cultureunderwater

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Oh what can happen in 5 years

For no particular reason, I recently peaked at this piece I wrote almost exactly 5 years ago:

http://cultureunderwater.tumblr.com/post/45939275313/shadow-of-the-towers

It starts innocently enough with a rumination on the enduring grip of Winter in March:

“There was a blast of snow just a few days ago. Bitter winds ripping down 5th Avenue every morning make it feel way more unpleasant than January and February put together.”

That could have been written yesterday. Or this morning.

But then,the piece goes into a striking and by today’s standards outlandish bit of optimism, based largely on the fact Obama was just launching into his second term. The dark days of 911 and the lies and political nastiness of the Bush Administration could be seen in the rear-view mirror, getting smaller and less significant by the day.

Oh the innocence of that time. The optimism that was possible at that moment.

I wrote a whole list of things—mostly political facts and observations—that helped create that feeling of optimism. Reading those over today, one struck me like a blunt object to the forehead:

“- Immigration reform seems to be gaining steam on the political landscape. You never hear ‘terrorism’ mixed in with the immigration debate anymore.”

Holy shit. It’s difficult now to imagine a world where immigration reform seems remotely possible. Or where immigration isn’t constantly (and falsely) linked to terrorism and crime.

Today, watching the Trump administration's tragic approach to immigration—their random, cruel and trigger happy use of deportation as a weapon to destroy people—it’s difficult to wrestle up even the most modest nugget of hope. It’s hard not to conclude that we are deep in the midst of a national crisis.

The times have changed dramatically. It’s hard not to wish that we could magically be whisked back to 2013, or 2008, to a more innocent time in our country’s history when many once un-thinkable ideas actually seemed possible. Improved race relations. A more inclusive idea of country. A resolution to long-standing conflicts. Compromise, agreement, a feeling of moving forward together.

Today, it so difficult to see anything but the darkness in front of us. The racism, fear, xenophobia, false nationalism that has been stoked by a handful of corrupt and incompetent con-men who strangely have found themselves thrust into power.

But let’s go back to that pendulum thing once more. In five years, it swings gravely in one direction. But couldn’t it, theoretically, swing back the other way?

Isn’t it possible that the moment of today is nothing more than just that: a moment?

Isn’t it possible that the right combination of time, healing, and new leadership can take us to a remarkable new place that we never thought possible?

Isn't it possible that the words that seem so accurate today: “xenophobia”, “darkness”, “national crisis” could, in five years, seem so utterly foreign. So strange. So much a part of another bi-gone era.

I do think it’s possible. And I look forward to that day.

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(2/3) “We had a company commander in Iraq—let’s call him Captain Johnson. He was in charge of all the medics. He set the rosters, scheduled the convoys, and coordinated with other units. He was also fucking his secretary but that’s less important. We were nine months into our deployment, and Captain Johnson decides to go out on a convoy with us one night. That wasn’t his job. His job was to stay inside his office. But that night he decided that he wanted to go. And during the convoy one of the trucks hits an IED. And guys are screaming ‘go, go, go’ over the radio, and we’re trying to push through the hot spot, and small arms fire keeps bouncing off our vehicles: ‘plink, plink, plink.’ It sounded just like the opening scene in Saving Private Ryan. I hate that movie because they got that sound so perfect. And as soon as we were out of the area, Captain Johnson has us stop on Samarra Bridge to repair the vehicle. And it was so stupid to stop there. Because that bridge was getting blown up every other week. And we’re sitting on that bridge, pointing our M-16’s into the dark, and people are whispering ‘do you hear that?’ And we almost shoot at our own infantry because we don’t know it’s them. And I asked Captain Johnson why he came with us. And he told me: ‘I have two sons at home. I need stories to tell them.’ And I hated him so much in that moment. Because I didn’t want this shit. When I signed up, they told me I’d be working in a hospital. I wanted to be safe, but I wasn’t allowed to be. But he had a choice, and he chose not to be. Just because he wanted war stories.”

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The originals were better, but these will do.

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little man made petals

Umbrella cloud

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Meat packing district, underneath what is now the highline. 1972.

Courtesy Greenwich Daily Photo.

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RIP

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Making war, winning enemies

Part II - Hillary Clinton

A few weeks ago, following on the heels of the interruption at the Bernie Sanders rally, BLM activists chased down Hillary Clinton who was campaigning in New Hampshire. Clinton’s campaign handlers, seeking to avoid an embarrassing confrontation like the one in Seattle, decided to grant the activists a brief meeting with Hillary Clinton, which happened in the safe, private confines of “the overflow room” – a dank, out-of-the-way spot somewhere backstage. (You can see the video here).

This is a compelling exchange—one of those rare political moments where the screaming, the yelling, the politicking, the bullshit, has been stripped away from the moment and it’s merely two individuals expressing themselves thoughtfully and articulately.

When the activist presses Clinton about what she intends to do about racist policies and practices in America and her own involvement in passing laws with severe consequences for black people, she kind of puts it back on him, saying essentially “people like yourself need to come and tell people like me what needs to be done. You need an ‘agenda’ - specific policies that politicians and governments can act on.” Which is certainly true and is a sentiment I happen to share—the outrage we feel needs to be turned into action that politicians can champion, run on, and ultimately enact. A poignant quote from Clinton was:

“You can get out there and change all the hearts you want, but if that’s all you do then we’re going to back here in 10 years having the same conversation.”

That point goes to Clinton.

However there’s a disturbing phrase in her dialogue that pops up a couple of times:

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

She says it in regarding what needs to be done, needs to be said at the current time.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

For someone who has been involved in politics for as long as she has, for someone who has been involved in issues of racial injustice since the civil rights movement, I find that statement a little startling. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” One might reasonably expect that someone of her experience and tenure might have some ideas, thoughts, perhaps a vision she might share on the issue. You might hope that she would already know what she thinks about it, what needs to be said.

But apparently she’s still figuring it out.

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Making war, winning enemies

Part I - The Bernie Sanders Rally

Racial tensions are high-wire tight in America tonight, as a decades-long killing spree by police officers against unarmed, dark skinned citizens seems to continue unabated.

It’s a sad, tragic phenomenon, sadder still that it continues all these years after similar battles were fought for fair treatment of all citizens under the law. After all these years of the first African American President. After all these years of civil rights marches, court battles, riots and fire hoses. All these years of chatter.

But today you see it, thanks to the ubiquitous presence of the iPhone with the record button pressed — we see it in plain sight: a man strangled for selling loose cigarettes. A woman jailed for three days (then found dead in her cell) for changing lanes without a turn signal. A boy killed for running. Another shot in cold blood on a Bart train platform.

These tragedies, these failures, these miscarriages of police brutality occur before our eyes with stunning clarity.

But what happens from here?

A movement has sprung up. Like all movements these days, it has a hashtag, so it must be a movement. #black lives matter.

Three powerful words. A simple statement, defiant for its very existence, for its need to exist, this statement of something that should be obvious, something that shouldn’t even need to be said. Black lives matter. They do, they must. And yet, as we see every day, in cities, towns, suburbs across America, they don’t.

The fires have been kindled. Flames have risen. Streets have burned. A movement has started.

Or has it?

The riots and protests have had their intended effect. People have noticed, they can’t look away. Ideas have been turned into images, and as such, people have paid attention.

So let the fires rage, let the people know.

But now what? Where do we go from here?

How do we turn those cries of injustice into action? And what action do we need, what can we expect, what can we execute?

The problem of racism (and savage racist brutality) in policing is a national one, but it’s also a local one—or rather, it’s a thousand local ones. Police departments are functions of municipalities, controlled by officials. Thousands of fucking officials all over this great land of ours. That’s thousands of racist, immovable bureaucracies to go up against. Good god.

But there is momentum. So now, we need to turn momentum, attention, and outrage into meaningful legislation. We need to see action and organization. We need to see laws made and enforced on many different levels. How can we do this? Who will bring about the changes needed?

Not many national lawmakers or political candidates are talking about police or justice system reform these days. Not Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Barack Obama (he has talked about it, but has not seemed to prove any kind of meaningful follow-through in the area); certainly not any of the bozos calling themselves candidates on the republican side have anything other than nonsense to say on the matter.

There was an interesting moment at a Bernie Sanders rally last week where Black Lives Matter activists took over the microphone and let loose with a series of statements about racism in Seattle and America. The opening line was “Bernie Sanders, I would like to welcome you to this place called Seattle, which is actually occupied Duwamish land, stolen and hypocritically named after Chief Seattle.” A powerful opening line for a blog piece on social injustice, maybe, but also a great way to turn a crowd against you at a political rally meant to celebrate Social Security.

As you might expect things got ugly after that. Lots of screaming from the crowd. The activist, whose voice had been steady, resolute throughout, began to get emotional, sobbing:

“We’re going to honor the fact that I have to get up here in front of a bunch of screaming, white racists and say that my life matters!”

Holy shit. Full throttle confrontation. At a Bernie Sanders rally of all places.

                                                        ***

An interesting detail from that video: off-camera, we hear a number of voices from the crowd lashing out at the activists. For instance, one man standing close to the camera yelling “How dare you!” and another woman exclaiming, incredulously, “Did she just say that?” It’s interesting that both of these voices have English accents. (Are they even voters? What stake do they have in this game?) But more to the point, the quaintness of those accents seems to be the perfect metaphor for the problem at hand: an aloof, genteel, well-to-do population that fancies itself progressive, liberal and humanitarian (Bernie Sanders fans). Yet they live in a city, like most American cities, that’s plagued by racial injustices, bad policing, mass incarceration of black youths, gentrification, skyrocketing property values accompanied by unfair housing laws and practices, etc, etc. Therein lies the problem: lots of white people who claim to be hip and aware and desirous of change. But who live in and perpetuate some rather fucked up realities.

This was what the dilemma the activist intended to take on. In an interview afterwards, she defended her choice of a Bernie Sanders rally rather than say, a rally for one of the republican candidates, who god knows need a good spanking on the subject more than anyone.

Going after Sanders is super, super important because Sanders is supposed to be as far left and as progressive as we can possibly get, right? In Seattle, we have hordes and hordes of white liberals and white progressives and yet we still have all the same racial problems. So for us, locally in our context, confronting Sanders was the equivalent of confronting the large, white, liberal Democrat, leftist contingent that we have here in Seattle who not only have not supported BLM in measurable ways but is often very harmful and is also upholding the white supremacist society that we live in locally.

Very strong words, and not without truth.

But this interruption of the Bernie Sanders rally presents a major dilemma for the burgeoning racial justice movement: where do we go from here? What sort of momentum can be expected by storming a rally of self-proclaimed lefties and calling them all white racists? It’s a radical approach, possibly at a time when what is needed is a practical one. It’s a divisive statement, at a time when what is needed is an inclusive one.

At this brief moment in time, there is an opportunity to create a rather substantial coalition to create change. Black activists and political players, together with all the well-meaning white lefties, together with a handful of more moderate middle-of-the-roaders, both democrat and republican, all acting together with united focus to change existing laws and create new ones that fix the way the police and justice system carry out their business. On a national level. Now is the time. Now is the time to create an agenda: a set of policies and proposals. Now is the time for the art of the possible. You don’t scream about the failure of civil rights in the south — you create an act of congress. You don’t lament about the unequal education of blacks — you take it to the Supreme Court. You don’t cry about states with constitutional bans on same-sex marriage — you attack those policies in court. And if you’re lucky and social momentum (as well as the arc of justice) happens to be on your side, you turn the idea of change into the law of the land.

This will certainly not happen by starting a conversation with the fact that America was stolen from Native Americans. It’s not that it isn’t true, but that it isn’t relevant. That’s the past, and what we’re talking about now is the future.

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“Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.”

Social Poetry

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Welcome to Dismaland: A First Look Inside Banksy’s New Art Exhibition Housed Inside a Dystopian Theme Park

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The only way you can watch this crap.

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Happy Birthday Oscar Grant

A birthday wish from his Mom.

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If you smell something, say something

Can’t believe it’s time to say goodbye

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Searching for 2-D O

President Obama will soon be sailing out of office and into the sunset. I wish him the best, and certainly will be sorry to see him go, this most remarkable individual who provided us with such intelligent, steady leadership, and more than our fair share of bigger-than-life moments.

And while his tenure as POTUS is nearly over, it’s still too early to know how his presidency will be perceived by the honorable presiding judge of history. My suspicion is that with a few years of perspective (and rationality) under our belts, Obama will come to be viewed as an exceptional president. Which is quite at odds with his current standing in the popular polls.

For me, the most disappointing part of Obama’s presidency has been the reaction to him from American meat heads on both the left and right side of the dials. Apparently, according to popular opinion, he can do nothing right. Chalk that sentiment up to the ever-present mind-boggling stupidity of the American People.

Here we have a President who guided the country to recovery from a significant economic crisis (created by his predecessor); a President who crafted, passed and defended major legislation that provided health insurance to millions of people who previously didn’t have it, and corrected some of the flaws in the current dysfunctional hodge-podge we call a healthcare “system”; who brought an end to the misguided American combat mission in Iraq (started under dubious pretenses by his predecessor); who won two hard-fought elections in the face of massive and concerted efforts on the part of wealthy right-wing Americans and their media noise machine of Fox News; who appointed two stellar Supreme Court Justices; who appointed the first-ever African American attorney general; and who, not to mention, was the first African American president in history—whose election brought tears of joy to many millions of Americans. Never mind that, today, in 2015, this country is as strong, as stable, and in many ways, in as good a shape as it has ever been, thanks in no small part to the intelligent and steady leadership of this most remarkable President. Yet during most of his term he has rarely risen above a 50% approval rating—in fact for the last several years he’s been hovering in the 47-48 percent range.

How can this be? 47%—that’s George W. territory!

Again and again, you can never underestimate the lameness of the American people, who know not what they have, and who know very little about the world they live in.

On the right, we’ve seen blatant racism and intense, irrational hatred that has lead to such extreme, radical conspiracy theories as the Birther Movement. There are people who will never accept the legitimacy of a black president. Just look at the Rush Limbaugh-led army and their bullshit about “he’s a dictator who’s shredding the constitution.” It’s just unadulterated hate, packaged in explosive words. It’s the stuff that makes your ears rattle.

It’s a miracle that the wealthy scoundrels of the right wing circus were never able to manufacture any significant scandals against this president. Not a single one. With all that money, investigative power and seedy political prowess behind them, all they could come up with was some incoherent lunatic ramblings over a birth certificate. I consider that another major accomplishment of Barack Obama—that he somehow managed to remain legitimately and legally above the mind-crushing din of the right-wing noise machine. All they could ever do was throw opinions at him.

But lets talk about the other enemy: all these idiots on the left. Those jerks who constantly complain: “he’s not doing enough”; “he doesn’t fight hard enough”; “he’s not progressive enough”; “he’s not aggressive enough”; “he’s too centrist”; “he’s too willing to compromise”; “he hasn’t done enough for women or people of color”. All of these complaints are almost always followed by the sentiment: “he needs to make a speech bashing the Republicans”.

These are mostly ill-advised and uninformed criticisms. And they are probably enough to drag the president down from a high 50’s/low 60s approval rating—the place where he really should be—down to his current mid-40’s. These brainless liberals have left the president—who has done well by them—to dangle in the hostile political winds, without a solid base of popular support to lean on.

For those who think he hasn’t done enough for progressive causes, read this excellent post, or this article, among many others that detail his many substantial accomplishments. Most of these you never hear about in the news or in polite conversations, because they’re kind of wonky, policy achievements—unsexy, un-headline worthy, but perhaps more telling of his values and leadership than any of the stories the cable networks are trying to pass off as news. These include things like the major expansion of school construction, expanded funding for the violence against women act, the repeal of Bush-era torture policies, passing legislation to protect against pay discrimination against women and other workers. And for the record, he has also hired more gay workers than any other president in history, and appointed the first transgender Cabinet Official. These are just a few tiny examples from a rather long and astoundingly impressive list. Just some of the great things you never hear about.

For those who think the President has not fought hard enough against Republicans, they are simply not paying attention. They are living in another world—one clearly much better than this one.

The brutal reality is that we are living in insane times. We are living in times in which a radical minority has license to do or say just about anything, supported by billions of dollars of right wing money shuffled to lobbyists, political action committees and right wing media outlets. It’s an all-out assault on our national sanity. No speech bashing Republicans is going to change that.

Other complaints about Obama you hear from the left—particularly the hyper idealistic but low information types—involve the Snowden-NSA phone-tapping scandal, the failure to close Guantanamo, drone strikes, plus any continuation of military action in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere.

As for the latter, I believe the unfortunate events of the middle east, and the world at large, may sometimes require more American involvement than anyone except the most die-hard Republican would want. This is not the fault of the current president, but a reality of an unstable world. As for the former, I believe too much has been made of the NSA phone record scandal, and particularly the whole Snowden affair. Until there is evidence of the actual misuse of information gathering, I’m not sure it’s an issue worthy of my outrage.

I believe that the NSA phone scandal, and quite likely the existence of Guantanamo, drones, etc. are not so much presidential issues but larger U.S. Government issues. People tend to confuse the two. They tend to overestimate the areas in which an administration actually has sway. The reality is, there is an un-elected underbelly of this country, operating within the bowels of the Pentagon and other autonomous agencies, that is going to do whatever it wants, no matter who is president. This country is and probably always will be  involved in devious, immoral exploits. I’m not making excuses for these types of actions or policies, but I’m saying, don’t blame such seediness on Barack Obama. The Guantanamos and NSA scandals were alive and well long before he stepped into office, and will be around, quite unfortunately, long after he’s left the building.

Areas of legitimate criticism of his administration perhaps lie with the issues of immigration and with climate change. There’s been little real movement in the effort to reduce carbon emissions. And in a capitulation to Republicans (for policy agreements they never made good on) his administration has continued the aggressive deportation and anti-immigration stance of the preceding administration. The Obama administration is as much at fault here as anyone for not doing more to change these shameful policies—or perhaps more accurately, for not scrapping these non-policies entirely and replacing them with actual intelligent policies.

The sad truth is that most people don’t actually care about policy. While this has always been true, the Obama era has made it more obvious than ever. Never has there been more of a disconnect between policy success and what should be, in any rational world, political success. There’s never been a greater gap between presidential approval ratings and the actual state of our union.

What We the People really care about with our presidents is appearance. The presidency has become a long-running Reality TV show, where people voice their approval or disapproval in real time, based on the latest televised event: a speech, an appearance, a phrase, a gaffe—whatever the cable pundits try to turn into conversation. This, and the overabundance of  opinion on the Internet make people highly reactive, while at the same time making them feel like they’re being intelligent, rational and well-informed. People believe, quite mistakenly, that they have legitimate information to form opinions, when what they actually have are mere opinions based on popular nonsense. Sadly, We the People don’t care about facts. We care about images.

In the early years, Obama fared rather well in the image department. There is, of course, that widely popular image of Obama from the Keynote speech of the 2004 Democratic Convention, and from the 2008 Presidential campaign. This was the image of a young Obama as brilliant orator. The speech maker. The inspirer. The man with a rare gift—the ability to lift himself above the lectern and hover above his audience in space, his words lifting the spirits of all who can hear, raising them up together towards heaven in holy rapture. It’s the Obama that was iconicized in the 2008 “Hope” poster, the Obama of the first inaugural speech, a moment that has assumed a lofty place in American history. It’s the image of Obama that, for most Americans, is forever emblazoned in our history: Obama as a true American hero.

Equally powerful, is the image of Obama as a cool and smooth “regular guy.” It’s the Obama who can slow jam the news, or sink three pointers in front of a crowd of screaming Marines. It’s the Obama who wrote about his time “doing a little blow, a little weed”,; the Obama who can sit down for a beer with Louis Gates Jr. and the cop who arrested him. Or, more poignantly, the Obama who can sing “Amazing Grace” at a eulogy for members of a black church who were murdered in South Carolina.

Both of these images of Obama have served him well. Afterall, who wouldn’t want to be known as a god-like orator who can also hang with the cool kids. In all senses, these are images of a superstar, glimpses of true greatness. But in a strange way, they have complicated Obama’s political standing.  Because they are at odds with another image of Obama: Obama the legislator. Obama the policy wonk. Obama the deal maker and compromiser. Obama the appointer, the bill signer, the national spokesperson. In short, Obama the president.

This is the Obama we see most often. He is everywhere, in speeches, press conferences and rose garden appearances. In interviews with Bill Moyers and Barbara Walters.

This Obama is not cool. He’s not particularly inspiring. His ears are big, he is tall and lanky and often looks a little awkward and uncomfortable in his skinny body. In recent years, you can see how much he has aged, in his face, his hair, his hands if you’re looking closely.

This Obama is not a particularly good speaker when he is not reading from the teleprompter. He is clear and thoughtful, but that thoughtfulness is often broken up by “ums” and “ahs” as he searches carefully to find the exact words. His sentences are long and complex, rather than short and punchy, particularly when he is trying to articulate a policy or political position. Some might call this Obama long winded. The main point of a sentence often gets tangled up in a knot of subordinate clauses—an affliction appallingly common with members of the Democratic party. Many would agree that this Obama is just plain boring. He has the demeanor and appearance of a college English Lit professor, and all the sex appeal of an electrical engineer explaining how circuits work.

Quite frankly, after witnessing the sheer greatness of the other two Obamas, this Obama is something of a let down. He is, you might say, appallingly human.

This Obama doesn’t seem like much of a fighter, either. In fact, he can often look weak and dispassionate. This was the Obama of the first Presidential debate in 2012, the one who famously got sand kicked in his face by that big, mean bully, Mitt Romney.

But this is also the Obama who has gotten the hard work done. This is the Obama who passed healthcare reform, and who pulled us back from the brink of economic collapse. This is the Obama who shrank the budget deficit and made 2014 the best year of job creation in this century. These accomplishments weren’t gained by a few passionate speeches or soaring oratory, they were gained by hard work and difficult decisions made by carefully weighing the facts, the details, and the political realities. But somehow, for many Americans, all this is not enough. After all, it’s been over 7 years since that other Obama sank his famous three-pointer. They want that guy back. They’ve been spoiled by greatness, and anything else just seems uninteresting and unappealing.

Perhaps of all the Obamas out there, I think the one I’ll miss the most is the Obama of the 2nd Presidential Debate in 2012—the great “2D-O.”  On that October night, a whole other Obama emerged—one that prior to, and even since has rarely been seen. It’s Obama as the sharp political animal—the fighter, the bruiser with a lightning-quick left hook. The Obama who is not balanced or reserved or polite or long-winded. It’s the Obama that comes armed with anger and passion that he turns into well-crafted political weaponry. He makes a point and makes it stick.

In that 2nd debate of 2012 after being wiped all over the floor in the first debate, Obama came out looking smarter, more energetic, and better versed in the intricacies of policy than his opponent. He out shined Romney by a long shot. It was a performance that carried over into the 3rd debate, where Obama gave a comeback for the ages. After Romney criticized the military for having fewer battleships than it did a few years ago, Obama came back with this gem of a response:

I think Governor Romney maybe hasn't spent enough time looking at how our military works.

You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military's changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines.

And so the question is not a game of Battleship, where we're counting ships. It's what are our capabilities.

Such beautiful spite and sarcasm that you rarely see from someone on the left. But with a winning point to boot. It’s sheer political perfection.

I think maybe that illusive and mysterious 2-D O is the Obama all those lost lefties are looking for when they criticize the president. They’re looking for that teeth-baring political muncher that can bight off the legs of his opponents.

But with this president, they’re simply not going to get it. They’re going to get a president who is slow, deliberate, thoughtful, decisive, consistent, purposeful and effective. And yes, sometimes boring.

They’re going to get a president who has gotten some hard work done under incredible circumstances. A president who will ride off into the history books as one of the top presidents this country has ever seen.

And at some point, they’ll have to own up to that.