The Tap-Clog Manifesto ~ by Devyn Devour
CLOGtheSYSTEM
“The building is a symbol, as is the act of destroying it. Symbols are given power by people. Alone, a symbol is meaningless. And with enough people, blowing up a building can change the world.” VIt began long ago with a wooden shoe playfully tossed into the gears of capitalist machinery…
And now… this shoe, the dance, the act itself is wielded as a symbol of resistance!
At one moment in some time or another there was a boy walkin’ down a street spinning a yo yo and hummin’ a tune. The tune sounded like this;
Baa tadA dA dA… tA duM! Of course this scene is nearly impossible to describe with words, for it is a bodily experience of the most incredible circustances. The young boy is me and I just was tappin’ my feet real good on that ground, skippin’ over the sidewalk cracks and the little dandelion heads poking through… The music flowed through my every motion… Alas! My daily routine enriched with Rhythms of expression! There I was, on my way to school… and back again. Then, as I grew older, my routine brought me to work. And I worked and worked…and eventually, the music faded and was replaced by the spectacle of passive participation. My body nearly stopped moving. Insecurity, fear, and coercion assimilated me.
But wait! Behold, Anarchism!, this powerful expression! This enriching movement of folk-tales and dance…this community of mutual aid and solidarity. Anarchist resistance giving fire to my inner core, rekindling culture and identity. Live free or Die Tryin’! That’s what they say! Long Live Anarchy! And now I’m back! Back from the Dead…
“If I can’t dance, it’s not my revolution” – Emma Goldman
The SYSTEM is a pretty intense and complicated subject so I'll be honest about my premises and get to the point.#1. The System is a patriarchal colonial civilization keeping us under various levels of occupation by facilitating our common needs; food, water, shelter, community, culture, land, etc...
#2. The System is hierarchical, abstract, alienating, and controlling… The system is inherently oppressive... Because it is a hierarchy, that means it is built on the backs of working and poor people’s energy...furthermore, it is built on the exploitation and objectification of land-bases and eco-systems considered "raw materials".
The system can only be considered non-oppressive or benefitial by the privileged classes.#3. The System will not voluntarily change any of these things. Writing your congressman or favorite CEO will not change any of these things. Even dancing won't change these things on a large scale (dammit! however dancing does bring life and empowerment...).
Based on these premises I believe that the System should be destroyed, battled, and brought down by any means. People should be able to live in ways that are self-determined and appropriate to the contexts in which we live. Problems in our communities can be solved within those communities. However, it is not this easy. The system is more than an external force. By destroying it, I also mean healing. Hierarchal and mechanistic worldviews are internalised, and are a threat to our ability to have community, to have relationships, to have a movement. Only when we can see the system in ourselves and confront it accordingly, can we ever have an effective movement… A decentralised movement based in solidarity, responsibility and cooperation.
So dancing won't stop the SYSTEM... but what will? Since I've made this blog, I've been empowered to explore tap-clogging, a dance I've been doing since I was a toddler. Old-time music and everything that goes with it (participatory culture, decentralised gatherings, and oral traditions) has been a huge influence on my life and my understanding of Anarchism. Making this blog gave me media literacy, helped me network and meet people, and has been creatively fun. This creative process is a huge part of resistance to the sterile, homogenous, spectator sport of THE SYSTEM. So I will step back, and tap-clog...
To Learn about
Sabotage! from the root word, SABOT = shoe... to literally throw a shoe into the machinery of Industrial Civilization! CLOG THE SYSTEM!
To Learn about the Story of Anti-Civilization Resistance and the Luddite Rebellions…
click here.---Devin Devour, PHD
Click to watch
