I guess we are both hopeless romantics and quixotic, but also both motivated
by a sense of moral justice and the human notion of altruism which some call
love.
BTW it is this sense of altruism that affords us even in biological terms
survival. It is the willingnessof a parent, for example to go in to harms
way against a predator to protect his or her offspring even if that means
death for the parent.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2016 8:50 PM
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: pissed off and not depressed
You are saying what Chris Hedges is always saying. He believes that one must
fight injustice. He uses the word, "revolution", and he talks about mass
organizing to confront and overthrow the empire, the elites, etc. But he
insists on nonviolent means and he also insists that one fights injustice
because it is right to do so, not because one will win.
Miriam
________________________________
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of joe harcz Comcast
Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2016 6:52 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] pissed off and not depressed
Time for revolution!
I've talked with and to all sorts of people including people with
disabilities today about the election and the bullshit of it all. I'll admit
to "depression" up front and to the fact that this has led to universal
depression amongst those comrades and colleagues and loved ones I've talked
with with one caveat. First, I must say I'm a long time advocate for people
with disabilities who has fought against discrimination against people with
disabilities, and other civil rights and anti-war struggles. Then I must
admit I was victimized, as a man with disabilities who was "primary
caretaker" of a child with disabilities in a divorce settlement in the
mid-nineties with little accommodations or resources. The court decided in
spite of all prejudices that I was correct. That is a long story made most
short along with most of my discrimination battles.
They were battles about not only accommodation, but, also gender and
disability discrimination at its core, for I was first, foremost, and at the
time the primary caretaker for my beloved, yet troubled, disabled child at
the time and my ex-wife was, at the time a troubled, conservative,
non-disabled, mid-life crisis, party girl. That was at the time and she was
in the strictest sense "cheating" on us both whilst trying to play the part
of the professional woman. (Indeed she got herself pregnant while I was,
with my disabilities taking care of my daughter with troubles full time, and
working to build a statewide radio reading service in New Hampshire with 20
hour days..Yup, long and sad story..Really longer than this and much more
sad.
And before that I was part of other civil rights and anti-war protests and
activities to long to document or even write about here, for that is not the
point of this brief essay.
But, depression is all about sadness. And when I was really getting truly
fucked over and violated I went to a social agency for help not for me but
for my daughter and even for my now ex-wife over me. Yet, what did they want
(and btw I fell in to this trap for a while mind you)? Well they wanted the
problem to be me and they prescribed and I took anti-depressant drugs as
they told me because I was so fucked over I Must be depressed and besides
anyone would be depressed if he or she was blind.
Again I fell in to the trap. But to make a long story short I finally asked
what the definition of depression was.
This idiot and other MSW said, "It is anger turned inwards."
I finally reverted to my revolutionary self and said, ""I'm not angry with
me. I'm pissed at you and all the abusers in the system!"
Still angry after all these years at this bullshit.
So I'm not depressed at the neo-fascists anointment of the clown prince of
unreality, Donald Trump, No, everyone I've talked with is depressed. I'm
not. I'm pissed off and not at us, but him and the powers that brought his
ilk in to being in the first place.
I am as pissed off as his reactionary base is.
I'm not willing to lay back and to take it either like some traumatized
victim of rape or other violent abuse and to make nicey-nicey of it all
after being so violated.
I'm not willing to be a victim of this in spite of jokes before this post.
I pledge to object, deny, defy, and to oppose every aspect of the
neo-fascist Trump order with every last breath and every means at my
disposal.
I do not reconcile and nor do I blame myself or my comrades for the perfidy
put upon us all. In other words I'll not turn anger inwards but rather, I'll
aim it at the perpetrators to whom it should be intended.
I, for one will not be a victim of abuse, like a victim of rape who blames
herself or himself for the actions of her or his perpretrator. And, mind
you, rape isn't a simple or even profound "sex crime". It is a crime of
violence. It is a crime of domination. It is a Trumpian, "Alpha Dog" crime
and the election of "alpha-dog Trump" isa prelude to other mass crimes
against humanity.
That does mean the evil Trumpians, but also the weak-knead conciliators
called, sometimes and by some Democrats.
Now, let me make something very clear here.
I'm not advocating, in spite of my anger turned, not inwards, but rather
outwards, armed rebellion or physical violence. For I am not, and anger,
especially justified anger is not a crime and never has beenexcept by the
"mind police" and the Trumpian types.
I do not say this lightly or blithely either by the by for I know the
consequences of my expression rights as I was recently violated for more
than a year for non-violent informational rights-not even civil disobedience
rights-by the State of Michigan and its agents.
No, theoretically speaking I do agree with even the U.S. notion of armed
resistance to any sort of tyranny which some ascribe to the likes of various
right wing domestic terroris groups, or whom some described as "communists"
in the 1950's. Theoretically speaking I think we have the right here and in
human rights forms to take up armed resistance to any tyrannical form of
governence. But, that is theory. Pure and simple.
I must resist these violent impulses at all cost not because they are
immoral, un-warranted, un-just or for any other reason. I must resist them
as a reformer/revolutionary or justice fighter, or however one wishes to
describe me or my ilk solely because the path of violence in these instances
just is impractical and just doesn't accomplish the ends.
For, I've read Gandhi, not fully believing it all. And I've read of Malcolm
X's repudiations of previous violent calls for actions. And I've seen over
and over again where the "under-dog", the minority or the oppressed was
subjegated to abuse and even genocide from Bergen-Belsen to Serbia to
Cambodia to Rwanda and back and forth through history without
reconcellation.And I often wondered why they shouldn't have tried
self-defense with means of arms if not outright armed revolution.
Oh, my and millions of we people with disabilities have been literally
slaughtered, sterolized, and committed to gas chambers ourselves just for
who we were and just because they could do so.
So, here is the bottom line:
I'm for violent self-defense. I'm personally pissed off. I am forarmed
revolution as last resort for all repressed people..theoretically.
Problem is in the medium run let along within the long run it just doesn't
work. Wish it did, but history shows it it does not work.
To survive as a species and as relative democratic structures I think we
must take, though ironically structured here; a "non-violent, but combative
mindset". We must face all injustice with common defenses that are
non-violent, and "reason based" if we are ever to prevail. We true
revolutionary spirits must embrace tactics of non-violent, direct action, as
not only principles of spiritual/political being but also of
practicaticality. Why?
Bottom line none of us will ever acquire the arms from nuclear down to
grenades and munitions to deter any fascist or other totalitarian state.
This is just a fact! It is indisputable.
That does not mean that we should let any injustice including retaliatory
injustice and violent injustice including genocide to prevail
In fact moral, secular andmost religious organizations and ideologies insist
on not only moral outrage against such injustices but also actions.
In fact even Christianity denotes directly that Jesus "ran riot" against the
money changers in the Temple. He was ticked off at injustice and that got
him literally crucified. But, his lesion was in my terms: It is rightful,
just to resist injustice and hypocrasy. And it is not pathogilical or
irreligious to be rightfully "pissed off at injustice". In fact that is
righteous virtue. Nor, is it wrong to take direct action.
By the way and as an aside I'm a pretty big fan of the more violent Barabus
and of the Messada crew and others who resisted both violently and otherwise
the tyranny and injustice of all imperial power including the ancient
Romans. I really am. I feel the thing in my bones and dna and I'm not even
Jewish. But, Jesus and his people were so and they were abused forever.
But, I guess here is the point..
The ideology of Jesus prevails to this day and I'm not saying this
religiously either for I am agnostic. But, the empires ofRome through our
own American Empire haveeither vanished or are on the demise.
Again I'm not saying folks don't have the right to self, or evencollective
defense of lif, liberty and the means to same.
I'm just saying my natural instincts towards violent solutions to violent
problems just hasn't worked in my life time or in most of human history
while non-violent means of revolutionary expression has had some lasting
effect in some circumstances.
Regarddless, once again while I have instincticts towards violent reactions
and get pissed off, rightfully over and over again I must guard against both
for practical purposes if for no other reasons.
Example: While I was and still do believe in the full civil rights of
African=-Americans, and while I spent a part of my youth with black panthers
in Flint, Michigan; and while I have no value judgement on the so-called
"black rage" expressed now almost fifty years ago in the Detroit and
elsewhere "riots"; I must ask along with my brothers and sisters: "Where did
that get anyone?"
I remember slogans of "burn, baby, burn" and signs on nearby north end
stores saying, "don't burn, soul brother."
I remember divides on school grounds between white and black that never
existed before in this nearby suburb to. I didn't understand then and still
have a hard time wrapping my mind around it all.
And remember I was just a working-class, average white guy, and football
player with an often bad temper who could get in to a fight over even a girl
whom I secretly covetted but wasn't ready to admit to for doing same (trying
to clean this part of my sordid life up here for sure.)
Man, oh man, what I mean back in the day we were trained to be competitive
and to be iolent over the slightest of provications, from lust over a long
legged girl to the rice patties of Vietnam to the nuclear silos of
Armegeddon and back and forth again. And where did that get us with peace of
mind and with creating social justice?
And there was where I became a peacenik or whatever one wanted to call me. I
became a civil disobedient son-of-a-bitch with a chip on my shoulder working
for social justice and I was then and am now perrennially "angry".
But, do not and I repeat denote, ever equate rightious anger, or the
instinct to stand and figuratively "fight" rather than to flee, the battle
field with non-violent resistence with cowardice; or conversely don't think
of "passive resistence" with being a whimp or coward or a non-revolutionary,
or a sell out.
I'm getting older by the day (Lol) and allof these things are about my
personal history and dealing with my personal demons along with those of my
boomer generation.
I am not a "saint". We were not saints.
But, I did then and do now aspire towards peace with justice for all,
including me.
Life is a strange journey. It ebbs and flows like a river. Sometimes in the
rage of spring, after angry monsoon rains the river rages on with tremendous
force destroying most everything in its wake. But, after settlingdown just a
little bit it is not only navigable, but gives life-giving nutrients and
fluids to the now abundent land.
Let spring begin the flood, and let summer give us renewed life and rebirth
in its wake.
Joe
