when we privatise something, we act on the notion that people will be lazy, waste resources and generally provide bad “service” unless there is a pressure incentive to work. that is, we assume that efficient, thoughtful, careful work will only occur when it is being compelled by money. in a private system, bad service wins no bread, so workers in that system are obliged—viscerally forced by basic necessities—to offer good service. otherwise, they won’t be able to eat.

but ultimately we are forcing ourselves to do work we don’t want to do. by entering into a privatised system, we stop working for other people (or ourselves) and contribute our labour instead to an inhuman, amorphous and generally abstract spirit. i haven’t read any Marx so i don’t know the jargon. i guess this spirit, the thing which we vivify when working for neither ourselves or others, could be roughly called “the Economy”, or “Capital”.

i reject the basic notion. i disagree that we will work poorly when we’re offered a stable, secure, state-funded (peer-funded) salary. i disagree that trains will run poorly if we (the collective taxpayer, we) give them as much money as they need or even as much as they want.

public programs like train service represent a kind of pact between taxpayers and administrators. i mean much more generally and abstractly than the social contract blah blah. i contribute to this thing, so you respect that fact and work well, because i’ve trusted you—i give you the money that i have worked to earn, and now you can do what you want with it.

when we opt for privatisation, we declare that we have no trust. we say, “Hey, Train Administrator! I don’t think you will use my money responsibly, so I’m going to make sure you use money responsibly by not giving you any. Find your own god damn money, then you won’t want to waste”.

but what we are really saying is that WE, put in the position of the Train Administrator, would not use the money properly. we are actually that that WE would use company cards for personal expenses, that WE would take long lunches and accept unethical donations. isn’t that what trust is? the belief that someone else will act the way you would. when you trust someone, you’re assuming that they will act in a pleasant way towards you, because you would act in a pleasant way towards them. it’s a leap of faith which spawns a self-perpetuating ripple of community. 

so i can’t help but feel that privitisation is a bad idea. fuck the monetary economy. who will stand up for the economy of trust?

this helps me slow down and reminds me that all of the things i have to do can be more efficiently and effectively dealt with if i do it in a relaxed and perceptive manner. the voice speaks of sincerity, confidence, enthusiasm and control. it is a practiced art which encourages me to practice art of my own.

guten morgen!

welcome to the official Harrowdown Hill Appreciation Page. here is a place where we will share our thoughts and interpretations of the song and benefit from others’ insight. because it’s silly only to engage in critical analysis of centuries old texts written by insecure white men.

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i think the song is, broadly speaking, about thinking. the most exciting part for me is the image that we think the same things at the same time. when we listen to each other and follow a train of thought, we can transcend about four or five layers of conversation depth together. that way (like with a human mic) we all think the same things at the same time. the thoughts themselves are observations and realisations about the world. as we see more and more, we realise that everything we think is normal is actually not. what is normal? what is strange?

we walk the plank and slide down a slippery, slippery slope. as we fall, we slip in and out of consciousness, straddling the (un)conscious decision between engaging with a repugnant world, or floating away. it’s a dark, scary and angry image, but for me it comes with an ultimate consolation. first, i’m coming home. i’ve fallen down the slippery slope and i’ve seen what harrowdown hill looks like. i’m coming back a wiser person. most of all, you and me and we, we are not alone, because there are too many of us so you can’t count.

there are too many of us so you can’t count.

i propose to leave this sentence in as many places as possible all over the internet. the internet is a horrible place, full of insecurity, fear and opportunism. it would be good to know that there are others on harrowdown hill.

all the goodness.
x

hey it’s been a while. not sure about the internet as a medium of communication. find myself on the computer this morning however so i will post my song that i uploaded to youtube. i think i like youtube more than soundcloud. it feels a bit more organic and a bit less pretentious. music is for making. teaches you how to live. forget actually publishing stuff. haha!

straight from the top of my dome.
rock the microphone.
fr fr fr ff f f fr —

original sounds.

Jack is Jesus, trying to bring light and love and selflessness (embodied by Christmas) to the pagan world which gleans entertainment through horror and meanness. My second favourite scene is when Jack is trying to sell Christmas to his people, and they just don’t get it. He tries to explain the concept of a present that you just give for the pleasure of giving, but they don’t get it. Eventually he gets frustrated and gives up, selling it to them instead in their own terms, and in doing so undermines the positive sentiment of the whole Christmas thing.

Also fantastic scene is when Jack is trying to work out the magic of Christmas, but he just can’t. He squashes the berry under the microscope, flicks through all the Christmas stories, looks at a plastic trinket and shouts in frustration, “What does it MEAN?!” But magic, philosophy, faith—whatever you want to call it—doesn’t come from trying so hard, trying to hard to understand and categorise all the constituent parts. To find Christmas, Jack has to embrace and embody the characteristics it represents: “What a bright nose you have. The better to light my way!”

And of course the ultimate display of faith is the final scene, when they both approach each other with unrestrained love. Assume and it becomes true! Act with love and be treated the same way! Faith isn’t about religion, it’s about opening yourself up, having the humility to express yourself, the confidence to walk out onto a crag in the moonlight, look someone in the eye and say, “It was meant to be”.

Much love
x

Shackleton – Undeadman
Fireworks
HJP053
Honest Jon’s
file