I know the world is unraveling but I managed to get myself lost in the anarchist world as described by Ursula K Le Guin in The Dispossessed this week. The story helped dissociate me from what was going on out there in the real world, but also primed me for a week of travel to the west coast for a gathering of my siblings to celebrate our mother on what would have been her 75th birthday. I have no stories to share from the outside world, with most everything centered around me and my family, except one single incursion.
As I was immersed in the anarchism of the Dispossessed and contrasting her fictional world with our real world I was exploring alternate versions where my mother was enabled to go out into the world and live her life without the burden of raising her children if she chose not to. I wanted to explore what my relationship might have been with her if we had lived in a world like Le Guin describes in her world. I was also writing three other pieces to explore my feelings around my father and two-step fathers, but after posting a simple message about where my head was at on Bluesky, “the machine” made sure I was reminded of how things actually work.
I had posted the following quote from David Graeber online, “Anarchism is just a matter of having the courage to take simple principles of common decency that we all live by, and to follow them through to their logical conclusions.” I was using this as a guide for my storytelling around my mother and my fathers. When a good friend of mine posted in response, “Dangerous thoughts. Anarchism is very extremist”. It was something that caught me off guard because it was the most extreme position of anarchism from where my head was at as I worked my way through my stories.
It was a quick reminder of how the machine works despite the place of care and healing that I was coming from. I quickly dismissed and got back to preparing for my trip to see my siblings. However, a result I did find myself thinking about the tone of Bluesky and the difference between the social network bubbles and the power of ideological isolation, and how this machine has created a World Wide Web of Apartness. I’ve said this before, and I will keep stating it—the Internet will ultimately be like the automobile and continue to divide and separate us, while inflicting massive damage of the virtual and physical environment around us.
On Friday I flew from New York to Portland, Oregon to spend time on the coast with my three sisters, one brother, and their families. As I write this, I am sitting amongst my family playing games, putting together puzzles, and telling stories.
We have two other brothers, but they tend to change the tone of everything, and we wanted our celebration of our mother to be a healing and caring affair.
The Oregon beach is always cold, but we’ve made the most of it. Its been so nice and chill with some casual reminiscing and sharing stories from growing up—with the exchange of some new and interesting photos from the past.
I am glad I came. It is so nourishing to see my siblings and talk with them about our overlapping experiences. It is a little strange to be back in Oregon, and I miss Audrey and Poppy something fierce. I haven’t been away from them in many years, and while I really want to get back home, I am making the most of this moment—who knows when we will all be able to get together again.
