Why Haven’t We Burned It Down Yet?

Last updated on March 4, 2020

I ask myself this a lot:  Why haven’t we burned down this fucked up system yet?  Why are we still literally dying every day because of inaccessibility to healthcare, good food, mental health facilities, and a livable wage?  Why aren’t more people willing to take their burning rage to the streets?

A truly starving person, someone who truly does not know from where or even if their next meal might come, can become feral and act out pretty badly.  A hundred starving people will tear down the walls of a grocery store.  A thousand will tear through a community.  Only a few thousand more will tear down a government.

But we’re not starving like that – not yet, not really.  Self-sufficiency is kept just far away enough that we can be lulled into a stupor with our convenience stores and our dollar menus.  We have been warned away from things like drinking rain water, and planting community gardens.  These things are literally illegal in most urban and suburban areas, where the rough majority of people live.

For my part, I know how to build a house.  In fact, I know how to build earth-bermed homes that will be incredibly energy efficient and resilient against the upcoming storms and weather that we’ll be getting from unchecked climate destabilization.  I know how to grow my own food, how to keep aquaponics running well, how to generate electricity, how to spin yarn and make clothing of all kinds (knitted, woven, and sewn).  I even know how to set bones, place stitches, and I have quite the body of knowledge for growing and using medicinal herbs.

But, if civilization were to come tumbling down, there’s a whole demographic that’s even worse off. People who are literally only being kept alive because of modern pharmaceuticals will lose access to their medication.  Sure, cannabis might be great for Little D to keep the regular seizures at bay, but what about the seizures that he’ll get while going through withdrawals from the drugs he’s on now? Those can kill him probably more easily that the regular ones can.

I realized, that might be why more people don’t seriously consider rising up:  If you crush the system that you rely on to bring you food or water or transportation – because the entire system is based on the privatization of the basic necessities of life – do you have the skills to continue living?  Can you feed your family if there isn’t a grocery store or similar resource nearby?  Can you heat your house if there isn’t electricity?  

I don’t have an answer, but I know that as time goes on, sacrifices will make a lot more sense. We recognize that it’s not just the “current administration.” The entire system is not just fucked up, it’s specifically designed to benefit a scant few at the cost of the greater population – which is also being blamed for the damage to the environment due to the processes required to feed, clothe, and occupy that population, except that the systems were designed to do damage where they could have been designed otherwise…

I hate that I have an apocalypse plan that has to include replacing life-sustaining medication, and moreso that I have a not-so-subconscious contingency if things go horribly wrong and we can’t get our hands on the right stuff. No one should ever be put in this position, but because of capitalism, the majority of the population is.

It’s almost time for this motherfucker to burn down, whether we’re ready for it or not.