$2.50v3n2 (#8)

Question Everything.Challenge Everything.*

�The New Yorker of the slacker generation!� - Jersey Beat

your field guide in the war on normalcy

� Build Your Own Portable Bigot Detector!� The Military-Industrial Complex

Wants to Entertain You!� Are You a Laughing Pawn?� Fighting the Good Fight.� The WOTOS Cult -- EXPOSED!� MUCH, MUCH MORE!

a Basketful

Bas

ket

Wea

ver,

Viv

ian

Aro

n

Uncompromisingartistic vision comes

in many forms.

of Integrity

Includes

a

refres

hing lack

of dog

ma!

*but please, use somejudgment. (see page 18)

2 qece v3n2

Question Everything.Challenge Everything.

FROM THE EDITOR: Question Now ..................................... 3MICRO-QECE .................................................................. 4LETTERS TO QECE ............................................................. 6NUKE THE CLICHÉ: Objective Reality ................................. 7Look! Up In the Sky! Part 2 by Andy Rant .................. 8A Basketful of Integrity: An interview With Vivian Aron by Larry Nocella ................................... 11Solitude by Larry Nocella ............................................ 16CHALLENGE QECE: Diapers for the Brain by Larry Nocella........................................................ 18Death & Taxes by Andy Rant ...................................... 22The Good Fight by Larry Nocella ................................ 24centerfold art by Colin Develin .................................. 30MEDITATION ON... Labels by Larry Nocella ...................... 36The Portable Bigot Detector ..................................... 40Don�t Play Into Their Hands! by Larry Nocella .......... 44REAL LIFE QECE: Blue Star Acid by Larry Nocella .......... 48NEW SCIENCE: WOTOS: Exposing the Cult .................... 52NETWORK ....................................................................... 56DEPROGRAMMING MANTRA ................................................ 58

tableaux una duh contenzv3n2 (#8)

Editor: Larry NocellaAll writing, design, art, etc. by Larry Nocella unless otherwise noted.

your field guide in the war on normalcy

QECE logo design: Todd Horning of TOHO DesignQECE Magazine v3n2 ©1998 Larry Nocella

Will the backward swimming fish create an inverted whirlpool which will spit up all the se-

Thanks to Andy Rant for his loyal contributions and brainstorming assistance.Thanks to Jennifer Tuck for her clip art loan and for arranging the interview withMs. Aron. Be sure to pass this issue along to a friend or your local library, and of

course, remember to Question Everything and Challenge Everything.p.s. Thanks to Heather for proofreading and for waiting. It was worth the wait, eh?

3qecev3n2

FROM THE EDITOR

Larry Nocella, editor

Question Now.Nothing teaches like experience. So

let’s take a hard-learned lesson fromhuman rights activist Howard Zinn.

Toward the end of World War II, Zinntook part in a mission to bomb theFrench town of Royan, where Frenchcivilians and German soldiers wereholed up, not doing anything, waitingfor the war to end. He and 1,200 otherheavy bombers dropped napalm on thetown. “I should have asked morequestions.” Zinn said regretfully.*

I certainly don’t mean to demean theman, nor claim in that Iwould have done any better,but the lesson we all canlearn is: question NOW,don’t wait.

For my own part, I wish Ihad questioned more in thepast. Some days I am filledwith rage thinking of allthat time I wasted doingsomething I didn’t want todo. Doing something justbecause it was the tradition.I should have asked morequestions, too.

“Better late than never, but betternever late” goes the true (if annoying)cliché. Hey, sometimes questioningyourself can be scary. But better face thefrightening truth now, rather than liveone second bogusly.

One of the things I’m most proud of,as I Question Everything and ChallengeEverything is that I can say I’m shapingfor myself a well-thought-out life.Because I question, it’s rare that I findmyself saying, “Why am I doing thisthing that I hate?” It’s rare that a wonk

trying to discourage me from somethingcatches me off-guard with their search-ing-for-any-hypocrisy questions. I lookaround, and I’m happy with the waythings are going. It’s cool!

I don’t know everything, but I’mproud of the fact that since I questionand challenge I probably won’t end upin a situation again like I did in college,and hopefully not one like Mr. Zinn.

Too many people accept their miseriesas “the way things are.” QECE is noguarantee out of any given cage, but

failing to question is aguarantee you’re going tostay in any given cage.

A lot of people seemto take the QECE philoso-phy lightly, or think thatthis mag will be all fun andgames. No way! We’re allbusiness here. (Ignore thepropeller hat.) But It seemsif QECE doesn’t hurt oncein a while, then you’re notdoing it right. But you gottaface that pain; it’s short

term, and the feeling of releasing yoursoul outweighs it greatly.

Question and Challenge now, and youwon’t have as much trouble doing so inthe future. It’s like a lever, the furtherback you start, the more power youhave. One cliché that won’t get nuked inthese pages is “A stitch in time savesnine.” It’s true, home-slice.

Sew the stitches now, and save theembarrassment of having a rip in theseat of your pants. Metaphoricallyspeaking, of course.

* “Failure to Quit” by Howard ZinnCommon Courage Press. ©1993. pages 6 to 9.

crets of the sea? Wow, when that’s the first question that comes to mind, you know you’re

4 qece v3n2

MICRO-QECEQuiet RebellionAldous Huxley said, “Liberties aren’tgiven, they are taken.” I believe that istrue, so does the search for freedomneed an open and obvious struggle?What if everyone ignored the law, butdidn’t riot in the streets about it? Thiswould be like the millions of people whodefy the law by openly discussing potsmoking or not driving the speed limit?If everyone stood up for themselves,would organization be necessary? Isorganization over-rated?

Q

Carpal TunnelI had the unfortunate experience ofobserving a TV news cast that said,what many people think is CarpalTunnel is actually diabetes, arthritis,etc. Workmen’s Compensation Claimswere mentioned twice.

The whole thing sounded to me likeindustry’s offensive to stem the tide ofcarpal tunnel injury claims. Thecompanies will defend themselves bysaying, “You didn’t get carpal tunnelfrom working 60 hours a week at ourcompany... you have arthritis... we’renot liable.”

It seems similar to (what I know of)the government’s defense against suingcancer-stricken Vietnam Vets whoexposed to Agent Orange. The vets wentto court, and the government defendeditself by saying, “Well, how do youknow you got cancer from AgentOrange and not somewhere else?”

Being DefinedDon’t let boring people define anythingfor you. Don’t be chased away fromvoting or campaigning by dullards.There is no law of nature that sayspolitics has to be boring and stiff.

Most magazines are dull and insipid.I don’t let that discourage me fromdoing QECE. In fact, it’s inspiration forme to try to save the print medium Ienjoy so much.

Politicians don’t have to be escapedmannequins from a menswear depart-ment. Establishing those things is thepower-wonk way of discouraginginteresting people like yourself fromgetting involved. Election may be tough,since most people want a boringrepresentative, but don’t be chased off.Define yourself, whatever your field.

Q

Pop Culture ScamCarl Hiaasen’s book Stormy Weather ispublished by Time-Warner books, thesame publisher of Time Magazine. Inthe paperback edition of StormyWeather, there are a ton of quotes sayinghow great the book is... including onefrom Time Magazine.

In addition, following the airing ofFox Network’s new 70’s nostalgia show,“That 70’s Show” (I was just flippingthru the channels. Sure. Sure.) The localnews preview announced stories of thelatest American bombings, and a storyon how 70’s styles are coming back.(August 23, 1998, Fox Philadelphia)

Honestly, I didn’t watch the report, I

riding some sort of funky groove, don’t you? Can there be more to this than plays on words and

5qecev3n2

The Past of�Past and Present�Last issue, in Micro-QECE (QECEv3n1, page 5) the section “Past &Present” was a little unclear. The blurbdetailed my experience of initiallyhearing the theory that Alexander theGreat died from “eating bad meat” thenlater hearing the theory that he died ofsyphilis, and after that, the theory thathe died of AIDS.

I concluded that the past changes withthe present. What I meant was not that Ibelieved Mr. the Great died of AIDS ornot. I really have no opinion on thematter.

What I was trying to say is that asmore is learned in the present, whatappeared one way in the past now looksdifferent and can be concluded so. Or,the hindsight is prejudiced by currentevents and theories, and a disputed pastevent is simply interpreted aroundcurrent events.

The past is always viewed throughpresent eyes, and as present visionchanges, past events are interpreteddifferently. Sometimes this leads closerto the truth, sometimes away.

The changing cause of Alexander’sdeath theory is an example of this.Whether this leads historians closer toor further from the truth is up to you todecide.

And the award for the most confusingclarification goes to... Sure, thisclarification is confusing, but that’sbecause I had to make sure you knew Iwas unclear on the situation. It’s betterto clarify that an issue is more complexthan it first appears than to over-simplify it. Yes? Sheesh! Enough! Q

was already barfing. Of course, by thetime you read this, That 70’s Show willprobably need to be renamed, “ThatCancelled Show.”

Sigh! What a hideous revelation: Pop-culture is full of fakery! Talk about self-promotion. Maybe I should put, “Larryloves Larry’s zine!” on the cover.

Q

The Horse WhispererThe movie “Horse Whisperer” is outand on some talk show (who careswhich one, they’re all the same anyway)a big deal was being made of a personwho could “break” a horse withoutviolence. “Break” meaning, get thehorse to allow someone to ride him/her.Wow! What a novel concept! You mean,if you’re actually kind to the horse, s/hewill be more inclined to give you a ride?It annoys me that a kind approach issuch novel technology to some people.Wow! Kindness opens doors. Gee!

Q

Distrust RepetitionDistrust traditions that make you repeatthe same thing over and over and overand over, like the “Pledge of Alle-giance” and religious ceremony.Repetition may occasionally be good toget into a meditative state, but be carefulthat you’re not being lulled into aprogrammable trance. I rememberthinking in tenth grade or so, after I hadbeen saying the pledge for years, “Whatexactly am I saying here?” It took me awhile to think about it. I didn’t knowthe words consciously, just their rhythm.

observations about the inaccuracies of language? Can we ride tandem with the electric magic of

6 qece v3n2

LETTERS TO QECEWe Agree.

Re: QECE issue #7. Nuke the Cliché: We.I think “we” is even more insidious; sure, it’s obvious that

many Americans are numb to the large-scale tragedies ofother countries, butwhat about thesubtle use of thecollective “we” toundermine theconfidence ofpeople?

What about whenthe mass media states that “we” believe [Celebrity X] has puton a couple pounds and is therefore no longer who “we” longto be?

The editorial “we” has been subtly turned into the cultural“we,” and those who disagree with it are against popularculture and therefore un-American. Hell, I sometimes findmyself being sucked into it!

Trish BiedronPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania

What about when the mass media statesthat �we� believe [Celebrity X] has put on acouple pounds and is therefore no longer

who �we� long to be?

Q

Good call, Trish. Another abuse of“we” to watch for is when lamewriters (or writers trying toempasize a weak idea) attempt tomake the reader feel guilty. Whilewe are all a part of a society in someway, whether we like it or not (I justused “we” properly!) there is notalways reason to feel guilty foranother's misfortune. Here’s ageneric example: “As the poor getpoorer, we just stand by and watch.”How can the writer know that istrue? Many people work hard tohelp others, and a sweeping “we”ignores their efforts. If one of theseactivists is reading the article, thesentence rings dead false.

How to Get YourLetter PrintedGood job on QECE #6!! You never cease toamaze me with your creativity, originalityand writing ability -- and I mean that too! Ireally liked the poem in the back “So Easy”It’s something I know I’ll think of whendefending my own hypocrisies. “Sex andDolphins” was way interesting and neato,too! I could go on and on... if you don’t getlove letters like this daily then I don’tknow what’s wrong with people ’causeyour zine is great!

Tiffany ThieleSparks, Nevada

I don’t know what’s wrong with people,either, Tiffany! But at least you have goodtaste. Thank you very much for thecompliments.

improvisation? Or must we wallow in delay tactics waiting for the energy to burst forth, where-

7qecev3n2

NUKE THE CLICHÉ

I will do my best to no longer rent or watch either of the following: 1. GunWorship Movies: Any movie that’s videotape box or promotion poster has apicture of someone with a gun. Double so for someone pointing a gun at me. Canyou name a movie that doesn’t involve a gun? 2. Music-Video Movies: Movies thathave preview scenes depicting the characters dancing and lip-syncing to a feel-goodsong. (Usually old people or kids are doing the dancing.) Is this humorous? No.Does it advance the story? No. (Movies that rely on this common device don’tusually have a plot too unpredictable.) Does it have any fucking point whatsoever?No! It sucks! Argh! What is the point of these boycotts? To send a clear message tomovie-makers: Genericism will not be tolerated! Demand original ideas!

AT THE BOYCOTT FRONTIER

upon we marvel at its brilliance, so wonderful that the previous tedium of waiting is forgotten?

8 qece v3n2

Up In the Sky!LOOK!2[Editor’s note: Readers may want toconsult Andy Rant’s article on moviepropaganda in QECE v3n1 (#7) page16: “Look Up In the Sky!” This articledevelops further those ideas.]

Having failed to plant fears of alieninvasion into the minds of the peoplethrough their pawns in Hollywood, (yes,of course they have pawns in Holly-wood. Duh.) now it seemsthat the military industrialcomplex (MIC) is tryingto shift our fears towardlarge extraterrestrialchunks of stone and theirpossible collision withplanet Earth. So now itisn’t just aliens, butasteroids and comets thatwe have to watch out for.

According to a recent UPI report, aPentagon spokesperson has stated thatthey are currently considering whetheror not to develop some multi-gazilliondollar anti-asteroid defense system.(Really!) A report on the subject is duein October. Obviously, it is the samecompanies which received untold

ANDY RANTS

Part

by Andy Rant

billions of dollars during the cold warwhich will take the contracts to buildthese.

Time magazine, one of the most read“news” sources in the country recentlyran an article, featured on the cover:“Asteroids! How to Stop Them.” Itseems a really big rock was recentlyspotted by some astronomers, and atfirst they thought it would come

uncomfortably close tothe Earth, but then theyfigured out that it wasn’tgoing to be a problem.

Nevertheless, therehas already been a TVmovie, and not one buttwo major motionpictures (“Deep Impact”and “Armageddon”)

featuring asteroids and comets slam-ming into Earth. These movies serve thepurpose of getting the populace into agood panic.

Time Magazine did its’ part toexacerbate the mania. A recent articlebegins, “The mile wide asteroid headingtoward the Earth proved to be a cosmicfalse alarm, but that’s no reason not to

These moviesserve the purpose

of getting thepopulace into a

good panic.

Can this get just one ounce more pretentious? Have we reached a peak of pretentiousness? Can

9qecev3n2

startplan-ning forthe next one.”and later states,“The threat ofasteroid strikes,however, still loomsover the planet...”

The article goeson to say, “Scien-tists agree that it isonly a matter oftime before anothercelestial hulk hitshome.” Sure theydo. It’s only amatter of timebefore the sunblows up, too. Avery very longtime. And thelikelihood of anasteroid of anydangerous size hitting the Earth in thenext thousand years is very very small.

My (conspiracy) theory is that theMIC figured the public just wasn’tbuying all the alien invasion hooplah,but would be more willing to believethat we need to protect ourselves fromuninvited gigantic space rocks. Afterall, asteroids actually have hit the Earthin the past. Big ones. One of them killedthe dinosaurs, it seems (leaving behinda crater in Mexico 120 miles wide.)That big crater out in Arizona didn’tjust appear; a meteor hit there only50,000 years ago. And somethingslammed into Siberia in 1908. So sure,

asteroids do hit the Earth.But let’s have a little sense of perspec-

tive. Asteroids the size of theone that wiped out the

dinosaurs only hitthe Earth once

every 50-100 millionyears or so. Smaller

ones hit more fre-quently (once in a fewhundred, or thousandyears depending on size

range) but thelikelihood that anyof these willactually slam intoa human popula-tion center isalmost zero. Allthings consid-ered, there are alot better waysto spend taxdollars than onasteroiddefensesystems, but

Lockheed Martin wouldn’t make anymoney off them.

Below are some quick statistics at aglance:

Number of human beings killed byasteroids since the dawn of time

(or at least recorded history):zero

Number of human beings who die ofmalnutrition-related diseases:

16 million per year

Now the likelihood that a single lifewill be saved next year if untold billions

asteroid art bySteve Barr

this be kept up, or will it fail? Shall I study the decay of things to see the signs? Why should I

10 qece v3n2

are invested in an asteroid defensesystem is virtually nil. On the otherhand, 16 million more people will bedead for the simple reason that they donot have nourishing food. The likeli-hood that a single human life will besaved by asteroid defense systems in thenext thousand years is still nearly nil.(After all, there is no evidence tosuggest that even one person was everkilled by an asteroid in the last million)But at the current rate, the number ofpeople who will die of hunger andmalnutrition in the next millenniumwill be over three times the currenthuman population of the Earth.

I won’t be waiting for that majorHollywood blockbuster on starvingpeople. Nor do I expect Time Magazineto run a cover story: “People StillStarving In a World of Plenty.” Peopleget very excited about using high-tech tosolve “problems” even if the problemsare essentially nonexistent, but it wouldbe nice if they applied the most basicand rudimentary technology to realproblems and didn’t allow people tostarve to death in a world more thancapable of feeding them.

As I said last time, don’t look up; anddon’t bother going to the movies, orreading Time. There is plenty ofcatastrophe all around us. Q

Sources quoted in this article include:1.Time Magazine, March 23, 1998.2.UPI Report: Washington,

February 18, 1998.3. UNICEF statistics on malnutrition.

Further Thoughtson the Hollywood-PropagandaConnection.Ever notice how Hollywood sparks a“news” story which sparks actualdiscussion of legislation? Is it coinci-dence or is it coordinated? Here’s thetypical cycle:

1.Movie(s) featuring massive death.(Currently, asteroid movies.) How-

ever, this seems to be a theme in manymovies (see Andy Rant’s article lastissue.)

2. “Could it Happen?” News Storiesand Documentaries.This is where the media consults the

“experts.” Strategy here: Pay off theexperts (in form of grant money) inadvance. Since anything is possible, allthe experts say the events depicted inthe movie could probably happen. But aprobably rarely asked, “What is thelikelihood?” Critics are rare, for sure.

3.Actual political dialogue of whatshould be done about the “threat.”Face it. Hollywood has the eyes and

ears of the masses, especially themoronic masses (as proven by thepopularity of movies such as “Titanic.”)The power wonks would be fools not totake advantage of this resource... andthey wouldn’t be power wonks! It seemsthis meteor madness is the mostsuccessful effort of the HollywoodPropaganda machine so far. Q

-- Larry Nocella

comet craziness!meteor madness!

asteroid assininity!

want to know the signs? Why not enjoy the ride? Could you spend your life struggling to resist

11qecev3n2

by Larry Nocella

At the most fundamental level, thediffering forces in any field are quite thesame: there are always a few largeorganizations with wide support thatsustain themselves with huge capitaland raw industrial power; their strengthcoming from the ability to producemany identical copies of a few items andmarket like mad.

In contrast to these few juggernautsare the smaller andquicker-movingindividuals thatsustain themselveswith guts andpassion; theirstrength comingfrom their love oftheir craft, andtheir solid determination to do thingstheir way. Often these smaller entitiesgenerate the innovations later co-optedby the mass-production giants.

Overlay this pattern onto any fieldand all the struggles are the same: howto survive, how to publicize, how tokeep going, how to cling to your vision.

It’s always the manufacturing giantsand the small dedicated individuals: it’strue in politics, publishing, music,

anything... including, of course, baskets.Take basket-weaver Vivian Aron, who

defines DIY (Do It Yourself) as much asany self-financed touring band or self-published author. She grows much ofher raw materials, and has a quiet,unshakable integrity about her works.

Contrast that with the LongabergerCompany, the basket-selling giant,whose mass produced baskets are

missing theindividual lovethat Ms. Aronfinds so essential.

It’s Punkversus Pop, Zineversus Magazine— all over again.

Of course, the“versus” doesn’t necessarily mean thereis direct conflict and competition:there’s always room for many players,and each have their value. What makesthe existence of Vivian Aron (and othersuccessful DIYers) so inspiring is thefact that with determination, dedicationand passion, one can easily co-exist in afield with a seemingly over-poweringgiant that seems able to out-muscle any“competition.”

a Basketfulof IntegrityVivian Aron’s uncompromising approach to

the art of basket weaving

There are no machines thatcan make baskets, it�s the

only thing that�s neverbeen mechanized.

the end, only to find out the end was inevitable, and you caused it prematurely by halting what

12 qece v3n2

Fortunately for QECE, Vivian tooktime from her busy schedule to answer afew questions about her how she stayssuccessful as an independent artist.

QECE: Give me some background onyourself. How long have you beenweaving baskets?Vivian Aron: It was 1979, I had justgraduated from Albright College with aBachelor’s degree in Sociology (that Iworked very hard for) I was all ready toset the world on fire, except none of myjob applications got me interviews.Well, one with Hershey foods but I blewthat with my idea of how candy shouldbe made.

I was living in my parents’ third floor

abode and Iwas doingsubstituteteaching and Iwould comehome fromwork each dayand weave myheart out. Iloved it.Baskets werepopping up allover — I wasgiving themaway to thepoint whereone couplesaid “Wedon’t needany more.”My brother inlaw, a salesrep, suggestedI sell themand one of the

first places I applied was the Kutztown(Pennsylvania) Folk Festival, usually itsa long procedure to get in, but anexhibitor got appendicitis and I got in 2weeks before the show. That was when Ibegan weaving on Basket Road.

My dad was tired of coming homeand finding all my material in the bathtub. He threatened to throw me and thematerials out. My friend Jerry said Icould weave at his place there was apond and an out-house and a shack andit was on Basket Road. Off I went andnow it’s 1998. For ten years I wove atleast 10 hours or more a day.

How did you learn to weave baskets?I was at a get-together at a friend’s and

Vivian Aron proudly displaying one of her baskets atthe Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen show.

you were doing in order to prevent it? I suppose, to simplify, one might ask, aw hell, I forget and

13qecev3n2

a friend of a friend was weaving abasket — I was fascinated, I wanted tolearn — my friend then learned and shetaught me the basics like twining andpairing — whatever, I never know theterms. All I knew was I loved doing it. Iwas awarded an apprenticeship (by thePennsylvania Council of the Arts) to athird generation German gypsy willowbasket weaver.

Where do you getyour materials?I get my materialsfrom a local grapevine, picked by Jerrymostly. I strip it.Local English basketwillow. Self culti-vated, cut andstripped annually. I also use rattanwhich is a vine that grows 30 to 40 feetin length, it’s a member of the palmfamily, I purchase this... it’s great stuff.

How do you publicize/distribute yourbaskets?I sell my baskets at shows and by wordof mouth. Publicity is nice but I neverreally had money to invest in it. I was inCountry Living three times and EarlyMorning Life once, a cover article. I’vebeen published in two books an numer-ous newspaper articles. I taught atAlbright College and Landis ValleyFarm Museum.

Is each basket different? Do you evermake the same basket twice?Each basket is a little different. I haveabout 12 to 15 different styles I designedand I do variations of them. No two areidentical.

You once wove baskets full-time, butstopped. Was that because it became achore?The weaving didn’t become a chore. Ididn’t like feeling like I was trying tosell them, I would tell people how Imade them and let them decide. I didn’tlike the pressure of having to supportmyself. I gave up weaving full timebecause I didn’t want to prostitute my

art. This way I cancreate and not feelthat I have to appealto the masses.

If I wouldhave wanted to massproduce, I wouldhave gotten a fasterjob. I want to create.Consequently, I work

a regular full time job so I can create.

How do you work basketry into youbusy schedule, since you don’t do

Longaberger CompanyHeadquarters. Does the construction

of the basket-building symbolizetheir �production� attitude toward

the creation of baskets?

I gave up weaving fulltime because I didn�t

want to prostitute my art.This way I can create and

not feel that I have toappeal to the masses.

you weren’t listening anyway, were you? I guess there is not much point in dying because you

14 qece v3n2

them as your “day job”? How manyhours a week do you spend weaving?I spend approximately 30 to 35 hoursper week working on baskets or basketrelated things, for example: willowcultivating, cutting, stripping, weeding,dyeing materials, making walnut stain,stripping grape vines.

You’re not too fond of Longaberger.Why?The Longaberger Company does thegreatest advertising in the business butthere is no correlation between advertis-ing and a quality basket. It’s the oldQuantity versus Quality story.

What makes a “good” basket versus a“less good” one? What, in youropinion, makes your baskets morespecial than Longaberger?

All baskets are good. There are nomachines that can make baskets, it’s theonly thing that’s never been mecha-nized. The difference lies in quality.

If a person takes the time to gatherand dye materials and weave them withthe intent to create — not simplyproduce — to me there is a difference. Ipersonally want to create, because thereis satisfaction and reward in thatwithout it going any further. I don’tthink there is the same reward inproduction.

I applaud all basket weavers, indi-vidual talent, and design, in general.Each and every basket weaver should berewarded for their efforts, not exploitedfor their labor. When there is a chain ofmiddle-men involved who make morethan the weaver what kind of value doesthe consumer get?

Vivian�s baskets on display at the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen show.

were trying too hard to live, is there? Who dares to deny the mystic? Why are mystics often

15qecev3n2

Would you design baskets forLongaberger if they offered you alarge salary?I would not design for Longaberger nomatter how much money they offeredbecause my designs would no longer becreations, they would be mass produc-tion directions and that’s not where it’sat for me.

Can people contact you, should theywish to view your collection orpurchase a basket? How can they doso?Yes, people can contact me. Write tome, come see me at shows, maybesomeday I’ll have my own little shop.

Any readers wishing to contact Ms.Aron can do so by mailing her letterscare of QECE 406 Main St. #3C,Collegeville, PA 19426 Q

Sample baskets from the Longabergercatalog, above. Note the difference in

construction compared to a Vivian Aronbasket, at right.

Above left, Longaberger Baskets, approximate price (each): $200+Above right, Vivian Aron Basket: approximate price: <$100

brats? What is the ecology of the spin? Is money the root of all evil? What if money were

16 qece v3n2

solitudesolitudeannihilated, what would then happen? Would people suddenly stop being cruel? Have you

Findingsolitude iseasy. The keyis goingsomeplace thatrequires effort.-- Larry Nocella

Findingsolitude iseasy. The keyis goingsomeplace thatrequires effort.-- Larry Nocella

17qecev3n2

by Larry Nocella. Photo by Heather Tuck.

I love wastelands. Desert, arctictundra, endless plains.

Like I love a blank sheet of paper, oran empty bowl, even a cracked doorwith the space beyond hidden indarkness or light. But those things Ilove because of what they can become.Wastelands I love because of what theyare: emptiness, completely absent ofactivity. Utterly silent and calm.

Unfortunately, I really only knownatural wastelands from pictures.

Industrial wastelands are the onlyones accessible to me. I love the deadbusiness, the silent empty parking lot,the stripped car corpse, the dumpstersfilled with rusting file cabinets, grasspoking through the concrete, the bentover fence. Rusted gates guardingnothing. A soft wind. Silence.

There is a sense of cheating deathwhen I’m present in the wasteland, as ifmy minuscule existence resists thenothing; a pebble that cannot bestomped. I’m all that stands betweenone and zero. It takes some force of willto resist the nothing. Otherwise, I’llsimply vanish, and never be heard fromagain. Gone.

I love these empty places because thatis where there is solitude and peace.Being alone and still, most peoplebelieve and/or know, is necessary tomental health. I think that’s why somany people are emotionally scarred,the urbanized world works on constantnoise and cram. People get evil whenthey’re packed too close together;reference any major city.

Still, finding solitude is easy. The keyis going someplace that requires effort.

TIMEIt’s been my experience that 10 am is

the breaking point of the morning, whenpeople really start to appear and chasethe quiet of the early morning... thatnumber drifts earlier toward 9:30 am inthe brighter days. But 10 am seems to bethe key. I wake at 6 am or earlier andenjoy a few hours of quiet.

I’m sure there’s an equivalent magicnumber for night-solitude seekers, say,maybe 3 am, when people just vanish,but the morning is my time.

PLACEThe effort that is so key in finding

solitude can apply to many things.Libraries are a good place to findsolitude, and you may notice how manypeople refuse to walk up stairs and thelike. Take the effort to go far away.

This also applies to choosing yourplace to live. People live in citiesbecause it’s allegedly convenient.

“Solitude through effort” also appliesto how you look and your attitude.People conform because it requires noeffort. Of course, the secret is, theminimal effort you use to obtain solituderewards you, making it worth it.

Activities without effort, conforming,not climbing the stairs, etc. don’treward you at all.

MOREOther great places to achieve solitude

are corporate parks on the weekend, asmentioned, my favorite. Graveyardsmatch wastelands in silence, but theyhave a sense of plan, an attempt to defymortality. Wastelands are mortality,natural abandonment, natural empti-ness, natural decay. Graveyards have toomuch a sense of consciousness to satisfymy need for wastelands.

I prefer the raw forgotten-ness of theabandoned industrial park, where manhas not been for a long time. Q

stopped laughing yet? Me neither? Is saying a statement, but putting a question mark at the end

18 qece v3n2

CHALLENGE QECE

Diapers forthe Brain(1,2)

by Larry Nocella

FUNKY CENSORSHIPWhere does the responsibility of the

communicator end and the receiverbegin? When can people stop puttingtraining wheels on every damn thingthey say?

In a possible future, requiringdisclaimers may be used as a way ofpreventing revolutionary communica-tion. For example, if you say, “Thisplace sucks!” and then some nut bombsthe place, you could be arrested for“Irresponsible Communication.” Whatyou should have said (according to thisfictitious law) was, “Man, this clubsucks! But of course, I don’t mean let’skill everybody here or trash the place.No! This is just my opinion and nothingmore.”

But if you can’t communicate some-thing without disclaimers, then yourmessage will grow to twice it’s size!Look at this article, one-fourth of it isdisclaimers! (4)

DISCLAIMERS & DOGMAThis anti-disclaimer rant was brought

about partially by folks who, in my

You gotta wonder how stupid somepeople are. Picture this common scene:the TV shows some freakazoid bathedin gasoline, sticking an ignited blow-torch in his/her mouth, while standingin a pool filled with live cobras. Crazy,right? So why at the bottom of thescreen, in small barely readable letters isthere a warning, “Don’t try this athome”?

Those who write disclaimers eitherthink people are stupid and have nojudgment, or people actually are stupidand have no judgment. Or both are truesimultaneously.

I say both are true. (3)TV has never been known for

considering its audience intelligent (see97% of TV programming) and peoplehave never been known for being overlyintelligent (see popularity of TV.)

But TV isn’t the only place. Disclaim-ers are everywhere. Do I really need asign that says, “Beware! This coffee ishot!” Do people really need a warningon shopping bags that essentially say,“Please do not store your infant in thisplastic bag.”???

1. If you have been outwitted by a pebble in the last thirty days, this article may upset you.2. This is a metaphor. There are no diapers for the brain. Although maybe there should be...

considering some of the shit that’s been flowing out of some folks’s minds.3. This is not meant to imply that stupid people are undeserving of love.4. Actual disclaimer-to-article ratio may be less than 25%. May be more, too. You count it!

of it cheating? So what? Now that the groove has fallen away, so quickly, it seems, what to do?

19qecev3n2

opinion, perform QECE poorly. Afterhearing the title, they ask all kinds ofdumb-ass questions. Maybe they aremessing with me (5) or maybe they arepursuing something they find important,but I don’t think so, because if one thingis true about humans, it’s that too manyof them take everything as dogma. Toomany people ignore the spirit ofcommunication and listen just to theword, spinning definitions, makingasses of themselves. (see: Religion and/or Law.)

If I wanted to Question Everythingwithout thinking, I suppose I wouldconsider printing QECE in a differentforeign language eachissue, alternatingvisible and invisibleink, and tearing outrandom pages beforemailing them. Maybesometimes I wouldn’teven mail them! How’sthat for questioning?! (6)

But what would that prove? It’s allpointless and random, like farting in ahurricane. (7)

I’m sick of dogma-heads.But I don’t want to say, “QECE: But

use your own judgment, don’t just go offand question stupidly. Do it with intentto accomplish something.” — thatwould be an insult to you. If I have to

subtitle everything — if with everysuggestion I make, I have to add, “but,use your judgment, you know... don’t bean asshole.” then forget it. Put downthis magazine, never buy it again. Goread Time magazine — everything theysay is true, unbiased and intelligent. (8)

The spirit of QECE, to me, impliesthat everyone can go their own way, butthat’s not going to stop me from sayingsome ways are stupider than others. As Isaid before, If I have to qualify thesuggestion to “Question EverythingChallenge Everything” with “...but useyour judgment, you know, don’t just askquestions endlessly and with no reason”

then you’ve beenseriously programmed:you’re not hearing themessage: you’re simplyreading QECE asdogma, and questioningpointlessly.Why must so many

people try to make dogma out ofeverything? I don’t know why; maybe(probably) it’s a side effect of the FascistInstinct. (9)

Yet another reason to QECE: Theultimate end of disclaimers is that theyattempt to relieve communicationreceivers of the thinking process, theyalso attempt to relieve communicators ofthe process of being articulate. Nobodythinks! Everybody wins! (8)

So... if QECE ever has you acting likean idiot or being a jerk, then stop.That’s my interpretation of QECE. Buta dogma-head won’t interpret. S/he willjust question at random without pur-pose, without even trying to have fun.Dogma-heads are scary and dangerous.Dogma licks it clean. (10)

When can people stopputting training

wheels on every damnthing they say?

5. “Messing with” another is not always abad thing. Even messing with me.But don’t touch the hair, okay?

6. It sucks. That’s the point.7. Speculation. Not actually tested...yet.8. Sarcasm.9. More on this in a later issue.10. You must define what “it” is... make it

real gross, okay?

Can you look at the fruit tree and see the potential people in it? The people who will eat it to

20 qece v3n2

DISCLAIMERS IN QECEYou can gauge how much someone

respects its audience by the disclaimersthey give. I already showed what TVthinks of its audience. What aboutQECE?

Because I think you’re all right if youpick up this rough-shod mag among allthe greasy, glistening, pretty mags, I’vetried to keep disclaimers to a minimum.A couple were, I felt, necessary to easethe curious person away from theinsipid traditions of the soulless

publications that dominate bookstores.QECE’s two general disclaimers are

small, don’t insult your intelligence,and serve as gentle reminders to theneophyte questioning enthusiast.They’re less disclaimers and more a sortof Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) oruser-guide to the new reader.

The one on page 59 (under “Submis-sions”) was sadly, partially in responseto morons. I’m tired of hearing critiquesthat essentially say, “Because you don’tquestion exactly as I would have, you

Please don�t try this at home.

art by Steve Barr

survive? And in those people, can you see the decay that becomes the plant? Won’t all prey one

21qecev3n2

don’t question anything.” These bozosfail to realize of course, that if QECEquestions something they wouldn’thave, then QECE has done its job. Also,In these days of “You disagree? Youshould DIE!” It’s a good idea to remindothers that we can disagree and still beexcellent QECE-ers. If I’ve said it once,I’ve said it a thousand times (11): Notwo people are going to agree on whatconstitutes the best questioning andchallenging.

The page 59 disclaimer also adds a bitof necessary humility to the tiny magwith the pompous title. I don’t want tosound like this mag is the be-all, end-allof questioning and challenging —because it’s not. It’s just a damn goodone with plenty of heart. (I think!)

The other disclaimer-esque item onpage 59 is under the section titled,“Disclaimer.” (12) This is largely toavoid legal responsibility should a bogusfact slip through. Regardless, it isimportant to remind readers to alwaysquestion the facts.

The last QECE disclaimer, aside theNetwork section (page 56) is one of the“Admiration does not imply endorse-ment” style. I wanted to make clear thatwhile I may admire someone’s question-ing spirit, I don’t necessarily agree withtheir conclusions. Some of the stuff backthere is pretty whacked, in my book!

AM I A HYPOCRITE?As I re-examined these notices while

writing this, I realized how addictivedisclaimers can get. “Jeepers,” I said,“Maybe I need one that says this. MaybeI need one that says that.” (13)

Three notices... am I a hypocrite?Nah, I don’t think so.

I feel the notices in this issue arenecessary and sufficient. They don’tinsult your intelligence, but gently helpyou deflect the ambient stupidity aroundyou.

Remember, dogma is the enemy andall generalizations are wrong. (16, 17)Disclaimers aren’t all bad, but theirabuse, misuse and over-use can makepeople lazy in their thinking.

And sometimes, it’s not that peopleare stupid, but that they’re kids, and younever know what they’re going to do, soerr on the side of caution. Then again,since it seems nothing can protectagainst every form of the hydra-headedmoronity that plagues our land, maybedisclaimers shouldn’t really bother.

If I had a note warning you thatraking this magazine across your neckcould result in a fatal paper cut, then I’dbe a hypocrite, and you could beinsulted.

CONCLUSIONSLet’s stop catering to stupid people. It

wastes page space for those who canthink. The birth of disclaimers is thedeath of subtle communication. Thenumber of disclaimers is equal toperceived stupidity of the audience. Q

11. Actual number of repetition may be less than one thousand.12. The patronizing tone here is not intended to offend, but rather generate humor.13. I didn’t actually say “Jeepers.” Anyone who says “jeepers” should be shot. (14)14. Just kidding (15) there on disclaimer 13. Please don’t shoot anyone.15. “Just kidding” is the shortest disclaimer there is... maybe.16. See page 54 of this issue. (This is a footnote, not a disclaimer.)17. See page 38 in QECE issue v3n1.

day become the predator? And vice versa, of course? Isn’t it a shame that such philosophical

22 qece v3n2

I saw a debate the other day in whicha man was whining because he wasrich and he felt that he paid too manytaxes. The graduated tax structure,“punished success,” he said. He felt thatthe rich are rich because they aresmarter and work harder than the poor.Enormous differences in opportunitiesand the consolidation of vast propor-tions of the reserves of wealth into thehands of what are essentially modern-day nobility seemed to him to play nopart. No, the rich are smart and workhard and the poor arelazy and stupid.

I take issue with thisviewpoint, and forpurposes of illustration,I am going to make useof the richest man inthe world (or secondrichest according to some, after theSultan of Brunei) Bill Gates. Bill Gateshas (roughly) 40,000,000,000 dollars. Ihave, if I consider the value of all myphysical possessions, books, musicalinstruments, tiny pension from a job Ionce held, etc... about $2,000.

That means Bill has 20 million timesas much wealth as I have. In my life, Ihave had fluctuating periods of work,but I think I've usually averaged close tothe standard 40 hours per week. IfBill’s wealth is justified in that he works

harder than I do, he would have to work20 million times as much, or 800million hours per week. That’s 91,324years. Every week! Even if I dallied atwork, and only worked one solid hour ina week (a suggestion which would insultme, but this is just for purposes ofcomparison) Bill would still have to putin 2,283 years every week.

Some say that Bill’s wealth is justifiedin that he is smarter than other people.A dubious justification in any event, butlet’s just let that stand for a moment. I

am sure Bill is a verysmart guy. He’sprobably smarter than Iam, I will concede that.I am not proud. But Idon’t think he is 20million times smarter.Let’s pretend that I am

Johnny average. I have a 100 IQ, forwhatever that is worth. Bill would thenhave to have a 2 billion I.Q. to bejustified in having so much moremoney. Perhaps this comparison isunfair so let’s look at it another way.Say that, as Johnny average, I’msmarter than exactly half of all thepeople in the world (and less intelligentthan the other half) That means I am inthe 50th percentile. If Bill is 20 milliontimes smarter, then he must be smarterthan 99.9999975% of people in the

by Andy Rant

Death & TaxesIMPAIRED MOTOR FUNCTIONS

It�s important to bearin mind and voiceloudly what the

answer isn�t.

questions seem so profound in the realm of thoughts, but who really cares if you are feeding the

23qecev3n2

world. That means there are only 150people in the world smarter than he is,and I just don’t buy that. Even if thiswere true, those 150 people don’t havethe money he has, but presumably theydon’t work 800 million hours per week,either.

Let’s say that I can do a crosswordpuzzle in about 1 hour. If Bill is 20million times smarter, then he should beable to do it in .00018 seconds. ReadyBill? Go!

The level of Bill’s wealth is simplyastonishing. An American dollar is 6inches long, so if you laid all Bill Gates’dollars end to end,they would stretch20 billion feet, or alittle under 4million miles.That’s enough tocircle the globe, atthe equator 150times. You could doit with hundred dollar bills and make itaround one and a half times. Bill wouldprobably never let you do this, of course.

Bill is not the only person to have alevel of wealth which is astronomical,he simply has the highest profile. Arelatively small amount of people in theworld control the vast majority of thewealth.

They have thousands upon thousandsof times as much money as you or I, andit isn’t because they are thousands oftimes smarter or because they workthousands of times as hard. The reasonthat this is the case is complex, but it’simportant to bear in mind and voiceloudly what the answer isn’t.

Nevertheless, some of these wealthyindividuals whine and complain about

graduated tax structure wherein the richpay a larger percentage of taxes thanpoor people do. They claim that this isunfair, but what they don’t acknowledgethat the poor pay a higher percentage oftheir income for everything else.

They pay a larger chunk of theirwealth for a loaf of bread, or for ticketsto a movie, or for health insurance, or aparking ticket, or to buy a piece of land,or cab fare, or for anything else at allexcept for taxes. And some rich stillhave the audacity to whine about theone thing for which (in theory) they payout more. I shed no tears for the

aristocracy.There are a

whole lot ofthings wrong withthe tax system,but unfairness torich people is notone of them. Thereason that

graduated tax structures exist at all is toattempt to achieve a small amount ofwealth redistribution to counteract thetendency for all wealth to be accumu-lated and directed into the hands of veryfew. If the rich don’t like this system,we can fall back on the system whichhas worked in the past when the wealthhas become too concentrated into toofew hands: The poor rise up and dragthe rich kicking and screaming fromtheir homes, guillotine them in thepublic square and sing revolutionarysongs while dancing around with thesevered heads skewered on pikes.

If the rich don’t like that option, theyshould figure out all their businesslunch deductions and stopcomplaining. Q

The consolidation of wealthinto the hands of fewresults in essentially amodern-day nobility.

tree and involved in the spirituality of the universe when you’re suffering what could be fatal

24 qece v3n2

The first time I tried to writethis, about four years ago, Iwasn’t as skilled a writer as Iam now. I had not yet learnedhow to write through the pain.Now I can.Last time, recalling the

events were too terrifying.Now they’re so far in the pastit’s almost like it neverhappened. Only the policereport shows that it did, andeven that’s not accurate...

the goodfight

by Larry Nocella

pain? The puzzle mocks me, and I demand it stop, will you join my chorus? Together we can

25qecev3n2

WHAT HAPPENEDTHE ATTACK

It was a gray day with a light mist ofrain. I was biking though NewBrunswick, New Jersey. I was attendingcollege at Rutgers University, ridingbetween campuses. Rutgers, like nearlyeverything else in New Jersey, is fuckedup. There are actually five or sixdifferent campuses separated by residen-tial and business parts of the town. Youhave to take these hot, crowded,stinking buses or walk or drive or biketo get from one class to another. Theuniversity is in pieces in different towns.It’s completely idiotic.

Anyway, the strip of New Brunswickthat separates the Douglas Campus fromthe College Avenue Campus is a totallyrun-down area. It’s also only a mile ortwo distance, so I often biked it. I almostalways beat the bus. This was a route I’dtaken many times before.

Suddenly, someone was beside me.Shoving me. I was losing control of mybike — a telephone pole was straightahead. I swerved — but too late.Goddamn. Those inches! Six inchesmore to the right and I would havemissed the pole, and this story wouldn’texist. Those inches bring tears to myeyes as I write this.

My bike hit the telephone pole and Iwas thrown off the seat. I landedstanding up, shocked. I looked over atthe asshole who had pushed me.

“Jesus Christ!” I yelled, furious.There was a group of people, and I

didn’t want a fight, not outnumberedfive to one. Plus, it was all happeningfast, I thought the bike was okay, that Ihad survived the prank.

“Ooooo!” They all yelled, taunting,mocking. I started to walk my bikeaway, but the front tire wouldn’t go. Ihadn’t noticed, but the frame was bentagainst it. I started to trudge away, half-carrying the bike when I heard thewhoop behind me and they charged.

“No!” I screamed, panicking.The leader — the one who had

pushed me — hit me in the face hard.One. Two. Three. I whirled around,wielding my bike like a weapon. Icaught one of them, but the brake cablenearly sliced the top of my thumb off,and I was bleeding. I dropped the bikeand they were on me.

I totally panicked.“Help!” I screamed as they kicked and

punched me. “Help!” They kept shovingand kicking. It was a totally disorga-nized attack. Finally two of themgrabbed one of my arms, each. I saw aman walking by. “Help!” I screamed athim. He looked away.

They dragged me onto a nearby lawnwhere I slipped and slid down a hill onmy back, my backpack riding up. I wasfeeling powerless. I still recalling astrange thought flashing through mymind: a fear that they were going tosodomize me. Am I going to be raped? Iwondered.

I was lying on my back. One kid stoodover me and punched me in the stom-ach. “Leave me alone!” I yelled, lookinghim in the eye. “I never did anything toyou! Why are you bothering me?”

“Shut up!” He said through clenchedteeth, and punched me in the stomachagain. I know this will sound naive, butI think he was nervous about what hewas doing and the logic of my questiondisturbed him.

sing songs of defiant puzzles and the lack of our fulfillment in getting the colored blocks to line

26 qece v3n2

I couldn’t see what the others weredoing behind me, out of my sight. Theywere rifling through my backpack, but...I feared, does one of them have a gun?

This is it. I thought. This is how I die.I can’t describe the terror. I can’t

begin to. All the stupidity, the random-ness of it all, and I laid there, powerless.The sheer horror I can’t begin to tellyou. It wasn’t white or black. It wasblank. Nothing. I’m going to die, Ithought. No time for anything more.

But they didn’t murder me.Suddenly they were gone. I was alive!

I rolled over and saw them runningaway, handing bills to each other,fighting over my twenty. I was onlycarrying 40 bucks. I looked at mybackpack, some of the stuff had spilledout. The first thing I was searching forwas my little yellow 3-inch by 5-inchwriting pad. I remember thinking, “Ifthose fuckers stole my writing pad, I’mgoing to hunt them down and killthem.”

I wished I had a gun then. They hadtheir backs to me, and had I had one, atleast one of them would be dead. Makeno mistake: I would have killed them,and I would never have regretted it. Butmy writing pad was safe, and that’swhat mattered. I think I may havekissed it.

AFTERMATHI got up and walked up the hill I had

slid down. The man I had yelled tolooked at me and said, “Are you allright?”

“I think so,” I answered, thinking,“Thanks a lot for your help.”

A woman yelled at the boys as theyran back to their high-fenced project.

“They’re gonna come down on us all!”She said. I knew instantly what she wastalking about. Recently, a police officerin the area had shot and killed a blackman. I forget the entire situation, butthat was what had happened. I waswhite and a college student. The womanfeared police retaliation in her neighbor-hood. The woman said nothing to me.She didn’t even look at me. “Whatabout me?” I wondered.

I heard sirens in the distance. Some-one had called the cops. Cool, I thought.Two cruisers and an ambulance showedup. I was feeling okay except my headhurt a little and my thumb was bleedingbadly.

“Just get me the fuck out of here,”was all I could think.

Two cop cars and an ambulanceshowed. I don’t remember the detailstoo well then. Only one thing sticks inmy mind. A black cop came up to meand said, “You were biking through thisneighborhood?”

“Yeah. I’ve taken this route a bunchof times with no trouble.”

He laughed and shook his head. Rightthen I almost jumped him. “Shut thefuck up!” I wanted to say, following upwith, “It’s not my fault, fuckingnigger!” It crossed my mind to grab hisgun and shoot him. I ended up justlooking at him.

There was so much I wanted to say. Ialways have and always will hate peoplewho blame the victim. Like people whosay a sexy woman was “asking for it”when she’s raped. Like any womanwants to be raped. Like I wanted to getjumped. If I had known it was that bad aneighborhood I wouldn’t have beenthere. Perhaps I was naive, but I didn’t

up shall worry us no longer, right? Right? Can I twist my tongue, so as to make two mouths for

27qecev3n2

throw my bike in his cruiser’s trunkroughly. The ambulance crew took mein and we drove away.

At the hospital, a black guy in thewaiting room laughed at me and shookhis head. I think he meant it as a “Isn’t

deserve to be beaten up or nearly killed.Anyway, one of the two white cops

standing behind the asshole cop staredat the ground and looked away, obvi-ously embarrassed at his co-worker’sstupidity. I saw one of the white cops

myself and speak twice? Are you trying it now? Are you in a public place? Will you hate me if

28 qece v3n2

this a fucked up world,” kind of laugh,and that’s how I took it, mostly.

But something was happening: I wasreally starting to notice people’s skincolor, especially black skin.

INTERLUDETo keep the story continuous, I’ll just

make a brief mention here of how myfamily and friends were very supportive.They all showed up the next day tomake sure I was all right. Even my ex-girlfriend (in her typical classy way)showed up in the presence of my then-current girlfriend (now my wife. Cool!)

It was great to know all those peoplecared. Just beingaround themmade me feelbetter. Ofcourse, I wasn’tfeeling too bad:the brush withdeath solidifiedmy decision toquit college and start living my way,because life can be so fragile, don’t putoff your dreams. Anyway, this is themushy stuff; back to the excitingbleakness!

LARRY JOINS THE KKK?Days after the attack, a black kid

passed me while I was waiting atcollege. (Thinking back, it’s surprisinghow much of college involved nothingmore than waiting.) He looked at myblack eye and yelled, “Whoo! You gotbeat.”

“That boy got beat!” he kept saying ashe walked away. It was really pissingme off. I was thinking about fightinghim, but fighting over stupid stuff is

such a bother. Still, I was getting sofucking sick of these goddamn blackpeople.

And it was then I started gettingworried. What was that I had justthought? “Those goddamn blackpeople”? That wasn’t me.

I noticed I was getting tense aroundblack people. I am not ashamed to admitthat, and I don’t think anyone should beblamed for such behavior. We are allanimals bent on survival, and when ourminds encounter danger, they try to finda pattern so we can avoid that danger inthe future. The pattern I had noticed inmy recent incident was skin color.

I was afraid itmight go toofar and thatmade me mad.My mind is myturf andnobody messeswith it. I knowthey were after

my money, and probably couldn’t careless about my skin color, but it reallyangered me that those assholes, ineffect, had injected me with hatred.What could I do with it?

I wondered if I should blame Hitlerfor popularizing thoughts of arbitraryhatred. No. Let the nuts scream whatthey want, it’s up to everyone else toignore such stupidity. Of course, sinceso many don’t, well... that shows howmany stupid people there are.

AN EXAMPLE OF ONESo anyway, I knew that stereotyping

was wrong, so I figured I could breakmy mind of the habit by finding oneexample of a black person I really

It really angered me that thoseassholes had injected

me with hatred.What could I do with it?

I say I hope you are? Should we bother to do anything at all about it? Am I trying too hard? Are

29qecev3n2

admired. It takes only one example tobreak a stereotype. I clung to thoughtsof Martin Luther King, Jr., who was,and will always be, one of my heroes. Ihad also at the time recently read aninterview with Vernon Reid of the bandLiving Color. I loved his attitude on art,music and everything.

But in a way, that wasn’t reallyhelping, because they were far-offpeople. They just didn’t seem realenough.

What really helped me tone done myinternal stereotyping was how, the yearbefore, I had roomed with a black guy.He wasn’t super-famous or anything,just a guy like me. I mostly liked him.Sometimes he got on my nerves, butthat only added to his humanity. That’swhat I think the key to breakingstereotypes is: personal, simple, indi-vidual contact.

It’s isolation that assists people inbelieving stereotypes. If KKK folk evergot out and met some really kind non-Aryan people, then when their leadersaid, “Jews are all evil!” That wouldclash with their experience. Stirring uphatred works best when the target groupis in an extreme (and little contacted)minority.

It was my past experience that helpedme deflect the temptation to stereotype.

Of course, it’s not like I was getting inline to join the KKK, it’s just that inlight of my unfortunate experience, Ireconsidered those type of ideas.Question Everything, ChallengeEverything, you know. I knew I wouldultimately reject them... but in thosedays of reflexive (yet justified) rage, youcan sometimes go places you’d rathernot.

It was weird, to feel the logical,frightened person and the logicaldetermined-to-do-right person fight itout in my brain. What a racket!

VICTORYA little while later, I was talking to

my roommate Debbie about the attack.The first thing I remember saying to

her was how bummed I was that I didsuch a shitty job fighting back. Ipanicked and became ineffective. Ithurts my pride but it’s true.

Deb made me feel better on that one,she pointed out that I was outnumberedfive to one, which is pretty bad oddsunless you’re in a movie with six stunt-doubles. I had never really thought ofthat. Talk about being hard on yourself!

The real triumph came when Debasked me, “Are you a racist because ofwhat happened to you?”

I thought about it. Was I a skin-colorist? I’ve already said how I feelthat on the street, you play it how yourexperience teaches you (i.e. be wary ofgroups of restless youth) and you can’tbe faulted for that. In a much less rawsetting, no. Absolutely not -- to the bestof my ability I’m not a skin-colorist.

Away from the street, you can let yourideals run freer. It felt good to realizethat: those reconsiderations of bigot-thoughts had gone. I suppose myinternal fury was subsiding.

“I feel the pull,” I said, “But I knowthat’s wrong.”

She responded, “It takes someone ofincredible character to overcome that.”

That just floored me: incrediblecharacter. Wow.

Did I have that?

continued on page 32...

you? Don’t most problems stem from a criminally negligent failure to mellow out? Is there

all art by Colin Develin

Colin Develin has donenothing even remotelyinteresting or ever beeninvolved with anythingworthy of mention. Healso draws.

32 qece v3n2

The Good Fight(continued from page 29)

REFLECTIONINCREDIBLE CHARACTER?

Incredible character.I appreciate the spirit of the compli-

ment, but I also keep in mind that whathappened to me is zero, a small scar atbest, nothing compared to those whohave lost friends to murder, etc. Re-maining a non-asshole after that type ofexperience requires incredible character.Me? I guess I’d rate myself as “darngood character.”

Still, you can’t necessarily faultsomeone forbecoming angry andbitter. Sometimes,they are weak andwhen something badis done to them, theydo bad things toothers.

Sometimes peoplejust get overwhelmed by the situation,and they can’t deal with it. If I had afriend who had been murdered by ablack person, and then this incidenthappened to me, who knows? Maybe I’dbe a bigot.

There are links between being weakin some way (spiritually? mentally?)and being defeated by assholes (in otherwords, becoming an asshole yourself.)Of course, this “weakness” isn’t alwayssomething you can be faulted for. Insome situations hardly anyone couldresist becoming an asshole, but for thosewho do resist, even though they haveevery right not to, it’s with them thathumanity’s hope lies.

RELEASE THE ANIMAL.FUCK THE LAW.

In order to be brief, I’ve left out a fewdetails of my story. One incident waswhen a classmate (after seeing my blackeye) asked me what happened. I toldhim my lack of success in fighting back.“Maybe it’s a good thing,” he said,“With everyone calling everybody else aracist these days, it’s just as well.”

That pissed me off. It was onlybecause I panicked that I didn’t fightback more. I hate that type of thinking.I’ve seen throughout my life howimportant fighting is: you don’t sit andwait. When someone threatens your life,you come down on them as best

you’re able.Of course, the

problem is, toomany peopleconsider brushingagainst their carwith a clean pieceof tissue paper tobe a serious threat

or serious insult. Reactions shouldinvolve some form of judgment, butwhen violence is involved, any degree ofretaliatory violence is acceptable. If youare an asshole, and you enter that arena,you forfeit fair play from your intendedvictim.

When a group of people rushes you,with obvious intent to harm, all rulesare off. In a situation like I was, dealingdeath would have been an acceptableoption. Now, after the fact, a black eye,forty bucks stolen, hospital bills and aruined bike isn’t necessarily worthkilling someone for. Although, inprinciple, such idiotic violation of myfreedom should carry a stiff penalty. The

Given the opportunitythen (not now) I would

have killed them.

anything more formulaic than pop music? But isn’t it such a charming and fun format? Why are

33qecev3n2

point is: thereare twodifferentsituations.One isimmediateand uncertain.One is certainand allowsthought. Thefirst has farlooser rules.

As I saidbefore, giventhe opportu-nity then (notnow) I wouldhave killedthem. As theyrushed me, Ididn’t knowto what extentthey mightharm me, andthat’s achance no oneshould take. Isay this withthe simplegrim necessityof survival. No revenge, no aggression:just danger and a logical response.

There is more to say on that, but itgets into my views on the death penaltyand I don’t want to talk about that now.The point is: you cannot blame anyonefor defending themselves. Just becausethey were teens makes no difference:When you act like an asshole, you’ll betreated like an asshole.

You have to permit people their anger.And for those who are overly sensitive:the world is not going to end, if in the

privacy of their own home, someonescreams epithets for a few minutes torelease their fury.

STEREOTYPESI’ve realized from my experience that

it is an unnatural clinging to stereotype-thinking that causes many great evils.So, either drop your stereotypes, ALLOF THEM, or embrace your true natureand get with the goose-steppin’.

See no stereotypes. See only individu-als. This goes for people of different

cloudy days so wonderful? Is the sun too bright? If everyone lived free or died, would we all be

34 qece v3n2

fallen: “You will suffer because I havesuffered.”

How can you expect the world to be agood place if you’re still being anasshole?

Remember, Assholism is an equalopportunity employer. You aren’trebelling against anything if you’re justbeing a different kind of asshole thanthe usual rich guy who puts the govern-ment up to bombing small countries.

If you steal someone’s car, you’re anasshole, whether you’re a crooked cop, afamous punk rock star, a black revolu-tionary, or whatever. The only label youdeserve is: ASSHOLE.

Another wayto think about victoryis to think thatassholes aren’thappy, and in thatthere is a sort ofinsta-vengeance.

Is there reallysuch a thing

as a happy asshole?

THE GOOD FIGHTIf you have read this far, you are no

longer innocent. If you act like anasshole, you have no right to complainabout the assholities in the world. Whenthe Asshole Army attacks, respond asyou feel necessary, but once the imme-diacy of survival is secured, work toprevent assholity.

Double your efforts to be a non-asshole, every time someone is anasshole to you. Continually raise thestakes. Every action is contagious andmaybe we can some day out-muscle theAsshole Army.

Fight the good fight. Q

No more saying, �I hateall cops.� If that�s yourattitude, start cleaning

them white sheets.

dead? Why does every damn philosophical question have to involve death? Why not get philo-

skin color, religion, political belief, jobs,etc. This goes for almost any label.Since mostly rebels read this, I’ll makea special mention: this means no moresaying, “I hate all cops.” If that’s yourattitude, start cleaning them whitesheets.

If me saying this pisses you off, thenmaybe it’s time to realize just howsimilar your belief structure is to a KKKGrand Dragon. You cannot observe onefact in a person and deduce their entirepersonality from that single trait.

To hate cops is not a revolutionagainst bigotry. It is bigotry. It is thesame. I guarantee there are cops outthere who hateoppression as much asyou do, they simplychoose a different wayto fight it, andfrankly, I don’t seehordes of non-coppeople willing to calmdomestic disputes atthree in the morning.

I’m not in any way saying copsshouldn’t be criticized when they dowrong, or that they’re flawless, oralways sincere. I’m just saying that ifyou want to beat bigotry, you start by notbeing a bigot.

FIGHTING ASSHOLISMThat’s what often crosses my mind:

How can I beat them? How can I defeatan enemy that has struck and vanished?

The Asshole Army had tried to infectme with its Assholity. I resisted. That’show you fight Assholes: Don’t let themmake you one. Had I become a bigot,following my experience, then I wouldhave lost. This is the scream of the

35qecev3n2

FICTION...?

Blue Star Acidcontinued from page 51...

I might instead have chosen to be un-anonymous (and slip in a promo forQECE!) I’d try to put the rebellion, thequestioning and challenging before mydesire to mock.

It’s a tough temptation to fight,believe me!

Oh, how joyous it was to mock them!

But still, I think you can playfully buston someone and win them over and helpthem out. You just have to decide whatyou’re trying to achieve.

If you’re sincere about questioningand challenging, you can strike thebalance between humor and an effectivechallenge. It’s a good idea to challengepeople while preserving as much oftheir pride as you can. Q

sophical about the everyday objects around your room? Are we ever not in a room? Since a

36 qece v3n2

MEDITATION ON...

LabelsI let these thoughts run by... I don’t judge them... I just let ‘em roll.

by Larry Nocella

LABELS LABEL THE LABELERWhen someone labels, you can tell howthey are either intentionally or uncon-sciously perceiving the world. Genera-tion labels prove this, I think. Regard-less of the initial creation and/ormeaning of the label, I’ve found thatGeneration labels (Generation X, theLost Generation, the Beat Generation)tend to be used by historians anddemographers to describe generationswithout a war to fight (Lost Generation= post-World War I, Beat Generation =post-World War II, Generation X = post-Cold War.) “Without a war going on,how shall we categorize these poorchildren?” seems to be the historianmentality, “Surely, without a war, theyare confused about life!”

p.s. For bonus fun, say Labels Labelthe Labeler three times fast. (Did you doit? You did? You dork! Oops! A label.Hey, don’t take this as dogma!)

UNDERSTANDINGBe skeptical of the labels and categoriesthat others have laid out. As statedabove, labels are a way of viewing theworld, a way of declaring which traitsare important and differentiating them.You may need to use another’s labelwhen you need to speak their language.But remember, if you use another’s

label, you are acknowledging oragreeing with their way of understand-ing the world.

A record store is divided in a fewways, but I could divide it again andagain, and each method of categoriza-tion could make sense in some way. Icould do the same to humanity (bycategorizing according to appearance,action, wealth, etc.) Too much similarityin the use of labels and that means thateveryone is seeing the world the sameway.

LIVING UP TO THE LABELIf I hear or read one more article thatworks extra hard trying to rigidly definewho is adequately punk, vegan,christian, who adequately lives up to thelabel and who does not, I’m gonna barffor a week straight. Without stopping.On you. Shouldn’t living up to theunderlying principles as best as one canmatter most?

If the free-thinking community spentless time on pointing out posers,defining who is mainstream and whohas sold out, arguing over who isalternative and who isn’t, it could createa more non-conforming world. Therevolution would be manifest. Groovy,babe. Make it happen.

balloon filled with hot air flies into the sky, is that why people full of hot air are always talking,

37qecev3n2

ABORTIONIt’s interesting that in the discussion ofabortion issues, you can have two sidesopposing each other yet both namesbegin with “pro-.” If they are discussingthe same thing, shouldn’t one side bepro and the other anti-? Not if they arethinking about it totally differently (asthey are.)

I suspect the key to resolving it lies indumping the labels and consideringeach situation without dogma.

Since situations call for differentactions, since dogma is the enemy, Imust take sides with who is in favor ofconsidering each situation individually.Pro-situation(Pro-Choice)means youwill do whatyou feel thesituationrequires.Anti-situation(Pro-life)implies dogma.

IDENTITYI think people get into trouble and angstwhen they try to hard to claim theiridentity by finding a label that fits them.To know exactly what you are meansyou could put a label on yourself thatwill work for your whole life, and unlessthat label is really general, or you neverplan on changing, it’s not going towork.

People shouldn’t really worry if theycan’t confidently say to themselves ifthey are 100% hetero or 100% homo or100% anything. What purpose wouldsuch a label serve? Would it give themind something to grasp? Grasp not

unto labels, but unto the individualentity. Say not this is a [label]. Sayinstead this is [your name].

ON THE DESTRUCTION OFLABELSLabels disintegrated, and the worldceased to be a bunch of blobs... butinstead became individual objects... thewhole world came into focus.

LABEL-THINK: COMMUNISTSYou can’t just label someone a “commu-nist” and expect that to be sufficientdenunciation. Do all communists havenaught but evil ideas and intentions? To

label an ideais not enoughto condemn it.What mattersis: is the ideagood or bad?

CATEGORIZING SHOULD...reflect how you intend to use and/orreact to the subject. If you are going tocategorize biologically, then you shouldonly use that information biologically. Ifyou categorize humans according toskin color, then you should keep thatunderstanding in the realm of mattersconcerning appearance. Too often agrouping of under one label leads tousage in an unrelated field, specificallydefined, racism is the grouping ofbiological traits that leads the usage inthe realm of social planning.

LABELS: TOOLS OF THEFASCIST?For the fascist, what’s good and bad,

HELLO. MY NAME IS...

label

so as to prevent themselves from floating away? Maybe if we taped such a person’s mouth shut,

38 qece v3n2

what’s right and wrong doesn’t matter ifyou make the group, if you fit the label.Without labels, could there be fascism?Probably, but it might make it harder.Without a label mentality, yes, youmight impede fascism. Then, hopefully,people would have to judge someone orsomething on its merit alone, not on itsmembership to a given group.

INDUSTRYOnce you rephrase something, a newway of looking at what exists may helpyou see something you hadn’t before. Alabel can sometimes work for you. Forexample, if you call the news andgovernment information as the “Propa-ganda Industry” you start to see theirsimilarities, their connections and howthey work together, etc.

The seemingly unrelated fields ofpolitics and film can combine if you re-label them “The Celebrity Industry.”Wham! Suddenly you can start to seeconnections between politician publicity,movie-star publicity, and the elite vs. theirrelevant framework.

Another one I like is the “FearIndustry.” This group contains someelements of science, some of thegovernment, some of the movies. By re-labeling the world, you can see differentconnections.

TWO TYPESThere are two types of people in theworld: those that are foolish enough tothink that there are only two types ofpeople, and those aren’t.

LABELS FOR OTHERS, LABELSFOR SELFI’ve noticed a tendency that when

people label others, they refer toappearance. When people label them-selves, they refer to what they do.

ON THE LICKING OF MY ASSPeople who are so deeply into categori-zation that they say/write things like,“The literary novel exhibited shards ofindeterminal dualism,” can lick my ass.

SYMBOLISMThink about labels. Sticky, like flypaper.Once on, sometimes impossible toremove.

ALL LABELING BAD?Why is “racial discrimination” unac-ceptable and “racial pride” not? Justbecause one is positive, the mentality issimilar: grouping people. Is the group-ing mentality always wrong?

RACE?I’m not so sure about this label “race.”People use it in place of ethnicity,cultural heritage, nationality andspecies. Unless someone clearly definesthe label, I am skeptical of its intentionsand usage. Since there seems to be noagreed-upon definition, I avoid the wordwhen I can, because I want my commu-nication to be clear. I try not to use theword “racism” because too often it ismore clearly labelled, “skin-color-ism.”However, when communicating withothers, I may use the word “racism” tohelp them understand what I intend tosay. Communication involves speakinganother’s language sometimes, and notalways forcing them to learn yours.

GOOD AND PROPER LABELSAs soon as you label, you generalize and

they would float into the sky, and for one night the sky would be dotted with infinite bullshitters,

39qecev3n2

as soon as you generalize you’reprobably going to say something wrongor false. It’s inaccurate to say “Environ-mental activists” did XYZ. Say (or read)“a crowd” did XYZ. Because, unlessyou interview every person in the crowdand confirm they label themselves anenvironmentalist, your statement isinaccurate.

UNDERSTANDING CANNOT BERUSHEDLabels and categories are good forordering information sometimes, but itseems their over-use is often part of atoo-fast world’s attempt to speed the un-hurry-able process of understanding.

MISC.Labels more often serve marketers, notconsumers. • How often are labelschosen and how often given? • Mostpeople give you a label then criticizeyou for not living up to it. • Labels tendto constrain, but can’t something be inboth labels ... at the same time?

SEE THE WORLD LIKE ABASEBALL CARDUntil folks see the world as individualswith traits and not labels with members,people will be unable to understand theworld properly. Do baseball cardsunderstand the world better thanpeople? A baseball card presents theindividual, then you flip it over to seetheir traits and labels.

FINAL QUESTIONWho will free human understandingfrom the tyranny of labels? (Source:QECE v2n2 Page-Top Ramble.) Q

Recycled PublicityStunt? or... MoreParanoid Rantings?In his book Crackpot* movie directorJohn Waters talked of the old tricksmovie directors would do to enticepeople to see their movies. One of these,designed to attract people to horrormovies, was to station an ambulanceoutside the theater and post a couplepeople dressed as nurses inside, with theexplanation that they were there “incase anyone passed out from fright.”This, of course, made people curiousabout the movie.

But the movie industry is muchdifferent now, isn’t it? Don’t ask me, butreference the recent movie, “SavingPrivate Ryan,” with it’s much discussedrealistic gore. Supposedly, war veteranswere walking out of the theater becausethe gore was so realistic.

Is that true, or is this a more intelli-gent rehashing of the old publicitystunt? Or did the vet just have to take aleak? Or was s/he bored?

Q

Does Plus Really Add?How many times has a product beensuffixed with “Plus” or “+” in order tomake it seem like it’s something evenmore special, when really, it’s just moreof the same. Will the methods ofscamming and bogus labelling neverend? Q

MICRO-QECE +

* Crackpot by John Waters. Vintage Books, 1987.New York. From the essay, “What Ever Happened toShowmanship?” page 14.

floating to destinations unknown and wouldn’t it be great when they exploded as they exited

40 qece v3n2

With somevery simplesupplies, you toocan be ferretingout prejudice in allits ugly forms!

BUILDINGTHE PBD

Find a boxthat is one cubit length by one cubitwide and a half-cubit deep (see Figure1.) Choose one that is durable, but alsolight. Remember, this is a PORTABLEobject, and you’re going to be carryingit to parties and other social functions(you can order a handy carrying strapfrom our merchandise catalog).

USING THE PBD1. When the subject you wish toexamine for potential bias is within 100yards, discreetly and quiet place yourPBD on a level, stable, surface.2. Gingerly step inside the PortableBigot Detector.3. Everyone outside the box is biased!Everyone inside the box is not!

See? It works!

ThePortableBigotDetector

1. The detector is portable, not the bigots! Of course,technically, bigots are portable, since they are foundeverywhere. To clarify, it is the detector which isportable and it will detect all bigots. Whew. Nowdon’t you have other things to worry about?

These days, it’shard to tell who isdiscriminatingunfairly and who isnot, especiallywhen everyone isalways accusingeveryone else.

Wouldn’t it begreat if there was asure-fire way to determine exactly whois judging others unjustly based uponskin color, ethnic heritage, religiousdenomination, sexual orientation,township residence, voting party, placeof employment, or hand they use to picktheir nose with (boogerism)?

Sure it would! Well, wait no longer.This article shows you how to build

your own Portable Bigot Detector.You may however, wish to consult

page 44, “Don’t Play Into Their Hands.”For while the Portable Bigot Detector isa snap to use, and it’s results are 100%accurate, one needs to have the rightmentality to interpret its readings.

Wouldn�t it be great ifthere was a sure-fire wayto determine exactly whois judging others unjustly?

Well now there is!

E 1

the atmosphere? Would you pay to see that? Would you? How much? Isn’t that the problem with

41qecev3n2

Of course, I hope you don’t have tourinate any time soon.

Once detected, the bigot may charge.Always remember that when runningfrom a bigot, it helps to step out of thePBD first.

For more true-to-life, in the fieldphotos of the PBD in action, see the

above Figure 2a and Figures 2b and 2con pages 42 and 43!

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!IT DICES, IT SLICES!IT EVEN CIRCUMCISES!

Now surely you’re thinking, “Howmuch do I have to pay for this infallible

Figure 2a. No bigot can hide from the PBD!

Figure 1.The Portable Bigot Detector is one cubit wide by one

cubit long by a half-cubit deep

such revolutions, though? How can you select a human to choose between the saved and the

42 qece v3n2

Figure 2b. A Friendly wave? Or Nazi salute?

Figures 3a and 3b. The PBD has many other uses, also.detector of unwarrantedjudgementalism?” (It’s either that oryou’re wondering what color fuzzy dicewould look good on your car mirror.See? And you say I don’t know you!)

Anyway, you’ve got to be wonderingabout the price? Well, before we tellyou, realize that the PBD does more

than just determine who is a prejudicedscumbag and who never makes unfairjudgements of people!

The PBD can help you carry yourgroceries! (see Figure 3a.) It can providea napping place for your cat (see Figure3b.) And when you need to know ifsomeone is a bigoted jerk, just empty its

damned? Such authorities always end up choosing to serve their whims of the moment, don’t

43qecev3n2

Magnify100x

...photo enhancement shows the real truth.

Figure 2c. Though the PBD appears to be malfunctioning...

contents, step inside, and see!Now detecting superficial prejudice is

easy! You just point the finger awayfrom yourself, and there it is!

If making a PBD is too much work ortoo complex for you, you can order onefrom the QECE Merchandise Catalog.Simply send a check for $50.00 to the

QECE offices. With this special offer,your PBD will come equipped with aPortable Sucker Detection Module. Useof the PSDM is identical to the PBD,but a little slower. Just stand in it andwait. Think very hard. After severalhours, finding out who’s a suckerbecomes very easy. Q

they? How much longer? A few inches, that’s all? All right, turn the rack, will you please? Did

44 qece v3n2

DEPROGRAMMING

Don’t PlayInto TheirHands!

Say you want to attempt todiscredit a political move-ment. Here’s a trick: pay anutcase to attend a few ofthat movement’s rallies andthen pay that nutcase to gobomb something.

If you want the USA to goto war with a country, paysomeone from that country tobomb some USA property.Or, heck, bomb it yourselfand frame someone else from the targetgroup.

These are techniques that have beenused throughout history by the powerwonks, and they only work because toomany people think in stereotypes,groups and labels.

If an INDIVIDUAL from a groupcommits an evil act, should the wholegroup be punished? Of course not,especially if the group’s purpose hasnothing to do with the act. Of course,the orchestrators will try to make it

appear as if the groupplanned and condoned theaction, and other membersmight try it again. The pointis to get you thinking thateverything the target groupdoes is evil, therefore it’sokay if they’re annihilated.

So if you want toavoid playing into theirhands, you’ve got to thinkin terms of individuals, and

not think in terms of groups, labels andstereotypes.

My stance in favor of abortion rightshas nothing to do with the murder ofabortion doctors. I am sure many anti-abortion people were appalled by thosemurders. It’s hard for me to say that,since I oppose them. I feel the pull ofstereotyping... but I resist.

People often say, “It takes only oneperson to ruin [something.]” That’s trueonly if you focus on the negative, andonly if you generalize and stereotype.

Behavior of the Laughing Pawn

ororororor,,,,,

Is this you?

tee-hee!

by LarryNocella

anyone else notice that following the publication of QECE #6 (Trash Wars) there was a Simpsons

45qecev3n2

For example, suppose there is a marchfor some cause, and a few people (FBIplants or not) get out of hand and smashsome windows. That doesn’t necessarilydiminish the truth or falsity of thecause. You’ve got to consider themessage, ignore the messenger. Orrather, you’ve got to decide if a repul-sive messenger is the exception or therule. (The practice of interpreting themessenger as equivalent to the messagefound its final resting place in QECE#5, page 17.)

Think in stereotypes and you’re ripefor programming. Think in stereotypesand all the wonks have todo is present one crazedcitizen of a foreign nationand you’ll be ready toaccept an attack on thatENTIRE nation.

A single butthole canactivate stereotyping, butcan also save you from it.If you can think of but one example thatdefies the stereotype, then the stereotypeis proven false. (See “The Good Fight”page 24.)

People who think in stereotypes andlabels, etc. seem to see the world asblobs, out of focus (see “Labels” pg. 32.)

I don’t agree with every aspect of anymovement, but I won’t condemn amovement solely and simply because themedia says some asshole is or was amember of that movement.

Assholes are everywhere, regardlessof belief. Kind folk are everywhere too,regardless of belief. Kind, righteouspeople exist that disagree with nearlyeverything you believe. Wow. It’s hardto believe that. I feel the pull of stereo-typing... but I resist.

It’s the oldest trick in the book to paya nut to dress up in your opponent’suniform and do something stupid.

“When I went to demonstrationsduring the anti-war movement, if someguy wanted to throw a rock through astore window to express his rage, I’dstop him if I could. If he went ahead andthrew the rock, I thought two things: 1.This person is a nut who hasn’t thoughtthrough what he’s doing, or 2. He worksfor the FBI. He’s a provocateur. The FBIloves to do things like that, to makemovements look bad by sending in veryscummy people to suggest ugly actions.”

-- Howard Zinn, RollingStone, October 17, 1996,page 98.

So, it’s all right tolaugh at stereotypingjokes, but let it stop there.Otherwise, you’re just alaughing pawn.

PLAYING INTO THEIR HANDSPlaying into their (The Power-Wonks’)hands can be avoided. Just don’tseriously stereotype. I’ve said that a lot,but it occurs in many subtle ways. It’samazing how much communicationrelies on stereotypes.

Here are more examples of wonkstrying to use stereotyping to make youplay into their hands:

1. Corporations are tired of theresponsibility of lawsuits against them(both stupid and legitimate ones) so theyorder their media outlets to repeatedlyfeature tales of stupid lawsuits, thusprogramming stereotypers to hate ALLlawsuits.

Think instereotypes andyou�re ripe forprogramming.

continued...

episode where Homer got uppity after his trash wasn’t taken? Coincidence, paranoia, or QECE’s

46 qece v3n2

2. Comedians are often the ones whoassist you playing into the Power-Wonks’ hands as documented in QECE#7, page 5. This can be called the “I amSpartacus” or “Information Overload”technique. It usually involves proposingmany absurd theories to explainsomething until all the data is lost underallegedly funny jokes and people ignoreany further investigation.3. Lawyers. “The first thing we do iskill all the lawyers.” Is that really agood idea? After all, isn’t a lawyersleazy when s/he doesn’t represent you,but when s/he does, s/he stands fortruth, justice andthe AmericanWay, correct?Some lawyers tryto work theSystem againstitself.

DEFENSERecognize

generalizations.The problem isn’tlawyers or lawsuits, the problem isstupid ones getting attention, or goodones that get dismissed. Take each caseindividually. The problem isn’t accusa-tions of discrimination, the problem isbogus accusations, or legit accusationsthat get ignored.

I think it’s telling that in our society,challengers are more often targets ofmockery attempts than those on thethrone of the status quo being com-plained about. Instead of caricaturing arabid activist, why not caricature a fatoaf beast sitting around, dozing,ignoring the world? Making fun of thechallengers seems to produce more

laughs in the mainstream world (seemost editorial cartoons) which seems tome to be a symptom of docility.

Still, both have points: take each caseindividually. Don’t become a dogma-head.

THE LAUGHING PAWNNoam Chomsky explains that

corporations discourage people fromparticipating in government so as tokeep them docile.

By consistently trashing the main-stream media, am I doing the samething, by discouraging people to seek

news about theirworld?

Am Idiscouragingpeople fromcomplaining bybusting oncomplaints ofbigotry? (Seepage 36.)

Am Idiscouraging

people from spirituality by mockingreligion too broadly?

I make the point again: if you think instereotypes, then yes, my anti-religionrants will turn you into a bigot. If youthink in stereotypes then mockings ofskin-colorism complaints will make youin denial of skin-colorism.

If you think too generally, then when Iblast “the media” you will not questionthe quality and bias of any given newsstory. Instead, you’ll reject it withoutthinking.

If you take me that seriously, you needhelp!

If you ever find yourself absorbing a

I think it�s telling thatchallengers are more often

targets of mockery attemptsthan those on the throne of

the status quo

growing influence? Why do many people with anti-copyright ideas have no other ideas than

47qecev3n2

critique of something (such as religion,or the media) and then dismissing theentity as a whole, then you are notquestioning and challenging, you suckand this magazine will burst into flameand engulf your sorry ass before you canfinish reading this sentence!

I know it’s harsh, and I’m notinnocent of it always, either. I justwanted to scare you.

GOOD AND PROPER MOCKERYThe laughing pawn is a creature that

laughs at stereotyping jokes, but thenactually thinks that way. You can laughat a good brash stereotyping joke anyday, but the scary thing is a lot of peopletake that mentality seriously.

Bust on those who say everyone isracist, but also bust on those who say noone is. Bust on the complainer and thosewho live in denial. This will prevent youfrom playing into the hands of thosewho encourage denial to obscure theirplans.

The safest way to be is to bust oneveryone.

Of course, the only way to prevent thewhole situation is to recognize a joke,and as I’ve said about four million timesby now, don’t think too generally.

The power wonks want you togeneralize. Don’t. Don’t think dogmati-cally. Generalizing minds make betterclay for the morbid art of the powerwonk molders. A world of generalizersis easier to manipulate then a world ofpeople whose thinking is focused. Don’tplay into their hands. Let a joke be ajoke only. Everyone can and should saywhat they want... it’s up to you to avoidthe destiny of thelaughing pawn. Q

W.O.T.O.S.continued from page 55...

THE MANY SPECIES OF WOTOSI’ve been focusing on degrees, mostly,

but the WOTOS cult has many species.People who pay a huge price for a pairof jeans because it has the name of afamous designer on it, as opposed topaying a cheap price for a pair of jeansof equal quality (minus the designerlabel) are also WOTOS-ish. Wheneverquality is ignored in favor of pretensionsof quality, there be WOTOS!

FINAL NOTESMany people who are getting their

degrees are doing it to please a foolishlydogmatic employer. The student alreadyis (or is clearly capable of) performingthe job, but the employer will not hirehim/her without a degree. In this way,employers help support the DegreeIndustry (I refuse to refer to colleges asthe, “Education Industry.”) The USfederal government and civil service arehighly fixated on degrees for determin-ing your pay scale.

(I once worked at a library, wherepeople with Master’s Degrees in LibraryScience earned two or three times asmuch as summer employees; eventhough the job of both was primarily tohelp people find what they want.)

By rewarding degrees (and less soexperience and/or skill) the governmentsupports the Degree Industry, forcingpeople to pay into it in order to earnmore money. (Neat, huh?) Businessesare less fixated on degrees and moreconcerned with experience, proving thatdegrees matter most to the self-perpetu-ating system that created them. Q

that? We all live in the same world, our experiences are similar, isn’t some similarity of ideas

48 qece v3n2

REAL LIFE QECE

Have you ever heard of urban leg-ends?

Here’s a quick description: an urbanlegend is a modern-day myth. A storythat most likely never happened, or hassome basis in fact, but has been exag-gerated.

Another trait of the urban legends isthe teller’s insistence that it happened toa Friend of a Friend (FOAF, accordingto UrbanLegendenthusiastJan HaroldBrunvand.)

You mayhave heardsome of these, such as people cominghome to find their dog choking. Theytake him to a vet, who removes a fingerfrom the dog's throat. Later that night, ahospital catches the finger-less thief.

Etc.Anyway, in the age of the internet,

these myths travel like lightning acrosscontinents. There are a bunch of websites up already, and message boardsfilled with people trying to start theirown. (As with nearly everything on thenet, it’s a total chaotic mess.)

Urban Legend books are cool becausethey call attention to modern-day myths,

showing that increased communicationtechnology has not necessarily increasedhuman skepticism or diminished thecapacity for hysteria by providing accessto information. Heck, maybe all thisease of communication has made thingsa lot worse. Most people didn’t questionwhat they were told before the internet,why would they now?

Urban Legend books also have theaddedbonus ofhelpingyou seewhich ofyouracquaint-

ances are full of it. I remember readingthe book “Curses! Broiled Again!” byJan Harold Brunvand and recallingstories people had told me that theyinsisted had happened to a friend oftheirs (and so had five thousand otherpeople: Brunvand used to write asyndicated column, and his book isfilled with people all over the worldsending him letters about how it reallyhappened to them and only them.)

Anyway. One of my favorite legendsis called “Blue Star Acid.”

Recently, it was brought to myattention that a nearby school was

Blue Star Acidand Articulate Rebellion

by Larry Nocella

Urban Legend books also have theadded bonus of helping you see which

of your acquaintances are full of it.

to be expected and except for the most flagrant of borrowing, shouldn’t we enjoy when/if

49qecev3n2

figure 1. the myth memo

experiencing an outbreak of the UrbanLegend of “Blue Star Acid.”

A memo was sent from the principalof this New Jersey school to parents ofstudents, warning of Blue Star Acid (seecopy of memo nearby.)

Being editor of QECE, I figured itwas time to put a stop to this, as I hadattempted to once before.

A year or so ago, there was anoutbreak of this myth at a local store.

The owner had hung up a memo nearlyidentical to the one here. I photocopiedthe pages from Brunvand’s book thatpointed to the strong likelihood that thiswas just a myth and slipped them underthe store’s door with a note saying,roughly, “Hey, sucker. That story is abunch of hoo-hockey.”

Of course, the Blue Star Acid warningwas still up in the store window a monthlater. (Myth-believers get annoyed when

another has similar ideas and/or is influenced by our ideas? Are bicycles a gift from heaven?

50 qece v3n2

The RarestThings*

(Research by QECE Labs.)

1. Wailing car alarms that areactually in the process ofdeterring theft.

2. Television that makes you think.

3. Articulate Rebellion.4. Useful college degrees.5. Literary publications that

aren’t torture to read.6. Religions that don’t collect

money.7. “Pundits” with a clue.8. Movies without a soundtrack.9. Non-annoying radio car ads.10.Something that isn’t secretly

advertising something else.11.Non-insipid music videos.12.TV News that enlightens.

you point out their bogosities. Referencethe violence of religious folk in the faceof doubt.)

Anyway, when it came to my attentionthat the school was doing it, I wascompelled to step in.

DORK OR HERO?I decided to be anonymous. I didn’t

really feel like dealing with the annoy-ance that people snagged by mythsemanate.

Wearing the mask of a missing returnaddress (!) I rode into town informingthe populace that their fears wereunwarranted: Blue Star Acid was amyth (see my nearby pompous letter.) Isent copies of the letter, pages from theBrunvand book, and my explanationletter to all the local media. To myknowledge, none of the local media dida story on the situation. (Such an articlemight actually have pointed out some-thing, so why should they?)

Upon reading this letter, my wifestated how much I was mocking them,and she asked, was that really a goodidea? I thought about that. Though itcertainly was a thrill to poke fun at myold enemies: school administrators, wasit really the best way to get my pointacross? Was this about me, or aboutgetting the point out?

Then I thought about it some more,and wondered how many rebellions andmovements and the like alienate theiropponents, instead of trying to win themover? I think I had done the same thing.(See side bar: Articulate Rebellion wasrated the third Rarest Thing there is.)

ARTICULATE REBELLIONThe goal of criticism is to change

someone you disagree with, not neces-sarily offend them. Most criticism seemsto try to offend someone so harshly thatyou intimidate them into change. Thisrarely works and results in the stupid“national debate” in America today,where opponents try to out-offend eachother, instead of out-prove each other.

So, I don’t know. If I had it to do over,I might change the following things...

continued page 35...

* Methodology: Our highly sci-entific procedure involved get-ting into as whacky a mood aspossible, performing acrobaticswith a jester hat on and pro-nouncing everything backwards.

How can anyone argue that they are not? Is there anything more glorious than biking on a

51qecev3n2

figure 2. the pompous letter.weekend morning with no one else around and the wind whipping past your ears as you coast

BLUE STAR ACID MYTH OUTBREAK ATMANTUA TOWNSHIP PUBLIC SCHOOL!It was brought to my attention recently that Robert J. Preziosi distributed

the attached memo to parents of Mantua Township Public School students.

Enclosed is a photocopy of pages 55 to 64 from the book, “Curses! Broiled

Again!” (ISBN 0-393-30711-5) by Jan Harold Brunvand, a professor at the

University of Utah. The book chronicles “Urban Legends” — modern day

myths. One of these myths is called “Blue Star Acid” — about the persistent

myth referred to in the memo. You can read it for yourself. Enjoy! (especially

note the reference on page 57 that mentions a 1986 Philadelphia Inquirer

story that debunked “Blue Acid.”)Now Let’s discuss facts. Note in the first line of the memo “...altered to

the possibility...” For lesson one, The District Advisory Council and Mr.

Preziosi will note that what is fact and what is possibility are two different

things. See the attached pages for how many times Blue Star has ACTU-

ALLY occurred versus how many times it was claimed to occur. Perhaps you

will say, “But let us err on the side of caution.” But without facts? Why don’t

we just err on the side of caution about the possibility that Bigfoot is lurking

in the woods? Or the possibility that UFOs are hiding behind that big, fluffy

cloud?Mr. Preziosi and The District Advisory Council should be faulted for

acting on something without basis in fact. Their hearts were in the right

place, even if their brains weren’t. I recommend that you all cut down on

watching the X-Files! Sheesh!Further assignments? How about the Council teach a special class at

Mantua Township: teach the students that all-important lesson of questioning

what one is told, especially what one is told in school, and how failing to

question can lead to hysteria, myth-spreading, embarrassment and pompous

anonymous letters.I want no ill will to come from this note. I think it’s all worth a laugh.

Let’s all just laugh at how we all can get caught up in mis-information, and

be more careful to question what we are told.Thank you very much and wishing you all well,Anonymous

52 qece v3n2

NEW SCIENCE

W.O.T.O.S.Worshippers of the Official Seal

Exposing the Cultby Larry Nocella

Recently, I was having these annoyingear problems. As I explained theproblem to my doctor, he listenedpatiently, etc. But one thing disturbedme. He seemed to blow off my com-ments about a diet change (I had beenconsuming far more caffeine thannormal, probably desperately trying tomake the next QECE deadline.)

The doctor continued to recommendmore and more intense drugs, and otherstrange procedures.

Had I been a WOTOS, I might still bewrestling with the problem, but I'mproud to say, I'm not. I concluded thatmy doc was not capable of solving thisproblem, so I researched it myself.

I have a great doctor. He's a friendly,smart guy. But, he is human andtherefore fallible. He cannot begin tomatch my awareness of what triggerswhat in my body; that would be toomuch to expect of him or anyone.

WHAT IS A WOTOS?WOTOS (pronounced “Woe-Toss”)stands for “Worshippers of the OfficialSeal.” In short, they are members of acult who act counter to independentaction. A WOTOS possesses a strange

sort of institutional faith that makesthem believe that only those withcertifications from government ap-proved educational institutions knowwhat they are talking about. In addition,the WOTOS believes only by attendingsuch institutions can one learn thesubject. Certification equals competenceand honesty in the mind of the WOTOS.

Speaking from my own experience(and probably your own) I’ve knownplenty of people with college degreeswho couldn’t think their way through atoilet paper roll. I’ve seen plenty ofpeople who have taken courses incertain tasks, but who lack the passionfor the subject to equal the skill ofsomeone who loves what they are doing.

All this is rather obvious to non-WOTOS folks, because a non-WOTOSperson knows that people are human,and just because someone has a degree,or has won an award, that doesn’t meanthey know everything or are alwaysright or objective, even in their field ofexpertise. People make mistakes.

But a WOTOS overlooks humanfallibility, and lends too much credenceto a so-called “expert” -- taking thatopinion over any other’s, even in

down a hill in the countryside? If there is any good that mankind has done, is there anything

53qecev3n2

WOTOS?Are

youadefiance of reason, sanity and damnobvious evidence.

The truth is that in many aspects oflife, if one is determined, one cansucceed, regardless of institutionalapproval. All it takes is hard work.

UNDERSTANDING THE WOTOSThe WOTOS suffers from a singularvariation of the disease Imply-Think.Imply-Think is when you think a traitimplies another trait when actually itdoes not.

For instance, many Christians sufferfrom Imply-Think in that they feel ifyou believe in god, then you are goingto be a good person. Not always so!

Many people feel that if there is amarriage between a man and a woman,they are guaranteed to be better parentsthan any other parental configuration:such as single mother, single father, twofathers, two mothers, etc. Not always so!

The variations of Imply-Think arelegion. The single strain that applies tothe WOTOS is that one who has gonethrough an institution, taken a course,or received another’s approval (passedthe course, received the degree) is surelycompetent. Not always so!

Even the appearance of institutionalapproval can drain the independentthought of the WOTOS. For example,when I enter say, a lawyer’s office, therewill be several framed pieces of paper. IfI look at them closely, they are often1.written in Latin, 2.written in anunintelligible typeface. For all I know,the Latin text, translated, might read,“Thou art an anus, who receiveth thispaper.”

Degrees say nothing about theperson’s competence.

continued...

Take this simple quiz to find out ifyou have been drawn into theWOTOS cult! Score 10% for eachyes answer to find out whatpercentage of a WOTOS you are.

1. Do tremble in awe at the sight offramed degrees written in a typefacethat’s unreadable?

2. If someone says they come froma famous school, are youintimidated and/or impressed?

3. Is a degree sufficient to impressyou, or do you inquire aboutexperience?

4. Do you drool while staring atshiny objects?

5. Do you strongly factor insomeone’s appearance whenconsidering the validity of theirstatements?

6. Do you often hold back youropinion because you feel you don’tknow enough?

7. Do you let others tell you howyou are feeling?

8. Do you find yourself constantlypaying others to do things for you?

9. Do you find yourself walkingaway from things you’d like to trybecause others say you shouldn’t?

10. Two identical pairs of jeans arebefore you. Do you choose the onewith the “cool label” withoutchecking quality and/or price?

better than the bicycle? Whew, do you need a vacation as bad as I do? Can’t we just stop

54 qece v3n2

THE FINE PRINTNow some people may wonder that if

by exposing the WOTOS Cult, am Irecommending you visit a self-taughtsurgeon? No way, home-slice! There aresome fields where certification is adamn good idea.

To think that one must either com-pletely reject the Official Seal always(the disease of Anti-Conformity men-tioned in QECE #7, page 3) or Worshipit always (a WOTOS) are equallydogmatic and foolish. I am here to saysimply that an Official Seal is not aguarantee, as the WOTOS think.

Still, to have licensing boards, etc. forstuff where people could get reallymessed up (surgery) is smart. Thesesystems are not infallible, but it’s betterthan “Mom-n-Pop Lobotomies, Appen-dix Removal and Tacos-To-Go.”

Those things for which you reallyneed an expert are few. There are tons ofself-help resources everywhere and tonsof people willing to give you free advice.

On top of all that, our team of experts(winkety-wink!) concluded that 95% ofall professions are completely fuckin’useless and therefore render certificationeven less valuable.

THE “EXPERT INDUSTRY”American culture reinforces the

WOTOS Cult, because the more youbelieve you need a degree to understandthings, the more likely you’ll try toattend the most expensive college, thusstimulating the economy in many ways.

The news media wants you to thinkyou need an expert to interpret politics.

The auto industry wants you to need amechanic to repair your car.

The less you rely on yourself, the less

independent you are, the more you are aWOTOS, the more you stimulate theeconomy.

QUALITYNow, some people with latent

WOTOS tendencies may be wondering,“Well, how do you find quality if youcan’t just look at a degree hanging onthe wall?”

Finding quality sometimes seems totake too long, forcing many people torely on framed degrees, or yellow pagesad size as an indicator of competence.

The point is: quality, people whoknow what they are talking about,people who know what they’re doing,can’t be easily and so simply be found.Certification sometimes works andsometimes doesn’t.

Word-of-mouth, as always, proves tobe the most reliable source. Quality isnot conveniently found and probablynever will be.

ACTUAL WOTOS-RELATEDEXPERIENCES

For real-life WOTOS experiences,here are two of my encounters with theWOTOS mentality.

1. Did you go to school?Sometimes, a kind and tasteful person

has looked at this publicationadmiringly and asked me, “Did you goto school for this?”

It’s a strange compliment. The answeris no, I never have attended a class indesign or writing. In fact, I came toenjoy writing more when I took all my“How To Write” books (written byalleged experts) and shoved them in thedusty bottom of an over-packed closet.

working so? Yes, a vacation while at work, what could be better? Can we just keep on in this

55qecev3n2

Teresa Worthington, PhD

Doctorate inBicyclic

MaintenanceitusDo you have WOTOS tendencies? Answer quickly, which of the above

business cards impresses you more?

Still, such books are not all bad.There are tons of how-to books that canget you going if you’re determined.Passion helps.

2. The NPR CallerOne of my favorite WOTOS stories

dates back to the 1996 AmericanPresidential primary elections when far-right Republican candidate PatBuchanan was grabbing the headlineswith his extreme language.

On the NPR radio show, “Talk of theNation,” three political “expert” guestswere raving about how Buchanan wason fire and would surely win his party’snomination. A caller to the show wonmy heart that day. He mocked theexperts, actually laughed at them,stating that the religious element inAmerica is merely loud, not widespread,and that most people would vote formoderate candidate Bob Dole.

The experts righteously defendedtheir predictions, mustering all thesnobbery and scoffery of masters-degreejournalists.

They were dead wrong.Dole rolled over his competition,

since people will usually go for amoderate (see Larry’s PopularityPrinciple (QECE #7, page 28) for

related information on this phenomena.)Buchanan faded away and that caller

remains one of my heroes; a true Non-WOTOS, a true independent thinker.

FIGHTING THE WOTOS CULT:THERE IS HELP

The WOTOS cult differs from mostcults in that the WOTOS worship thosewho may have no idea they are beingworshipped, though they have noproblem taking advantage of thesituation. (Of course, this exploitationmay be unconscious.)

The WOTOS cult is not driven by anindividual’s desire to be a messiah, butby others’ desire for a messiah.

You can fight it by trying to be asindependent as possible.

EDUCATED OPINIONSomeone once said to me, “I don’t

know if Modern Art is good or not, Idon’t know enough.” That’s a badattitude. You can still have an opinioneven if you’re not versed in a subject! Ifyou wish to remain humble, just prefaceit with “I hope...” or “My concern wouldbe...” etc. If you choose not to remainhumble, say, “I think this sucks” or it’supper-crust translation: “The work failsto move me.”

Alicia Jones

30 years experience infixing bicycles.

continued on page 47...

good direction? Is there any object that can’t be used as a weapon? Did I already ask that? In the

56 qece v3n2

NETWORKThe editors, contributors, publisher, and

readers of QECE do not necessarily agreewith or endorse all the views of theseorganizations. These groups are listed herebecause in the opinion of the publisher, theyare sincerely questioning and challenging. Itis your responsibility to question andchallenge them. If you have any comments orproblems with the entities listed here, feelfree to contact QECE.

If you would like to exchange an ad, senda sample of your publication or product anda camera-ready ad for consideration.

And if you’re checking out any of theseservices, don’t forget to tell ’em QECE sentyou. Thanks.

QECE406 main st. #3c

collegeville, pa 19426 usaqece@aol.com

Make checks out to Roger Leisner

RADIO FREE MAINEPOB 2705

August, Maine 04338Tel/Fax: (207) 622-6629

www.cyborganic.com/people/stefan/RFM.html

SendSASE with 78

cents postagefor catalog of

other titles.

audio tapeof Noam

Chomsky�s�The Role ofthe Media in

ManufacturingConsent�

$10.50postpaid in

the USA.Canada and

Mexico add $1.Europe add $2.

RADIO FREE MAINE

156 Rivington St.New York, NY 10002

212-254-3697www.panix.com/~blackout/abcnorio.html

Support ABC No Rio!ABC No Rio is a community arts center,meeting space, concert hall and muchmore. It is home to Foods Not BombsNYC, an organization that serves food tothose in need. The space is also avail-able for political or community meetingsand workshops. As of this printing, money is stillneeded to help pay off the city of NewYork or else be shut down! Call or checkout the web site for more info. Tell themwhere you saw this ad. Make checks outto ABC No Rio.

art by Eric Drooker

Blackout BooksBlackout Books

50 avenue B between 3rd and4th streets, the lower east side ofmanhattan, new york city, nyopen 7 days a week, noon to 10 pm(212) 777-1967blackout@panix.com

harbor, are those lumps waves or... something else? Why do so many people seem to search for

57qecev3n2

magazine

Brenda Loew�s

Freedom isn’t free. Support EIDOSmagazine’s battle for sexual freedom.

Everyone Is Doing Outrageous Sex!

MUST BE 18+.AGE STATEMENT REQUIRED.

POB 96 • Boston, MA 02137 USA617-262-0096

Sample: US$7 • 4 Issues: US$25.http://www.eidos.org

eidos@eidos.org

Winner, 1996“Golden Phallus Award”

call to verify hours.

508 South5th St.

Philadelphia,PA 19147

215-413-0999

AnarChisT BookSaNd PerIiodiCalS

DiY Records,T-shirtS, Buttons,

eTc.

betweenSouth &Lombard

Open Noon - 10pm Sun-Thu.Noon - Midnight Fri & Sat.

Earn FREEQECE�s!

QECE406 main street #3c

collegeville, pa 19426 usa

Here’s how: if you see QECEreviewed in another magazine orzine, photocopy the page, write downthe publication name, issue numberand contact information and send itto QECE. The first two people whosend it in will receive a free issue, orhave one issue added on to theirsubscription! Wow! (No fair printing your own reviews.Submissions are subject to approvalor rejection. Reviews need not bepositive, I just want to find out whatothers are saying about QECE.)

Thanks for your help!

signs of doom? And why do so many people live in denial of the signs of doom? Why do so few

NonviolentAction forAnimals.

For info onwhat the ALL isdoing, write orsend email towaste@waste.orgwith themessage titleset as“subscribe ALL-announce”.

PO Box 7245Minneapolis, MN 55407 USA

612-872-0488

AnimalLiberation

League

58 qece v3n2

DEPROGRAMMING MANTRA

by Larry Nocella

It’s dangerous to give a formula, a mantra, because they may over-simplify. Still,they are helpful, because they’re so easy to remember, so let’s say this:

Dogma is the enemy.I have to give a nod to Ayn Rand, who said Objectivity (her name for her philoso-phy) was its own defense against dogma. Likewise, this issue’s DeProgrammingMantra shall protect against itself. In other words, dogma is the enemy, but don’ttake that as dogma.

INTERLOCKING IDEASSometimes, I notice I am covering similar ground from one QECE article to thenext. This is because different concepts touch on the same underlying ideas, makingall the articles interlock as one giant Questioning and Challenge mass, which is thefeisty little mag you’re holding.

Dogma is the enemy.CONTRADICTIONSWow. What an issue. Rants about disclaimers being ridiculous (Diapers for theBrain) followed by a disclaimer as an entire article (Don’t Play Into Their Hands!)

It seems to me this “contradiction” might be a good thing. When criticizinganother, people often complain about a lack of consistency. But consistency is aluxury only dogma provides. What appears as a contradiction and/or inconsistencymay also be interpreted as a refusal to be dogmatic, an insistence on seeing theworld in focus, not in convenient, brightly colored blobs.

Is inconsistency bad, or a resistance to dogma? Is consistency a myth? Is consis-tency considered good because you are requiring dogma? Am I contradictingmyself, or are your definitions too broad and unfocused?

Dogma is the enemy.Q

people seem to strike the proper balance? Isn’t doom a little too broad? Wouldn’t it apply to

59qecev3n2

SUBSCRIBE!

SPECSQECE is published roughly threetimes a year. Send all correspon-dence to: 406 Main St. #3C,Collegeville, PA 19426 USA.email: qece@aol.com

SUBMISSIONSEveryone has their own ideas ofwhat a publication titled, “Ques-tion Everything ChallengeEverything” should feature.Send in yours!

Send a self-addressed stampedenvelope (SASE) for ContributorGuidelines, or just send some-thing. Express yourself. Don’thold back. Enclose a less than 25word bio. Include a SASE if youwant a reply.

DISCLAIMERAny facts quoted in QECE are theresponsibility of the author. QECEassumes no responsibility at all forincorrect information (other thantypos.) Any facts in QECE (or anyother source) should not beaccepted without question.

HOW DO YOU SAY “QECE”?However you like. Some pro-nounce it quiché, queasy, kooky,kee-chee, quacky, quickie or somejust spell it out: Q-E-C-E. Havefun.

TO CONTACT QECECONTRIBUTORSWrite or email to them care ofQECE, see address above.

QECE info

Question Everything.Challenge Everything.

feel free to copy this form...

Three-issuesubscription only

$7.00!

QECE406 main street #3c

collegeville, pa 19426 usa

Send well-hidden cash or make checksand money orders payable to

Larry Nocella.

Name: ______________________

Address: ____________________

___________________________

___________________________

___________________________

Email: ______________________

art

by C

olin

Dev

elin

certain people and only in certain ways? But those lumps are getting closer and am I afraid?

greetings my fellow indigestible children

of the revolution! is this how the world

ends, not with a bang, but with a barcode?

for surely the world seems overrun with

normalcy. but this is illusion, my friends,

illusion weighted with noise and the shim-

mering veil of fame. our struggle is to

exist. so, i ask you again, is this how it

ends? i think not, my friends. look beyond

the veil. step away from the music. the

shouting does not prove truth the over-

whelming fakery of nearly all that is fa-

mous cannot withstand the truth of it. i

am tired of predators disguised as revolu-

tionaries. attention, children of the revo-

lution. this is not your leader speaking

for you shall have no leader. i am simply

a messenger, yet what i tell you will come

as no surprise. normalcy is a plague across

our land, and forced oddity a double plague.

it is time to counter this action. of

course, don’t hurt anybody! force nothing

on another this revolution shall be won by

illustration by example show the joys of

being weird which is to fully be yourself.

tell your friends. the revolution is afoot,

my comrades, and it’s time to get snackin’.