I had the pleasure of chatting with John Zerzan this week on Anarchy Radio. I had a lot more to say, but an hour goes by so fast. Any time I do a public interview these days I am afraid I will say the “wrong” thing or leave out an important tangent or core principle, or not say something crystal clear enough, and then folks will jump on it to attack me for saying/not saying something. After the interview I was tossing and turning all night thinking, “Oh no, I should have said this or that!” Oh well! That old picture though. 😆 Listen Here: Anarchy Radio w/ John Zerzan
I’ve had many feelings about ayahuasca over the years; curiosity, indifference, repulsion. In reading The Cull of Personality, I realized that my perception of ayahuasca was all wrong: my feelings about the plant and the psychoactive spiritual communities and industries that surround it don’t matter. I shouldn’t be thinking about how I feel about it, I should be thinking about how the people of the place where it originates feel about it. It’s too easy, sitting in a place of relative “comfort” as a white American male, to forget that colonization is an ongoing process, a living history in which we are all active agents. In The Cull of Personality, Kevin Tucker brilliantly illustrates the consequences of such blindness exemplified in the recent rise of ayahuasca tourism in South America. This book takes the reader on an historical journey through Peru, bending time and space, showing the threads that overlap the past with the present. It sits as a reminder of how civilization is just one devastating blow after the next to indigenous people everywhere, and always comes under the guise of salvation from the colonizer. In the past it was saving souls by missionaries, in the present it’s white people wanting their own souls saved-and perhaps conscience-through the use of traditional plant medicines. This book is a must read for anyone who has ever mentioned an interest or partaken in the consumption of ayahuasca. Get your copy today.
Recently I heard they are tearing down one of my high schools and rebuilding it. The new principal is asking alumni to send in stories about their experiences there. Mine happened to be relatively unique, and not particularly peachy. I’m not really an alumni, as I never graduated high school, but my story is a deep part of the history there. I wrote this bit a few years ago and thought that since they are seeking stories about the history of the school, and since this is an important one that shaped who I am and one that I’ll never forget, I should post it.
As I have been super busy teaching and doing admin for Rewild Portland, I haven’t done any interviews in a little while. This one was such a pleasure, and I have to say that I think this may be my best interview yet. I really feel proud of this one, and am beaming with gratitude for all the people who I have learned from and have influenced me. Mad props to Sam for working through this himself (warts and all), and elevating the visibility of these issues that rest at the core of the rewilding movement. Check out the interview and explore Sam’s work.
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