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o b l i v i o n
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I s s u e 5
W i n t e r 1 9 9 6 - 1 9 9 7
"Angry youth unite!"
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Contents
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Oblivion Speaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jestapher
50 Ways To Disrupt School . . . . . . . . . . .
Oblivion
Christopher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Eightball
The Page Of Wheeler . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Wheeler
How To Be A Degenerate . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jane Doe
My Evil Prohibitionist Teacher . . . . . . . . . .
Paulo
Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Readers
Review: Teenage Liberation Handbook . . . . . . .
Jestapher
Discriminate Perceptions . . . . . . . . . . .
Jestapher
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Oblivion Speaks
Jestapher
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We have great news! The Winter issue is actually out during Winter! We
have more great news! The Winter Oblivion is four pages longer than any
Oblivion to date! Yippee!
We've noticed that more articles and feedback come in when school is in
session. Perhaps school triggers that angry youth switch. Another
possibility for increased submissions is the fact that we are finally giving
out email accounts at oblivion.net as promised. If you submit an article,
poem, cover art or graphics, and they are used, you qualify for an account.
A big thank you to Olympia Networking Services (www.olywa.net) for helping
put Oblivion online. If you live in the Olympia, Washington area, get your
Internet access through them (753-3636) because they are the fastest,
kewlest, phattest, and one of their users has one of the few pages I've ever
seen that actually uses that huge ass (like 5 gigabytes I believe) Microsft
ActiveX Genie Control. It pops up on your screen and says something like
"hi, I'm the genie. If you want something click on me or talk into the
mic." Then you say "go away!" and the genie replies "if you need me, I'll
be down in the corner," and POOF, he's gone. Talk about digressing.
The accounts are POP3, not shell, so you need to be able to check a POP3
mailbox (if you have PPP Internet access, you can easily). A note to you
hax0rs out there: oblivion.net is virtual, so don't use your mad hacking
skills on it so you can jump on IRC and impress your friends, it won't
work...using your mad skills that is...I'm sure if you could jump on IRC
from oblivion.net, your friends would be impressed. But anyway, I'm
digressing again. Where was I?
If you want to obtain a paper copy of Oblivion, send two stamps to us
(120 State Ave. NE #76, Olympia, WA 98501-8212). If you are looking to
trade 'zines, please be aware that we are relatively selective. If you have
a 'zine about youth issues, we'll probably love it, but please don't send us
you "punk as hell" rag containing interviews with thirty hardcore bands.
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50 Ways To Disrupt School
Oblivion
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Most of this list is derived from an article in the August 1996 issue of
The Last Word called "81 DISRUPTIVE THINGS TO DO AT SCHOOL." Permission was
given to use the article. We modified, deleted, and added entries.
1. Protest U.S. aid to brutal, reactionary regimes by digging a giant bomb
crater in the front lawn.
2. Start an information booth to give new students opinions and warnings
about teachers on enrollment day.
3. Food fight!
4. In hallways between class, conduct massive searches for "lost" contact
lenses and tell people not to walk through because "they might step on
it."
5. Protest animal testing by releasing the animals in the biology
classroom.
6. Distribute a "consumer report" on the education you've been receiving.
7. Periodically go to the office to have some rumor confirmed or denied.
8. Perform citizen's arrests of administrators for destroying students'
minds.
9. Swallow snake bite antidote (the harmless kind). Walk into the
principal's office and aim at their carpet, desk, and clothing.
10. Pick up some dog training liquid at a pet store--it smells like urine.
11. Ask questions that have no relevance to anything.
12. Remove contents of teachers' mailboxes. Print up everything that's
confidential or interesting.
13. Leave hints that "Tuesday's the day."
14. Impersonate parental voices and make irate phone calls to the office.
15. Make a super stink bomb out of hydrogen sulfide and put it in the
ventilation system. This could clear your school for days.
16. If your school has a ceiling made up of panels, put a dead fish in the
ceiling. Or put the fish in an empty locker and glue it shut.
17. Put a sign on your locker that warns, "this locker will self-destruct if
opened for inspection."
18. Print up false notices on school letterhead and distribute them to the
teachers' mailboxes. Eventually, they'll never know what to believe.
19. Are certain teachers or principals misbehaving? Print up a rap sheet
with their names and telephone numbers and distribute it. Now students
can call up at any time and reprimand them.
20. Get hold of a film to be shown at a school assembly and splice in parts
of a movie of your choosing (mating rituals from The Discovery Channel).
21. Teachers often leave grade books unguarded. Help yourself.
22. Start wailing in the halls.
23. Play with lighting and microphone controls during assemblies.
24. Start a campaign to have the letter "Z" appear everywhere as the mark of
angry students.
25. Set up a fake school and hire away the lousy teachers.
26. Read the school budget. Distribute a list of the stupid expenditures.
27. Put alarm clocks in numerous lockers. Set them to go off every ten
minutes and then close and lock the lockers.
28. March around the school with a flag singing "The Star Spangled Banner."
If the school tries to punish you, call your local news agencies and
patriotic groups to complain that your school is run by pinkos.
29. Some schools have automatic sprinkler systems that go off when sensors
detect too much heat. Find the sensors and hold a match to them.
30. Get the senior class to use the senior gift money for something
subversive.
31. Demand that all school equipment being stored rather than being used be
made available to students.
32. If your school won't conduct teacher evaluations, do it yourself. Give
the results to the students, faculty, school board, and community.
33. Have a student lie on the ground outside. When a teacher appears, tell
them the student jumped and point to the roof or third-story window.
Mumble "Fred dared him" or "maybe it was LSD."
34. Toss handfuls of BB's on the floors of busy halls, assemblies, etc.
35. Burn large holes in your lunch trays and turn them into the cafeteria
saying, "probably the chili."
36. Leave resignation letters from faculty members on the principal's desk.
37. Get a small group to carry screwdrivers and slowly dismantle the school.
38. Bomb scares break up boredom during exams or on beautiful days.
39. Photograph teachers and administrators constantly--even without film!
40. Splice into your school's intercom system from a remote, hidden spot.
Now you have your own radio station broadcasting to the entire school!
41. Take the door to the office off its hinges but leave it standing there.
42. At a pep rally, wear clothing in support of the opposing team.
43. Pass copies of this list out.
44. Get a crowd together and scream "fight! fight!"
45. Put a ticking clock in a locked briefcase and leave it in the courtyard.
46. Walk around in a sheet and a crown of thorns ranting about Armageddon.
47. If you have security with walkie talkies, get an identical walkie
talkie.
48. Roll your eyes and body back and forth and mumble weird things.
49. Act asleep. When the teacher yells or hits your desk, keep sleeping.
50. Ask your Air Force Uncle to "miss" the practice target.
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Christopher
Eightball
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Christopher shouts, as he peels off his skin,
"I love to eat glue! Is that such a sin?"
He runs to the hill for a glass of red wine,
and dances around. He's doing just fine.
Christopher laughs at the humorless earth,
while searching for limes of a medium girth.
"I mix up my spoons and they get a tattoo.
I'm waiting for bliss in the form of wet dew."
Christopher points to the scattered applause.
He knows all the scraps of the hesitant pause.
Thinking of putting an end to the fun,
he wakes up the rain, but it's just set to stun.
Christopher jumps off the closest decline.
He wants you to watch as his thoughts realign.
"Without all the steps to this hammer," he smiles.
"We'd wander about in this hole for a while."
Christopher walks, and Christopher stands.
Christopher hides from the dry, desert sands.
Finding the truth in a clever remark,
Christopher goes for a stroll in the park.
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The Page Of Wheeler
Wheeler
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Editor's Note: Wheeler has appeared in every issue of Oblivion, and he told
us that it would be bad luck if we broke his streak. Being
the superstitious lot we are, we decided it would be best to
give him a page.
The Wheeler Article Timeline
Issue 1: December 1995
New Century: Oppressing The Youth
Wheeler was suspended for being with a friend when the friend asked the
head of security why "security cadets" could carry walkie talkies while the
rules said that no students could. To be allowed back, he had to write an
essay on self-discipline. After recieving the essay, the administration
decided that he was an "immediate threat to the well-being of the students,
teachers and faculty" and gave him the second emergency expulsion in the
school's history.
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Issue 2: April 1996
Words To Be Suspended By
The essay that Wheeler was booted for.
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Issue 3: June 1996
Oppressed Again
Wheeler recieved another suspension for allegedly duct taping a student
in the hallways, although he had a plethora of witnesses and the actual
hoodlums were suspended. He was suspended for the rest of the year when he
was seen in the parking lot after school during his suspension.
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Issue 4: Fall 1996
Beaten By The Man
Wheeler went through a series of appeals to get back in school, but in
the end, all his attempts were overturned.
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Issue 5: Winter 1996-1997
The Page Of Wheeler
A summary of all the articles Wheeler has written. You're reading it!
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How To Be A Degenerate
Jane Doe
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The big news on Monday was the big fight on Friday. Here's the story.
At a party earlier in the week, Girl X, from my school and Boy Y, from
another school got into an argument. Apparently, the argument escalated and
some pushing ensued. Boy Z, also from my school stepped in and told Boy Y
that it wasn't cool to hit a girl and the two Boys engaged each other in a
"scuffle." Nothing much became of this though. A few days later, the two
boys happened across each other at the YMCA. Using their amazing powers of
reason, they came to the logical conclusion that they should go outside and
attempt to inflict physical injury upon each other. That's just what they
did. Shortly after embarking on their masochistic journey, some friends of
Boy Z noticed the two beating on each other and decided to help inflict
physical injury upon Boy Y. After they deduced that enough damage had been
done to Boy Y, the victors left the scene.
Boy Y, obviously angry that his ass was beaten by more people than he
had asked for, realized that unless he got revenge, he would never regain
his dignity. He gathered his friends and they thought long and hard about a
way to humiliate their opponents and regain their comrade's honor.
Suddenly, they had it, they would beat them to a pulp with baseball bats!
What a great idea! Not too little, not too much, but just right.
On Friday night, Boy Y and his friends gathered up their bats and drove
to my school in hopes that Boy Z was attending the basketball game. Guess
what? He was! The plan was moving along perfectly. The next step called
for a fight, so they started one. An acquaintance of Boy Z drove up in his
car and saw that men with bats were going to beat the shit out of Boy Z, so
he got out of the car and stood with his friend against his assailants. It
must have been a valiant effort, but in the end, none of my unarmed
classmates could best their club holding rivals. Boy Y and his associates
proceeded to beat the shit out of them. Boy Z received a broken arm and
most likely a plethora of bruises, cuts and sore muscles. The friend who
stood by his side was not as lucky and took more baseball bats to the head
than he bargained for. The police said that he would have died had he been
any smaller in size, but he settled for some pins and plates in his face
along with the plethora of cuts, bruises and sore muscles I'm sure he
received also.
This is all second hand information so the details might be a little
off, but the story is true. Supposedly, some friends of Boy Z are going to
get weapons of equal or "better" stature than the bats the friends of Boy Y
carried and go for revenge. All this time, I wonder if they realize just
how fucking stupid they are and how fucking pointless their actions are. I
want to inform them that they are injuring themselves and others for no
reason, but they wouldn't understand. Their sheepish high school mindset
can't be infiltrated.
A big fear of mine, that I know will manifest itself, is that the same
high school mindset that encourages these idiots to beat the shit out of
each other will persevere beyond high school. I've seen Cops. I've seen
daytime talk shows. These are the same people that I see on the worst
programming on television. I imagine the school that conditioned that
shirtless bloodied man screaming at police while they force him to the
ground to handcuff him is no different than the school I attend. As he
flings about wildly on the cement in a pool of blood and fresh vomit, I
think of my classmates.
These are the idiots I live with nearly every day of my life. It's not
an isolated incident. Sure, it's an extreme example of the stupidity I
witness, but trust me, examples abound. I walk down a hallway and hear my
classmates say things like "she best not be talkin' shit about me, 'cause
I'll kick her ass." I hate to interrupt your tantrum, but I just had to
remind you that you are an idiot. I'm walking outside at lunch and see some
kid kick a garbage can over, all the while laughing with his friends about
how cool he is. I've got news for you, you are not cool, you are an idiot
also. Walking by the boys bathroom, I am pelted with the stench of
cigarette smoke. How stupid can you get? Do you think nobody can smell
your Camels if you smoke them in the bathroom? Besides advertising your
crimes to those who seek to punish you, you are forcing every innocent
passerby to inhale your disgusting habit. Don't be an ass, smoke outside.
Am I the only one who notices the lack of logic with which my peers
conduct themselves? I must be among a minority, because their common sense
levels don't seem to be on the rise. Avoiding it seems impossible. Why
can't these people ever take time from their busy schedules to realize that
they are all stupid fucking morons?
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My Evil Prohibitionist Teacher
Paulo
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In the beginning of the 95-96 school year, I was acquainted with one of
the nicest people in the world, whose name I will omit. He was a new
teacher and I could tell this was going to be a great year because of how he
talked to us.
"Blah blah blah you better do good, or I will grab you by the behind and
drag you blah blah blah..."
Or something along those lines. And this was just the first day.
A few days later, while "teaching" us something, he told us to get out
our notebooks. I picked mine up and opened it to a blank page. I looked up
and he was giving me this scary evil look.
"You better get that off your notebook by tomorrow!"
On my notebook was a sticker with a picture of a pot leaf. Around the
leaf it said "LEGALIZE MARIJUANA - JUST SAY 'KNOW MORE.'" On my binder I
had another one with the same picture but around it said something like
"FOOD PAPER FIBER MEDICINE - EDUCATE YOURSELF." Apparently this guy didn't
appreciate the fact that I wanted people to be educated rather than listen
to the prohibitionist lies taught at school. I was like, "Okay, whatever."
On the way out of class I told my friends I wouldn't remove the stickers
because there was nothing in the handbook against it. I wasn't encouraging
drug use, or even talking about drug use. I was just encouraging people to
learn more about marijuana/hemp (which is not necessarily a drug.)
The guy hears me say this and holds me back. He gives me the evil look
again and says something about "didn't you hear what Mr. Principal Man said
at that assembly yesterday?" I had, but he hadn't said anything about what
I did. Then I left.
My mom heard about this little incident and was so supportive. She was
like, "Yeah, you better remove it! Do what they say!" Thanks mom.
So that time he ended up winning.
Time went by and the guy did all sorts of bad things. He claims to have
broken the clock off the wall, wrote "ASS" real big on the board, threatened
to strangle people, said some people wouldn't survive all day, threw stuff
at people, kicked me and a friend out of class for two or three days JUST
FOR TURNING TO THE WRONG PAGE, stared evilly at people for no reason, called
us names, etc, etc...
Some friends and I would go to the counselor nearly every day to
complain. He wouldn't help at all. They're just so friendly at my school.
(I know I probably should have gone to someone more powerful, but even if I
had, the same thing would of happened.)
Then I started compiling a list of bad things he was doing. Every once
and a while I would turn it in to the counselor. Still, nothing happened.
After almost half the school year, and nearly one hundred entries, I just
gave up. There was no hope. My parents wouldn't even help!
Maybe there was hope. I had an idea. I would publish the list in my
zine, along with his name and the school's address. Maybe someone would
help me out.
I typed out an article entitled 'MY (EVIL SUBJECT) TEACHER,
PROHIBITIONIST AND SERIAL KILLER.' It talked about my arguments about pot
I'd had with him (They were great! I stumped him!), and had most of the list
printed in it. (I lost part of it.)
The zine didn't come out until the end of summer, because of my rule
that I have to buy a new Flaming Lips CD to review for each issue.
This year I came back to school and found that I had somehow passed his
class, and didn't have to take it again. The downside was that they gave me
the idiot for homeroom.
I distributed my zine all over school. It was cool! People dug it. I
gave out a lot and sold a bunch of them too.
One day I came out of a class next to his. As I passed him he called
out my name.
"I didn't do it!" I said.
"Oh you didn't?"
"Nope."
"Well, I've got two words for you."
"Okay, two words..."
"Defamation of character."
"That's three words. See look...defamation...of..." I counted the words
out on my fingers for him. Silly teacher couldn't even count!
"Yeah, well you go home to your..."
"One...two...three...three words..."
"Go home to your home to your you go home to your go home..." He
suddenly developed a weird stuttering problem. I continued counting it out
so he would get the point.
"Go home to your fancy your fancy go home to your fancy home go home."
Still counting.
"...to your fancy computer and go home fancy and look that up."
My computer is fancy? That's new to me! I thought it was a crappy
Packard Bell! Oh, I understand! He thought that since my zine is nicely
made, it's not because I have a little bit of talent in that area, it's
because I have a fancy computer that did it for me!
"Okay," I said.
"And while you're at it, look up the word LAWYER."
"Okay," says I and I walked off. As I was walking away, I said
something loudly to the effect of "too bad you don't have a case since it
was all true!"
I went to my next class, then lunch, then the rest of my classes. I
wasn't called to the office or anything. I told everyone that the teacher
wanted to sue me because of my zine, AND IT SOLD LIKE CRAZY!!! I wanted to
thank him for the free advertising!
After school, I was telling the story and selling my zine, and suddenly,
I heard someone call out my name. I turned around. Shit. It was the vice
principal.
"Come here," he yelled.
I ran over to him.
"What did you just sell?"
"A magazine."
He looked up and thought about it for a couple seconds. "Come to my
office tomorrow morning," he said.
"Okay," I told him and ran off to my bus.
That night, I went on the net and posted the events of the day along
with the article onto alt.zines, alt.drugs, alt.drugs.pot, and some others.
I asked if the idiot had a case against me.
In the morning I checked my email and everyone said no, not really, and
that I should get witnesses. One guy told me that he had sent him a
package. Woohoo! Take that Mr. Evil Man!
The next morning I went into the office looking for the principal. My
friend, who had his copy confiscated came with me (he was going to get the
zine back, or they were gonna give him a dollar!) The vice principal was
in a meeting, so we left. I saw him a few minutes later just standing in
the hall. I went up to him.
"Don't come to my office this morning. I'll call you in later."
"Okay."
I was called to the office during second hour.
I went into the vice principal's office and sat down. The counselor sat
down next to me.
He asked me questions about whether or not I was making money, and
called my zine crap and stuff.
"What's this stuff in here about marijuana?"
"It's about how it's good for people, and good for the earth, and isn't
as bad as they teach you in school. It can make four times as much paper as
trees, and can be harvested three times a year..."
"Okay, let's say this whole thing didn't exist. What about it then?"
I told him the same stuff.
"Okay, and did I see the outline of a naked woman in there?" He
chuckled a little as he looked at the ASCII nudity.
"Yes."
"And what is this about Mr. (Evil Head Man)?"
"It's a list of things he did that the school refused to do anything
about!" I answered kind of angrily. Why the hell was I in trouble!? I'm
not the one who did the stuff on the list! He just kind of laughed.
He told me all this garbage about slander or something, and how it was
wrong that I called him a serial killer, and that I could get sued, but how
Mr. Evil Head Man was such a nice guy he wasn't too upset.
They gave me two days of their in-school-suspension.
The next day I went to the ISS room. They made me watch a crappy video
with some Mr. Rogers type guy. Then I had to fill out this stupid
worksheet. There was a question that said something like 'What would make
you extremely happy?' I answered truthfully, which is what I thought they
wanted.
1. For the school to blow up
2. For potent marijuana to grow as common as dandelions
3. World Anarchy - No gov'ts
4. To be the All-American AntiChrist
5. To not live in Hickland
6. To live in San Francisco
7. For the Bill of Rights to actually exist
And some other stuff. I can't remember exactly what I wrote. They
spazzed at this! They called my mom in, gave her a copy of it, and told her
that had it been someone else, they would have gotten out of school
suspension, but they just gave me two more days of ISS. How nice of them!
The next three days when I had to fill out dumb worksheets, I lied my
ass off to seem like some kinda lovey-dovey government-loving good Christian
idiot.
I finally got out of ISS and I thought it was all over. It wasn't.
A few weeks, later my parents got a letter in the mail saying I had to
talk to a probation officer. I supposedly had 'harassed' someone.
We went in to talk to him, and he showed us a package. It was full of
pro-hemp flyers.
"Did you send him this?"
"No."
It was obvious that I hadn't. It was postmarked San Francisco. Idiots.
"Okay, they just told me to look into it."
Now, I'm pretty sure it could have been over right then, BUT my mom just
had to pull out a copy of my zine and give it to him.
"Here is his publication. This is how he got people to send Mr. (Evil
Head Man) stuff," she said.
He took it and looked it over and said something about how it was trash.
"But trash sells, right?" Okay, sure. Then he asked stupid questions about
if I would want my brother and sister to grow up in a world like that.
Hmmm...I think a peaceful world where people are free wouldn't be too bad of
a place...
Then he asked why I would believe people on the internet who I don't
know rather than teachers and such. What I should have said was something
like, "Because they most likely don't work for the government," but I
remained quiet.
Then we left and my parents drove me to school. On the way there, my
dad spewed a bunch of bullshit about how if I published a single word I
would automatically go to jail. He then said I couldn't talk about anarchy
(which he obviously didn't understand) or drug legalization.
"This isn't new! This is an old argument! Find another cause! Blah
blah blah!"
It was retarded. He said all I could publish was shit that I didn't
give a fuck about. Then he said I couldn't publish at all.
We went to California on vacation (did I mention I'm from San Francisco?
I am.) and I gave a copy to my cousin. My aunt looked at it and we talked
about it. Then I told her that I wasn't allowed to publish anymore and
about how I had to talk to a probation officer and stuff.
She told my mom she should have called the cops on the guy and told my
dad I should be allowed to publish. My dad argued about how they're really
conservative out here and a bunch of crap. A couple days later, I said
something about not being allowed to make my zine any more and my mom said,
"you can."
So now I'm gonna try and start publishing again. I know they're gonna
spazz, but oh well. The specific stuff I'm not allowed to publish is
anarchy, drug legalization, and computer hacking. I'm just gonna call
anarchy libertarianism, since my idea of anarchy is basically that. The
other stuff I'm removing and replacing with some other crap. I know they're
gonna spazz at the stuff I'm adding now, but oh well, it's worth it.
That's the story as best as I can remember it. Hope you got something
out of it. CENSORSHIP SUCKS!!!
Hey you!! You're gonna email at paulo.head.man@juno.com! Then you're
gonna visit the undumb web site! www.tstonramp.com/~fbartune/frank/undumb/
Then, you're gonna send 2 bucks (and some stamps if your friendly) to me, so
you can have your very own copy of undumb! Exploding Eggplant, c/o Paul
Saylor, 3572 W State Road 10 #7, Lake Village, IN 46349! And then you're
gonna reprint this everywhere possible, and send me a copy if you can! Or
maybe you won't. Oh well...
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Letters
Readers
- - ---- -- - -------
To the Oblivion Staff,
Hello, and greetings from the Eastern Seaboard, where the reign of
despotic tyranny in the guise of Christian morality and wholesome values
holds our own students in its fearful grip. I am, of course, speaking of
the thousands of parochial schools that litter our educational landscape,
providing "education in a Catholic Christian community" where men and women
who have taken solemn values work their foul craft of quashing the natural
tendency of the young to question and explore, while teaching the "joys" of
obdience and censorship. But rhetoric aside, I turn to your staff for
advice and guidance. I attend a local Catholic High School, and am
currently attempting to form an underground newspaper on campus. Any
suggestions, advice, or support you can offer your oppressed comrade in
arms would be most appreciated.
Freedom Now
Freedom,
Good news! Creating an "underground newspaper" is simple! All you need
is some paper and some ideas. You could print student articles, stories,
poetry, art, letters, etc. Most 'zines reprint quite a bit. There are lots
of good articles and stories that are worth reprinting, search the web, and
ask for permission to reprint them. The people will probably say yes, but
if they deny you permission, screw them, print it anyway, they'll never know
unless you're some giant national 'zine. There are so many different 'zines
out there, from handwritten to desktop published, one page to hundreds. If
you'd like to see some examples, find a copy of Factsheet 5 ("the big fat
guide to the 'zine revolution") and send away for some of the publications
listed.
Oblivion
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I was wondering how come you let Antitrend work for you guys, now that
was a mistake, not to be mean even though he stood up for me in lots of
things but he can still be an "Asshole".
Sorry to say all that but You People made a HUGE mistake.
No Signature
Dear Whoever,
Antitrend doesn't "work" for us per se, but he has contributed. We
don't employ anyone that I know of. Anyway, thanks for your warning. When
we heard that Antitrend can sometimes be an "Asshole," we were shocked and
appalled. Without delay, we gathered up the boys, hopped in our Fords and
went to beat the crap out of him. We don't want an "Asshole" working for
us, and we certainly want to correct any "HUGE mistake" we might have made.
Oblivion
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your idea for oblivion seems awesome. i go to high school & I am sick
of it & such & i think that maybe i could write something, & maybe get an
e-mail address?
it seems really nice that there are people that oppose reality as it is
& want to *do* something about it.
it says that you give *free* issues... i don't see how you can manage.
oh well...
Anonymous form? that doesn't seem so true...
kacper
kacper,
Thanks for the feedback! You can write an article anytime, although,
not everything we get will be published. But if it is, you will get that
email address.
The paper issues of Oblivion are free, however, if you (or anyone) want
one mailed to you, please send us a couple stamps.
The feedback form isn't very anonymous when you enter your email address
in it! Hehe...
Oblivion
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Hello, I teach high school English in mid-Missouri and I would really
like any information or help you could send me on creating a zine in my
Sophomore English class. We are interested in creating one on paper, rather
than the net, and any helpful hints or reccomendations would be greatly
appreciated.
Thanks, and by the way, really cool site. My students enjoy it.
Ron
Ron,
An in class 'zine is a great idea! I elaborated on this a little in
response to an earlier letter, so all that applies too. You could include
stories, articles, poetry, reviews, artwork, etc. You could be a "rougher"
version of the school newspaper, giving less filtered news or whatever. You
should come up with a catchy title. The design should be relatively kewl
also. Put some catchy art on the cover to go with your catchy title. Once
again, great idea!
Oblivion
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I would like to say that Jaimee did the right thing when she told the
cops. I have been harassed in school and did not tell. Because of this he
tried to rape me in school. I still have not told because I don't go to that
school anymore. I know I should have but I am not going to because no one
will believe me because he did the same thing to one of my friends and when
she told nothing was done about it. I think teachers and schools need to
take accusations seriously and help people get over it.
Summer
Summer,
Sexual harrassment and assault are not trite subjects and should not be
treated as such. Boys will not be boys, boys will be criminals who sexually
harrass or assault others. Some schools do take accusations seriously, but
in Jaimee's case, they do not. It's a small town where boys mow the lawn
and hunt with their father. "Oh, they was just flirtin' with each other.
Why, I had to wrestle your mother to the ground just to get her to go to the
spring dance with me." Unfortunately, this attitude is not likely to change
soon.
Oblivion
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Editor's note: this is in response to Paulo's article that we posted to
Usenet before being printed in Oblivion.)
A litte howdy. read your zine article in alt.zines. reminded me
(somewhat) of my high school days when I was repeatedly harrassed by both
school administrators and other kids because I didn't wear my hair the same
way everyone else did.
heh. you wanna know what's gonna happen to your friendly neighborhood
buttmunch vice principal and geometry teacher? Heh, wait like five years or
so (or better yet, wait until the year after you graduate) and then you'll
find out that all of this crap you were printing really WAS true, and you'll
discover that Idiot Teacher would do something like be hauled off to jail
for doing whatever, or whatever. I mean, it happened in my school, which
sounds an awful lot like yours.
High school (unless it's a really cool high school, but there really
aren't very many of those) is a boring, totally autocratic experience that
everyone's gotta go through. But you know what? It's like right after you
graduate and explore the wonderful world surrounding you, you discover that
the people you were dealing with were totally small-minded fucks who will be
living in that same town and doing the same crap for the rest of their
lives, while you will run away from it all and become like....cool and
stuff.
oh well, take care and happy holidaze and all that,
alissa
alissa,
Haha, thanks for the letter. I think we all know that in a matter of
years, Mr. Evil Head Man will be mopping the floors in Paulo's office.
Perhaps, in the near future, Paulo will be able to yell "hey, Evil Head Man,
you put cheese on my Big Mac! I said no cheese!" Or better yet, they will
cart him off to jail for beating some kid with a ruler.
Oblivion
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Dear Editor:
Hey, I just want to say--excellent zine! Reminds me of the times I
spent in high school standing up against the tyranny I faced: being
reassigned to a seat in the back of the class after a teacher realized he
couldn't force me to say the Pledge Of Allegiance; being threatened with the
loss of a class grade because I argued with a teacher who felt that men, and
men only, should not wear hats in class (and I didn't even wear a hat!);
participating in the mass action to come to school in intricate "green
plant" costumes instead of wearing the school colors on some "Pride in
School Day" we rebel students renamed "Green Plant Day" (I bet that blew
some administrators' minds).
Don't let these namby-pamby, muzak-loving, ass-kissing, brownshirt,
cog-in-the-machine wannabes whose letters you have published disuade you in
your noble efforts, either. The reason that they can't understand why
someone doesn't just go along with the program, is simply because it's too
late for them, they _are_ the "oblivion," they no longer think for
themselves, and they are too afraid to question whether an accepted
authority figure is actually acting in the best interest of society. They
don't matter--the only thing that matters is that by your actions you are
helping to maintain a free society for yourselves and for those that will
come after you.
I want to offer some suggestions, and I hope this doesn't make me
come across as some old fart. First, some books to read if you haven't:
_The Art Of War_ by Sun Tzu and _Organizing: A Guide For Grassroots Leaders_
by Si Kahn. Second, some vague, almost meaningless advice: always try to do
the job _right_ (good job so far!). Third, some more specific advice: find
some teachers/administrators who are friendly towards you, then let your
opponents in the administration know about all these horrible things some
fringe lunatic students will do to embarass the school and _them_ in
particular (be creative), and how _you_ will be able to control them if only
they give in on _this_ and _that_, and then perhaps conserve your energy by
letting the adults argue it out for awhile--this tactic works! Fourth, an
afterword: don't discount how sexy it is to be a drug policy reform
activist. Fifth, whoops! one more thing: no one from a college _ever_
looks at your "disciplinary record"--it's just a big scam to try to keep you
in line, so as long as you can keep your grades up, feel free to cut loose!
Best of luck in all your efforts!
Kai Alexis Price
Kai,
Hahahah! This is some of the best feedback ever, Green Plant Day,
muzak-loving, it's got it all! Thanks!@#
Oblivion
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Review: Teenage Liberation Handbook
Jestapher
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Do you ever feel discontented by school? Grace Llewellyn can give you
that extra boost you need to just quit.
Grace started her teaching career as a substitute teacher in Southern
California. In her book, she writes, "In between sending students to the
office for calling me a 'white bitch' or for pinching me or for loudly
interrupting too many times, I'd sit and despairingly ponder the
meaninglessness of these huge inner-city schools." School had destroyed the
students' natural desire to learn.
She later got a job at an experimental school, The Colorado Springs
School and truly thought she could change the way students felt about
learning. She soon discovered that to be false. While on a trip to
Washington D.C. with the school, she lost all hope. The students had been
"scolded for slouching and whispering during a dull evening lecture after a
particularly exhausting day," and it got her thinking. If a person freely
chooses to take part in something, they will naturally behave and learn.
Most kids have no choice about going to school, or so they believe.
The book is broken up into five sections. The first will help you in
your decision to become self-educated. The second helps you with the first
steps to take after making that decision, from creating your own
"assignments" to the possible legal process involved in becoming an
"official" homeschooler. Part three explains how to cover specific
curricula. It doesn't advocate mandatory history lessons, but if you are
interested in a certain subject, it's a great starting point. Part four
helps you in your quest for work, be it volunteering, internships and
apprenticeships, farmwork, medical research, marine biology, etc. Part five
contains the stories of many homeschoolers. It's great encouragement for
those prospective homeschoolers to hear stories of others who have made the
choice to control their own education.
Overall, the book is great, especially if you already think school is
terrible. It will reinforce that belief not with stories from discontented
students, but with a teacher's perspective, someone who lived it, someone
who regretably taught it, someone who now wants to make a change and ensure
that people won't be unwillingly subjected to the mundane, often devoid of
learning public school system.
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Discriminate Perceptions
Jestapher
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One might classify me as a "white" male American. I am not a proud
"white" male American. I am not a disgraced "white" male American. If I
must be any type of "white" male American, I am an apathetic "white" male
American.
Although I may be apathetic about this unbidden status, I loathe the
initial impression I make many a time on account of it. Recently, I was at
a concert. Taking a break from the musical barrage, I ventured into the
theatre lobby. As I stood in the lobby, I noticed two grrls handing a 'zine
to another girl, asking if she had seen it. I approached the two and told
them I hadn't seen their 'zine.
"Well, it's a grrl 'zine," came the reply.
"What's this? Whaddya sexist?"
"Well, I mean, it's grrl issues, you probably wouldn't be interested."
"I'm interested in all issues."
The gave me a copy of "Super Ninja Girl" and we parted.
As I walked with my new 'zine, I thought about what they said. I knew
they had a target audience, and probably weren't trying to be sexist, but I
couldn't get over it.
It's about grrl issues, so I wouldn't be interested? Why wouldn't I be
interested? What would I be interested in? Why do they have a preconceived
perception of me based on my male status?
Who do these people think I am? Are my hands those of the man who beat
you and your mother? Does my mouth speak words of the overweight klansman?
It's quite the contrary, but how can I inform them of this before they make
up their own minds? I can't.
Later on, during that concert, I had an in depth discussion with the two
grrls. It seems that the first words they spoke to me were a "Freudian
slip" of sorts. They explained that they were not trying to be
discriminate, but that it was more of a protection for them, because when
most people think of a riot grrl, it's usually not in a good light. After
talking to them, I gained a little more respect for their passion and
devotion, but was not impressed with the fact that for a little security,
they would sacrifice the ideals they are supposedly trying to uphold in
their quest for "equality."
I don't condone anything done out of discrimination. Even though people
with the same "white" male status as I have fucked many people over because
of their discrimination-dominant mindset, it lends no validity to others'
perceptions of me based on that status. Even though one may feel the desire
for reparations is justified, a perception of an individual based on
unjustified stereotypes is transgressive and hypocritical.
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Oblivion Information
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Copyrights
- - ---- -- - -------
Please distribute Oblivion everywhere you can. Do not steal little bits
and pieces without consent from the author of the bit, byte or nybble, for
they retain full copyrights to their work. If you just ask, they will most
likely give permission.
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Donors
- - ---- -- - -------
<angst> Support Jaimee Writing Nemomancer Graphix
Akai Support Jane Doe Writing & Writing
Amar Writing Jess Wyer Artwork Nina Writing
AntiTrend Writing Jestapher Artwork NORML Writing
Arhat Writing & Graphix Paulo Writing
Belial Writing & Editing Retro Ranger Writing
Brian Kappus Graphix & Writing Tyche Writing
Dagda Graphix Juanune Graphix Warren Apel Writing
Eightball Writing Maureen Rada Writing Wennis Artwork
iMAGER Support Mr. Orange Writing Wheeler Writing
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Locations
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MAIL: Oblivion
120 State Ave. NE #76
Olympia, WA 98501-8212
(Please send two stamps for a current issue.)
EMAIL: oblivion@oblivion.net
FTP: ftp.etext.org /pub/zines/oblivion/
ftp.olywa.net /pub/oblivion/
WWW: http://www.oblivion.net/
(Use the anonymous feedback form if you so desire.)
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Thanks
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The Danger Room Comics (201 4th Ave. W., Olympia, WA 98501)
Mercuri, Editor of RAD (http://www.pla-net.net/corp/zineworld/rad/)
neko (neko@dto.net -- http://neko.home.ml.org/)
Olympia Networking Services (http://www.olywa.net/)
Tim Brown, Editor of The Last Word (http://members.iglou.com/bathroom/)
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