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If an old punk ethic was 'Do It Yourself' (DIY), maybe the modern punk equivalent would be 'Do It Offline' (DIO.)
by pjmorris 3y ago
If an old punk ethic was 'Do It Yourself' (DIY), maybe the modern punk equivalent would be 'Do It Offline' (DIO.)
- wizerdrobe 3y agoI don’t know to what degree it’s “a thing” but I know a lot of 30-something punks from my old scene that are now into a kind of homesteading vibe. Moved out to the surrounding countryside as much for economic as ideological reasons. Some are all the way into off-the-grid, home schooling, etc. Nothing says “Fuck the System!” like solar panels and a wood burning stove I guess?
- silverquiet 3y agoWell, as long as they don't move onto mailing letter bombs a la the Unabomber, it actually sounds pretty appealing to me too. Edit: I see I'm getting a couple downvotes which is fine; I get that the joke isn't in such good taste. The thing is that Kaczynski had a lot of the same critiques of modernity. Perhaps if he had not been a murderer/terrorist, his writing would be a bit more respected, but of course it is more likely he would just be an unknown weirdo living in the woods.
- BlueTemplar 3y agoNot sure how much that was specifically about attracting enough attention to get published, but it's possible that a few decades later he wouldn't have blown up anyone/anything, but instead started a blog ??
- Pet_Ant 3y ago> Nothing says “Fuck the System!” like solar panels and a wood burning stove I guess? Pithily put. I can definitely attest that this is my plan and the plans of a few others I know. Home baked bread and sour dough starter feel pretty anti-corporate to me. That said, I do recognise that going off grid requires heavy machinery and tools that are produced by the biggest of corporations... but somehow Milwaukee tools seems less evil than Nike, because Milwaukee is selling you just tools, versus an identity, a brand, a value system etc.
- robcohen 3y agoI’m doing this, and yes you are still dependent on corps, but the dependency is different. There’s something very different about buying a skid loader at auction and repairing it yourself than there is with living in an apartment complex where maintenance feels it’s ok to come into your apartment whenever they please (after “trying” to call). Merely owning things that corps make isn’t bad. It’s bad when it becomes feudalism and you lose all control over the things you “own”.
- ethbr1 3y agoBe a machine tool in human form -- a tool that helps make other tools. To me, true punking is equally material and social/emotional. No one can be an island, especially without being reliant on corporate largess, but you can do your part... and form bonds with those of similar mind and help them. And honestly, I get a perverse sense of satisfaction in being friends and nice to people with whom I may have many disagreements. To me, punk strong feels like (a) giving people shit whenever you feel they deserve it, (b) being introspective enough to take shit when it's directed at you, & (c) helping the oddballs, weirdos, enemies-of-the-system when you can, even if you disagree with part of their beliefs. When you unplug from mass culture, you lose the central touchstone that person-to-person relationships normally have, so have to be okay with an expanded definition of what "friend" looks like. Or be a hermit, but that feels like passive punking.
- mantas 3y agoBattery-powered power tools ecosystem is pretty close to religion though :| MAKITA!!1!
- pjmorris 3y agoI am picturing a Braveheart-style battlefield with warriors face-painted in the brand colors of choice, roaring and brandishing various battery-powered implements of destruction. I am a member of House Ryobi, but only out of accidental convenience not generational loyalty or studied disdain.
- dfxm12 3y agoMilwaukee tools seems less evil than Nike, because Milwaukee is selling you just tools, versus an identity, a brand, a value system etc. It's funny you bring this up, considering Milwaukee's multi-national parent company got questioned by the same congressional committee over the summer as Nike for using forced labor in their products. You're also lucky to not have to hear people argue about DeWalt vs Milwaukee (vs Makita, vs Ryobi, it goes on and on)...
- sfmz 3y agoThe dominant behavior will always be buying instead of making, so (DIY) will always be counter-culture (and sometimes create interesting little communities).
- dfxm12 3y agoOnline or offline has nothing to with doing it yourself or not. Social media, websites, etc. makes organizing events, people, projects incredibly easier and more inclusive. Punk isn't sitting over a xerox machine for a few hours printing flyers. It is actually putting a (music, performance art, benefit, whatever) event together at an all ages venue in a town where live nation owns all the venues and keeps shows 21+ so they can make money on booze. Doing stuff yourself is easier with the Internet.
- ethbr1 3y agoIt's a slippery slope though, because the corrosive effect of the attention economy trying to skew social platform interactions to their benefit. Some platforms are less aggressive about it, some more, but they all control their own levers of power and to some degree abuse them. E.g. Facebook Marketplace being locked into an identity in the rest of their ecosystem So absolutely, use efficient tools to do more, but also be aware of the opinions and intent of those tools, and what they're trying to do to you.
- cykros 3y agoFacebook is the modern day equivalent of AOL. It's where people are kept corralled to keep the rest of the Internet fun. The problem is, there's a lot more AOL-like platforms these days, to some degree or other. IRC has turned mostly vacant. Perhaps there's greener pastures in the Matrix space, because Discord is pretty hit or miss, always with the understanding that the great eye in the sky might smite the server at any moment.
- pjmorris 3y agoFair. I'm a big fan of 'Our Band Could Be Your Life', Azerrad, but I've only read it. It sounds like you, or people you know well, are living it out.