ERIS IS DEAD!

[Scribbly]

Eris is Dead! Long Live... what?

Seriously, what are we replacing her with?

I hear talk of a PD for 2006, about updating the book that began discordianism for the modern age, but rather than write new parables about Eris, the bitch what done it all, we are moving away from the central tenants of Discordianism and plunging headlong into a fully political movement?

What. The. Fuck?

Since when was Discordianism all about the politics? Sure, that is in there, but it certainly sounds like we are taking a small part of Discordianism and blowing it out of all proportion, updating the PD for 2006 does not mean completely recreating it, does not mean completely tearing down everything the old PD stood for in the first place.

Sure, new icons and new ideas are always good- this is Discordianism damnit, we are supposed to be all about new ideas, that doesn't mean completely destroying the old ones. Recently on another forum I have had a great discussion with a Discordian on the concept of Discordian philosophy, the meaning of the Sacred Chao, and these things will just be lost?

Fuck that.

I'm all for moving towards a darker humor, I am not all for becoming deadly serious or coming across as jaded. I am all for new ideas, maybe even throwing out the more outdated/overdone ideas such as the law of fives or 23, I am not for throwing away the entire focus as I saw it of the religion-joke-religion.

Because you people seem to have forgotten that this is what Discordianism was originally all about- making people question their beliefs by pointing out how stupid beliefs can be, how strange the universe can be, you have taken those teachings and over the years you have lost the focus, I fear that the PD for 2006 is going to portray the entire Discordian movement as nothing more or less than a fanatical political machine.

Hell, just see how you react to the newbs at the moment, Wolfpoet is a prime example, and to a lesser extent Lady Godiva. He (and she) didn't seem to fit into the jaded bunch you guys have become, so you lay into them both pretty hard, Discordianism was all about accepting new ideas, all about questioning things.

Have you questioned yourselves lately? Or have you become so secure in your own self-importance that you view yourself as Above the Newbs?

Hail Eris. All Hail Discordia.  

[Wolfpoet]

I endorse this statement.

Signing up for the Jihad!

Become a Paladin/iman/rabbi or Fa Shih for the new millenium in the wonderful world of Discordia!

Hail the Archangel Eris!

[LMNO]

Quoth the profit:  "Goddess doesn't care if you say 'Hail Eris!' or not.  In fact, she thinks it makes you look like a tool."


Expanded:  Today's Self-unaware Discordian will not come into the bosom of Eris by the Old Methods.  Any Erisian worth their salt will, once intrigued, research the old texts (like the one on this very website).  What we are looking for is not to rewrite the mythos, we are building a new recruiting tool aimed at the kids to whom LSD is quaint, and to whom the horrific visions of Reality (tm) would stagger the hippes of the 60's.

Yes, when they enter Discordianism, they will find out all about She What Done It All.  But unless we engage them at their level, they'll never know.

[Scribbly]

I'm... sorry?

As a member of the generation you are aiming at, I promise that I do not see LSD as quaint, nor do any of the people I know... more as something to be avoided because it can, and will, fuck you up badly.

I'm more worried about calling it the Principia Discordia '06 since it will bear such little relation to the original PD, if you aren't going to at least part-way base it upon the principles of the old one, why try and pretend you are updating it? Release a new book with a new name, one that has more to do with the political than the philosophical/religious.

As a disclaimer- I do not mean political Discordianism is bad, only different from what the PD originally was.

[East Coast Hustle]

Discordianism is a great philosophy once you remove all the religious references, IMO. Deism (even jokingly) is a dangerous concept and should be ruthlessly stamped out whenever it is encountered.

this is my opinion, so this is the viewpoint my writing slants towards.

some may agree, and their writing may reflect that.

some may disagree, and their writing may reflect that.

at the end of the day, I think we are all more or less on the same page, we may just be on different paragraphs. It certainly shouldn't be allowed to become an obstacle to our greater goals. If you don't feel comfortable working with people who don't share your EXACT viewpoint on all things discordian, then it's certainly your prerogative to not partake in the project, not post here, etc. But I think it would be a shame to lose people that way. Wolfpoet and Ladyy Godiva were challenged when they first showed up, and both seem to have risen to the challenge. Neither of them has complained about being asked to back up their assertions, and it seems as though both have been well accepted by those of us who have been here awhile, whether or not we agree with all of their opinions. Some people will say that we are not conciliatory enough or inclusive enough in our consideration of every single viewpoint. I tell them that we are a group who has agreed upon a course of action and are actively purusing that course of action because that's what WE feel is right. Those who disagree more strongly than we can make allowances for are more than welcome to start their own Discordian literature projects. Some people will say that we are too hard on new people or too unwilling to be patient with those who don't understand or aren't sure they agree with what we're doing. I tell them that time is pressing, and the wheat needs to be separated from the chaff sooner rather than later. Our time is better spent working towards our goals than coddling people.

Frankly, I'm kind of surprised to see this from you, Kai. I've always been under the impression that you thought this whole thing was a good idea, and you've certainly made valuable contributions. I'd hate to see you bail out on this, so if you have more specific concerns, please feel free to air them either here or via PM to myself or whomever you feel comfortable talking to. I promise, I'll listen to what you have to say, even if I don't agree with it.

[Scribbly]

I'm not going to bail out. I genuinely believe a re-release of the PD would be a positive thing, and I will continue to be involved in this community even if all relation to the old PD is lost, even if it is more in the background than I have been of late, I intend to start ramping up my own Operation Mindfuck in my area once my exams are out of the way, and I intend to keep people on here posted as to how that goes.

I've just slept on the issues raised by my poster, the move away from the religious element is something that worries me, it is a large part of what I initially found attractive myself.

I think the problem I have is that it was said we were going to redo the PD for '06, but it seems we are writing an entirely new book. A lot of people will just discount the Olde PD for the 'new' version, I think, and losing a lot of the more classical stuff in there for good would be very disappointing to me.

[B_M_W]

I would just like to repeat the statement that the pd06 is not going to REPLACE the PD23e, like it has earlier aditions. It is, in specific, a piece of propaganda writing to be the first discordian scripture they read. We are trying to speciallize Reverse Brainwashing for this generation to not only hook more people but to ease transition from their sheepie life into a comunity of Jaded discordians such as ourselves. Once they get estabished, then we introduce the discordian cannon to them, INCLUDING the classic PD.

The new pd is a tool for recruitment, and not the end all, be all discordian text.

[Wolfpoet]

The point Kai-Wren and myself have been trying to make is we don't want to become a comunity of jaded Discordians like yourselves.

For us it means allot more.

[Scribbly]

I think the main problem I have is that jaded implies cynical, unaccepting- part of the charm of Discordianism is that it is, theoretically, pretty damn accepting of anything, that is the entire point.

Shake off your bonds of jaded-ness, friends.

[LHX]

political movement?

what?

[B_M_W]

political movement?

what?

I agree with Light House. This has nothing to do with political movement, and everything with finding a new way to get converts and more of them, to get people to wake up. Cause thats more important now more than ever.

[LMNO]

The way I see it, we're just using the phrase "PD06" as a convenient handle.  I doubt it will end up being called that.

more philosophy on Monday.[/i]

[Scribbly]

And suddenly... things seem clearer.

I think I managed to totally misunderstand where a lot of the ideas behind this were headed, but... yeah...

ah well, its still a good rant  

[deet]

Should the idea of Eris be removed completely? Or quietly alluded to, so that only the most curious would know?

With the latter, when people question the original, they could be pointed to the Greek idea

[Wolfpoet]

Problem is the new way is coming from old Jaded minds.

I tried an experiment yesterday, popped down AEC on my break and chatted to a mate of mine on a course. He's a pretty open minded Soldier and always bitches to me about things, Government, religion, politics.

He's been to iraq, seen the shit and I respect him allot for what he's been through. Reckoned he was a prime candidate, I've discussed Discordianism with him and he liked it, loved the whole Erisian aspect and the way I mocked the preachy thing.

I logged onto this sigte under my name at the AEC and let him scroll through.

After 30 minutes his responce was "Bunch of dumb yank anarchists"

Almost ruined everything I'd built. So i went back to square one.