Upstream - Sneak Peak: Seeing Wetiko (Martin Kirk)

Episode Date: August 4, 2016

Wetiko is an Algonquin word for a cannibalistic spirit or thought-form driven by greed, excess and selfish consumption. It deludes its host into believing that consuming the life force of others for self-aggrandizement or profit is a logical and morally upright way to live. In this Sneak Peak, we spoke with Martin Kirk, Founder of The Rules, who explains the concept of Wetiko and how it relates to our late-capitalist era. He also explains how Donald Trump is a human embodiment of Wetiko. Martin will be featured in our upcoming documentary series due for release in early September. Stay tuned for that at upstreampodcast.org. Artwork by Paweł Kuczyński www.upstreampodcast.org Twitter: @upstreampodcast Facebook: /upstreampodcast Instragram: upstreampodcast

You're listening to an Upstream Sneak Peek with Martin Kirk, founder and director of The Rules. Wetiko, it's a fascinating concept. It's one we originally came across when we read a book called Columbus and Other Cannibals read a book called Columbus and Other Cannibals by a Native American activist and philosopher called Jack Forbes. He wrote this book in the 70s, and it was one of the foundational books for the current Native American rights movement. And it identified this term, this concept called huatico, which has its variations across many First Nations in North America. Some call it Windingo, some call it Winterco. But the same basic concept is shared across many of them.

And the idea is that it's a word for what they would call a cannibalistic spirit that we might, in our modern terminology, call a thought form or a meme. But essentially, it's a thought complex, a thought logic that drives greed, excess, and selfish consumption. And they talk about it as a psychic infection that deludes its host into believing that consuming the life forces of others for your own self-aggrandizement or purely for profit is a logical and morally upright way to live. So immediately, I'm sure you can see how you could describe modern capitalism as in many ways, a Watico system or a system affected by Watico logic, the constant need for growth, the constant need for ever more capital, the disregard for the damage that it causes in

the meantime, if you just look at the fact that we're in, we know we're now entered into the sixth mass extinction event on this planet, largely because of the demands of capitalism. You can see that this is very much the Wotiko, that First Nations concept of the spirit driven by greed and selfish consumption applies very well to modern capitalism. So what we've done is we've launched a campaign called Seeing Wotiko. is we've launched a campaign called Seeing Watiko. And the idea is that we want to get people to reflect and to see Watiko both in themselves, because this is a thought form that is endemic in modern culture. And everybody that lives in modern culture is in some way or other infected by it. So you can't, this is one of the most powerful things about the idea, you can't use it to other, you can't use it simply to blame

other people. You've got to use it as a reflection into the human condition that we all share. So we're encouraging people to see Watiko in themselves, in their immediate environment, and in the large superstructures of the global economy. You know, tax haven system, for example, is a classic part of the system that seems to be demonstrating Wateco logic very pointedly. But because this is a foundational concept, it's a high concept in a way, it requires more than just your rational brain to think about it. You've got to reflect on it and lean your and feel your way into it. So it didn't lend itself to the traditional sort of campaigning models where you'd, you know, sign a petition or support this policy and initiative. It's much more about self-reflection and shifting consciousness.

And so rather than do the usual campaigning stuff, what we did is we commissioned and we worked with artists all around the world and encouraged them to see Watiko and express how they saw it. And we got a phenomenal response. And we've got poems, we've got writing, we've got songs, we've got short films, we've got paintings, we've got performance pieces. And the reason that the creative work works so well is because you have to spark your imagination. You have to get into your non-rational mental space

in order to really reflect and see the power of this idea. And so we've got all these examples, this phenomenal kind of outpouring of creative expression. And we're asking other people to just reflect and look at how other people are seeing it, reflect on it yourselves. And we provide some tools to help people do that. So there's some like downloadable stickers that people can print out and just tag. And we ask people, you know, if you see something that looks with Tico to use, stick a sticker on it, take a photo and upload it with a hashtag. So we can just encourage more and more people to see Wotiko, to see the underlying cannibalistic logic of neoliberal capitalism and reflect on its deep character, not just its surface expressions. And so, you know, we're a couple of weeks into this campaign. So far, we're thrilled at the creative expression we're trying to,

our whole model of working is to try and get radical thought into the mainstream. And so we're trying to, we've got artists and writers, we've got people writing on Motiko, seeing it in lots of different spaces, from agricultural policy, through to housing policy, through to white supremacy. We've got all these written pieces we're trying to place in mainstream media at the moment. But it's difficult because the mainstream media doesn't respond well to this type of idea, especially the day-to-day politics of things. It's a much more mechanical mindset where it's less reflecting on the deep nature of things and more dealing with the immediate drama of things.

So trying to get this idea into the mainstream spaces where people are talking about poverty and inequality, climate change is a real challenge. But it's a good one, I think. And it's one that we're learning as we go how to work it. But so far, so good. Can you describe a time when you noticed something or you really got the concept, you saw something, you experienced something, or can you describe one of the artists interpretation so that the listeners can really get a sense visually or experientially of what you're talking about? I think the most pointed and visible manifestation of Wodiko that I see around us right now is in Donald Trump and the presidential

campaign of Donald Trump. There's been so many books and now is in Donald Trump and the presidential campaign of Donald Trump. There's been so many books and articles written about Donald Trump's basic nature and what drives him. And he's often referred to as a narcissist. And I think that certainly seems to be true. He's very, very focused, almost exclusively focused on his own aggrandizement, his own power and his own wealth. And his whole presidential campaign is premised on the idea that his success, his type of success is what America needs to make America great again. And it's that brash, hyper consumption form of success that pays precious little attention or has precious little ability to be compassionate to others in any meaningful sense, which is why

he comes out with these. And we've just seen it this weekend again, another example of him being completely unable to empathize, in this case with the mother of a fallen US soldier, the Muslim mother of a fallen US soldier. And I think what we're seeing there is his logic, his logic is to dominate, to control, to amass his own wealth for his own sake, for his own power. He's a narcissist. And I think that is a form of Watico. You might say, actually, Jack Forbes used to use the word in two ways. One was to describe the infection itself.

And the other, if the infection is very far advanced, you can say that somebody is a Watico. And I think Jack Forbes talks about the big Waticos. And I think you could certainly say that Donald Trump is a big Watico. And I think Jack Forbes talks about the big huaticos. And I think you could certainly say that Donald Trump is a big huatico. The whole logic of his campaign, everything that seems to drive him personally, is all about excess, greed, and selfish consumption, which is the epitome of huatico. For more from Martin Kirk, stay tuned for our upcoming radio documentary series, which will be released in early September.