Tidbits from the Apocalypse
You've got mail!
I awoke this morning to an email sent by a long lost friend, former employee and overall bundle of compassionate energy. He thought I might like a video but he doubted it was Backeddy material. I gave it a click.
It seemed appropriate that the light in the bedroom was influenced by the gloaming from the smoke of a thousand fires burning all over the West. The sound filled the bedroom. Big sound of metal music and colored search lights and the wail of guitar strings amplified a hundred times over.
It was a pre-COVID concert. In Mexico City. Zocalo Square. It was dark and you could see the crowd was manic and engaged. I have not been to Zocalo Square but the setting appeared to be industrial. It was the perfect setting for the heaviness of the music. Three smokestacks loomed above the performers spewing steam or smoke or, for all I know, the vapors of dry ice often used for smoky effects.
I was not familiar with the performer or the performance. It was a long song, possibly a montage of songs, titled Pigs (Three Different Ones). I settled in to my pillow and bedsheets to watch.
Knowing my friend would not have sent something unworthy.
I plan to go to Wisconsin for the coming election as a volunteer poll observer.
I wanted to be a poll worker. However, poll workers must be residents of Wisconsin. It has been decades since I last voted in-person. I remember your classic poll worker as being a kind, but taking-no-bullshit from anyone, elder. Usually they were female. I figured with a pandemic loose in the nation your typical poll workers might be scarce for this coming election.
As a self-proclaimed ‘couch zucchini’, I also figured if I was willing to make the effort to travel to Wisconsin to oversee one poll, hundreds, maybe thousands, hopefully millions were willing to do the same all around the country. I am hopeful like that. Thinking that, if someone as inert as I am is willing to make the effort, the effort is being made everywhere.
This being an all-hands on deck election and with the stakes higher than ever it seemed the least I could do.
The WisDems will be virtually coaching a class of us on the 10th of October and the 17th of October. It is not too late to get involved. I would not mind having accompaniment.
A post from this morning also caught my attention. It was a liberal-leaning voice expressing exasperation at everyone trying to understand and to get a grasp on the supporters of you-know-who. This was a resident of one of the reddest regions in the country - southwestern Missouri.
I will paraphrase.
His hardcore supporters who dress in MAGA paraphernalia like they’re going to an NFL game care only about “owning liberals”. No amount of reason, scientific evidence, glossy charts or appeals to their hearts will reach them. There is nothing you-know-who can do to dissuade them from supporting and voting for him. Because he spends every waking hour trying to bait liberals, they will love him to their graves. Liberalism equates to weakness. Honesty equates to weakness. Caring equates to weakness.
I think we have all realized this for some time.
Our president and the party he leads have made a pact with the devils of our worser nature. The ‘devils’ being anti-science, pro (fundamental) religion, racism, misogynistic tendencies and white nationalism. When we engage them we are wasting our breath, our money, our digital resources, ink, brain cells and our time here on earth to be anything other than enraged at the ignorance. They see it as a ‘win’ when that happens.
These are not the “persuadables”. I am not suggesting giving up on them. I spoke of them in an earlier column.
The GOP hopes to ride the anger of these redneck voters along with voter suppression from every imaginable angle - the courts, the postal service, the shortage of poll workers and polling places, the purging of voting rolls, the disenfranchisement of as many voters as possible - along with the non-stop sowing of disinformation, misinformation and outright lies. That’s the game plan.
As I told my friend earlier today, the only solution is to defeat them at the polls, pray the election is fair......enough, and then make their lives better despite their protestations.
That’s my game plan.
I saw a t-shirt online that I thought must capture the frustration Black people feel in this current chaotic social climate.
We March, Y'all Mad
We Sit Down, Y'all Mad
We Speak Up, Y'all mad
We Die, Y'all Silent
Then I saw this post and I am not going to paraphrase it because it is too well-written. And I am not going to just link it, because it needs to be read. I don’t know Simone Michelle but her social media page says she’s a Civil Rights Attorney. Which makes sense. I don’t know if she is the author but it has gone viral from her page as far as I can tell.
Here it is in its entirety:
Lessons learned from my NFL anti-racism post being shared over 500 times in the past 48 hours....
1) The most common argument is "don't bring politics into [insert: work, football, NFL, entertainment]" - to which I ask, when did racism become political? That implies Republicans are pro-racism and Democrats are anti-racism. And if that's the case, it's incredibly sad that in 2020 America we have a major political party that is openly the "pro-racism party." But the reality is, being opposed to racism, inequality, and oppression is not "political"... it's human, it's decent, it's American.
2) Another common argument is "they are disrespecting [insert: the flag, the country, the military]" and "I was in the military and kneeling/standing/silently protesting disrespects ME" - to which I say, thank you for your service, but many fought and died for our right to live in a country that allows freedom of speech and freedom of expression, and what is more American than standing against the evils of oppression, inequality and racism? This nation was founded upon the principles of freedom, equality, and opportunity, so every time we stand up and speak out against tyranny, oppression, and systemic racism, we are honoring this country, we are honoring our flag, we are bringing our nation one step closer to fulfilling its promise of liberty & justice for all.
3) One of my favorites is "if black people would stop committing crimes, resisting arrest, and simply follow the law like the rest of us, then police wouldn't kill them" - to which I say, Breonna Taylor was asleep in her own apartment when police shot her 8 times, Botham Jean was sitting on the couch in his own living room eating ice cream when he was shot and killed, Stephon Clark was standing in his grandmothers back yard holding a cell phone when he police shot him 20 times, Philando Castile was pulled over for a traffic stop and told the office upfront he had a concealed carry license before he was murdered in front of his 4 year old daughter, Atatiana Jefferson was shot through the window of her home in front of her 8 year old nephew. What were they doing wrong? Furthermore, if your knee jerk reaction to another black person being murdered by police is to immediately look for justification, search for a criminal history, seek out different footage from a different angle that provides some excuse for the cop's actions...you need to ask yourself "why do I feel compelled to justify the actions of a stranger just because we share the same skin color or the same profession or the same political affiliation?" Do some soul searching.
4) Unfortunately, after engaging in discussion/argument on dozens of threads with folks who shared my post, my takeaway is that there is no manner in which to protest racism that will ever be acceptable to racists.
"Don't riot and loot! Protest peacefully and quietly."
"No, Kaepernick, don't kneel."
"Well, no, Chiefs/Texans, don't stand either..."
"Don't do it during the national anthem."
"Well, no, don't do it after the anthem either..."
"Don't be so loud about it."
"But also, don't take a moment of silence..."
"NBA, don't go on strike."
"But when you do play, don't wear 'I can't breathe' shirts..."
"Celebrities, don't discuss racism in award ceremony speeches."
"Why can't you people be more like Martin Luther King!"...you mean the guy who was assassinated for leading the peaceful movement to end racism, whose peaceful protests were met with tear gas, fire hoses, police dogs, and unspeakable violence and bloodshed at the hands of the police?
When it comes to protesting racism, what you mean is: we don't want to hear about it, we don't want to see it, and we will not acknowledge its existence. "The loveliest trick of the Devil is to persuade you that he does not exist."
Enough.
Be sure you are registered to vote. Be sure you get out and vote. Try to encourage one person who was otherwise not going to vote, to vote. Be sure to vote early enough to allow for your ballot to count. Dallas Silva recommends that you use postage on your ballot EVEN IF it says ‘Postage Paid’ on it. I recommend you take your ballot directly to the ballot box or whatever entity your district or state provides.
Be kind to everyone you meet. You have no idea what’s going on with them. Love your pet. Take time for yourself. Say hi to the neighbors. Pick up some trash.
Remember: everything you need to know, you learned in kindergarten.
Peace.
###
It was Roger Waters of Pink Floyd! What a dum-dum I am. But, to be fair, I was not a Pink Floyd listener when I was growing up with the obvious exception being The Wall. Everybody was a fan of the song with the catch lines, “We don’t need no education. We don’t need no thought control!”
Be patient. It IS worth it. Wait for the final minute.
Also, a family portrait from Thanksgiving, 2019, Fredericksburg, Texas. Titled, “Cow”.
Why? Because.
Or, please spread the word to all of those in your life who need a distraction.
You have a great looking family!
You think so?