Brussels, Friday 30th October
- Why would I possibly care for you when you dont care for me? When you see black-and-white lines painted across the road here, they don't mean quite the same as the ones at home. Step too briskly onto a stopped escalator and you risk being thrown over as it whirrs into life. As far as I can tell, there is no code governing which side you stand on. I am a foreigner. At home, one can be a host. Away from home, one is a guest, invited or uninvited. This list is home to some of you, but I'm new round here. I am not familiar with your customs. That's OK. What makes it tricky, a paradox or a presumption, is that I am here as an invited host. - Why dont you write me a single word? "Welcoming" was the word Marc used to describe this list to me, I think. Since I introduced myself earlier this week, no one has said hello back.* But I have been compared to the BNP and told I can't write. (Both in the third person, as if I wasn't here.) Well, nice to meet you, too. Then again, why should I be welcome? As an invited host (invited by whom, anyway?), I am already in violation of the logic of hospitality. - Why are we reading these lists? The name intrigues me - and encourages me. It encourages me to talk about social interaction. Joining a mailing list is like walking into a room full of strangers. - Why have we gone all bold? I don't know how you would write a "hesitant and provisional" manifesto. Though maybe we could have a go, together. Writing a manifesto - and I've only tried it once - seems to lead you to a bolder mode of expression than you might use elsewhere. Rather like speaking through a megaphone. It is unwise to walk into a room full of strangers and begin speaking through a megaphone. - Why would the possible manifest itself? Megaphones are not without their uses. For a small, self-published pamphlet, our manifesto has been heard in a lot of places, and led to a lot of conversations. We didn't write it to proclaim ourselves saviours of the world, or of literature, or of anything else. It is not a utopian project. (Unless you are John Gray, who sees Utopia under almost everything.) It is not intended as the final word on anything, but as a starting point. - Why a book on this topic? Because our current way of living is (most likely) doomed - and 'sustainability' has come to mean sustaining that way of living at all costs. Because we will (most likely) outlive our current way of living. Because how good or bad a job we make of outliving it will (most likely) have to do with the stories we tell ourselves, as much as with our ability (for example) to measure and trade CO2e emissions. There are other reasons, but let me give you those for a start. - Why are you telling me this? I wouldn't normally take up this much space, as a new member of a list. It's a strange thing to be both a newcomer and in a privileged position, as "host" of DIWO at the Dark Mountain - whatever we want that to mean. Sorry if I've gone on a bit. One more thing, some words from Ivan Illich - who is, for me, one of the spirits of the Dark Mountain Project. I wonder what you think of them: "Learned and leisurely hospitality is the only antidote to the stance of deadly cleverness that is acquired in the professional pursuit of objectively secured knowledge. I remain certain that the quest for truth cannot thrive outside the nourishment of mutual trust flowering into a commitment to friendship." Hoping we get to know each other better. Your (un)invited host, Dougald * Actually, one person did say hello off-list - thank you for that. -- Dougald Hine - http://dougald.co.uk/ _______________________________________________ NetBehaviour mailing list NetBehaviour@netbehaviour.org http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour
