What do you think of DIY?

[Organic Revolution]

Do it yourself or DIY refers to the practice of fabricating or repairing things on one's own rather than purchasing them or paying for professional repair.

An example is home improvement done by the householder without the aid of paid professionals. The term was in fact not coined in the 1960s by British TV presenter and craftsman Barry Bucknell although he is often credited with its invention.

This is applied commonly to home improvement but also applies to other areas. Do-it-yourself has obviously had a lengthy history around the world, since through the ages of camp life, and later village and town life, the most common situation has been for the people living in a home to take care of it themselves (and, for most of the centuries now past, even to make their own tools, clothing, etc.). In recent times, rural and small-town people have continued the old tradition, which is why small-town hardware stores were traditionally so important. However, in North America and much of Europe, population has moved increasingly into city and suburban environs.

from Wikipedia.

[Organic Revolution]

DIY stand for Do It Yourself.

DIY Culture was a wide range of grassroots political activism in the United Kingdom in the 1990s. During this period (1991-1997) the Conservative government cracked down on squatting, Animal Rights activists, Greens, Travellers, as well as the culture of raves, parties and dance culture. It has been criticised as a form of Laissez-faire Libertarianism only available to those who already have access to resources and leisure in this society.

from Wikipedia.

[Anarchist Freedom]

I think DIY is great Its a wonderful thing that we need to teach more people DIY.

[Organic Revolution]

i think DIY is a useful for all people. ussually i can dumpster what i need.

[Clarksist]

It depends.

DIY is very useful for poor people under capitalism. But, I like it much better when you get some friends who know what the fuck they are doing to help you out.

I really like how cheap it is to live once you learn enough projects to do efficiently.

[pastradamus]

Im love DIY. Used to do carpentry :-)

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

I'm all for things being done for yourself, but this whole "DIY" phenomenon, at least on the left, seems to be largely associated with 'lifestyle anarchism,' which disgusts me.

misspelled DIY

[bed_of_nails]

Really, I enjoy the DIY forum because it entertains me. I will make a few musical instruments to play around with, some gas masks, and other things that strike my fancy.

Ironically I was the biggest naysayer of it.

[Free Palestine]

As far as DIY ethic for (strictly) political groups in music, I am against it (from an activist perspective). This quote says it all, in my opinion.


Originally posted by Tom Morello
"When you live in a capitalistic society, the currency of the dissemination of information goes through capitalistic channels. Would Noam Chomsky object to his works being sold at Barnes & Noble? No, because that's where people buy their books. We're not interested in preaching to just the converted. It's great to play abandoned squats run by anarchists, but it's also great to be able to reach people with a revolutionary message, people from Granada Hills to Stuttgart."

-- Tom Morello, Rage Against the Machine

You have to ask yourself what your cause is. What are you trying to do? How do you do that? Do you want fewer people organizing or do you want more? Who do you think has done more to galvanize support for their causes, Rage Against the Machine or Aus Rotten?

By ditching DIY, Rage was able to sell 14 million CDs of completely subversive revolutionary propaganda. By ditching DIY they were able to fund the entire Federal Appeals process for Mumia Abu-Jamal, galvanize tremenedous support, publicity, and fans to achieve their causes, funded and agitate support for the Zapatistas, did countless work for Leonard Peltier's Defense Committee, held boycotts of sweatshop labor, and on and on. So you've got to look in the mirror and see what you're doing that is being more productive from an activist perspective.

We live in a fucking capitalist world. As Tom Morello pointed out: Do people criticize Noam Chomsky because his books are sold in corporate book stores? No, that is the dichotomy of being a socialist in a capitalist world.. Rage Against the Machine sold 14 million records of totally subversive revolutionary propaganda. The reason why is that the CDs were released on Sony.

[Samuel]

I think that DIY is great. Why spend money when you don't need to, and the skills you gain in the process can help you later on.

As to the DIY board here, I love the stuff like musical instruments and silk screening, its good to learn how to do things. However, I hope that we don't get into offensive weaponry (like the gas-mask inhibitor bit), as any idiot can look this board up on google and attack someone.

[Organic Revolution]

Originally posted by Free [email protected] 25 2005, 12:37 AM
By ditching DIY, Rage was able to sell 14 million CDs of completely subversive revolutionary propaganda
are they selling revolution, or is revolution selling them.

they are were capitalists under a hammer and sickle.

[Enragé]

"ha! you think its funny! turning rebellion into money!"


but seriously, there is nothing wrong with RATM, perhaps they made a mistake, but without i would have never heard of them, i would never have known about the zapatistas, never about the Mexican-US border etc etc.

[Free Palestine]

Originally posted by organic revolution+Aug 27 2005, 03:58 AM--> (organic revolution @ Aug 27 2005, 03:58 AM)
Free [email protected] 25 2005, 12:37 AM
By ditching DIY, Rage was able to sell 14 million CDs of completely subversive revolutionary propaganda
are they selling revolution, or is revolution selling them.

they are were capitalists under a hammer and sickle.[/b]

Look, get real man. You think Rage Against the Machine would have sold anywhere near 14 million CDs on an independent label? Independent labels can't distribute like Sony can, that's one of the good things about a major. And you think it's some kind of punk rock paradise? That they won't steal from you? Meddle with you artistically? Control you? Sign you on a contract that says they get everything and you get nothing? They're the same people on majors but with different haircuts. If you get the offer of signing to a major and manage to get guaranteed 100% creative control like Rage did, and you want to reach as many people as you can with a revolutionary message then it's a no-brainer.

Look what they did with their money. They were funding real shit. Zapatistas and Mumia's defense. Benefits for local radical and activist organizations. These produced huge amounts of money. Six Figures. Yeah you might be pure, but THEY were the ones getting the job done and you're just hot air. Actual revolution is going to take a lot of people, a lot of money and a lot of work. I used to follow your line of thinking then it stopped making sense. We live in a fucking capitalist world. That is just the dichotomy of being a socialist in a capitalist world. Is Noam Chomsky going to demand that his books not be sold in Barnes & Noble? No..

When you get older and start having responsibilities like feeding your kids you'll notice how flawed is the idea that bands shouldn't make money. If that was true then Rage couldn't afford to do a band at all. According to your rules everyone in the world should have a living wage but if you're in a band you shouldn't even make minimum wage. If every band even got minimum wage for every hour they put into their work they'd all own their own homes by now. Instead they live in doorways. That's real solidarity with the workers huh?

And lastly if your ideology was universally accepted we would have lost a major piece of the movement against the Viet Nam war. Major Label bands played a very large role in stopping the worlds largest empire from destroying the people of Viet Nam. That's real solidarity with the oppressed huh?

[Organic Revolution]

ted turner gave 1 billion dollars to the UN is he good?

[Samuel]

Originally posted by organic [email protected] 27 2005, 07:58 PM
ted turner gave 1 billion dollars to the UN is he good?
Well, I wouldn't say that either of them are "good."

Edit: "either of them" meaning Ted Turner and the UN

[Seeker]

The whole "punk rock" DIY scam is just more consumerist bullshit; screaming "Fuck the System" between sips of Coke.

[Jesus Christ!]

I think on a living basis it's a great thing. If you're poor or you don't have a lot of excess money why not just patch stuff up, make your own clothes, plant your own food, make your own life.

When it comes to music I think beign DIY is a good thing but free palestian is right too. I don't agree with signing to a major if the band is doing it purely to make money for themselves. If the band is doing it to spread a message that they think is important or are making money for good causes, why not? The way rage did things I don't think should be looked down upon. They didn't sell out, they kept their music the same, they kept their message the same, and they made money for good causes and spread a very good message.

[Organic Revolution]

Originally posted by [email protected] 27 2005, 02:51 PM
The whole "punk rock" DIY scam is just more consumerist bullshit; screaming "Fuck the System" between sips of Coke.
i dont drink soda.. so dont generalize, it makes you sound ignorant.

[Jesus Christ!]

Originally posted by organic revolution+Aug 27 2005, 08:57 PM--> (organic revolution @ Aug 27 2005, 08:57 PM)
[email protected] 27 2005, 02:51 PM
The whole "punk rock" DIY scam is just more consumerist bullshit; screaming "Fuck the System" between sips of Coke.
i dont drink soda.. so dont generalize, it makes you sound ignorant. [/b]
He didn't specifically say you did. He was just saying that a lot of this punk DIY stuff is fake.

[Seeker]

Have you seen the websight (the only DIY punk rock websight linked to in the stickys)? It is one big advertisment for cheap plastic crap.

Buy our products to show how anti-Capitalist you are!

[Organic Revolution]

DIY isnt specifically Punk Rock. i know hippie kids who do it, techno dance kids, hip hop kids, traveller kids.

[Jesus Christ!]

Originally posted by organic [email protected] 27 2005, 09:05 PM
DIY isnt specifically Punk Rock. i know hippie kids who do it, techno dance kids, hip hop kids, traveller kids.
I know it isn't who said it was?

[Organic Revolution]

Originally posted by [email protected] 27 2005, 03:04 PM
Have you seen the websight (the only DIY punk rock websight linked to in the stickys)? It is one big advertisment for cheap plastic crap.

Buy our products to show how anti-Capitalist you are!
thats because most of the DIY links i know are down at the moment

[Seeker]

I know DIY is about more than just punk rock, and the provided example is the only thing I can really criticize. However, I roomed with a budding capitalist for a while in the dorms as a Freshman. He owned a punk rock record label (FUG I think it was), and during the time we spent in close quarters, I learned a little about the culture. The consumer culture promoted by Profane Existence seems to be the rule rather than the exception.

[Donnie]

I think DIY’s good because it saves money. Unfortunately unlike some people I can't afford to buy a new pair of jeans everytime I rip them by accident. It's useful for me to mend things, for example a pocket on one of my jumpers was coming off so I sowed it back up instead of buying a new one.


The whole "punk rock" DIY scam is just more consumerist bullshit; screaming "Fuck the System" between sips of Coke.
Unfortunately I have to do it because I'm not that well off. But I must apologies to you for me being a poor. ;)

[PRC-UTE]

Originally posted by organic [email protected] 21 2005, 08:34 PM
i think DIY is a useful for all people. ussually i can dumpster what i need.
Don't get sick.

More middle class rubbish posing as politics.