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Re: [ox-en] Interview with Peter Lamborn Wilson



I find "Hakim Bey"'s Luddite views here to be rather disappointing.

He doesn't seem to see the relevance of technology towards greater
freedom, temporary autonomous zones etc., which is a great shame.

I'd just like to point out one (to me) glaring contradiction, 
which is not about technology (at least not obviously so - although
it could be argued that the internet and cellphones etc. have greatly
facilitated the mass protest movements).

Compare these three answers, and see if you can see something that
Hakim Bey is not seeing:

(Also, note how he thinks that the movement of movements [as if they
were all of one mind!] think that "getting rid of Bush will save the world"
- this is grossly inaccurate - and maybe it's easy to see why
he has this impression... given that he has no computer and no Internet,
it may be that HE is more deluded, about the protests, than he realises.)

Bleyer: But what about the growing protest movement of the past five 
years, which really does seem significant?

Wilson: You mean people who are building puppets and going around the 
world being radical tourists?

Bleyer: The perhaps one million people coming to the streets of New 
York to protest the RNC in August, for example.

Wilson: Well, make it two million. It can be like the biggest anti-
war marches ever held, they were forgotten five minutes later. All 
they?re doing is assuaging their conscience a little. At best, it?s 
symbolic discourse and it never goes beyond that. Especially in North 
America. It?s not going to save the world to dump Bush and these 
people are deluded.

Bleyer: What do you think about Burning Man and other events that are 
in essence Temporary Autonomous Zones (TAZ) but don?t necessarily 
dismantle the power structures of global capital?

Wilson: I?ve never been to Burning Man, but that?s just accidental, 
because I?ve given up travel. As far as I can tell it?s a lovely 
thing. I call those things "periodic autonomous zones." The thing 
about the TAZ is I didn?t invent it, I just gave it a name. I think 
it?s a sociological reality that groups of people will come together 
to maximize some concept of freedom that they share as naturally as 
breathing.

<snip>

Do you think there is some connection between free events like Burning
Man, and mass protests like those against the G8 / IMF / World Bank etc.?

-- 
Robin

"I strongly recommend simply buying a Linux tshirt, telling everyone
how good Linux is and continuing to use Windows. All of the effect
without the danger." -- Daniel Davies


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