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~accoo" People
The first part of an ongoing series ofAnarchist Myths
Oh come dance with me, RaccoonsWe've feet and the time to share
We are the people wh o have ch osen life
More than they would kn ow
O h come run with me, Raccoonsthey can 't understand
grayness and the death of routine
from which we run away
O h come sing with me, Raccoons
We've been quiet for far too long
we must sing the sto ries
of our passions and desires
O h come search with me, Racco on s
food and rest aren't easy to find
Let's find the world ben eath
where we wo uld ra the r be
(We danc e) because we are alive.
We are not of shado w or gray
but of bon e, fur and high sp irits.
To life!
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INTRODUCTION
This is the beginning ofan anarchist mythology. We live in a world haunted
by other people's gods and stories. Stories of leaders and subjects, victories
and defeats , jealousy and malice, may frame this world but they do not
frame us.
Mythology is an important part of culture. It is the way that true stories can
be told without getting distracted by the fact that nothing is ever as simple
as truth, I would argue that anarchist mythologies have suffered by being
confused with anarchist history.
Here are the first of several (at least three) sets of stories about anarchists we
know, At least half of these stories are about real events that 1 have first or
second hand knowledge of The rest are about the Raccoon people generally.
While I am sharing these stories they are not mine. My deepest goal with
these stories in particular are that they pass into the hands of the Raccoonpeople themselves and are shared through song and transform through the
memory of the people into the truths 1 can only peek at.
I only ask to be invited to dance along.
-Aragorn!
WHO ARE THE RACCOON PEOP~E?
Much like us, th e Raccoon people need food, shelter and each othe r. You
have probabl y seen th em aro und : in th e co rne r of yo ur eye, rac ing to orfrom on e shado w to th e next, or in so me industri al setti ng scavenging
meta! o r food. When yo ur eye rests o n one of th e peopl e yo u will notice
a few things. The Raccoon people have a fash ion that is both sensible and
Bamboyant, layers o f cloth th at wear well, can be cove red up for blending inand th at scream at the lines and cu t of normal fashi on . The Raccoon peopl e
do not like straigh t lines, sharp co rners, or co ld Boo rs. Th is does not mean
that th ey do not suffer th ese th in gs; th ey just don 't suffer in silence .
Th e Raccoon people live by sim ple rules: live life to its fullest , no co ncession
to a world of misery, an d run to fight anothe r day.
I first me t one of the Raccoon people whe n I was o nly a child. H e was
visi t ing my paren ts, dr essed in th e fash io n of th e t im e, and he treated
himself to our food and our company. I had never met a hap pier pe rson . Ialternated between bouncin g o n his kn ee, wrestl ing with him over the last
p iece of brea d, an d rac ing aro und th e jung le of our backyard with him , an
adu lt unl ike any I had ever met befo re, or since.
He left behi nd a littl e buckskin figur ine to rem em ber h im by. "Rub this
between your pa lms and say my name . I wi ll not promise that I will come
back to yo u bur I promise tha t my mem o ry wi ll, and often times th at will
be enoug h."
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When he left our house my parents stopped speaking to each other.Someth ing about his visit reminded them tha t they were not working outthe way that they expected and each of them began to look for somethingelse. Other peopl e passed through, glass was broken, voices were raised notin song and eventually feet walked in different directions , .
Later in life 1 found more Raccoon people. They usually did not have timefor me because I was looking and they had already found. They were amerry people, running in groups, speaking in code, dressing like explosionsand carousels , Bottles in hand, ho les in shoes, scabs on joints; these were a
people worth knowing~ . .
WhcJ at.: the Raccoon people? A few may pass through your life or you maysee them at the park. The Raccoon people live a dream that we find on thetips of our tongues. They are people who make the choice not to be in a
world of plodding and drudgery,
MOW RACCOON GIRL.. fOUND TH£WORL..D
.......-..
Befor e this time the Great-Plain-Above was dark. The onl y ligh t was fromth e unknowable fire. Elsewhere there was only darkness and all was calm .But th ere was Raccoon Girl, the one who would dance alone, th e smi ling
shadow, the first one to the celebration and the last one to leave.
Raccoon G irl hopped from the fire to Great-P lain -Above. She never burnt,
she never stopped. She did not tire . Her delight at the leaps and shifting of
light and dark was such that laughter rang out. Her leaps would push the
fire into the shapes of baskets, bears and oaks. Her breath wa s fire across
the sky. Her only thought was on the beat of feet against the Harne and the
Great-Plain-Above,
Over time the dance changed. There were more things to bounce off of
and to listen to, The sounds became more complex as echoes, melodies ,
and rhythms began to materialize. As she danced, Raccoon Girl searched
for these sounds and would move in new ways to reflect what was new in
what she heard. At one point the new movement caused Raccoon Girl to
stumble and fall. Where her head fell she called horne for a time, She named
it Resting-Dance-Place and learned how to climb trees, cool her feet in a
stream, and make acorn mash,
Around her Raccoon Girl found many dancing partners and proceeded
to share with them her breath and time. The turtle is a slow partner but
produces lovely sounds and never complains. The beaver is a dutiful dancer
learning only a few moves and doing them well (before stopping and
returning to beaver tasks) . The bear only dances if prodded and poked and
then only for a moment as they had other concerns. The salmon made
wonderful dancers as they would Hyhigher and never forget a dance move.
But it was the other Raccoons who kept Raccoon Girl from Rying off
Resting-Dance-Place altogether.
But the time did corne to stop dancing, and when it did many forgot about
the time when the Resting-Dance-Place resounded with song and the joy of
moving. They made decisions about when the right time to dance, play and
eat would be, They believed that they owned things. These people became
the gray and appear to cover Resting-Dance-Place with their weeds and
trash but feasting below, often out of sight, are the Raccoon people waiting
for the gray to walk away, to return to where they are from, to remember to
dance.
Above us all is Raccoon Girl spinning about and bounding from place to
place leaving trails upon the sky and shapes to remember her by. Raccoon
Girl has promised us nothing, but the rhythm of her feet is still under our
feet reminding us of what she found ,
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WinyBearwasaBear'sBear,Forapeoplenotoriouslysolitaryandselfcomposed,Wittywasfamouslyalone.Hewasatruebelieverinthemessagethatthepeoplewerebutawhisperawayfromashoutthatwouldknock
asidethegray.AsmanypeoplewantedtojointhischorusandWinyhadpoeticandexcitingtalesofwhatwaspossible,manypeoplelistenedtohimrespectfully.ButWittydidnotconsiderhimselfoneofthepeople.Insteadhebelievedthatthepeoplewereoutthere.Thepeoplewereamongthegrayanddidnotexistuntiltheyscreamedoutagainstthemselves-and:lnyrelationshipbeforethistimewasalie.
Againandagainhewouldshowhisfangsanddeclare"thepeopleareirrelevanttotherealpeople."Inhisownmindhesawthesecondemnationsasresoundinglyclear.Soclearthatthoselisteningwouldstopwhattheyweredoing,whattheychosetodo,andstartshoutingwithhim.InsteadthepeoplejustS:lWhimasanotherBearPersontellingthemwhattodo.
TheBearPeoplehavethisproblemingeneral.Theybelievethattheyknowwhatisrightandhowtodefeatthegray.Theybelievewithsuchconvictionthattheyenduptellingeveryoneelse(especiallyotherBears)thattheyarewrong,stupid,andpartofthegray.Therearetworesultstothis.OneisthatBearsaresolitary.1woisthatmanyofthepeoplewholisten,andtrytoemulatetheBearPeople,arechasedintothegray,becauseBearsleadthemtobelieverharthereareonlytheBearPeopleandthegray.Asveryfewpeopleareactuallyinterestedinbeingalone,theyallowthegr:lytoswallowtheminsteadoffindingothers.
ForWittyBearthiswasavindication.SincetheonlypeoplewhostoptheGreatHypnotismwereinthegraythemorepeoplethathechasedbacktothegray,thebetterourchanceswereofstoppingthehypnotism,ForWinythefightagainstthegraybeganbybecomingpartofthegray.
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controlling of every little thing: co nt rolling food and she lter and wo rking.
How he was learn ing how to build when th e gray captured him. Th e beavers
did no t like th e gray~but, with tears in th eir eyes, let th e gray in to cap tu re
C ha rm ing Reven ge for fear th at th e gray wo uld destroy Beaver dam s and
waterways. If the gray had noti ced th e Beaver projec ts th ey probably would
have dest royed th em. Instead th ey just took C harm ing Reven ge.
TIle sto ries o f how th e gray treat pe ople in th e nam e of same ness were
horrible indeed. TIley would force so litu de and th e carryin g of weigh ts.
They wo uld berat e, in sult and infli ct physical pun ishment. Th e gray act ua lly
would try to break living people from th eir dreams in o rder to make th em
gray. They would call this ed uca tion .
A sweet boy, a little too di stracted by th e st ars in his eyes to no tice th e
gro und beneath his feet, C harm ing Revenge had to escape the gray when he
took on th e cloak o r the Raccoon people. When C ha rm ing Reven ge fin ally
got away and took th e cloak he refu sed to ever take it off. H e would wear
nothing but his Raccoon cape. He would not even acknowledge th e colo r
gray, th ere was o n ly black, brown and dirt. Over t im e he began to show
sign s o f wear. O the rs wo uld say, "jum p in the river, fill a basket with water,
or at th e very least jump into th e sandy banks and settle down th e sme ll!"
But this would not do for C ha rm ing Revenge. Like many of th e Raccoon
people he st ill lived in the gray-weed-forest and wa s lim ited by th e way they
did things. "I will not hurt the water by forcing it through th e gray-creek
that -runs-home. I would rather o ffend the gray sen sibility than bow to th e
way that they would force us to live!" This quieted most o f his friends, but
sati sfied few of them.
Some Beavers said to him "If you do -not bend your kn ee you cannot co me
into our home because you offend us with your smell."
So he sat outside. It would rain and he would say, "Even th e rain is corrupt
in a gray world, filled with gray waste and their death-wo rship-l ife. I will
wait until they are gon e and the rain is clean enough fo r me."
Still he waits. TIle water and the ai r are no clean er.
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Like man y othe r good people Raccoon G irl did no t kn ow herself, an d had
to be found . She marched to th e never-learn -place along with all of th eothers th at she knew and d idn't know. She was punished whe n she would
ju mp out of lin e or move to th e rhythm of th e world , She was forced to
move her body by ro te and order, She fou nd her face we t from sadnessbecause wha t she had to do was so different th an wha t she felt . She was told
th at be ing sad was a no rm al part of learn ing and that she ju st nee ded to get
over it.
W he n she d id she was rewarded with gifts an d sm iles, "You are specialindeed! '.' exclaimed he r teache rs an d togethe r th ey hat ch ed a plan to ma ke
Raccoo n Gi rl (who was kn own by her dead nam e at th e tim e) a pe rformer,
She wo uld move her bod y for other people and everyo ne wo uld appreciate
her ski ll and grace.
One day she had a performa nce for importan t people. These are people likeot hers except mo re so. Special indeed was thi s day, everyone made a great
fuss, but Raccoo n G irl felt noth ing. She went to th e roof of th e never-learn
p lace wh ere she was to pe rform and crie d and rem embered her sadness .
When th ey found her th ey mad e a grea t cry "Im po rtant peo ple are wai tingon yo u. The performan ce must begin now!" "Why?" asked Raccoo n G irl. "I
do n't want to dan ce for the m . I don 't wan t to dan ce for yo u o r anyo ne but
me . 1 want to dance. r don 't wan t to wear un comfortab le clothi ng and
'Thepeoplehavefoundwaystolivethataredifferentfromthegray.Insteadoflivinginpoisonedfamilyunits,thepeopletendtoliveingroups.Thisallowsthemthespacetodiscoverthepleasureofeachother'scompanyon
aday-to-daybasisandtomakealittlespaceoutsidethegray.Oneoftheconsequencesoflivingthiswayisacertainkindofformality.Insteadoftellingoneanothertocleanupafterthemselvesorthatrepairsneeddoing,aneventwouldbecalledfor.Thiseventcouldbecomprisedofmanythings,likediscussionsaboutfeelings,aboutthingsbettersaidtoeachother(butinsteadsaidaboutemptyideas);aboutthingsthepeopleneedtodo.Theseformaldiscussionswouldoftenberememberedonspecialpiecesofpaperusedfornothingelse.'ThisformalityhidesthewaysthateventhepeoplehaveahardtimewiththeGreatHypnosis.Mosteveryonewhojoinsthe
peoplebringsthegraywiththem.
TirelessBearhatedformality."IwillneverwearfancyclothesandIwillneverdosomethingwrittenonspecialpaper"EverytimeanotherformaloccasionwascalledTirelesswouldmakesuretotravel.EverytimethepeoplewouldremindTirelessaboutthespecialpaperTirelesswouldmakeajokeaboutfreedom."Forthepeopletobefreewemustburnthepaper,Wemusttalk,yell,andscream!"
ThepeoplegrewtiredofTireless'proclamationsandduringtheirnextformaloccasionusedanewspecialpapertomakealistthateveryonewouldsign.WhenTirelessBearreturnedandwastoldtosignthepaperhepleadedwiththepeopletounderstandthatthiswasJgainsteverythingtheyclaimedtowant.Hegl1Jshedhisteethandyelled,stompedandpounded,butnoneofthepeoplewouldlisten.
111cnextclayTirelessBearleft.nevertorerum,
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fH£5£ARWHOWOU~DB£ARACCOON
----
\,
DeliberateBearwaswellknownaroundthesepans.Whenshewouldcome
around,itwasalwaysatreat.thepeoplewouldcometogetherforagreat
mealandhearstoriesaboutwhereDeliberatehadbeenandwhereshewas
going.AfterthemealeveryonewashappytocleanupafterDeliberate,she
wereaguestandsheofferedfarmorethanshetookwiththestoriesshetold.
ButafterthethirdmealthepeoplewouldwaitforDeliberatetocleanup
herfairshareandusuallyshedid.Oratleastshetried.
ItwasnotthatDeliberatewasamaliciousBearPersonorevenunusually
incompetent.DeliberatewasaBearwhowantedtobeaRaccoon.Itwas
afunnythingtowatchbecausewhenthepeoplewouldmakeplansfora
taskoramealDeliberatewouldneverbearound.Shewouldbeabsorbed
inBearPeoplethings,makingplansofherown.Whenaskedtoparticipate
ortocontribute,asoftenasnotDeliberatewouldsay"ThatisnotaBear
thingtodo!"andusuallyshewasright.WhentheRaccoonPeoplewould
makeascoreDeliberatewassuretobethereduringthesharing.Whenrhe
RaccoonswouldsingDeliberatewassuretolistenin.ButDeliberatewould
norshareunderconditionsotherthanherownbecausethatwouldnotbe
rheBearPersonthingtodo.
She cont inued to move from place to place and spread the word of the
Raccoo ns and The Great Escape, She would share songs and dance about
th at time, "The tim e of Escape will be one wh en the gray will be of the same
size as th e people and we can live openly instead of in shadow and rain, " Th e
. Escap e has been talked abo ut by generat ions of Raccoons who have beenhurt and bruised for the tell ing,
Having been deeply bruised Rover bel ieved tha t what had hurt her had
to be rem oved in th e same way, Her heart was so full tha t everyone she
touched rem embered her lesson.
TH£ NAM£L.£66 RACCOON
As important as donning the cloak, coat , or hat that marks one as of th e
Raccoon people (and separate from the gray) is the process of taking a
name. Unlike th e world of the gray where you arc inflicted with labels th at
come from horrible stories of sacrifice and veng eance, th e self-n aming of
th e Raccoon people is a time for celebration and game. Usually names are
taken from favored things and can tell a short sto ry of an accomplishment
or friend .
Th ere was one Raccoon person who was so broken by the gray th at th is
person refused to take on a new name, They kn ew that th e gray would come
one day and wanted to gua rd again st that by being untraceable. If you have
no name you have no shadow and in a world th at remembers everyth ing
only those who live in , as opposed to have, shadow will be free, Or so our
nameless friend believed,
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As it turns ou t, havin g no nam e ca n be a real cha llenge . You can no t be
referred to , yo u cannot be called to dance o r sing, and while th e gray m ay
not find yo u, neith er ca n any of th e Raccoons , Bears, o r peopl e outs ide ofa very small gro up. Thi s may be the best way to live in a wo rld so very graybur it also is a way that hasn't much room For spark, di sso nan ce, and th e
lovin g ch aos th at the Raccoon s are kn own For.
11lC nam eless Raccoon becam e referred to as ju st th at. A wave of th e hand
and everyo ne kn ew who you were talk ing abo ut. A nod , wink, and a 'o ne
who- must-n ot-be-n am ed ' foretold th e nameless on e's arr ival. A hug and an
'un ti l we see you aga in' th eir departure. In a wo rld without gray it could be
th at no ne of us have names but until then there is th e Raccoon-with-no
name.
fH£ 5TORY Of TH£ RACCOON WHOGOT CAUGHT BUT 5TAY£D fR££
' Illere is a story abo ut a Raccoon who hid in th e wide op en . H ow he did it is
hard to believe : so hard th at th e telling sho uld be filled with laughter instead
of whispers. lll is is a tale so hard to believe that it must be told twice. Once
whe n you wake in th e morning and ano ther when yo u lay do wn to rest at
nigh t. O ne sto ry is abo ut th e sun rising, an other ab out it sett ing.
W he n th e sun rises o ur Friend Raccoon Fortune did wha t we all wa nt to
do . Raccoon Fort une set abo ut freeing Raccoon s and othe rs who had been
im pri son ed by th e gray. H e did it with malice. He did it w ith glee. By th e
moon and rive r he scurr ied abo ut making sure th at so me gray were no
lon ger able to con ta in our friends. As a result Fortune had to hide From his
past . H e took on a disgui se.
Under this disguise he advertised his choices as a story. His story was judgedand laughed at by the Bear, Deer, and Beaver people but the Raccoonsknew it for what it was: their story. He rode this whirlwind until one day
it stopped spinning and what was waiting for his feet to touch the ground~
The gray. The gray tried to consume Raccoon Fortune, to shape him intotheir device, but instead he sang about his happiness and courage. He sangwhat we all believe .
"I am not sorry. I would do it again and again . You try to stop me and youtry to stop a shadow because we live in the dark and return when the coastis dear."
When the sun sets Raccoon Fortune meets with the other Raccoon peopleand says "I could never do it alone. I collect your stories, the stories of ourfriends, and I share them with strangers. Some of these strangers join us,some of these strangers learn to appreciate the moonlight but the rest arenot our enemies. ,We must tell them that they are because they arc grayor sluggish or unhappy but everyone of them could join us, could be ourfriend. This is our time to take what we can, live well, and wait and see what
happens."
\.
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