On The Eve of History

Bumper Stickers: In the end, we came together to protest NATO.

The last time I wrote was two weeks ago. Since then someone asked me to expound on my observations of the failings of Occupy. That is a discussion which is best kept for later. 

As of right now, we’ve protesters massing in Tampa as the Republicans invade the impoverished city to proclaim liberty and justice for the few in the top socioeconomic bracket. As if to punctuate the political drama in the style of a Made-For-TV-Mini-Series hurricane Isaac is shot-gunning for Pinellas County just west of Tampa. On the horizon is a new @Revs4Romney posting http://revs4romney.org/ with the tag line, “It has to get worse before it gets better.” All of this is occurring in the wake of the passing of a great cold-warrior, Neil Armstrong (1930-2012). 

There is time to discuss the better world that is possible. We’ll have plenty of time to discuss how Saxon blood will boil if the promises of a better world are not kept. There is ample opportunity to talk about the transference of angst against Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Todd Akin to the average blue color working man. The day to chat about hate filled hounding by hipsters with Napoleon Complexes and Daddy issues is still to come. The time to dialog about the validity of the mythical penis envy and the emotional reaction that draws us all away from the real issues facing the nation is not too far off. Right now Anarchist and Protesters are amassing under the threat of Isaac and the Tampa Police to oppose the Crony Capitalist policies which have brought us to this low point in history. That is all that matters today. 

Keep an eye on the hash tags #RNC #owsRNC and #miccheck2012 this week.

Eleven Months Ago This Week

Sign in Planter. Occupy Chicago. LaSalle and Jackson. Nov. 2011.

Good Morning. This is another installment of gonzo journalism light, introspective observation from Chicago. This week will mark the second month of being cigarette free. That is not bragging, I am just marking the calendar.

Eleven months ago this week Occupy Wall Street became a real movement.

We’ve hit another milestone in the commemoration of the Occupy Wall Street Movement. It was one year ago this past week that the General Assembly in New York began working on tactics; one year ago this week that the idea of the encampment took form. The idea was to show that there were many people who are disenfranchised by the soft Neo-Fascism, or neo-feudalism, of the current age. As we know now, that message was delivered with panache.

The message was a jolt to the status quo. It has been repressed across the nation.  The excuse the officials used is that the camps must go due to hygiene concerns within the encampments. Truth is, it is vulgar to have citizens sleeping in public spaces, and vulgar to have citizens question the authority and legitimacy of the new feudalism. If it were not so, the authorities would have provided necessary sanitation to allow the free expression continue until it ran it course, and the energy was spent.

The message is out. It has caught the attention of the political parties. It has caught the attention of elected officials. It has caught the attention of the business community.  Their collective response has been to ignore it, or repress it. Banks are still charging disproportionate fees. People are still being evicted on dubious commercial paper. Wages are still suspiciously low in light of the inflationary spiral the cost of living.

The movement’s response to the act of deliberate stonewalling of corrective action and measure has been to dredge up age old social issues which have little bearing on what is happening in the nation. Occupy Wall Street is purging its own ranks of the oldest and longest supporters.

This is how one Occupier in Chicago put it (paraphrased): We white males have to realize the breath and scope of the female psyche, and alter our approach to the point of view. 

Since this was send to me on July 17, 2012 (the tenth month anniversary of Occupy) I’ve been called sexist, bitter, and poisonous for extensively disagreeing with the position. Yet, even I know that there is a disproportionate sway of opinion based on race and gender. That sway diminishes greatly, however, with age, injury and poverty. I see that far more often. But you have to have lived long enough to experience it. I will, however, let you formulate your own opinion on the ramifications of those statements.

I do ponder this for Occupy all over the nation: Has the choice Occupy made to dredge up old sexist arguments bettered the community, or has the choice made it impossible to build a cohesive community? And just how is it stopping corporate greed?

You tell me.

I am look forward to the day when common sense prevails in the Occupy movement.

Guns, Guts and Gall

This past week I came across a photoshoped image on Facebook which I neglected to bookmark. It showed a woman, holding an AK-47 telling the world that she is armed because the criminals are armed. Give it enough time and I am sure the same image will circulate back through the time line. It is not the first time I’ve seen it, and it will not be the last. The photo, however, brought up just how ludicrous the NRA supporters have become in their arguments. This brings up a very old observation: If an average Jane, or Joe, ever gets into a situation where more than 6 rounds are needed to preserve their life, then they have deliberately stepped into trouble of their own making. To say otherwise is absurd hyperbole best used in the writing of Science Fiction. While I do uphold the right (not that it matters what I do or do not say about the 2^ndAmendment) to have, own and fire an AK-47, the argument that one is needed for self-defense is silly at best.

Update: Sunday, August 19, 2012: I will not be adding a new blog entry this week. This blog entry, the attitudes and events discussed herein, have still not been addressed. 

Update: Sunday, February 17, 2009:  The anonymous quote was removed. It should not have been used in the first place. The paraphrased line should have been sufficient.

That Point in Life

Have you ever gotten to that point in your life where you have achieved all the short term goals that you were supposed to achieve, look around, and found it to be dull? 

I don’t mean dull as in boring. I mean dull as in lacking any value, or substance. That is where I am at right now.

In May of last year (2011) I moved back to Chicago. I moved here to die. The universe, or God, had other plans. 

I’ve achieved relative success at the job I have. After a full year of temping for them, they want to hire me. I’ve achieved a certain amount of fame and infamy within the Occupy Wall Street Movement. My health is being restored.  But, what of it?   

• The job barely pays a reasonable living wage for Chicago. I bring in more money in a day than they pay me in a month. Somehow, I am supposed to be thankful for that.

• At best I am tolerated by the hipsters and revolutionaries of Occupy Chicago because I do see things differently. Yes, folks, both hipsters and revolutionaries do exist within the Occupation.

• I’ve stopped smoking, and joined a gym, and both have actually increased my overhead not lowered it. 

So, here I sit, on this Sunday morning, wondering “WTF?”

I am still alive, however, and at liberty to ask that question to all who will read it; I guess that is something. I guess I have to be grateful for the small things, ‘cause there are few big things left coming down the time line. I am only writing this to attempt to overcome a writer’s block.

As far as I can tell Occupy Chicago is building some kind of community. From my perspective it looks like a loosely knit sub-culture of righteous, discontented and disenfranchised people. They come together on Saturday and Wednesday at 7:00 PM at Michigan and Congress (the Horse) to vent their frustrations, plan their actions, and make connections. I give ‘me hell on Twitter (and here) from time to time, but they are a pretty good group of people. It is hard for me to call ‘em a community, however.

I see ‘em more as an activist club (not too different from MoveOn.Org). When viewed within that context they are excellent at what they do. They are, however, no different from the larger Chicago society when it comes to addressing dissension within their ranks. And they are no different when it comes to back room deals and politicking. Those who oppose the conventional wisdom of the group are eventually driven off. At this point in the game, being just under a year old, one cannot expect too much more out of them. 

They are still trying to learn who they are, where they fit in the larger picture, and how to best function in that context. Honestly, if they get too homogeneous and vanilla they will be just like the same old bastards who have brought this nation to its knees over the past 30 years. 

Having writing all that, I am still trying to figure out my next move.

Pagan Tarot Deck; Utilizing Feminist Imagery for Divination.