BUBBLES & ANARCHY
The sort of bubbles we live in. Geographic, spiritual, cultural, racial, political.. it’s inevitable that we encase ourselves or at least, become encased by this stuff. It takes foresight, time and effort to push yourself out of them, particularly if you’re skint or isolated.. or both. I’ve been thinking on this a lot recently with the state of the world as it is. It’s easy to pass wankers full of hate off as; uneducated, uninformed, the result of multigenerational poverty, from families of bully boys and girls, children of the hooligan generation, .. all of that. But, there must be more to it than that. How come there are other humans who grew up under the same structures who go on to open community gardens, set up youth groups, food banks, community groups in libraries, raise money to save libraries, teach english in the community run coffee shop/culture hub, run music nights, fundraising activities, set up shelters for homeless people.. how come they didn’t get consumed by hatred.. how come they’ve managed to do something!.
Then I started thinking about anarchy. Not the version that has been packaged for the masses to be terrorised by the idea of, but the ancient history of it as another way to be a society… a species! Bearing in mind humans have spent the majority of our time on the planet living and organising under anarchism. Each individual taking responsibility for themselves and others around them. Scratch the surface and anarchy is alive and well and functioning very well under the veneer of “well governed society”. It’s the mums picking up their neighbour’s kids, it’s the lad down the road mowing his old neighbour’s lawn, it is the people setting up community hubs clubs and gardens, sharing food, clothes, sugar, milk and water. It’s the charity shops, jumble sales, dance classes, school discos, social barbeque’s, food banks solidarity marches, flotillas.. the list is endless and it’s where all the good stuff is! The good news stories that people leave comments on like; “Faith in humanity restored”.. so.. WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!?
I’ve had two occasions recently where I’ve been exposed to the world “outside my bubble”. One was when I took my mum for coffee at a garden centre (for that is what they are for). Four or five people, as far as I know unknown by each other got into a conversation at the counter, things got political and one lady pronounced loudly how brilliant she thought Trump was. ALL of the others agreed.. ALL. OF. THEM. They then went on to have a self-congratulatory converstaion about how he’s the ONLY leader saying it how it is, he’s brilliant, he’s doing a great job… I was rendered paralysed and pretended to consider the force-fed Tradescantia. Is this what people out there are thinking!? Holy shit! Just moments ago she’d been talking about how she picks up litter in her village!
The second was a meeting with a fella around my own age. If anyone knows Ireland you’ll be familiar with the life-long bachelor farmer. They’re a dying breed to be honest, but around county Waterford and probably in the properly rural counties around Ireland there’s still a final generational throw. He was in conversation of a friend of mine, who is his neighbour and is about to move away. His entire world has revolved within twenty miles of his farm, which he lives on with his parents. He knows cows, the mass service and what all the neighbours are up to. He probably watches the few channels on the tv, it’s doubtful he has a smartphone. This isn’t being judgmental, in a way he probably has a beautiful life! One of simplicity, comforting routines and a warm home. Anyway, the conversation moved on to the recent Asian hornet discovery in Cork.
“Ah jayz, shure you woul’t know what was commin back on the trrucks dey keep sendin to Gaaazah!”.. he said..
We all looked at each other a bit confused as to how to break it to him he was talking shite and where the fuck had he got his information and what the actual fuck.. “Bring people in” is the mantra to use when having “difficult conversations”. We gently suggested that, that, probably wasn’t a thing and that climate change was probably more to do with it.
“ I s’pose so” he says
“I’ve seen tings in de feelds I never seen in me liife beforrr.. “
Then he produced a box of sweets that had been wrapped in a centra bag and tucked under his arm;
“I brouggt some sweets round as a little ting to say tank-you forr being nice neeighbourz, ye’ll be missed” He said.
My friends are the most overtly and obviously left lefties on the planet!
And here is the thing… I don’t have answers. I don’t even know what this post is about, or even what I’m trying to say! I guess, if we could all be a bit more anarchic, we might actually be able to learn to accept each other again?.. Because, individually, there is the potential of humanity… ? *shrug
