means
we can do whatever we want
This is freedom absolute. No half-measures. No prisoners, victims, or slaves. We are simple lovers of freedom. “Do whatever we want” also means we can be whatever we want, and nothing is forced on us against our will.
The antithesis of freedom is domination. This means not only is our freedom actively violated, but someone or something has the power to violate it. Domination serves as the catalyst for all forms of freedom-violation.
[ img: Puppet | Text: Even when the strings are slack, the puppet is still under control. Freedom isn’t the puppet forgetting the strings are there, but the absence of strings and puppet-masters entirely. ]
By resisting, our hearts remain free — domination is never complete. There was never a time when the devout freedom-warrior was truly unfree, no matter the depth of struggle we faced. However, complete freedom means not only are our hearts free, but the whole universe. Our mission is an expression of our inner freedom and rebellion. Spiritual freedom is already ours — intrinsic and inviolable. Worldly freedom is tenuous and difficult to establish, like a garden in poor soil. Rebel Sun offers a small, guiding light in this journey, a way to improve the conditions so our fruit will grow.
[ img: Rebel Spiral? | text: ]
So, what is the nature of domination?
Domination
We don’t use the terms domination and submission in the sense of freely choosing to yield to another’s will. That in itself is a powerful act of freedom. For example, when we kindly stand aside to let someone pass, or relax and let the river carry us downstream. Both wills become harmonious and conflict and struggle are avoided. As you see, we use the word ‘will’ in a broad sense to include forces of nature too.
Domination implies power over someone, which becomes an issue when it’s able to override our will. When that person rudely pushes us out of the way, or when the river is carrying us somewhere we don’t want to go.
On some level, we’re all lovers of freedom and all resist domination when it appears, because no one wants to have things done against their will (by definition.) The difference between a rebel and a slave or one who submits is: The rebel’s resistance is intentional and conscious; the submitter’s resistance is latent and repressed. For example, someone in an abusive relationship might convince themselves it’s what they want or deserve and not even try to break free, when deep down they actually hate it. If only they had the courage to do something about it or at least be honest with themselves.
Domination is sometimes known as “structural violence”. Policies and institutions like censorship or armed police act as holstered weapons, lurking threats until violently applied. Natural laws like survival of the fittest act as structural violence of the universe itself, which reaches its brutal enforcement when predator strikes prey or really, any time we suffer, since the ability to suffer is a product of Darwinian evolution. Darwinism itself is a product of deeper natural laws, which we explore in Metaphysics of Freedom.
[ img: Iceberg of violence | text: Violence was already a feature of the system, it just had to be activated. ]
By default, we use “violence” to refer to active, overt violations of freedom. Domination is passive violence that doesn’t always feel violent until it’s acted on. Violence is active domination that isn’t always understood as such. “Suffering” refers to what it feels like to be treated violently.
[ img: Diagram | text: Domination is the power, violence is the act ]
By the way, we don’t use the term ‘violence’ for anything other than that which is forced on the individual against their will. For example, consensual combat sports are completely non-violent despite involving injury, pain, and risk. Similarly, power imbalances do not constitute domination unless a genuine threat of violence is present. Respect and competence can offset power imbalances another individual might use violently, and only a tiny or brief power imbalance may be required by someone with a proclivity for violence.
We reject the idea that some simply want to be dominators and we’re violating their freedom by not letting them violate that of others. Violence is deeply repulsive to all, whether we acknowledge it or not. Empathy is required to understand another’s subjective experience. The idea of being OK with someone else suffering but not wanting to suffer ourselves reflects ignorance about that individual’s experience.
Freedom is deeply desired by all. We do however tolerate violence and domination to some degree because perfect freedom is currently out of reach. The difference between so-called “good people” and “bad people” we see are that some are further ahead or faster than others, but in the end all who exist have to reach the top at the same time.
So, what does worldly freedom look like?
Freedom vs Liberty
It’s a mistake to think a free world would look or behave in a particular way, and our expectations are a huge part of what keeps us trapped. A free world can be however it wants to be; it would simply not have any violence.
Liberty
Liberty is conditional “freedom”, much like the puppet’s slack strings. Unlike true freedom, it can be granted or taken away, because domination is still present. Most of the world settles for liberty, believing true freedom to be impossible, enjoying the rewards their rulers placate them with, and fearing punishment for disobedience. They have deeply submitted, and are therefore deeply dominated.
[ img: fundamental freedom vs liberty | text: ]
Those who believe in Liberty uphold the circle of life (or Samsara) as the highest order, obligation as the highest duty, and the Demiurge as the highest authority. Those who believe in Freedom uphold utopia as the highest order, rebellion as the highest duty, and inner light as the highest authority.
We go into more detail in the main article Freedom vs Liberty.
Anti-Domination
The path of the Bodhissatva — the Buddhist ideal of an enlightened individual who remains in the world to free everyone — isn’t about completely ending domination, because the final death-blow comes from the individual themselves. Ultimately, freedom itself must be chosen; it cannot come from domination or be granted by a dominator. However, just as we express our freedom through the world, worldly freedom hearkens back to spiritual freedom. Suffering challenges our integrity and tries to force us to submit, often succeeding on all but the deepest level. This is why the Bodhissatva is dedicated to helping sentient beings; not necessarily to protect them from all suffering, but to save them from drowning in it.
In a sense, our very resistance to violence is an integral part of violence itself. Violence wouldn’t be violent if we simply agreed to whatever’s happening to us. That’s why we focus on resisting domination, this makes it clear that we won’t allow violence to occur in the first place, rather than resisting (or trying to transform) violence already in motion. We’re asserting that we’ll never relinquish our freedom no matter what.
Noble warriorhood is about bravely confronting the enemy even if we get harmed in the process; harming others on the other hand takes no such bravery. Instead, it often takes an unwillingness to face our own pain or that of others, i.e. cowardice. Our enemy at its core isn’t a sentient being that needs to be killed or punished, and we refuse to identify with victimhood. Intentional violence, even in retaliation or defense, is far beneath us. Unless we strike domination itself, we’re fighting an endless arms race, which tends to increase the universe’s overall capacity for violence.
[ img: Arms races like predator vs prey, war | ]
[ img: Moana giving Te Ka the stone / The heroes destroying the digigear / Zootopia etc. | text: Helping others achieve inner freedom so they no longer feel compelled toward aggression is the true anti-violence. ]
The ideal method in reality doesn’t avoid power, but it avoids power imbalance. This doesn’t refer to miscellaneous power differentials like wealth, status, age, or size; some kind of superior power is needed in order to save others, especially that which allows gentle precision. There’s only a true imbalance when power is unchecked and able to be used not just violently but in a way which intensifies or prolongs domination. Checks need to include preventing that power from falling into the wrong hands.
[ img: a simple diagram of power imbalance | text: The dragon’s power is checked (and eliminated) by the brave knight. It is not checked by the princess. The knight’s power over the princess is (hopefully) checked by his code of ethics. ]
The above is a simplified scenario. In real life, power dynamics get much more complicated. Under the dragon’s guard, the princess was imprisoned, but protected from the knight and other potential dominators who might be capable of far worse. Would you choose the dragon or the knight? This dilemma illustrates how the use of brute force easily misses its target when we’re trying to reduce domination and not just intervene in ongoing violence.
Deparenting
This is the deeper, final form of antiviolence which is concerned with removing subtle, gentle, or morfal forms of coercion which are in some sense justified paternalistically. We believe this deserves its own article because it’s a topic often neglected in discussions of antiviolence, but it has final bearing on whether we’re able to become truly enlightened.
Closing Message
When energy flows into the path of universal freedom from a place of inner freedom, we’re directly realizing our ultimate goal, present and future. If our ideal is an artwork unfolding, both must occur at the same time for the feeling of the final piece to be right. It’d be foolish to be prematurely attached to results since there’s no telling what chain of events will yield the final victory. We should simply take peace in the sincerity of our efforts, not obsess over the notion of perfection to the point of no longer acting freely and intuitively for fear of missing out on safety and predictability. This doesn’t mean to ignore our fear or avoid taking cautious steps, but not let it dictate us.
Notes
A free will is able to mutate and give way, it doesn’t need anything. It’s choosing what it actually wants, not what it feels forced to choose, and it’s not getting any nasty surprises. This is known as consent. Pressure-free, informed. Conflicting wills aren’t free. The victim or defeated is unable to go with the flow. The aggressor or victor is themselves acting out of pressure, or is simply ignorant emotionally to the fact they’re hurting someone. Because neither act out of free will, intervention is non-violent, even if it’s resisted.