To be honest, Michael, I am exhausted. I am 71. I marched in the protests against the Vietnam War and shut down the universities and stared down the cops.It did not stopthe forever wars from happening. I have marched, written letters, donated. I stood in the millions at the women's march, I marched against the Iraq war, I stood with only a handful of people on a corner protesting the bail out of the banks in 2008. I protested the death of George Floyd and marched for the kids at Parkville. It has not worked, we get thoughts and prayers and are ripped off again and again. Corporate rule is here. Their plunder will continue until there is nothing left.
The violent plunderers in all of history have crashed civilization after civilization. This post will change nothing. If we do what the folks on Jan. 6 did, they would have opened fire; they showed us this at the BLM marches. I do agree that those marches changed the conversation about race and police and energized the right.
The United States as a political entity is in collapse. It does not respond to us because it is too corrupted and immoral to do the right thing. Greed is a sin we have not been able to arrest. Men like Manchin are everywhere. They have no shame. So the whole thing is about to collapse. That might be the only thing that saves life on this planet.
So I have learned to do regenerative farming and grow open pollinated seeds that can not be patented; I save seeds. I grow and make medicines in fertile soil that I create with back breaking labors of love. When the shit hit the fan with the pandemic, the seed sellers were sold out. People hunkered down and grew food. They did what they have always done. Garden.
We are failing God's test for survival. "Give more than you take." Men have raped the garden creation gave us. We may not survive this. Life on this planet will, though in greatly reduced varieties, survive, maybe.
The EARTH IS A WOMAN, and SHE WILL HAVE THE LAST WORD!
I agree Alysia. I am also 71 exhausted and disheartened by the state of our country and our planet. I can't even imagine a future for my 13 year old grandson. It's frightening.
It's inevitable, as Jung himself feared, because of the collective Man who refuses to realize that he is the great danger, driven by fear, insecurity, greed, jealousy, lust and wrath in a sick struggle for survival and dominance. Indigenous people warned the same.
Thank You Alysia, for this very powerful and scathing indictment of our corporate controlled country. At least you have spoken out longer and more than many of us. Please rest and regenerate like Jane Fonda and others, should you want to jump back in again.
Many people have become vegan with many more of us trying to, for the sake of our health and our planet, Mother Earth. Lao Tzu felt nourished by the Great Mother.
He would say:
"Know the ways of man but keep to a woman's care."
We will see the changes President Biden is calling for if we can regain more seats in the House and Senate in 2022. Most of our Democrat representatives are on board with the changes that need to be made and are long overdue because of the previous GOP control with their white nationalist agenda.
If worse comes to worse, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised."
Michael is good to remind us that we are a strong majority.
President Washington had warned of special interest groups that Congress and the Supreme Court later elevated and incorporated during the Gilded Age.
We need to find more ways of realizing and understanding what we feel and experience, for "We are the origins of all coming evil." We can't change others, only ourselves, such as you, Michael and many others have. More of us need to that you inspire us to.
I'm 71 too, but I hold to hope and know I still have to fight in anyway I can to change what I can locally and write what I can do to keep us in the majority. We have to trust the system. I think we need to listen to Sarota adn make them uncomfortable. School boards, election official we need to not be afraid. They are bullies--full of hot air!!
I too am 71 so we all remember the wonderful (for white people) 50's. Only I didn't know it wasn't wonderful for all. I see how biased and incomplete our education in American history was then....have learned much more accurate history from reading and podcasts by knowledgeable people like Danny Sjursen, Andrew Bacevich, Howard Zinn, Oliver Stone, Chris Hedges in the last 15 years than I ever learned in history class. There is much talk about cancel culture and censorship on college campuses which scares me.......UC Berkeley is even limiting free speakers?? Ralph Nader (listen to his podcast) describes the youth as being focused on "words" and their correctness, but are lacking in action to back up their protests. He remembers results from action.....are there any results from action today?
Thank You for sharing some people I need to meet. I'm only familiar with Howard Zinn and Chris Hedges. There's a lot we all can learn, at any age. Surely we'll perish if we don't. I thank God many of us could hear what Ralph Nader was saying, like you. Michael did. It's why many of us voted for Mr. Nader instead of establishment, corporate endowed puppets.
For all our action, the gains we've made are being taken away by GOP Republicans.
When we're not actively protesting, contacting representatives, we need to practice what we preach with everyone we meet, even the barista who fills our cup of coffee.
One asked me once what drugs I'm on, which made me laugh.
I’m a 71-year old Black-radical, artist and retired professor who has been waging many of these fights since I was 11 years old. From life experiences that have included the Jim Crow south to my segregated hometown in Chicago - and a 30-year residency in New York City - this strikes me as a do or die moment. My dignity, indeed my life, and the lives of those whom I serve, have never been more threatened. This time, however, armed with historical lessons learned from the backlash of Reconstruction and The Civil Rights Movement - the way forward is obvious: A massive ‘WE THE PEOPLE’ movement LED BY WHITE PEOPLE, is the only way to save our democracy!!! Stand up!!! https://youtu.be/wZerNeNRJTY
You said it Marguerite.....So true ....our American empire is in the collapse phase. Those who study the downfall of empires..Egyptian, British, Roman all have identified similar signs.
Michael, ya got me.. I have thought this about the liberals and scratch my head at the apathy I see..much talk no action. My blue county of Lucas in Ohio is as lackluster as you can get. I was in DC for the 2017 Womens March and it was glorious.
Stop by and get me and let's go raise some good old liberal *good trouble*. I'm disabled and on oxygen but I've still got a bit of p&v left in me.
This excellent rant brings to mind, gentle revolutionary Rivera Sun (riverasun.com) and especially Howard Zinn (1970):
"...you are saying our problem is civil disobedience. That is not our problem.... Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is the numbers of people all over the world who have obeyed the dictates of the leaders... Our problem is that people are obedient...in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves, and all the while the grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem."
Also see this 4-min vid, incl scenes of cops with batons beating nonviolent protesters (incl Zinn) committing civil disobedience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oRoQTwac9M
Thank you! Obedience to authority has hindered the worker’s rights movement, civil rights movement, women’s equality movement, throughout history. As people, we avoid risk, choosing the complacency of conformity, often at our own peril.
I’m a70 year old white woman ready to be arrested in nonviolent protest multiple times Arrested at White House in ‘81 in protest of Reagan’s first budget.
I’m with you!!! What I don’t understand is the issue with the climate... Without a viable environment NOTHING else matters. These corporate greed monsters think that money will save them, but not one dime will buy you a glass of water when there is none. Just leave it to us wonderful humans and we will destroy everything, including ourselves!!! Mother Nature is pissed off and is giving us warning shots, PAY ATTENTION...There is to much apathy!!!
The only time the masses rise up is when they are manipulated by the rich.
The 24/7 Republican Bullshit Machine continually churns out the Republican propaganda on TV, cable, hate radio, churches and websites to keep the masses brainwashed to hate liberals, LGBTQ and the poor. And it always works.
The end result of the Koch, Hunt and Bass brothers financing Lewis Powell to write the memorandum in 1971 which brought the New Right to power in 1978 with Prop 13. The Powell memorandum emphasized mainstreaming the selfishness of Ayn Rand into every facet of society. Now we have a society whose Rule #1 is Looking Out For #1 and stabbing everyone in the back as you lie, cheat and steal your way to the top.
We used to have a National Will to do great things but thanks to the New Right the National Will has become a National Won't where NIMBYs rule.
Yes, the " let's fix it" mentality of post WWII is gone. It is " not my problem" and I'll sue you. So sad. Community support is gone. Why do you think. dystopian movies are so popular? It is because we identify with the idea that society is already broken and apathy has set in.
100 % agree and perfect connection to the contemporary "popularity" of "Dystopian Movies" as you say @Jnet the Shep. I still can't figure out if the song 'Waiting for the World to Change " is ironically intended and read as such ?
I think that's really true - Penny Adrian says "Our culture tends to encourage the worst in us" - There is literally nothing in the USA that is not taken to the absolute "MAX"*
- except for compassion.
The link between very expensive and out of reach HC and lack of compassion for one's fellow American is really palpable.
Take $ out of someone's pocket they think they're going to die. In some cases that's really true.
IF we had universal HC then I BELIEVE more of a sense of community across the county would emerge. It's ridiculous everyone HAS to become a multi-millionaire (in the USA) just in case we or a loved one gets cancer or sick in other tragic and tragically EXPENSIVE ways. ~ that whole mind-set doesn't exist in countries that have socialized medicine. People in other developed nations don't have to sell their homes and be in a modern day equivalent of debtor's prison just to cover more acute medical happenstances.
* I guess like MM's "Thesis" - taking mildness and meekness to the MAX just begets more mildness and meekness**. Taking reasonable-ness to the MAX just traces further down an already infinitely close and fine asymptote of already super rational "Reasonableness".
I have a proposal - that maybe 'WE" need to learn to be very UNREASONABLE. In addition to everything else - just for practice - totally over react to some very minor and random conservative piece of legislation - almost seemingly random as a "practice run" .
When Gretchen Whitmer's State Capitol Building was stormed by a bunch of angry Duck Dynasty (wannabees) sporting automatic weapons INSIDE the state capitol building of Michigan [April 30 - May 2020] - screaming into the faces of police and security; (expressing their displeasure at wearing masks) - I kept showing the footage and photos to everyone I could "Are you seeing this !!! Are you seeing this !!! " and nobody was "getting it" and most people just shrugged their shoulders and just went "Meh" never connecting the dots, as all of that type of BS has become completely normalized in the USA.
[I originally come from a country that banned gun ownership and the populous "Understand" vaccinations and the theory of "Germs" .]<--- That's why I was wigging out trying to connect the dots for people - seemingly and frustratedly(sp) in vain.
We need something that is of that level - but for our side - that "They " simply won't get. Something completely UNREASONABLE - if we learn to be very unreasonable then we can learn to demand things that are - in fact - reasonable - (In the end) - "We" are not very good at asking for what we want.
But in America these mofos we are trying to push against have (almost) ALL the guns.
^^^ That is a big problem
I think "THEY" are hopping "WE" arm to flashpoint some sort of ridiculous (short lived) "The South will rise again fantasy" but in Michigan ???? [Nut cases.].
** Not having FREE community college as part of the "reconciliation/ Human infrastructure / BBB - Bill was an EPIC FAIL (IMO) - from the Democrats - Just shows like what MM is saying 'They" the corporate democrats and even more left leaning DON'T believe in what the claim to believe in. That compromise will (in the long run) I believe prove out to be an EPIC blunder and "Compromise" with a very negative roll on (long term) effect.
I agree with everything you say except for acting unreasonable. It was Hitler's tactic to provoke others where we act just like them. We can't take the bait. It can lead to a fight that can get worse.
Right now we live in a country that spends Trillions of dollars annually dropping thousands of tons of ordinance on other territories to destroy their schools , their hospitals and their infrastructure in the name of "Peace ! Democracy !" - and as Michael Moore and Superman would say -"The American Way" - (the former being more ironic than the latter) ; rather than spending the nations ' Foreign Bomb money" on our own Healthcare - Education, and "Infrastructure" ?
Collectively "We" the right and "we" the left in THE "Congress" - crossed the line of REASONABLENESS :-) a long time ago on Oil wars and Proxy wars and the General ambient US global f*ckery to make sure our weapons systems still hold their salability and continued "shininess" against competing Russian Hardware - especially when it comes to our favorite clients the Saudis.
* BACK on TOPIC : ---> Being "Reasonable" led to neo-nazis further attempting to kidnap and perhaps (rape) - but for sure murder Gretchen Whitmer and also blow up a bridge (as a distraction) so they could accomplish their goal.
The Trump tweets that encouraged this behavior was FAR from reasonable.
The "Time" of REASONABLENESS is over... Disproportionate counter - ACTION, esp. in legal terms is certainly warranted.
Those Charlottesville "F***s" (very fine people) are just learning to "Reap the Whirlwind " they sowed. But unfortunately no amount of throwing the book at them and draining their bank accounts in legal fees won't bring Heather Heyer back.
MSNBC ^^^ "Neo-Nazi Organizers Of Charlottesville Being Financially Wrecked By Lawsuit" - Rachel Maddow + interview with Taylor Dumpson of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law talking about her own experience using the court system to punish racist attackers.
We "Team USA" - drop thousands of tons of munitions on other countries every year - exactly as described - except we as US citizens are NOT allowed access to the records of precisely how many tons and what types of bombs and where we drop them ! So mostly THE Congress unanimously approves this behavior apart from a very small minority of senators and congressmen and women. [@Jonni maybe you could research which senators and congress people over the last 20 years opposed the Oil + proxy wars + sales to the Saudis ? ].
^^^ Approximate munitions and time lines and territories the WE the USA drops [ 2001 thru - 2021 ~ for Iraq, (&Syria) Afghanistan, Yemen, + "Other countries" ].
"Biden’s $500m Saudi deal contradicts policy on ‘offensive’ weapons, critics say"
I have a LOT of respect for Biden particularly that he just stands there (on the podium) and take the hits like a very venerable punch bag for the many things he has inherited or has limited control over.
But ultimately I'm tired and frustrated of being PLAYED - (yes we are totally being played esp. the recent $3.5 T bill being totally de-railed ] by OUR politicians and I'm really tired of the larger arcs and scope of hypocrisy by the US on the world stage. We are not the 'Good guys" - the Rumsfeld - Cheyney doctrines and their extended and continued trajectories up to the present day are not a "picnic " (on the White House lawn ) for those that had to participate (our veterans) , nor be on the receiving end of those failed psychopathic a-human policies - beyond unhuman and inhumane.
There are highly exploitative people in US politics TODAY that 'WE'
- we the people have virtually zero control over as our representatives 90%+++ of them are all bought and therefore corrupt. Totally plugged into the Haliburtons and The Blackrocks$$$$. The only way to hurt these guys is through setting boundaries with the banks and legislate against BANKS giving a total line of credit to the US based fossil fuel industries and we need blow open what WE are really spending on literal bombs destroying other countries' infrastructure(s), schools and hospitals in an incremental drip by drip way, day in and day out for the last 20 years. WAR is big business esp. for the USA and especially for the US's number 1 export (in $ terms) - nice fancy weapons systems at all scales and capabilities. Want to get a $3.5 T dollar US infrastructure bill passed threaten these institutions and start dismantling their biggest money makers - the business of bombing other people's infrastructure and destroying the planet and your children's children' s future. [Trust me there's a reason "they" don't want you to know what they spend OUR $ on abroad (in our name) to destroy. Pretty much as Michael Moore has said at least two million times :-) ]. I'm not even sure if that's an exaggeration.
Right now (more broadly) I am absolutely disgusted that even - after literal feces have been cleaned from the relevant surfaces of the Capitol building that we and "they" - tolerate so called senators and congressmen-and-women, redolent* with the stench of neo-fascism; oozing their scummy (deal-making) affability onto the Senate and House floors, worming their way (inch by inch) deeper and deeper into the fabric of US policy and legislation. If I had my way Ted Cruz would be thrown out of the same window the rioters broke into, - thrown out of the same window EVERYDAY before he starts his daily "Work" whatever the EFF that really is, or whatever constitutes "work" in the twisted Universe of 'Ted's " not so f*****g excellent adventure (for the rest of us).
I am furious and disgusted and now it seems the (Corporate) Democrats have "Nuked the Fridge" and WE are F*cked for the foreseeable future.
It is truly mind blowing how short sighted our supposed US representatives are - and seems like this is the LAST cynical smash and grab of what is left of the REAL US economy (not the stock market) through the T***p tax cuts for the rich.
We need to grow up and 'Own it" and own our collective mistakes.
Being wantonly naïve only serves that hypocrisy on a much larger scale.
WE in the USA fought a war to defeat Nazism - but seems that we didn't manage to defeat Nazism on our own soil. It has only grown like a mold that threatens to literally crumble the already creaky and friable foundations of what is left of US democracy.
>>>>>
Tactically - What I am advocating is that we take the Republican's "A-GAME " away from them - MIRROR (tactically) - everything that they do so that their A game completely crumbles - a typical bully being ultimately cowards are not used to that, and then WE play OUR A-Game (as it's meant to be played) as their "B" game is total rubbish as fundamentally they are greedy incompetent power hungry - cowards.
Based on the book by Dalton Trumbo*, and directed by Dalton Trumbo.
Featuring Donald Sutherland (1971) - directed by Dalton Trumbo - starring Timothy Bottoms, Kathy Fields and Marsha Hunt.
Deaf Dumb and blind (protagonist) and victim of Abuse at all levels and the abuses of war- hard not to think of Ken Russel's TOMMY featuring the WHO ---> and by extension the current situation;
A score by the famous composer - (Sergei Prokofiev ) for the film of the same name by Belgoskino film studios in Leningrad in 1933–34 - released in 1934.
I gotta admit the Russians really are the masters of 'Down trodden - totalitarian induced - sarcasm and irony at EVERY level of society. So I think I have Russian irony envy ;-) with a spectacular sense of the absurd to a surrealistic degree - not unlike our Michael Moore.
^^^ Berliner Philharmonic playing a Chritsmassy part of the score you will all recognize [ Prokofiev: Troika · Sokhiev / Berliner Philharmoniker ] as part of an OUTDOOR :-) concert in2019 recorded at the Waldbühne, (Berlin,) 29 June 2019. [well masked and vaccinated no doubt.].
AND just for fun and some introspection, a famous survivor of abuse - Tina Turner -
^^^ Lieutenant Kijé (Kizhe) 1934 Sous titres français English subtitles [runtime 1 hr 24 mins. ].
Surprisingly watchable - [VERY funny] -and quite a remarkable restoration given all the hoops they had to jump through to bring the digital print this far.
Lieutenant Kijé (Kizhe) - First Soviet Full length feature film with sound. + Prokifiev's first movie commission for film music. Some super interesting in-camera effects (using prisms) and "3D" composites using simplified models and striking compositions in the foreground instead of more naturalistic matte-paintings/ painted glass plates - almost giving things a more surreal and abstract look that is most satisfying - watching live action cavalry go back in fourth in the apparent distance in what looks like a Giorgio de Chirico painting brought to life.
A very excellent satire on all near totalitarian power structures and the absurdities of the bureaucracies that underpin them.
The Lieutenant Kijé theme/ story is often parodied in fictional works making fun of bureaucracies, quite notably in the form of the M*A*S*H episode "Tuttle", featuring a fictional captain of similar provenance. ---> But seems Terry Gilliam may have taken this idea and really ran with it in the 1985 movie BRAZIL , with Harry Tuttle played by Robert De Niro (the revolutionary plumber / Harry Buttle (?) ) + typo mix-up and cascade of bureaucratic errors with dire and chaotic consequences; generally considered a parody of George Orwell's / Eric Blair's - 1984.
^^^ A sense of de Chirico's work and parallels with exterior set design and techniques used in the Aleksandr Faintsimmer's - Lieutenant Kijé (Kizhe) 1934 (Soviet movie )
---> Faintsimmer's most notable works (later) being the Gadfly (1955) and The Tavern on Pyatnitskaya
Shoot, Michael, you sound French! Vive la Revolution! Seriously though, my mother who was French and who experienced the German occupation during World War II, never understood why we were in her opinion so passive. She used to say you don't know oppression until you've heard jackboots in the street and living on rutabagas and no heat. Unfortunately her saying was "blood in the streets" and she thought Gandhi was a bit of a wimp. LOL I agree with you though. I came up through u c Berkeley during the free speech era and there's nothing like being out in the streets with your fists in the air.
Mike, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your clarion call to ACTION. We need to ORGANIZE. We need LEADERSHIP. We need a PLAN to show up in person, and not back down.
Your letter can kick off an action planning group asap. I'm 64 and I have time, energy and creativity. I know many many others do too.
Well, you are right, of course, and I DID wonder why the moderates don't stand up and be counted. However, I find you, interesting as you are, to be less than even-handed yourself. I love your movies, but I take you with a grain of salt. Similarly I listen to your podcasts, read your articles, and often agree but sometimes not. I ponder over how to protest without being the same as the Yahoos. Occasionally I go to rallies to support a cause. But when folks dig in and make things all black or all white, I start to get uncomfortable. Do you think it is because I'm a Canadian?
Canadians are very apathetic and complacent in general. But, even in Canada, we have the fascists acreaming most of the time about bs. In reality, we can totally apply the situation that you have decribed it in your article to the situation in Canada...
Please copy and share with others to contact these organizations about a mass protest that is really needed to get the media's attention, and more people.
A little over 20 years ago I was having recurring dreams of baby harp seals that made me feel good, but wondered why I was. I assumed it was a gift dream for supporting PETA. But when I bought a replica in a toy store, I realized they were helping me with my divorce. And they did. I still have the plushy pup.
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is also very active in protesting the cruel #Sealhunt. https://seashepherd.org 🦭 Defend. Conserve. Protect. The seal hunters are among the vilest people you’ll ever encounter. I dealt with them online, and they’ll attack you in troll groups.
There are many animal rights NGOs opposed to #SealHunt and fur trade. I was very involved before Trump came on the scene and I had to focus on fighting fascists. I loved watching the seals when living in Monterey and sea lions in Marina Del Rey. Missed the video as I’m busy getting organized to move next month.
OK, I wear my John Lewis sweatshirt that says “Get in Trouble, Good Trouble, Necessary Trouble” all around my house.
Honestly Michael, you have just pushed every one of my “guilt” buttons. I KNOW that I am watching the bitter end of Democracy occur in front of my very nose, and I KNOW the planet is dying, quickly.
Wanting to be a good role model for my grandchildren, I bought them all bamboo toothbrushes, joined a solar farm “until we get around to putting up solar panels on the house” and told them we're seriously thinking of buying an electric car.
I talk the talk but I don’t walk the walk. I don’t know how.
I agree that having a specific event planned at a specific place (or places) would be helpful, and would very likely bring me out from under the rug. I would show up swinging my baseball bat (just for protection, of course), and I would wear my sweatshirt.
Thanks for lighting the kindling. I hope with all my heart that the fire catches.
Right now, a hunger strike about climate change is taking place on the Capital Steps. Where is the news coverage on this? If brave people make it difficult for the lawmakers and the press, things get talked about. But it has to be insane to make it onto the news. More hunger strikes at every state capital. And here is a good one: Withhold sex ladies. Let’s have a sexual revolution in reverse. Women need to take back their lives yet again, but with a vengeance. Leave men. Create, then move into political convents and help each other to stay strong. Rebel against misogyny by walking out on the patriarchs, both figuratively and actually. If the women really United in a real way, it would blow things up.
This may be the first time or one of the few times I disagree with you. Deep Deep down I already have their "guts" and have put it on the line before in the civil rights movement, in college-medical school, residency, on missions & now the COVID lines as a physician & old guy. I have no envy of these miscreants and what you are calling "guts" I see as "pathological willful and spitefully ignorant acting out." It is also evil and I don't use that term very often but I think in these times it is applicable. The ugly underbelly of our nation / society has been further exposed and I only find it depressing & abhorrent. My kind of guts is to never give in to any of this horrible stuff and to continue to confront this by rational & non-violent service.
White Nationalist Racists are trying to provoke us. Hitler did the same. Things are best left to the authorities and our Congressional reps as with the attack on our Capitol, the murder of Heather Heyer, and near-murder of Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords. We can continue to peacefully protest. It's why most Democrats are on board with President Biden. We can gain more in 2022.
To be honest, Michael, I am exhausted. I am 71. I marched in the protests against the Vietnam War and shut down the universities and stared down the cops.It did not stopthe forever wars from happening. I have marched, written letters, donated. I stood in the millions at the women's march, I marched against the Iraq war, I stood with only a handful of people on a corner protesting the bail out of the banks in 2008. I protested the death of George Floyd and marched for the kids at Parkville. It has not worked, we get thoughts and prayers and are ripped off again and again. Corporate rule is here. Their plunder will continue until there is nothing left.
The violent plunderers in all of history have crashed civilization after civilization. This post will change nothing. If we do what the folks on Jan. 6 did, they would have opened fire; they showed us this at the BLM marches. I do agree that those marches changed the conversation about race and police and energized the right.
The United States as a political entity is in collapse. It does not respond to us because it is too corrupted and immoral to do the right thing. Greed is a sin we have not been able to arrest. Men like Manchin are everywhere. They have no shame. So the whole thing is about to collapse. That might be the only thing that saves life on this planet.
So I have learned to do regenerative farming and grow open pollinated seeds that can not be patented; I save seeds. I grow and make medicines in fertile soil that I create with back breaking labors of love. When the shit hit the fan with the pandemic, the seed sellers were sold out. People hunkered down and grew food. They did what they have always done. Garden.
We are failing God's test for survival. "Give more than you take." Men have raped the garden creation gave us. We may not survive this. Life on this planet will, though in greatly reduced varieties, survive, maybe.
The EARTH IS A WOMAN, and SHE WILL HAVE THE LAST WORD!
I agree Alysia. I am also 71 exhausted and disheartened by the state of our country and our planet. I can't even imagine a future for my 13 year old grandson. It's frightening.
You have earned your rest. The younger generations are stepping into our footprints and you can cheer them on. Thank you for all you have done :-)
It's inevitable, as Jung himself feared, because of the collective Man who refuses to realize that he is the great danger, driven by fear, insecurity, greed, jealousy, lust and wrath in a sick struggle for survival and dominance. Indigenous people warned the same.
Thank You Alysia, for this very powerful and scathing indictment of our corporate controlled country. At least you have spoken out longer and more than many of us. Please rest and regenerate like Jane Fonda and others, should you want to jump back in again.
Many people have become vegan with many more of us trying to, for the sake of our health and our planet, Mother Earth. Lao Tzu felt nourished by the Great Mother.
He would say:
"Know the ways of man but keep to a woman's care."
We will see the changes President Biden is calling for if we can regain more seats in the House and Senate in 2022. Most of our Democrat representatives are on board with the changes that need to be made and are long overdue because of the previous GOP control with their white nationalist agenda.
If worse comes to worse, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised."
Michael is good to remind us that we are a strong majority.
President Washington had warned of special interest groups that Congress and the Supreme Court later elevated and incorporated during the Gilded Age.
https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/george-washington-s-farewell-address/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwiNSLBhCPARIsAKNS4_dU06E5ZjmaM4QTXETM6W3jZ__Gr94811jPTVZsrEU9nIabniTzES4aAhVlEALw_wcB
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/545238.Age_of_Betrayal
Jung: We need more psychology.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udc9FGGt9lo
(3:13)
We need to find more ways of realizing and understanding what we feel and experience, for "We are the origins of all coming evil." We can't change others, only ourselves, such as you, Michael and many others have. More of us need to that you inspire us to.
How else to save our soul from Winter In America?
Gil Scott Heron
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2zKdIcOV5s
(6:08)
The Revolution Wil Not Be Televised
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnJFhuOWgXg
(3:08)
Reflections On The Archetypal Feminine by Nor Hall:
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/775360.The_Moon_and_the_Virgin
(note the passage on the triune goddess who hastens our destruction to stop us)
The Soul of men and women is feminine.
Don't we all come from a woman?
Even God?
Many Blessings Alysia Goddess Keep You
We are on the same page Alysia. Taking care of ourselves and loved ones is probably the most responsible thing we can do at this point in time.
I'm 71 too, but I hold to hope and know I still have to fight in anyway I can to change what I can locally and write what I can do to keep us in the majority. We have to trust the system. I think we need to listen to Sarota adn make them uncomfortable. School boards, election official we need to not be afraid. They are bullies--full of hot air!!
You have got that right! You go girl, I am tuckered out on the system. I am so sick of being lied to, taken advantage of, and not listened to.
I too am 71 so we all remember the wonderful (for white people) 50's. Only I didn't know it wasn't wonderful for all. I see how biased and incomplete our education in American history was then....have learned much more accurate history from reading and podcasts by knowledgeable people like Danny Sjursen, Andrew Bacevich, Howard Zinn, Oliver Stone, Chris Hedges in the last 15 years than I ever learned in history class. There is much talk about cancel culture and censorship on college campuses which scares me.......UC Berkeley is even limiting free speakers?? Ralph Nader (listen to his podcast) describes the youth as being focused on "words" and their correctness, but are lacking in action to back up their protests. He remembers results from action.....are there any results from action today?
Thank You for sharing some people I need to meet. I'm only familiar with Howard Zinn and Chris Hedges. There's a lot we all can learn, at any age. Surely we'll perish if we don't. I thank God many of us could hear what Ralph Nader was saying, like you. Michael did. It's why many of us voted for Mr. Nader instead of establishment, corporate endowed puppets.
For all our action, the gains we've made are being taken away by GOP Republicans.
When we're not actively protesting, contacting representatives, we need to practice what we preach with everyone we meet, even the barista who fills our cup of coffee.
One asked me once what drugs I'm on, which made me laugh.
I simply replied, "Bernie's my uncle. Om shanti."
Which made her laugh.
When Obama nominated Merrick Garland and the Republicans refused to consider him, THAT was when we shoudl have made our stand!
I agree and that Obama should have made a stand and done a recess appt.
I’m a 71-year old Black-radical, artist and retired professor who has been waging many of these fights since I was 11 years old. From life experiences that have included the Jim Crow south to my segregated hometown in Chicago - and a 30-year residency in New York City - this strikes me as a do or die moment. My dignity, indeed my life, and the lives of those whom I serve, have never been more threatened. This time, however, armed with historical lessons learned from the backlash of Reconstruction and The Civil Rights Movement - the way forward is obvious: A massive ‘WE THE PEOPLE’ movement LED BY WHITE PEOPLE, is the only way to save our democracy!!! Stand up!!! https://youtu.be/wZerNeNRJTY
You said it Marguerite.....So true ....our American empire is in the collapse phase. Those who study the downfall of empires..Egyptian, British, Roman all have identified similar signs.
Michael, ya got me.. I have thought this about the liberals and scratch my head at the apathy I see..much talk no action. My blue county of Lucas in Ohio is as lackluster as you can get. I was in DC for the 2017 Womens March and it was glorious.
Stop by and get me and let's go raise some good old liberal *good trouble*. I'm disabled and on oxygen but I've still got a bit of p&v left in me.
We're gonna need a lot of big busses.
This excellent rant brings to mind, gentle revolutionary Rivera Sun (riverasun.com) and especially Howard Zinn (1970):
"...you are saying our problem is civil disobedience. That is not our problem.... Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is the numbers of people all over the world who have obeyed the dictates of the leaders... Our problem is that people are obedient...in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves, and all the while the grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem."
Also see this 4-min vid, incl scenes of cops with batons beating nonviolent protesters (incl Zinn) committing civil disobedience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oRoQTwac9M
Thank you! Obedience to authority has hindered the worker’s rights movement, civil rights movement, women’s equality movement, throughout history. As people, we avoid risk, choosing the complacency of conformity, often at our own peril.
Right on! It has always been this way.
I’m a70 year old white woman ready to be arrested in nonviolent protest multiple times Arrested at White House in ‘81 in protest of Reagan’s first budget.
I’m with you!!! What I don’t understand is the issue with the climate... Without a viable environment NOTHING else matters. These corporate greed monsters think that money will save them, but not one dime will buy you a glass of water when there is none. Just leave it to us wonderful humans and we will destroy everything, including ourselves!!! Mother Nature is pissed off and is giving us warning shots, PAY ATTENTION...There is to much apathy!!!
This is America the land of Selfishness.
The only time the masses rise up is when they are manipulated by the rich.
The 24/7 Republican Bullshit Machine continually churns out the Republican propaganda on TV, cable, hate radio, churches and websites to keep the masses brainwashed to hate liberals, LGBTQ and the poor. And it always works.
The end result of the Koch, Hunt and Bass brothers financing Lewis Powell to write the memorandum in 1971 which brought the New Right to power in 1978 with Prop 13. The Powell memorandum emphasized mainstreaming the selfishness of Ayn Rand into every facet of society. Now we have a society whose Rule #1 is Looking Out For #1 and stabbing everyone in the back as you lie, cheat and steal your way to the top.
We used to have a National Will to do great things but thanks to the New Right the National Will has become a National Won't where NIMBYs rule.
The right has been planning and moving since the 50s. They are persistent and well financed.
Yes, the " let's fix it" mentality of post WWII is gone. It is " not my problem" and I'll sue you. So sad. Community support is gone. Why do you think. dystopian movies are so popular? It is because we identify with the idea that society is already broken and apathy has set in.
100 % agree and perfect connection to the contemporary "popularity" of "Dystopian Movies" as you say @Jnet the Shep. I still can't figure out if the song 'Waiting for the World to Change " is ironically intended and read as such ?
I think that's really true - Penny Adrian says "Our culture tends to encourage the worst in us" - There is literally nothing in the USA that is not taken to the absolute "MAX"*
- except for compassion.
The link between very expensive and out of reach HC and lack of compassion for one's fellow American is really palpable.
Take $ out of someone's pocket they think they're going to die. In some cases that's really true.
IF we had universal HC then I BELIEVE more of a sense of community across the county would emerge. It's ridiculous everyone HAS to become a multi-millionaire (in the USA) just in case we or a loved one gets cancer or sick in other tragic and tragically EXPENSIVE ways. ~ that whole mind-set doesn't exist in countries that have socialized medicine. People in other developed nations don't have to sell their homes and be in a modern day equivalent of debtor's prison just to cover more acute medical happenstances.
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* I guess like MM's "Thesis" - taking mildness and meekness to the MAX just begets more mildness and meekness**. Taking reasonable-ness to the MAX just traces further down an already infinitely close and fine asymptote of already super rational "Reasonableness".
I have a proposal - that maybe 'WE" need to learn to be very UNREASONABLE. In addition to everything else - just for practice - totally over react to some very minor and random conservative piece of legislation - almost seemingly random as a "practice run" .
When Gretchen Whitmer's State Capitol Building was stormed by a bunch of angry Duck Dynasty (wannabees) sporting automatic weapons INSIDE the state capitol building of Michigan [April 30 - May 2020] - screaming into the faces of police and security; (expressing their displeasure at wearing masks) - I kept showing the footage and photos to everyone I could "Are you seeing this !!! Are you seeing this !!! " and nobody was "getting it" and most people just shrugged their shoulders and just went "Meh" never connecting the dots, as all of that type of BS has become completely normalized in the USA.
[I originally come from a country that banned gun ownership and the populous "Understand" vaccinations and the theory of "Germs" .]<--- That's why I was wigging out trying to connect the dots for people - seemingly and frustratedly(sp) in vain.
We need something that is of that level - but for our side - that "They " simply won't get. Something completely UNREASONABLE - if we learn to be very unreasonable then we can learn to demand things that are - in fact - reasonable - (In the end) - "We" are not very good at asking for what we want.
But in America these mofos we are trying to push against have (almost) ALL the guns.
^^^ That is a big problem
I think "THEY" are hopping "WE" arm to flashpoint some sort of ridiculous (short lived) "The South will rise again fantasy" but in Michigan ???? [Nut cases.].
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** Not having FREE community college as part of the "reconciliation/ Human infrastructure / BBB - Bill was an EPIC FAIL (IMO) - from the Democrats - Just shows like what MM is saying 'They" the corporate democrats and even more left leaning DON'T believe in what the claim to believe in. That compromise will (in the long run) I believe prove out to be an EPIC blunder and "Compromise" with a very negative roll on (long term) effect.
Massive blunder.
I agree with everything you say except for acting unreasonable. It was Hitler's tactic to provoke others where we act just like them. We can't take the bait. It can lead to a fight that can get worse.
Well, Bomber Harris of RAF allied bomber command (WW II) would be inclined to disagree with that sentiment (you outline).
As he said it - "Name one Moral act of War" -
Seemed that a very - unreasonable - disproportional response was (sadly) very effective and the ONLY way (very sadly).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuW1LYBYMBQ
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Right now we live in a country that spends Trillions of dollars annually dropping thousands of tons of ordinance on other territories to destroy their schools , their hospitals and their infrastructure in the name of "Peace ! Democracy !" - and as Michael Moore and Superman would say -"The American Way" - (the former being more ironic than the latter) ; rather than spending the nations ' Foreign Bomb money" on our own Healthcare - Education, and "Infrastructure" ?
Collectively "We" the right and "we" the left in THE "Congress" - crossed the line of REASONABLENESS :-) a long time ago on Oil wars and Proxy wars and the General ambient US global f*ckery to make sure our weapons systems still hold their salability and continued "shininess" against competing Russian Hardware - especially when it comes to our favorite clients the Saudis.
Yemen anyone ?
Anyone ?
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* BACK on TOPIC : ---> Being "Reasonable" led to neo-nazis further attempting to kidnap and perhaps (rape) - but for sure murder Gretchen Whitmer and also blow up a bridge (as a distraction) so they could accomplish their goal.
The Trump tweets that encouraged this behavior was FAR from reasonable.
The "Time" of REASONABLENESS is over... Disproportionate counter - ACTION, esp. in legal terms is certainly warranted.
Those Charlottesville "F***s" (very fine people) are just learning to "Reap the Whirlwind " they sowed. But unfortunately no amount of throwing the book at them and draining their bank accounts in legal fees won't bring Heather Heyer back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD6MRCCjU68&list=PLi60Nd9FvELL50l2ECQn5T2KOnY5nCChA&index=85
MSNBC ^^^ "Neo-Nazi Organizers Of Charlottesville Being Financially Wrecked By Lawsuit" - Rachel Maddow + interview with Taylor Dumpson of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law talking about her own experience using the court system to punish racist attackers.
sorry, but you sound like a troll to me. Why else would you be pinning this on the left -trying to make us hate ourselves?
We "Team USA" - drop thousands of tons of munitions on other countries every year - exactly as described - except we as US citizens are NOT allowed access to the records of precisely how many tons and what types of bombs and where we drop them ! So mostly THE Congress unanimously approves this behavior apart from a very small minority of senators and congressmen and women. [@Jonni maybe you could research which senators and congress people over the last 20 years opposed the Oil + proxy wars + sales to the Saudis ? ].
https://www.juancole.com/2021/03/missiles-countries-recently.html
^^^ Approximate munitions and time lines and territories the WE the USA drops [ 2001 thru - 2021 ~ for Iraq, (&Syria) Afghanistan, Yemen, + "Other countries" ].
and ,
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/27/joe-biden-saudi-arabia-arms-weapons-deal
^^^
"Biden’s $500m Saudi deal contradicts policy on ‘offensive’ weapons, critics say"
I have a LOT of respect for Biden particularly that he just stands there (on the podium) and take the hits like a very venerable punch bag for the many things he has inherited or has limited control over.
But ultimately I'm tired and frustrated of being PLAYED - (yes we are totally being played esp. the recent $3.5 T bill being totally de-railed ] by OUR politicians and I'm really tired of the larger arcs and scope of hypocrisy by the US on the world stage. We are not the 'Good guys" - the Rumsfeld - Cheyney doctrines and their extended and continued trajectories up to the present day are not a "picnic " (on the White House lawn ) for those that had to participate (our veterans) , nor be on the receiving end of those failed psychopathic a-human policies - beyond unhuman and inhumane.
There are highly exploitative people in US politics TODAY that 'WE'
- we the people have virtually zero control over as our representatives 90%+++ of them are all bought and therefore corrupt. Totally plugged into the Haliburtons and The Blackrocks$$$$. The only way to hurt these guys is through setting boundaries with the banks and legislate against BANKS giving a total line of credit to the US based fossil fuel industries and we need blow open what WE are really spending on literal bombs destroying other countries' infrastructure(s), schools and hospitals in an incremental drip by drip way, day in and day out for the last 20 years. WAR is big business esp. for the USA and especially for the US's number 1 export (in $ terms) - nice fancy weapons systems at all scales and capabilities. Want to get a $3.5 T dollar US infrastructure bill passed threaten these institutions and start dismantling their biggest money makers - the business of bombing other people's infrastructure and destroying the planet and your children's children' s future. [Trust me there's a reason "they" don't want you to know what they spend OUR $ on abroad (in our name) to destroy. Pretty much as Michael Moore has said at least two million times :-) ]. I'm not even sure if that's an exaggeration.
Right now (more broadly) I am absolutely disgusted that even - after literal feces have been cleaned from the relevant surfaces of the Capitol building that we and "they" - tolerate so called senators and congressmen-and-women, redolent* with the stench of neo-fascism; oozing their scummy (deal-making) affability onto the Senate and House floors, worming their way (inch by inch) deeper and deeper into the fabric of US policy and legislation. If I had my way Ted Cruz would be thrown out of the same window the rioters broke into, - thrown out of the same window EVERYDAY before he starts his daily "Work" whatever the EFF that really is, or whatever constitutes "work" in the twisted Universe of 'Ted's " not so f*****g excellent adventure (for the rest of us).
I am furious and disgusted and now it seems the (Corporate) Democrats have "Nuked the Fridge" and WE are F*cked for the foreseeable future.
It is truly mind blowing how short sighted our supposed US representatives are - and seems like this is the LAST cynical smash and grab of what is left of the REAL US economy (not the stock market) through the T***p tax cuts for the rich.
We need to grow up and 'Own it" and own our collective mistakes.
Being wantonly naïve only serves that hypocrisy on a much larger scale.
WE in the USA fought a war to defeat Nazism - but seems that we didn't manage to defeat Nazism on our own soil. It has only grown like a mold that threatens to literally crumble the already creaky and friable foundations of what is left of US democracy.
>>>>>
Tactically - What I am advocating is that we take the Republican's "A-GAME " away from them - MIRROR (tactically) - everything that they do so that their A game completely crumbles - a typical bully being ultimately cowards are not used to that, and then WE play OUR A-Game (as it's meant to be played) as their "B" game is total rubbish as fundamentally they are greedy incompetent power hungry - cowards.
>
The gloves are off. Time has run out.
BTW I'm still kicking the tires / learning this interface - more used to the trap-doors and odd quirks of the Tube of You interface.
@"Jonni"
Johnny get your gun (Book) vis a vis - to "Johnny Got His Gun" (beyond ironic and very prescient. )
https://www.imdb.com/video/vi1628418329?playlistId=tt0067277&ref_=tt_ov_vi
Based on the book by Dalton Trumbo*, and directed by Dalton Trumbo.
Featuring Donald Sutherland (1971) - directed by Dalton Trumbo - starring Timothy Bottoms, Kathy Fields and Marsha Hunt.
Deaf Dumb and blind (protagonist) and victim of Abuse at all levels and the abuses of war- hard not to think of Ken Russel's TOMMY featuring the WHO ---> and by extension the current situation;
The WHO - Behind Blue Eyes --- > Biden.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uA2zODu1nJw&t=7s
1971 performance ^^^
More in studio performance ? ^^^ + great solo... ,
http://www.songlyrics.com/the-who/behind-blue-eyes-lyrics/
^^^ Lyrics - obvi
Sometimes you have to be the bad guy - to do the right thing, all part of "Growing" up.
institutional abuse and government level abuse is REAL (as we have amply experienced) esp. from the last "President".
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* Johnny got his gun - but not a million miles away from Themes of Lieutenant Kijé
Russian: Поручик Киже, Poruchik Kizhe
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieutenant_Kij%C3%A9_(Prokofiev)
A score by the famous composer - (Sergei Prokofiev ) for the film of the same name by Belgoskino film studios in Leningrad in 1933–34 - released in 1934.
I gotta admit the Russians really are the masters of 'Down trodden - totalitarian induced - sarcasm and irony at EVERY level of society. So I think I have Russian irony envy ;-) with a spectacular sense of the absurd to a surrealistic degree - not unlike our Michael Moore.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq3hRVAC1GE&t=01s
^^^ Berliner Philharmonic playing a Chritsmassy part of the score you will all recognize [ Prokofiev: Troika · Sokhiev / Berliner Philharmoniker ] as part of an OUTDOOR :-) concert in2019 recorded at the Waldbühne, (Berlin,) 29 June 2019. [well masked and vaccinated no doubt.].
AND just for fun and some introspection, a famous survivor of abuse - Tina Turner -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdinfZKA_Fw&t=2s
As the Acid Queen in Tommy - with the late and sometimes great Oliver Reed,
For completeness ~ Not trying to spam-up the joint up here;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmZoXQG5sY8&list=PLi60Nd9FvELL50l2ECQn5T2KOnY5nCChA&index=90
^^^ Lieutenant Kijé (Kizhe) 1934 Sous titres français English subtitles [runtime 1 hr 24 mins. ].
Surprisingly watchable - [VERY funny] -and quite a remarkable restoration given all the hoops they had to jump through to bring the digital print this far.
Lieutenant Kijé (Kizhe) - First Soviet Full length feature film with sound. + Prokifiev's first movie commission for film music. Some super interesting in-camera effects (using prisms) and "3D" composites using simplified models and striking compositions in the foreground instead of more naturalistic matte-paintings/ painted glass plates - almost giving things a more surreal and abstract look that is most satisfying - watching live action cavalry go back in fourth in the apparent distance in what looks like a Giorgio de Chirico painting brought to life.
A very excellent satire on all near totalitarian power structures and the absurdities of the bureaucracies that underpin them.
The Lieutenant Kijé theme/ story is often parodied in fictional works making fun of bureaucracies, quite notably in the form of the M*A*S*H episode "Tuttle", featuring a fictional captain of similar provenance. ---> But seems Terry Gilliam may have taken this idea and really ran with it in the 1985 movie BRAZIL , with Harry Tuttle played by Robert De Niro (the revolutionary plumber / Harry Buttle (?) ) + typo mix-up and cascade of bureaucratic errors with dire and chaotic consequences; generally considered a parody of George Orwell's / Eric Blair's - 1984.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088846/
^^^ IMDB page - BRAZIL - (phenomenal cast. ).
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https://www.artsy.net/artist/giorgio-de-chirico
^^^ A sense of de Chirico's work and parallels with exterior set design and techniques used in the Aleksandr Faintsimmer's - Lieutenant Kijé (Kizhe) 1934 (Soviet movie )
---> Faintsimmer's most notable works (later) being the Gadfly (1955) and The Tavern on Pyatnitskaya
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tavern_on_Pyatnitskaya
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0135005/
^^^ Imdb "Treatment". ~ Challenge anyone to find a clip or trailer for this online.
Unfortunately, it seems like the Left is too obsessed with pronouns and virtue-signaling to do anything like this.
Shoot, Michael, you sound French! Vive la Revolution! Seriously though, my mother who was French and who experienced the German occupation during World War II, never understood why we were in her opinion so passive. She used to say you don't know oppression until you've heard jackboots in the street and living on rutabagas and no heat. Unfortunately her saying was "blood in the streets" and she thought Gandhi was a bit of a wimp. LOL I agree with you though. I came up through u c Berkeley during the free speech era and there's nothing like being out in the streets with your fists in the air.
RISE UP is my mantra. Michael, say more, please! What, specifically, shall we do?
That is exactly it: what shall we do? What can we do?
Mike, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your clarion call to ACTION. We need to ORGANIZE. We need LEADERSHIP. We need a PLAN to show up in person, and not back down.
Your letter can kick off an action planning group asap. I'm 64 and I have time, energy and creativity. I know many many others do too.
People are ready. Let's go.
I too am ready. A little nervous but ready.
Well, you are right, of course, and I DID wonder why the moderates don't stand up and be counted. However, I find you, interesting as you are, to be less than even-handed yourself. I love your movies, but I take you with a grain of salt. Similarly I listen to your podcasts, read your articles, and often agree but sometimes not. I ponder over how to protest without being the same as the Yahoos. Occasionally I go to rallies to support a cause. But when folks dig in and make things all black or all white, I start to get uncomfortable. Do you think it is because I'm a Canadian?
Heh heh
Canada--sane people living on the 2nd floor suffering from the wingnut opioid addicts on the 1st floor...
Canadians are very apathetic and complacent in general. But, even in Canada, we have the fascists acreaming most of the time about bs. In reality, we can totally apply the situation that you have decribed it in your article to the situation in Canada...
Except for Canada’s vile baby seal killers and frackers 🇨🇦
We need to support these organizations and push them to organize a protest for all of us to come together on the prime minister's doorstep in Ottawa:
https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/about-canadian-seal-hunt
https://www.ifaw.org/eu/press-releases/2021-canada-commercial-seal-hunt-begins
https://www.peta.org/issues/wildlife/wildlife-factsheets/seal-slaughter/
We should've deluged his office with mail/email last Spring.
Still should.
https://pm.gc.ca/en/connect/contact
At least PETA keeps an active petition:
https://support.peta.org/page/1144/action/1
Please copy and share with others to contact these organizations about a mass protest that is really needed to get the media's attention, and more people.
A little over 20 years ago I was having recurring dreams of baby harp seals that made me feel good, but wondered why I was. I assumed it was a gift dream for supporting PETA. But when I bought a replica in a toy store, I realized they were helping me with my divorce. And they did. I still have the plushy pup.
And then youtube created a special channel:
Pup close-up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl0KcVv_H20
(2:33)
Thank You for reminding us of things we can feel good about, doing what we can.
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is also very active in protesting the cruel #Sealhunt. https://sea shepherd.org 🦭 Defend. Conserve. Protect. The seal hunters are among the vilest people you’ll ever encounter. I dealt with them online, and they’ll attack you in troll groups.
All the more reason to get organizations to coordinate a protest.
The government needs to step in and offer alternatives to the seal killers.
My granddaughter now cares for my replica seal pup.
I dread when she finds out how they're made to suffer.
I know her mom will help her as I tried.
Did you like the Vis a Vis video?
There are many animal rights NGOs opposed to #SealHunt and fur trade. I was very involved before Trump came on the scene and I had to focus on fighting fascists. I loved watching the seals when living in Monterey and sea lions in Marina Del Rey. Missed the video as I’m busy getting organized to move next month.
https://seashepherd.org/
OK, I wear my John Lewis sweatshirt that says “Get in Trouble, Good Trouble, Necessary Trouble” all around my house.
Honestly Michael, you have just pushed every one of my “guilt” buttons. I KNOW that I am watching the bitter end of Democracy occur in front of my very nose, and I KNOW the planet is dying, quickly.
Wanting to be a good role model for my grandchildren, I bought them all bamboo toothbrushes, joined a solar farm “until we get around to putting up solar panels on the house” and told them we're seriously thinking of buying an electric car.
I talk the talk but I don’t walk the walk. I don’t know how.
I agree that having a specific event planned at a specific place (or places) would be helpful, and would very likely bring me out from under the rug. I would show up swinging my baseball bat (just for protection, of course), and I would wear my sweatshirt.
Thanks for lighting the kindling. I hope with all my heart that the fire catches.
Right now, a hunger strike about climate change is taking place on the Capital Steps. Where is the news coverage on this? If brave people make it difficult for the lawmakers and the press, things get talked about. But it has to be insane to make it onto the news. More hunger strikes at every state capital. And here is a good one: Withhold sex ladies. Let’s have a sexual revolution in reverse. Women need to take back their lives yet again, but with a vengeance. Leave men. Create, then move into political convents and help each other to stay strong. Rebel against misogyny by walking out on the patriarchs, both figuratively and actually. If the women really United in a real way, it would blow things up.
The EARTH IS A WOMAN and SHE WILL HAVE THE LAST WORD
This may be the first time or one of the few times I disagree with you. Deep Deep down I already have their "guts" and have put it on the line before in the civil rights movement, in college-medical school, residency, on missions & now the COVID lines as a physician & old guy. I have no envy of these miscreants and what you are calling "guts" I see as "pathological willful and spitefully ignorant acting out." It is also evil and I don't use that term very often but I think in these times it is applicable. The ugly underbelly of our nation / society has been further exposed and I only find it depressing & abhorrent. My kind of guts is to never give in to any of this horrible stuff and to continue to confront this by rational & non-violent service.
Yes, I am a HS school teacher,, I am there for love and support. The little things matter.
I agree totally. It's not guts, it's a temper tantrum.
White Nationalist Racists are trying to provoke us. Hitler did the same. Things are best left to the authorities and our Congressional reps as with the attack on our Capitol, the murder of Heather Heyer, and near-murder of Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords. We can continue to peacefully protest. It's why most Democrats are on board with President Biden. We can gain more in 2022.