53 posts tagged “politics”
So, this might seem a bit too insular for a blog post, but bear with me.
This book is an "Oral Biography" of the punk rock singer Darby Crash, who died at 22, in the early 1980's. I happen to know some of the same people as Darby did, and met Jan Paul Beahm (the real person behind the persona) a few times. That's why I read this book. Just to see what some people i knew had to say.
First universal truth: EVERYONE has an agenda. Even if they don't know it. We all have some angle, some desire to see'our way' triumph, and because of this:
second universal truth: We all have faulty memories. We'll remember slights against us as more important than they are, and we'll remember our triumphs as bigger than they were.
So, i wasn't looking for accuracy. But, I got insight, and it was unexpected.
See, I said I knew these people, I didn't say they were friends to me. No, many of the people I knew that appear in these pages out-and-out hated me, and I can't say I was too fond of them. But the insight came from facts: almost universally, these people were fresh out of the ISP program at University High in Beverly Hills, California. At that program, in that school, the majority of the curriculum was based upon Scientology and E.S.T. I never bought into either of those, and think both are shams. Now that's just what I think, so don't get all offended if you really, really believe in that stuff. But, the reason why I don't like either one is that they seem to me to be a system of control. Brainwashing, perhaps, though I don't truly believe in such a thing. But, hearing that these kids were upper middle class kids raised in these philosophies goes a long way towards explaining why they and I never got along.
Another insight is how above the rest of us these people still hold themselves to be. See, that was their beef with people like me, and with me: they viewed us as lumpen proles. In their eyes we're capable oflittle more than animal functions. More than once they describe us as subhumans whostink and cannot be reasoned with, and ruin things for no better reason than it's "our nature'. It's all because of which neighborhood we were raised in, and our fashion choices. So, here's a little insight in return: if you view yourself as oh-so-above other people, and you mock them, don't be surprised when they rise up and strike back! If you say "Oh, I hate all redheads because they're stupid and violent", don't be too shocked when a redhead backhands you, and laughs. You want to know why your precious little club got torn down? It's because you built too many walls, and not enough doors.
Some of these people even espoused fascism, and still do! That included Darby Crash.But, here's the problem with that: just like the rabble strung Mussolini up, just like Ceauşescu had his followers turn rabid on him, in the end they'll turn on you. It's one of the things i like about humanity: eventually we'll turn on any cultof personality. Eventually the mob will have its way. Now, Darby committed suicide, but that was just a final attempt to assert control. That was him saying that he could still define his own life. He didn't realize what the rest of us rabble knew all along: either you find a place, or one will be assigned to you.
So, while this started as just some personal research, it did end up relaying another universal truth: Like it or not, we're ALL just another one of us.
I've had a few adventures in my life, and, like anybody who's had adventures, that means I've had to do without things and money at various points. So, maybe I've got a skewed perspective, but as I notice food prices, fuel prices, and so on, I keep on thinking about my great-grandfather. You know how much his fuel prices were? Neither do I, because he had neither car nor central heat, nor air conditioning,and so on. Food was purchased, but more food was caught than bought. So, I kinda think that maybe we shouldn't be so soft. Maybe we should relish the opportunity to lead lives that are simpler, and less media-saturated. After all, we've subsidized farming, sometimes subsidizing farmers to NOT grow food. We've subsidized airlines, and artificially gotten airfare lower than it was in the 1970's. We've subsidized fuel, so we STILL pay less to fill our tanks than folks in Europe. So, maybe the time has come for us to try to live like our myths, and be rugged individuals, without all the government hand outs. Maybe we should be paying a dollar for a banana, and ten dollars for a gallon of gasoline, and a hundred dollars for a day's heat, and a thousand dollars for a flight to some sunnier climate. Maybe we should learn to accept that home ownership belongs only to the few, and that meat is a luxury item. Maybe the natural state of things boils down to lords and serfs.
Or maybe, just maybe, we should figure out that life's better when we all work together, rather than for selfish gain, and that people are more important than profits, and that if a technology isn't sustainable, it needs to be replaced. In other words, maybe a kind of green socialism might be a decent option.
They're not able to afford to eat dirt in Haiti, They're running out of butter in Japan, and Food shortages loom over the horizon. Water, not gold, may start the next war.
Still think everything's hunky dory?
I think it's possible to turn things around. The question is how. Not when, because that's now.
Just a thought for you.
I know it would make sense for me to be all over the grumblings about some kind of comprehensive mortgage reform, but there are several reasons for my relative silence. First and foremost, nothing has been clearly decided. Most of the motions up are so freaking muddy that there's no way they can be implemented. For example, let's say they were to try to buy up at-risk mortgages. What happens with home equity loans that are riding along? How exactly do you factor that in? Do you subordinate the subordinate new home mortgage loan to the formerly subordinate second loan? I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm just saying they haven't worked out the basics, so it's all just posturing, right now.
Second, I'm not entirely certain that it's possible to act in time, or if that's even desirable. There are so many, many wild cards.
I just think it's interesting that virtually every solution to the problems of the market boils down to some form of socialism. So, I, of course, would like to see a blatantly socialist response. But, I might just be pot-stirring, there.
I'm thinking, realistically, the best that the government can do for swift, effective action would be to let both sides fall. Take a step back. Let those over-inflated mortgages hang like albatrosses for a bit, so everybody can get a real good look at what happens when you truly believe that laissez faire line.
Won't happen, I know. They've already bailed out the biggest players, and it's just a question of how many folks are going to get bailed out. The problem is, though, that the vessel isn't sea worthy. Every "bail out" just drowns someone else. After all, the money has to come from somewhere....
I say we start with re-structuring how credit is given. I say we re-structure how capital is handled. But, hey, I might be just a tad too convinced....
I use the phrase sloppily, as a kind of joke. I'll say things like 'I'm working for the devil", and mention the "dark overlords" at places i've worked. But I don't seriously believe that Satan worshippers run the world. That would be really crazy. Well, I think McCain meant it the same way I do, but, evidently, some folks take it seriously. I guess they've never heard of Freemasons,or their symbols, huh?
I tried to find the best summaries of their Platforms. Let me know if you've got a better 'bullet point' on where they stand, issue by issue.
I have to say, looking at it, issue by issue, I'm disapointed. I don't really find enough to agree with any one of them. I think I agree with John McCain on the most number of issues, but on the issues that matter the most? There's I'm split between Hillary and Obama. So, like I said: none of them do it for me.
I don't quite understand why people are making the Iraq war an Election issue. Does anyone truly believe that depending upon the candidate, we can truly have a massive pull out within two years? I mean really, do you believe that if, say, Obama gets elected in November, that by July of next year we'll have less than 100,000 troops in Iraq? Do you think we'll close down the massive embassy we have there? Do you think that we'll be about to spend anything less than billions of dollars there? That's the thing about massive failings like this one. They don't just go away. But, i think you know that, don't you? So, why is anybody acting like this is a bigger issue than our environment, our economy, or our domestic counter-terror programs?
My reasons for this aren't to do with her platform, or with any kind of support for Barack Obama, but Hillary should drop out, now.
See, first her Husband puts me and others like me out of work and now, did you notice how much of her non-payment was to event staff? She's stiffing people exactly like me. She's loathsome for that.
I actually agree with McCain. I don't think that it's the place of government to assume risk, unless government can regulate against risk, in the same action.
I think Barack Obama played the whole Rev. Wright thing slightly wrong. I don't think he should have disowned him. No, he should have gone hard in the other direction. Maybe it's just me, but I think black folks should be mad at white folks in this country.
Now, bear in mind, I have been friends with 5%ers (Who, it must be said, I still think are a little loco)at the same time as a racist was my governor. Bear in mind I've been a minority, first in east Los Angeles, and then, in the Middle East. Bear in mind, I still think Public Enemy were one of the greatest Rock bands of the past quarter century (Yes, I said "Rock". Certainly, they were Hip Hop, but 4/4 time, plus screaming guitars, plus passion equals rock in my mind). So, maybe I'm not thinking entirely correctly, but whatever my race happens to be, if I had the same history as many black men have in this country? I'd be fairly angry with White men. Maybe, if America thinks it's ready for a Black President, then, it's also ready to redress righteous black Anger, as well.
