<nettime> Fwd: weapons for the oppressed

[ben moretti <bmoretti@chariot.net.au>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: karen eliot <kareneliot@yahoo.com>
> Date: Sat May 17, 2003  02:32:00 Australia/South
> To: earlobee@hotmail.com
> Subject: weapons for the oppressed
>
> Six machine guns and six hand guns cast in handmade
> paper  will be sent around the world to countries
> including Chile, Ireland, Argentina, Italy, Indonesia,
> USA, Brazil, Norway, Re=92union Island  Germany, England
> and Holland. Each package will contain a with
> compliments slip with the quote =91a facsimile weapon
> without a firing-pin=92 referring to a statement by
> Debord which refers to the appearance of radical
> thought which perhaps inadvertently only supports the
> dominant organisation of power.
>
> We live in a world deeply divided by a minority whose
> lives are drowning in a monsoon of material goods,
> living off the backs of the majority whose lives are
> impoverished by a total lack of basic everyday needs
> such as nutritious food and clean water. The dream
> world of the land of excess is populated by people who
> remain blissfully oblivious to the true state of world
> affairs. Terrorism is now the dominant chatter of
> corporate media who maintain a blanket of silence over
> the bigger terrorism stories where peoples lives are
> being fucked over on a daily basis, just so that the
> global minority can keep chasing the disillusionment
> from the last item of mass consumption. The corporate
> definition of terror is necessarily racist as the
> lives of non-anglo saxon descent are played down,
> Indonesian lives are worth less than Australians in
> the Bali bombing and refugees drowning on sabotaged
> boats are worth next to nothing.  Civilians burnt in
> the twin towers are considered supreme compared to the
> generations of civilians in Iraq poisoned by
> =91depleted=92 uranium or those shattered by the exploding
> shrapnel of a cluster bomb.  According to corporate
> media, terrorism around the world in countries like
> Nigeria, Sarawak, West Paupa, Aceh, Burma,  etc, does
> not exist. Citizens must be fearful of terrorism
> without ever being told what it is.
>
> Corporate media is also racist when it comes to
> reporting dissent against the global institutions of
> power. It reports the first big protest against
> =91globalisation=92 as being in Seattle and neglects to
> mention the reality of this movement beginning in
> Mexico and India. Still it fails to report such events
> as  20,000 Zapatistas descending on the city of San
> Christobel on new years eve of 2003 or the recent
> organisation of the people of Argentina, free of
> Government.
>
> This project was done as an attempt to wake its
> inventor out of a bad dream. It was produced with the
> full knowledge that it=92s existence is unlikely to
> effect any change in the existing order of power.
> Simultaneously it was not instigated to help build the
> career of the perpetrator. =91Weapons for the oppressed=92
> should not be considered a serious piece of =91art=92 as
> it is a practical joke, merely a piece of Tom Foolery.
> Bill Posters does not want to associate with what
> calls itself =91art=92 and all that it entails in the
> dominating cultural system of power relations. He is
> just checking and testing certain ideas  and letting
> his sloppy thoughts escape into the public arena. It
> should also be noted that nothing that has been spoken
> of within is new. It has all been said before.
>
> =91Art=92 in the contemporary world is only concerned with
> the exterior level of life, with aesthetics.
> Ultimately it is only a surface for an individual to
> build a superficial identity on in contrast to the
> identities of others. To create social distinctions
> according to systems of taste. This should not  be
> surprising as in our time all professions are subject
> to rigid censorship and the economic rule of the
> imperative of the dollar.
>
> In the world of the symbolic almost everything can be
> permissible as long as it does not effectively change
> anything and does not represent the true state of
> world affairs. Everyday our headspaces are
> increasingly bombarded with a stream of fallacies. It
> is increasingly harder to maintain a critical
> consciousness and concept of what is =91real=92. Corporate
> media is dense with blatant lies and an absence of
> history. As with every other profession it=92s name is
> the same but it=92s practice has  completely changed. In
> today=92s order it is possible to execute the most
> extraordinary conspiracies. The continuing lies of
> powerful institutions such as the world bank, the
> international monetary fund, the world trade
> organisation, food and  agriculture organisation
> ensure the current world order is maintained.
>
> What is of even more concern is the void of
> environmental issues reported. Everywhere the basis of
> our existence is being destroyed. Very few are aware
> of the extent of the destruction to maintain our
> materially excessive lifestyles. The economy is the
> enemy of our humanity.
>
> By going through the postage system =91Weapons for the
> oppressed=92 attempts cross borders that most people
> cannot cross with ease if at all. It is an attempt to
> make a mockery of the dominant definition of
> =91terrorism=92.
>
> The real question is what weapons are left for the
> oppressed against the all crushing power of the
> corporate economic systems. For me it seems important
> to attempt to test ideas and theories in practice no
> matter how obscure they may be. Ideas and theories not
> put into practice tend to be those used by people to
> build their careers and as such only act as defence
> systems for the maintenance of the dominant
> structures.
>
> The box with gun is intended for exhibition once it
> has reached its postal destination. It does not matter
> where it is exhibited, but preferably at least in a
> semi-public space. This text should be displayed with
> the piece. Other than this it is up to the receiver
> how the piece is to be displayed. Once exhibited the
> box should be ceremonially burnt or posted on to
> another destination for further exhibition.
> Documentation of the exhibition and ceremonial
> burnings would be greatly appreciated by Bill Posters.
>
> Please send to:
>
> Bill Posters,
> C/- 12 Margaret Ave,
> Somerton Park,
> South Australia, 5044
>
> A yahoo group has also been set up where it is
> possible to discuss/debate this project at:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BAMCorp/
>
>
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