During the fall 2014 semester, I was enrolled in a graduate course called “Hate Speech, Manifestos, and Radical Writings. Needless to say, it was quite intense. I enjoyed it because it pushed the boundaries of creativity and passionate expression.
Of course I had to compose my own manifesto. While I received a (generous) 95% grade for it, I wish I had done a better job. But then again, I am not sitting in a cabin in the forest wearing a hoodie and dark sunglasses pecking away without another care in the world.
While my subject may be an odd choice, this was a university grad school course with certain instructions to follow. Also, as an artistic project, it does take on a life of its own more or less. I have many other topics which I could write a manifesto on that I am more passionate about; for example: religion, capitalism, the military industrial complex. But for this project I wanted to take on a challenging issue which I have played ideological tug-of-war with for decades- just to see if I could stay with it insofar as writing a complete, creative piece that features the dynamics of a manifesto. Again, I am not anti-monogamy at all. I am however anti-wasting one’s life in misery because of pressure from society, religion, or family.
During the fall 2014 semester I was enrolled in a course called, “Hate Speech, Manifestos, and Radical Writings”. Needless to say it was quite intense. I enjoyed it because it pushed the boundaries of creative writing- well, at least the “manifestos” and “radical writings” genres. As for “hate speech” many people probably think they know it when they see it, or believe it doesn’t or shouldn’t exist at all in a “free speech” society. I believe it to be a complex issue to study, and I gleaned some important dynamics of identifying hate speech, as well as the obstacles and potential of codifying laws protecting against it.
Of course I had to compose my own manifesto. I’m going to post it on a new page (see menu). While I received a (generous) 95% grade for it, I wish I had done a better job. But then again, I am not sitting in a cabin in the forest wearing a hoodie and dark sunglasses pecking away without another care in the world. So ya there’s that.
While my subject may be a bit bizarre, remember this was a university grad school course with certain instructions to follow. Also remember that as an artistic project, it can and does take on a life of its own more or less. The piece both does and does not represent my own views on this particular subject. I have many other topics I could write a manifesto on which are more near and dear to me; religion, capitalism, military industrial complex, etc. But for this project I wanted to take on a challenging issue which I have played ideological tug-of-war with for decades. Just to see if I could stay with it insofar as writing a complete piece.
My only forewarning to anyone before reading would be: Choose wisely, you won’t be able to get these 15 minutes of your life back.
This was only practice though. Next time, I write a manifesto it will be from the heart; deeper, radical, insightful, passionate. A great manifesto is a profession of ideology that is worth dying for.
Hasta la victoria siempre.