Is the US headed towards Fragmentation, Violent revolution or X? And are we really as divided as we think?
This started out as a comment in response to another commenter in an essay I was reading this morning while waiting for my rarely consumed pain killer to kick in. I try to avoid opiates and generally treat myself with Cannabis, but today I was in too much pain to even make it to the bathroom without almost blacking out and I have too much housework to take care of.
My wife and I generally share the load of chores, with me doing pretty much everything but laundry because I "Suck" at folding (Hint to my guy readers, if you want to get out of a particular household chore you really abhor, SUCK AT IT! But use this sparingly cause you only get maybe one or two, lol!) but with her new job and the overtime she has been getting that we have to accept out of necessity usually leaves her working 4 or 5 12 hour shifts a week instead of the normal 3 12.5 hour shifts so I try to take over a lot of hers while she is sleeping in the day (Grave-yard worker) to give her more free time on her days off. (This is my disclaimer for the shoddy construction of this post, lol!)
Anyway, I digress, as I often do, so let me get back to my point.
I don't find myself to be particularly "Inspired" to write something in and of itself, the impetus to do so usually stems from a thought going "DING!" into my head when reading the comments and essays here, which brings me to the following.
Do we, as Americans REALLY disagree to the levels that the current animosity suggests? Are we really that different?
I would suggest that the answer to this, despite the current state of affairs and turmoil, is a resounding no.
If you look at the polling of Americans on the issues it seems that we agree, republican or democrat, on somewhere between 70-80% of the issues of importance.
While we frequently disagree on the best method to solving the problems, we generally both agree on what the problems are and what is most important for us to fix. (If you remove the most polarizing issues, I.E. Gun Control and Abortion the agreement number increases dramatically.)
The problem lies in that for decade after decade we have been fed a partisan, "the other side is the enemy of everything you believe in and you must never work with them on anything because they will betray you." that precludes us from working together, a mindset that I believe was fabricated specifically to divide the people against each other as we were rapidly approaching a point where we were about to have a significant shift in the social paradigm.
We have been conditioned (by we, I mean people in general, not people here specifically.) to a "Team Sports" mindset that only leaves room for a, "My team good, your team bad." mentality that prevents any meaningful change or dialog from occurring, that is, change of any meaning to those of us not in the realm of the elites.
This has been so obvious to me for damn near 20 years that I have a hard time grasping how others fail to grok it.
I don't know what the answer is to this problem, other than a complete and total social AND political revolution, and I don't mean a peaceful one as we have already been repeatedly shown that no matter what we do, nothing short of violence will motivate them to change their ways.
I used to abhor and reject the thought of a violent revolution, and while I still abhor it I am now of the mind that there is likely nothing short of such an event that we can hope for that will lead to actual change without leaving the realm of realism.
The only other avenue I see that could POSSIBLY avert violence is if the US pulls a USSR style fragmentation/collapse and a new Union of Affiliated North American States forms in the aftermath. Something I have speculated about repeatedly in the past as the most likely outcome.
With states such as California now joining Texas and possibly a few others rapidly gaining a groundswell of support from their citizens to pull their own version of a #FedExit this is a possibility that can't be ignored.
Now I have to change my assertion that while I still think it is a POSSIBLE outcome, I no longer feel we are leaning more towards that event over the other potentiality.
I would say it went from being about 70/30 chance on the fragmentation side to about 55/45 towards violent revolution.
Then there is the possibility of X.
X can be something that we, or at least I, am currently not seeing.
Perhaps X is us finally waking up as a society and realizing that we are being played, but I find that to be a very unlikely scenario at this point.
Maybe X will be an intergalactic wake-up call, forcing us to realize that we really are not that different despite hair, skin or religious differences. (I had to throw hair in there because to me that is just as silly of a reason for us to divide as the others.)
What do you think X is or may be?
If I am wrong, which in all honesty in this instance at least, I would love to be, please convince me below.
If this is a little meandering or disjointed, I apologize in advance, between lack of sleep and difficulty focusing this morning due to this damn pain I am sure I am not at my best and after proofreading it even I find it a bit off, but not in a way I can figure out how to correct at the moment, and since you guys are generally forgiving and not grammar Nazi's I will just toss it up as is.. 
I am going to end this with a message from an angry pootie, Einstein and the guy from Pawnstars to those that have worked so tirelessly to screw over democracy, the people and the planet.
Comments
Well, after reading my own post I think I need to throw myself
under the bus for a little self mockery...
So I added another tag and this comment.
Meme overload indeed, lol!
"I used to vote Republican & Democrat, I also used to shit my pants. Eventually I got smart enough to stop doing both things." -Me
The current state of the nation:
Hope you're feeling better.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
Well, the knowledge that at least today I was able to accomplish
some housework thanks to breaking down and taking a pill (and a hearty Dab or two, lol!) I was able to sweep, mop and vac the entire house as well as clean the kitchen and do a poo poo patrol (2 dogs shouldn't be able to make that much!) in the back yard.
I always feel better mentally when I have been able to be productive, even if it is only in such a mundane way. It gives me a sense of accomplishment to know that at least I didn't have to waste another whole day.
That was me yesterday, lol! except it was one slimfast, 4 beers and 2 LARGE Moscow mules.
"I used to vote Republican & Democrat, I also used to shit my pants. Eventually I got smart enough to stop doing both things." -Me
Damn Russians.
They'll get you every time.
BTW: the Slimfastguy is a big Hillary donor.
The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?
Good thing I get the Kirkland brand then from Costco... :)
I kinda use the name generically...
Gotta stop doing that.
"I used to vote Republican & Democrat, I also used to shit my pants. Eventually I got smart enough to stop doing both things." -Me
We need to find a way to get to those who are trapped
in the us vs them mentality. We need to find a way around the TV/radio/newspaper mind control.
Beware the bullshit factories.
Whoever can come up with the idea to do this deserves to have
an entirely new prize named after them to replace the Nobel.
Looking at some of the recent past winners of said award has left me feeling it has become quite watered down anymore anyway.
"I used to vote Republican & Democrat, I also used to shit my pants. Eventually I got smart enough to stop doing both things." -Me
I endorse the sentiment, but
I think a more immediate concern is getting to those who aren't trapped in the us vs them mentality, who agree with us and don't know what the fuck to do. There's a lot of us out there. Tens of millions, apparently. None of us have a vehicle for getting anything done, nor an idea of what, specifically, to do. If we can figure that out, people will turn toward the light. Look what happened when Bernie made one speech, over and over again--how many responded to that? Tens of millions.
We've got runners on base, but we keep stranding them.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
a way around the mind control
LSD?
(It worked in the 1960's and 1970's.....)
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Is there something wrong with just talking?
And by talking, I don't mean writing up crap memes on some poli-blog. I mean talking to your neighbors and the people you meet... old school style.
I reject the notion that TV spots beat face-to-face interactions. I agree with signal that the problem is our runners are stranded on base. I'm stranded on base. If we're to combat the oligarchs more effectively in 2018 we need to get going and I'm freaking clueless as to how.
A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard
Love your sig
It's creeping fascism and more overtly so with the Trump election.
Neoliberalism is dead. Decades of economic stagnation lead to demagoguery and division. Fascism spreads as society fights over scraps of a shrinking pie. 'Take back MY country' and 'Make America 'great' again' are the watchwords of xenophobia and hatred of the usurping Others who must be rounded up in camps and deported. Then they deal with those 'others' that aren't TRUE Americans.
It's this dark future we must fight against.
Added tweet -
I want a Pony!
Thanks! It used to just include republicans, but after the farce
of a primary we were forced to endure I had to change it since I will be as likely to vote for either of them again as I will to doing the latter.
Well, voluntarily at least.
"I used to vote Republican & Democrat, I also used to shit my pants. Eventually I got smart enough to stop doing both things." -Me
I will be watching what Obama tries lame-duck.
His legacy got flushed on Tuesday. Now real colors may appear? We have a clue about those.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
If the democrats want to have ANY hope of retaining some chance
with the youth in the future, and adding something to Obama's legacy other than the long string of failures, the smart move for him to make now would be to reschedule Cannabis and defund the drug war.
I can't think of anything else that he could possibly do in the time remaining that would have near the level of positive impact, and he could do both of these things, with the added benefit that if the Republicans tried to re-institute them in the future it would give the Democrats more ammunition with which to fight.
But being democrats and based on recent evidence, while they might be quite clever and conniving, they are not terribly bright, so don't expect this to happen.
"I used to vote Republican & Democrat, I also used to shit my pants. Eventually I got smart enough to stop doing both things." -Me
He could end drone wars in the ME tomorrow. He might even
have time to sit down with the Israelis and Palestinians and wage peace.
That would, of course, result in a decrease in money to the MIC, so I don't expect it to happen. Just saying. He has time and he has the power.
Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.
No, the only thing that will save them (maybe)
is if Trump and the Repubs do really, really terrible things that make the Dems look good. And if the Pied Piper story gets a lot of traction, that may not work either.
It might not work regardless. Hard to come back from the shit they've pulled.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Apparently I was wrong. Apparently Bernie supporters
are more than willing to happily come back to the fold already, since the establishment has consented to put Bernie on more tv shows and toy with the idea of making him Minority Leader.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
I am doing my damn best
to spread the story all over the internet. I am temporarily semi-homebound so I have all the time in the world to quote and link the story to anyone whining about how Trump could win.
Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur.
I know it's messed up and at least 1/2 a century of entrenchment
Has the Corrupt Corporatism in every crevice, nook and cranny...
I wanted to Bern it down and they wouldn't let me...
We've got to do something there is no doubt...
I'm the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House."
~John F. Kennedy~
Economic: -9.13, Social: -7.28,
Ok, they threw eggs at Bush's Inauguration motorcade
But this time the optics look different.
Geez.
Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.
Maybe
that's just the way it's going to have to be. It won't be pretty.
There will always be Anonymous.
And may Cat ever bless Anonymous!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Alphalop, take care of yourself.
You guilted me in hanging up my giant stack of clean clothes. Hatred of that chore knows no gender bounds.
I also hate that the trigger for the coming riots is due to Trump winning, and that history will assuredly twist it in favor of how much we all really and truly wanted Clinton in office.
I do not consider Clinton is my second choice after Bernie.
The revolt should clearly and rightfully be against the oligarchy.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Oh, I am fine, thanks for asking though. :)
I have been dealing with this particular issue since 2010 or so and while quite the bummer at times I have gotten as used to it as one can get.
At least with the passage of amendment 2 down here in Florida I may be able to finally go back to pain management once I have insurance again in January. (hopefully)
They pretty much boxed me into a choice between solely taking painkillers and other pharmaceuticals or only Cannabis so I chose the latter.
Since I never liked the damn pills anyway I had a surplus that I had squirreled away, and they are almost gone so the timing is about as good as I could hope for I suppose and with the change in insurance I think the pain management specialist that was my debate partner on the pro side the last time Medical cannabis was on the table might be in network (not the case with my previous insurance.) so I know at least one doctor that is in favor of it I can reach out to.
As for the riots and whatnot? I wish they didn't have to come at all, and still hold out hope that the wont, because right now they are doing it for the wrong reason.
Like it or not, the BoB was elected president within the rules of the Constitution and protesting the election of a president just because your team lost is foolish and will achieve nothing more than to cause the Rabid Right Bundy types to come out guns blazing, and with the ability to have at least some defense for them doing so. (Whether we agree with it or not.)
The time for protesting and rioting is when he does, or tries to do, one of the many things they are panicked about in the first place. Not before. It's self defeating.
This will allow the moneyed elites and many media outlets to spin the story of "Angry Anarchists clashing with government backed civilian militias, the police, national guard, etc. to paint those protesting with legitimate grievances when they do surface as the enemy.
The protesters are playing right into the hands of the fucking fascists and they don't even know it. Which lends some credibility to those that speculate that these events may not have been as spontaneous as claimed and could have been instead prompted/mobilized by agent provocateurs.
They are right to protest, but they are doing it for the wrong damned reasons and its going to cost them, and us.
And with all the evidence that continues to come out we now know that this can be laid at the feet of the Clinton camp and those that so viciously defended and promoted her despite all her obvious weaknesses, the Media being the worst of the bunch.
All this could have been avoided if those assholes would not have conducted a fraudulent primary, and many are going to die because of it.
Those that are tucked away behind their walls and guarded gates may think they will escape this unscathed, and they largely will be right most likely as they have the ability to flee to other countries.
They will sit and sip Mojitos as the rest of us, and the world, burns around them and probably feel smug and superior while doing so.
Times like this almost make me wish I wasn't an Atheist just so I could bask in the knowledge that the bastards would get theirs at least at some point, but then again, that is probably one of the reasons organized religion was created in the first place.
"I used to vote Republican & Democrat, I also used to shit my pants. Eventually I got smart enough to stop doing both things." -Me
It does not have to be physically violent in the age of
technology. We just need to fight guerrilla warfare style. (Read The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey). There are people who can and are probably willing if they have secure escapes to shut down Wall St. and make it impossible for corporations to operate. Start with one day a week and build until they cry uncle.
When their gated security fences start opening and closing on their own, even without anything else being done, the elite may have a few worries of their own. When some announcement regarding the truth about a government plan interrupts the regularly scheduled program, the media may get a taste of the fear they have been perpetrating on the American population. When the electricity goes out in the halls of Congress and the White House, the government may get the message that they are not as safe as they think they are (yes, they have emergency back up, but the possibility that they could be left in the dark will cause plenty of anxiety). When the ticker tape at Dow Jones starts running Lenny Bruce jokes, well....
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
I agree.
The masters have us right where they want us.
Nothing will change except the weather.
I hate to be an ender, but it's far to late for new beginnings.
Do your best to be civil. Conserve what we have left. Care for others.
Above all else, tell your children not to have children. If they already have, make sure they teach their children not to have any.
It's going to get ugly and we already have enough children to go around.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
Solid advice. I "Chlorinated my Gene Pool" back in my early
thirties when I realized this world had become such a shithole I couldn't possibly justify bringing yet another person into it to suffer for the mistakes that my and previous generations had made.
I'm of the mindset that if I ever did change my mind and wanted to have a child I could adopt, something that my wife and I would probably do, except for the fact that there is no way I could afford it and I wouldn't want to raise a child that I couldn't properly provide for either.
It's a sad world when those that most have the ability to help don't want to, and those that most want to help lack the ability.
Things are out of balance.
"I used to vote Republican & Democrat, I also used to shit my pants. Eventually I got smart enough to stop doing both things." -Me
I am not one to push for having children
I have two childless 43-year-old sons and not even once have I raised the subject with them, so don't take this as pushing you to have/adopt children BUT if you want children don't let the money issue bother you too much. I raised the twins on my own and with very little money. So little that when I was reaching retirement age and was reviewing my lifetime yearly income I started crying for my 20 and 30-something self and wondering how she did it. My kids lacked for nothing (well, I wasn't able to buy them cars or go on European trips like their friends but you get my drift) and they were even able to attend fancy-schmantzy schools in, shall we say, the Boston area (yeah, Harvard and MIT, let a poor mother brag for possibly the last time.)
I am still poor but they are doing great and spoil me with nice gifts and those trips I wasn't able to provide for them.
Of course, there are many many considerations other than money and thinking carefully over whether or not to have offspring sure beats popping them out without any planning as my niece and nephews do.
Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur.
That is truly impressive and amazing, Cachola
Thanks for sharing that.
I simply cannot imagine how you did it. It's seems overwhelming.
____________________
The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
It was.
There is more. When the boys were six I had to flee an abusive husband (not the kids father, he's a good man). I had heard about Eugene, Oregon and flew there. Almost no money and could barely speak English. I could not find steady work and I decided I was going to show those gringos. Two yrs after arriving in Eugene I started law school. While battling bipolar disorder.
And that is why nothing scares me.
Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur.
Kudos to you
We all (most of us) can look back at our 20's and 30's and be amazed at what we did. Life was fairly good then?
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
But they do.
\
It's not that they lack the ability, it's they they have been told they have none.
Be a good soldier and your obedience will sustain you.
And it's not that things are out of balance. Things have hit the wormhole.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
This
The world could do with fewer people.
Also, this: http://www.vhemt.org/ Let's make room for species that aren't trying to exterminate each other and the planet.
I agree on the first part, but the 2nd not entirely.
While I am currently disgusted with us as a species, I think a lot of the problems would be solved by a population that was significantly smaller, but I am not so disgusted that I would want to see us disappear entirely.
I may be still too much of an optimist but I believe we are capable of great things, and would have the opportunity to do so more frequently if not burdened with overpopulation and all the ill's that accompany it.
One way we could accomplish this would be to instead of giving tax breaks to those with children would be to instead incentive those that don't.
I imagine a monthly or annual bonus or stipend for those that have not had a child be given, and that it be reduced after the first and second child and eliminated for upon the birth of a third would go a long way towards accomplishing this.
Edited to add this to the last paragraph: That reduction should NOT count towards those that choose to adopt instead of creating new children.
"I used to vote Republican & Democrat, I also used to shit my pants. Eventually I got smart enough to stop doing both things." -Me
As a casual inspector of the CNY Fertility Clinic,
I can assure you that there are couples, many, trying for their progeny. With assistance. My daughter donated 18 oocytes for $4K, a couple adopted her services. Genetic screening of her DNA for various recessive disorders, detailed family history. She is 1/4 Jewish, a probable selling point. Plus curly hair. Plus smart. Etc, etc. The IVF lab was behind a glass wall, very cool, 4 people working. 5 MDs, nurses in stylish black and purple. Elevator music, maybe better. I sat as designated driver-to-home in a private waiting room with a leather easy chair and a plush settee. The adopting couple will pay $6K/embryo with dad's ejaculate added to several oocytes. Let incubate for 48 hours and shove into wanna-be mom's hormonally-primed uterus. I should have gone into genetic counseling...
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
It's not about disappearing.
It's about humanely letting the population dwindle. You, I and many others can clearly see that. Now we spread the word.
It's likely too late but it's an effort. My protest so to say.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
childfree here.
I agree, people should be rewarded for not reproducing, not rewarded for contributing to overpopulation and everything going along with it. It makes me so angry that hubby and I can't afford our own place with me working full time and him going to school, and we don't have kids.
I stopped listening to Pandora because all their commercials are about babies and fertility clinics. (Living in Utah might have something to do with it but Spotify's commercials are far, far less obnoxious.)
This shit is bananas.
I'm pretty sure the world has you covered.
Technically, it's very straightforward. The world working together can cut the US off at the knees anytime they want to. They just redeem their US bonds and stop using the US dollar in foreign trade. The US will be finished in about 48 hours. 36 hours if they start on a Monday or Tuesday.
There's no deterrent. The US has done it to many nations, so there are no surprises. Once the US is expelled from the world, economically, it will have plenty of extra money (from the halt in US terrorism to destabilize the world into rapid globalization) for infrastructure and taking care of their people.
The Rise of the US Regions is inevitable and long overdue. Should have been completed by 1850. I have an entire folder of speculative maps of how it will be divided up. When I first started collecting these maps, it didn't occur to me that it would be driven by climate change. But, of course, it will now. The regions are fairly consistent on all maps, whether inspired by culture, weather, or economics. This would be a good time to move to a region and establish residency where you want to end up. There will be population controls, especially in those regions that are projected to survive drought that is already underway. Certain regions will have strong independent ties to specific parts of the world.
I am confident there will never be a violent US revolution. The reasons for this are too numerous to list, suffice to say "revolution" it is just not in the US character. And, as you say, there's nothing for the people to fight over. Everyone is fundamentally on the same side. (There just don't seem to be enough uteri to go around, so everyone has one to control.) Most importantly, there is no one to fight. The local police are not your oppressors, so if you shoot them all, you will just feel bad but your life won't change. The country is way too big and the roads are way too few. A revolution would just look silly, especially from orbit.
I really enjoyed your essay. Thanks for the laughs.
____________________
The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
Could not a peaceful revolution
be accomplished by a Nationwide boycott of all products and services? We all load up on our pharmaceutical of choice beforehand and just make everything stop. No buying gas, going out to eat, buying food, etc. I think it would be a Hugh wake up call to the overlords. Anyway just a thought about a non-violent form of protest.
O.k. When is the next meeting for the revolution?
-FuturePassed on Sunday, November 25, 2018 10:22 p.m.
and of course, no going to work
If we're gonna be stocking up on food and party supplies, might as well just party.
Join the People's Party!
General Strike Dec. 4-10
Come share food, drink, and conversation with your neighbors!
Learn their names!
Start small
Have a national non-consumer day once a week. Nothing is bought from anyone by anyone. Once people get used to it, expand it to two days a week and so on. Many will need to help their neighbors as some my need to borrow a cup of sugar. = ) Start a community garden. Those who can fix furniture, small appliances, etc. can help make things last longer and can probably barter those services for things they need. It is all doable...if there is a will.
Start with burning the Xmas present lists. Lol, make that first non-consumer day Black Friday.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
Back when I was a kid, it was common to borrow
a few eggs, cup of sugar, whatever. Time to return to that, except for no neighbors being home then. When I had a tree fall across my driveway and was stuck behing, no one was home. Lucky me, it was a tree that I ended up humping off the path. Any larger requires a tree removal service, also not an instant thing. The bad side of living in the woods.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
I think at least 43% of us know we're being played
or we wouldn't be independents, heh.
I'm guessing that number is going to swell as more people find out about Hillary's Pied Piper bullshit, to say nothing of all the people she' s probably already lost with various other kinds of bullshit.
The problem is, how do we proceed? What do we do with the knowledge?
That's the X.
I feel I can only see a few steps ahead of me. I can see what the next few steps should be: people need to come together, get to know each other, re-form communities, real ones, that help people be more resilient beneath the constant blitzkrieg of bullshit coming down from above. There are lots of ways this can be done (independent energy, community gardens, co-ops, indie media, everything from solar panels to carpools to childcare--and also some fucking fun, because we have a serious fun deficit here) but I'm thinking of studying how the Black Panthers did it. They were about a lot more than violence, apparently.
There is also a great need for healing and rejuvenation--we've all been battered to hell and back; we need some temporary autonomous zones where we can shelter from the blitzkrieg and remember that the world the powers that be are intent on creating isn't the only world there is.
That's what needs to be built, but how do you get from isolation to community? People have no time and little money; that makes building communities hard. There's also a serious lack of trust/exhaustion/demoralization (the result of the blitzkrieg. Those are the primary obstacles to taking the first steps.
I don't know what the next steps would be. Perhaps to link those communities together via an indie media network.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Was listening to Maria Paez Victor
talking about Venezuela on the Black Agenda Report the other day, and she spoke of Venezuelan "municipal councils" as a popular counterweight to the oligarchy there. I wondered where they came from and how they were formed.
But you're right, I think: if we are going to restore or rebuild the system to work for people, then people have to be engaged in real politics - participatory democracy. And it needs to be in the workplace, not just in some walled-off "political" space.
Panthers: good subject to study. They were organized; but the first thing they organized were their own minds. Maoist influence in part. If you wanted to be a member, you had to go to political classes to learn the basics that were essential for understanding the party program, its aims and the reasons behind them, etc. Learn to see class and race in the society around you, understand where it came from, how to respond to it. They also had a paper. And they made themselves into servants of the local community, providing needed services that the state failed to supply and families could not afford, from the famous 'breakfast programs' to health clinics, clothing, food, etc.
"Nous serons des milliers" (We will be thousands)
by Sébastien Lacombe
[video:https://youtu.be/UL8YEDYQGKc]
Note: The elephant does not have the same connotations in Canada as it does in the US.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
It took over a minute to understand Quebecois francaise
And then it gets nice, thanks.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
You made me laugh Alphalop!!
This killed me and it's so, so true. I have my own laundry story I'll share. Back in the early 80's shortly after Mrs. R and I were married, I bought her one of those beautiful, 100% heavy wool, hand knitted fisherman's sweaters made in Ireland. I paid $250 for it back in the early 80's! It damn near took two people to lift it. It was truly a beautiful sweater.
She was gone for a few days and I decided to help out and, on my own, decided to do the laundry! Afte a couple loads of the essentials, I gathered up the sweaters, tossed them in the machine, left the water temp on hot(isn't everything supposed to washed in hot water?) then tossed them them all in the dryer.(Isn't everything supposed to go into the dryer?) I soon discovered the errors of my ways!! When I pulled her sweater out of the dryer, something strange had happened. It was about 1/5th the size it was when I put it in the washer? WTF I thought? I has the sudden realization that "I am in deep shit now!!!" I figured I could just soak it water again and stretch it out and all would be well. You know what? Once wash and dry them on hot, they can never be returned to their original size!(Who would have thought?) The strange thing was, it still weighed a ton, but it would probably only fit a 3 year old who wouldn't be able to support the weight of it!
The moral of this story is just what you posted above. Upon here return, and some screaming, yelling and crying, I was told, in no uncertain terms, that I am NEVER to touch the laundry again. I was told that once I take off my shirt and put it the dirty clothes, I am forbidden from ever touching it again until it shows up in my draw. This is still the case 35 years later! I have never done another load of laundry since!!
On your point of the diary, I think financial collapse and social break down will happen before the revolution begins. The financial breakdown will probably be the catalyst. As to your X factor, I think we are very close to the point where governments, all over the world, are going to be forced to acknowledge that there is life in the universe outside of our bubble and we aren't the most intelligent beings around. I would not be at all surprised that this information will be used as propaganda to keep the population in the never ending, constant state of fear they've tried to do with terrorism. And it will probably be even more effective than boogeymen from the Middle East. Think of the propaganda they can create with alien invasions?
“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.”
George W. Bush
Shit happens.
Yesterday, I shrunk Raggedy Andy's favorite wool sweater. He went on and on about how he loved that sweater, everytime he wore it. Yesterday, he said - don't forget not to put this in the dryer. I proceeded to put it in the dryer and when it came out, I almost broke out in tears. He was on an errand, I was afraid to tell him.
When he got home, I met him outside and told him. He said, oh, well, it's only a $3.00 sweater (he got it at Goodwill). I couldn't believe my ears. I was speechless!
It reminded me of the time my granddaughter was about 3 and loved these bright lemon yellow sandals. She wore them everywhere! They were like a security blanket to her. When one of them broke, I thought - she's going to be devastated and cry and carry on and throw a tantrum! So, I said, oh, no, one of your sandals broke. She picked them up and put them in the trash and walked off without a word. Again, I was speechless (which is unusual for me).
You never know how a person will react. When you are bracing yourself for the worst, nothing happens. When you think all is good with the world, you get broadsided. At 64, I'm still reading the tea leaves wrong!
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
a little part of me feels that...
...the election of Trump will bring Americans together similar to 9/11. it has scared the crap out of the majority of the country which numbers more than the majority number of people that voted for Trump. they may pay more attention to politics than they have in a long time to make sure things don't get out of control.
My bet: attacks on minorities yield minority counterattacks
Since Trump's election, there have been signs of increased verbal and physical attacks on minorities. See
here
here
here
here
and here.
My bet is that these actions provoke verbal and physical resistance by minority individuals, who may then form groups for that purpose. Counter-militias, perhaps.
Just my 2 cents. I'm not aware of anyone actually doing that.
"All Life is Problem Solving" - Karl Popper
Poland has the right idea. Poland!
I was remembering "the coalition of the willing" lulz but that shit was not funny. This is great, I like it: Polish army to teach women self-defence for free
Exactly! Go Poland. California can be giving free self-defense to all people. Plus a crowbar and a drill if you know what I mean.