Forum Post: There is ANOTHER way

The way forward seems so full of complexity. The systems we must overturn are huge and complex. OR, ARE THEY? We think it's complicated because there are so many KINDS of exploitation and so many TYPES of stuff to buy with the money that comes from the exploitation. So it all seems mystifying and we're all in a fog of exploitation and stuff.

But it boils down to this: There's just:

1. exploitation and

2. stuff that comes as reward for being an exploiter

The exploitation has terrible affect on environment and our lives.

The stuff we buy as exploiters gives us small fleeting dopamine rush but the buzz wears off even before the stuff wears out.

But there is another way. We can follow James Baldwin's advice and "step out of the lie and the trap of our history and be, just be."

It was Baldwin who said "They see the light in the eyes. It is the only light there is in this world and it is always there, waiting to be found."

I'm all about forceful non-violent direct action and resistance. And I've been struggling to try to undermine the power of the 1% for many years. I want the 99% to win and I am just as inclined as the next person to say "Let's take down the 1%!" Here's the weird part though. When you get right down to it, the 1% aren't really happy as a result of all this plundering. I know many of them. Some of the biggies. And any happiness they have doesn't come from the wealth that came from all the destructions of lives and the environment. That's really the saddest part of all. All his human, animal and environmental misery is done in the name of hoarding wealth that mostly isn't used. It's just stored and passed on to heirs who mostly do the same. It's all for nothing. Momentously tragic.

And when it is used, it's used for junk. Granted, their junk is bigger, fancier and more long lasting than ours but the key point I'm trying to make is that the buzz they get from it quickly fades. So it becomes an addiction just like any other addiction. They're going after the dopamine buzz and it gets harder and harder to get it.

If they're lucky, they come to their wits end and discover family, art, life, whatever. But most don't, the poor saps. Their extravagant resources enslave them as much as our lack of resources enslaves us. Maybe moreso.

It seems strange to say but we need compassion for them too. We really do. For our own good and theirs too. The reason they're plundering the world is that they're lost.

There's a move in Aikido where, when your opponent aggresses towards you, you take a slight step to the side. Then, instead of aggressing towards him, you move with him and "help him to the ground where he'll be safer." It's remarkable because you use his energy. You harness it. And you do it with the true motivation of helping him. I agree with others who say that all power flows from that mindset and approach.