Revision as of 14:48, 18 July 2008

Pipe Bombs by LHX

i will propose the notion here that the shrapnel being discussed lately has an identifiable source

it is the result of people under pressure

i will propose also that pressure is the result of confronting fear or desire

fear is generally associated with death (the unknown - the potential for physical pain) or an injury to the ego that would have social repercussions (which could also be potentially indirectly related to death)

desire is generally associated with avoiding that which causes fear, but also social achievement (striving to rule the kingdom of physical objects)

also stimulation

these elements set people in motion

when coming face-to-face with a fear or with the possibility of not obtaining a desire - we find explosions

people cannot handle the pressure and there is a resulting action

in its raw form - this action is generally not premeditated

- you scare the shit out of somebody - and it is understandable that the gut instinct is to yell

but now,

we live in a situation where people can be elaborate when they explode

people "take it out on" other people

being overwhelmed in one facet of life - you take it out in another facet of life

a fear of death results in a fundamentalist tunnel-vision

getting cock-blocked in early adolescence spawns a generation of computer programmers looking for social comeuppance, while subsequently pushing humanity to its technological demise

the slums of New York results in the greatest Hip Hop in 25,000 years

and this here what you're reading - this is my shrapnel

this is my outlet

i've read a lot of RAW shit and some other alternative approaches to psychology. but a few months ago, in my first semester of college, something struck me when i was forced to take an 'intro to psychology' course

one segment of the course dealt with 'defense mechanisms'

apparently - there is a term which describes what is known as basically the one productive defense mechanism

it is called sublimation

i just looked it up at m-w.com: "to divert the expression of (an instinctual desire or impulse) from its unacceptable form to one that is considered more socially or culturally acceptable"

when we took a look at sublimation in class - there was another aspect to it -

the expression of the 'impulse' was not necessarily 'acceptable' - but it was productive

it was not a defense mechanism that focused on covering things up or hiding things

it was the defense mechanism that sought to transform

turn that negative stimulus causing you pressure into something that can reap benefits

the whole 'lemon -----> lemonade' approach to things

its a bit too trite of a metaphor to use when discussing some of the foul shit life doles out on the mammals running around the surface of this place

its hard to say that hurricane katrina was like 'life handing you lemons'

but to stick with that metaphor for a second - these days when life hands people lemons - most of the time people just pick them up and fire them at other people

and the main reason why is because this approach to things is part of the tradition that gets passed on from generation to generation

maybe not consciously or deliberately - but passed on nonetheless

when you live in a society where it is the norm for people to take their shit out on other people - odds are you wont find it hard to justify taking your shit out on other people yourself

in reference to the original shrapnel ideas - im gonna also propose that the 'positive' shrapnel is NOT ALWAYS accidental

i know some people that when they go thru foul shit - they reach for the pen

and the bomb they assemble is MEANT to turn that negative situation into something that people can touch / feel / use

at the very least - for me personally - when the difficulty of situations gets amped up - when im catching too much of the bullshit shrapnel - i seek to re-affirm the alliances i have made in the past and touch base with my foundation

in the process i benefit and look to approach the situation in ways that others can benefit as well

you can only build a brick shit house if you shit your hate properly