In a previous article, I briefly addressed what I call “The Tyranny Of The Mind”, that internal voice filled with doubts and insecurities that constantly threatens to take away one’s true power. My main point is that true power does not rest in the hands of those to whom power is typically attributed. No doubt the wielders of power in the world have the ability to exert a profound impact on the lives of many, to take away freedoms, even to end lives. But the power that I am speaking of is a quality of being that no amount of force or abuse of so-called power, can touch or take away.
Surviving Atrocity
It is an internal source of strength that stands solid, no matter the circumstances. It is the kind of strength exhibited by such individuals as Victor Frankl, a survivor of the Holocaust and the author of /Man’s Search For Meaning./ He tells of his experience of having everything taken away and being imprisoned in the concentration camps, but one thing remained – “the last of the human freedoms – to chose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. And there were always choices to make. Every day, every hour, offered the opportunity to make a decision, a decision which determined whether you would or would not submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of your very self, your inner freedom.” He went on to say, “man’s inner strength may raise him above his outward fate.”
Untapped Power
It is easy, in times like these, to see the threatening external forces of tyranny out there, preparing to come and snatch away our freedoms. What is much more difficult to see are the internal forces of tyranny that are, day in and day out, mounting their assault on our own true inner power. Those forces take on many forms, often times showing up in very subtle ways that fool us into believing the “propaganda” of our own disempowerment, of our victimhood to all manner of circumstances, injustices and unfairness levied upon us by the world, or the perceived limitations of our situation and environment. But, the truth is, there exists within our minds untapped power to achieve far more than what we imagine.
In my mind, I envision a world where individuals, worldwide, engage in the difficult work of building up their inner strength, overthrowing the Tyranny Of The Mind, and seizing their true power, such that the scales of justice, peace, cooperation, and freedom tip in favor of an unparalleled level of human achievement.
Impossible Dreams
In my mind, it is only through individual self empowerment that we will forever throw off the chains of external tyranny and abuse of power, and come together to form a more perfect union – a union of truly empowered individuals working toward a common good and the achievement of a universal harmony of being and doing. Yes I know, many will brush this away as mere fantasy, as utopian wishful thinking. But that is nothing more than the propaganda of those ruled by fear, mistrust, and insecurity. I know it’s possible, because I see evidence all around that whatever we can think of, dream up, or imagine, we can accomplish. The end result may not always look exactly like we expected, but look around you. Our world is filled with things that once were but fantasy and “impossible dreams”.
Get Up! Stand Up!
So, what will it be? Will you ignite the burning fire within yourself to rise up and overthrow the tyrant in your own mind? It will take work. It will require constant daily practice. It will demand of you that you not give way to the soul sucking distractions all around you, but instead that you get up and stand up for your power to be and do what only you can be and do. Only in this way will we achieve the “impossible dream” of a world that benefits all.
Thank you all for the time and attention given to this blog. I value it highly. Keep your eyes open for more of my content coming your way soon. Big love to you all!
If you want to know what’s wrong in the world, all you’ve got to do is wake up in the morning and start engaging with whatever source of information you chose. The news of how F’d up the entire world is inundates our social media feeds. And, the news cycle itself seems to be a non-stop display of one catastrophe, controversy, conspiracy, corruption… after another. In fact, 2020 appears to be the year of catastrophe.
But, in my mind I’m looking at a much larger picture, where chaos and destruction are simply part of a process of renewal, like death clearing out the old to make way for the new.
Attentive Energy
There is a phrase you might have heard before – “Energy flows where attention goes”. It’s in times like these that it is tempting, and easy to put one’s focus and attention on everything that is going wrong, on how F’d up it all is, and to expect, or even hope for the demise of it all. Frustration with the way things are can often lead one to the point of wanting to “burn it all to the ground”, and to feel fully justified in wanting that.
It is not easy, in times like these, to turn one’s focus and attention toward solving problems, finding solutions, stepping up to the challenges before us, and showing up with all we’ve got to fight the biggest battle of all – the Tyranny of The Mind – that part of our minds that is waiting for us each morning ready to drag us into battle, defeat us, and drag us down into the pits of mediocrity and complacency. It is not easy to be determined to be victorious, no matter what. It takes courage, boldness, and determination.
Ingredients to Survive and Thrive
It requires three key ingredients, without which no progress will ever be made: 1. A burning desire to achieve impossible dreams, 2. The unwavering belief that it shall be so, 3. The confident expectation that it will be so. No individual has ever achieved great things without these three things at play in their mind. One must go to sleep with them, wake up with them, and proceed through the day with them, as though they are as essential to life as breathing.
This is what heroes are made of. Heroes are not instantaneously formed in moments of crises, that’s just where you happen to find them exercising their heroism. Heroes are made when individuals take on the difficult task of waking up each morning, and owning the day, by taking on the Tyranny of The Mind and winning, by actively engaging these three elements, and by their unyielding determination to stand up and show up in the world that day and move boldly toward the achievement of something spectacular.
In times like these the world needs Heroes. Now, more than ever, the world needs individuals who are ready to leave mediocrity and complacency behind, and to engage in leveling up their game. This is the moment! If you’re not already engaged in some kind of discipline training (physical, mental, spiritual), now would be a good time to start. And, now is the time to expand your knowledge regarding the ways and means of leveling up, standing up and showing up as a Hero.
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Greg Hernandez‘ music career has taken him all over North America, I know because I have had the pleasure to travel with him, but it’s his work for the screen that most challenges him. Hernandez career in creating music scores began with an independent film, Lola’s Love Shack which is a comedy directed by Patrick Perez of Lux III Pictures. The score for this feature length film was co-written with fellow L.A. music veteran and Audio Engineer, Ibo Rodriguez. Hernandez states, “the project was fun because Ibo and I recruited a bunch of other L.A. musicians and it really had a communitarian feel. After this project, Esteban Zul, contributing writer on Lola’s Love Shack approached Hernandez about scoring MonkeyFunkles, another comedy in which Hernandez acted in as well! “That was a lot of fun, I don’t know if acting is my forte, like music, but I had a really good time!” Hernandez said. Find Greg’s Travel Series – Goyo On The Go here
Veggie Burrito’s to Dance For
For his most recent Score, Hernandez teams up with noted L.A. based Chef David Dickson. In Chipotle Marinated Veggie Burritos, Chef Dixon gives up some of his secrets to his award winning recipe! I haven’t tried to replicate Chef Dickson’s Burrito just yet but if the video is any indication, it’s gonna be a bomb full of taste in your mouth! Hernandez will also be working with Chef Dixon on a Black Eyed Peas Curry video slated for later in 2020.
The Good, the Bad and all That
Expressing the music, interpreting the narrative along with the visual is very appealing according to Hernandez. “Audio and music enhances the visual narrative” Hernandez states, “It is a great challenge writing a parallel piece of music for the listener to enjoy.” He adds, “Growing up as a kid I always had an ear for sound and I would gravitate towards the soundtrack / score which told the story for me. I admire Johnny Greenwood of Radio Head he scored, There will be Blood. Steven Copeland of The Police scored the Equalizer which left a deep impact on me. The legends like Danny Elfman, and of course John Williams who mastered the art of theatrics. The late great Ennio Morricone, whose eccentric style of music fit his movies perfectly!”
I mentioned to Greg that I was also effected by the music in movies like the Good, Bad and the Ugly, it seemed like a ballet of entwined notes and images that danced into our imaginations. Hernandez states, “The key with score music, as it relates to the visual, is to find a common theme, look for a genre of music for the visual. Scores are challenging because you have to keep an open mind. The visual directs where you are going to go. The emotion of the actors is also key. Genre of film consistent with the genre of the movie for the most part.”
In the future Hernandez will be working on The Plume, which is a full-length documentary film which demonstrates how military complex polluting native lands from WWII to the Present Day. The Producer is award winning Journalist Franc Contreras who according to Hernandez, “Does a great job showing how this pollution has been detrimental to the Native population, causing health issues including cancer.” Will we see you on the screen again Greg, I asked, “only if it’s another comedy because the set is full of laughs and I get to laugh at myself!.” Yup, I replied, we all need to do that more often.
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“You are what you eat”. It’s one of the first sayings in English we learn as children growing up. I remember hearing it as I devoured a McDonald’s Happy Meal while playing the Monopoly game as a kid. Fast food probably made up 40 percent of my diet. I loved Wendy’s chicken nuggets with fries and a frosty, cheesy gordita crunches from Taco Bell, a double whopper from Burger King, or popcorn shrimp from Long John Silver’s. Of course when we are young, our bodies are able to metabolize a lot of these savory bites and I didn’t think twice about my hankering for Gushers, Fruit Rollups, Twinkies, Oatmeal Pies, and any other sweet I could get my hands on.
Self, Society and Environment
That all changed my junior year at Notre Dame, when I enrolled in a course called “Self, Society and Environment”. It was a small class of about 12 of us with a professor in his 80’s whose name I can’t now remember. What I do remember is that I enjoyed how pleasant and peaceful he was and how we all sat in a circle in class rather than in rows. This forced us to interact, and as an introvert definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone. At that time I was still enjoying my near daily fast-food runs or gobbling down two dollar wings from BW3’s. Each of us in the course had to pick a topic that we would research for the next four months. I cannot remember what I chose to research for the life of me.
But most of us in that course will never forget that of our colleague Mary from Oklahoma. Mary’s family was one of the largest producers of beef in the South, and she chose to research how large-scale cattle farming can be sustainable and good for people. By the end of the semester and due to Mary’s project, all but one of in the class had become vegetarian, much to Mary’s family’s dismay. As we learned and dived deeper into how diet affects our bodies as well as the planet, we could no longer ignore what her research proved. Some of the pictures we saw of chickens from Tyson Farms, or cattle exploding with puss and infections, can never be unseen, and changed our lives forever.
Quarantine Vegetarian
As a male college student in 2007, becoming vegetarian was not easy. Like many others, my male friends mostly made fun of me for my decision calling me a “wuss” or some other NSFW names. I deeply missed pepperoni pizza and Green Chile Cheeseburgers. I had no idea what to cook other than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But slowly, I found a diet that worked for me. In quarantine, I start with a fruit and vegetable smoothie at noon, mostly with stuff from my own garden.
I have some awesome vegan tamales from Teresa’s in Cleveland, NM. I try to be done eating by 8pm in order to let my body fast and break down the food. I have found some delicious veggie burgers and grill recipes that leave most of my meat-eating friends forget that there was none on the menu. I completely respect vegans, but as cheese enchiladas are my Saturday treat, I enjoy ordering Monica’s El Portal on a weekly basis. My diet is not perfect as I still eat way to much cheese and occasionally treat myself to a free range egg. I recently enjoyed some trout that my bandmates Rick and Ragon caught while camping.
Food Heals the Body and Mind
I don’t judge people or look down upon them for their diet choices as we are all on our own paths and our own pace. But I am thankful to Mary and my classmates for setting me on this journey. It was once thought that being Vegetarian or Vegan would make you weak and unhealthy. But as the recent film on Netlflix “Game Changers” reveals, many top athletes in all professional sports have made the change. Our diets have the power to either heal or harm us and the planet, and food truly is medicine for our bodies. I believe that becoming Vegetarian or Vegan should be left up to each individual. But I do think this time has offered us an opportunity to see where our food comes from, and to try to eat more locally and sustainably. ‘Cuz if I am what eat, then I want to be healthy, strong, and happy. Read more about Chris and find his previous articles here!
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I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, ‘Change or Die’. It has often been used in reference to businesses needing to adapt to a rapidly changing technological world and shifting markets. It suggests that if one does not make the necessary changes to adapt to the rapidly changing environment they, or their enterprise, will perish. Additionally, there is the all too familiar understanding that humans, in general, as well as organizations and society at large, are actually slow to make change, at best, and highly resistant to it, at worst. It has been shown, for example, that most individuals, when faced with life threatening conditions such as heart disease, are often unable to carry out the changes necessary to prevent suffering a heart attack. If we can clearly see the truth of the axiom ‘Change or Die’, then why is it so difficult to actually change?
Dying to Change
I suggest that we consider that change is, in fact, a death of sorts. Change requires destroying a particular way of being or doing, in order to establish a new way of being or doing. And, as with death, we seem to be terrified of this process. Truth be told, there is a good explanation for why this is so. It is far easier and more comfortable to live with what we already know and are accustomed to than it is to go through the difficult, challenging, and often downright painful process of developing a whole new way of being or doing. We are very reluctant to let go of the life we know, even if we know it will lead to our demise, than it is to set out on a new journey into the unknown.
“Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.” - Steve Jobs, Stanford commencement address 2005.
And change itself is just as inevitable as death. It will come about. The question is, will you move and flow with that change? Or, will you be swept away by it? And, even more importantly, are you willing to not sit by and wait for change, but to actively engage in the process, to die to your old way of being and doing, and to begin life anew? Many spiritual paths talk about the necessity of dying and being reborn. But often times people make the mistake of seeing that as a one time occurrence. It is not. It is necessary to remake ourselves over and over again, in order to renew our lives. The moment you stop changing you have begun the dying process. This is true for companies, it is true for societies and it is true for individuals.
While Change or Die serves as a stern warning, the axiom that serves as a clear call to action is Die to Change. I realize this is much easier said than done. I know because I am in the process of working up my own courage to enact this. I am struggling to let go of old ways that no longer serve me, and to engage in the very difficult task of establishing a whole new way of being, to incorporate new habits, to instill new disciplines, all of which I know full well will serve to enhance the quality of my life. But, there is resistance in my mind.
Tyranny of the Mind
The tyrant that has occupied the seat of power there is doing all it can to retain control and prevent me from deposing it, and reclaiming the power so that my conscious self can step up to a whole new level of being and doing. The tyrant would have me remain in the old ways, the ways that I have become accustomed to, the ways I am familiar and comfortable with. The tyrant will do everything it can to oppose my efforts to venture into the unknown and forge a new path of discovery and revitalization. But, if I give way to the tyrant then I become something akin to a zombie – the living dead. Instead, I will do whatever I must to summon the courage to let go, to die to my old ways of being and doing, and thus to catalyze the change necessary to bring a renewed vitality to this next phase of my physical existence. Change or Die, or Die to Change; the Choice is yours! Rev Le Rev :: Sun Journey Enterprise :: rev@sunjourney.us Find Rev’s bio and previous articles by clicking here
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A few months ago, I was busy planning Reviva’s longest tour yet heading out west on a 5 state journey. I was reading the news about an outbreak going on in Wuhan China, and quickly texted the guys that I didn’t think the tour was going to happen. As March is typically one of our busiest months, I was working a lot and felt burnt out between my day job and organizing all the details of a 2 weeks stint away. While I was disappointed that we would never get to play venues that we had dreamt of playing for years, I realized that as things slowed down, it may provide some opportunities for me to press the “reset” button and spend some time with my inner voice. Like many people, I struggle with anxiety and issues related to PTSD, and have found time during the pandemic to explore ways to manage it the best that I can. While it took some time to find a disciplined routine, I want to share some things that have been quite useful as we continue to live in the new world of Covid-19.
Equanimity
The first thing that I do every morning is a 10 minute meditation. This is not a religious meditation of any sort, but rather a way to slow my mind down and allow thoughts to flow in and out of my mind without being attached or affected by them. This naturally takes away some of the stress that comes with pressures from work, responsibilities at home, and fears about the future or regrets from the past. My favorite meditation is called Equanimity, and it goes like this: “May you be safe, light, and secure. Free from aversion, attachment, and anxiety. Full of love, joy, compassion, and equanimity.”
You are supposed to say the meditation for 4 people every day: Yourself, Someone you love, Someone who is neutral or whom you don’t know, and Someone who you consider to be an enemy. It is hard to send good vibes to someone you really dislike or who has hurt you, but this part of is probably the most important.
Virtual Yoga
I also have finally found an online Yoga training that has really helped me to be in the moment. It is a series of YouTube videos from the channel “Breathe and Flow”. There is a series of Men’s Yoga Flow that has become my go to as I am finally seeing the mental and physical benefits of doing yoga daily. I now alternate my exercise routine between weights, yoga, and running. Whenever I take more than one day off, I really start to feel more anxiety and thus have learned that physical exercise is key to maintaining mental health.
Other than those two practices, there are a few other things that are important to do as it looks that the pandemic is not slowing down anytime soon. First, I find time every day to connect with family and friends. Whether through a phone call or virtual visit, we all have a few minutes to tell our loved ones we are thinking about them. Second, I spend time every day outside, especially in my garden. We recently took a band trip up to northern NM, and just breathing the fresh air and getting away from the pavement was super healing.
Legislating Peace
Finally, I make sure to find time to laugh about something every day. I really like to keep up on the news and know what’s going on. But now is a time for deeper reflection as to how things will look when we get out of this. As I was sitting with my friend in the park during a Juneteenth event this weekend, I couldn’t help but think that we are somehow going to figure out a society that is more equitable for everyone. But even if we pass legislation and vote in the right people, it is up to each of us to continue on our inner journey to peace. No justice no peace is so true. But as Geshe Gyatso said, “Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible.” Read more about and articles from Chris Brennan
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“Son, you’re your own worst enemy!” My momma uttered those words to me more than once. Do you know that feeling of getting all tripped up on yourself, of doubting and second guessing yourself, of calling into question the validity of your own identity? I call this phenomenon the Tyranny of The Mind. I believe it to be the single biggest impediment to showing up as our most powerful and actualized selves.
Take the Power Back
One of the methods of coping with this enemy is to just settle into the normality of life as we know it, and quit attempting to rise above and show up as our more powerful selves, in which case, the tyrant in our minds has won. But if we ever get the notion to stretch beyond our current level of being, to rise up and take back the power, to become masterful people, that tyrant will do everything it can to quell our uprising. It will set to work in our minds, criticizing us, implanting doubts and fears, casting judgment upon us, paralyzing and impeding us at every turn. There is, however, a hidden treasure in this arrangement that, as we shall discover, is critical to the process of becoming, if we are up to the task. I know for myself, rising above this tyrant can sometimes feel like an impossible task. The past month and a half has been a series of battles that have seen my efforts be defeated over and over again. The fact that I am meeting such harsh resistance in my mind is a clear indication that I am moving in the right direction – the direction of leveling up, of stretching outside of my comfort zone, of growing myself into a stronger and more powerful human, of taking on a greater responsibility for how I show up in the world. And so, I dig in, deeper into my burning desire to become more fully me, more powerfully me, more authentically me. I may have been getting my ass kicked the past six weeks, but I’ve also been growing stronger through the process.
Irrationality in a Irrational World
Therein lies the secret. This week I reached back into my video vault and pulled one I created for Pi Day 2019, to remind myself of 3 important lessons that I extracted from the nature of Pi, an irrational number, that doesn’t behave like most numbers. Interesting what this number can show us about how to show up as more power-filled humans. Watch the video and see if you can apply these rather simple lessons to your efforts to show up more powerfully in the coming week. In a time when the external powers of our culture are being challenged for their abuses and shortcomings, from all directions, it is very important that we begin to grasp how significant is the seat of power that is our minds, and to engage in the hard work of mastering that power, toward the benefit of the larger whole. Read more about Rev here!
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Martin Luther King Jr spoke of the Myth of Time as the belief that only time will heal the racial injustices in our country or anywhere else in the world. This is a fallacy that is starkly revealed in the current chaos unfolding in our country, some 50+ years after King spoke of it. The time is NOW! Whether we are talking about solving the problems of racial injustice, environmental degradation, political corruption, or the personal problems and challenges of our day to day lives, THE TIME IS NOW!
Time Savers
There is another fallacy tied to the Myth of Time, and that is that there is plenty of it. There is not. It is a limited resource, and there is a definite point in time, when you will run out of your supply. So, you best consider how you use your time, and find the way that will empower you to utilize your allotted portion toward the betterment of yourself, and your society.
There is the fallacy of saving time. Time cannot be saved. There is no savings account for time, where you can tuck some of your time allotment away to be accessed at a later date. Of course, the idea that you can save yourself some time, by cutting out unnecessary steps, or time consuming endeavors, appears logical on the surface, but the reality is, you aren’t saving time, you are in fact applying your use of said time in a wiser and more effective manner. As such, it is wise to consider carefully the actions that one choses to take, in working on solutions to large and complex problems like racial injustice, environmental degradation and political corruption, as well as, the difficulties and challenges that we face in our individual lives. This is not to suggest delaying action, it is to suggest that we look carefully to determine the courses of action that best serve the development of real and lasting solutions to said problems.
Free and Mindful
FREE your mind ~ POWER up ~ LIFT up ~ yourself and those around you that our most spectacular selves may shine. Remember that even in the vast darkness of space there are billions of points of light. Be a point of light and use your allotted portion of time to shine. This short video I created brings a bit of levity to addressing this last fallacy. I hope that it will bring a little laughter and joy into your life during this time of darkness and sorrow for so many of us.
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Rev Le Rev was born in El Paso Texas and raised in West Texas. He is the father of three adult children who live throughout the United States. Rev moved to Albuquerque NM in 1997 to pursue a career in the Arts. Rev has worked in Festival Production, Stage Production, Music Engineering, Filmmaking, Digital and Performance Art. He is notable for his didgeridoo playing which incorporates modern sounds with the ancient call of the didge. His latest artistic endeavor involves filmmaking. The micro-film series Becoming Future Man focuses on the struggles of the every man-woman-personin their attempts at remaking themselves into their imagined selves.
I am Rev Le Rev Tsolwizar. Twenty three years ago I took a left turn in Albuquerque, and now I’m living in Los Padillas, just south of the city, on a lovely oasis in the Rio Grande Valley. What brought me here was the current of life sweeping me along on a crazy circuitous path that had much less to do with my own will and far more to do with the cosmos learning me a thing or 10,000. Sometimes I like to think that I have figured it all out and have a firm grasp on my life, but I am quickly made aware that I’m just as disoriented and confused about this strange game as everyone else.
The Road of a Traveler
The way this life has played out for me has been one of taking “the road less traveled”. I began my adult life, firmly rooted in the Christian ministry, but at the end of that first decade of adulthood, tragedy struck and my whole life collapsed into a pile of rubble, leaving nothing unscathed, including my faith. Two and a half years later I set off on a cross country journey in a 1969 VW bus, in search of a new identity, which concluded with that left turn in Albuquerque. Upon my arrival, I lit up in a creative explosion, which after the initial blast has sustained my artistic energy through the past 23 years: producing a long string of performance art pieces and stage shows, co-founding and producing an annual art and music festival, directing stage and lighting for local and regional bands, running two performance spaces, igniting a creative community which flourished for over a decade, performing and touring the southwest as a musician, supporting the creation and development of two urban communal living projects, and becoming a co-steward in the creation and management of a small community farm.
Support for the Entertainers
Ah, the seeming dichotomy of it all, that is in fact, the unified wholeness of existence. I have had tremendous support from many people along the way, and this life, oddly lived in my own peculiar way, has been peppered with struggles, rewards and challenges, and eventually, fulfillments. Life is a journey consisting of all of the above, come take a walk with me, you might learn something, you might not, either way you will be thoroughly entertained!
In this weeks article we re-publish an article that originally appeared in print for the organization Food Not Bombs written by Greg “Goyo” Hernandez. Take a listen to Community Publishing’s Author Alex Paramo interviewing Goyo as a prep for the article! Click to read Goyo’s Biography
Goyo Interview: Food Not Bombs
Punk Rock vs Social Media
It was just a mere wink in time when I was a young impressionable punk rocker just embarked on my seminal work as a artist emerging into sonic chaos in a garage of the suburbs of Los Angeles County. It was in the post proto-punk era of the garage land of bands that I found the explosive mid 70’s punk rock sub culture that had barreled all the way from the U.K. , NYC , D.C., which coexisted with California’s hardcore punk rock approach. In this sound I found instant awakening of my nerves, which resonated with the political spectrum of the times leading into Reagan-nomics. What I couldn’t grasp from this music and its lyrical message, heard on vinyl records or cassette tapes, I discovered through fashion, ideology, and fanzine journalism and its neologisms, which helped create and solidify this collective feeling of anti-establishmentism. As the punk rock sub-culture became more pervasive, bands such as Minor Threat carried the flag for the anti-inebriation movement in the United States; the song “Straight Edge” gave the scene a name. The sound was fierce and energetic to my carnivore senses and took a while to figure out this new anti-establishment lyrical message. Nonetheless its aggression was very parallel to the other political agents of punk rock subculture, especially in the hard core movement in California in the very late 70’s-80’s .
The California culture was primarily farming livestock. My family’s and friend’s backyard BBQ meat-eating culture and the Hedonism of suburban beer drinking of our teen adolescence just seems contradictory the very notion of vegetarianism and animal rights. The straight edge movement and its music were like a beacon of light whether or not we got the message. After all don’t most unpopular cultures go through exploitations until it trends? The straight edge movement went through its three eras of counter cultural since its early beginnings in the U.K. In the 80’s the counter-movement in the United States branched out of the bent edge from D.C., to the mid 80’s youth crew which became militant straight edge leading into the 21st century. Although a lot of counter culture groups philosophies bend marginally of their concepts of “a wellness thing,” the core of anarcho-punk and straight edge philosophy adheres to the refraining from alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs, in reaction to the excesses of punk subculture. However most subculture groups could be categorized as adhering to anarchism without objectives, in that they embraced the syncretic fusion of many potentially differing ideological strains of anarchism: animal rights, vegetarianism, environmentalism and anti corporatism. Some anarcho-punks practiced pacifism much like the hippie counterculture or the Hare Krishnas. These avant-garde countercultures shared common moral and ethical code of health and self empowerment practices that elude corporate meat industries and consumerism.
Environmental Justifications
In the early 70s, other activists were considering how veganism might provide a viable alternative to existing food systems. In 1971, Diet for a Small Planet by the social policy activist Frances Moore Lappé introduced an environmental justification for going vegetarian or vegan to a global audience (it eventually sold more than 3m copies). In the same year, counter-culture hero Stephen Gaskin founded a vegan intentional community “The Farm” in Lewis County, Tennessee, bringing together some 300 like-minded individuals. Four years later, The Farm Vegetarian Cookbook by Louise Hagler announced: “We are vegetarians because one-third of the world is starving and at least half goes to bed hungry every night,” and introduced western audiences to techniques for making their own soy-based products such as tofu and tempeh. For so long veganism was synonymous with soybeans and brown rice, not the glamorous vibrant vegan food of today’s youthful practitioners who now radiate positivity from their Instagram feeds and other social media platforms. Photogenically speaking, this really helped to galvanize the hype of the low-attention-span internet age to brand an attainable and sustainable lifestyle change for carnivores to practice an ascetic diet or for the many “flexitarians” of today who still occasionally eat meat or fish. Some hard-line or straightedge vegetarians consider it troubling that the internet has transformed something with such a rich political history into “a wellness thing” that allows would-be consumers to label themselves vegans without having to engage with the “excess baggage” of the ideology.
American writer, Khushbu Shah, has argued that the popularization of veganism via social media has erased non-white faces and narratives from the dominant discourse, as white bloggers and influencers fashion a lifestyle in their image, something anarcho-straight edge punk subcultures would rail against, for their philosophy was to rebel through self-control which is the ability to control one’s actions even if that means the mainstream. Somehow the detail of the veganism political message which is rooted in social justice has faded from view in the 21st century and still perhaps out of fear is demonized as un-dietary and is shunned by people whose beliefs include derogatory name calling unlike other forms of bias (sexism, racism). This negativity towards vegans and vegetarians is not widely considered a societal problem but rather commonplace. As in the past and now vegan conversations of ideology and beliefs still stand with subversive views for environmental and social change, even if it means change to the industrial ways of farming just as the meat industry revolution of the mid 1800’s onwards.
Meat Eating Across North America
As a full-time musician and meat eater touring North America, the notion of where and what I’m going to eat was never too concerning although most of the time the options could be very malnourishing with the way of roadside gas stations and fast food options. But today newer industrialized systems are now starting to be more accessible in the far reaches of the open interstate from what vegans and vegetarian musicians and traveling artist are reporting. Fresh fruit in Europe and Mexico was more abundant to find than in North America and there are places in the world where I found meat is prohibitively expensive for many local people in those regions, leading to vegetarianism or vegan life style by necessity. Often we where graced with great home cooking while navigating through cities which was a great conduit to our anxieties from eating unhealthy even though meat was still a staple in our diets due to our Latin culture but I personally still looked out for fruit and grains which is a continuous challenge.
Vegaphobia
One thing I can’t understand is the phobia or hatred towards vegan or plant based vegetarians. I guess it’s just part of this polarized culture we live in which just reminds me of the 70’s and 80’s, growing up around homophobic assholes. It was definitely refreshing hanging with the punks who valued gender equality, anti racism , and anti fascism. This counter culture for most part evaluated themselves in terms of balance in authenticity. Todays internet the consumption of meat seems totally aligned with certain kind of conservative masculinity; so much for gender quality there. Who would think that a meat eater with punk rock ideology could possibly hang up a leather jacket, could be pro-active towards animal rights and environmental control? Why can’t it be possible for the collective consciousness of “a wellness thing ” whether left-wing, conservative or radical right to have existential beliefs in which veganism is a political personal choice instead of engaging in traditional political protest. Unlike other forms of discrimination, the aversions towards vegans still escalated, but only to micro aggressions, such as “vegaphobia,” a phenomenon which demonstrated a sociological sphere of negativity out of Britain. This terminology might have changed but the sentiment remains much the same in the 21st century. Outside the polarized moral lens there are more than 11,000 scientists from around the world who have come together recently at the 40th anniversary of the first World Climate Conference who have outlined vital signs of human activities that contribute to global warming and climate impact including human and livestock population, meat production, deforestation and fossil fuel consumption, just name a few.
Cultural Vegans
In many cultures the practice of abstaining from meat production and consumption has established a history with their belief systems rooted in non-violence. Many Rastafarians and followers of Jainism, and certain sects of Buddhism have sworn off meat, fish, eggs and dairy for many centuries. And it seems many countries are changing legislation such as South Korea ending slaughter and consumerism of dog meat, NYC council just recently passing a package of animal-welfare bills banning forced fed products and California Governor Gavin Newsom passing a bill to ban the sale and manufacture of new fur statewide, a first in the United States. It also seems veganism’s political ideology to change the world has its own new traditions such as “Veganuary,” a UK non profit that inspires people to go meatless in the new year to embrace the “wellness-thing,” end suffering to animals and champion the planet mother earth; sounds pretty punk rock to me! As I personally try to move away from perhaps my own disparity and hegemony to meat and dietary ideologies of my own political personal choice I will rejoice in one my favorite anarcho-punk bands, Rudimentary Peni, song “1/4 Dead”:
“Three quarters of the world is starving, three quarters of the world is starving , the rest are dead the rest are dead, overdosed on insensitivity all varnished to crosses, Three quarters of the world is starving the rest are dead, the rest are dead". Rudimentary Peni - All Rights Reserved.
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Curated by Mary Ann Gilbreth, Ed.D., Department of Teacher Education, Educational Leadership and Policy, at the University of New Mexico. This collections includes the work of her students from several of her Reading Methods Classes, promoting cultural diversity in the classroom.