Abusers, Colorado SB 12-088, and the Imperative of Production

ALL HANDS ON DECK!

A new law proposed by conservative State senators in the Colorado State Congress seeks to preempt local regulation of oil & gas drilling and prevent local cities and communities from having ANY control over oil and gas activities within their boundaries.

The bill–SB 12-088–comes on the heels of drilling moratorium in several Colorado counties, including Boulder, Longmont, and Colorado Springs, and is obviously a gift to the oil and gas industry. Now that the industry has begun to lose when it plays by the already biased and rigged rules, it has decided to change the rules altogether and forbid local control of oil and gas operations.

Like an abusive partner, the industry can’t cope with even the slightest refusal or rejection; there can be no deviation from what it wants. Sure, these corporations are willing to play some games–arguing about limits for drilling close to schools or houses, disclosing some of the toxic chemicals used in the process, etc–in much the same way an abusive partner buys flowers and “apologizes” for their mistakes. But ultimately, the dynamic remains–MUST remain–the same; the industry, like the abuser, is ALWAYS in control, ALWAYS dominating the other. And hence, the industry (with the frustratingly obvious subservience of the State) is attempting to gut what little sovereignty remains in our society.

Can we please call this what it is: a merger of the power of the State and industry to facilitate the destructive and murderous demands of ‘production.’

Mussolini said that Fascism shouldn’t be called Fascism; it should more appropriately be called Corporatism, because it is a merger of State and Corporate power. Whatever we want to call it, we would do well to stop pretending it’s ‘Democracy™.’

Would that we learn the not-so-disgused lesson SB 12-088 presents us, that ultimately there can be no justice, no democracy, to safety within an industrial society. A civilization like an abuser, a civilization like ours, demands growth and production at any cost. Like an abuser, it’s victims cannot say “no”, lest they risk the incomprehensibility of rejected’s rage. Would that we learn that this way of life has no room for ANYTHING that stands in the way of economic activity.

 This bill, this mockery of what an actual democracy might look like, is a warning to those of us who value life and our loved ones above production. It is a sign of what’s to come if we continue to stand for life, our families and the land. Like challenging the will of the domineering abuser, there are consequence for challenging the will of commerce, but that’s no reason to back down.

The dominant culture is built on an imperative of production, an mandate of converting the living world into dead products. This imperative is not compatible with a living world, and this culture–this industrial civilization–must be stopped and dismantled before it destroys what remains of life of this planet. This means an organized, serious resistance. Those in power–the State and Industry–will not hesitate to strip away what little sovereignty we still have in their effort to crush any meaningful dissent, just as an abuser does. Colorado SB 12-088, the recent NDAA bill; this is just the beginning. 

It’s time to prepare and arm ourselves, with words and prayers, dreams and history, and fight for our lives everything we’re worth, beacuse that’s what’s at stake.