These illustrative pieces are quite immersive and the introduction to this one all too believable. The statements around violence feel like the tip of an iceberg of some deeper exploration of the subject and it would be interesting to find out more about this.
This is something you could write more about perhaps or share some reference material?
You’re right that the violence thread in the story is only sketched in. What I’m circling around is the distinction between rhetorical violence, structural violence, and delegated violence.
Authoritarian movements often operate in a strange dual space. They normalize the language of force, talking about discipline, order, security, and consequences, but they prefer not to inhabit the violence directly. Instead, it’s displaced into institutions, enforcers, or “necessary measures.” That displacement allows people to maintain a self-image of righteousness while harm is carried out elsewhere in the system.
There’s a lot written about this. Hannah Arendt’s work on the banality of evil is one obvious reference point. So is Frantz Fanon’s writing on how violence circulates through colonial and state systems. More contemporary work on structural violence and administrative harm has done decent work mapping this terrain, and I’m also drawing on critiques of how “security” becomes a justification for expanding coercive authority.
In the Coup series I’m trying to explore that dynamic narratively rather than academically by exploring the question “What happens when the pathway from fear to order to enforcement is interrupted? What happens if someone reaching for Power Over is met with empowerment instead?”
I’m also pretty new to writing fiction, so I’m not actually sure whether this exploration is being conveyed clearly, or if I’m being too vague and abstract. But so far, this is the best I’ve been able to figure out. Hopefully it improves with practice.
A, this second installment is great! Your mixture of Ecotopia with various anarchist ideas clashing with an antagonist character is brilliant! Out-networking is exactly what we need. Ceding our power to a central authority is exactly the problem we currently face (and have faced for centuries), and this exploration of how decentralized networking could work is glorious. Keep writing! And thanks!
I enjoyed it. Thank you
Thank you for reading.
Fabulous
Thank you
These illustrative pieces are quite immersive and the introduction to this one all too believable. The statements around violence feel like the tip of an iceberg of some deeper exploration of the subject and it would be interesting to find out more about this.
This is something you could write more about perhaps or share some reference material?
Thanks Richard, that’s a very generous read.
You’re right that the violence thread in the story is only sketched in. What I’m circling around is the distinction between rhetorical violence, structural violence, and delegated violence.
Authoritarian movements often operate in a strange dual space. They normalize the language of force, talking about discipline, order, security, and consequences, but they prefer not to inhabit the violence directly. Instead, it’s displaced into institutions, enforcers, or “necessary measures.” That displacement allows people to maintain a self-image of righteousness while harm is carried out elsewhere in the system.
There’s a lot written about this. Hannah Arendt’s work on the banality of evil is one obvious reference point. So is Frantz Fanon’s writing on how violence circulates through colonial and state systems. More contemporary work on structural violence and administrative harm has done decent work mapping this terrain, and I’m also drawing on critiques of how “security” becomes a justification for expanding coercive authority.
In the Coup series I’m trying to explore that dynamic narratively rather than academically by exploring the question “What happens when the pathway from fear to order to enforcement is interrupted? What happens if someone reaching for Power Over is met with empowerment instead?”
I’m also pretty new to writing fiction, so I’m not actually sure whether this exploration is being conveyed clearly, or if I’m being too vague and abstract. But so far, this is the best I’ve been able to figure out. Hopefully it improves with practice.
You’re a natural, A. There’s a punchline in most paragraphs, and the humor makes it fun to read. Keep it up!
Thanks for the references. I’m in no position to critique your writing but you write from the heart and I’m sure style comes from practice.
I love hopeful speculative fiction like this!
Thanks Godfrey
Agreed, GM!
A, this second installment is great! Your mixture of Ecotopia with various anarchist ideas clashing with an antagonist character is brilliant! Out-networking is exactly what we need. Ceding our power to a central authority is exactly the problem we currently face (and have faced for centuries), and this exploration of how decentralized networking could work is glorious. Keep writing! And thanks!
Thanks Bob. And for the record. This is part 3.
First was the Bread Coup, second was the Dance Coup.
Really.glad you're enjoying.