An Excerpt from The Space

One title leapt out from the page and caught Michael's eye — TWO BOYS STRANGLED IN SUBWAY CAR: ONE IN EACH HAND. He looked at the blur that was the text. Was the culprit a genuine psychopath or just a tired mother teetering on the edge of fatigue and amphetamine addiction? Or maybe the boys had truly deserved it, the killing an act of self-defense against childhood. It was not a title worth clipping, violence was common enough. It was the electric air of the subway car that could discharge at any moment into a similar act that gave it meaning. Made noteworthy by its context it seemed to Michael a synchronicity, the headline an expression of the latent violence that pervaded the car. And it was odd to see it reported. Most violent acts and suicides went unreported for fear that the sheep would copy the crimes. Once others were realizing their suppressed desire to inflict injury, whether on themselves or others, the act became less daring, its immensity and horror reduced to within the scope of the wretched. Why not jump off a bridge! Everybody's doing it. The repulsive was transformed into a means of acceptance. 

  The incident was just bizarre enough that news of it would spread by the gossip mill so the newspaper had to report it to keep its credibility. And its bizarre nature made it safe to report. The sheep were not so inclined to follow into bizarre realms. Those who were, black sheep, rebels on either side of psychosis, became unwitting servants of the state. Branded fear, enemy, threat, they became a stimulus of the desire for protection. They were rare enemies made common only by broadcast, actually a fiction except to the very few who clashed with one. And they were impotent against the state. Only the fear was real, a potent drug that suppressed the desire for freedom and debilitated the mind, allowing control to penetrate the psyche, The word was that violent crimes were on the rise. Bursts of anger culminating in assaults or seemingly random acts to which no purpose could be attributed were increasing under the program. The same program which had eliminated petty theft, possession, trafficking and decriminalized so many people that half the jails had closed. At least that was the word. Officially, all crime was down. But you could feel the tension. 

The Space © 1995 Patrick Borden

A thirty-five year-old native of Vancouver, B.C., Patrick Borden holds a B.Sc. from Regents College and is currently completing a Master’s degree in social ecology at Goddard College. His interests range from environmental philosophy to quantum mechanics and post-modern science. While attending Simon Fraser University, he majored in "everything but business" —computing, kinesiology and philosophy.

 During the early 1990’s, Borden sojourned in Japan, living in the old temple city of Kyoto. During his twentieth year a serious bout with illness gave Borden the opportunity to reconsider his initial impetus as a Science major. His outlook on life began to flourish as he questioned and sometimes embraced anarchy, Kropotkin, Nineteenth Century Russia and the whole leftist tradition. 

To his surprise, Borden found himself pouring out his experiences on paper. A loosely autobiogra-phical series of chapters took shape over the course of four years, evolving into The Space. Since the publication of this book, Borden has devoted much of his time to teaching peaceful anarchism, as well as putting his techniques to use in active demonstrations. 

Recent Radio Interview:

VANCOUVER 9/11 TRUTH:
Patrick Borden Agrees We Need To Get This Done Now

Recent Quote:

"I'm just tired of meeting people whose dream is to have a nice job in a bank. A meeting of mysterious intellects and passionate minds is what interests me. Not bored! That's my goal."

Fight Big Media Meetups
Vancouver, BC
Jan 23, 2008

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