Activism Archives -

Gaslight Nation

No, you are not going crazy.

While it’s true that “rolling shock” machine that is the Trump Regime finds new ways to outrage and mystify us every day, we should know, by now, what they are really up to.

It is easy to get outrage fatigue, but that bonkers Nazi-sympathizing press conference from yesterday seems like it might be the beginning of the end.

Of course, he’ll likely get what remains of his minions to keep spouting the lies, but who still believes them? The whole regime has tried a massive Gaslight experiment on the country—whether they know it or not. That was the movie where a man tried to slowly make his wife think she was going insane in order to enrich himself. And like that criminal, Trump is a shell of a man. But this shell has also convinced millions that he has a vision for the country. But he’s got nothing.

Even the left fell for it, with many of my far left friends thinking the Russia fever was just a Cold War cover for Hillary’s shocking loss. But even if every awful thing said about Hillary Clinton is true (which it’s not) some things are bigger than one election. It has become obvious that Trump and company have been deeply compromised by Putin’s Russia. It is not a battle of ideology or culture, either. It is just a straight up criminal conspiracy aimed at keeping all the interested parties rich. And it is tough for normal people who don’t think like criminals to understand that. But think mafia, not Marxism, to understand what is going on here.

That also explains his sudden doubling down on white supremacy. Those are his people, and he’s under siege, so he’s closing ranks.

He’s an agent of chaos, and has always been. He merely tapped into something, this time, that reached a significant portion of the American public. It didn’t even reach the majority, but it didn’t need to.

I know good people who claim we need to reach out to Trump voters, and address their needs. I disagree. Yes, economic inequality and political parties controlled by wealthy elites have ripped the American Dream to shreds. But that is not what got people to Trump rallies, and what keeps them defending him even as he proves again and again that he has no real interest in helping the average American. But I do think that we need to call out the white hot irrational rage that made them vote for such an obvious fraud.

Because when he’s gone from the White House—and he will be—we still have that rage to contend with.

Hawaii’s Radical and Humane Idea to Solve to Homelessness

Housing is a human right—and it’s hard to stay healthy when you are living on the streets.

Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste

Herstory in the Making — *Photo: Athena Soules*

Closing in on President’s Day and I am struck, once again, about how radically different America is now that Mad King Trump is in charge. Were we always this close to chaos? Is it really possible for one ignorant, emotionally unstable former game show host to totally dismantle the last superpower?

It’s tempting to compare his Trumpness to Hitler or Mussolini. I get it, but only because all autocrats share certain qualities. But with Trump, I think he may just be the ultimate manifestation of the Tea Party movement. He’s got that fake folksiness tailored to appeal to “Real America” along with the infectious outrage that the country is being lost to multiculturalism and political correctness. But, like the Tea Party, it is all a ruse meant to shovel as much money as possible into the pockets of America’s business elites. And that is what the Republican Party has always been, at least for a few generations. The outrage over welfare queens, Roe vs. Wade and secret Muslims was just cover for an extreme crony-capitalism that goes so deep as to be indistinguishable from the actual government. Think I am exaggerating? Then count up how many Goldman Sachs alums have served in the Whose House and get back to me.

But while he might be the Tea Party’s great success story, he might also be their last hurrah. He is the monster that sprung fully formed from their toxic and greedy vision, and he’s proving to be a bridge too far not only for the majority who did not vote for him, but for the GOP establishment that has grown comfortable with their “obstruct everything” philosophy. Because I believe the scales have fallen from people’s eyes.

I was one of the marchers at the Women’s March on Washington in January and I was struck by how joyful and confident it was. The voices of women and our allies were deafening, and I felt like we really were the winning side—the side with a future—in a movement that must be led by women.

I had a similar thought when I had drinks with three friends a couple of weeks later. All of us are media people in stable relationships, and all of us voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary and Hillary Clinton in the general election. And we all complained of the same chronic dread that emerged with the Trump victory—followed by an overwhelming desire to do something about it. We also, all, complained that the men in our lives were not as outraged or convinced about how truly awful our new Commander-In-Chief was as we were. And maybe that is how it should be. Men have been trained to see other men as “normal” leaders and even the pseudo alpha energy of Trump works on some deep level on guys who otherwise despise everything he stands for. And maybe the role of women and minorities in this new world is to lead and teach.

I may never fully understand why so many voted against their own best interests in November, but I am now convinced that cruelty and pain were part of it. Sure people can talk about “jobs” and wanting a “straight-shooter,” but people reacted to him in a visceral way, like they do con artists. Sure, there is plenty of buyer’s remorse out there, but should Trump get impeached or resign (and he will) those people and that pain will still be there. So while I am committed to resisting the regime with my daily actions, I know that the trickier part is keeping my heart open, and encouraging others to do so.

Chelsea Manning—Freed

Today a good man, did a good thing, by granting clemency to an American hero who risked all to tell the truth about her country. Chelsea Manning would not have stood a chance without the unwavering commitment of her many supporters, and this remarkable turn of events just goes to show what a group of good people can do, when they share a goal.

Summer of Hate, Summer of Love

Are the wheels really coming off? I say this after a few months of such over-the-top chaos in the world at large. I think people will be processing this year for a long time, and books will be written about how the world nearly went off the rails in 2016, with mass shootings, terrorist bloodbaths, failed coups – and the phenomenon of Donald Trump.

Trump hits close to home because he has caught many of us by surprise. He’s a con man, maybe the best in the business, but something else as well. His toxic narcissism resonates with so many people because, I think, it reflects their own pain and alienation. He’s our own monster, born and bred in the USA. And maybe screaming about Mexicans at a rally feels good in the moment, but anyone who thinks his cruelty and lack of empathy makes for a good leader is likely not dealing with their own pain and separation. And it seems like there are a lot of these people, way more than expected. Because unless you are a committed racist, Donald Trump’s America holds nothing for you. And judging from his track record, he won’t actually be able to execute any of his fascist-flavored vision.

As for me, when I see him it’s like my ears go back and a low snarl builds in the back of my throat. I feel like screaming, can’t you see what he is? It reminds me of a documentary I saw once about the porn business. The women performers said that they had a number of disqualifiers for male partners, but the one that stuck in my mind was the creep factor. You know it when you see it, and The Donald has it, and then some.

I also find myself of two minds on Hillary Clinton. Yes, she is a strong and smart woman with an amazing work ethic who has fought long and hard for her place in the world. But she also has been a politician for so long that any sincerity she once held has been polished off. I’ve heard she has a wicked sense of humor, and I’ve heard from people who work with her that she’s effective and doesn’t forget a thing. But she’s also someone who spends Christmas with Henry Kissinger, making her a global elite. And the global elite see people and countries like pieces on a chessboard and are not likely to change—unless they have to.

So this is turning into a summer for the ages, with so much sound and fury packed into the hottest months, that I am still not quite sure how to separate what matters from that which is really nothing.

But there is still plenty to feel good about, in spite of the bombardment of atrocities on the news. The country is beginning to come to terms with the lingering issue of police violence in communities of color. Paying people a living wage is no longer a fringe idea, and the mania to privatize every aspect of our society is being revealed for the scam that it is. And I am delighted that so many activists have made this shift possible.

Grievances, Connected

via GIPHY

We Can, Still

Last week I found myself lucky enough to be in attendance at a public conversation between Pablo Iglesias, secretary-general of upstart Spanish anti-austerity party Podemos and Democracy Now‘s Amy Goodman. Barely a year old, Podemos (we can, en espanol) is a populist movement that exploded in reaction to EU-imposed austerity, and the slender Iglesias comes across as a blend of very cool professor and firebrand revolutionary. Feeling that his people have been taken advantage of by the big European banks, he doesn’t shy away from the occasional guillotine quip. But as a self-described leftist, he spoke about his movement as being less about a right vs left ideology, and more about the people vs. the powerful financial elites. He knows they’ve been had.

Iglesia’s party doesn’t even hold any seats in the current Spanish parliament, yet they dominate the Spanish media and were able to bring out tens of thousands in Madrid for a January rally. Early polling gives them a strong showing in their November elections, with many comparing the rise of Podemos to that of Greece’s SYRIZA. And that gets my attention.

I was one of those who thrilled per the news that Greece had decisively voted in a progressive left wing government. One of the things that makes the SYRIZA victory so remarkable was how surprised the rest of the world was that they won. Who would have thunk that an optimistic party wanting to tax wealth and reinstate a strong welfare state for a people crushed by austerity cuts would be so attractive? But why wouldn’t the Greek people want to be governed by a group that serves the (vast majority) of Greek people? It’s their country, and that is something that seems to be lost to so many very serious people within the very serious global ruling class. It’s the democracy, stupid, and the scales are starting to fall from everyone’s eyes.

Limited as my knowledge of Spanish (and Greek) politics is, I do have an inclination towards upstart social movements. And I feel like America is primed for its own awakening. Without austerity to unite us, we can still feel how the slow chipping away at our own social safety nets has become the new normal. At work we do more for less money, and for some reason let people like the Walmart heirs and the Koch brother’s shape our public policies. We let it happen, and we can unmake it. But it won’t be easy, and I have lots of empathy for so many of my fellow citizens who fear the future so much that they want to take the rest of us down rather than face the change.

But the future belongs to those movements that cast a wide and inclusive net. The reactionaries can (and will) continue to make a lot of noise, but the future will be browner, gayer and more female. Movements that recognize that we are all in this together have the edge, and that is what I am counting on.

It’s 2015, Time to Name Your Own Adventure

A new year inevitably inspires ambitious new plans and a chance to hit the reset button. I know that my heart quickened a bit after the clock struck 12 with thoughts of how this year would be better than the last, with opportunities for forward momentum, for the commencing of new business. But, along with frigid temperatures, the second week of 2015 brought a chilling reminder for those of us fortunate enough to live in the west that there are no safe places, and we make plans at our own peril. But didn’t we know that already?

The two gunman who planned and executed the Charlie Hebdo murders got the maximum amount of bang for their terrorist buck, gaining international attention for the Jihadi cause as well as a likely bolstering of support for the decade-plus War on Terror. Because, make no mistake, a splashy and violent event like this is made to stir shit up. And if recent history is any indication, what is stirred up will land heaviest on our brown brothers and sisters here and abroad. The European right wing and their American counterparts used the news to promote a nasty and racist strain of xenophobia with their chronically scared constituency, and in the the most craven WTF, some propagandists even laid responsibility for the killings at NYC’s own mayor Bill DeBlasio for, I dunno, acting upon some of the policies he was elected for?

But as someone who experienced 911 and its aftermath in New York, I can tell you that this time is different. Back then, the “you are with us or against us” drumbeat was so prevalent that the mere suggestion that there was some complex causes for the horrifying effect would be met with shrill accusations of treason, at least in most circles. But in the chaos surrounding the killings in Paris, diverse opinions popped up immediately. The cartoonists were called out for the racist-seeming depictions of Muslims, with supporters assuring under-informed readers that the artists were equal opportunity offenders and staunch antiracists. I’m still not sure what I make of the satire, but the debate was useful, and continues, and what struck me was how accessible it all was. There is no monoculture, at least not for those with access to the internet, and it is up to us to see patterns in shocking acts of violence–if we ever want to move beyond them. Charlie Hebdo was a symbol to the killers. And it is now a symbol to the rest of the world, in spite of the intentions of the victims. They would, one suspects, find events in their name like the staged photo opp with a Rogues Gallery of world leaders with dubious (at best) respect for the press to be worthy of their most pointed ridicule. And the speed with which the hypocrisy of those leaders was exposed makes me hopeful for how the rest of the year will play out.

The pattern that I see is that we have a chance to get our houses in order. In the US there is always a default desire to find heroes and villains, but the more I dig, the murkier it all gets. American and European policies led to where we are today, and no amount of droning, occupations or harassing of journalists will eliminate the threats that professional propagandists like FOX assure us are the biggest threats to our way of life. Imagination and honest soul searching should be the first and last resorts for anyone interested in a future with more peace, inclusion and opportunity. But it is up to us to make it happen.

We live in a time when biopics of innovators Martin Luther King Jr., Alan Turing and Steven Hawking share marquee space with the neocon fantasy of American Sniper. And if you think of everything you read, see or hear (much of it unintentional) as input, then know that your output is something you have in your control. So what are you putting out there, and who is it serving?

In images like the one above, I see a sane response from clear headed people who will see these tricky days an opportunity for more love and inclusiveness, rather than some dystopian shutdown where all the tribes of the west close ranks. Will it happen? We’ll see, I suppose.

Photo: Danielle Voirin

Waking Up is Hard to Do

So I got into it with Facebook acquaintance, in spite of my better judgment. I ignored that little “do you really want to go there?” voice telling me to not engage in what would most likely be a fruitless battle. But I did it anyway.

He had posted an already widely-debunked article about how this rifle-packing granny turned the tables and shot a young miscreant who dared to attack her as part of some sick knockout game. He said it was the “greatest story” he ever read. The knockout game, an urban myth perpetrated by the right-wing media to spread racial panic, claims that roving bands of black teenage thugs are on the hunt for vulnerable white people to knock out with one punch. It sounds insane because it is insane, and it is not any kind of widespread criminal epidemic. Has it happened ever? Probably, but so have countless other aberrant crimes, and they weren’t featured for weeks on the most popular cable news station in the country.

So I posted the link that debunks his story, with the word “hoax” over it. I should have known better. No one likes a know-it-all, and sure enough, my former classmate wasted no time in responding that, true or not, it was exactly what “those animals” deserved. And that astonished me. The truth of the story was immaterial because it enforced a conviction in his head that those subhuman “animals” deserved death. The narrative he was clinging to was clearly racist, but it could just as easily been sexist, homophobic, classist – you get the picture. That revenge story made him feel good, and it comforted him that the world was indeed just as hostile a place as he thought it was. Bad things happened because of them, not us.

I think we all like to think we are rational, but that is not true. Many of us have our moments when we are able to make lucid calculations leading to better decisions, but most of the time our minds and hearts are made up already. I know it is in my case. And being hit with facts refuting our story makes us feel uncomfortable, and attacked, making us that much more likely to retreat back to our own little bubbles. And that is the problem.

So I say know your own bubbles and have compassion for other people’s. That does not mean you have to avoid conflict or let harmful information stand uncontested. But also know that winning an argument should never be a goal in and of itself. I think it is far more useful to try and live by example and be consistently mindful of where our biases lie. We are never “done” and people evolve at different levels. So while you cannot force someone to wake up to their own rational self interest, you can ask yourself if your own dealings with others are motivated by love or fear.