I've been reading Poacher's Pilgrimage, Alastair McIntosh's reflective account of a walk through Lewis and Harris. I enjoyed a voice rooted in the Hebrides that also references Fromm, Fanon and Freire. Lots to think about! In particular I was reminded again of our tiny moment of COP26 cycling activism.
For many people, mention of the Outer Hebrides conjures up visions of seascapes, beaches and mountains, possibly all the more so in the age of Instagram. Alastair McIntosh enjoys these vistas, of course, but finds the deepest value in the people who live there. As he makes his way across the island he has many conversations, sometimes lengthy meetings with old friends and comrades, other times just a few, telling words exchanged with strangers. During one of the former he unearths an island saying:
A lot went out with the horse. His friend expands on this theme: 'People thought they'd just exchange the horse for the tractor. They never realised all the linkages they'd lose. They'd get a loan to buy the tractor. Then a job to pay the loan. And now we're wondering why we've no longer got the same time for each other.' The tractor is a trojan horse - so to speak! - in the life of the islander. It lets something alien sneak into his life, something that undermines his autonomy, supplants his relation with his neighbours, enveigles him into a state of dependency; dependency on a machine he could not construct himself, and on the global supply chains that keep it working. He just wants a machine that will lighten his load and, maybe, enhance his productivity, but the price he pays is subtle and far-reaching.
No surprise to see the same sorts of agent lean in to government in the matter of climate change, doing their best to keep dependency central in whatever ways forward are adopted. A lot went out with the horse indeed; but a lot can come back with the bicycle.
