by Crimethinc. Workers' Collective
Available in 284 free installments
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Ultimately rnental health, like fireedom, desire, culture, and everytfiing else, is not pre due d individually, but by entire civilizations. No one can be whoUy sL in an insane world Discussion of mental heal& should not be limited to tfiose who identify as men-ta ly m: It concerns all of us, for everyone is crazy to some extent. Treating mental health
should take care of the mad minority, creates a false dichotomy; in t?th, we aU can benefit from self-care and self-healing.
If any of us are to heal, we have to heal our damaged, destructive society. StiU just as It can be unhealthy to fixate on self-improvement, we have to be careflil to provide for our own emotional health and well-being in the process of fighting the system that undemiines these, Capitalism is characterized by an inhuman emphasis on productiv' ity and efficiency; natarally we internalize this, and it infests our personal Uves and dreams and political projects. Overworking ourselves in our struggles to abolish work disregarding each other's needs in the heat of our battles against the heartiess establish^ ment, we replicate the virus of self-destiuction in our efforts to eradicate it
The Healing Revolution
Mental Health
Mental Health 382
Revolution is fought on two fronts, one outside, one inside. We won't be able to overthrow capitalism until we heal ourselves and each other, and we won't be able to finish healing ourselves and each other without overthrowing capitalism. Don't mistake the struggle in the streets for the only struggle, or misunderstand the time we must take to nurture ourselves and one another as a distraction from it. Healing is a form of revolution, just as revolution is a form of healing, and doing what it takes to heal yourself can be truly revolutionary.
Musical Instruments
Seizing the means of production doesn't just entail occupying the factories; it also means getting familiar with the more modest machines that produce our living environments, like musical instruments. Nothing liberates you from the dictates of a given technology like learning how it works and reworking it. You can make your own drums, didgeridoos, upright basses, and drum machines, not to mention instruments not yet invented?and when you do, please let us know, so we can compare notes. Here are just a few examples of our latest discoveries in the field.
We reverse-engineered this holy terror from a children's toy. The toy said "tweet, tweet!" Someone at the lab accidentally dropped a decimal point and now it says "MOO, MOO." If you can use it as a musical instrument, you are possessed of pure genius. However, anyone in the world can use a boviphonic ohm cannon to make raucous bass blasts capable of calling cows (no shit!), rupturing internal organs (uh, not really), and adding a lovely ambiance to any public gathering.
This recipe is extremely forgiving. Alter any measurements you want. Any alteration will produce different tones and notes.
Plastic or sturdy cardboard tubes ?The length determines the pitch (the longer the Ingredients tube, the lower the note), the diameter determines tone. We've used tubes anywhere from I to 4 inches in diameter and i to i6 feet long. ^g^
Boviphonic Ohm Cannon
Comb the environment around you
for places that have natural musical
potential?the rail on the bridge that
rings Vi^hen pounded, the train tunnel
with the perfect echo acoustics. You
can compose a symphony from these
sounds, in a series of movements,
and one evening take your friends
from site to site to perform the
symphony in sequence.
Steel can ?Food cans work well. The diameter of your can must be slightly smaller
than that of your tube. Plastic bucket ?The bucket should be sturdy. Its diameter needs to be at least four
inches bigger than that of the tube you have selected. Plastic film ?Almost any plastic works, as long as it doesn't have holes: try tarps,
drop cloths, grocery bags, garbage bags. Some plastics last longer than others, and
each will make a different tone. Plastics that are not stretchy, such as acetate, sound
particularly nice and last long. Steel strapping ?This is the stuff that is used to strap pallets of bricks. You can find it
on construction sites, or just ask for some at a lumberyard.
a few old bike inner tubes Waterproof glue Sandpaper of any grit ?
waterproof is best Small screws or rivets
Drill
Screwdriver or rivet gun Gas stove or propane torch Tin snips X-ACTO knife
Instructions
Musical IntrLiments 384
