The Extensions of Ourselves: WE ARE CYBORG;
Embracing Our Past, Celebrating Our Future
BRINGING IT HOME: THE GATHERING PLACE OF THE CYBORGS
At any given hour of the day or night, anywhere on this planet, the Internet provides instant communications abilities. Utilizing this extension of ourselves, we reach out in increasing numbers, to access not only the information, the education, the technology of our fast-paced world; we also reach out, one to another. There is an incredible revolution in CONNECTION going on. Entire villages of people of like-mind or like-spirit are gathering . . . in the ethereal realms. This new era of cyborg possibilities has given us not only the chance to create our self, but also our community:
"I do not know of any other time in history when there was greater need for political unity to confront effectively the dominations of race, sex, state, and class. I also do not know of any other time when the kind of unity we might help build now could have been possible. None of 'us' have any longer the symbolic or material capability of dictating the shape of reality to any 'them' . . . But with our release from doctrinal rigidities, like those associated with reified notions of color, class, and gender, and pleasure in the recognition of fluidity of our own identities and the possibility of building new kinds of political reality . . . (Haraway, "The Ironic Dream. . ." 1983, http://www.rochester.edu/College/FS/Publications/HarawayCyborg.html)."
Haraway was not talking about the Internet when she spoke of these dominations. She was not talking about electronic communications when she spoke of "this" being the first time in history that we might have the kind of unity needed to confront these issues. After all, this article was written in 1983. But, when she spoke of "our release from doctrinal rigidities" and the "possibility of building new kinds of political reality," she may again have been speaking as a prophetess. At that time, in the '80s, many inroads had been made in the name and actions of the Feminist Movement, so her assessment was correct. In these current times, however, we have extended tools applicable to the furthering of the enabling of the vulnerable. Because the power of these technologies is so great, and because we, the creators, still don't know all of the long-range abilities -- or ramifications -- we all must give just consideration within the depths of our beings, as to what level of dedication we will commit ourselves. When this passage is placed in context with a total overview of Haraway's writings, it is exciting to see that her level of commitment to indigenous peoples is very high! Again, much of her theory deals with the aspect of the Internet, as the "great equalizer." The cyborg-making capacity of this technology has the power to release ancient bonds, as no other tool of humanity. For the very first time, we have the opportunity to take the wrongs of history, and change them:
"Certain dualisms have been persistent in Western traditions; they have all been systemic to the logics and practices of domination of women, people of color, nature, workers, animals -- in short, domination of all others. Chief among these troubling dualisms are self/other, mind/body, culture/nature, male/female, civilized/ primitive, reality/appearance, whole/part, agent/resource, maker/made, active/ passive, right/wrong, truth/illusion, total/partial, God/man (Haraway, "The Ironic Dream. . ." 1983, http://www.rochester.edu/College/FS/Publications/HarawayCyborg.html)."
In perusing the concept of "indigenous cyborgs," -- those others who are beginning to use technology as an extension of their own abilities, it is vital to notice in Haraway's discourse, that others includes not only women, but workers, people of color, etc. Haraway has such an excellent grasp of the dualisms, and WHO has been subjected to the negative influence of patriarchal Western tradition and oppression. If we pick apart her list, we find other grouped with female, body (elements of "the gaze"), nature (opposed to culture), primitive, appearance, part, made, passive, illusion, partial, and WRONG. Certainly it is no surprise that many groups are READY for the information age, the communications EXPLOSION, and the expulsion of these oppressive forces!
With all of this in mind, now we can begin to inspect the gathering places of . . . the indigenous cyborg. I want to remind you that it is my opinion that each of us is indigenous, if we adhere to the proper dictionary definition. First and foremost, this train of thought will immediately lead us to the conclusion that each person, as a product and by-product of the technology in his/her world, and driven by the social, emotional and intellectual needs inherent in all of humankind . . . is a potential candidate for the term, "indigenous cyborg." The patriarchy has left its wound on each of us. There is a search for a place to belong, in each of us. If truthful, all persons will identify with Haraway's assessment of "The Self"; we all can relate to that feeling of being the one who makes "two, too many":
"The self is the One who is not dominated, who knows that by the service of the other; the other is the one who holds the future, who knows that by the experience of domination, which gives the lie to the autonomy of the self. To be One is to be autonomous, to be powerful, to be God; but to be One is to be an illusion, and so to be involved in a dialectic of apocalypse with the other. Yet to be other, is to be multiple, without clear boundary, frayed, insubstantial. One is too few, but two are too many . . . (Haraway, "The Ironic Dream. . ." 1983, http://www.rochester.edu/College/FS/Publications/HarawayCyborg.html)."
The tremendous excitement I had, in finding countless websites -- VILLAGES! -- of peoples from other countries, other cultures, came from my recent comprehension of the concept of "the other." Haraway, in stating that to be other is to be multiple, have no boundaries, frayed, insubstantial. Indeed, a persistent, ceaseless, world-without-end-amen . . . stranger in a strange land. In the course of this research, I've experienced a wide range of resistance to cyborg thought from my peers. In studying the previous passages and commentaries, I would like to submit my own evaluation of the reasons behind such avid holdings-back from things-technical. Because of FEAR, the oppressed will deny even freedom. Because of the unknown, the shackled will stay in prison. If you have never known the sanctity and power of being in control of your own destiny, then you probably don't have the knowledge or the tools to cope with the responsibilities of that discipline. For this reason, it is more expedient to stay where you are. Changes are very difficult to initiate, and, like a compliment, they are difficult to accept. Together with learning the capacities of our new abilities in technology, it is crucial that we support one another in the realms of human needs.