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How do I survive here? Help a kid survive in Oklahoma.
Hey guys, im just a kid, 15 to be exact. I live in Oklahoma, the reddest state. I hate it here, and with only 2 and a half more years to go before I leave, I need some sort of survival guide. I fucking hate it here. My life is hell. My parents are conservative, republican, right wing, imperialist, christians. Same with everyone in my family with the exception of my homosexual brother and his partner who are liberal. I goto a liberal arts school, which is a vacation from the norm of the people who live here. The majority are uneducated, strongly christian, and very right wing who think Obama is a "socialist". I've read a ton of books including the manifesto and several books on marx and lenin. If anyone cold refer some good books/films/etc that would be great. But anyways, how do I fucking survive here? I live in a 10 foot apartment in a bad(ish) neighborhood. Im also bi (I would never tell anyone this that I knew.), everyday I hear about how the US is "a christian nation", how this "war" is justified when its all over oil to profit from, I don't fucking get it. I feel so alienated and different, its sort of hard to cope with. I've made several communist shirts and am always verbally harassed and sometimes threatened when I wear them, yet I will not be intimidated and continue to do so. I have a strange, dark past of being a neo-nazi skinhead and in a crew, and now I've changed my ways and done alot of apologizing. So now, I have to worry about neo-nazis (yes they are an actual threat here) and regular people on the street. Aswell as the strong religious right at school. I just can't handle it when someone tells me that im fucked up for being different, I didn't choose my sexuality... This usually ends up in verbal arguments and threats at school. As I grow up, marijuana and leaning on a girlfriend seem to be my only way of copeing. What should I do? (and sorry if this sounds like an emo rant, but im desperate.) Everyone I talk to seems to be no help. I've been an athiest since I was like 10. My family harasses me every day, and has recently told me they don't care anymore, and that they can't wait till im 18 so they can get rid of me. Im out of ideas, and need some help from my comrades.
Discharge.
Well I would suggest to start looking for colleges that you can go to were there is some sort of leftist presence.
[FONT=Arial Black]WAR IS PEACE!
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY!
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH![/FONT]
-INGSOC slogans
Im not sure what do when im 18, im thinking of moving from here as soon as possible. Or maybe relocating to cali or something, I have no idea at this point. I want to be a programmer like my father, and you do not have to goto college for that, but it helps.
Also if there is no way for you to get active and organize, and I tell you this from someone who came from a fairly conservative and christian family too, would be to educate yourself on Marxist literature, and keep a low profile.
[FONT=Arial Black]WAR IS PEACE!
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY!
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH![/FONT]
-INGSOC slogans
Roger that comrade! The nerve of some people really angers me.
The fact that you can persevere and maintain your individuality, under such difficult emotional and mental conditions, While still maintaining your militant socialist beliefs, is truly revolutionary and inspiring. I look up to people like you.
I'm only a year older than you and as such I'm too young to give you any real advice. But I give you all my support and solidarity.
Why thank you! It's up to us to keep this thing going, so lets fuckin do it! Educate everyone you know on the subject! My school has these things called "Anon Journals" which are basically journals that the school writes in, and there happens to be a politics one! Oh my, im practically working 24/7 on communistic cartoons for propaganda.
That's pretty goddamn sweet, If only my school had something like that, oh the fun I would have.
Are you absolutely certain there isn't anyone who shares your political views? even somebody vaguely leftist such as an anarchist or an anti-leninist socialist would at the very least keep you sane. There are many instances when a friend can mean more than an apathetic and ignorant family.
Oh yeah. But, they are mainly Dems. But I prefer Dems over Repubs or anyone right wing. Alot more down to earth.
the fact i was bi escaped at my old school... i was persecuted for the entire year and a half i was there, before i had to leave and return to my other school... ironically with AnthArmo lol
i agree with BIG BROTHER's posts up top, stay low pro, and definately search for a leftist school.
i would also suggest if your parents are that bad, and you get shit for it try and get emancipated and see if you can roll over to your bros
[FONT=Georgia]Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?[/FONT]
I've tried, thing is, they go out of town every week for about 5 or so days at a time. So that won't work, as I love my school, its sort of like my shield from all this shit. I dunno what I'll do in the summer though. Yeah, I'd never let that get out even if it is a liberal school. Waaaay too much intolerance here for that.
Want my honest advice? Stop feeling sorry for yourself. I don't mean to sound rude but we all have our own issues which we have to deal with in our lives and to be honest, I think if you're finding things hard to bear maybe you need to live the life of someone else for a little, then you might realise being burdened by not being able to wear 'communist' t-shirts, going to a liberal arts school, living in a small house in a 'bad' neighbourhood and have to associate with 'uneducated' people is not so bad at the end of the day. Again I don't mean to disregard the difficulty, awkardness and anxiety you may feel in your current life situation, but you don't need a survival guide, nor do I think anyone here has one to offer.
Don't. Honestly I can't for the life of me work out why people choose to do this? If it draws attention to yourself - don't wear it. If you wear them to draw attention to yourself - don't complain. Seriously, not only do you look like a tool, doing this is provokative and in some cases down right dangerous. Don't do it.
Making such public displays as wearing 'communist' t-shirts is not a good idea then. Don't you think? In some case neo-nazis amongst other political groups can be of real threat to individual militants. This is something you have to deal with and necessitates keeping up and building a good level of security culture. If you're in a tough situation don't make it tougher.
This can be a very real problem for yourself and others like you. Again however it's something you need to learn to live with in the mean time. You are not a hero for making public statements about your sexuality. Don't be a martyr.
There must be an aweful lot of tension and anger in your family, something are all aren't necessarily strangers to. Take my advice; don't provoke your family. I never talk to my father about my politics, and never amongst the family publicly such as over dinner or at the TV. As much as you may want to say things, sometimes you have to weigh up whether it's worth it. What does saying something achieve and what are it's consequences? With family, as a teenager, its more often than not better to keep your mouth shut - atleast that's what I've learnt very quickly.
I agree with NR here, although far less harshly. I sympathize, can't imagine what it's like to be in a hick town. I live in a country where despite lots of conservativism here there aren't any places that you could say are as right-wing as some of the places in the US. But yeah just keep a low profile, STOP WEARING COMMUNIST SHIRTS and I'd recommend moving to a place like LA, NYC or the Bay Area. Those places have heaps of leftist activity to choose from.
And when Marx says, 'Hitherto the philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways', what that 'hitherto' means is not a renunciation of theory and that all we need to do is wade in with our fists and there will be no more need for thought. This idea is in fact fascist, and it would be grossly unjust to Marx to impute such views on him.
--Theodor Adorno, 'On Theory and Practice'
I wasn't intending to be harsh or hurtful. Sorry if I came off that way.
God do i feel your pain i also live in a state full of right-wing rednecks. My advise get the fuck out of that state as soon as you can and avoid talking to people as much as possible until you do.
Last edited by STJ; 30th April 2009 at 18:28.
You think you have it bad, 17 and from Liverpool England, over here we have the rise of the extreme right destroying us, im constantly hearing about the BNP's advances, and that is not good news to a young revolutionary like me. In college i have even been attacked by a Fascist student, i was called a "commie fag". My parents are disgracefull, my dad drinks beer all day and dosent work, mum works hard but lets dad walk all over her.
Move to a North Eastern or a Pacific North-West state I suggest.
Although on the rest, yes it looks like you will be living in hell for quite a while.
On books, well...I don't know of many Leninist books. Read stuff that Trotsky wrote I guess...like the 'Revolution Betrayed" (I think that's the title) and read some Luxembourg (however, keep in mind the times they wrote these books. Conditions have changed since then). Plus read what Trotsky wrote on fascism if it interests you. On Anarchism currently I don't know of any book that I would suggest to a person but I suppose I'll suggest Guerin's "Anarchism: From Theory to Practice" (and "Fascism and Big Business" if you are interested in Leftist analysis of fascism/national socialism).
"My heart sings for you both. Imagine it singing. la la la la."- Hannah Kay
"if you keep calling average working people idiots i am sure they will be more apt to listen to what you have to say. "-bcbm
"Sometimes false consciousness can be more destructive than apathy, just like how sometimes, doing nothing is actually better than doing the wrong thing."- Robocommie
"The ruling class would tremble, and the revolution would be all but assured." -Explosive Situation, on the Revleft Merry Prankster bus
Just keep a low-profile and hang out on here, boyo. You'll be fine.
I'm on some sickle-hammer shit
Collective Bruce Banner shit
FKA: #FF0000, AKA Mistake Not My Current State Of Joshing Gentle Peevishness For The Awesome And Terrible Majesty Of The Towering Seas Of Ire That Are Themselves The Milquetoast Shallows Fringing My Vast Oceans Of Wrath
