The Faces of Rebellion

There is but one law: OBEY; and if you don’t obey you will be kidnapped at gunpoint, stripped of your belongings, and held for ransom.
— C.S. Hyatt

Now is the time for me to rise to my feet, wipe your spit from my face, wipe these tears from my eyes.
— Hatebreed, I will be heard

Re·bel·lion, n: opposition to one in authority or dominance.

Rebellion is one of the most important characteristics of the human species.

The first of the ubiquitous periods of human rebelliousness occurs during adolescence and early adulthood. As a teenager develops a distinct identity, he (yes HE, fuck your political correctness) feels obliged to separate from parental methods, morals and rituals. This is a time of trying new things. Often, for the first time the adolescent human encounters sex, drugs, religious choice, the ability to earn money, and the ability to travel. Less time is spent under the aegis of the parental world-view. Rebellion is the engine that leads one to try new things.

Symbolizing plays an important role in rebellion and the generation of personal identity as separate from filial identity. The adolescent may want to wear clothing or listen to music or read books not acceptable to the parents. The identity of the individual as part of a broader group of other adolescent rebels becomes appealing.

The study of Neanderthal teeth shows that they grew to adulthood much more rapidly than humans. The truncated periods of childhood and adolescence in Neanderthals may also have reduced or eliminated the adolescent rebellious period.

Some archeologists say that the paucity of Neanderthal symbols and tools may be related to the shortened adolescent period. If the spirit of “your stone axe sucks, I can do better” was missing, this might explain why the Neanderthals did not advance technologically beyond the stone axe, and apparently did not develop symbols.

Cro-Magnons were not content with a primitive, stone axe. They continued to improvise and test new tools and symbols at an astonishing pace. The creation of projectile weapons exponentially increased hunting efficiency. The use of symbols and language allowed for the passage of construction and application data to future generations. Ostensibly, each human generation took a look at the previous generation’s tools, technology, and symbols and decided to push the boundaries.

Interestingly, in modern “culture” the rebellious and gutsy hubris of the adolescent and young adult is only supported in specific forms. In current society, sports and academic success are essentially the only two options (and poor options they are) for rebellious outlet in adolescents. However, the young adult is expected to drop the rebellion altogether, stop thinking outside of the norms, get a job and a spouse, and conform to lawful society. Society sees the human being as a human resource: a tool and mechanism for the accomplishment of work, the paying of taxes, and the generation of more workers for the future.

Under such pressures, most rebels watch their swords melted down and turned into shovels. The adolescent herd of rebels is rapidly liquidated by the next set of emergent genetic drives: to nest (house), digest (food and cash), and congest (squeeze out babies). Those who do not conform in a timely fashion are either carted off to jail (kidnapped and held for ransom by their government), or experience a period of self-implosion where they realize how alone they are in the world (neurosis, depression, insanity). That is, they glimpse the abyss. The realization of their mortality and the punishments and seizures that can be inflicted by the state’s dogs becomes burdensome—especially after children are born.

The confluence of these factors sends most “rebels” running back to the stagnant, tepid bosom of family, church and state. The desires to explore the unknown and push the boundaries of knowledge and the arts are largely exchanged for the desire to be part of a group. Acceptance of societal norms and morality blooms as they are expedient to the accumulation of “stuff.” One finds that success in a job is largely dependent on fitting in, that the happiness of their children is largely dependent on fitting in, that success in adult relationships is largely dependent on fitting in. By the late 20’s to early 30’s, life becomes cow-time.

Creativity and imagination are outsourced. The adult no longer draws, paints or creates poetry. There is only time for work, sleep and kids. Even sex is pushed to the periphery. Monogamy: turning the infinite, loving human heart into the slave-whore we see today. The adult has no desire to push the boundaries of anything other than his golf swing, or how many hours of pro-football he can watch on television. Learning essentially stops as curiosity is seen as a generator of trouble and creativity yields no cash. This phase of intense herd activity, work and the subjugation of creativity and joy to the banal world of work, wives, rearing children, and house-work ultimately comes to an abrupt end with the onset of the most ubiquitous form of second rebellion: the so-called mid-life crisis.

The mid-life crisis is precipitated by the second glimpse into the abyss. One sees the most powerful and courageous men rendered helpless and infantile by disease, and the most conformist, health-fanatic, church-attending sheeple rendered soil by agonizing cancers. There is no escape. There is no getting out of here alive. Playing duck-and-cover with the herd, or praying to a projected papa sky-ghost are as ineffectual as a chest swollen with rage and resistance to the status quo; neither will stop the stolid-faced march from the shopping mall to the grave. Society is a scarecrow, a broomstick wrapped in a trash bag. Its soft, rotten pumpkin-head smiles blankly down at the eroded topsoil of human creativity and individualism. All the promises of comfort and security were lies in incubation. There is no security. The games, the frantic frittering away of time on meaningless goals and tedious busywork only served to numb the human during his 30’s–40’s. There is no escape from the chancrous maw of death. With the stereotypic mid-life crisis comes the last great suckle at the breast of possibility, creativity, and joy—the last great attempt at rejection of the cultural consensus metaphor.

The cop is in their heads. The most effective form of control is to inculcate the punisher-authority into the mind of the sheep. Every action, choice and fantasy is criticized by the superego. Each feeling of dissatisfaction, desire to accomplish more, or creative urge is filtered through a matrix of parental-societal-religious values, and what is left is largely detritus. Infinitely more pernicious is the self-brutalization that necessarily results from the attempt to turn a human being into a “model citizen” by putting the warden-jailer-cop-parent-priest inside the mind of the monkey. In this way an internal rebellion is born, wherein the self is set in opposition to itself. Internal conflict reaches fever pitch, neurosis ensues, self-hate blooms. The conflicted sheep is unable to act effectively or to relieve the intense feelings of guilt and failure for not living up to the barrage of idealisms, “thou shalts,” “should haves,” and impossible promises. Bargaining with the internal cop only worsens the schism between a genuine, responsible self and a whimpering wretch, with the genuine self being discarded for fear of punishment. Obeisance is born. On bended knee with arched back and head bowed comes the sheep to his masters. A broken man. A servant. A coward. Treacherous and decadent, capable of infinite hate and harm to his fellows by practicing the penances and heavily taxed payments to the superego known as altruism, piety, patriotism, and a host of other societally sanctioned behaviors that earn him the desperately desired pat on the head from the masters, and thereby alleviate the torture of the cop in his head. A sheep of this nature will perform any act of violence to ease the terror of the internal police.

The writhing mass of humans are largely passive-aggressive as a result of having been robbed of a sense of personal power in infancy, youth, and young adulthood by parents, religious leaders, law enforcement, government, and nearly every other human in their vicinity. The stunted and twisted forms of indirect and passive rebellion appear as simple and petty acts such as showing up to work late, running a stop sign when no authority is present, skipping church every so often, or the occasional drunken binge or love affair. The reasons for such subdued rebellions are obvious: modern humans are predominantly sheep. No one wants to look at their actions and the consequences and say, “Yes I did that, so fucking what?” They simply haven’t the internal testicular fortitude to put the crown on their own head and bless their own actions. The guilt would drive them to insanity.

I see the monkeys around me raped by politicians and police again and again, and their rebellion takes the form of getting a good drunk and bitching about it. I often ask them when they are bitching, “When will you pick up your rifle and take to the streets?” How much of your life and your wealth must others take from you before you become activated? Well, the answer is: “Everything.” The sheep will lie quietly before the slaughter. The sheep will put golden stars on their breasts and rape the other sheep. The sheep will sit in the gilded halls of government and plot how to slowly suck the life from the other sheep. I would rather be killed by a bear or a worthy opponent than watch my life, health and wealth be drained from me by the miasma of frothing sheep.

Laws are arbitrary. “Justice,” “liberty,” “right and wrong”: these are the words of a slave. Laws are made to support those in power and keep the workers working. Every single law is simply made up. Like the games you played when you were a child, making rule after rule until the game became too onerous to enjoy. Laws are enforced only when broken by the powerless.

Rare is the relationship where one with more power teaches one with less power how to attain power. In fact, an overwhelming majority of humans are engaged in multiple, continuous power struggles and domination games every day.

BITCH, BITCH, BITCH!!

Bitching about injustices is not rebellion. It is passive-aggressiveness. It is feminine and weak. It is strangulated will. Free your will, unleash it.

DO something about the things you find distasteful. After all, your tastes and desires are just as important as anyone else’s. Right now, there are serial killers and child molesters sitting around feeling perfectly confident and happy with their selves. And yet you sit and simmer and stew in your hate. Nothing is ever good enough. The world feels empty, cold, lonely, purposeless and pointless. And, it is. And, it is not. SO WHAT?

Inefficient Rebellion

Violence is best reserved for necessity. Generally speaking, overt violence is unnecessary and ineffective. Countless violent, bloody rebellions have occurred over the millennia. No change has occurred in the soul of mankind. Man is still the dumb monkey he always was, only with better weaponry, and possibly, a deeper hatred for everything. But, the deepest hate is saved for his Self. Unfortunately, this deepest hate is most inappropriately NOT pointed at the cop in his head. Alas, the man will not recognize this. He will seek outer causes. They are called scapegoats. Jews, Nazis, women, neighbors, the church, the bank, the government, ad nauseum.

There is a time for taking up arms, and as H.L. Mencken said, “Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats.”

I propose that a rebellion that does not start inside the heart and mind of a man will have little long-term consequence on external environs and circumstances. You want to rebel? You want change? Start with yourself.

Practical Rebellion: Kill the Cop in Your Head

The internal cop is everywhere. Everything you perceive is tainted by its poison. This leads to a life of constant turmoil. Nothing can have deep, deep meaning when it is filtered by the internal cop. But, what to do? How does one go about removing the virus in one’s mind? How does one kill the cop in one’s head?

The answer is simple, but the process is life-long and never complete. Nonetheless, there is no greater joy, no higher goal, than freeing your will, your power, from the internal censor.

Step 1: Move Beyond Binary Thinking

As Maynard said, “Balance pain and comfort deep within you.” Very few things in this life are entirely “good” or “bad.” This means that in binary terms almost nothing is a zero or a one, but rather fall on a continuum, or a scale, somewhere in between. The predominant weakness of binary thinking is belief and gullibility. If I can persuade you to believe that something is entirely good or bad, then it will be easier to manipulate you.

Belief is the primary weakness of the human mind. Given the chaotic nature of the universe, and the fact that you cannot see the future, your beliefs will repeatedly prove unreliable. Some things that seem terrible at first, may later prove to be the healthiest thing for you. Some things that seem delightful at first often decay into the most wretched situations. You cannot know what will happen in the future.

The simplest human mental operating system upgrade to remedy this binary thinking is to consider the Hindu concepts of the three Gunas, known as:

Rajas

action, change, positive, Yang, fire ( + )

Tamas

passivity, inertia, stasis, negative, Yin, darkness ( - )

Sattva

balance, equilibrium, harmony, Taiji, ( 0 )

This ancient ternary system of thought, like the I Ching, has relation to cybernetics and computers. In assessing the value of a ternary human mental operating system, consider the thermostat on your wall and its association with the null function (Sattva). If you set your thermostat at 70°F, it will turn on a cooling system when the temperature rises above that set point, and a heating system if the temperature falls below that set point. What happens when the temperature is 70°F? Without a null function, without a setting that involves balance, when the temperature reaches 70°F, both the heating and cooling system would switch on. This would be extremely inefficient. Therefore, to be functional, even the simplest cybernetic intelligence must include a null setting, a balance setting. So, in reality, there is a range of temperatures around 70°F at which your thermostat will turn off both the heating and the cooling. This is balance, or Sattva.

You’ll find most humans operating on a simplistic binary system of good/bad. Without the null value, the human, like the machine, lives in a constant state of turmoil and is easily controlled and owned.

Step B: Cultivate the Inner Observer

The inner observer is a function of the aforementioned Sattva consciousness. It is a non-attached, objective observation of your experiences, moment by moment, without application of subjective values (good/bad).

“There are hands typing at a keyboard. There is an itch on a nose. There is a cramp in a neck. There is a sensation of thirst.”

There are many techniques for generating and strengthening the inner observer. However, I recommend checking out the Mahasatipatthana Sutta. This was explained to me by Christopher S. Hyatt who called it “The You Meditation” (available on video from Falcon Press). You can also find the original Mahasatipatthana Sutta at numerous websites.

Step 3: Understand Guilt

Per Dr. Hyatt, “Guilt = I OWE.” Guilt is the most facile form by which you are manipulated by your family, friends, spouse, children, government, anyone. If you are easily prone to guilt, you were probably raised in a very religious family setting as most religions include some form of “original sin.” Basically, this is the earliest implantation of the Cop-In-Your-Head virus. A child is initiated into this form of control by learning that he or she was born fucked up, born bad, and owes to GOD and his representatives, everything.

The damage done to a human mind with this virus is inestimable. You must take the time to figure out who and what you owe. I propose that you owe yourself the benefit of self-acceptance. If you have children, you owe them. If you have made agreements with others, you may owe them, too. But why are you living with mountains of assumed, unnecessary, and unconscious guilt? Guilt serves no useful purpose. It is a manipulation virus and must be destroyed.

Step 4.28: Question Your Points of View

You cannot “know” anything in the objective world. You can, however, know what makes you happy. You can know your preferences. But these things are subjective and internal. What people call “knowing” of the objective world are facts, or data points. The veracity or “truth” of data points and facts are subject to the limitations of the system by which they are collected.

Your human body is experiencing trillions of incoming nervous signals (sensations) from both inside and out. It is theorized that a part of your brain called the Reticular Activating System (RAS), is responsible for filtering those trillions of signals into the handful of signals you can pay attention to at any given moment. Such an inefficient sampling rate can hardly be expected to yield high quality data. Moreover, what little data makes it through the RAS is then filtered through the emotional centers of the brain, and supplied with a positive or negative valence (“I like it,” “I don’t like it”): that is, it is given an emotional hue, further adding bias to the unfiltered data. By the time the original signal arrives at your frontal cortex for your consideration, it has been truncated, processed, filtered and pre-labeled.

Decisions and points of view based on such data must be very carefully considered, and must, as always, remain suspect. Your brain is a physical instrument. It has limitations. Even the most cursory consideration of these limitations shows that your points of view are not you, and are mostly random and based on your environment and the socio-religious viruses you have operating, and are subject to a cacophony of influences both internal and external.

Learn to question your opinions, values and points of view. A sickening majority of them were implanted into your mind before you had the cognitive ability to think about them. So now, as a person who can think, it is time to question all of your values, and select those that bring you power, strength, happiness and success. Like any good antivirus software, when you identify a belief, value, opinion or point of view for which you cannot identify the source, you must isolate and examine that value. Drop those which hinder you.

Step 9.K: Release the Illusion of Security

Sitting here reading these words, you likely feel safe and comfortable. I assure you, you are not safe. You never were. The cows in the pen, waiting to have their throats slit, feel calm and enjoy the delicious corn. Same for you.

At any moment, something terrible, wonderful, wonderfully terrible, or terribly wonderful can occur. We live in a slumber, a haze of warm titty, only awakening when pain or suffering stimulates us out of the opioid bosom of false security. Then we panic and pray and do magickal rituals, struggling to reestablish the illusion of our safety.

This fact is not lost on those who seek to own you. The average human will throw away almost any right, liberty or responsibility in exchange for guaranteed security. This is why Hyatt said, “Security is limitation.” Security—safety—can never be guaranteed. In fact, you are guaranteed to be unsafe: You Will Die!

And yet, you live day-to-day with relative comfort and ease. The point is to realize that regardless of your situation, your safety, or lack thereof, you need to function and accomplish your goals.

Step 10.’.β: Become Who You Are

Release the illusion of control. You think you know what you are doing, don’t you? You think you know how you will react if someone asks you for a dollar, attacks you, or insults you.

Step z: Embrace Chaos

Philip Wylie in his delightful book A Generation of Vipers said, “Status quo does not exist in nature.” My good friend George Groddeck said, “If it exists, it is natural.”

Step 5.01: Stretch Your Boundaries

Experiment, play, and make yourself uncomfortable once in a while.

Step 7: Befriend Those Who Enhance You

Stay away from sheeple. “You do not owe an enemy the truth.” Who said that?

Step ∑: Enjoy Failure as Much as Success

Let yourself off the hook. You will die. Done. Failure is guaranteed.

Step F: Become a Work of Art

In regard to rebellion this means: invade the systems you find distasteful and change them from the inside. On the larger scope this means your prayer becomes “Power is my Only God.”