tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5813525365834911757.post5255991029250712981..comments2023-11-05T01:53:40.235-06:00Comments on the Hipcrime Vocab: The Gift of PovertyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5813525365834911757.post-44787052712943582192013-05-07T23:02:01.335-05:002013-05-07T23:02:01.335-05:00thanks for the feedback, publius. i know of the f...thanks for the feedback, publius. i know of the farm... there was a good documentary about it i saw sometime back, the gist being that the 'anarchist' model is very prone to invasion by the power seekers for the same reason: people who believe there will be no central power are very prone to takeover by an authoritarian. quite a conundrum. <br /><br />i 'wwoofed' for a while, which enlightened me quite a bit to the reality of the modern hippie / boomer who's been conditioned by decades of propaganda. same shite, different scene... every man for himself... less for you = more for me. neo-feudalism, is what i observed. <br /><br />i now reside in the heart of collapse... detroit. moved here about a year ago from chicago to see what's up. i'm capable in civil engineering, architecture, various trades, and not bad with growing food. the obvious problem in collapse is no capital to make these things happen, unless of course it's a rising dictatorship funded by industrialists, which detroit, now, ain't. <br /><br />but i agree with you, and the taoists, etc... make your peace where you are, there's no place like home. small acts of kindess go a long way, even more so in rough times. <br /><br />rock on, g<br /><br />Gregghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15760459113377124889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5813525365834911757.post-45960942377360163652013-05-07T08:35:43.502-05:002013-05-07T08:35:43.502-05:00This post got a lot of attention in /r/simpliving
...This post got a lot of attention in /r/simpliving<br /><br />http://www.reddit.com/r/simpleliving/comments/1dslhm/the_gift_of_poverty/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5813525365834911757.post-71378909413386342362013-05-07T07:34:58.233-05:002013-05-07T07:34:58.233-05:00I wanted to comment a bit more, as I thought of so...I wanted to comment a bit more, as I thought of something. I pretty much agree with you ideas, and have implemented many of them. <br /><br />It's funny - you see and hear about lots of suburban "survivalists" who stock up on supplies and weapons, but if they lose their jobs, they'd lose their houses, where those supplies are stored. <br /><br />So it sounds like you aren't the "survivalist" type. I understand the stoic mindset combined with not getting too paranoid or anxious, and thus missing out on the joys of living. That said... couldn't one also use that philosophy, and say "so what" to the system itself? Here's an extreme example, but because it's extreme, illustrates my point well.<br /><br />Someone like us who is worried by the idea of collapse, named Bob, sells his house. He buys a little plot of land way out in the boonies. He makes his own yurt, sewing the canvas and building the frame. He installs a small solar system and wind generator, to charge a deep cycle battery. He builds a small greenhouse, so he can start gardening early in the spring. He even grows some grains: corn, millet, some oats. He becomes a handyman and light carpenter in the area, getting there in his old Volvo, which he drives only to get to jobs or the occasional trip to the local store. He's considered a harmless eccentric, but trustworthy and useful. He lives on about two thousand dollars a year. He heats the yurt from his woodlot, of course.<br /><br />You get the idea. He takes the idea of "so what" further, becoming more resilient than a survivalist or prepper, by needing very little from the grid. He enjoys this life, though it is hard.<br /><br />Extreme example. But really, what ties any of us to the "system"? Your story was very poignant. Might I ask a question? Why do you struggle so hard, to be part of it? Why do I? Why do you tolerate those annoying corporate types, instead of telling them to screw it, and doing your own thing?Jacob Gitteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10559764359800682222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5813525365834911757.post-15019461614297251902013-05-07T07:20:48.968-05:002013-05-07T07:20:48.968-05:00Gregg: the "hippie" or commune model was...Gregg: the "hippie" or commune model wasn't really the bust that its detractors like to claim. There is one such commune still up and running, over forty years later. Check out "the farm" on the web. They still have programs and workshops. You can visit them. <br /><br />Regarding a viable online network: they exist, but I, like you, have as a main goal finding people in the "real" world to connect with. It's hard, unless you expand the idea to just connecting to everyone in your neighborhood and community you really like or connect with. That may be the way to go. In a bad situation, the next door neighbors are you most useful, important connections, whether or not they believe in peak oil, climate change, etc.<br />Where are you located, at least vaguely? I (like the author of this blog) am in the midwest.Jacob Gitteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10559764359800682222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5813525365834911757.post-53823144275742157472013-05-06T20:16:34.299-05:002013-05-06T20:16:34.299-05:00excellent post. i think "self-reliance"...excellent post. i think "self-reliance" by emerson is also worthy of mention here. <br /><br />now, has anyone found a viable online network or real world community where peakers will congregate and cooperate? i know full well that the idealist model (commune/hippie haven) is a bust, but it certainly seems that the more like-mindded people who come togther to co-operate, the higher the odds of success for all... strengthe in numbers. any leads, anyone? Gregghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15760459113377124889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5813525365834911757.post-84953644785201797602013-05-06T14:39:38.172-05:002013-05-06T14:39:38.172-05:00Thanks for the essay answer to my query.
Very good...Thanks for the essay answer to my query.<br />Very good.<br />I may respond with a longer comment later.<br />My own path has been somewhat different, both in terms of how I grew up (better off in terms of money, but pretty bad in terms of home psychological environment and family dynamics), and that might be interesting. Or not.<br /><br />I have also become something of a stoic. That can get me in trouble at times, especially with the spouse. They often don't appreciate stoicism when they are expressing their frustrations with the lack of money or luxuries that they see their friends enjoying: vacation houses in Mexico, etc. <br /><br />Being married with child has been a real challenge, because my family is not into frugality, hardcore gardening, and homestead-type life that I would embrace, even in the city. So compromise.<br />We also got a house for the first time. Good thing: we aren't in debt to a big bank, or even a bank. Bad: we are in debt, student loans, etc. We live in a city, so the property taxes are high. <br /><br />My biggest fear is that my spouse is not able to imagine how difficult things could get. Maybe I shouldn't even try to educate her, but let her educate herself. That would be the stoic way. Let people make their own mistakes, learn for themselves. <br /><br />I still dream of moving up north, to a village where people know each other, and where traditional skills are practiced and learned. I intend to do that, if I can. I want my child to experience the freedom of living near the wilderness, as I did. The city is too controlled, too dense with rules, to constricted. <br /><br />The biggest obstacle will be giving up, and convincing the family I am responsible for and live with to give up, the supposed benefits of the system we are overly enmeshed in. <br /><br />My spouse continues to dream of things like "endless pools" in the backyard, and vacations to remote Mexican resorts, while I deal with barely being able to pay the bills and try to pay down debt. <br />So it goes... hey, didn't Vonnegut say that? More later. Great post.Jacob Gitteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10559764359800682222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5813525365834911757.post-53303134457431248442013-05-06T13:39:23.946-05:002013-05-06T13:39:23.946-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5813525365834911757.post-29120438730838189712013-05-05T18:58:46.813-05:002013-05-05T18:58:46.813-05:00Ah.... Thank you for this post.Ah.... Thank you for this post.Nadinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08286997625173411499noreply@blogger.com