Quote:
|
Originally Posted by dead_battery
small victories are still important.
what you have, even though you feel defeated, looks like utopia compared to the place i live. and where i live almost IS utopia compared to some other places in the world
rome wasn't built in a day. likewise a technologically advanced post capitalist society free from militarism and poverty won't spring up over night.
|
Oh, we don't feel defeated quite yet, just some of the teeth of our attack have worn down.. In 1992 Los Angeles was a frightening place. In 1993 it seemed like we just came out of the bottom of the deep side of the pool. By the last 1990s so much was improving and changing so fast. I'm talking substantive improvements in housing, employment, and education along with significant reduction in crime that was at war-zone capacity. Yet much like the high water mark Hunter Thompson spoke about, it seems like 2000 was the point when this collective cultural wave crested and began to recede back towards what it had been replacing. You can even document across Rage albums the progress. Where Self-Titled was fierce, Evil Empire was more optimistic and reflected this cultural shift towards awareness in Los Angeles (a rise in culture centers, the arts, community projects, street music, food, activism in local politics, significant curricula shift).. Battle For Los Angeles then reflected the progress by 2000. It was a bit more mature, toned down. Almost like a victory lap. Perhaps we celebrated too soon yo..
On the plus side, we didn't totally lose all that we had gained, rather the problem is we kind of just stopped midway and settled for that. We still got work to do.