We are told things, not because they are ‘in our best interest’/because they will keep us safe, but because they’re in their best interests/because they will keep them* safely in their positions of power in society
*(‘them’ meaning the government)…
Concern for losing their hold over us masked as concern for our wellbeing- ridiculous– but, unfortunately, people still fall for it…
It is for this reason that I am an Anarchist, because I strongly believe in autonomy/’self-government’/free-will. Regardless of who is in government, whether left or right, I don’t believe that we should be controlled by the state, a state which prides itself on its ability to maintain capitalism/consumerism/GREED, above all else…
My belief is that most rules/laws that exist in society are in place, not to protect us from harm, but to protect the people in power (ironically, the very people who cause us the most harm), so that they can maintain their hierarchal positions in society- yet another form of control. Sceptical? Just consider the example below…
When COFFEE Was Illegal…
In Mecca (Saudi Arabia) in 1511, coffee (yes, COFFEE) was banned when it was suggested that people would visit coffee houses throughout the city to air their grievances (i.e., to ‘bad mouth’ the government), and talk about how to solve their problems…
This was a problem for the institutions that wanted to uphold their power within a, (what they wanted to be), subservient society. Fearing that the gathering of people in coffee houses could lead to an organised revolution/ a ‘political uprising’ (the prospect of people coming together to simply talk and share ideas was a problematic one for some rulers- it posed a threat to their ideals), the governor stepped in and banned coffee and coffee houses within the city. Coffee was deemed to be ‘too dangerous’, not because of any health risks it posed, but because of the ‘revolution’ risks that it, apparently, posed (people coming together in coffee houses to discuss plans on how to ‘change the system’)…
Fiction Disguised As Fact…
To justify the ban, it was ruled that coffee was ‘against the Islamic religion’ and ‘sinful.’ The reality, though? That the people in power feared that it would open peoples eyes to the reality of society- to the reality that we are all being controlled- and lead to a revolution.
‘Coffee makes us severe, and grave, and philosophical’
Jonathan Swift, 1722
Evidently then, the ban of coffee was really a ban against freedom (of the masses). It was all about control, and the governments need to stay in it, with this need for control not just being seen in the traditionally more controlled Middle-Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia, but also much closer to home, in the Western World (the U.K) as well…
Coffee Was Banned In The UK?!
In 1652, Pasqua Rosée opened the first coffee house in London, prompting a revolution in London society.
‘British culture was intensely hierarchical and structured. The idea that you could go and sit next to someone as an equal was radical.’
Markman Ellis.
In 1672, however, the then ruler of England, King Charles II, off the back of his increasing paranoia about his subjects gathering to talk politics via ‘rebellious’ discussions, issued a proclamation to;
“Restrain the Spreading of False News, and Licentious Talking of Matters of State and Government,”
which read, in part:
‘Men have assumed to themselves a liberty in Coffee-houses to censure and defame the proceedings of State by speaking evil of things they understand not...’
To combat this ‘evil’, Secretary of State Sir Joseph Williamson embedded a network of spies in London coffee houses and in December of 1675, Charles II ordered the closure of all coffee houses in London.
Despite the ban only lasting 11 days (coffee was already, by the time the ban was introduced, a massive part of British culture, and it was, quite clearly, here to stay), just the fact that it was imposed in the first place, and the reasons given for it (wholly nonsensical), proves just how far the people in charge will go to maintain their power-
Scary, really…
We need to open our eyes to what is really going on, ‘fiction disguised as fact’ because, if they can ban coffee in a desperate attempt to control us then…
What will be next??
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