A Conversation with Mode 2

On Leaving Instagram.

I am certain that most of you know who Mode 2 is, for those who don’t - and I’ll try and be brief about this - he is an incredibly talented, prolific artist whom I consider to be one of the absolute cornerstones of graffiti in addition to being one of the architects that built a world in which I grew up and thrived in. That’s not why we are here though. The day I announced my plans and gave reasons as to why I am leaving Instagram, Mode articulated several reasons as to why my decision was wrong.

I am going to quote several of his points here not only because his reasoning is worth your time, not only because I respect his insights and opinions but also because I want you to second guess me. Whilst my decision stands, it might not be perfectly well thought through and Mode gives great reasons why. Let’s start with these here:

“I totally get what you are saying, and yet, at the same time, I still feel that it would be a loss of sorts, for you to leave this platform.

We will ALWAYS be the target of colonial ambitions, from the commercial and political spheres; and yet we have to work out whether or not we CAN swim in these waters, spreading a narrative and mindset that goes against THEIR agenda.

It is about occupying some of the territory, even a TINY fraction of it, and not leaving the field of play to be TOTALLY dominated by “them”; the tech giants who are transforming society further still, as they use this pandemic as a smokescreen.

We have to think in terms of asymmetrical warfare here, of the cultural kind, and MORE alternative voices are sorely needed on this platform, generating a wider audience that DOESN’T respond to all the advertising on their feed.”

This is a point I struggled with a lot whilst making the decision to leave and start this. Leaving the proverbial battlefield really does still feel like surrendering, and whilst that is certainly not a new feeling as an aged leftist ( we lose a lot ) it never feels good. Oddly, at some point during this thought process I also considered asymmetrical warfare and reasoned by withdrawing my presence and thus Facebook’s ability to generate money from said presence I was maneuvering myself ahead of the problem. Mode’s point is very much worth your time, as is mine though. This comes down to a personal decision that also has to factor in time, mental health and motivation.
Secondly, and this is where the notion of money comes in, Mode offered these thoughts:

“We are generating wealth for this system, whatever happens, so it HAS to be a case of balancing out where to give and where to take.

With regards to EVERY SINGLE CLIENT that approaches me with a proposal, I have to weigh up their ethics and what they sell, and see whether or not their model is compatible with the future of my own children.

No matter HOW MUCH MONEY is on the table, I will turn down ANY client who I feel to be part of the “opposition”; or our enemies rather. I will not be the “street art”-version of the “low-hanging fruit” of petty criminals that the FBI would recruit as informants and infiltrators of groups like the Black Panther Party For Self Defense.

The REAL threat of such a group to the US government was NOT their black power advocacy as such (as that was easier to frame into an anti-white and segregationist narrative), but instead their alternative and autonomous or parallel economic programmes being run in disenfranchised neighbourhoods; the breakfast clubs for poor children before they went to school, the homework clubs, the free healthcare and so on.

The fact that white volunteers got involved, and an understanding that the war is an economic one, and that race is used as an instrument to divide the poor, the exploited and the oppressed, was what was striking fear into the established and dominant order.

I could rap about this all day long but most of you know me well enough by now that I don’t have to. One of the more wondrous aspects of aging is that my black / white world view is increasingly growing to allow various shades of grey and I relish the complexities of our reality. This is such a case. Everything is connected and the rabbit holes are wonderful places. I wanted to throw that part of the conversation into this context because Mode’s arguments ring true on why I, or we as a collective, shouldn’t be leaving Instagram.

Again, my decision stands firm, today. Mode’s arguments for remaining are equally as valid and I hope this serves as an illustrative example how two people with very similar sets of ideals can disagree and yet agree on a common goal. Respectfully, emphatically and willing to learn.

Obviously, the paradox of tolerance is something worth talking about in the future.

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I am going to leave you today with this weeks playlist as I still neck deep in packing outstanding orders - sadly the ticketing process for UPS takes around 25 minutes per order and it is driving me insane - but stay tuned for tomorrows more broader newsletter.