Atassa 2: Readings in Eco-Extremism

197 Pages·2016·2.401 MB·English

by  Atassa

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A TASSA
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Eco-extremism
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on the cover: "The importance of boundaries and the circle and cross motif cropped
up frequently in the decoration of ceremonial gorgets worn by Mississippian chiefs
or priests in sacred ceremonies. Figure 3 depicts such a gorget, and it shows that the
space beyond the orderly sacred circle was filled with horrible anomalous creatures
who embodied the chaos and power of the outside world. By mixing the Underworld
(a serpent's body), the Upper World (an eagle's wings), and This World (a panther's
head), the creatures violated the separation of the planes that was necessary if bal­
ance was to be maintained. Moreover, the representation of male and female genitalia
in the circular and elliptical designs that covered their serpentine bodies suggests the
equally terrible consequences of mixing genders. Such monsters offered people a ter­
rifying reminder of the need to follow prescribed social conventions to save their world
and themselves.
From the sleepy rivers and fetid swamps that represented the pathways between
This World and the Underworld to the dark arboreal embrace of the forests beyond the
pale of human habitation, the outside world that surrounded the Choctaws was home
to many terrible creatures. Those who ventured beyond the circle's safe con.fines could
expect to encounter monsters like the Nalusa Falaya, the Long Evil Being. Its beady
eyes, set in a small shriveled head, peered over a protruding nose and searched the night
for hunters. VVhen it spotted prey the monster crept up behind the hunting parties and
called to them. Those who turned to look fainted from fright at the sight of its face, and
Nalusa Falaya pricked them with a magic thorn to transform them into evil beings.
Less dangerous was the Kashehotopalo, which juxtaposed gender and species in a truly
hideous form. Perched on the legs of a deer, a mans trunk extended from the waist and
was topped by an evil-looking head. From its wrinkled mouth came a womans cry
that terrified all who heard it. Other creatures infested the thickets and waters around
the Choctaw circle, creatures that with one glance could force travelers to lose their way
or draw them into pools and streams for a bewitched life in the Underworld. "
-James Taylor Carson,
Searching for the Bright Path:
Mississippi Choctaws from Prehistory to Removal, pages 23-24
Atassa #2
2016 (!)@@
licensed under creative commons
Ardent Press
(an imprint of LBC Books)
Berkeley, CA
LBCbooks.com
paintings: sh

Introduction: Caveat Lector
1 Hostis Humani Generis: eco-extremism, demonology, and
the birth of criminality Adrien Rouquette
4 7 Some Reflections on Modern Human Action from the
Eco-Extremist Perspective Ozomatli & Huehuecoyotl
55 A New Revolutionary Phraseology Jeremias Torres
63 Breaking Down the Bars of the Anarchist Cages:
brief reflections of an ex-anarchist Ex-anarchist
69 Poem Krren oscuro
73 The PsychoPathogen: the serial killer as an
antibody response to modernity Ezra Buckley
89 Tangled Hostility kohelet
93 The Mara Salvatrucha: the most dangerous
gang in the world Extinci6n 1
99 A Statement from Innocence: a spirit from the South
103 Lions in the Brush: on the anatomy and guidelines of cell-
structured resistance el borracho (nomad warfuk)
111 Paraguayan People's Army: what can we learn from them?
Ajajema 1
117 Letter to an optimist Jeremias Torres
121 Weak Words Concerning Human Reasoning
Huazihul
125 At-Tux D.G.
133 "No Such Thing as Life without Bloodshed ..." orThe
Force ofTragedy in Anti-Humanist Politics Magpie
137 Reflections on Freedom Zupay
145 On Terrorism and Indiscriminate Violence
Fiera
153 For a Metropolis against Itself Eleuterio Pinto Paredes
15 7 Out of the Self: a sermon for the dead Abraxas
167 Eco-extremism and the Woman Meztli
177 Eco-extremist Women Speak Yoloxochitl & More
177 A Note on Reproduction from the
Eco-extremist Perspective CW
181 Eco-extremist Spiritual Exercises various
Caveat Lector
What you hold in your hands is a dangerous book. Although those
who compiled and worked on it are perfectly harmless, these pages
have the power to make you a killer, a rapist, a psychopath, a fascist,
or a hunter of anarchists. At least that is what its detractors think.
Our intention has been to merely inform concerning (and yes, sup­
port in our own independent way) the growth of eco-extremism
as a tendency, or at the very least its premises of eco-pessimism and
distrust of all human endeavors. We go to dark places, but we are
not necessarily dark people. We feel only that the best way to keep
our sanity is to explore those areas of human existence that this
society has sought to expel from hyper-civilized consciousness.
So while we realize that you may have picked up this journal
with the expectation that the editors will address the controversy
that has taken place in the past year around Atassa, we will not be
addressing any criticisms here. A response may be coming elsewhere,
and we have a sense that it will not be too hard to find.
But we reiterate here: pretending that bad things don't exist
won't make them go away. Pretending that a brighter future is pos­
sible won't make it come to pass. Shaming only works in a society
where people still have shame. The best refutation of the aspirations
of societal dreamers is the insignificance of the dreamers themselves.
Often their "opposition" and "social war" don't pass the severity of
a teenage prank or barroom brawl, weighed down as they are by
the morality of the average pewsitter at the local Christian church.
They are easily forgettable and not worth discussing. At some point,
the most capable of them will have to ask themselves a question:
Do I want to be loved or feared? Do I want to be moral and right
or calculating and dangerous? Am I going to keep trying to save a
society that doesn't want to be saved, or will I impose my own will
and vision of what I want, come what may?
Yes, this society is bad, it is destroying itself, thousands of species,
and the last wild places left on Earth.Yes, it is bad, but the question
(or challenge) is: Can you be worse? Can you turn that destruction
around to oppose it in a meaningful way? If you can't be society's
savior, can you instead be its worthy adversary? Do you dare at least
try? When are you going to stop playing the role of innocent victim
and try something else?
These are not easy questions to answer, of course. But if you
decide you would rather be dangerous, whatever that means in your
context or situation (keeping in mind the laws of your country and
punitive consequences), these pages might serve some purpose. If
not, you would best not read any further.
And as one must state at the outset of many such projects: Kids,
don't try this at home.
Seamos peligrosos (Let us be dangerous).
the editors