radio free north hollywood

Subject:	Liberalismo part two; A fairly critical response to "How Nonviolence Protects the State."
Time:	6:29 am.

How Nonviolence Protects the State, by Peter Gelderloos.

First, I have to say that this book makes one very good and overwhelming point; we have to do something, and soon. It can't happen soon enough.

But.

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I dunno. I guess he was trying to find a situation where he could be judge, jury, and executioner. Here's another one: "burning down the office of a magazine that consciously markets a beauty standard that leads to anorexia and bulimia."

"You know," Amy said, "when I was pedicabbing I was down on Sixth Street all the time at night, and I would watch these women, you know, normal, healthy women, and they would squeeze their feet into these tiny little shoes and they couldn't walk. The guys would have to get things for them, and hold doors for them, because they couldn't, since there was something wrong with their feet. So they were basically, you know, crippling themselves. So that men would find them attractive. How crazy is that? Why do women hurt themselves so that men can feel strong?"

"Well," I said, "that's a very good question. I'd never thought about it like that. But," I continued, "you know, he's talking about burning down an actual building. With actual people in it."

"Oh," said Amy. She clearly missed that part.

If you know Amy you may find this as shocking as I did. Amy, long story short, is not one to countenance the burning down of buildings, for any reason. Amy is not one to countenance the squishing of spiders. As lovely and peaceful a person as exists on this earth, yeh she was willing to consign the women's fashion industry to hell and she thought there was plenty good reason.

I was fascinated by this reaction and mentioned the situation to several other women. I have not asked one single woman yet who does not want to burn down the offices of Cosmo.

This level of resentment was news to me. Women do not usually want to burn buildings down, in my experience. Amy doesn't, at least. Whatever it is that these women's magazines are doing, it must be pretty bad.

Nevertheless, I still don't think we should burn them down. They'll just build a new one and you'll poison the groundwater. Though apparently you will impress women.

Oh god, please don't burn down a magazine and say that I told you it would impress women. That would be mortifying.

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Reporter: What do you have to say about the windows that were smashed in today's protest?

Goofus: Our organization has a well-publicized nonviolence pledge. We condemn the actions of extremists who are ruining this protest for the well-meanning people who care about saving the forests/stopping the war/halting these evictions.

Oh, no, Goofus! Don't carry their water for them! Stay on point!

Gallant: It pales in comparison to the violence of deforestation/the war/these evictions. [Insert potent facts about the issue].

Yay Gallant!

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I am done with this book, and if you want it you can have it. Send me your address and I will mail it to you. Only one condition; You must sincerely believe that you are going to read this book. It can be false hope or habitual self-delusion, I am not in a position to judge you. All I ask is that you honestly believe, at least for a minute, that you are actually going to read this book if I mail it to you.

If you're going to write in the margins, I didn't leave much space. You'll want a red or blue ink pen, or maybe a pencil.

A much better and more insightful critique of this book is available at http://www.contextflexed.com/revgelderloos.html -- it's plain-old brilliant sometimes, even though it's academic and a little obtuse. It's also incredibly long, as is this post. Say what you will about Gelderloos, he inspired a lot of thought. Every once in a while somebody needs to come along and ask the dumb questions, just so that everyone else can be very precise in the way they say "NO!!!!~!~!!~!~!"

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