Ep. 140: Survivance - Dominique Althoff

Ep. 140: Survivance/Did the CIA Fund Good Art - Dominique Althoff

Speaking about the CIA in positive terms is certainly a hard sell for anarchists. My attraction to the notorious Company is based on an unrepentant love of the liminal. Keeping secrets or uncovering them will always be a turn on for some of us. Because espionage trades in denials, and the blurry concept of “plausibility” anything is possible. A nefarious organization scrubbing brains, rubber masks, and expert love making. Anarchists are aware of the value of “neither confirming nor denying”, that the conspiracy is larger and more dangerous than it is. Why not let the rumors spread?

There are real consequences of covert operations. Deathsquads, neo-fascist franchises and mindfucking civilians. But how many of us lose sleep when another Communist dictator or Islamist figurehead disappears? How do we understand values like individualism and freedom? Adam Curtis describes how Russia held on to western traditions (i.e. sexism, homophobia, racism) while we have arguably done the opposite (transgender people in high ranking military positions as one example.) We have Freedom and rock n’ roll or so we tell ourselves. The American Dream could look like The Beautiful Idea if you squint hard.

Our talk deals with the CIA as a subject of novelty. Something amusing or awful about things that probably didn't take place. But many writers, musicians, artists were supported, sometimes unknowingly, by The Agency during the Cold War. Ultimately, if Eastern Bloc punk gigs were funded clandestinely it’s worth noting. Especially if Anarchism might have seen the same treatment.

Contain podcast is far enough outside of the anarchist space that it could be considered right- wing to some. It has featured Red Scare and Perfume Nationalist, and spoke a few non-negative words about Alexander Dugin. But there are so many beautiful and life affirming conversations that terms like reactionary and radical seem trite. Against political polarities there is only a world of BBQ or not BBQ. Our discussion might be a little overwarmed for a postleft, identity-criti, nihilist audience (jesus remember using those words) However, this is a first step towards Anarchist entryism in the other direction

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1mH9TOfWBWuwCXQua77bj4

Episode Description:

w/ Ojibwe musician & researcher Dominique Althoff of Black Seed Journal on indigenous post-nihilism, going from prison to UC Berkeley, and the question of whether the CIA contributed to good art... #Political assassinations, code talking, Peter Matthiessen, the Paris Review, and the CIA, Ghost Dance origins of Wounded Knee, the 1880 outlawing of ceremonial gift-giving, Black Twilight Circle, the Scorpions’ ‘Wind of Change’...Gerald Vizenor & Survivance, what would Adorno say about hyperpop, the Russian nihilist movement, Clastres and the projection of Nietzsche onto indigenous anthropology, Hitler's fascination with American Indians, Indigenous Anarchy, & more. "Nihilism was a position we were put it...it's a position to overcome" "The field of intelligence is wide open right now"

There are 16 Comments

aragorn! explicitly said that he was not a nihilist.

and if the host says "that's a really good point" one more time than the universe is going to explode. too bad he didn't get your sense of humor. :/

"Ultimately I am not a nihilist but this might be a de jure vs de facto kind of distinction that people hate hearing people drone…"

'defending us innocent commenters from being victimized by all the anarchists'

You talkin' about thecollective, brah?

Thanks for saying something. This person has a serious history with brutalizing and terrorizing his intimate partners... broken noses, threats at knifepoint, etc. It's not pretty.

Lots of rabbit holes, and they are bringing up the "anarch" concept which folks have talked about here. I totally want to check out vizner.

The 'anarch' is a ootlicker par excellence. Stick with the Unique, brah

*bootlicker

The way that you use bootlicker, as if anyone who isn't embroiled in anti-state conflict is a bootlicker.

The revolutionaries who get caught are more likely to be bootlickers and/or informants.

"anyone who isn't embroiled in anti-state conflict is a bootlicker."

CORRECT.

Dominique Althoff is a serial abuser. His own work begs context to make it relevant, so maybe if you are reading/listening, research the whole context. Is hitting and choking out a partner ever okay? Is it cool to threaten that person with knives? Is it okay to stab yourself with a multitool and then angrily compel your partner to pull it out of your own ribcage? Is it fine to threaten to harm that person's dog? Is it cool to keep sending that person hundreds of messages over the course of five years?

I hope you are safe and far away from him. Thank you for speak out about this and I hope anews considers whose work they promote more carefully in the future.

Thank you for saying that. It means a lot to me. I wouldn't say anything if he hadn't continued to harrass me for the past five years. I don't expect to ever feel fully safe but yes, I've moved far away. I find it egregious that someone like Dom continues to be platformed. Boosting his shit can only serve to boost him as a person, and there is no difference between supporting his work and condoning his treatment of his intimate partners.

endeavor require context to be relevant, you basically have to be constantly doing research while consuming online content. Thanks for adding another piece to the puzzle, obviously a pretty a painful piece for you.

Add new comment