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Fran's avatar

Great essay. I feel we also need to remember the witch hunts that went on at a similar time for 400 years. It was part of severing people from the land so early capitalism could start.Silvia Federici’s book Caliban and the Witch explains it in detail. The elements that it still consists of is: private ownership of the commons (now seen in patented genes and the sale of water, power, land to the wealthy), the control of women/femmes/marginalised by the men/privileged (seen in forced birth, economic inequality, rape and DA more or less decriminalised as v few abusers stopped) and the use of violence to enforce it all (all that money spent on war instead of people). No wonder we are here. 400 years of having to watch the torture, murder and entrapment of anyone who loves land, life and human care. The witch hunts were extreme. Three German villages only had one woman left alive in each village after the persecution. We are not taught the depth and horror of European history. The unmetabolised trauma of this is being replicated every day. Time to make it visible and therefore able to be acknowledged and hopefully shifted.

Nate Bear's avatar

Such a good point, thank you

Daye Pope's avatar

Informative and poetic and omg mind blowing

Stephanie miller's avatar

Thank you. Thank you. Had never heard of the Enclosure Acts.

Now it is perpetuated by everyone's lust to own everything. This is a teachable moment, for all....sharing means we get and do we really as individuals want / need Everything.

Jeanne Downing's avatar

Thanks for this deeper dive into the enclosure process.

Sandy 10^2,685,000,'s avatar

Brilliant distillation! Thank you for the passionate insight’

The Angry Yogi's avatar

Thank you Nate for your hard work! I thoroughly enjoy each essay, so informative and educational.

It's quite demoralizing where we're at and this work you do; take good care of yourself love.