Their first ever release from the band was their demo CD-R with a zine together. The zine contains a few essays, lyrics and pictures. I think this is a pretty awesome idea to start getting popular in the hardcore scene, because from the first step on, they show you for what they stand for and that they are not a fun-band with no attitude behind.
Production:
This record was recorded between June 12th and June 14th 2004 at the Sweat Shop in Fresno, CA by Scott Crouse. By the way Scott Crouse plays guitar in the band Earth Crisis, which I hope you know. Scott Crouse played also the additional guitar on „No Contest“.
As you can see the the recordings for the Total Liberation 7“ were already made for that demo CD-R.
Cover:
And again a familiar person appears for that release: Shane Smith alias Shane Danger. He has drawn the cover artwork and together with Randy they created the Gather logo.
The Gather logo for the zine is quite simple. A standard font, but one letter is special. The letter „e“ is not a usual one, no they inserted the eco-sign.
Eco Sign:
Ron Cobb created an ecology symbol which he published on November 7, 1969, in the Los Angeles Free Press and then placed it in the public domain. The symbol was formed by taking the letters "e" and "o", taken from the words "environment" and "organism", and putting them in superposition, thereby forming a shape reminiscent of the Greek letter Θ (Theta). Look magazine incorporated the symbol into an image of a flag in their April 21, 1970 issue. It widely popularized the theta symbol, which it associated with the Greek word thanatos (death) in light of human threats to the environment and atmosphere of the earth.The flag was patterned after the flag of the United States, and had thirteen stripes alternating green and white. Its canton was green with the ecology symbol where the stars would be in the United States flag.
Content:
The edition is limited to about 50-100 copies, but maybe also more, a correct number is no longer possible to determine. Betimes they appear over eBay for a little money, so if you do not have your copy, have an eye on it.
Different people wrote Essays of specific topics for the Zine, for example: Total Liberation by DL, Short overview of the HC scene back in the days and now from Shane Danger, Tips for xvx parents by VxScottxV and two other essays, which were publicized anonymous. On the last page Gather says also: These essays, blurbs, and art were created by various friends. Some were left anonymous and some we felt important to claim. Each contributor has their own unique perspectives, ideas, and personality, yet, we all strive for Total Liberation.
LOVE. LIBERATION. COURAGE.
I feel like true happiness can only come with Total Liberation. I feel like it is crucial to look at a time where what we now call „Total Liberation“ was the way that all people and animals coexisted. There are lessons to be learned from studying „prehistory“, although not lessons on how to replicate such an existence. No, rather, to remind us that such an existence is possible! I feel like that lost sense of happiness cannot be attained in the system of traditions that has surrounded each of us since birth. The only loophole that I can see on how to feel that sense of happiness while within these walls and traditions is by falling-in-love. The cost of that short-cut, however, includes the risk of complacency: the saddest vice that the Kings and Devils have bestowed upon us. The image of a happy person, who is stagnant person is motivating. Motivating for me to challenge those images: to never complacent, to never succumb to the Great Fear the devils and kings would supplant in me, and to fall deeply in love at the same time! These are my goals: LOVE, LIBERATION, and COURAGE.
Do not stand in my way! The Cause requires that I attain each of these qualities for a lifetime of fulfillment and effective activism. LOVE to bring balance, purpose and to fuel hope, LIBERATION within myself and for all others burdened by the weight of oppression, and COURAGE to stand against the fear that would dissuade me. Fear of jail, loneliness, betrayal, and failure. I fear none of these. With a strong heart, a sober body, a keen brain, a sense of humor, a vision of Total Liberation and Freedom, and the anxious promise of live, I am more than equipped to jettison apart from the once Kings and Devils.
It is an age old, but never tired tradition that I am tapping into. A tradition in which a course of action and inspiration is propelled to never stop. An unending quest to stave off oppression, liberate those oppressed, and to laugh with my friends along the way. It is a noble endeavor fueled by hope and a vision of a Great Relearning of that once existing sense of shared happiness. No career, no job, no traditions that I was taught could ever compare in fulfilling me as much as this path that I now tread.
So as the hoards and swarms of people that surround me focus on themselves, never knowing why they are unfulfilled (even though they have done everything that they were told would bring fulfillment…someday?), I march on - head high and proud - alongside my friends, peers, and siblings in The Struggle. Together we wear a natural path through a poisonous thicket. The Path leads toward Total Liberation and personal freedom.
Should the thicket grow to choke our path and kill what we call „the natural world“ depends on more than simply, walking this Path of Resistance. Institutions and traditions must fall before the „nutrients“ that „feed“ the thicket can be cut off. If this path we walk does not lead toward Total Liberation, so that those who merely observe our quest se us walking in vain, it is only because they cannot see that this path has no problem changing its direction toward Freedom. That is the beauty of walking a New Path and wearing it clear for others to follow: it can go any which way, as long as the destination is approached. And upon reaching the destination - when industry and „civilization“ collapses quietly; when sustainable living is abound; when animals are given total freedom and respected as pure equals - we shall all notice that the true, Golden Journey will only have begun.
DANCE HARD
To this day I’m still terrified of initiating anything. Even this essay. I have been trapped in my apartment all day knowing that I wanted to be writing these words but I couldn’t bring myself to actually put pen to paper until now. It is late evening on a sunday night and I’m laying here on my bedroom floor trying to sort my ideas into something that might actually mean something. here is what I’ve ben thinking…
Last night I was at a hardcore show in Santa Cruz, California and I noticed a bit of a connection between the energy of the show and the spirit of political activism. The kids at the show were into the music but were reluctant to dance. If you go to punk shows you might be familiar with the „horseshoe“ around the dance floor. Kids will stand at the edge of the pit, arms crossed, seemingly unaffected by the band or the music. The dance floor is there and clear but there is no dancing going on.
But sometimes all it takes is one kid who (I imagine) just says „Fuck it!“ and throws herself in the pit because, well, she feels compelled to dance. And usually, at least in my observations, the rest of the folks like me who were too terrified to be the first ones on the dance floor follow suit and the pit explodes with mosh.
The thing is that as the mosh continues everyone at the show seems to loosen up and feel more inclined to express themselves by joining their peers on the dance floor. Hopefully the band performing won’t have to rely on calling for circle pits or two-steps to get things going. Because sometimes all it takes is that one brave soul to start off a show with dancing, movement, and positive energy. Bt this essay isn’t about moshing or having a good time at show s- it’s about taking action.
Activism seems to function similarly to the way dancing at a punk show does. At times we tend to stand at the edge of the dance floor and it calls to us but our fear of taking initiative - taking action - terrifies us, just as a lot of the time it terrifies me. But I’m confident, that if we remember that revolution doesn’t happen at the edge of the pit or sitting on a metal folding chair at the back of a Club but rather, that revolution begins on the dance floor with sweaty brows and fists in the air change can, and will, occur in our scene and on the front lines.
The analogies I have made between dancing and activism, standing still and political apathy, the dance floor and the front lines of revolution may all be old news to some of you reading this. But we all need to start somewhere and somehow. So maybe a kid like you or me who is petrified of taking initiative will find motivation in these words to take action for animal liberation, earth liberation, and human liberation. We cannot afford to wait for the next person to break the silence. In order to bring the change that will liberate s all is crucial that we put our fear and apprehensions to the side. Beautiful actions bring about beautiful change.
For every life, for liberation.
Revolution is coming, so dance hard!
DON'T END UP ON JENNY JONES
For the grrrls: What hurts me the most…
There’s just about nothing I’m more loyal to (next to the animals) than girls. ANY GIRL. I am not too social, and for some reason I have more boy friends than girl friends, but I can always relate to girls of all kinds: sorority girls, punks, nerds, hippies, etc. It’s weird maybe, but I feel like I can empathize with them no matter how different we are.
SO, that’s why I am so affected when I see girls get hurt. This is what I mean:
I remember in high school my friend and I were into watching talk shows like Jenny Jones because we got a good laugh out of the pathetic, white trash who made fools of themselves. We’d watch Maury and Sally Jesse Raphael because they were some of the most insincere, insensitive hosts who tried to come off as being concerned with people’s lives, but they were just interested in ratings. These shows were always just a joke to me, completely unreal. Then one day something weird happened. I was watching an episode of Sally that was supposed to be serious, but I thought would just be laughable because of the ridiculousness of these people’s lives. Instead, I was shocked when at the end of the show I noticed I was in tears. TEARS! That’s right, the reality for these people was way too sad to laugh at, it was downright heart wrenching!
The topic was something like „My Jealous Boyfriend Controls My Life.“ The title was not over exaggerating the severity of the cases either. These womyn were literally letting their lives be controlled by another humyn. They were surrendering their abilities to live to live by their own judgments and ideas just to have someone to „love“ them. This was not love, though. This was a result of an insecure man trying to trap someone because they know no one else would let themselves be treated like that. This is the result of someone trying to break a person’s spirit to make them weak and vulnerable and always WANT to go crawling back, even though it is unhealthy. these men are afraid to be alone, but are such losers that they can only keep womyn by making them feel like they need them.
These womyn were so defeated. They were the obviously defeated ones who never smiled, to keep people in it who bring you down. You have every right and duty to involve only who rarely raised their eyes, who kept their heads down and mouths shut. Those womyn were so sad. They were so miserable, but you could tell by looking at them that they were so broken that they had NO desire to change heir situations. they had no drive to take the initiative and live their own. They allowed these men to make them doubt themselves, and any will to break free was killed.
Then there were the less obviously defeated ones who tried to come across as being strong by being loud, who acted as though they stood up for themselves, but who were just as stuck as the rest. On the surface they looked more outgoing, but you knew they too would never leave their situations because deep down, they let their men get to them.
Sometimes they would laugh when their boyfriends would say something degrading to them. they tried to make it look like it was just a joke, not to be taken seriously, but it was clear that these constant „jokes“ were gradually and subconsciously taking their toll on their self-esteem. Sometimes it was constant suspicion: overprotective boyfriends always accusing and demanding to know „Who was that boy you were talking to? Do you like him?“ Sometimes they were insults about their appearance; the way they dressed, did their hair, saying they were too fat or too skinny. That alone was fucked up, and to see the womyn act like they could laugh it off or pretend it didn’t wear on them over time was extremely sad because they were obviously living in denial - denying that this verbal abuse is damaging and should NOT be tolerated.
But mostly the insults were direct attacks on the womyn’s selves, their ideas. A lot of the boyfriends would call them stupid if they said/did something, or belittle their opinions as if they couldn’t be taken seriously, or say „who cares?“ simply because the thoughts were from a girl. The womyn acted as it this didn’t bother them, but it clearly had effects on their confidence because they were stuck in these sad relationships, too afraid to get out, too afraid that they wouldn’t find anyone else who would give them attention. They actually let these assholes convince them that they couldn’t find someone who would respect them for their qualities and NOT put them down, so they went back each time!
The boyfriends would say things like „you’ll never find anyone better than me,“ „no one will love you more than I do“ (when there is clearly no love, just domination and insecurity,) „you NEED me,“ etc. The womyn often times would try to act like they were somewhat assertive in front of the audience by saying things like „psh! Whatever!“ with a smile on their faces, a dead give away that they were not taking this as serious as they should be, that they really had NO intention of ever trying to find someone else who would respect them for who they were.
It IS possible to find someone who will respect you for who you are, girls! I know because I’ve been with someone who never put me down. He never belittled me, called me a name, or tried to make me feel stupid. He gave his full attention to any opinion I had, took it seriously and considered it valuable. He didn’t listen to me because I’m some genius. NO! he listened because he loved me, he cared about what I had to say and believed in me without making me feel like I had to prove myself. Of course he would say he loved me, but he didn’t just reassure me by giving me the empty line „I love you“ to make me want to come back to him each time. If someone loves you, it doesn’t necessarily have to be said to remind you, because it should be a way of living. On the other hand, I was shortly with a different guy who did attempt to make me feel bad about myself through subtle insults, hints of doubt, and by not taking me as seriously as I deserve to be taken. I was not treated as a person, but as someone meant to entertain or boos his ego, someone being used to make him feel better about himself by allowing him to practice his fucked up self-righteousness, and he hoped I would allow it. But you know what? There is no other way to deal with this than to get away. You can’t change a person, you can’t wait for them to stop, they won’t! People act this way because they are insecure. YOU are not the problem. Don’t ever let a person take advantage of you by putting you down and then trying to convince you that it’s love. Don’t let someone have the power over you.
I’ve seen my friends get hurt by boys who need THEM, and then try to convince them that the girls need HIM! Or he tries to convince her that he loves her and didn’t mean it, but then he does it again and again. Isn’t it obvious what he’s doing?! If not, I’ll spell it out because it happens so much, and it needs to be recognized: When a boy constantly puts you down, and then is constantly apologizing and trying to „fix“ things by saying he loves you, he’s only trying to keep you under his control. This boy is clearly insecure. He FEARS losing you! He therefore tries to keep you under his thumb by any means necessary. To do this, he uses insults to make you feel bad about yourself and make you think you won’t be able to find someone else who can tolerate you if you didn’t have him, that way you won’t leave him. He doesn’t care about you or your happiness! He cares only about himself and is using you to make himself feel powerful! He fears that if you had enough confidence, if you TRULY respected yourself, if you had faith in yourself as an independent person, you would realize you could find someone who wouldn’t hurt you, and leave him. So, you having confidence is HIS worst nightmare! Therefore, he will do whatever it takes to keep you from realizing your own beauty and worth. „Why does he compliment me then?“ To win you back into believing he loves you.
It’s similar to the tactic that tyrants use on people; our government for example will murder it’s own people, but we’re made to feel like we need it for some reason. It provides us with jobs so we can buy food or nice cars, things we need and like (well, some people like i guess.) But it’s also unhealthy - there is undeniably mass discontent, and as we all know, capitalism kills. But that tactic of using fear („what would we do if we weren’t being governed?“) mixed with false love. („they want what’s best for us“) is a dangerous combination that keeps us all down.
FUCK people who try to shake your confidence, pretend to know what you’re about, doubt your convictions, call you things that you’re not. The only reason people go to such an extent to make you feel bad about yourself is to keep you down and build themselves up (since they have nothing else to feel good about.) No one cares so much when a person isn’t perfect unless they have some other agenda. When someone cuts you down, it’s pretty safe to say it’s NOT because of you, but some insecurity in them. Realize this, girls! Don’t let them get you down, you don’t need to put up with it. Why do we feel like we should? This is YOUR life and you have no obligation people into your life who bring positive aspects!
This hurts me the most; to see you sad but weak, to see you go back to negative situations while I KNOW you don’t need it.
I was just thinking of those talk shows and realizing that they are not rare cases, and even less severe cases are still horribly sad, but I see them everywhere, all the time, happening to girls I love.
Ahhh, I’m not even saying that my friends are in situations as messed up as the ones I mentioned on the talk show that made me cry. However, it saddens me just the same to see this to ANY extent. This is all I ask of you girls: RESPECT yourselves! LOVE yourselves! Don’t be afraid to be on your own! Don’t be afraid to explore and find people who will truly love and respect you just the way you are, without putting you down, ever!! It IS possible, no matter what the bastard tells you. You do not have to deal with anyone who hurts your feelings for being yourself.
TIPS FROM A VEGAN STRAIGHT EDGE PARENT
by VxSCOTTxV
You’re a parent now and your instincts tell you that direct action is just not a smart idea at this time. Don’t feel useless, there are many things that can be done to continue your activism for the animals.
First and foremost, obviously, is raising your child vegan/vegetarian. Taking opportunities to teach them why you don’t eat animals, go to circuses like Ringling Bros., wear leather, and also why you spend a lot of time reading the ingredients of food. Teaching them how it’s worth the work, because you shouldn’t live off of the pain and suffering of others.
The next two suggestions are going to make the biggest differences for the animals and those who fight for them. First, is supporting a cell. If you have the extra resources, give it to those who are actively liberating and saving the lives of animals. This money could be used for equipment, gas, food, or veterinary care for the rescued animals. Next, writing letters to the activists who, unfortunately, were caught and incarcerated. This keeps up their hope and spirits, makes their time a little easier.
For those who have a small amount of free time, or the weekend warriors, here’s a list of things to do to wisely use the time: Donating to AR groups like PETA or Compassion Over Killing response cards at restaurants asking for more vegan options, sending letters and e-mails to companies about changing their policies on animal testing, ingredients, advertising, campaigns, etc., contact PETA to get free literature to handout, put on cars, in newspapers, phone booths, just make sure it’s high traffic area so more will see it, and having vegan potlucks and dinners with friends. Also, don’t overlook your local animal shelter. It’s not just about making the time that the animals are there better, but about finding them good homes so they aren’t killed. Your shelter needs people to match animals to lost/found ads, needs good foster homes (you can care for an animal that needs close watch for a couple of months before it is adopted. You actually get to do the screening and decide who gets to adopt the animal,) and needs people to help and talk potential adopters at off-site adoption centers. While you are at the shelter make sure to tell them why they shouldn’t accept free food from Iams. (Iams is trying to make a good name for themselves by giving shelters free food but that doesn’t make up for the fact that they subject animals to testing and experiments.) Visit http://www.iamscruelty.com to learn more and print fliers. Many shelters are already denying the food.
The important thing is to stay strong and motivated. Push the message whenever you can, the animals would thank you for it if they could.
XXX
by SHANE DANGER
Not long ago, I went to a hardcore show that got me thinking. There was plenty of big jock-types. Perhaps even worse, there was plenty or hardcore kids that were barely distinguishable from those jocks (not so much even in appearance, but in attitude). I made a comment to my friend that I much preferred the days when they just called us „faggots“ and didn’t come to our shows.
I, in no way, aimed to come across as claiming to be the one true judge on who is fit to come to punk/HC shows. I, in no way, would want to discourage anyone from coming to shows/our community. I simply viewed the „jock“ presence as a symbol that some of what constitutes the foundation of our community may be withering away r replaced. Growing up, we got chastised, chased, and beat down for being punx. We weren’t like the cool kids. Even if I was well liked or popular, I certainly did not reflect the status quo and those who did would use any opportunity to bring it down on my head. Our main enemies (or so it seemed) were rockers and jocks. They stood for all hat we opposed. Ours was a culture of resistance and rebellion.
Unlike the newer kids, we bled for this. there is a lot of talk about the fights „back in the day“. Kids today seem to think we used to go around looking for fights. the way a lot of young bloods act would make one think that HC kids are supposed to fight one another crew vs. crew. The reality was often more of fights being forced upon us. We weren’t the ones that made White power popular in the early 90’s, but we sure weren’t gonna let it slide. We didn’t go around calling people names. We were the ones that got called names. More often than not, with punk/HC only a fraction the size it is now, we were outnumbered and not looking to fight. All that is not to say we avoided fights. In general, I think it is safe to say that we thought of fighting as a noble reaction reserved primarily for noble causes (such as the afore mentioned fight against racists). As popular as it may be now, or as popular as it has been at times in the past, being uber-tuff for the sake of being uber-tuff was not the goal of those I danced with, sing-a-long with, or considered my friends. We strove to channel or energies into making our lives, our scene, our world a better place.
I know far too many people in HC who, 10 years ago, would have hated us! They would have been the ones tainting us with „fag!“ They would have been the ones that saw nothing wrong with being „proud to be white“. They would have been the ones that started fights with us, and they would have been the ones we would have fought.
Now, it is their attitude that permaetes too much of this scene. They dominate discussions, fights and the dance floor with the same size, intimidation, epithets, and threats of the old jock breed.
Interestingly, most of my friends’ initial attraction to sXe was born of our hatred for jocks. The ironic factor of the sXe „look“ for subverting the jock appearance (and to some degree, attitude) appealed to us little kids. Or course, wearing big basketball shoes, hoodies, and baggy shorts did not make you a jock and was a distinction not lost on real jocks.
I remember a guy making homophobic comments to my friend. I stepped up and confronted him (as all us little HD kids wanted to). I was scared. As I walked away, he punched me in the back of the head. You see!.. It was US against THEM, We wanted nothing to do with their world. We despised it.
I am happy to see young bloods at shows. I am not happy to see them bring along the values that we fought against so hard. It seems that with the popularity of punk/HC rising, the influx of kids brought the influx of mainstream values to replace our DIY culture of rebellion.
All of the fight we waged against racism, against sexism, against homophobia, and for animal liberation, etc have been replaced by empty slogans and styles. I hear racism denounced in word by the most right-wing punk/HC kids that actually embrace the same ideals that the neo-Nazi boneheads spouted before. Had this been 10 yrs ago, these kids would surely have been on the other side of the fence. Well, they are on our side now; the inside. I suppose we can either look on in defeat or have enough faith in our community that we might be able to turn it around.
How damaged is our scene/community? How damaged will it be?
In 5 yrs, most of this new breed will either enter or exit university. They will be faced with the same trials and tribulations that most of us face or have faced. Just like my peers, I will see most of them fall by the wayside, give up rebellion, drop this lifestyle, and slip away. This is especially true if these kids never reject the values of mainstream society in the first place and/or try to further take punk/HC into that mainstream arena with them.
This is all not to sound jaded. I don’t want to be screaming about how good „back in the day“ was (it was far from perfect by any means). I am not concerned with our past as much as our future. Our community must stand for something. This damage will not simply fade away. This is not part of some unavoidable cycle. We have to do what we can. We must give back to this scene and transform it.
LYRICS
Done and Done
Perpetuating insecurity / Sexism won't be taken lightly / Trend hopper - you're not fooling anybody / Murderer - betraying the animals / Drinker - betraying your own morals / Now you'll have to face the monster you helped create
No Contest
No one should have to ask for their life / let alone fight for it / we forget how dire the situation's become / because we are not the ones effected first hand / we're too comfortable! But the animals are defenseless so we must treat this war as our own / I too slip into the comfort of my own life everyday but the guilt cannot be absolved / no matter how much I wish it didn’t have to be this way / No revolution will occur unless we act up / The animals need an army to fight for them / See how useless your pacifist views are now? / as long as I sit here, animals will be killed / veganism is crucial but we can't wait for the world to change their diets-(that's futile) / (my diet) prevents some slaughter but the fact still remains that billions are dying everyday / the only way to stop this is to physically set them free / saying you won't support this is saying you don't care / (ExC part) I refuse to turn my back, I refuse to shut my eyes / steadfast against the deluge of evil of man's devise / the quest of their freedom won't cease until it's won / reconcile your sins or you blood will have to run / to say we can legally win this war is insanity / if it were another human holocaust we'd be preparing for battle undoubtfully / you cant deny the suffering that is their every day lives / there are no rules in this fight / there's no action to harsh when the result is their liberation / "Fear" is crushed by the greatest sense of urgency and necessity / rationality? The case is inarguable! / persist or perish / join the struggle or watch their lives crumble / your faith in peace will lead off to cease / if we could have the masses on our side / then we wouldn't have to fight but we are the minority! / there is no contest-your tactic is bound to lead us into defeat
Escalate
Straight Edge cannot be considered the final goal / but in order to achieve the things that count the most, we must use it as a tool. / There is more to it than simply being drug free / it's the clarity of mind to act most effectively against this system we're fighting / It's the first step, it's the key to unlock you from your apathy / but if you stop at that, you're just a waste to me / You've broken your addiction, but now you just sit / as stagnant as a passed out frat-boy - you're no threat! / I know plenty of Christian who don't drink / Do they deserve praise for being revolutionary? NO! / Do you really believe that Straight Edge alone is going to do shit? / If drugs are the reason everyone's so passive, use your sobriety to act! / Do you think it's just about health? / The how does it effect anyone but you? / Now that you're liberated, what are you going to do? / Merely Straight Edge - not enough! / Merely Straight Edge - step it up! / If you think that we have things in common just because we both wear X's on our hands, you're wrong! / We both may abstain from substances, but that is not enough to make a bond.
I Hate Ayn Rand
'Individualism' is the mentality that you don't owe anyone anything. / "Don't tell me how to live my life and i won't tell you how to live yours" - Fuck that / Manifestation of living in a capitalist system / Everyone is just looking our for themselves / We shun and ignore the one that need our help / But our action affect everyone around us / And the choices we make have very real consequences / And the thing you demand and the things you take for granted... / Convenience for you could be the result of another's life / Step out of you little world... And open your eyes and your hearts! / A luxury for you could be the result of another's suffering / Can you trace the origins of what you consume back to torture and abuse?/ Never stop questioning / The unexamined life is not worth living / This is not PC chit chat / This is what it is to be a human being / Taking shortcuts to happiness / will not bring you a lifetime of fulfillment
Total Liberation
for every life for liberation / we're dedicated to bringing freedom for all enslaved / tear the blindfold from over your eyes / forget all that you thought you once knew / after 10, 000 years of telling lies / dedicated to spreading the truth / taking pride in this path that we tread / in defense of the earth / speaking out so the words of the voiceless can finally be heard / now's the time to take action for freedom / and justice deserved / FIGHT FOR LIFE / take a stand / for truth and compassion / there's no time to wait for change / show dedication / through your words and your actions / together we can end their suffering / TOTAL LIBERATION / smash hierarchy / don't buy into authority / strive for sustainability / resources are running out / discontent because we're not free / oppressors act out of greed / compassion and equality / are both necessary / reject the myths we were taught to believe / it's time to deprogram ourselves / question stereotypes and traditions / follow no gods, no masters / look at the root of racism, sexism, speciesism / and you'll see, it's all been fabricated to keep us apart / BREAK DOWN / THE BARRIERS / THAT ENSLAVE US ALL
SONG EXPLANATIONS BY EVA GENIE
Done and Done: Culture, the militant vegan straight edge band in the 90’s fooled us into believing that their lyrics were expressions of deeply held convictions. I guess we should not be too surprised (remembering how one of the members wearing a „Pervert 69“ jersey in the Culture/Kindred Split) that Damien was really just your average trend hopper, claiming edge and being vegan because it was cool at the time. The next trend came along and sure enough he jumped into it; he embraces pop culture, which includes drinking, smoking and eating meat and being a completely sexist piece of shit. This song is my reaction to seeing the music video for his new solo project which was thoroughly disgusting, disappointing and even heartbreaking because it always hurts to see someone you assumed was „true“ totally abandon all they stood for. He helped convert hardcore kids into vegan edge „warriors“ and it is just kind of funny how the tables turned on him.
No Contest: In high school I made the transition from vegetarianism into veganism. I t felt like a big step, I began to realize that even though I was not directly consuming meat, as a vegetarian I was still supporting the meat industry as well as the enslavement and rape of animals. I’d spend all my energy trying to make people realize the harsh impact their diets had on the earth, that they must go vegan in order to reduce their wastefulness and end animal suffering.
While I still believe that it’s crucial to go vegan, I have since realized that it is futile to wait for everyone to adopt that diet. There are some people who just won’t ever go vegan (unless they are forced to do so by the conditions they will reduce our world to), and there are some people who will, but it will be too late for the animals whose lives are being jeopardized today. Even when you convince people to go vegan, there are animals being killed by the billions and no diet can save them. once you have realized the urgency these animals live under - and that their lives are in your hands - you realize that you must become an „extreme vegan“. This means that even after we change our diets, we also need to change our activism. Being an extreme vegan is realizing that the way we eat is not enough and works much too slowly. (Issue #21 of No Compromise has a good little article on „becoming an Extreme Vegan“.) „Animal Liberation“ is not merely „Abstain from Animal Products“. For those who feel that we need to work within the system in order to change the abuse animals endure, you must wake up and realize that process is not quick enough for beagles in the HLS laboratories; that process is not quick enough for the battery hen in the transportation truck. Take this how you will, but remember that as we become comfortable with our lives and diets, the hell never stops for the animals.
Escalate: It should be obvious, but it’s really not if you’ve gone to shows these days: Punk rock is supposed to be an alternative to mainstream culture and the media-influenced idea of „cool“. Not letting ourselves be fooled by the hierarchical, patriotic, racist, sexist, homophobic, anthropocentric society, we identified with our own culture: hardcore (punk.) Sadly, it seems like the ideas we rebelled against the most have filtered into this scene just because of a shared sound in music, fashion, or labels. This song is specifically about how the kind of people I mentioned above (i.e. racist, sexist, patriotic, homophobic, capitalistic, Christian, anthropocentric kids) are accepted into our scene simply because they call themselves „straight edge.“ If you think my list of things that are intolerable is impossible for anyone to attain, ask yourself if someone who embodies any of those negative qualities could be a positive member of a supportive, hate-free scene?
While I am proud to see many kids take a stand against oppressive substances, I refuse to fall into some forced sense of „community“ only because we both share a hatred for drugs. It’s wonderful that sXe kids choose to rebel against one fucked up industry, yet many totally embrace others. For instance, sXe kids say „fuck you“ to Anheiser-Busch, yet they’ll support other completely heartless corporations that murder and exploit people, animals, and the earth for profit (like Coca-Cola, Nike, McDonalds, etc.) While you’re not buying cigarettes from Phillip-Morris, you’re perfectly fine with buying Kraft cheese from them (and hence supporting tobacco industry and cruel animal experiments.) Abstaining from alcohol and other drugs is definitely important if we want to live life to it’s fullest without clouding our minds or distracting ourselves, but we need to remember what punk is about, and use our sobriety to fight against the things in society that keep us down the same way as drugs do.
I Hate Ayn Rand: Everything we consume came from somewhere, was made by someone, and got here somehow. Most things available for us to buy are products of exploitation. In order to get clothes cheaper, someone had to work in a sweatshop for little pay and in horrible working conditions that you wouldn’t subject yourself to; to get your meat, water was inefficiently used to grow the grains which were in turn fed to the animal when those grains could have been directly fed to people who consume less food than most livestock, excessive amounts of monoxide went into the air, and waste run-off polluted more streams, an animal was confined, treated as an object - not a sentient being - and then was brutally denied a full life; to get your diary, a male cow was taken from his mother and turned into veal, his mother was forced to be impregnated every year of her life without being able to feed her bay, and then when her production went down, she was killed for beef anyway; to eat your non-organically grown GMO’s, toxic chemicals were sprayed, DNA was altered and diversity eliminated, poor farmers were forced to buy seeds every year since seeds are now sterile and they cannot reproduce on their own.
Individualism and capitalism alienate us from one another and make it easy to forget the way things get to us in grocery and department stores. We are not self-sufficient. We must be aware of what we consume and think about how it effects the environment, animals, and people who are used to make them. Going vegan will reduce your impact on the earth (especially if you buy organic and locally grown foods.) Reducing your consumption all together (think, „Do I really need this?“) will reduce your impact on the earth.
If you don’t know who Ayn Rand is, you can check this website for more information
Total Liberation: Self explanatory! or see D.L.’s essay. (D.L. are the initials of the first name of Dustin Lincoln Hall, the drummer of Gather)
TOTAL LIBERATION
by DL
The idea of Total Liberation is a liberation of ideas. Groundwork is in a place that promises to reveal the network between Animal, Humyn, and Earth liberation struggles. Where there were once disconnected bands of warriors, ideologists, and supporters is now the potential for a unified population with broad and far vision. Standing atop the successes of the older, factioned struggle-groups, and hastened by the ever increasing degradation of all that promotes true happiness, the Total Liberation movement stands tall and ready to peer out across broader terrains and move with a collective strength that comes when once parallel struggles coalesce into one. This unified, more comprehensive vision, possessed by one not wanting to box oneself into one particular category or movement, brings new potential to those fighting The Struggle. The purpose of this essay is to explicate the necessity, and also the already moving inevitability, that a Total Liberation consciousness should prevail over antiquated and disconnected liberation movements.
A better understanding of the interconnectedness of humyn, animal, and Earth nations has resulted in a better understanding of the „enemy“. Important questions and understandings have come to the surface for activists to grapple with. What hope is there for the other-than-humyn animals if the ALF and Revolutionary Cells „win“ the war, only to turn over our freed brethren to natural habitats that no longer exist? Ever increasing demands for energy, „living space“, agricultural and recreational land by the increasing population of one faction of one species - us „taker“ humyns - has meant displacement for any „freed“ animals. Out of the labs, into the construction sites? Out of farms and into areas scarred with roads and scoured with oil pipelines? That’s hardly the quality of freedom that we anticipate when setting out to liberate. With even a modicum of conceptual abilities it then becomes clear that Earth Liberation is actually a sort of Animal Liberation: neither one taking precedence over each other and both equally essential to partake in. Earth Liberation is necessary, vital, righteous, and as now seen, connected to the Animal Liberation struggle, not merely parallel to it.
When farm lands are allowed to grow unimpeded, the animals that once naturally lived there return to land that is no longer hospitable. there are no visible labs, factory farms, or breeders keeping the animals captive in this scenario, but in a sense, the 100 acres laden with pesticides, herbicides, and containing one crop-plant results in an „off-limits“ parcel of Earth. I consider animals to be liberated when they are allowed to repopulate that land, bring back balanced diversity, and in time, forget the invisible fences that once kept them from the space.
This is a minor point, but worth addressing. Is it hypocritical for the Total liberation movement to sloganeer „Earth, Humyn, and Animal Liberation?“ Does it reveal or depend on implicit speciesism and anthropocentrism to delineate between animals and humyns? In short: no. The struggles that concern humyn animals and the struggles that concern other-than-humyn animals (from here on out, OTH animals) vary drastically and are carried about within two different spheres of general consciousness and understanding. For one, humyn animals are subject to „laws“, and therefore „rights.“ In some cases, the struggle of humyn liberation takes place within the social construct (although, historically, all humyn liberation struggles have been spurred by non-legal means). Also, humyns gather more sympathy from other people, than do other-than-humyn animals. This feature of human character can change by dropping speciesist and anthropocentric ideals after challenging them, although, even in the end, it seems that sympathies for one’s own species will most of the time, run stronger. Furthermore, the dominant humyn culture that reigns upon this planet has had thousands of years and hundreds of generations to train and indoctrinate biased indifference into each other concerning the plight of OTH animals (and other types of people and the natural environment, for that matter). As a result, and at the time of this writing, in the sense of sheer numbers, tactics, degradation, oppression, pain and torture, OTH animals are worse off than humyn animals.
No one can, or will, deny that the most atrocious things imaginable are still happening to humyns around the globe: torture, murder, and oppression (think Abu Ghraib Prison and Nick Berg). However, in light of an ever increasing understanding of the emotional capacities and intelligences of OTH animals, it is becoming „OK“ - even scientifically „OK“ - to assume that what an animal is feeling when doing an act that resembles a human action is qualitatively similar to the appropriate, analogous feeling in a humyn. Nothing has served better to facilitate the destruction of speciesist and anthropocentric mentalities than our scientific understanding that humans - as one type of animals - feels the same as all other animals (To demonstrate this, I highly recommend the Discovery Channel piece entitled „Why Dogs Smile and Chimpanzees Cry,“ available on DVD.). it seems that science has finally found data about animal emotions that coincides with those intuitions felt by children and thoughtful activists; intuitions and inclinations to see animal emotions as resembling our own.
As scientific evidence shows, and which necessarily follows from logic (1. Humyns feel physically and emotionally. 2. Humyns are animals 3. Therefore, animals feel physically and emotionally.), humyn and OTH animals share emotions in type and degree. And, as we now know, emotions are more important for the survival of a species than is intelligence, as homo sapiens, the „most intelligent animal“, which has been around for about a mere 200.000 years sits upon its own, personally created conveyor belt toward extinction.
Meanwhile, those species with some of the most rudimentary intelligences - reptiles, for instance - have persevered throughout millions of years. And so emerges an impossible-to-ignore necessity to consolidate liberation struggles under the umbrella of „Total Liberation“, even if only in title, for no matter which liberation struggle each warrior leans toward in spirit, all liberation struggles (Here, I only mean liberation struggles that would be considered by other convinced and committed individuals, also dispossessed, struggling for just reasons. Here I’m not considering „liberation struggles“ by armies of nation states with hazy, complicated, and often secret motivations and ends.) benefit those occurring concurrently.
I like how in Animal Liberation literature, Like „No Compromise,“ it is 100% accepted and supported to address the activities and prisoners of ELF-titled activists. Likewise, ALF activists are referred to in Earth Liberation literature, like the Earth First! Journal, without a distinction between the two groups - possibly only distinguishable in title and selected targets, although indistinguishable in aims. The struggles are considered one and the same, and more and more often, warriors from each faction have forgotten that there may have ever been a rift between the two.
It is also important to recognize and make clear that all of what Total Liberation activists speak and do have been spoken and done by other activists in the past, humyn liberation pioneers have invented the tactics, the rhetoric, and the motivation used by Total Liberation activists today! Pancho Villa, Zapata, Malcolm X, Black Liberationists, and Allied forces in WWII all used a variety of tactics, including overt and covert violence, to achieve their noble ends. Today, similar Humyn Liberation struggles exist to supplant ideals of equality for the elderly, queer, and disabled populations on one side of the spectrum, to the liberation of oppressed and exploited native humyn cultures on the other end of the spectrum.
Finally, I contend that Personal Liberation must also be included underneath the umbrella of Total Liberation. The question quickly arises, then, about what Personal Liberation looks like.
Personal liberation occurs uniquely to each liberated person. What led to my Personal Liberation can never be reproduced in other person because of the unique circumstances of my environment. Although it appears that Total Liberation can come about through some sort of education, as is hoped by various causes that distribute literature concerning their causes, it appears to me that Personal liberation occurs first, and then can only later be described or recalled. On other words, Personal Liberation happens, and only then, upon reflection, can one describe that which liberated her; that which convinced her of that convincing, committed her to the struggle. Even the account of Personal Liberation, at this point, is itself descriptive phenomenology of what already occurs, and has occurred, in all of the people convinced about and committed to the struggle. Important to note is that Personal Liberation is not synonymous, by any means, with a Straight Edge lifestyle inasmuch of itself, as perhaps, a Straight Edge lifestyle is the result of personal liberation, not the means. I bring this point up because Straight Edge rhetoric mirrors rhetoric about Personal Liberation.
No one disagrees that substance abuse wrecks a team, movement, or community (which is why our government introduced and implants drugs into Black communities or alcohol into Native American communities). However, Straight Edge allegiance has shown itself, at times, to be just as demanding and restrictive as drugs are the shaping of a community fighting the struggle. A Straight Edge lifestyle may accompany my commitment to Total Liberation, but there are many, much stronger warriors than I who have never even heard of Straight Edge, just as there many status-quo supporting, conservative, oppressive „drug free youth“ in society. No, rather, Personal Liberation refers to whichever requisite re-conditionings are appropriate to each individual activist that ensures they are all well-convinced, and consequently, well-committed.
In writing About Total Liberation, here there now runs a much greater risk of the Total Liberation ethic being co-opted and rendered meaningless by well-intentioned, non liberated masses. Total Liberation, as a term may be new (and is what I am tying to forward through this essay), but Total liberation as a praxis has already been set in stride (as I mentioned earlier, visible whith the line blurring between Animal Liberation and Eart Liberation activities in their respective journals). Animal Liberation is Earth Liberation is Humyn Liberation. Total Liberation is the understanding of such interconnectedness and equivalence, and the understanding that people will be happier as a result of everyday successes within the struggle, with an eventual success overall! Autonomy. Equality. Diversity. Non-Hierarchy. Non-Hegemony. These are all terms created in relative recent history to capture, symbolically, qualities that exist naturally and are requisite for an all but forgotten sense of humyn happiness. Just as certain foods have been labeled recently as „organic whole foods“ - indicating that they simply resemble „normal foods“ eaten by people one hundred years ago - so too are labels like „anarchy“ and „equality“ applied to indicate or describe that will resemble once existing „normal, balanced humyn -coexistence,“ lived by humyns eight to twelve thousand years ago.
Don’t ever be fooled for an instant that the Total Liberation struggle is going to invent a new degree of freedom. All the Total liberation movement can hope to achieve is to mimic a type of freedom that once existed (at which point, it wasn’t called „freedom“ at all, but rather „existence“), and in so doing, remind us of that all but lost type of happiness: the type of happiness that we share in total freedom. With changes in technologies, population ratios between species, and energy dependencies, a successful Total Liberation will be forced to create a new particular type of freedom - type of freedom reflective of, but not identical to, that existence experienced by all non-domesticated life where it is still blessed to exist.
So please, continue to educate yourself about Earth, Humyn, and Animal Liberation. Appropriate to your role in the struggle, exercise your body as much as your mind. Always challenge yourself to „improve“ your way of existing, be it by complying with more sustainable diets or questioning even long held personal ideologies (like veganism or Straight Edge). Realize that it is more important to adhere to Total Liberation toward its end rather than adhering to any constructed social titles (like Straight Edge or Executive Vice President). Finally, take the time to look in the mirror, smile at yourself, and allow yourself to feel the joy and meaningful fulfillment that accompanies partaking in and supporting Total liberation. Laugh, smile, cry, dance, hug your kids, your friends, your loved ones, or companion animals, and charge forward - always forward!
TIRESTORM
Lane by Lane. Block by Block. Taking the streets back.
The youth's immersed in car exhaust - turn the tires, counterattack.
Violence against vehicles, let the windows-smashing begin.
A tirestorm to purify the lane that our bike rides in.
No mercy, no exceptions, a declaration of total war.
The bicyclists' defense: the reason it's waged for.
Left unoiled, unlocked and neglected.
Bicycles turn apart, detroyed and abandoned.
Messengers sell their bikes, from their fitness they fall to drive.
Drivers crazed by gasoline run bicyclers down.
A mechanically tainted freeway generation.
Absolute complete physical degeneration.
Left unoiled, unlocked and neglected.
Bicycles turn apart, detroyed and abandoned.
Messengers sell their bikes, from their fitness they fall to drive.
Drivers crazed by gasoline run bicyclers down.
Fucked up bikes lanes, corrupt enforcement,
truckers, car dealers, all must fall.
The helpless are crying out. We have riden to their call.
A Tirestorm attack the bike.
A TIRESTORM; ATTACK THE BIIIIIIIIIIKKEE.
If you do not have this release in digital form, you can download it here
