Take it, leave it, whatever ,Ķ some thoughts from one reader of the BIP.
I guess more than anything else, it seemed ,Äúpreachy,Äù. Serious and dark observations, opinions and arguments that all seemed to be directed AT the reader and most of time delivered from what felt like the top of a soap box. At times the message was along the lines of ,Äúyou,Äôre on your own pal, wise up and see the prison you,Äôre in,Äù or become and suffer the consequences of being a part of the MACHINE. Fair enough and although stark and bleak, the over-all metaphor of the prison is well developed. When the message turns to one of ,Äúwise up or we,Äôre coming to get you,Äù, this just seems to close to the fire and brimstone preaching, again just felt like I was being berated from a pulpit at times.
My personal opinion would be that as a ,Äúrevisit to Discordia,Äù it misses the mark on the serious/humorous element that (I feel) is central to Discordianism. What has drawn me to Discordianism as a ,Äúdefault reality grid,Äù is the laugh. It is a fun way to view the universe we live in. The original PD says to the reader, ,Äúcome and view the world this way, suspend your disbelief and have a laugh with me,Äù. The BIP creates a rather stark reality grid for the reader and any real laughs are had at the reader,Äôs expense. While this may be the intent, it,Äôs not an effective method for getting people to buy-in.
What I saw as I was reading it was the basis for a kind of journal, a prison journal written and left behind to be discovered by the next inmate. The journal is told in first person and builds the reality grid of BIP as our anonymous journal author learns his ropes around the prison he found himself in. Stories and anecdotes relate key learnings and discoveries about the nature of the prison and its inhabitants with other characters portraying certain archetypes or personality classes for interaction lessons. The jail authority being the ,ÄúMachine,Äù, while appearing all encompassing it actually represents the twisted, corrupt failings of the endeavors of man and conformity. The affects of disinformation could be relayed in the interactions of prison inmates and guards. While not mythical in any sense, a pantheon or host of characters could be useful in delivering material. All this leads up to the eventual awakening and escape of the journal author, leaving behind a guide for the next hapless prisoner.
Anyway, just my thoughts ,Ķ
Congrats over-all on getting a group of Discordians together to get anything done.
BTW, favorite line of the text is page 18 ,Ķ ,ÄúTherefore we exist because something is a lying cheating bastard.,Äù Love this concept and was the one decent laugh in the whole text. Not only is this a decent chuckle, but as the ,Äúsomething,Äù is very easily linked to the eastern philosophy of the ,Äúillusion of separation,Äù, it,Äôs a metaphysically correct statement as well.
I guess more than anything else, it seemed ,Äúpreachy,Äù. Serious and dark observations, opinions and arguments that all seemed to be directed AT the reader and most of time delivered from what felt like the top of a soap box. At times the message was along the lines of ,Äúyou,Äôre on your own pal, wise up and see the prison you,Äôre in,Äù or become and suffer the consequences of being a part of the MACHINE. Fair enough and although stark and bleak, the over-all metaphor of the prison is well developed. When the message turns to one of ,Äúwise up or we,Äôre coming to get you,Äù, this just seems to close to the fire and brimstone preaching, again just felt like I was being berated from a pulpit at times.
My personal opinion would be that as a ,Äúrevisit to Discordia,Äù it misses the mark on the serious/humorous element that (I feel) is central to Discordianism. What has drawn me to Discordianism as a ,Äúdefault reality grid,Äù is the laugh. It is a fun way to view the universe we live in. The original PD says to the reader, ,Äúcome and view the world this way, suspend your disbelief and have a laugh with me,Äù. The BIP creates a rather stark reality grid for the reader and any real laughs are had at the reader,Äôs expense. While this may be the intent, it,Äôs not an effective method for getting people to buy-in.
What I saw as I was reading it was the basis for a kind of journal, a prison journal written and left behind to be discovered by the next inmate. The journal is told in first person and builds the reality grid of BIP as our anonymous journal author learns his ropes around the prison he found himself in. Stories and anecdotes relate key learnings and discoveries about the nature of the prison and its inhabitants with other characters portraying certain archetypes or personality classes for interaction lessons. The jail authority being the ,ÄúMachine,Äù, while appearing all encompassing it actually represents the twisted, corrupt failings of the endeavors of man and conformity. The affects of disinformation could be relayed in the interactions of prison inmates and guards. While not mythical in any sense, a pantheon or host of characters could be useful in delivering material. All this leads up to the eventual awakening and escape of the journal author, leaving behind a guide for the next hapless prisoner.
Anyway, just my thoughts ,Ķ
Congrats over-all on getting a group of Discordians together to get anything done.
BTW, favorite line of the text is page 18 ,Ķ ,ÄúTherefore we exist because something is a lying cheating bastard.,Äù Love this concept and was the one decent laugh in the whole text. Not only is this a decent chuckle, but as the ,Äúsomething,Äù is very easily linked to the eastern philosophy of the ,Äúillusion of separation,Äù, it,Äôs a metaphysically correct statement as well.
