TOTW: Consistency

consistent tone

Here we are again—you know the drill. Another regularly scheduled topic of the week. Another chance for these words to make their way into your head by way of your computer screen or, perhaps, through the silky smooth voice of Max Res. Another attempt to approach the same questions from new angles, hoping these trajectories lead to fresh insights and epiphanies.

While the consistency of a weekly topic discussion affords us this luxury of repetition, it can just as effectively usher in monotony, bad habits, schedules, deadlines, tired jokes, and even more tired people. I’m confident many here know that local organizer who’s still doing their dreadfully boring project after all these years, never missing a beat. Or, on the other hand, that brilliant person with a million interesting ideas who lacks the attention span to see any of them through. Of course, content matters: a boring project won’t become exciting through mere consistency, just as a good idea won’t come to life without setting a goal or two.

I find myself navigating the double-edged sword of consistency as one of diminishing returns: a structure of accountability early on can easily turn into a trap of obligation over time if left unchecked. With this in mind, I’ll abandon my first impulse to propose formulaic questions in bold text for this TOTW:

What does consistency mean for anarchists?
As anarchists, how do we do consistency?

Instead, indulge me in a musical metaphor to get us thinking about consistency:

A classical Western approach to music defines a collection of pitches and notes by measure and meter, among other properties. This structuring promotes cohesion, uniformity, and creates a shared vocabulary for easier reproducibility. Diverging from this scientific approach to music, I’m reminded of repetitions that are jarring on first listen. Odd time signatures or dramatic tempo changes serve as inconsistencies that confuse your internal rhythm. Then, as the section repeats, you begin to hear it more clearly as you adjust your expectations—you can bob your head in time. Repetition legitimizes. Once heard enough, you can’t recreate the confusion you felt initially. It, tragically, makes perfect sense and you can’t hear it any other way.

With this sentiment in mind, what is gained through consistency? What is lost?

There are 19 Comments

"Of course, content matters"

That's where you're wrong, buddy.

"what is gained through consistency? What is lost?"

Nothing. Nothing.

Consistency is more about you living by your ideas and pursuing their aims, than being just a fucking hypocrite, or State tool.

So indeed, talking about "gains/losses" from it is like attempting to assess how squatting can make you get rich.

Wut?

Yes.

Spontaneity is the essential quality, not the content. Timelessness, or, living in a way where time has no control over your being and your emotional and creative output. The luxury is repetition which can consolidate a certain idea or aesthetic into a pleasurable groove, however the nature of spontaneity is that its forever productive output makes regurgitating old material is solely for nostalgic purposes, maybe at funerals.

People tend to repeat what brings them comfort, what they find useful to survival, what they find morally important. Of course, a certain amount of consistency is required to see any project through, and of course again, failures in consistency break up monotony and boredom. It's a circle of death! Not that stupid kind where we all wind up drinking Kool aide because some activist/priest told us to do it, but the kind where we all fight, retreat and...die....oh, and then come back to life, good luck with last one.

What is gained by consistency? Historically, a lot. What is lost? Historically, nothing.

Do we want to accomplish... anything? If so, it seems obvious we need consistency. But the question then becomes: what does consistency mean to you? Can one consistently be spontaneous?

Good question, Can one consistently be spontaneous? Firstly, as I already explained, repetition is a luxury, because its predictable within a time span,,,,Within a life span, How luxurious to acquire skills and practice to excell in one field. A habit and routine will favor the chances for survival, however, the crocodile waits, watching the chronic thirst driving prey to the same habitual waterhole. Snap, we are gone if we allow ourselves the smug routine and a bourgeois time slots in which to function and reproduce, without the spontaneity of the individual crocodile to balance the unfair accumulations.

I am consistently pushing for anarchist embracing of anarch ego egregore radical centrism but you retardcuck anarchists can't accept my uniqueziga. Slowly I will wear you all down and gain the win and an LBC book deal which I will be unable to fulfill beyond 280 characters. Every egregore knows this.

" I am consistently pushing,,,,,," = nagging and harping, over and over, again and again, repetitious crap into eternity, where as we all know, every boring egregore has to endure, !

Consistency and regularity are great for some things, such as bowel movements and the morning paper. On a larger scale, the (up til now) consistency of seasons has been a boon to most of us, and that breakdown might prove our end.

On a more granular level, as with the example of the long-term project that has become scleroitc, the consistency that turns into a rut can block the sun and air for new, perhaps more relevant to the times, projects.

Consistency is necessary until it isn't. Anarchy is knowing where one is in that cycle.

it's nice to have people you can count on (call that consistent?) vs having flaky people.
you can get to know people that show up/are around you regularly and get to trust each other.

when you have an "eternal september" situation with new people showing up each time, you have to go through the same motions of formalities and small-talk and getting to know each other. once you have a consistent group of friends or family, then you can try new things and experiment based on what you learned from past attempts.

when some people get obsessed over one single thing, you can count of them when it comes to that single interest, but not necessarily for something else. so in that case it's good to know a variety of people.

"with new people showing up each time, you have to go through the same motions of formalities and small-talk and getting to know each other. once you have a consistent group of friends or family, then you can try new things and experiment based on what you learned from past attempts." ========
"with new employees showing up each time, you have to go through the same motions of training and small-talk and getting them to know production quotas and required tasks, once you have a consistent group of workers on low wages, then you can try increasing profit margins and experiment based on what you learned from past attempts, like how many hours they work before they burn out."

... yes ... human group dynamics are a thing regardless of context?

of course in this (rly bad faith?) comparison of yours ... the first situation is motivated by something besides wage labour?

bribing people to do labour is pretty different from ... the whole range of all possible human behaviour motivated by shared interests or principles?

Your project & goal is to destroy ideas & time, cool.

Up against a wall, and in need of help. Back has been out and missed a bunch of work, still trying to work thru it. But no money for rent or food atm.
Anything helps.

C$shapp: blackandgreenpress
V$nmo: blackandgreen
P$ypal: blackandgreen

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