Great piece. Mythical ending. Humans, once slayers of monsters, have become the monsters. The world needs a few of those, strategically placed on the right platforms.
Or maybe you are angry with the violence and harshness you see around you and your anger fuels your writing. David Whyte says it more eloquently than me:
“Stripped of physical imprisonment and violent reaction, anger is the purest form of care, the internal living flame of anger always illuminates what we belong to, what we wish to protect and what we are willing to hazard ourselves for.”
That's is exactly it. I am angry. I am furious. I am not an angry person, I am angry at...furious with...
The stupidity, the greed, the shortsightedness, the waste, the cruelty, the list of today's crimes against everything holy and that there is no alternative to the death cult, no side road, no escape hatch.
And now we have this latest chapter as those with more power and riches than is conceivable run riot and destroy and divide and piss on everything until we are all dead and gone.
The beautiful hummingbird or the humpback whale or the wolf pack all cast into the flames so that some broken man can beat his chest and scream me, me, me?!?
You are right me dear friend, Fotini. And David Whyte is right too. My living flame of care has been hijacked and turned to flames of anger and it is not ok.
So I write these reflections of the human condition. Of Love and kindness and community and possibilities and sometimes I write of evil things and pain and the ignorance of the system. And I think of it as a kind of responsibility, a duty almost to point to the fools and laugh and say I see you.
And then point to the good and say I see you too. And that is all I can do.
I hear people saying similar things. This is part of the "fever" I was writing about. A kind of collapse of trust where people feel threatened, because they are being threatened, so they resort to the same thinking patterns they are being threatened by. It's a response to an ongoing and increasing feeling of trauma I suppose. And I guess a recognition of their own powerlessness, when they understand they are pawns in someone else game, and attempt to position themselves on the "winning" side.
As I said to Fotini above (or below, not sure how these threads arrange themselves), I'm surprised at the way I've (I think partly unconsciously) developed themes of such fictionalised violence as a response to what I'm seeing and feeling myself. Strange times indeed.
The difference between feelings and actions is what defines the difficult term "civilisation" or social well-being, I guess. The "billionaire" in this fiction is so deplorable because he cares not in the least about enlightened behaviour, only his own lusts. Which is why the narrator character is battling with her "monsters" even though they are monsters that are birthed by other monsters.
It's difficult. I know. I feel the difficulty. Especially when the billionaire class is so comfortable to destroy "civilisation" and return to a Feudal state as much as they are.
Riveting and timely, Jonathan. I could almost feel and hear her pulsating heartbeat within my mind. I haven't rooted for a character this hard in quite some time.
Wow! This is my first time reading you work (found you thanks to Kimberly Warner) and what a great first impression. A powerful story. Evocative, rich with description, and incredibly engaging :)
Thanks so much Michael, I'm so glad you've found The Crow (Kimberley's support has been wonderful).
There's all kinds of different things here, stories, essays, philosophical thoughts. I'm going to do a post soon with a kind of more helpful navigation suggestion. For noe here's the story Kimberly mentioned at the opening of the interview:
Yep, with these guys whose only point of reference is themselves it's like shooting fish in a barrel. Thanks David, that's the best mark I've ever got :) :)
Got me thinking: Is murder ever justified? Self-defence? On behalf of collective self-defence? Protecting one's family? What then of "Thou shalt do no murder"? My take is that the God who is claimed to have said it, is also claimed to be jealous, vengeful, and partisan to having favourite gofers to do his dirty-work, - and is a 'him' (not 'her'). In which case, what weight can one attach to the utterance of "Thou shalt do no murder"?
I suppose it depends on the difference between 'murder' and 'killing'. You have to check that one out with our resident linguist.
"I suppose it depends on the difference between 'murder' and 'killing" I guess those kind of semantics depend on which end of the meaning you stand ;)
As for the question about justification, in the case of this fictional cautionary tale it's a little similar to the Trolley Problem and the conundrum of the moral consequences of any action. Is eliminating the force (in this case a fictional billionaire) that guarantees environmental and human life destruction justifiable if then that destruction is abated?
For me this bleeds into another moral conundrum that poses the question Is it ever justifiable to allow and support huge inequality when the consequence of that inequality is environmental and human life destruction? You could ask, Is creating billionaires as morally indefensible as eliminating them?
Interesting question. I think in tribal times, a very disruptive member of the tribe would either be shunned and abandoned to cope on their own, or tipped over a cliff. In this world, one psycho bumped off will merely be replaced by another - nothing will change for the greater good. The system of the few lording it over the many has gone on for centuries, millennia even. If means and ends are 'one-thing' (a violent war begets a violent peace -Gandhi), then any utilitarian argument of of 'sacrifices for the greater good' won't work in terms of better outcome - but may at the same time be the 'right' (deontological) thing to do. As they say here in Portugal "é complicado".
That's so interesting you phrase it like that, "be careful billionaires," because the class war is essentially every person (on earth) below the powerful classes being stripped, invaded and colonised. And consequentially, the rest of life on earth. Essentially you can say that climate catastrophe is a direct consequence of colonisation, the patriarchal system and the underlying class values that support these behaviors (which is partly the reason for climate change denial because it's perceived as a threat to the underlying values of the "billionaires")
So, in a way, from the beginning of the modern period the last thing "billionaires" (or the powerful) have been is careful, with anything except their own desire and lusts.
Hence the monstrous monsters birthed over and over by the system. Man I'm really stuffing a lot into these tales ;)
Thanks Dinah, I love your reading and following this madness mate!
Well, damn. Very much enjoyed this story, Jonathan. I also really liked the post story discussion between you and Fotini.
There is just so much to be enraged about right now. Kind of especially the fact that there is so much to be enraged about. It feels like there has to be an alternate timeline where we’ve been collectively mesmerized by the beauty and abundance of this world.
Totally agree Holly. We want to be filming otters and taking in the beauty, and we have to spend SO much energy pushing back against the death cult. It is enraging.
Thank the stars for the good hearted though.
Are you suggesting a part two here, a post kiss nirvana where the beauty and abundance once more fills our world?
At the top of this piece I said "it’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s a fever dream these days," which so perfectly fits your comment, Mary, "moving into the gothic," because it's hard to tell if my storytelling has moved into the gothic or the whole damned world has moved that way and I'm just telling stories 🤣
Imagine the agony of the satirist, who suddenly must feel dowdy and unimaginative as reality 's jump'd over the moon and all sense ran away with the spoon.
Great piece. Mythical ending. Humans, once slayers of monsters, have become the monsters. The world needs a few of those, strategically placed on the right platforms.
It's a short, sharp shock of a piece, the blackest of comedies peering into the darkest of places! Quite fun to write too :)
I like your use of platforms there Veronika, those tech platforms have taken on a whole new meaning ;)
It's true, we elevated him and his ilk, fed them money.
First the fire starter then the poison monster. You are deadly serious about this, Jonathan!!!
Man! I’d not thought of it in that way, but you’re right Fotini!
I wonder if I’m unconsciously responding to the violence and harshness I see everywhere?
Or maybe you are angry with the violence and harshness you see around you and your anger fuels your writing. David Whyte says it more eloquently than me:
“Stripped of physical imprisonment and violent reaction, anger is the purest form of care, the internal living flame of anger always illuminates what we belong to, what we wish to protect and what we are willing to hazard ourselves for.”
That's is exactly it. I am angry. I am furious. I am not an angry person, I am angry at...furious with...
The stupidity, the greed, the shortsightedness, the waste, the cruelty, the list of today's crimes against everything holy and that there is no alternative to the death cult, no side road, no escape hatch.
And now we have this latest chapter as those with more power and riches than is conceivable run riot and destroy and divide and piss on everything until we are all dead and gone.
The beautiful hummingbird or the humpback whale or the wolf pack all cast into the flames so that some broken man can beat his chest and scream me, me, me?!?
You are right me dear friend, Fotini. And David Whyte is right too. My living flame of care has been hijacked and turned to flames of anger and it is not ok.
So I write these reflections of the human condition. Of Love and kindness and community and possibilities and sometimes I write of evil things and pain and the ignorance of the system. And I think of it as a kind of responsibility, a duty almost to point to the fools and laugh and say I see you.
And then point to the good and say I see you too. And that is all I can do.
❤️
Not a small thing, Jonathan. Point and shoot!!!
🤣 boom
Brilliant. In conversation with friends and strangers during this historic time, I hear the same question: why doesn't someone just do it?
I hear people saying similar things. This is part of the "fever" I was writing about. A kind of collapse of trust where people feel threatened, because they are being threatened, so they resort to the same thinking patterns they are being threatened by. It's a response to an ongoing and increasing feeling of trauma I suppose. And I guess a recognition of their own powerlessness, when they understand they are pawns in someone else game, and attempt to position themselves on the "winning" side.
As I said to Fotini above (or below, not sure how these threads arrange themselves), I'm surprised at the way I've (I think partly unconsciously) developed themes of such fictionalised violence as a response to what I'm seeing and feeling myself. Strange times indeed.
What a great plan says Medusa!!! 😂😭😂
H aha brilliant, I like that Ali :)
Know thine own id, Jonathan!!! Do I ever feel like murder is the solution? Oh yes! Time yet.
The difference between feelings and actions is what defines the difficult term "civilisation" or social well-being, I guess. The "billionaire" in this fiction is so deplorable because he cares not in the least about enlightened behaviour, only his own lusts. Which is why the narrator character is battling with her "monsters" even though they are monsters that are birthed by other monsters.
It's difficult. I know. I feel the difficulty. Especially when the billionaire class is so comfortable to destroy "civilisation" and return to a Feudal state as much as they are.
And I am a fan!
We'll, I'd blow a kiss but that could be lethal ;)
Wonderful Jonathan! Be careful who you kiss!
Targeted kissing!
The way forwards!
Riveting and timely, Jonathan. I could almost feel and hear her pulsating heartbeat within my mind. I haven't rooted for a character this hard in quite some time.
From her lips to God's ears...
From her lips to God's ears...
Brilliant. Let's hope he listening :)
Wow! This is my first time reading you work (found you thanks to Kimberly Warner) and what a great first impression. A powerful story. Evocative, rich with description, and incredibly engaging :)
Thanks so much Michael, I'm so glad you've found The Crow (Kimberley's support has been wonderful).
There's all kinds of different things here, stories, essays, philosophical thoughts. I'm going to do a post soon with a kind of more helpful navigation suggestion. For noe here's the story Kimberly mentioned at the opening of the interview:
https://jonathanfostersthecrow.substack.com/p/schrodingers-cat
Thanks Jonathan. I look forward to checking it out :)
What an incredible piece of writing. Disturbing, uplifting, powerful. So good.
Disturbing, uplifting, powerful - sounds like life itself ;) Thanks Francesca
How funny. I wrote a piece along very similar lines called Sleeper Cell. Great minds and all that…
Well, I'm flattered by the great minds bit, Eleanor. Let's hope no one mentions fools and varying ;)
😂🙌🏻
The irony of baiting the trap for someone who felt entitled to steal… 11/10
Yep, with these guys whose only point of reference is themselves it's like shooting fish in a barrel. Thanks David, that's the best mark I've ever got :) :)
Got me thinking: Is murder ever justified? Self-defence? On behalf of collective self-defence? Protecting one's family? What then of "Thou shalt do no murder"? My take is that the God who is claimed to have said it, is also claimed to be jealous, vengeful, and partisan to having favourite gofers to do his dirty-work, - and is a 'him' (not 'her'). In which case, what weight can one attach to the utterance of "Thou shalt do no murder"?
I suppose it depends on the difference between 'murder' and 'killing'. You have to check that one out with our resident linguist.
"I suppose it depends on the difference between 'murder' and 'killing" I guess those kind of semantics depend on which end of the meaning you stand ;)
As for the question about justification, in the case of this fictional cautionary tale it's a little similar to the Trolley Problem and the conundrum of the moral consequences of any action. Is eliminating the force (in this case a fictional billionaire) that guarantees environmental and human life destruction justifiable if then that destruction is abated?
For me this bleeds into another moral conundrum that poses the question Is it ever justifiable to allow and support huge inequality when the consequence of that inequality is environmental and human life destruction? You could ask, Is creating billionaires as morally indefensible as eliminating them?
Interesting question. I think in tribal times, a very disruptive member of the tribe would either be shunned and abandoned to cope on their own, or tipped over a cliff. In this world, one psycho bumped off will merely be replaced by another - nothing will change for the greater good. The system of the few lording it over the many has gone on for centuries, millennia even. If means and ends are 'one-thing' (a violent war begets a violent peace -Gandhi), then any utilitarian argument of of 'sacrifices for the greater good' won't work in terms of better outcome - but may at the same time be the 'right' (deontological) thing to do. As they say here in Portugal "é complicado".
Loved this, be careful billionaires, you are treading on our hopes, be careful, without hope we may be pushed to action! 👹
That's so interesting you phrase it like that, "be careful billionaires," because the class war is essentially every person (on earth) below the powerful classes being stripped, invaded and colonised. And consequentially, the rest of life on earth. Essentially you can say that climate catastrophe is a direct consequence of colonisation, the patriarchal system and the underlying class values that support these behaviors (which is partly the reason for climate change denial because it's perceived as a threat to the underlying values of the "billionaires")
So, in a way, from the beginning of the modern period the last thing "billionaires" (or the powerful) have been is careful, with anything except their own desire and lusts.
Hence the monstrous monsters birthed over and over by the system. Man I'm really stuffing a lot into these tales ;)
Thanks Dinah, I love your reading and following this madness mate!
Well, damn. Very much enjoyed this story, Jonathan. I also really liked the post story discussion between you and Fotini.
There is just so much to be enraged about right now. Kind of especially the fact that there is so much to be enraged about. It feels like there has to be an alternate timeline where we’ve been collectively mesmerized by the beauty and abundance of this world.
Maybe that comes after the kiss?
Totally agree Holly. We want to be filming otters and taking in the beauty, and we have to spend SO much energy pushing back against the death cult. It is enraging.
Thank the stars for the good hearted though.
Are you suggesting a part two here, a post kiss nirvana where the beauty and abundance once more fills our world?
Well, it’s what we have to hope for after a monster is taken down by whatever means, I think.
And yes, there are soooo many goodhearted among us, and this is no small thing.
I guess it's everything, imagine a world without them!
Ok, post-monster world :) Mmmmm
Creepy as hell, Jonathan! Well written.
Thanks Karen, it is a gothic world as Mary T so eloquently put it I guess :)
Moving into the gothic -- and so au courant!
At the top of this piece I said "it’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s a fever dream these days," which so perfectly fits your comment, Mary, "moving into the gothic," because it's hard to tell if my storytelling has moved into the gothic or the whole damned world has moved that way and I'm just telling stories 🤣
Imagine the agony of the satirist, who suddenly must feel dowdy and unimaginative as reality 's jump'd over the moon and all sense ran away with the spoon.
Crazy times indeed.
Exactly!