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SURVIVAL & SUICIDE IN TOKYO - PART 2 of 4: STALKERS AND RACCOONS
STALKERS AND RACCOONS
Over the years it has not been my way, to get involved in what might be called a fight. I have never seen saving life on earth for our survival as a struggle or a fight. It's always been the right thing to do and to be done. The way I have been able to most help has been through inspiration and creation. My philosophy is that if we see we are involved in a struggle then our lives will be a struggle. If we see we are in a fight, we are in a fight. I want my life to be happy.
Through personal joy, I can raise the energy of myself and others and increase the volume of the message. It's worked very well and I have witnessed what we can do with this positive energy. I have seen successes. Recently I founded Celebration Earth, with leading activists on the island of Okinawa, this Celebration Earth is now spreading around the world and due to the spirit of Celebration we were one day able to save an Okinawan bay from the hands of developers and a government so keen on landfill that years of protests had not deterred them – only when activists wanting to save the bay got together and did a 'Coral Fish Dance' did the media splash them with coverage and the government decide to halt development.
It was in the spirit of Celebration Earth that Konomi, Cliff Spenger (The Walking Treeman) and myself were invited by local group Team Pom Poco to Minamiyama Mountain in early May this year. Our presence was enough to draw a crowd of 120 people to the mountain, to sing and dance and celebrate it's beauty. It was a pleasant day in beautiful surroundings painted with sadness and destruction. All were there to Celebrate Minamiyama's beauty, all were their to be inspired, to be change the energy of destruction for development to the energy of forest salvation. People danced in the forest and stared at the trees that recently cut down.
Team Pom Poco, was recently created, by citizens of Inagi, to help protect Minamiyama. They are not the only organisation trying to save the mountain from being flattened, other groups have been extremely vocal in their protests with much anger and frustration being shown. The angry protests put the local citizens off and empowered the cause of the landowners, who use their self righteous anger to get their point across. I was warned over the anger attached to the destruction of the mountain and advised to be careful not to have my energy sucked dry by this negativity. I heard. But I must admit, keeping above the battle, fight and struggle of others, has not been a small thing to do.
Soon after Konomi and I got involved in the Minamiyama cause we drew our own little stalker who tags angry messages wherever I appear on the internet. These verbal assaults and barrages get nastier and nastier. At first our stalker appeared to be a man interested in saving Minamiyama and we took his initial postings as a man who simply wanted to state the tax facts facing the landowners in a quest for a solution. We didn't particularly like his tone, but reasoned that 'hey it takes all types' and encouraged him to be a little more proactive. This only opened the door to increasing repetition, rising with anger and growing more personal, with assaults on our integrity and character that led us to recognise that contact with this man had to cease. I commented to Konomi only half jokingly, that this type of irrational behaviour and fixation led to the assassination of Gandhi and John Lennon and advised that on future appearances in Tokyo she might not want to be standing to close to me less she be shot by mistake.
Fortunately on the internet you can block nasty messages and strange people and so this what we have done. There's no point in going down someone else's path of anger, attack, pain and despair, far easier to just log out and continue on your merry way. And that's what we have done and will continue to do. In order to save the forests and life on earth we will not use the same tactics and emotions as those who destroy. We will have fun!
And that is what team Pom Poco is all about and fun seems to be advancing the save Minamiyama cause better than anyway so far. Team Pom Poco was founded to offer an alternative and more friendly way to saving the mountain. The name 'Team Pom Poco' sums up the spirit of the group and comes from the Japanese classic animated movie 'Pom Poco' which was produced in 1995, by Studio Gibli, Japan's international award winning animation studio famed worldwide for such films as 'Spirited Away' and Howl's Castle'. The movie 'Pom Poco' told the story of Raccoons who attempt to save their forests from development. This much loved movie was based on the true story of a gigantic housing development that destroyed a forested mountain on the edge of Inagi around the time of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
In Japanese folk lore Raccoons have the ability to change into other creatures, including humans and the movie focused on this. Minamiyama still houses a Raccoon population which will surely disappear with the mountains development.
At the end of our day in the woods we watched 'Pom Poco' on a giant screen. The movie was as enchanting and powerful as the day it was produced and left an indelible mark on us all. Pom Poco Movie Director, Mr. Takahata, was invited to Minamiyama and when he came expressed his sadness and shock to see history being repeated. His visit was well covered by the media and the story of Minamiyama went nationwide. But all concerned realised that nationwide media would not be enough to save the mountain. International help was need. And this is where I come in.
Over on the other side of town, a 'Sea Forest' of 88 hectares, virtually the same size of Minamiyama is being created on a one hundred meter pile of garbage that has been dumped into Tokyo Bay. This 'Sea Forest' is being used to promote Tokyo's 'green' bid to win the 2016 Olympic Games.
When asked for my advice on how to save the mountain I said, “If the government is not prepared to listen to you, appeal to the Japanese Olympic Committee to save Minamiyama. I doubt they even know of the issue of Minamiyama and would be appalled to see how the destruction of a well established forested mountain could well have a negative impact on their bid for the 2016 Olympic Games. And let them know that if they are not interested that you will take it one step further and appeal to the international Olympic Committee (IOC)”
On the spot it was decided that I and members of Team Pom Poco would write a letter to the Japanese Olympic Committee. Team Pom Poco got no response.
Mr. Takahata, the director from Studio Gibli visited the mountain, giving Minamiyama national media coverage. An article written by award winning freelance journalist Mr. Yokota, appeared in Friday magazine, the nations leading weekly, and my involvement was mentioned. I wrote a letter to Tokyo Governor Ishihara, who happens to be the Chairman of the Tokyo Olympic Bid Committee and then something astonishing happened...
He went Ballistic.
Part 2 of the 4 part Macrocosm - Microcosm: THe Earth and Minamiyama
Over the years it has not been my way, to get involved in what might be called a fight. I have never seen saving life on earth for our survival as a struggle or a fight. It's always been the right thing to do and to be done. The way I have been able to most help has been through inspiration and creation. My philosophy is that if we see we are involved in a struggle then our lives will be a struggle. If we see we are in a fight, we are in a fight. I want my life to be happy.
Through personal joy, I can raise the energy of myself and others and increase the volume of the message. It's worked very well and I have witnessed what we can do with this positive energy. I have seen successes. Recently I founded Celebration Earth, with leading activists on the island of Okinawa, this Celebration Earth is now spreading around the world and due to the spirit of Celebration we were one day able to save an Okinawan bay from the hands of developers and a government so keen on landfill that years of protests had not deterred them – only when activists wanting to save the bay got together and did a 'Coral Fish Dance' did the media splash them with coverage and the government decide to halt development.
It was in the spirit of Celebration Earth that Konomi, Cliff Spenger (The Walking Treeman) and myself were invited by local group Team Pom Poco to Minamiyama Mountain in early May this year. Our presence was enough to draw a crowd of 120 people to the mountain, to sing and dance and celebrate it's beauty. It was a pleasant day in beautiful surroundings painted with sadness and destruction. All were there to Celebrate Minamiyama's beauty, all were their to be inspired, to be change the energy of destruction for development to the energy of forest salvation. People danced in the forest and stared at the trees that recently cut down.
Team Pom Poco, was recently created, by citizens of Inagi, to help protect Minamiyama. They are not the only organisation trying to save the mountain from being flattened, other groups have been extremely vocal in their protests with much anger and frustration being shown. The angry protests put the local citizens off and empowered the cause of the landowners, who use their self righteous anger to get their point across. I was warned over the anger attached to the destruction of the mountain and advised to be careful not to have my energy sucked dry by this negativity. I heard. But I must admit, keeping above the battle, fight and struggle of others, has not been a small thing to do.
Soon after Konomi and I got involved in the Minamiyama cause we drew our own little stalker who tags angry messages wherever I appear on the internet. These verbal assaults and barrages get nastier and nastier. At first our stalker appeared to be a man interested in saving Minamiyama and we took his initial postings as a man who simply wanted to state the tax facts facing the landowners in a quest for a solution. We didn't particularly like his tone, but reasoned that 'hey it takes all types' and encouraged him to be a little more proactive. This only opened the door to increasing repetition, rising with anger and growing more personal, with assaults on our integrity and character that led us to recognise that contact with this man had to cease. I commented to Konomi only half jokingly, that this type of irrational behaviour and fixation led to the assassination of Gandhi and John Lennon and advised that on future appearances in Tokyo she might not want to be standing to close to me less she be shot by mistake.
Fortunately on the internet you can block nasty messages and strange people and so this what we have done. There's no point in going down someone else's path of anger, attack, pain and despair, far easier to just log out and continue on your merry way. And that's what we have done and will continue to do. In order to save the forests and life on earth we will not use the same tactics and emotions as those who destroy. We will have fun!
And that is what team Pom Poco is all about and fun seems to be advancing the save Minamiyama cause better than anyway so far. Team Pom Poco was founded to offer an alternative and more friendly way to saving the mountain. The name 'Team Pom Poco' sums up the spirit of the group and comes from the Japanese classic animated movie 'Pom Poco' which was produced in 1995, by Studio Gibli, Japan's international award winning animation studio famed worldwide for such films as 'Spirited Away' and Howl's Castle'. The movie 'Pom Poco' told the story of Raccoons who attempt to save their forests from development. This much loved movie was based on the true story of a gigantic housing development that destroyed a forested mountain on the edge of Inagi around the time of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
In Japanese folk lore Raccoons have the ability to change into other creatures, including humans and the movie focused on this. Minamiyama still houses a Raccoon population which will surely disappear with the mountains development.
At the end of our day in the woods we watched 'Pom Poco' on a giant screen. The movie was as enchanting and powerful as the day it was produced and left an indelible mark on us all. Pom Poco Movie Director, Mr. Takahata, was invited to Minamiyama and when he came expressed his sadness and shock to see history being repeated. His visit was well covered by the media and the story of Minamiyama went nationwide. But all concerned realised that nationwide media would not be enough to save the mountain. International help was need. And this is where I come in.
Over on the other side of town, a 'Sea Forest' of 88 hectares, virtually the same size of Minamiyama is being created on a one hundred meter pile of garbage that has been dumped into Tokyo Bay. This 'Sea Forest' is being used to promote Tokyo's 'green' bid to win the 2016 Olympic Games.
When asked for my advice on how to save the mountain I said, “If the government is not prepared to listen to you, appeal to the Japanese Olympic Committee to save Minamiyama. I doubt they even know of the issue of Minamiyama and would be appalled to see how the destruction of a well established forested mountain could well have a negative impact on their bid for the 2016 Olympic Games. And let them know that if they are not interested that you will take it one step further and appeal to the international Olympic Committee (IOC)”
On the spot it was decided that I and members of Team Pom Poco would write a letter to the Japanese Olympic Committee. Team Pom Poco got no response.
Mr. Takahata, the director from Studio Gibli visited the mountain, giving Minamiyama national media coverage. An article written by award winning freelance journalist Mr. Yokota, appeared in Friday magazine, the nations leading weekly, and my involvement was mentioned. I wrote a letter to Tokyo Governor Ishihara, who happens to be the Chairman of the Tokyo Olympic Bid Committee and then something astonishing happened...
He went Ballistic.
Part 2 of the 4 part Macrocosm - Microcosm: THe Earth and Minamiyama
Tags: celebration, coleman, earth, earthwalker, raccoons, stalkers, suicide, survival, tokyo
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