her to accuse me of being negative. ;-)).

 (By Zig Zag, via the site No 2010 Olympics on Stolen Native Land)

What's making her say I'm "against everything" at the moment is the fact that I'm anti-Olympics (also known as FOR the abolition of poverty and homelessness, for the rights of Indigenous peoples, for an end to environmental destruction, for small businesses instead of huge corporations, and for the right for people to live, love, and protest without the fear of police surveillance, oppression, and violence).  Yes, I feel for the athletes who dream of this day and all that.  But I'm afraid I feel a lot more for the people who have lost their homes due to the games (homelessness has more than doubled in Vancouver since they won the bid to hold the games), and feel more for all the other countless people who are being harmed by these games, than the few thousand athletes who want to play sports.  Hell, there's even the issue of elitism: no one I know can afford to spend thousands of dollars on tickets to any of the Olympic events!  This is a spectacle by and for the wealthy only: the rest of us just get to watch it on TV, live it vicariously (which is never the best way to live), and apparently feel some swelling of pride when people we've never met win a race. And, if you're lucky to live in the right area, you also get to pay off a huge debt that the Olympics has created...  Fun!

Or, of course, you could just protest.  Which many people out in BC have decided to do!  Here are just a few interesting links and videos on that subject:

Though most of the protesting has already gone down, you can still find lots of interesting info at the Olympic Resistance Network.

Also check out this video: Weekend Roundup of Olympic Resistance (it won't embed or I'd just put it here), to see what went down in terms of anti-Olympic protesting in Vancouver this past weekend.

...And this interesting video on the BC Civil Liberties associations decision to demonize certain protesters (I liked this video because I felt the guy they talked to has some very important things to say!).



...And this video as well, the latest episode of It's The End Of The World As We Know It, And I Feel Fine, which, though it's not entirely about the Olympics, includes some stuff on it.



For months I've been finding interesting links about the Olympics, but of course I wasn't smart enough to bookmark them, so I can't find them now when I want to...  I guess this will have to do.

So for the first time ever, this year, I am not watching, and not supporting, the Olympic games. I'd much rather support those resisting the games, fighting for causes that are genuinely worthwhile, than support the corporate circus that is the Olympics!

Peace,
Idzie

Political dump (aka interesting stuff to my green anarchist self)

Attractive title, right?

Anyway, I realized that I've only really talked about unschooling for a while now, and been really quiet (for me, anyway) about my political (or lack thereof) views. However, that doesn't mean that I haven't been watching, reading, talking, and thinking about said lack of politics views. So, I decided to share a bunch of stuff that's been interesting to me lately. I hope this is of interest to at least a few of my readers!

Firstly, I absolutely LOVE Submedia.tv. They have a show called It's The End of the World As We Know It every week or couple of weeks, usually around 15 minutes, that just does a wonderful job of putting current events, news, and information on green anarchist (anarchist in general, but with a very definite green lean) stuff in an amusing, engaging, and informative way. You should definitely check it out: Submedia.tv

The newest episode:


Next, I also enjoy watching videos by these two guys on YouTube, AdamHintz and MeursaultBateman. They both talk about issues of green anarchy, sustainability, and similar things.

Something I'm very against is the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia (if you look at the sidebar of my blog, you may have noticed that I have a badge against the Olympics). Lots of people react with surprise when I say that. "What's wrong with the Olympics?", they ask. Well, here's what's wrong with the Olympics: Why We Resist 2010 (taken from the website no2010.com)

I've also been looking into the G20 summit protests since I got home from camp, and there seems to have been the seemingly fairly normal amount of police brutality. Here are a couple of videos showing what I mean:

Police State Uses Violence Against Protesters - Intro by Howard Zinn



Police Attack Students at University of Pittsburgh



Also, I may have mentioned a while back that I really wanted to go to the Rethinking Education conference, especially so I could hear Daniel Quinn speak. Well, I didn't end up making it, but his speech was posted online! Thanks to both Eli and Josh for sending the link to me! :-) Check out part one here.

Oh, and here's Derrick Jensen's newest article from Orion magazine: Side with the Living

FINALLY, for a long time, I didn't like rap or hip-hop music. However, relatively recently I've discovered that there's some really good stuff out there! The main thing I never liked was the lyrics. The whole gansta hip-hop thing, with ho's and money and guns, never appealed to me. Radical political hip-hop, on the other hand, is totally different! So here are a couple of my favorites...

Light It Up 2.0, produced by Ratatat, and as far as I can tell, lyrics and (obviously) sung by zzz33333



You're a Fucking Terrorist by Resident Anti-Hero (you can listen to, and download, all of their music for free at their site)



Annnd that's all for now! Hope I didn't make this too long!

Peace,
Idzie

Clear Cuts

I found several interesting, moving, and depressing videos today. This was one of them.



Peace,
Idzie

Pride

For a long time, I was a really insecure person. I mean, I still am insecure about some things, but I used to be much more sensitive, and to constantly doubt myself. If my family didn't like a movie I liked, I felt slightly embarrassed for liking it. I worried constantly of what other people thought of me, thought of my ideas. I worried constantly that "they", that great, all knowing yet invisible entity, were right about a lot of things. What if "they" were right that unschooling was a "bad thing"? What if "they" were right that I should be more outgoing, or wear make-up, or have tons of friends... I think worrying about what the magical "they" thought about me and my family's life choices took up way too much of my time...

All that type of worrying is getting steadily further into the past now, but I'm just recently starting to notice a new emotion, pride.

I've realized that I'm actually proud of my beliefs, of my opinions, of me. I've realized that I'm not like everyone else. I'm never going to be like everyone else. But far more importantly, I've realized I have absolutely no desire to "be like everyone else". As if there's somehow a standard of normality, with rules that no one has ever read, yet so many people believe and follow.

I'm proud to be me. I'm far from perfect, and I still go through periods of self doubt, of disliking who I am. But those are becoming less frequent, and being overrun by new feelings. I'm proud that I believe what I do. I believe in anarchy, in true freedom, in radical unschooling and attachment parenting and breastfeeding, in human and non-human rights, in mutual respect, respect for humans, non-humans, and the world we're so incredibly blessed to call home. I'm proud that I talk about all of these things, debate them passionately, and try to show other people my views, let them understand why I believe all of the above are so important. I'm proud that I've gotten over my fear of ridicule to do so, and saddened that so many people either have no causes they believe in, or have yet to muster the courage to speak out about them. Because it can truly be a very hard thing to do. Society often reacts badly to those who don't conform, so by speaking out, it sometimes feels like you're opening yourself up for rejection from society itself, as if it's a single entity, the cool person whom you secretly, or not so secretly, crave acceptance and approval from.

I kind of realized just a few days ago that I'm pretty much an unschooling advocate. That word sounds big, impressive, professional, and incredibly intimidating. "One who defends, vindicates, or espouses a cause by argument; upholder; defender" states my ancient Random House dictionary that weighs over ten pounds. "A person who speaks or writes in support or defense of a person, cause, etc." says Dictionary.com. Wow. It seems hard to believe, but that sounds like what I've been doing very actively for the past six months or so. It feels strange... I've been thinking constantly that I should become an "activist", get involved with some local environmental groups. Find a cause. And I still want to get more actively involved in environmentalism. But I've realized that I already have a cause, and one that I'm truly, wholeheartedly, passionate about. A cause that I'm knowledgeable about, and one that many people have never even heard of. I've never kept a tally, that would be silly, but I think of how many people whom I've introduced to the concepts of unschooling, of how many people were first exposed to the idea by me. And I'm proud. I've realized that I have been doing something to forward a cause that I believe in, to make the world a better place, a more open minded place, in whatever small way I can. And I'm proud.

I've now been offered the amazing, if incredibly intimidating, position of unschooling editor at a homeschooling magazine where I've had a book review column for the past two years. The idea was suggested by my mother, and enthusiastically accepted by the editor, to run an unschooling article each issue. And since I'm deemed to have the most unschooling contacts, I've been asked to collect the articles. Now this is all in it's first stages... We don't know if I can get enough articles, if there will be enough interest in writing them from the unschooling community. But I keep thinking about how many young parents, parents just exploring the alternative educational paths, pick up that homeschooling magazine, and what a difference it could, just possibly, make for those parents to see these beautiful, shining, unschooling articles. Articles showing how people can live such free, non-coercive lives. It could make no difference at all. But as long as there's a chance that even a few more people could come to unschooling because of what they read, I have to try and make this work. And I'm proud that I'm getting the opportunity to share something I love and believe in with all of my heart.

I'm proud. And I'm slightly amazed that I'm proud. Such a novel emotion... But I'm proud of myself for overcoming the emotional blocks I have, for learning not to listen to those little voices in my head that say I'm worthless. So there little voices. I'm proud of myself. Ha.

Peace,
Idzie