"one of my biggest struggles with the work I’m doing here is finding effective ways to explain, for people who don’t already get it, that wrongness—of ownership itself": YES! Sometimes the wrongness of it makes me gasp. Just 180 to what is life giving. Count me among the people struggling alongside you to find ways to communicate this. I take heart from poet Jackie Wang in Carceral Capitalism: "For some time I have been thinking about how to convey the message of police and prison abolition to you, but I know that as a poet, it is not my job to win you over with a persuasive argument, but to impart to you a vibrational experience that is capable of awakening your desire for another world.” Find me somewhere along the path of trying to "awaken desire for another world."
Just a quick note to say thank you for suggesting the Freyfogle book. I thought I was only going to read the first chapter, but that is like trying to eat only one tiny morsel of dark chocolate with that cup of hot tea. It (the book) has given me new insights and a new vocabulary with which to think, talk, and write about land ownership and the rights of the commons.
A friend and neighbor of ours sent us this gem of yours, it made me smile ... Sky islands are the back and front yards for us now, and a short walk into Mexico’s isles. Thanks Nia.
"The events that shake our world so brief, against the timespan of stone." Amazing line a read over and over. You put into words beautifully a hazy thought that has been rolling around in in my head. Such a thoughtful, wonderful read.
Because it relates to climate change and to environmental degradation more generally this is a supremely important issue. Humans must change their orientation towards non-human nature at the most fundamental level. But unfortunately, the dominant origin myth of our civilization entitles (in effect) humans to not only be masters of, but to exploit to the point of total depletion and extinction, and to even replace with technological gadgetry, that very nature of which we are intertwined at every level of our being. The objectification and commodification of all things non-human so that we might live "the good life" and satisfy our every ambition and amusement is so ingrained in our thinking, and so conveniently systematized into our way of being in the world (giving license to greed), that rooting it out will be no less difficult than changing the course of the stars. But we must try. We are fouling our own nest.
There is another Court case you may be interested in: Sierra Club v. Morton (1971). In his dissent Justice Douglas advocates (powerfully) for the personhood of objects in nature "for the purposes of adjudicatory processes." It is very much worth reading.
Also...there is an organization, the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), that advocates for rights of nature and tracks progress around the globe. . Their website is both a good source of information and a good place to start for those wishing to get involved. Several countries are getting onboard. Ecuador has even incorporated rights of nature into its constitution!
Hopefully books and movies will start to move the needle on people's attitudes. Soul of an octopus. My octopus teacher and now there's a movie called EO that seems absolutely amazing. Can't wait to see it. Sounds like it would be right up your alley. All the best to you and your family!
Reading your post inspired me to look at cabins. It seems nearly impossible to score even three nights. Any secrets to getting those reservations? Really enjoyed the post. I'm a veterinarian and I am chafed by humans sense of ownership over the animal world!
"What about the fox herself?" I imagine some judge in long robes explaining that the fox is perfectly entitled to self-ownership; they are free to evade Post and Pierson as long as they like and as long as they manage to stay alive or avoid being captured, no one can own them. I guess it's hard to talk about ownership of property without talking about ownership of power.
The photos are surreal -- so incredibly beautiful. I am reminded of the how I feel every single time I visit Yosemite -- to me, the holiest place on the planet that I have ever visited. I would love to see "your" country as it, too, looks breathtaking. I like your idea of fleeing on election day. I do the same on SuperBowl Sunday, as I despise it. I hope that you came "back" somewhat relieved. Amen to all you've called for here -- may it be so.
So beautiful and true. Your trip to the woods, and your encounter with the fox, sound like the perfect antidote to election anxiety. In wildness is the preservation of the world (and our sanity).
I so love your tradition of getting away on election day--I feel that same dread you describe, of frantically checking and re-checking on something I have zero control over. To see foxes and mountains like those (so gorgeous! Ack! Must get to Montana sometime soon) and time spent on a different plane of time, essentially. This essay is gorgeous, and I'm grateful to have read it this morning. I often think about how insane it feels to work backward in time to understand what rights a living being, animal, plant, or mineral, has--and I love your response to that as you question, "If we started from an assumption that all beings own themselves, that every being has agency and choice?" Yes. How different our experience of and to this world could be with that basic assumption. Also, Hopkins is my first love as a poet, but I had forgotten this poem--and its ending is so apt to accompany your images: "unforeseen times rather — as skies / Betweenpie mountains — lights a lovely mile." Thank you again for sharing this beauty.
"one of my biggest struggles with the work I’m doing here is finding effective ways to explain, for people who don’t already get it, that wrongness—of ownership itself": YES! Sometimes the wrongness of it makes me gasp. Just 180 to what is life giving. Count me among the people struggling alongside you to find ways to communicate this. I take heart from poet Jackie Wang in Carceral Capitalism: "For some time I have been thinking about how to convey the message of police and prison abolition to you, but I know that as a poet, it is not my job to win you over with a persuasive argument, but to impart to you a vibrational experience that is capable of awakening your desire for another world.” Find me somewhere along the path of trying to "awaken desire for another world."
Just a quick note to say thank you for suggesting the Freyfogle book. I thought I was only going to read the first chapter, but that is like trying to eat only one tiny morsel of dark chocolate with that cup of hot tea. It (the book) has given me new insights and a new vocabulary with which to think, talk, and write about land ownership and the rights of the commons.
Antonia! My friend Ann's poem was just published in the Hastings Journal on Gender and the Law Review
You'll have to download to read it, Pierson v Post's Unheard Voice, by Ann Tweedy
https://repository.uchastings.edu/hwlj/vol34/iss1/17/
Cree and Dans daughter Rafa. Born in May.
Yes the weather is less icy.
A friend and neighbor of ours sent us this gem of yours, it made me smile ... Sky islands are the back and front yards for us now, and a short walk into Mexico’s isles. Thanks Nia.
"The events that shake our world so brief, against the timespan of stone." Amazing line a read over and over. You put into words beautifully a hazy thought that has been rolling around in in my head. Such a thoughtful, wonderful read.
Thank you for writing and posting this article.
Because it relates to climate change and to environmental degradation more generally this is a supremely important issue. Humans must change their orientation towards non-human nature at the most fundamental level. But unfortunately, the dominant origin myth of our civilization entitles (in effect) humans to not only be masters of, but to exploit to the point of total depletion and extinction, and to even replace with technological gadgetry, that very nature of which we are intertwined at every level of our being. The objectification and commodification of all things non-human so that we might live "the good life" and satisfy our every ambition and amusement is so ingrained in our thinking, and so conveniently systematized into our way of being in the world (giving license to greed), that rooting it out will be no less difficult than changing the course of the stars. But we must try. We are fouling our own nest.
There is another Court case you may be interested in: Sierra Club v. Morton (1971). In his dissent Justice Douglas advocates (powerfully) for the personhood of objects in nature "for the purposes of adjudicatory processes." It is very much worth reading.
Also...there is an organization, the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), that advocates for rights of nature and tracks progress around the globe. . Their website is both a good source of information and a good place to start for those wishing to get involved. Several countries are getting onboard. Ecuador has even incorporated rights of nature into its constitution!
Thanks, Antonia
Hopefully books and movies will start to move the needle on people's attitudes. Soul of an octopus. My octopus teacher and now there's a movie called EO that seems absolutely amazing. Can't wait to see it. Sounds like it would be right up your alley. All the best to you and your family!
Reading your post inspired me to look at cabins. It seems nearly impossible to score even three nights. Any secrets to getting those reservations? Really enjoyed the post. I'm a veterinarian and I am chafed by humans sense of ownership over the animal world!
May I ask a question? What do you think the fox is doing outside?
First of all, alpenglow has to be one of the loveliest words in all of the English language. Even better, it describes something lovelier.
Thanks for a great essay and suggesting a different way to think about who owns what and for what reasons.
Great photos!
"What about the fox herself?" I imagine some judge in long robes explaining that the fox is perfectly entitled to self-ownership; they are free to evade Post and Pierson as long as they like and as long as they manage to stay alive or avoid being captured, no one can own them. I guess it's hard to talk about ownership of property without talking about ownership of power.
The photos are surreal -- so incredibly beautiful. I am reminded of the how I feel every single time I visit Yosemite -- to me, the holiest place on the planet that I have ever visited. I would love to see "your" country as it, too, looks breathtaking. I like your idea of fleeing on election day. I do the same on SuperBowl Sunday, as I despise it. I hope that you came "back" somewhat relieved. Amen to all you've called for here -- may it be so.
So beautiful and true. Your trip to the woods, and your encounter with the fox, sound like the perfect antidote to election anxiety. In wildness is the preservation of the world (and our sanity).
Thank you for this. I feel more at peace for having read it, and that is a powerful thing.
I so love your tradition of getting away on election day--I feel that same dread you describe, of frantically checking and re-checking on something I have zero control over. To see foxes and mountains like those (so gorgeous! Ack! Must get to Montana sometime soon) and time spent on a different plane of time, essentially. This essay is gorgeous, and I'm grateful to have read it this morning. I often think about how insane it feels to work backward in time to understand what rights a living being, animal, plant, or mineral, has--and I love your response to that as you question, "If we started from an assumption that all beings own themselves, that every being has agency and choice?" Yes. How different our experience of and to this world could be with that basic assumption. Also, Hopkins is my first love as a poet, but I had forgotten this poem--and its ending is so apt to accompany your images: "unforeseen times rather — as skies / Betweenpie mountains — lights a lovely mile." Thank you again for sharing this beauty.