Donovan - Becoming a Barbarian

Copyright 2016 by Jack Donovan.

All Rights Reserved.

First Paperback Edition.

ISBN-13: 978-0-9854523-5-3

Cover and Interior Artwork and Design by Jack Donovan.

Published by Jack Donovan.

[DISSONANT HUM]

4230 SE King Road, No. 185

Milwaukie, Oregon. 97222

USA.

Subjects:

1. Social Sciences - Mens Studies

2. Psychology - Men

4. Men - Social Conditions

5. Philosophy

6. Gender Studies

CONTENTS

PREFACE

In some crass and crooked form, tribalism has become a trendy marketing buzzword, a cute and superficial synonym for loyal customer.

However, true tribalism a commitment to one group of people above and potentially at the expense of all others remains deeply taboo. Tribalism remains the bane of the United Nations and the boogeyman of humanity-huggers, peaceniks and one-worlders throughout the West.

Even the mainstream, controlled opposition political parties are routinely chastised for their tame tribal attitudes. One must never cheer too loudly or fight too hard. Its all a game, and you have to be able to hug it out after the final scores are tallied. Even war is just winning hearts and minds.

The Way of Men my book about masculinity, which should be read before reading this book concluded by suggesting that men who wanted to live masculine lives and who want to be surrounded by men who share their values should go out and build a gang. It was implied that from the gang, men would build tribes, following the semi-mythical model of the early Romans. In my essay The Brotherhood, in A Sky Without Eagles , I elaborated on the importance of building family and an ancestor cult into the tribal brotherhood.

I try to do the things I tell my readers to do, to the best of my ability. I told them to go out and join a gang or a tribe, so I went out and joined a tribe. I patched into a heathen tribe known as The Wolves of Vinland in June 2015, after nearly a year of prospecting. Since then, Ive been building my own Mnnerbund here in Cascadia. Ive learned many lessons about tribalism and leadership since then, and Im sure Ill learn a lot more. I expect these lessons to inform whatever I write in the future.

Men always ask me for a guide to actually building a tribe. Ask me again in ten years, or maybe twenty, and Ill let you know how it all worked out.

But what became clear to me as I started talking to men about the idea of starting or joining a tribe is that most Western men are hesitant to allow themselves to think tribally.

Western men, especially white Western men though many men from other backgrounds have absorbed some of the same ideas dont know how to become the kind men who could become members of a tribe. This is a fairly recent development, as it wasnt so long ago that Europeans were able to put aside their similarities and fight each other to the death over matters of religion or national honor. The same has always been true of the peoples of Asia and Africa and Central America.

Today, all good, modern, civilized men living in the Western world are all taught to be good global citizens whose racial, cultural and religious loyalties must always be subordinate to a broader and more inclusive commitment to the human race. To say that you care about one group of people more than others is a moral sin in the modern world. It is considered uncivilized barbaric.

And yet, to become the kind of man who can join or start a tribe, that is exactly what you have to be willing to do. You have to be willing to become an outsider a barbarian to the rest of the world.

The first half of this book explores this conflict between masculinity and tribalism and identity and modern Western civilization, or The Empire of Nothing. The second half of the book explores some of the changes of the mind that men will have to make if they want to become the kind of men who could truly live tribally, beyond the psychological boundaries of the Empire as barbarians.

Because I have become a barbarian, I make no apologies for framing some chapters and arguments with the culture of my own tribe, which is oriented to some extent around Germanic lore. Whether that culture appeals to you or not, I believe the basic concepts discussed could be applicable to tribes drawing inspiration from a wide variety of other cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds.

START THE WORLD!

Jack Donovan

Cascadia Bioregion

February, 2016.

THE FATE OF MEN

Masculinity is tragic.

Masculinity is a lifelong struggle, a gauntlet run against nature and other men to demonstrate virility and prove ones worthiness as a man in the eyes of other men. Masculinity is a challenge to honor that ends only in death a challenge to win coupled with a guarantee that, eventually, even the best men will lose.

Masculinity means being born a boy who can only become a man by becoming stronger, by overcoming fearfulness, by becoming more competent and confident in his abilities, and by earning the respect and admiration of other males.

Every boy is born cursed. Every boy will be tried and measured against others and he soon perceives or understands instinctively he soon knows that the way of men is the way of competition and strife. The way to manhood is through the gauntlet, and there is no end to it. Manhood is not a destination but a title to be defended.

The idea that a man should be secure in his masculinity is a bourgeois fantasy invented by therapists and repeated by women. Every king, every chief, every world record holder and every silverback gorilla looks over his shoulder. Being good at being a man just means the challenges get dialed up and the challengers become more formidable.

This gauntlet must be run whether a boy likes it or not, whether he accepts it or rejects it. To reject the struggle is forfeiture. Avoiding the struggle is an acceptance of defeat and a demonstration of spiritual cowardice.

There are some who will applaud this kind of forfeiture as if it were courageous, but they are despisers of masculinity and strength. They are foolish women or failed men or deceitful manipulators who prefer men to be passive, for reasons of their own.

However, accepting the fate of men and running the gauntlet of manliness means understanding that the fight is never truly fair, and that all men are not born with the same strengths.

Accepting the fate of men also means understanding that the fight is rigged, and that every man will either die early or live to see himself decline. Every man who does not die in his prime will live to see his body fail and become weaker, making him more reticent. Most men will live to see their fathers competence falter, then their own competence falter, and they will live to see themselves lose the esteem of men. The best an older man can hope for is to have his achievements remembered, and to be respected for his wisdom and consulted for his experience.

Understanding masculinity means understanding that men can only reach their greatest potential through vital conflict and competition with other men. The way of men is the way of the pack hunt, and man is the most dangerous game. Human masculinity is the evolutionary product of gang selection of bands of men who hunted and fought their way through far more perilous and demanding ages. Human masculinity the testing and proving of strength, courage, mastery and the desire to earn the respect of a given group of men requires conflict to thrive, but also to survive.

Eternal peace is the death of manliness. The peace sign is a death rune.