On Being Non-Binary
Some stuck with Stalin because he could fight fascism
others because they believed in the October Revolution long after
everything had gone wrong
some
such as the best writer ever aka Victor Serge
criticized Stalin and the show trials
(where the accused were forced to confess to crimes they didn’t commit)
Serge paid the price for his bravery and led the life of an outcast
Serge’s friend Leon Trotsky
aka the worker of the century
was assasinated afterwards in Mexico
Just because countless leaders have failed us
and we didn’t listen to those who saw through the facade
while we fell in love with the look of our own commitment
we shouldn’t throw in the towel
We must learn from past experiences and find
what unites us against oppression of all kinds
After suffering a heart attack, Serge wrote:
“I do not feel any obsessive anxiety and have not lost the taste for anything I love: those close to me, life, ideas and work …”
I’ve written a lot of bullshit, some of it under the banner of anti-work
but there’s nothing wrong with work, apart from the fact that
we don’t own the fruits of our labor
I hope my peers see how aligning with workers makes the most sense
The worst you can do as an artist is to try and get a seat at the table
by showing what a credible, reasonable adult you are
by reciting popular economists and shunning your peers
who dare use the word ‘neoliberal’
as if it is not a factual description of the system we’re in
as if the work begun by Hayek and others almost 100 years ago
didn’t take over the whole globe, bringing down all opposition
to the free flow of capital and labor
as if there isn’t a bunch of beautiful, even sensible things drawn up by Hayek
aka a really good writer
but that his hatred of labor unions and centralized planning on one hand
and the colonial takeover of countries for capital investment on the other
is where it all went wrong
Hayek is Stalin as a creative
all ideas and proposals
far removed from the wreckage they cause
as if we wouldn’t now live in a world, here in Finland too
where even trade unions think infinite growth is necessary
and pitting workers from different countries against each other is just the way it is
or that TV-ready economists didn’t succeed on selling us on the idea that
adequate minimum pay is ‘bad for immigrants’ because it makes the job market untenable
instead of admitting that without union membership and large-scale binding agreements workers will always be mistreated, especially the migrants and paperless most prone to
facing racism, as we saw recently when Helsingin Sanomat newspaper
wrote about the large-scale abuse of cleaning workers in Finland
That’s exactly what happens when you are made to negotiate on your own but are powerless
I’ve also complained about how the contemporary art we learn in school
is nothing but a continuation of the American propaganda war
look up abstract expressionism and CIA
btw, Sweden is the CIA of Scandinavia
hiding its fortunes made from arms deals
behind the softness of Abba and Max Martin
but no, there’s nothing wrong in making art
when you allow your friends to challenge you
we artists have never been open to that kind of criticism
we just want our ideas, and ourselves, to be seen and heard
nevermind if they, or we, reach their fullest potential or not
which is why we can’t really build anything together because each of us
has to make their own thing, every time, from the ground up
capitalist copyright laws neatly mirror this
they make sure we don’t consider ideas and art as a common
that could help in the unity of workers globally
so instead of pooling our thinking together
we sell our ideas on the marketplace individually
accepting the piracy-as-business-model of Spotify, from Sweden
We are not taught in art schools how to work together as one
we learn to make others work on our ideas by
stepping over others into the role of a director or the gifted one
who makes others suffer in order to fulfil their vision
or steals the creativity of others to get a seat at the table
Stop mimicking such hierarchies in art (and everywhere)
working with capitalist tools makes you and your institution a tool
there’s a big difference between helping out your friends in their pursuits
and trying to read a director’s mind in order to better please them
who in turn is pleasing people above them and yelling at you
in a fit of upward mobility fever dream anxiety attack
I mean we do need leaders but I trust you see the difference betweena need for a leader in a pressing situation vs. self-created hierarchies that exist
only to accelerate competition and give us winners and losers
To help the socialist cause, we must make art socialist
it doesn’t mean socialist realism or ‘political art’
do not lose your taste for the things you love
OK I admit this bit is confusing
art is gringe and joy at once
maybe there’s no need to bring art into this for now
I have a tendency
The reason for wanting to overthrow the neoliberal world order
is not change for the sake of change
it’s because we can’t keep being happy while the poorest pay the price
for what good is Netflix, your grassroots gallery, or your love life
if their existence relies on bombing civilians, busting unions
and destroying our habitat with over-consumption?
Socialism is the belief that cynicism is not a necessary evil
How can we build a large coalition? When ever I write ‘we’
I want to mean anyone
who would benefit from a global worker’s unity
What if you’re not working? You’re still judged by your proximity to work
so no worries you’re welcome to join the cause
Suggestion:
I want to see trade unions here in Finland erase the lines between professions
Sound designers
are fighting the same fight as hairdressers
are fighting the same fight as small businesses are fighting the same fight as farmers
are fighting the same fight as cleaning workers
are fighting the same fight as populist-party-voters
are fighting the same fight as students without trust funds
The division of labor is a form of control
time we stopped buying into it
coalitions do not mean we agree on everything
just that we agree on the fundamentals
that matter the most
You know what’s best in the place you live in and if you don’t
then team up, let others kindly challenge you
and allow them be challenged by you
But really this must be made a global issue
the same fight over dignity is going on everywhere
trade unions used to be international
we need to revisit that mood
for what good is a pay rise when it’s stolen from somebody elsewhere?
We might not see this change in our lifetime
but that’s not the point to be honest
the point is to dedicate your life to doing what’s right
this way you will live on
not as a celebrated individual but as radiant energy
Also, I’m non-binary and use they/them pronouns and
my name is now Kaino Wennerstrand and
that’s that
socialist first nonbinary second
I’ll take misgendering by class equals who are working it out over
being shimmered by the grease of leftovers from corporate diversity training that comes with the assumption that
I don’t mind being complicit in the bombing, busting and destruction**
