Essay Competition – Pike & Hurricane

The Acquisition

EditorChief — Sat, 02 Apr 2016 11:10:33 +0000

This contribution was voted the winner of the 2016 Pike & Hurricane Writing Contest. Click here to read the article that was ranked second.

That day I acquired the tool at the heart of all resistance, the instrument lurking behind both the merciless wrath of the oppressor and the fierce resistance of the oppressed. It was a specific moment in history, the great political awakening of my generation – a verdict that was only established in hindsight as none of us seemed particularly aware of it at the time. For years we had been living in total dominion – our fate in the hands of people who seemed to understand our struggles so little. But how could they? It is in the nature of such extraordinary human dissonance that those in power seem to pursue their own ends, and while they might claim that their actions are directed toward your benefit, the simple fact of being at the mercy of the hand that feeds you, renders your exposure all the more palpable.

We were slaves to one of the greatest power asymmetries in human history, yet our predicament went beyond the relation to our rulers – though it certainly constituted the locus of our frustration: never had we had the freedom to have a say in who should govern us and for how long. We found ourselves at both center and periphery of society. Those in power seemed to categorically ignore us, and it would not be far-fetched to say that we were systematically marginalised, particularly when it came to decisions concerning us as constituency. Control was at the heart of everything. We were under constant influence, again, without knowing it – the people whom we loved most, heavily invested in this nation-wide conspiracy. Those in power seemed to understand the importance of our generation from the get-go and stopped at nothing short of social conditioning tactics, particularly through education (to make us into “good citizens”) utilising both of what Foucault had formerly identified as punishment and normalisation in shaping our behavior.

Within this environment, I began to grow increasingly critical of the mundane. For years, had I ignored the obvious, had never learned to focus on what was right in front of my eyes – seemingly always distracted by a flood of frivolities so commonly employed in a consumer society with a propensity to shut down all sorts of deviant spiritedness. (Only years later would I learn about the surveillance that was employed in virtually all households containing ‘us’ who had been identified as sleepers long before we became aware of it ourselves.) Now, the critical mind only had to be translated into action. However lucky I had been to come thus far – to even recognise the strength of my own voice after all those years of enduring silence – this was the moment that would separate the men from the boys. I stood in awe, just before this great breakthrough, a revolution, that might soon penetrate all layers of social life, if only I was brave enough to move from theory to praxis. The question remained how? How could we break free from our chains? How do you go about breaking chains that so many around you have not even identified as chains? How do you emancipate an entire generation that has from the beginning been shut off from the outside world, denied access to critical inspiration, starved from political awareness? We were suffering a heavy case of paternalism. But as with all great political uprisings in history, the emancipation of the group follows the enlightenment of the individual – me finding my voice, my personal epiphany laying the ground work for the years to come. So it happened.

That day I acquired the tool at the heart of all resistance. All those moments of denial, of silent opposition, fragments of years of endured infantilisation perpetrated by the culprits, the creators, behind the golden cage of my pathetic existence culminated in this once in a lifetime moment. And boy did it have an impact: the acquisition constituting my first step toward both political and personal maturity. Surely, I was far from mastering its utility but soon would its usage spread from me – and others around me who had independently discovered its powerfulness as well – to the rest of our peers that had yet to establish their righteous place in this world.

The acquisition left my rulers jaw-dropping, gaping into the void of what was soon to become their fading grip over my existence. They knew it was the beginning of the end. Or the end of the beginning I should rather say. To my surprise however, their terror soon gave way a tender acceptance, and from that point on I—as so many others that simultaneously found their way out of the silence—became more and more included into the decision making processes that governed our lives.

I was two years old. And I had just acquired the word “no.”

By Huple

Image credit:

Picture 1: Jemma D, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Picture 2: Chris Devers, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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Technological Advancements: Those Forgotten and Left Behind

EditorChief — Sat, 02 Apr 2016 11:10:33 +0000

This contribution was voted the winner of the 2016 Pike & Hurricane Writing Contest. Click here to read the article that was ranked first.

February 14, 1876 Alexander Graham Bell was awarded the first telephone patent. Now, 140 years later, the old system is receiving its pension. We are tearing down the old copper wires for a transition to mobile phones and stationary phones connected with wireless technology, a brilliant future. The process did not start yesterday, but has been ongoing for a couple of years now. One thing that concerns me is the level of ignorance towards all of those who live either in the 16% of our country’s area where there are natural reasons for low or none reception. Centralisation is not only fueled by politicians as it is an indirect ongoing process. It has the potential of leading to a depopulation of more rural regions while those responsible will preach of our open landscapes that are a fading reality.

I remember receiving a call while working with the technical support team for one of Sweden’s largest phone providers. An old man was living alone in the outskirts of Lapland in northern Sweden, he had called multiple times with a cellphone for which he had to walk seven kilometers uphill to get reception, just to be told that service was on the way. This time he was totally devastated. They were not fixing the problem, they were removing the old wire, his lifeline to civilisation. As he cried in my ear, he explained that with no wire and no reception he was cut off, what if something happened to him. There was simply no way that I could do much to ease his situation. There was just one thing I could do, find out why Skanova [a network capacity seller] was tearing it down.

When I contacted the owner of the wire they acknowledged that they had personnel in the area working with the issue the old man had called about. When confronted with the fact that the wire was being removed, they seemed quite surprised. After searching through their orders for that region, the person I spoke with found an explanation: there were “too many errors on the wire and only one customer, it was unprofitable to repair…”

When I bluntly told her about the situation this old man was facing she still insisted that it was not of their concern and that we as a service provider should install the cellphone alternative. This was despite her knowing there was no reception and simply no way that my company would spend the money needed to guarantee a working phone.

I was fighting a losing battle.

Sadly I have no knowledge of what occurred after I parted with the old man. Maybe he was forced to move or maybe he continued to live the rest of his days out in the remote parts of Sweden. I neither know nor does this story tell. My intention is to bring awareness of what is going on. While living in a big city and having all the comforts needed it is easy to forget the harsh reality of our dying countryside. This is something I can hardly see as unique to Sweden, but as a phenomena happening whenever technology advances. Maybe you can relate?

I think it is important to be aware of how decisions are taken without sufficient knowledge, or as in this case, while ignoring that knowledge. We are the ones creating the future and it is on us to decide if we will leave people behind.

I will remember, remember those who were left behind due to our efforts to proceed into the future. Will you? Maybe you will not be affected directly but when people cannot live rurally, people will move. Farmers will stop cultivating their farms, villages and even small towns will turn into empty shells only habited by ghosts as they all move to the cities. We already see a domino effect with housing prices skyrocketing. By killing the country side and its possibilities in order to flourish we create new problems. It is time to handle the consequences of those who are ignored and for future decisions, no longer hesitate learning about the reality we will decide upon.

By Jean Don Norsass

Image credit:

Picture 1: gato-gato-gato, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Picture 2: brittgow, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

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