# Manifesto: Third Culture
Community is dying as our world catapults itself towards collapse.
Made to feel powerless against the eldritch systems and tyrants that force us into an atomized bedroom. Decorated, yet without affection, we find ourselves still feeling in some way trapped. Safe enough to be comfortable, with curtains closed as the computer monitor glows and the phone screen glows as the world around us fails to exist. Between these four walls, shrouded by a thick, grey mist and a dark forest outside. *We lie in bed and look up at the ceiling.*
Motivation and passion are extracted from us and fed into intentionally unknowable algorithms as our passion and societal worth become numbers used for training data in insecure databases. Pictures on a screen in a format we cannot control as anything left human within it is taken, used and kept without consent. Subconsciously (or though a sense of powerlessness) we accept that this is how it is, and justify to ourselves that we need this.
Our connection to others is increasingly parasocial as we become isolated and atomized. Stuck in our beds for hours just to prepare for the act we have to give the rest of the world. We live within this ‘status quo’ and consciously and/or subconsciously persist its existence. While it is created for us antithetical to anything that makes us human, unable to transgress against it yet those above transgress fluidly. A status quo where: sentiment is performative, response is reactionary, abuse is okay as long as you have enough power and influence for those to not care, your neighbours are the scapegoats, passion and love is too much, complacency is power, creativity is a popularity contest of what is ‘safe’ and what is ‘marketable’, on and on, endless cycles to maintain the powerful… It leeches down the chain where we enact the same abuses of power and influence subconsciously onto each other, trapped in this horrible machine.
We are undoubtedly lost in this dark forest, this worldfuck, this collapse we are forced to accept as our passion becomes a whisper and our goals become a paycheck. Most of us are aware of this fact and desperately want to change. Alone we try to make something from anything we have left, rendered difficult by our busy lives, constant distraction and paper deep relationships. Alone it feels impossible, yet you still try to build, you still try and imagine, you still try to create, you still try and belong...
**We are building a cabin behind these dark woods**
A fragile place in the current moment, with dreams of being, in even just a small way, **beautiful ruins**. A place for outsiders, those who fallen between the cracks, disaffected and just trying to find a place to *motivate their expression*, those in search of community. Collectively built and maintained with the ambitions of being a place to find purpose (and motivation to chase said purpose). That purpose, whatever it may be, is built and maintained like a cabin. We hang up our picture frames and keep the flames stoked with wood, we repair broken chair legs and embroider poetry on it's arms, we talk late into the night about our dreams of what we can turn a small cabin into...
And that is who we are
Third culture is this cabin, and *the collective that maintains it*.
## Community
We believe community as we know it is dead. The importance of saying this is to first acknowledge it. There is no return to a better time, no return to a better system, it's, for all intents and purposes, over. The necessity that needs to be addressed is the formation of something new. Shed the old and the current ways to try and create something of ourselves. However small and futile, we think the importance of honest connection and the pursuit of it is a worthwhile one. So bring on the current post-community era of atomization, isolation, post-truth, echo chambers and top down control so we can immediately reject it.
To accomplish this we must be open to relearn. To adapt and accept in our hearts that radical change is necessary. What precipitates is a change in mindset and a commitment to that. To actually build a counter culture every individual member must reflect a rejection of the current status quo (we can't just replicate the same mistakes and power structures of mainstream culture, consciously or subconsciously). First and foremost this requires a level of tolerance and forgiveness. Easy said, but really hard to actually do. We must be patient and compassionate when it comes to others personal growth and be dedicated and open when it comes to our own growth. Nothing is ever made perfect, mistakes happen and also some people just straight up have antagonistic beliefs of their own. This doesn't make any one person broken, we must prioritize empathy and unity rather than conflict and division. An honest dialog is the most important here when dealing with any kind of community or personal issue. It takes a lot of strength to actually do this, and real effort from both involved sides. Thus in practice we must be patient with ourselves and each other towards prioritizing positive and creative solutions for collective action to make a better space for everyone involved.
Our environment and spaces have a significant impact on our being, and it is important to take this seriously. Everyone should be treated as equals and one should avoid objectifying and using others as means to an end. Antisocial or/and oppressive goals or sentiment should be avoided to foster this kind of atmosphere. Third culture is by necessity an outsider and underground collective due in large part to the fact we do not plan on integrating or extending the status quo. We were not built to fit in and thus we do not try to. While small and niche it does not remove the importance of that we all stay committed to building an environment where humanity and creativity can flourish. Third culture is an inspirational center where motivation and drive is put into it and drawn from it for our own creative endeavors (whatever that may be).
## Principals
While we talk about the importance of tolerance and forgiveness, we also observe that every counter culture should have principals. Thus we also must be steadfast to make sure that we live by our principals and make sure we do not contradict ourselves. The following are the principals of third culture. While open to change as we learn and understand the intricacies of what third culture means to us, we intend to live and operate by these principals/sentiment and expect the members of third culture to as well.
1. Don't seek to do harm, seek inspiration and resolution
2. As an underground collective the outsider should be included in good faith
3. Many of the power structures we find ourselves subjugated and stifled by are maintained through violence, oppression, mob mentality and control. Thus we are opposed to behavior that is fundamental to these oppressive systems such as racism, transphobia, sexism and homophobia. To this end we do not take kindly to "cop" behavior no matter from what side.
4. Our priority is to motivate ourselves and each other through collective action/creation. We do not want to become just another mainstream sub-culture (we are actively a counter culture) and want to avoid out-grouping as much as possible. As such, we support any type of art or contribution to the community as equally valid as every other. Furthermore, we value contribution to the collective and honest effort to find one's ability to contribute.
5. Zero tolerance to IRL harassment
6. Safe spaces don't exist within artist cultures. These spaces are riddled with drama, sex and drugs. We ask members to be acutely aware of this. The veil of a space safe, in our experience, has only lead to more harm being done.
7. No means no, ABSOLUTELY. If you think no SAY no.
8. All pedophiles and rapists should kill themselves. When you genuinely call somebody or believe somebody to be these things you NECESSARILY want them to kill themselves IMMEDIATELY.
9. Privacy and anonymity are essential for maintaining personal agency and freedom in all aspects of life. Thus we are opposed to doxxing or deanonymization in general. Personal information is always given in trust, and thus should always be respected.
