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Layoffs Rise 68 Percent in April
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Reuters
May 1, 2008
NEW YORK (May 1) – U.S. companies’ planned layoffs jumped 68 percent in April from the prior month to the highest since September 2006, pointing to further deterioration in the labor market, a report showed on Thursday.
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Planned job cuts in U.S. companies totaled 90,015 last month, up from 53,579 in March and up 27 percent from a year earlier, employment consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. reported.
The April layoffs were the steepest since the 100,315 cuts announced in September 2006.
Most of the announced job cuts came from the financial sector, due to the housing slump and about $300 billion in write-downs on bad mortgages and investments, the firm said.
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May 1st, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Alex Jones seems more interested in preparing
for marshal law, than preventing it, these days.
I PRAY that someone can persuade Ventura &
Jones to run on a joint presidential ticket.
The controlled media could not ignore that, in
the way that they have ignored Ron Paul.
Our message would finally reach the “masses”,
and we would have a fighting chance.
VOTE VENTURA/JONES IN 2008!
May 1st, 2008 at 3:01 pm
i really do think all you peple should stop that do you really think they would run for president
May 1st, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Lets lay off 70% of the people who work for government, use the money saved to get manufacturing plants running again, which would decrease trade with China, a good start.
Maybe We, the People, should stop paying government fines, fees and regestrations, stop asking the government for permission to run our own lives and tell them to get to work in real jobs that do not include living off OUR labor! I bet that would get things running again in this country!!!
May 1st, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Yeah, and yesteday our government said that our economy grew by .6%. “See, we’re not in a recession!” Yeah, and if you believe that, you also probably believe that MSM is truly independent and unbiased in it’s “reporting” and isn’t just a propaganda arm for the uber-rich/elitists of the world. Lately I’ve stopped watching MSM and everytime I hear a right-wing radio show I struggle to contain my anger. All I hear is more and more of the same. War talk towards Iran/Seria and more of the same Rev. Wright blah, blah, blah. PEOPLE ARE STARVING TO DEATH; people are losing their homes/jobs/futures/retirements, and are struggling to put gas in their tanks every week. People can’t afford to buy food and the businesses and good jobs that used to populate the U.S. are being out-sourced to foreign countries. It makes me sick and scared as hell all in the same breath, and all I hear is Rev. Wright rhetoric, and how we must continue to fight our war on terror. CAN NOBODY SEE THAT WHAT OUR OWN GOVERNMENT HAS DONE/IS DOING TO IT’S OWN PEOPLE IS FAR WORSE THAN ANYTHING ANY TERRORIST COULD HAVE POSSIBLY ENVISIONED. And God help us if George Jr. gets ellected because it will just be more of the same. More wars, higher prices, more suffering and more propaganda. I can’t take it anymore.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:42 pm
The American people are like ants. If we all get together and say f--- YOU gov’t. This isn’t the 1700’s our military is full of people like you and me that hate there own Bosses. If the masses stormed police stations , Federal Buildings , ( FEMA ) camps and HeadQuarters, everything. A continental Riot. Ya martial law would be screamed by the cowards crying like the f---ing sissys they are but who gives a s---. People would be getting killed on each side. But only 1 side has something to fight for. But for true change to happen people need to pull there head out of there asses and stop with the my Gov’t Loves me and would never hurt me. America did not go from being the youngest Nation in the world and become to most powerful over night by being stupid.
Heres another thing people completely dont look at. We jumped from flying a big f---ing kite to stealth technology in 40 years. No other country has done it ? Humm I wonder why. Iran is finally placing s--- in space and we act like its a big deal when we’ve been stomping our up there since the 60’s.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Talk is cheap (even in dollars).
Has anyone at infowars heard of STRATEGY?!
VOTE VENTURA/JONES IN 2008!
May 1st, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Hey ARMINIUS, there is no strategy, it is easy, stop thinking we can vote for anyone and clean this up!!!! This country was founded on REVOLT! We need to revolt by not paying these idiots one more penny! STOP paying TAXES, stop paying registration on your cars, STOP GIVING THEM YOUR PERMISSION TO DO THIS!!
CUT OFF THEIR SUPPLY OF ENERGY, YOUR LABOR AND INCOME!!! Vote with your money, labor and energy, it is all we give them, so STOP!!!
May 1st, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Please all you Americans take control of your government. I have enough problems dealing with my own government. Canadians don’t want American s--- rolling up hill in to Canada.
May 1st, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Excellent comment ,Freecell,I like the way you think,This miserable economic situation has been a long time coming,during the 1990`s everybody acted like things were okay but I could see the writing on the wall,nobody cares until they are affected.
May 1st, 2008 at 6:11 pm
America was never a “democracy”. It is a Constitutional republic. It is supposed to be ruled (i.e. rule of law) is the Constitution. Republic meaning that we elect people to represent the interests of the People. As you make your observations, ask yourself the question, are you representative leaders acting in your interests (as an American citizen)? Are there loyalties to you? A little investigation shows that the answer is no. We are no longer free. Our money is engaged in a policy of wealth transfer up to the top of the pyramid. A few are benefiting off of the many. All these fees, penalties, and taxes are disguised campaign at subjugating the masses and are funding our oppression.
#8 said cut off the income, labor, and energy; because all these valuable resources are now being used to suppress you. We have to cut off these traitors and restore America. The Founding Fathers are turning in their graves.
May 1st, 2008 at 6:15 pm
The best strategy is to get everyone to realize that the CIA killed President Kennedy, expose all the false flag terror, expose the truth about 9/11.
Then, to have everyone start running for elected offices and work to change things.
YOU reading this, Infowarriors/TRUTHERS/ Ron Paul people/ any where you are in the USA, go out, find a local elected office you could get into, find out when the election is, and run for office. That’s what it will take. Dont wait for someone to tell you to do it. Go and do it. If you think you arent qualified, do you really think you could do any worse then the people there now???????
GO!
If you stop paying your taxes and advocate people start commiting crimes, you are just giving them an excuse to take you into their Prison Industrial Complex, which they will gladly, and happily do.
13*
May 1st, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Listen, you can go anywhere and just randomly ask someone if they think America is free anymore. They will say no, not really. We don’t need to dive down the monster’s maw and examine it’s guts to see it is a monster. We just need to say we don’t want it around anymore! 8/8/08, America Is Free.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Not paying taxes is a CRIME? You better read the Contitution, Dan. Sorry to tell you this, but any amendment to that document after the original signers were done with it is FRAUD, THEFT and VIOLATION of it. I don’t care what Congress does, if it is out of the power ORGINALLY granted them, it is NOT LEGAL.
Fill up the prisons, no, they will see what WE, The People are made of and they will get out of the way. There were plenty of men around like you back when the first revolution started. Hand wringing and crying “But thhhhe King is SOOO powerful, we will be in trouble if we commit what he calls aaa aa cccrrimme! Thats TREASON!!”
Now, here we are haveing the same conversations, and we are going to get revolution one way or another. Are some people going to go to jail? Maybe, but the other solution is death, starvation and misery. You cannot fix the system with the system. You can only RESTORE it to what it was and should have been, and that is going to happen one way or another, and we perish and our whole way of life with us.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Work is purpose, I know where thy enemy sleeps at night. His bread will fill my belly, and his gold will serve my goal. The New World Order might destroy this country. They will not live to celebrate the victory. Patriots unite under one banner. Anybody who isn’t willing to do that is probably a paid informant or infiltrator. Get over the petty bickering and know your enemy. The machine no matter now well oiled it is vulnerable. I call on all law enforcement loyal to our Constitution to join us. The New World Order will not succeed while our heart still beats. We should be throwing ourselves onto the gears of this great and terrible beast, America needs to get off the petty materialism. It’s just a f---ing J…O…B. Learn a little resourcefulness for s--- sakes. Turn on the system, not on one another.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:53 pm
What we need is a real movement, real change. 2 million Americans to just stand up and not pay any government fees, taxes, charges, whatever, and we can defeat them without one person going to jail, or dieing. Hell, get two million to just say NO at one time and not go to work for a week, not buy anything, just stay the hell home and tell them its an unlawful tax protest. Let them try to put 2 million of us behind bars. There is no way it will happen, besides, like I said, it was what this country was founded on!
Our leaders have commited treason, murder, theft and every other crime, and guess what? Every single tax paying american has HELPED THEM DO IT!
You want to know who the real criminals are, look in the mirror, you are either part of the problem or… you know the rest. And getting involved in the BS political system is NOT the answer, its way, way too late for that.
May 1st, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Now, here we are haveing the same conversations, and we are going to get revolution one way or another. Are some people going to go to jail? Maybe, but the other solution is death, starvation and misery. You cannot fix the system with the system. You can only RESTORE it to what it was and should have been, and that is going to happen one way or another, and we perish and our whole way of life with us.
THATS THE KEY
OUR BATTLE CRY MUST BE
RESTORE THE REPUBLIC, THEN HISTORY AND THE LAW OF THE LAND ARE ON OUR SIDE.
May 1st, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Aaron Williams, I agree, and I know others do as well. There is going to be enough PAIN for plenty of other people to wake up soon enough, when they do, we must be men and women enough to forget our petty differnces like “my church is better then yours” or replublican/democrate BS. We must unite for Turth and Freedom under the orginal Bill of rights and a flag without Gold around the edges. This country was once about the Republic, now it is about the god of the $$$$ and houses nobody owns, credit limits and sex. We have enslaved ourselves with the Idols of false gods.
May 1st, 2008 at 8:06 pm
We must unite for Turth and Freedom under the orginal Bill of rights and a flag without Gold around the edges. This country was once about the Republic, now it is about the god of the $$$$ and houses nobody owns, credit limits and sex. We have enslaved ourselves with the Idols of false gods.
WE ARE VICTEMS OF THE
FEDERAL MONEY MONSTER BEAST.
May 1st, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Patriot2008,
That is correct! We must inform people what the Law of the Land is, we are not breaking the Law of the Land with just revolt, we are UPHOLDING IT!
That is the best question to ask someone: “Do you know what the Law of the Land is?”
The battle cry IS: “RESTORE THE REPUBLIC!” It is lawful and right.
May 1st, 2008 at 8:36 pm
tell greenspan how you feel about it.
https://auction01.charitybuzz.com/secure/viewItemDetail.do?auction_item_id=13529
May 1st, 2008 at 8:41 pm
That’s called a Federalist, and I know at least twenty healthy, able bodied, proficient marksmen, who would fight for that cause. We are not as isolated as you think. All my friends are wide awake to the New World Order. I will not associate with sleepers anymore. I’ve had to put people at a arm’s length away because they aren’t trustworthy, by shear ignorance alone. They are loyal to something that is not America anymore. I won’t say anymore, you guys know what’s up. Constant vigilance and a strong moral compass, these are the most dangerous weapons of a Patriot.
May 1st, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Here I am again, I predicted the economy, the dollar falling and obama being chastised for his beliefs and that mcain and clinton are destroying themselves so that the agenda can be completed through obahma. The stage is set and in the next for years when we follow the man with water into the kingdom, Only then a new aeon will begin and the NWO will be implemented. Depresion will be and war will start with n korea and Iran. A terriost nuclear attack will probably spur the war and More population will decrease due to world war 3. Easier for population control. We give up our god given universal rights for fear of the unkown. We have nothing to fear but FEAR itself….Have we forgotten.
May 1st, 2008 at 8:53 pm
So the 4th Amendment states somthing to the effect:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
Americans are being searched at airports.
Americans are being searched at the courthouse.
Americans are being searched at their municipal offices.
Americans are being searched in their cars.
Americans are being searched in their homes.
We are not secure at any time or anyplace. Our private information is in the public domain. The Bill of Rights is being usurped by traitors not loyal to the document or the national sovereignty.
RESTORE THE REPUBLIC.
God bless all Americans and God bless the world. The world is suffering.
May 1st, 2008 at 8:53 pm
I have been telling people to get geared up for this for years and now its here. Buy gold buy gear, get in shape. Ammo costs are going through the roof, get reloading supplies now!
http://www.TacticalWarfighterGear.com
May 1st, 2008 at 8:58 pm
To believe that all these things are totally random is to appreciate the depth of our blind walk. I wish we would no longer fear. I wish we would learn our history and regain our pride and spirit in the integrity of the country. I wish we would be filling to fight for our beliefs and give a change for a future based out of solidarity, love, hope, and an affection for freedom and a patriot’s America. We are a strong people. We can work for freedom and liberty. No fear or security is a substitute for true freedom.
May 1st, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Pretty soon the only jobs will be Mcjobs and those are being filled by illegal aliens.
May 1st, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Everything is a McJob today. You cannot sustain a family on $8-12 per hour gross pay. Figure in the income, sales, fees, penalties, and service charges, you have no other way but to be a debt slavery in a lifetime of bondage. Nothing about that life is free, prosperous, or involving in the pursuit of happiness. America is a McJob. The corporations and government connection want to obfuscate individual liberties. Protest is repressed by labelling any dissenter as a “terrorist”. The same government that kills 1 million overseas will not hesitate to kill you either. There is no value and respect for human dignity and human need.
May 1st, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Ask yourself this question, for those of you that have a J.O.B. (just over broke), who is getting the benefit of your hard labor? You? Your children? NO!!!! Your boss. You were hired to help his/her business grow. Not your business, not your life, not your concerns. Quit your job and do what you have been waiting to do all your life. Stop crying about it and be about it….become an employer and stop being an employee. J.O.B.s are a dime a dozen. Step out of the boat and walk on water…you would be surprised at what can be accomplished when you start listening to the other voice inside you. Hit the enemy where it hurts. HIS WALLET! Bankrupt his ass and watch what happens….what is power when you’re broke! Take away the very thing that has given him his power and you will see he is weaker than portrayed.
May 1st, 2008 at 9:40 pm
They call it a jobless recovery. Money is being made and the economy is growing–you’re not getting the benefits of the growth. One step above slave labor. Pay you just enough to keep you coming back.
May 1st, 2008 at 10:17 pm
23, americans are being searched because the establishment is deliberately crashing the economy and they are conditioning the people and the cops to the police state. The establishment needs a police state to protect itself from the angry americans who will be revolting.
The Elite crash the market so they can buy back all the real assets at major discounts (desperate starving sellers)… THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA AND THE ESTABLISHMENT ARE AT WAR WITH YOU!
May 1st, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Yes, I would say this covert war began around the time of the Reagan Administration. Daddy Bush was the Vice President at that time. Had been the head of the CIA. Also, Iran-Contra dealings. War on this, war on that.
May 1st, 2008 at 11:00 pm
It is time to stop what you are doing with your lives and get pro-active. What are you waiting for? Write or call your Congressmen and say you are fed-up with them – period. Tell them that their days of lying are over. It is finally a time for change. NO MORE DC BULLs---. Be strong and clear. Get started TODAY. If we do nothing we will have nothing. Tell what you know to everybody. Don’t hold back. GO, GO, GO!!! Get out into the streets. Get out into the streets!!! Tell the “Gov’t” that you’re finished with their lies, corruption, so called wars and the destruction of our country by their design. Say NO to any more involvement in the Middle East. We have enough oil on the North Slope of Alaska to run this country for more than 200 years, plus coal. Fight them now before it is too late. Who the F**k are they anyway? Just a long list of political grifters, passing the torch on to family and friends who want to continue to rule us. They are killing us as I write – HELLO>>>>>??
Demand the truth, and immediate recision of the interim laws that Bush has signed to imprison you and me. Screw the D of C! They are our King George. We can’t wait any longer. They must go, NOW! Do something – anything – tomorrow, and the next day – and so on. Get off your asses, and get with it before it is too late. DO IT NOW. GET GOING – EVERYBODY WHO WANTS TO SEE CHANGE BUT DOESN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO. Do ANYTHING TO STOP THE CURRENT MADNESS – It’S REVOLUTION OR DEATH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 1st, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Brothers! Start signing all your letters, checks, bills, everything with “RESTORE THE REPUBLIC” write it on your money (in the white borders, so you will not deface the NOTE) use thier own tools against them. We need to set up a website or something, hell write whatever you want on the borders of every NOTE you have.
RESTORE THE REPUBLIC! On everything! There is no reason to fear, if they do not know who we are by now, they will soon enough! Get fit, mentally, spiritually and physically.
RESTORE THE REPUBLIC!
May 2nd, 2008 at 6:08 am
even the worker unions are flooded with CFR people.
How could that ever happen?? Man, this is so corrupt!
May 2nd, 2008 at 8:09 am
#33
I say deface the f---in notes, they are worthless anyway. nothing but a transfer of debt. I will deface every single fed note that crosses my hands..
May 2nd, 2008 at 8:39 am
I make just enough not to afford an apartment without help and/or a roommate. I think they’re trying to get us used to living in group communities. Even a bad studio apartment around here is $500, and that’s not including utilities, groceries, transportation and misc. bills.
As for the fellow who talked about how you’re helping fill your employer’s pockets, you’re right. Do what I do. Goof off on the Internet, work slow, and walk around a lot. Don’t get caught though
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:28 am
Are we going to RESTORE THE REPUBLIC? Complaining is fun, but it only attracts like energy! Lets start attracting the energy we want the energy of RESTORATION!
The energy of FREEDOM by targeted ACTION! Start the fire!
RESTORE THE REPUBLIC!
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:19 am
Heard the AM drive time idiot on the Neo-Con Station stated it is us “liberals” that are scaring everybody by saying we are in a recession.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the so-called Financial Station twit declared the job hires in the financial sector actually went UP!!!!!
This propaganda never ends, and the worst part about it, it passes for “conventional wisdom” to the masses, and is why you can’t reach the majority of people. They just refuse to accept anything other than what they see on the tube. If is’s not on the television, it doesn’t exist.
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:51 pm
37,
We may gripe and it seems that we are doing nothing, but you don’t know what half of the people here are doing (that could be either good or bad, depending on your thinking). There are folks here that enact in protest or do what little things they can (little things accumulate).
Best thing to do? Send this information to as many people you can and pray that they wake up and join our ranks. Have you been telling people the truth? Remember, the only thing stronger than an army is an idea whose time has come.
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:58 pm
“Best thing to do? Send this information to as many people you can and pray that they wake up and join our ranks. Have you been telling people the truth? Remember, the only thing stronger than an army is an idea whose time has come.”
I’m finding, that most people, just don’t want to hear it. It’s rather sad.
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:31 pm
HMMmmm,
yahoo website said layoffs were the lowest in april.. who’s correct on this matter?
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:37 pm
I have to agree with greg. all ive been hearing all over wallstreetjournal.com and the other news says job layoffs lowest in april. Wheres your information alex?
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:39 pm
steve Says:
Wheres your information alex?
he already posted it…..REUTERS
May 2nd, 2008 at 2:20 pm
My Way
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Employers cut fewer jobs in April, jobless rate falls
Email this Story
May 2, 1:24 PM (ET)
By JEANNINE AVERSA
WASHINGTON (AP) – Employers cut far fewer jobs in April than in recent months and the unemployment rate dropped to 5 percent, a better-than-expected showing that nonetheless reveals strains in the nation’
For the fourth month in a row, the economy lost jobs, the Labor Department reported Friday. But in April the losses totaled 20,000, an improvement from the 81,000 reductions in payrolls logged in March. Job losses for both February and March turned out to be a bit deeper than previously reported
May 2nd, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I found the problem.
The Reuters sites, employment consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., the AP article sites Department of Labor.
Who do you want to bet on? The AP article even mentions the DoL fudging March and Feburary.
And about the “where’s your information, Alex?” comment. What a RETARDED thing to say considering the REUTERS tag in plain sight at the top of the article. If ou disagree with the number, you are disagreeing with Reuters and Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. not Alex Jones.
FreeinTX
May 2nd, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Who you gonna believe the MSM ? …Idiots
May 2nd, 2008 at 8:11 pm
my bad, im not very knowledgeable when it comes to stuff like reuters. Used to seeing a direct link to a website type of deal. I agree with all the stuff on the website but was just curious about this.
May 3rd, 2008 at 12:19 am
i know some of you dont believe the ecosystem is being torn a new one, but you can apply this same set of steps to media, government, and corporations. hope you get to stage 6 some day.
The waking up syndrome
by Sarah Anne Edwards and Linda Buzzell
“Humankind cannot bear very much reality.” — T. S. Eliot
Just dealing with our daily lives keeps most of us too busy to worry about whether or not the sky is falling. We focus on getting to and from work, paying our bills, doing our errands, and, if our time-stressed schedules allow, enjoying a little time to relax with friends and family.
But we’re deluged of late with dire pronouncements from high-profile newscasts, documentaries, and scientific reports about global warming, melting ice caps, dwindling oil supplies, and a looming imminent economic collapse. Closer to home, we’ve experienced climate-related disasters: floods, wildfires, hurricanes, wildfires, and severe droughts.
While the sky may not be falling, this day-after-day onslaught of alarming news is making it more difficult simply to overlook the triple threat of environmental, climatic and economic concerns. It’s leaving many of us feeling like Alice in Wonderland, being sucked down a Rabbit Hole into some frighteningly grotesque and unfamiliar world that’s anything but wonderful.
Few of us are eager to contemplate, let alone truly face, these looming changes. Just the threat of losing chunks of the comfortable way of life we’re accustomed to (or aspiring to) is a frightening-enough prospect. But there’s no avoiding the current facts and trends of the human and planetary situation. And as the edges of our familiar reality begin to ravel, more and more people are reacting psychologically. A noticeable pattern of behavior is emerging.
We call this pattern the Waking Up Syndrome, and it unfolds in six stages, though not necessarily in any particular order.
Stage 1 – Denial.
When we first get an inkling of the shifting environmental reality and its potential impact on both the national economy and our daily lives, most people begin by denying it. We slip into one of four common ways to discount things we’d rather not deal with:
“I don’t believe it.”
We simply deny the existence of any such concerns and refuse to consider them. This might include latching eagerly onto any few remaining naysayers for confirmation and comfort. But as the number of reputable naysayers dwindles, more people are forced to face the fact that “something” is happening.
“It’s not a problem.”
We may admit there’s a change taking place, but deny that it’s significant, seeing such things as climate change and economic fluctuations as part of a normal pattern that is nothing to concern ourselves with. Or we may incorporate the changes we see happening into our spiritual and religious beliefs, regarding them not as a problem, but a test of faith, a sign of a global spiritual awakening, or evidence of a long-awaited Apocalypse. Some may believe focusing on such problems makes them worse and that we should instead visualize, meditate, or pray for the world to be as we want it to be.
“Someone will fix it.”
We may admit major problematic changes are underway but conclude that there’s nothing we personally can do about them and we needn’t worry because technology, scientists, the government, or some expert authority will come up with a solution in time to save us.
“It’s useless.”
We may believe there’s nothing anyone can do about macro-problems, so why do anything, except perhaps eat, drink and be merry. What will be, will be.
Stage 2 – Semi-consciousness.
In spite of the various ways we may try to discount what’s happening to our environment (and consequently to our economy and whole way of life), as evidence mounts around us and the news coverage escalates, we may begin to feel a vague sense of eco-anxiety. Some express this as virulent anger at all this discussion about global warming. Others dissociate from their growing concern and misdirect their feelings toward other things in their lives, perhaps blaming family members or jobs for their undefined discomfort.
Stage 3 – The moment of realization.
At some point we may encounter something that breaks through our defenses and brings the inevitability and severity of the implications of our collective problems into full consciousness. We might read a particularly compelling article, learn more about the aftermath of Katrina, hear a news broadcast about polar bear deaths or rampant fires and flooding, see a documentary like “An Inconvenient Truth” or “The End of Suburbia.” Or — most dramatically – we might experience a natural disaster ourselves with all its personal and economic costs.
At such moments, suddenly we realize no matter how we try to explain away the changes that are happening, they are and will be accompanied by huge challenges to life as we know it and cause considerable pain and suffering for many, including ourselves and those we love.
Even if we believe all these disruptions are leading to a global spiritual awakening or a long awaited Apocalypse— even if we think some helpful new technology is going to emerge (hopefully soon)— we nonetheless begin to understand on a visceral level that the changes taking place will have dramatically unpleasant implications beyond anything we’ve faced in our lifetimes. In fact, we realize many of these uncomfortable changes are already underway and will be growing in coming months and years, affecting most of the things we love and cherish.
But like the character Neo in the 1999 movie The Matrix, even at this point we still have a choice. We can choose to swallow the metaphorical red pill and find out just how deep this rabbit hole goes and where it leads. Or we can take the soothing metaphorical blue pill and choose to “escape” from the nightmarish Wonderland of the rabbit hole we’ve fallen into by slipping back into the comfort of our favorite form of assuring ourselves that all is well.
But if, like Neo, we take “the red pill,” we wake up to the reality of our individual and collective situation. We get that the triple threat challenge facing us is a real Medusa monster. Once we’re awake, the problem is full-blown in our consciousness. It’s right in our face. It won’t let us turn away, and the force of it makes “waking up” incredibly painful.
The moment we realize — even briefly — that we’re slipping into a dangerously threatening new world that no longer makes sense according what we’ve always believed, our genetic wiring kicks in with predictable physiological and emotional threat responses that can take many forms.
Some of us become obsessive newswatchers, documentary filmgoers, internet compulsives or book readers, wanting to know more and more about what’s really happening. Loved ones may think we’ve gone nuts. Spouses may consider divorce; kids may decide mom and dad are hopeless cranks.
The more fragile or vulnerable among us may get depressed or experience panic attacks. If something about this current eco-trauma retriggers earlier traumas in our lives, we may have a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) reaction. Even the more resilient may throw themselves obsessively into save-the-planet and other activities, soon to become exhausted and weary from trying to do what no one person can.
Others, once they realize what’s happening, see it as a new business or political opportunity. These green business ventures can sometimes be helpful and productive, but at other times can actively circumvent or sabotage the efforts of those who are trying to solve the problems.
Stage 4 – A Point of No Return.
Once awakened, especially as economic and environmental changes intensify, most of us find there is no turning back. We find ourselves traveling deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole. Whatever methods we’ve used to avoid facing the coming changes is no longer successful to quell our personal concerns. We can no longer help but notice the continuing rapid progress of the bad trends – more expensive energy, higher costs of living, a weaker economy, more species in trouble, rising temperatures, more devastating severe weather events, increasing political, economic and military competition (wars) over remaining resources, etc. It all starts to make a dreadful sort of sense as we let in the enormity of the situation.
One of the most difficult aspects of this stage is the profound but unavoidable sense of isolation and disconnection we may feel when living in a different world from most of those around us, a world we can no longer escape from, but one few others seem to notice. The result is a bizarre sense of surrealism. Interaction and communication can become a challenge. How do we relate to a world that’s no longer real to us, but is business as usual to most? Do we try to reach out to others about the ugly new reality and endure their defenses? Is it better to indulge those who don’t yet see the reality we’ve stumbled into and act “as if” nothing has changed just to get along? Or might it be easier to withdraw from life as we’ve known it and turn into a hermit?
5. Despair, guilt, hopelessness, powerlessness.
The realization sets in that one person or even one group or community can’t stop the effects of such things as climate change and peak oil and their economic consequences from impacting millions of people around the planet and at home. We see this thing spiraling out of control and realize that our species, and even we individually, are responsible for much of what’s happening! As the mayor of Memphis said to the Los Angeles Times when a major heat-wave hit his city and most of the Midwest and South last summer, “This is pretty akin to a seismic event in the sense that there is no solution that we here in this room can come up with that will take care of everybody.”
Some have suggested that this stage is similar to the traditional grief process, and indeed, this is a time of grieving. But there is a significant difference between this awakening and the normal experience of grief. Grief that occurs after a loss usually ends with acceptance of what’s been lost and then one adjusts and goes on. But this is more like the process of accepting a degenerative illness. It’s not a one-time loss one can accommodate and simply move on. It is a chronic, on-going, permanent situation that will not only not improve, but actually continue to worsen and become more uncomfortable in the foreseeable future, probably for the entire lifetime of most people living today. This is what author James Howard Kunstler calls “The Long Emergency.”
Our grief and sorrow are also amplified by having to bear the pain of upbeat acquaintances who go merrily along in their denial, discounting their own uneasiness about what’s happening and wondering why we’re so “negative.”
Stage 6 – Acceptance, empowerment, action.
As we come to accept the limits of our general powerlessness, we also find the parameters of the power we do have in this strange new situation. We discover we no longer need to resist our current and emerging reality. We don’t need to feel compelled to save the entire world or to hold onto a world that no longer makes sense. We are freed, instead, to pursue what James Kunstler calls “the intelligent response, ” seeking and taking whatever creative, constructive action will best sustain those aspects of life that are truly most important to us in the context of the changes unfolding around us. At this point our curiosity and creativity kick in and we can begin following our natural instincts to find what is both feasible and rewarding to safeguard ourselves, our families, our communities and the planet.
And indeed, growing numbers of people are beginning to respond with a plethora of creative, socially and personally responsible actions along four paths that are similar to those identified by Joanna Macy in her book World as Lover, World as Self: Courage for Global Justice and Ecological Renewal and Richard Heinberg in Peak Everything: Waking up to the Century of Declines. We are finding individual and collective ways to:
Resist making matters worse.
What’s going on may or may not be inevitable, but we don’t have to speed it along. We can do at least one thing to ease or lessen the negative impact of these changes. We can join an environmental action group, plant a tree, bike to work, help with a protest march or write letters to our congressperson. Just doing our little bit to limit the damage eases the psychological distress we’re feeling, even if we’re not “saving the whole world.” Taking even a small stand for what Macy calls “the life-sustaining society” (as opposed to the life-destroying one) gives us back our dignity and sense of agency.
Raise our level of consciousness so we can maintain some serenity and not burn out in the midst of all this change. We might adopt a spiritual practice of some kind, take up meditation, expand our understanding of ecology or history, or spend time reconnecting with nature, learning to live our lives in harmony with the rest of the earth.
Build a lifeboat for ourselves and our loved ones.
Many people are already taking steps to create a richer yet more sustainable way of life better suited to weathering the new economic and environmental realities. Some are moving to less vulnerable or expensive locales. Others are simplifying their lives, starting to lower their energy use, or creating personal and community permaculture gardens. Still others are changing into more sustainable careers, joining relocalization efforts to safeguard their local economy, or adopting alternative ways to exchange needed goods and services. Learning more about these positive possibilities is vital. Until we can see that there are options, there’s no way out of despair except to return to dissociating or denying, which only makes us more vulnerable to the difficulties around us.
Join with others in small communities
for support and understanding. Don’t try to cope with this enormous challenge alone! Find others who share your concerns and views. Some people have formed reading or study groups around books like David Korten’s The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community, Richard Heinberg’s Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World, Cecile Andrews’ Circle of Simplicity: Return to the Good Life, or Middle Class Life Boat by Paul and Sarah Edwards. Others are becoming active in relocalization efforts like those described on http://www.relocalize.net . Still others are joining together to turn their neighborhood into a sustainable “eco-hood” or exploring options for co-housing or eco-villages.
Taking some action in each of these four areas prevents us from getting stuck in panic and paralysis. It energizes us and re-establishes a sense of confidence and security in life. Does it mean we will no longer be plagued with concerns, doubts or even fear at times? No. The threat of what we face is huge and relentless. There’s never been anything like it in human history. All who awaken to the enormity of the challenges before us still slip and slide somewhere along this continuum at times. One day we may feel encouraged with our forward action, the next we may be back to despairing. Or we many need to take a mental holiday altogether for a few days or weeks so we can come back refreshed and reinvigorated, ready to work again on the survivable future we’re creating for ourselves and our loved ones.
When asked in an interview with The Turning Wheel if there are times when she ever thinks “Oh, no! This is impossible,” even Joanna Macy, who has been a leader in championing ways to address these changes, replied, “Every day.” But she goes on to explain that while she does think this at times, such times pass because she can’t think of anything more engaging and enjoyable than addressing the most pressing issues of our time.
Such wisdom seems to be the secret to living positively while navigating the painfully difficult stages of awakening until we get to the point where we can enjoy the daily challenges our dismaying situation presents to our imagination, our creativity and our deep and abiding love for the most valuable aspects of life.
May 3rd, 2008 at 12:42 pm
It’s not hard to meet expenses, they’re everywhere.