sparse and it costs. When asked, an associate of mine working with the Hadza, a hunter / gatherer tribe in central Africa, told them to “take nothing” offered by Civilisation, as this was a sure route to assimilation. As we generally are assimilated to the extent they have taken all means of living from us, only to sell it back to us, I’d say take the absolute minimum from them to survive, stealing it or otherwise obtaining it in a way that minimises their profit and your contact with them if at all possible, and try to figure out how to do without even that. Obviously search your own cultural history (and that of other oppressed groups, where relevant and useful) as to the best ways to ‘fight or flight’, how others survived before you and how that can be made relevant for today, but the bottom line is that this Civilisation is as much a prison, as much akin to a slave compound, as pre-revolutionary San Domingue. As far as they’re concerned, you owe them a living and no-one’s allowed to just leave voluntarily. If weak, you can stay in place building culturally and emulating the slaves’ covert sabotage (at least upping the cost of your ongoing captivity), but if there are no other options, you should be building for your ‘Night of Fire’, crashing as much of the system as possible so it’s impossible for them to hold or control you any longer. That’s why I was saying to do your utmost to break any imposed dependency on a system you’re going to have to destroy as the insurgent slaves of Haiti did, as completely and with as little compromise as possible. Any dependency will only stay your hand to that extent. However useless you’ve made yourself to them economically, they need you — you shouldn’t need them. Your cultural contacts are natural allies, but the point of not isolating yourself from other oppressed groups, of also seeking to understand both the liberatory content and oppressive potential of their perspectives, is that they too are potential allies, equally keen to break free. On Haiti, the ‘Night of Fire’ was about destroying the plantations that both imprisoned the slaves and supplied the rationale for their masters to remain in the colony, using the traditional weapon of the oppressed, fire. Realistically, in a modern industrial economy characterised by a highly specialised division of labour, we are talking small numbers prepared to act unless there is a serious broader societal crisis — so clandestine, targeted attacks on the power, communications and transport infrastructure are most likely to precipitate such crisis. What would the military bomb in a war to paralyse a country? So you have your target list — though lacking B52s, you need to think of techniques available to all to take them out. Too many groups have been compromised chasing rare, specialist kit from compromised suppliers when something nearly as good was available for £1.99 from the local hardware store — where anyone else can get it too if they share your grievances. Lastly on this, never think you can’t win. That’s the first thing the dominant culture teaches you — powerlessness. Against all the odds, the barefoot slaves of Haiti typically armed with only clubs and the promise of Africa won, seeing the back not of one but of two of the greatest powers of the Napoleonic era. My last point — and one easily forgotten — is that when you get out, they’re still not going to let you go. Most of the history of Haiti was attempts to drag it back into the world economy by hook or crook, even when it was grossly impoverished. If you sneaked out, they’ll search for you. If you’re weak, they’ll drag you back. If not (unlikely, given you’re up against nation-state sized opponents here!), they’ll offer to trade with you or otherwise cut you into their power games as a disposable ‘ally’, anything to make you dependent on them. And, finally, there’s the ‘Hussite’ gambit, whereby they concede they can’t get in or compromise you, but surround you and hope things rot in there, that hierarchy and domination return, typically justified with reference to their external threat. Never forget the vision of autonomy and equality — and “take nothing”. This game of pockets of freedom breaking through and then in weeks, years, decades even, being reabsorbed will go on until the end of history, the end of Time, but just as they may get us in the end, there is an example of free community to set and to enjoy in the meantime. As they’re not in the habit of lopping off feet like the old slavers, you
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