Socialism 2011: Revolution In The Air, Day 1
Friday, July 1, 2011
Drove down on my own, stopping three times to stretch my poor back, and once to eat. While I was feeding the corporate belly of KFC and a potentially inhumane poultry industry, those extra-crispy strips do taste good. I will have to make my own using properly raised chickens. At some point.
After checking in to the hotel, I walked next door and checked in to the conference. There was only one talk tonight, followed by a reception in the concourses and bar of the hotel. I wanted to stay at the reception and talk to people, but I know no one here, and while I can teach a roomful of strangers, I have trouble striking up conversation with a bunch of people I would find very interesting and have a lot in common with. I am sure there is some psychological explanation, but that is for some other time, when I have had more to drink. (This Glenfiddich 12 year I am sipping may put me on my way.)
The first talk I attended was "The Civil War: America's Second Revolution," presented by Donny Schraffenberger, a UPS employee and Teamster. My first reaction to his credentials was "What? This guy isn't a teacher or historian? What are we in for?" However, I collected myself, and remembered why we are here. Socialism is about regular people taking responsibility not just for their actions, but for the betterment of society. Important issues should not just be the playground of experts, teachers and professionals, but for everyone. Listening to the research he did, and the conclusions drawn from the material sent more than a few currents up and down my spine.
Howard Zinn gave a talk about artists who spoke up about politics in times of war. In the following media coverage, those artists were criticized for opening their mouths in public about things that were not their "specialty." (Think about the Dixie Chicks when they said to a London crowd, "We want y'all to know, we're ashamed the President is from Texas." Remember the steamrolling of their albums in parking lots of country radio stations? Also, the documentary called "Shut Up and Sing?" Such tolerant people we are.) Anyway, in a brilliant statement, Zinn said something like, "Do you really want experts and politicians to be the people in charge of running the country? How stupid can you be?"
I cringe to think of the scholarship and ideas we have lost when the contributions of those who do not fit some profile make most people in the media at best pull away, and at worst discourage those who are trying to make a worthwhile contribution.
I know many of the events and stories in the context of how they are written in textbooks and general histories. I don't think I have run into the idea of the Civil War being a part of the progression of capitalism in the sense that the industrial development of the north was so important and inevitable that a conflict with the undeveloped south was always on the horizon. In other words, capitalism always has to expand, or it begins to die, whether we need the products and services it provides or not. It naturally follows that when the northeastern U.S. was industrialized, there were people looking to bring factories, railroads and other technological developments to the south. But, many of those plantations didn't need any of those things, because their raw materials and goods going out, as well as the supplies they needed to buy were picked up or delivered to private docks. Southern plantations were self-sustaining, and it drove northern capitalists crazy that they couldn't expand as they pleased. It makes sense, I just hadn't heard this before.
The idea of the Civil War being a revolution is interesting. In Marxist/socialist terms, white working people could never be free until black people were free. Marx organized meetings in England demanding that textile companies not use cotton picked by American slaves. Especially in the city of Manchester, a huge textile manufacturing town, this was a tough sell.
Another idea brought up is that Lincoln had to continually be pushed to oppose slavery. The original 13th Amendment would have kept the federal government out of the issue of slavery. It was only when the people were leaving Lincoln behind that he decided to catch up. It was said that "Lincoln was not controlling events. Events were controlling him from below." 92% of the Union army were volunteers. That number, to me, says those volunteers were fighting for the cause of freedom, not as a reaction, or not for any kind of romantic notion. Also, there were people in confederate states who fought on the Union side. Some in the north of Kentucky and Tennessee fought for the Union.
The last few paragraphs are not terribly clear, but I want to post something, so I can write better stuff later. (Other things had to deal with the number of slaves who had run away, slaves who fought for the Union, abolitionism and abolitionists being attacked, and the notion that this was about sovereignty and states rights is nonsense, not to mention racist.)
In conclusion, I was fascinated by some of these ideas because the idea or information was new to me. We usually think of Lincoln as having great foresight and was the man that freed the slaves. In truth, he was reacting to the pressures of his constituents to take bold steps. Also, that the Civil War was the last progressive action of the American capitalist class. (See above about northern capitalists wanting to expand their influence.) In the end, the Civil War was a great example of the majority of people in the United States fighting oppression and winning.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Just Another State
Today, Scott Walker signed the budget into law at Fox Valley Metal Tech in Ashwaubenon. With the strokes of the 57 pens he probably used to sign the damn thing, he turned Wisconsin into just another state. Everything that made WI a desirable place to be is now being thrown out the window in an effort to bring us "in line" with other states. From what I have seen of many other states, why do we want to be "in line" with governments that have ruined natural resources, let anyone build anything just about anywhere, and leave the poor and senior citizens out in the cold, or in some cases, to die in the heat of their own homes?
It should now be the goal of every working person to call out those other workers who have been hornswoggled into believing the petty self-hatred of the Tea Party, and have longish conversations with them. We have to start understanding that being rich is immoral. Workers are being exploited here in Wisconsin, and it is wrong.
Each person should be able to have a decent house, and be able to afford some toys. I have no problem with that. However, what about the couple that drove to the budget signing today in their Lamborghini Gallardo? What personality deficiency do they have that they need to show others they can "afford" a car like that? What person is going without healthcare or decent benefits because that couple had to afford a $200,000+ car? (You can't afford a car like that through sheer pluck and determination. They are in charge of people, or making decisions about people, and they, or the people they work for, are treating workers poorly.)
Anyway, cutting $800 million from education in order to make private and charter schools seem like a good idea is not a way to bring about change. Budget cuts are for one purpose. It is not to save money, but for the plutocrats to show that workers with rights they have fought for and won are somehow incompetent, greedy and worthy of termination. I can only think of a few people right now who should be out of a job. And they all seem to have anglo- and gaelic names like Walker and Fitzgerald.
When Walker got out of the Suburban at FVMT today, he was smiling as he heard us protesting. When he came out, he walked slowly, hitched up his pants, had this big grin on his face, and took his sweet time getting back in his gas guzzling vehicle. Soak it up, Scottie. You won this round, but this will be the only budget you sign. Even your spokesman said as much today. Come hell, high water, or riots in the streets, working people are realizing their strength, and our thundercloud is on the horizon. The recalls are just the beginning. Even if we lose, we will win eventually.
Unless we get strangled by a Supreme Court Justice first. That guy's crazy.
Resign, Prosser. You will always be known as the guy who choked a fellow Supreme Court Justice. If you step down, people will forget you, you can retire in peace, and they won't mention this incident in the first paragraph of your obituary. Of course--after you have taken full advantage of a state pension, had the state pay for hospital bills, home health care, and nursing home time. Freeloader.
It should now be the goal of every working person to call out those other workers who have been hornswoggled into believing the petty self-hatred of the Tea Party, and have longish conversations with them. We have to start understanding that being rich is immoral. Workers are being exploited here in Wisconsin, and it is wrong.
Each person should be able to have a decent house, and be able to afford some toys. I have no problem with that. However, what about the couple that drove to the budget signing today in their Lamborghini Gallardo? What personality deficiency do they have that they need to show others they can "afford" a car like that? What person is going without healthcare or decent benefits because that couple had to afford a $200,000+ car? (You can't afford a car like that through sheer pluck and determination. They are in charge of people, or making decisions about people, and they, or the people they work for, are treating workers poorly.)
Anyway, cutting $800 million from education in order to make private and charter schools seem like a good idea is not a way to bring about change. Budget cuts are for one purpose. It is not to save money, but for the plutocrats to show that workers with rights they have fought for and won are somehow incompetent, greedy and worthy of termination. I can only think of a few people right now who should be out of a job. And they all seem to have anglo- and gaelic names like Walker and Fitzgerald.
When Walker got out of the Suburban at FVMT today, he was smiling as he heard us protesting. When he came out, he walked slowly, hitched up his pants, had this big grin on his face, and took his sweet time getting back in his gas guzzling vehicle. Soak it up, Scottie. You won this round, but this will be the only budget you sign. Even your spokesman said as much today. Come hell, high water, or riots in the streets, working people are realizing their strength, and our thundercloud is on the horizon. The recalls are just the beginning. Even if we lose, we will win eventually.
Unless we get strangled by a Supreme Court Justice first. That guy's crazy.
Resign, Prosser. You will always be known as the guy who choked a fellow Supreme Court Justice. If you step down, people will forget you, you can retire in peace, and they won't mention this incident in the first paragraph of your obituary. Of course--after you have taken full advantage of a state pension, had the state pay for hospital bills, home health care, and nursing home time. Freeloader.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
The King's Speech
I went to see "The King's Speech" tonight. It is an excellent movie.
When first hearing about this movie, I wondered what it would be like. Would it be a feel-good story? Would it be a movie to "raise awareness" about stuttering? Would the movie be used to make the careers of speech coaches who will help stutterers of the world raise a flag of victory over their unfortunate condition--all while fitting nicely in to the confines of a reality television show? Or, would it be a nasty bit of patronization, created to make those who do not stutter feel better because they "gave at the (box) office?"
I am not sure it fits any of those descriptions. It does, however, tell an entertaining story that can not be neatly summarized.
Kids can be cruel. We all know that tired chestnut. But it wasn't other kids who shamed me for stuttering. Adults were the bearers of impatience and intolerance during my childhood. I know kids made fun of me, but kids are also more accepting of people, as they have not yet learned the narrowed glance and puckered smile of "Oh man, this guy stutters? I'm supposed to take what he is saying seriously? How can we bring this conversation to a close--quickly? Oh, he's got questions, too. Fantastic."
I know that look. I tried to empathize with the tightened shoulders and lowered heads of those walking away who were thinking, "Why did that have to happen today? Just leave me alone so I don't have to hear other people's problems." Except that in that case, it was how it was said, not the content of what was said.
We all have moments we remember from our childhood. I have fantastically happy memories of many events, but I can also tell you what the light in the room was like when a cutting joke, a severed response to a teacher's question, or the guttural grunts and hand waving of those who shush you because your halting speech does not conform to the easy cadence of those who speak little of substance, and do so voluminously.
When another teacher said "bup-bup-bup" during a meeting, mocking me for stuttering, or the parent I called in concern about their child's work who wondered if it was a prank call I was making because I was having trouble made me feel untethered from adulthood, and leaving me with questions of, "Is this what I should be doing?" Dramatic, I know, but, not everything we "ignore" is really tossed in the psychic dustbin.
No person who stutters wants pity, nor do they want people to tell them, "take your time," "it's okay" or hear about the uncle you had that stuttered. But, having your hand raised and being passed over because of efficiency and avoidance of others' discomfort does silence confidence. Just listen, and everyone will be the better for it.
My father told me that a good dramatic film should make you feel uncomfortable, as you are more involved in the story, writing, images, the "suspension of disbelief." This movie meets all of those criteria. Let good film make you think.
When first hearing about this movie, I wondered what it would be like. Would it be a feel-good story? Would it be a movie to "raise awareness" about stuttering? Would the movie be used to make the careers of speech coaches who will help stutterers of the world raise a flag of victory over their unfortunate condition--all while fitting nicely in to the confines of a reality television show? Or, would it be a nasty bit of patronization, created to make those who do not stutter feel better because they "gave at the (box) office?"
I am not sure it fits any of those descriptions. It does, however, tell an entertaining story that can not be neatly summarized.
Kids can be cruel. We all know that tired chestnut. But it wasn't other kids who shamed me for stuttering. Adults were the bearers of impatience and intolerance during my childhood. I know kids made fun of me, but kids are also more accepting of people, as they have not yet learned the narrowed glance and puckered smile of "Oh man, this guy stutters? I'm supposed to take what he is saying seriously? How can we bring this conversation to a close--quickly? Oh, he's got questions, too. Fantastic."
I know that look. I tried to empathize with the tightened shoulders and lowered heads of those walking away who were thinking, "Why did that have to happen today? Just leave me alone so I don't have to hear other people's problems." Except that in that case, it was how it was said, not the content of what was said.
We all have moments we remember from our childhood. I have fantastically happy memories of many events, but I can also tell you what the light in the room was like when a cutting joke, a severed response to a teacher's question, or the guttural grunts and hand waving of those who shush you because your halting speech does not conform to the easy cadence of those who speak little of substance, and do so voluminously.
When another teacher said "bup-bup-bup" during a meeting, mocking me for stuttering, or the parent I called in concern about their child's work who wondered if it was a prank call I was making because I was having trouble made me feel untethered from adulthood, and leaving me with questions of, "Is this what I should be doing?" Dramatic, I know, but, not everything we "ignore" is really tossed in the psychic dustbin.
No person who stutters wants pity, nor do they want people to tell them, "take your time," "it's okay" or hear about the uncle you had that stuttered. But, having your hand raised and being passed over because of efficiency and avoidance of others' discomfort does silence confidence. Just listen, and everyone will be the better for it.
My father told me that a good dramatic film should make you feel uncomfortable, as you are more involved in the story, writing, images, the "suspension of disbelief." This movie meets all of those criteria. Let good film make you think.
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