Civil Disobedience and a Pandemic problem

 

 

Until the philosophy/ which hold one race superior and another/ inferior/ is finally/ and permanently/ discredited/ and abandoned/ everywhere is war/ me say war

That until there no longer/ first and second class citizens of any nation/ until the color of a man's skin/ is of no more significance than the color of his eye's/ me say war

That until the basic human rights/ are equally guaranteed to all/ without regard to race/ dis a war

That until that day/ the dream of lasting peace/ world citizenship/ rule of international morality/ will remain in but a fleeting illusion to be pursued/ but never attained/ now everywhere is war... 

And we are confident in the victory of good over evil.

 

These were the words of Haile Selassie, taken by Bob Marley and turned into a song, one of my favorite songs, a song that should be played to all those white people sitting in front of their televisions watching these events unfold. A song that should be explained to them that it was written from a speech given in 1963 about the state of the African continent but which applies some 60 years later to this country. To go back to Chris Hedges, "white Americans, are the sickest and most dangerous people, on the Earth today." Don't believe me? look at the face of that cop, who as a matter of protest i refuse to acknowledge by name, look at the faces of Fox News, of the Orange Shitgibbon and his grown children, look at his racist rallies and his racist supporters. I'm not shocked or surprised at what's happening all across this country, sad? yes because i realize some of these businesses being destroyed are small business owners, many owned by people of color, and i want to grab the ones responsible and yell think before you burn something down dammit! The mom and pop store is not Starbucks and may not be able to rebuild. I also understand that in what becomes rage and involves a crowd can swiftly get out of hand. I don't condemn or condone. I understand that this is a natural manifestation of systemic racism and oppression in a so-called free society. It's also a protest against not only the cops but of an obese buffoon tweeting racist bullshit, a protest of that buffoon and his enablers who work tirelessly for the benefit of the few while leaving whole segments of our society behind to rot, to fight for scraps, to turn on each other so Fat Nero and his asshat goon (ag) can point fingers and give speeches and enact laws even more draconian than before. The relative silence over the weekend from the feckless leader was deafening. The only utterances the usual non-sense and babble from a raging narcissist who can only see how these events affect him. 

But yet i worry. Even those media outlets i watch disturb me. They have their narrative but the strains of their corporate parents still run through them. Sometimes one of their guests or commentators will suddenly blurt out the truth, to say what should be said, but at the end of the day they're still in the business of selling ad time and protecting their masters. The focus always veers towards the sensational. Don't let that be confused with the all out propaganda of Fox or the ridiculous OAN. There's a reason they were licensed as "entertainment" and not news. Call it the legal security blanket. 

As i watch the events unfold from my "progressive and inclusive burb", i'm sure many of my so-called "progressive" neighbors are tut-tutting at the destruction. It's here where we find the latent racism that will be the hardest to eradicate, it's the "i have a black friend crowd". They won't truly grasp the rage that comes from being a suspect every time you leave the house, of being demonized and dehumanized and made out to be some dangerous animal. For them to deeply think about the problem and what causes it makes them uncomfortable. It's time to make them uncomfortable. White people need to understand and comprehend the root cause of this anger which is something most seem loathe to do. They need to understand the lies that form the basis of a narrative that's been controlled by white elites since the country was founded. Jefferson wrote the words "All Men are Created Equal" and yet let his children be born into slavery. What Tom meant was all white, male landowners are created equal. The history books like to glance over and do a feel good interpretation of how women and people of color got the right to vote. The fact is our record is shameful. 

Just to be clear i'll spell it out. In my fair city a good bit of the destruction was started by white males wearing their anarchy uniforms. I often find it funny how these boneheads don't even understand the underlying premise of the philosophy they espouse, that while it does look to abolish government and state control is also poses the question of what to do when there is no government or state to enact or enforce laws? It's the oft overlooked point that true anarchy requires high levels of cooperation. I'd like to tell them to pick up a book and learn about Eugene Debs, how he fought against the system and was jailed for it. How Debs preached peaceful protest because the violence gives the politicians and the corporations exactly what they need, a way to demonize the movement while giving them a reason to use force (see Lafayette Park). Then again maybe i'm missing the point... then again maybe some of these people are looking to exploit a situation. There is no doubt and emerging proof that the knuckle-dragging white power boys are out tossing bricks, they know it helps their cause to create as much violence and destruction as possible while having an easy scapegoat to place the blame... much like their feckless leader. 

And while all this goes on there is the fact that we are still very much in the middle of a pandemic. Regardless if the Karens and Bo-hunks don't believe it because because a talking head and internet conspiracy theory told them so. While i agree with the protests i also understand that there is a good chance it will cause more health issues and death and a spreading of the disease. Fat Nero will tweet from his bunker while pretending all is well and that we need to go shopping because Fat Nero wants to get re-elected and really we are all just here to serve his ego. When we don't the orange shitgibbon throws tantrums and holds up bibles so his minions can cheer and tell him how wonderful he's doing amidst the biggest shit show this country has ever seen. I doubt in the history of this country have we ever looked more of a train wreck than we do now. As the saying goes, elect a clown and you get a circus and boy do we have the fucking circus. It's in town and running amok and for many of us we can't wait for it to leave. In fact we're hoping it leaves ASAP but even then the damage, the carnage, left in it's wake, be it civil or social or economic, will be huge. I'm hoping the kids out there, the ones who can vote, the ones who will vote someday, will look at this madness and decide shit must change. They are the largest voting bloc and old guys like me need to help them understand they have the power to change things. To think and vote in their best interests and understand the plutocrats and oligarchs and evangelicals don't have much interest in their rights, their life or liberty, and definitely could care less about their pursuit of happiness. They want subservience. They want what they've always wanted, power and wealth and the divine right of kings attitude that says they know better. They don't. The kids need to call bullshit. 

So here we are. I'm not sure we've hit the bottom yet and by that i refer to Fat Nero and his asshat goon masquerading as a lawyer, his loyal pack of sycophants and enablers destroying everything they get their hands on. The real looting took place behind closed doors and was called the Cares Act and doled out boatloads of money to the corporate masters. Us commoners got a thousand bucks and an unemployment bonus. Ever think we got screwed on that deal? When the dust settles the youth (and the rest of us) who have been occupying the streets need to realize it's time to clean the mess up. To start local and work their way up by voting out the real criminals. By organizing and overturning the laws set up to oppress everyone except those wealthy enough to buy their way out of it. One of the forgotten points Dr. King once made, what made the establishment quake with fear, was when he espoused that while he was working to end racism and social injustice he was also working for something else. That the disenfranchised, regardless of color, could work together for their interests. That there were more of us than there were of them. When Debs, all but erased from the history books by the hegemony, fought for workers rights, he pointed out there were more of us than there were of them. How powerful were these messages? Dr. King was killed for it and Debs was put in prison and stripped of his citizenship. And yet, we the people, could change things. 

This is not a pipe dream. It can be done. We don't have to be the dominant world power, hell i'd rather us not be, but what we can be is a civilized society, a society that values and embraces our differences, that respects our right to dignity, to not spend our entire life working a shit job just to be broke, to value education and creativity and consider health care a human right and not a for profit business. As this guy John once said, you may say i'm a dreamer, but i'm not the only one. But until that day? we'll have to go with Bob and his words, because we have no other choice.