The analogy I would consider more appropriate would be to say that politics are part of everyone’s lives in the same ways that our bodies, not sports, are. We can deny the physical existence of our bodies and their demands all we want, pretend to live purely in the mental, but our diet affects our mood. Politics means the ways in which societies are organized, and as we are part of a society, we are part of a political process.

Politics is a part of everyone’s lives. It influences our decisions even in our subconscious thought processes.”

Only if you let yourself be brainwashed, and you let yourself be brainwashed.

Its the same thing as saying that sport is a part of everyone’s lives, nope, only the people who are into sports.

I HATE POLITICS

I hate them all, both left and right, both commie and anarchist, both conservative and liberal.

They are all the same poop.

Love the machine, hate the factory ? wow, what a new trendy slogan that doesn’t mean anything, i will tune into MTV to see if they have printed it on the latest fashion t-shirt.

We seem to be forgetting that the Victorians had their own ‘punks’ in shape of a vibrant anarchist movement; many of whom were committed to ‘propaganda by the deed’. The black caped, bomb wielding anarchist is a classic Victorian phantom.

Joseph Conrad’s ‘The Secret Agent’ was set in 1886 and inspired by the failed Grenwich Observatory bombing of 1894. And Tangent Books have just released a Victorian Sci-Fi classic called HARTMANN THE ANARCHIST.

Published in 1892 (but written years earlier) this was the creation of a 17 yr old public schoolboy called Edward Douglas Fawcett. It is the tale of Rudolph Hartmann who attacks the political and financial institutions of London using an airship called ‘The Attila’. It’s very ‘Boys Own’, but the politics (and Hartmann’s targets) remains strangely relevant to today’s world. I can’t recomend it highly enough, especially as it’s only a fiver (including postage) from http://www.tangentbooks.co.uk

“Punk politics cover the entire political spectrum, although most punks could be categorized as having left-wing or progressive views.[citation needed] Punk-related ideologies are mostly concerned with individual freedom and anti-establishment views. Common punk viewpoints include anti-authoritarianism, a DIY ethic, non-conformity, direct action and not selling out. Other notable trends in punk politics include nihilism, anarchism, socialism, anti-militarism, anti-capitalism, anti-racism, anti-sexism, anti-nationalism, anti-homophobia, environmentalism, vegetarianism, veganism and animal rights.”

Now here we have a whole spectrum of political views. The thing that ties them as one? Action. Living your beliefs with no apologies. That is what punk is.

If you believe that discretion is the better part of virtue, then by all means keep your beliefs to yourself in the proper “no talking about politics in mixed company” Victorian way, but when with other Steampunks we are not in mixed company, so at least amongst ourselves, the debate should be grand, lively, and hopefully accompanied by brandy.

A note to those who feel that they could not EVER mix politics and steam, might I suggest a moniker change? Mayhap Steampulpers or Steamgoths or Gasslight Fantasy Enthusiasts? Punk is a charged word when applied to a group of people rather than to a mixing of literary genres, so either live up to it or get used to people assuming that you are more political than you are.

First let me extend my sincerest apologies for the lateness of this reply, as you know my life and work has been seriously, and may I add rudely , inconvenienced by the bully-boys of authority. I hold to the hope that none of you shall ever have to feel the indignity of being shackled and helpless while for 16 tedious and harrowing hours so-called “public servants” with guns ransack your parlors, workshops and your very bedrooms. I need to also point out this raid was carried out at the rather uncivilized hour prior to dawn so thus we were all resting in the sweet embrace of Morpheus when they shattered our door and our respites.

I have recently blundered upon this conversation concerning my travails with the government. I would like to thank all of you for your concerns and interests on my behalf and those of my band-mates. The legal details of these unlawful incursions both in the land of William Penn and here in my beloved New York are out there, as much as there are details, on the webosphere and other muck-racking sources for the education of the masses. I shall not dwell on the absurd fiasco that is said to be carrying out in the name of justice. As of this writing much of the supposed evidence against us is sealed and thus we have not seen it. Instead I shall address the primary concern about the political ramifications of such a blatant abuse of power and its specific implications for those in our dear steampunk community.

We need not yet bury our goggles or write our fictions in elaborate and ingenious ciphers (unless we want to). Nor do I believe the so-called “authorities” will be ransacking our conventions in the nearish future. I understand why some consider my arrest and my band-mates invasion of liberty and privacy to be relegated to the clean borders of “anarchy” or politics and thus outside the curtain of copper that shields steampunk. While it is true I am an anarchist and have been since before I made my first clockwork dancing bear (a story for another time…) and I believe my latest and most unpleasant misadventure is a result of my peculiar political beliefs. I have had the sorry pleasure of witnessing these types of authoritarian and barbaric treatment of political dissents too many times to recount, and I believe I am alone in that I am also a steampunk.

That being said, my dear friends, there is much to cause concern in our shared community. It seems the eye of conformity is upon us. My library has thousands of curious tomes but no-one can deny the obsessive interest in steampunk my would-be captors seemed to possess. They have in fact used steampunk writings, paraphernalia, and even bits of our instruments as a substantial component in justifying to the world this obvious breech in etiquette and liberty. If they were seeking additional evidence of the stated “crime” for which they have maligned me namely: felonious use of twitter in a protest in Pittsburgh. Then I ask you why would they ransack my home in New Amsterdam box up my goggles, steampunk magazine, writings for the next seasonal, and so on? Do they honestly believe the secret to twittering could be found among these items? They are brutal, never forget that, but not bumbling. They knew these items are in no way connected to the so-called twitter revolution. Their paranoid desire for total control seeks to attack anything that can be construed of a threat, even if it is a pair of 1896 goggles or an essay on the strange cures of women’s hysteria in the 1880’s. It is not conformity in dress (wear your top-hats without fear) or music choices (Abney Park will continue to fly) but in politics they demand total conformity. If steampunk or even a small part of it becomes political then we should expect a few more early morning visits. We should not shirk away in fear by their blind strikes at us, or those that see many worlds are possible, for this will lead us to proving that ridiculous adage: “History repeats itself”. We visionaries of future-pasts should never allow this to happen. We must remain true to our own currents and beliefs whether anarchist or otherwise. The important thing is to be true to one self. Remember the heart is a muscle the size of a fist.

Love the machine, hate the factory.

Thank you for your tender indulgences. Rest assured, those we can call comrades, that our mettle was tested but we remain unbowed.

Humbly your servant,
Prof. Calamity