Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
The smell of napalm?
I’ve noticed there aren’t as many responses to your posts as usual. . . . perhaps, like me, folks are becoming overwhelmed by the reality of living in actual hell. I mean, what can you say to napalm? Do I really live in this country? Why am I still here? What am I to tell my children? If Abu Ghraib and napalm aren’t enough to send us out into the streets with blowtorches, what is? What will it take for us all to finally stand up and say: enough? Am I willing to lose my job so that people in Fallujah won’t be napalmed? Will anything that I do make any difference at all? We pulled out of Vietnam because the U.S. was going bankrupt not because of street protests. If money is the only weapon we can use against the war powers, and I have no money, how do I fight?
I feel a critical mass building around the issue of boycotts. I’m thinking out loud here. Can we go down this conversational path for awhile?
Posted by stacy on from 12/01 at 06:42 PMI share your anger and frustration and shame, Stacy. Every single day, I ask myself such questions...but no answers sound acceptable when you know your history.
I have written about boycotts:
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/May2004/MickeyZ0513.htm
And someone working in that direction:
http://www.karmabanque.com/Perhaps this can be a starting point?
Posted by Mickey Z. on from 12/01 at 06:56 PMjust received my copies of 7 deadly sins, looking forward to reading it.
US military also used cluster bombs in their initial invasion, illegal as well.
Posted by James on from Puerto Rico 12/01 at 09:45 PMoops...spins, not sins.
Posted by James on from Puerto Rico 12/01 at 09:46 PMspin = sin
Posted by Mickey Z. on from 12/01 at 10:05 PMI find it to be overwhelming to combat the state, especially one that seems to not listen. I have found that people are more willing to listen and change (evolve) when they are approached as equals. This is where, in my opinion, the left is terrible. A lot of leftists, generally mainstream, closely resemble evangelical preachers.
More importantly, people need to see that their actions can really have an effect. I think boycotts can be effective, especially when alternatives are presented.
For the record, I have been reading the site for a while and your articles even longer.
Posted by chris on from ill a noise 12/02 at 12:45 PMSad but true, Chris. Another aspect is the way the “left” is viewed as monolithic...hence, the antics of, say, Michael McMoore can taint the important work of, say, Arundhati Roy. For most Americans, “left” means Hillary Clinton as much as it mean Noam Chomsky.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from 12/02 at 01:02 PMIt amuses me to see people refer to McMoore (I like that) and Roy in the same breath. The former is nothing but a blow-hard - the Democratic Party’s Limbaugh if you will - and the latter is a serious social critic.
Thanks for your site and your work. It has helped with my personal evolution.
Posted by chris on from ill a noise 12/02 at 02:05 PMEven more amusing is how the Democrats treat McMoore like a leper:
http://www.nypress.com/17/48/news&columns/taibbi.cfmPosted by Mickey Z. on from 12/02 at 02:08 PMArticles from Press Action make a good case for the Democrats serving only as stage chumps for the Republicans in the dog and pony show elections. I don’t think they’re terribly interested in gaining overall power. They just squat on what they’ve got and undermine left wing candidates.
Posted by harry on from 12/02 at 02:31 PMIt’ll be a major breakthrough when activists begin to view the Dems no differently than they view the Reps.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from 12/02 at 03:00 PMI have a very well intentioned friend that insists that the Democratic Party can be reformed. It amuses me that we can discuss the evils of capitalism (we have started reading and discussing Micheal Albert’s Parecon) but he still thinks the political system can be saved by “reforming” the Democrats.
The sad thing is that this attitude is very common. I live in a “liberal” area, and there are people that truly believe that voting Democrat and then “lobbying” them will lead to real change. Of course the “liberals” or “progressives” that they elect always bow down to the party.
Moving from rant to constructive dialogue. . .how do we engage these people? Harry Browne, the Libertarian Presidential candidate in 1996 and 2000 wrote a book on Libertarian soundbites. It’s not supposed to be a be all and end all, rather it is way to get people’s attention. Dp any of your books address this? Do you, or any of the readers, know of any?
Posted by chris on from ill a noise 12/02 at 03:22 PM“Reforming” the Democrats is like trying to smash capitalism by taking out bank loans to finance the effort.
My books deal more with historical examples of how both parties have worked solely in the interests of the elites. For more specific Dem-Rep info, Counterpunch put out “A Dime’s Worth of Difference” this year and Josh Frank has a book coming soon: “Left Out.”
Posted by Mickey Z. on from 12/02 at 03:34 PMI agree that “reforming” the Democrats is nonsensical.
Also, I wasn’t looking, necessarily, for information on the Dems/Repubs. I was looking for information on talking about radical and anti-capitalist ideas. I have found that people who are sympathetic are also, sometimes, scared of the terms radical and anti-capitalist. Any suggestions?
Posted by chris on from ill a noise 12/03 at 10:51 AMYeah, a society so deeply indoctrinated, language can be crucial. I ofte try to bring it to day-to-day issues...like health care. Anyone with even an iota of objectivity recognizes that our current system is a farce. At the same time, most people are petrified of getting ill. Thus, there’s an oppurtunity there to introduce alternatives without sounding like a “radical.”
Anyone else?
Posted by Mickey Z. on from 12/03 at 12:57 PMOne of the big successes of the political conversation shutdown machine is painting modest, nearly conservative solutions in a negative light. It conceals the widespread support for the achievable solutions available right now.
Mickey mentioned national health care. There’s a nice button down intiative already. http://www.pnhp.org/
People judge solutions based, not on their merit, but on their advocates. A “radical” would never get a hearing. Stodgy MDs might. If nothing else, it gets the concepts on the table.
Posted by harry on from 12/03 at 01:25 PMmickey—thanks for the kind words and the boycott article links. i don’t think hedge fund boycotting is the way to go but hey - we all do what we can!
and coming to the rescue on today’s counterpunch.org is the unsinkable Ben Tripp on boycotts. go read it for a good laugh!
note to self: lighten up a little! plant carrots!
stacyPosted by stacy on from 12/03 at 02:23 PMI saw the Tripp link on Counterpunch but haven’t had a chance to read it.
Here’s a little something from Assata Shakur:
“I’m caught up in the music of struggle and I can’t stop dancing”Posted by Mickey Z. on from 12/03 at 02:34 PMThis is a fine example of fostering solidarity. As anyone who has read my stuff knows, I have zero affinity for the white coat crowd...but if working with doctors advances the cause of univerdal health care, that’s a lot more important than my personal opinion.
Thanks, Harry…
Posted by Mickey Z. on from 12/03 at 02:36 PMThe good guys always have a hard time around the command and control types. With some solidarity and a lot of stubborness, enough people who wholly reject their crackpot methods can do some serious work.
Your writing keeps me skeptical and the positive relief efforts you post here let me engage with things I wouldn’t have come across on my own. So thank you too, Mickey.
Posted by harry on from 12/03 at 05:58 PMone of my kitchen walls displays quotes that my kids and i have gathered from all over and the latest addition is: “People judge solutions based, not on their merit, but on their advocates.”
thanks harry.Posted by stacy on from 12/04 at 10:04 PM
Next entry: Charles Bukowski says:
Previous entry: Crime and punishment = commodities
Copyright © 2005-2007 Mickey Z.
