First - a quick note on diction, and inspiration.
I believe that good and bad exists in the world. But one of the most blursed aspects of the English language, is the blurriness of the semantics, from the inscrutable-but-correct “Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo” to the seldom-accurate but ever familiar “laughing out loud” - we’re blessed with both edge cases and exotic constraints aplenty. These are the constraints that liberate, and for the purposes of this exercise - comfort with the edge cases of the English language are perhaps the only ties that bind my readers and collaborators.
I have fun with the best of them, sometimes literally - but this time discussing villainy is invested with purpose. It’s true, I have ulterior motives. Lots of them. And to make it worse - I’m not going to talk about them in this essay.
But an amount of clarity of purpose - and trust, both transitive and mutual - are a prerequisite for any sufficiently complicated collaboration.
In an attempt to further your trust in me, allow me to state something for your consideration. My long-term goals are unambiguously:
to reduce the amount of bad things - unconsensual death, hunger, homelessness, helplessness, desperation - in this world, and -
to increase the amount of good things in this world - not just “peace, love, unity, respect” - but - sustainable relationships, personal autonomy, energy-efficient wastewater management, non-chemical powerplants, sleepovers, and sing-alongs.
But -
The way forward isn’t always clear.
The difference between good things and bad things is sometimes murky.
“Sometimes there’s lead in the topsoil.”
Enter - the village. “It takes a village to do anything cool.” And it takes stories, laughter, connections, art, shared joys, and occasionally, distributed semi-hierarchical networks of “Strangers” - to maintain a village, in today’s world.
Enter - interactive (psychedelic) theater, aka - what is *supposed* to happen, at Burning Man. Did you know “Burns” started from the Cacophony Society, which started from Suicide Club? Wild, right? Palahniuk isn’t exactly where one mind goes when the words “Burning Man” are said, but he was on to something.
And here I am, on some Palahniukian bullshit.
CO2 levels are up, so are food prices.
We’re on year one-and-change of my first apocalypse with a first-world death toll.
Our planet, our society, our communities - we’re all hurting a little bit.
At least a little bit.
It seems clear that the status - is not quo.
Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone with a freeze ray, or fusion powered fortress of badassitude, or a compelling political platform for the Democratic or Republican parties. And while I know a few millionaires, a few felons, a few saints, and Anon’s secret identity - I don’t know any practicing supervillains.
Enter…. “Air Quotes”
“Evil” is an affectation. “Supervillain” a meme.
Heroes aren’t born, they’re made. The difference between “Villains” and “Heroes”? Who writes the history books. The difference between a super and a human? There isn’t one - not anymore. If you’re reading this, you have superpowers. I can’t tell you exactly what they are, but maybe you’ll learn, some day. And when you do, maybe you’ll consider using them to change the world - not save it, but change it.
Because the world doesn’t need saving. Earth’s gonna keep on truckin’ around the sun, regardless of how many nuclear winters the last humans on her surface endure.
The biosphere is ailing, yes - but she doesn’t need to be saved, we just need to stop killing her - and maybe, if we can, undo some of the damage we did by mistake.
This world doesn’t need saving - it needs changing, and that’s why I’m doing this.
So - I’ve been curating, collaborating, cooking, and creating, in the hopes that maybe one of you discovers a superpower, or I discover another of mine - maybe some day, we get a freeze ray, or a robust path towards non-chemical powerplants, or a teleporter. And we can change the world.
Maybe it’s a memetic counterweapon, that lets us heal from the divisiveness tearing our country apart. Maybe it’s a new friend, and a memory that keeps us alive when we’re all in, and holding nothing. Maybe we learn what’s important to us - the things that keep a community, or ourselves healthy. Maybe we get a cool story, and some stickers, and a cool pin.
I don’t know, but I plan on f&cking around, and finding out. And I’m glad that somewhere between 22 and 414 (and counting) of you joining me.
Until next time!
Seriously don’t die!
Infra
The homie approves
bravo!