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Shame On UsSaturday, January 26, 2008 We Will Do Anything To Win - But We Won’t Do THAT by Nanette
(With apologies to Meatloaf. ) Oh how I wish that was the mantra of the Democratic Party. Unfortunately… I think it’s time to finally erase the "Democrat" designation from any part of my identity. I’ve resisted doing this for years, long after friends of mine made the leap, with the excuse that well, maybe next time it’ll be different. It never is, though, sadly. I sat down this morning to write about the primary in South Carolina (as I write this, the polls are still open so I know no results) and some of the language surrounding it, the tactics used there and leading up to it, and the Democratic primary and election in general. I had lots I wanted to say, indictments I wanted to make, predictions to entertain myself and others with and more ... but somehow I just don’t have the heart for it.
Theriomorph wrote about politics online and online politics last week (very interesting and thought provoking, as usual, go read). Her post reminded me of thinking I’ve done, off and on over the years, of how to more effectively use this tool we have - the internet, with its access to brilliant minds, varying experiences and its capabilities for coalition building worldwide, to bring about real, lasting change. I believe the window for figuring that out is a fairly short one. I’ve had some ideas that I think could help, only the way my brain works, I tend to see the end result, the big goal and what it could do, but am rather iffy on the little steps to get there. Still, that’s where the "wisdom of crowds" comes in. We don’t accomplish much by ourselves (especially me!) - even this site/magazine, which is not what it used to be and definitely not all it could be, would have probably just limped along as a thought had I not met Matthew, completely by chance, online. (And actually, I can’t remember how we met (it was about 10 years ago), as we didn’t hang out in the same places, or chat in the same rooms or anything.) And then all the others who have helped throughout the years, wonderful people all of them. Anyway, I plan to start writing about these ideas and thoughts, in the hopes that they might strike a spark in someone who can see the little steps, or who can see the beginning or the middle, and together we can figure out how all this can work. I’m going to build off of Theriomorph’s post, as well as things bfp and others have written that have embedded themselves in my mind but which I have been too distracted by other things to follow up on. I hope lots of people join the conversation here, at Theriomorph’s, at your own places (if you send me a link I will start a list of who is saying what), at bfp’s or wherever you want. (This post, by the way, is part of the Year of the Manatee (or The Manatee Uprising), which I will explain at another time.)
Posted by Nanette on 01/26 at 03:25 PM
Coalitions • FP • Friday Stuff Blogging • HumanRights • Scarcity and Abundance • ShameOnUs • Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish • (6) Comments • Permalink • Tell-a-Friend
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Thursday, November 15, 2007 Republicans In (Hurricane Ravaged) Mississippi Say: “The Rich Come First” by Nanette
And this comes as a surprise to anyone? I think not. I don’t see how anyone could even pretend anymore. Though they no doubt will try.... “Who cares if the affluent get the lion’s share of help!? Class warfare! The poor have bootstraps, what more do they want? HANDOUTS!?” I've always loved the word "advocate". I know it has a few meanings... or rather, that it does not always apply to good things, but still. "Advocates for the poor". For justice. For a fair shake. It has a nice ring to it. The people affected by Katrina (and other disasters) and ignored by city, state and local governments need all the advocates they can get. At the same time, I hate the word and the need for it.
Posted by Nanette on 11/15 at 08:16 PM
Civil Rights • Coalitions • HumanRights • Racism • Science-Environment • ShameOnUs • (0) Comments • Permalink • Tell-a-Friend
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Thursday, November 01, 2007 Let’s Start A Plumpy’nut Revolution by Nanette
Today, even. It’s time, don’t you think? There are a great many things I cannot do. Positive thinking doesn’t affect them one whit. (Sad to say, unless you have far more power and influence than you’ve let on, you can’t do them either - if I have underestimated you, call me.) It’s time to change things up a bit and work on what I can do. This is not to say I believe that I (or we) should give up on working for and fighting for the things we believe in… ending the occupation, preventing the next war, ending racism, curing world hunger… Well, about that last. I (and you) really can have an effect on some things. Little things. Er… babies, to be exact. To start.
So what is a Plumpy’nut Revolution? A dream, a plan, a metaphor and, well… feeding babies. Did you see this?
My little graphic says “Join Today”, but you can’t click it, because there is nothing yet to join. The revolution is still in the planning stages and understanding where it is going and what it will take to get there will mean talking a bit more. You see, while it is The Plumpy’nut Revolution and it does have to do with Plumpy’nut, that’s not all. It’s just the beginning.
Posted by Nanette on 11/01 at 10:10 PM
Plumpy'nut Revolution • Society • ShameOnUs • Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish • Spotlight • (8) Comments • Permalink • Tell-a-Friend
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Tuesday, October 09, 2007 by Nanette
Well, wait… do we really need for ALL Of Us to be included? Y’all are going to have to help me out here. I have a shocking memory and so am no doubt missing some vital area where appeasing bigots… worked. I mean worked to the benefit of those doing the appeasing, not the bigots. Let’s see… there was that whole Constitution thing. There, too, one needed to take what could be passed, and not rock the boat too much by talking about all those humans being held in captivity as if they were actually, you know – human. Southerners (among others) would have been upset and not ratified the Constitution and where would people have been then? It was much better to take half a loaf - or maybe 3/5ths of one - and work later towards rights for all. That worked out well, no? Okay, so maybe some Black folks were a tad upset, but someone always has to complain about something, no? Jeez, why can’t people learn to be pragmatic about little things like civil and human rights? It only took another hundred years or so for them to be, in theory, released from the chains that had bound them for hundreds of years already. And only another hundred years after that ‘til civil rights laws were passed and (somewhat) enforced throughout the land. Who says appeasing the bigots and being pragmatic didn’t work? Whiners, the lot of them. Like women! Just look at them, not realizing how expedient it was that others got the right to vote before them, otherwise, bills just would not have passed. Duh! Didn’t they get rights eventually? Didn’t that work? I mean, so what that they too were considered pretty much property, with no voice, no say in the household let along say in the running of the country. They only had to wait a couple hundred years after the signing of the Constitution before becoming full citizens with rights. I mean… my god, how much faster do you want things to work? Incrementalism is the key! Without that half a loaf, things would never have moved so swiftly. No way did anyone just decide that they’d gotten theirs, and that was just fine, and leave it at that. Nope, those with full (or at least fuller) rights were out there everyday agitating for their lesser privileged brethren and sistren to be fully included. They stood firm and resolute, declaring that no one be forgotten or left behind (for more than a few hundred years). I’m sure of that… aren’t you? So, I would say absolutely yes, they are right! … appeasing the bigots, taking half the loaf instead of the full one, separating out those who – if we massage history, consciences and morality – are just not quite “our sort” and putting them aside for later… has worked like a charm in this fair land. It’s just like some guy with the initials MLK once said, “Justice is divisible”. Oh wait… okay I just might have that quote a little wrong, but what did he know anyway? [added] I should say that I am not GLB or T, but I do feel for those who have been waiting for this bill for decades, and who see it slipping out of their grasp just as it appears it might actually pass. That is heartbreaking. (I do not feel, however, or support, “understand” or accept, in any way, those who are using the language of hatred and bigotry to express their disappointment, no matter how long they have been waiting for what.) But… well, just when has appeasing bigots worked?
Posted by Nanette on 10/09 at 09:02 AM
Civil Rights • Coalitions • I'm old and crabby and I have a pen • Feminism • HumanRights • ShameOnUs • (2) Comments • Permalink • Tell-a-Friend
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Thursday, September 06, 2007 Random Crabbiness:The End of Time, Kids Are Not Our Future, Jena Six and The Discoverers by Nanette
The end of time? Horrors! I am not so not ready yet for time to end.
Why does that bother me? Well, I do take comfort in the fact that, so far at least, time still goes on in those other places but I think, with no doubt wacky Californian logic, that if we couldn’t be the first - the trend setters - in giving up time, we should at least have had the distinction of being the very last. This second to the last stuff is for the birds. CrabbyNote: It is not the job of “the children” to save us from ourselves. I caught the tail end of some morning show segment a couple of days ago, about some sort of U.S. peace camp that brings Israeli and Palestinian kids together in a safe, fun place for a period of time, in the hopes (generalization) that they will grow up realizing that the “other side” is human and that they are people just like them. And that they can get along, and so on and so on, the children are the hope for the future, blah, blah, blah. This is not the first year for this camp (or similar ones), nor the first time I’ve seen this type of story on the news and on feature shows, by any means - the story itself has not changed much, but my reaction to it sure has. I used to see this stuff and think something like a warm and fuzzy… “oh wow, good idea, hope for the future… I hope it works out. If the kids learn...” Nonsense. If the parents, or adults in general, are unwilling to learn, unwilling to make changes, unwilling to make sacrifices, unwilling to do the hard work… what in the world gives people the idea that the children will grow up to be any different? When has this ever happened? And I’m not just talking about the Israeli/Palestinian issue. No, you hear the same sort of pablum about environmental issues, racism, crime, this or that unjust situation, poverty, pollution - on just about any topic where adults are messing up the world, there is someone mewling about how “the children are our future, things will change with them” and all that. No. We, the fully grown folks - our actions, our policies, our activism, our refusal to stand down - are the children’s future. And nothing ever changes until we act like it. Kinda reminds you of all those folks who “discovered” places where people had been living for centuries All of a sudden, mainstream blogs have “discovered” the Jena Six story - that poc, human rights, anti-racist and other blogs, as well as TruthOut and Amy Goodman and such, have been covering for months. I guess things really don’t exist until another “mainstream” person or publication (in this case, apparently Anderson Cooper of CNN) says it does. (This is not to forget, of course, that most everyone first heard about this through the newspapers who published the original reports.)
No (okay, not many) complaints, though. The more, on this and stories like this, the merrier.
Posted by Nanette on 09/06 at 12:06 PM
Coalitions • I'm old and crabby and I have a pen • ShameOnUs • (4) Comments • Permalink • Tell-a-Friend
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Thursday, August 16, 2007 by Nanette
“CARE, one of the world’s biggest charities, is walking away from some $45 million a year in federal financing, saying American food aid is not only plagued with inefficiencies, but also may hurt some of the very poor people it aims to help.” From The New York Times Do read the article, I can’t put enough of it here to give the full flavor and the personal stories are especially worth hearing about.
I don’t even pretend to be an expert, but even at a casual glance this seems like an extremely poor way of doing things. There is disagreement, though, of course.
I’ve been ambivalent about the practices of charitable organizations and human rights organizations for a while now, for a few reasons. And while I still am not an expert and I’m still a bit ambivalent, I think my first thought was the correct one. Kudos to CARE.
Posted by Nanette on 08/16 at 03:20 AM
Coalitions • HumanRights • ShameOnUs • (2) Comments • Permalink • Tell-a-Friend
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Thursday, July 26, 2007 by Nanette
Thinking out loud, coming to terms with terms… on my own terms. I mentioned in the post below that I was currently involved in a conversation about “women born women only” spaces and how some exclude trans women. I was thinking that I would one day write a post about why I rejected any sort of policy of exclusion like that, and was pretty much convinced that I had thought things through enough to do so - still I had a sense of discomfort when recalling the conversation but I couldn’t identify the source. It finally came to me this morning. When I was taking a shower, actually - I do some of my best thinking there! Various parts of the conversations, points presented by others, points presented by me, were rattling around in my head ... women born women only, transpeople, transphobia, protected spaces, women born women, civil rights, human rights, women born women, acceptance, life experiences, women born women.... and there, finally, I had my “Duh!” moment. At times, in order to clarify my thinking or beliefs, it works best for me to just pare things down to essentials, otherwise I get caught up in all the little eddies and ripples swirling around, following this or that diversion - and I miss the center point that all of this is moving out from. For me, it all comes down to one thing. Either I believe that women who are trans are women, or I do not. If I believe that women who are trans* are women, then there are no separate categories of ‘women born women’ and ‘transwomen’, as each would have been born women, just in different ways. This also means no separate levels of access, no separate levels of personhood, no separate levels of human dignity. I’ll not use that term again unless it is with scare quotes and is in direct reply or relation to what someone is saying. (And, of course, many others have figured all this out long ago, but my brain is sometimes puny and non-absorbent, but as I say… I’m slow, but I get there.) [edited slightly]
Posted by Nanette on 07/26 at 09:10 AM
Civil Rights • Feminism • HumanRights • ShameOnUs • Women • (4) Comments • Permalink • Tell-a-Friend
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Saturday, June 16, 2007 Out of Options, Out in the Cold by Nanette
Kim, at Bastante Already, is asking that people - feminists especially - solve this riddle. I’m fairly certain that this, and worse, is something that affects women worldwide, and that there are few solutions to. Well, scratch that… there are of course solutions, but little will, money or effort to effect them.
What to do? From Kim, again:
As she says… riddle me this.
Posted by Nanette on 06/16 at 10:17 PM
Civil Rights • Coalitions • Domestic Violence • Feminism • ShameOnUs • Women • (1) Comments • Permalink • Tell-a-Friend
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Sunday, April 08, 2007 by Nanette
The first in a series of posts about this book and the overall topics of human rights and related issues. For a time I was afraid that I had lost it forever. I moved soon after I got it to review a year or so ago, and even after unpacking didn't find it again until recently. I'll have to think about why that happened. Still, I have the book now, even if a little late. Almost everything about it says "This is a Serious Book". One glance at the cover - stark white hardcover, with bold, all caps black writing - and you know that someone feels they have something important to say, that they want to be noticed. Well, and then there is the thickness of the book - it's fairly heavy, in weight... over 700 pages, some of them fold outs. Many of them photos, though, which could detract from the impression of seriousness, but no. Not these photos. I say "almost" everything about it because, besides the pictures, when you look at the closed book from the side there is a rainbow effect, each section of the book having its own color - mostly pastels. Oh, and a bright red ribbon for keeping your place in the book as you read, should you decide to start from the beginning, go on to the end and then stop, as the saying goes. I've not yet been able to do that, but maybe soon.
That's only half the story, though, isn't it? Or maybe a quarter of it. For every action there is a reaction, and all that. Plenty of room in this book for the rest of the story, or at least a fair portion of it, and the authors/editors (Walter Kälin, Lars Müller and Judith Whyttenbach) do their best to provide that. I steeled myself to just open the book at random and write about the first picture I saw... which just happened to be a HUGE platter (not plate, platter) containing a slab of ham in the middle that covers fully half of the platter, a pile of hashbrowns so big part of it is hanging off the edge, with three fried eggs barely contained at the other edge of the platter. This is a single serving, in a Los Angeles diner. Just as a guess, I think this chapter might have something to do with food security. There are a few more related pictures of people who definitely have that - in abundance. Including one of a woman preparing to dig into a massive ice cream float. The woman is, of course, fat, but the people in the other photos full of Westerners gorging on food are not. With my next random page try, a couple of hundred pages away, I landed on a swirl of colors - a Tibetan monk captured in the process of sweeping away a mandala in a ceremony. Quite a juxtaposition, that. There is probably much to say about temporal things - which both food and mandalas are - ceremonies and contrasts, but not just yet. I find it far to easy to just traipse off after stray philosophical thoughts and ignore more substantive things so, even though this is not actually the review yet, I'll save those thoughts for another time. There is far too much in this book to cover even in one long post, so I will be taking it a piece at a time and will try to give as much of the full flavor of the book, including its various contrasts between... well, what seem like extremes when put in context, but which (as a Westerner) would in other circumstances feel like "normal, everyday life". Much to think about. I will also scan in some pictures. Here is how the chapters are broken up in the book: Foreword and intro - What are human rights? 1. Human existence - The Right to Life I'll take them in some sort of order, but probably not as listed.
Posted by Nanette on 04/08 at 07:00 PM
Civil Rights • Coalitions • Community • Society • ShameOnUs • Humanity • HumanRights • Politics • (0) Comments • Permalink • Tell-a-Friend
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Wednesday, December 06, 2006 Yes, Virginia, the “R-Word” is as offensive as the “N-Word” and the “C-Word” by Nanette
Now, we all know that society is loath to give up its epithets and racial slurs… but it can be done. We’ve almost extracted n****r, ch*nk, sp*c, k*ke and w*p from “polite” conversation… we can do it with r*dsk*n too, if we put our minds to it. I've taken that title straight from Wampum, where MB Williams reminds us,
There is a lot more there, in between the ellipses, so read it all. Not too long ago, in the course of two different conversations about language... probably a couple of months or so apart, two separate (white) people told me: "You know, at one time the "N" word wasn't considered offensive." The first time I heard that, I said, "Of course it was", and the reply... "No, sorry, it wasn't". Before I could continue, someone else jumped in with another word to discuss and we moved on, and I pretty much forgot about the incident. The next conversation was conducted on a major "liberal" blog - the topic being profanities, obscenities... and a racial slur. Well, that's not what the title of the piece was, but it may as well have been. I pointed out to the author that one of these was not like the other... that while some were good old "Anglo-Saxon curse words", and others derogatory terms for the body parts of women, or certain taboo activities between close family members, only one was a specific racial epithet against a specific group of people. And, to the best of my memory, that's when he stated... "You know, at one time the "N" word wasn't considered offensive." This time I was able to stop a minute and consider... what is he talking about? And when I realized, it was just too depressing. I didn't even continue the conversation. See, what he meant was, at one time the use of the "N" word wasn't offensive to the majority population. And that's true... it was not at all an offensive word to most of them. It was used in casual conversation, in "polite society", whether one was speaking of (or to) a black person on the street, or one you were getting ready to string up. That the person the word was being used against may have had some objection to the epithet (not to mention the often attendant actions) was not even a consideration. They were non-persons in those times, incapable of being offended or, if they were, certainly in no position to complain about it. And what these two well-intentioned, leftish people done was once again, in 2006, removed the personhood, the humanity from those same people who had lived and died as non-persons and/or subhuman, only having been granted retroactive humanity in the history books and society, as different countries come to terms with their pasts. Still, it is apparently only after the real people - "polite society" - deem a word offensive that it actually becomes so. So... what then does that say about the continued, and very public, use of the "R" word? To me, it says that in the minds of the majority culture – which in this instance would include everyone who is not Native American - Native Americans have not yet achieved full "personhood". The fact that they might object to what is, to many of them, a horrendous racial epithet not only being used in "polite conversation", but screeched from the top of people's lungs as they cheer for the football team that wears that name is simply beyond the ability of some to grasp. The hoary old "being too sensitive" is tossed about, along with "Hey, I'm not PC" and "It's always been this way" - even if it has not and as if that means anything anyway. Then, there is the "But, this (verbal and visual epithet) is used respectfully and/or proudly" defense. Or, maybe it's the "We're using it in an ironic way, to highlight the racism of others" defense, that some who insist on using racist imagery claim. I think not:
I'd be happy if someone could explain to me where the respect, pride or even irony can be found in something like this. Really, ... because the rhetorical contortions needed to show why something like this is not only considered perfectly acceptable, but not even worth a murmur of protest from those who saw it, would no doubt be a remarkable sight. Now, we all know that polite society is loath to give up its epithets and racial slurs... but it can be done. We have, so far, almost extracted n****r, ch*nk, sp*c, k*ke, w*p, and probably others that I don't know or don't remember, from "polite" conversation, as each group was recognized for at least semi-personhood. We can do it with r*dsk*n too, if we really are determined to do so. It's easy to do, you know, on a personal and political basis... all it takes is acknowledging that Native Americans are full, living, complete, complex, breathing, thinking persons in their own right, with individual cultures, opinions, religions and identities - and not just pictures in a history book. That each one has the right to not only not have racial epithets hurled at them across the airwaves, in newspaper print, from street corners and on blogs, but to also determine what is their preferred method of address. And it just may differ from person to person, as there is no monolithic "Indian" or anything, but that's okay. I'm pretty sure most of us can hold more than one thought or word in our minds at one time. Possibly the most effective method is also just saying, "no more". Once people can wrap their minds around these apparently astonishing concepts, the rest is cake. [Edited for clarity. Hopefully.]
Posted by Nanette on 12/06 at 03:19 PM
Civil Rights • Coalitions • Racism • Society • ShameOnUs • Humanity • (21) Comments • Permalink • Tell-a-Friend
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Tuesday, September 05, 2006 by Nanette
Since the beginning of time, when there is war, when there is no more food, when there is death or disease threatening, people have packed up what they could, left the rest to maybe never be seen again, grabbed their children and gone on the move. [Note]: This was written as part of 10 Stories the World Should Hear More About as identified by the United Nations for 2006, a Booman Tribune Group Project suggested and coordinated by ManEegee. For further information see Group Project: 10 Most Underreported Stories. I have had a hard time starting this piece - why, I don’t know, as I’ve been thinking about it for weeks. Even this morning I’ve torn paper after paper out of the typewriter, balling them up and throwing them on the floor. Well, metaphorically… in reality I just clicked delete which, while it may be quicker and cleaner, does not give quite the same satisfaction. This version I will muddle through with, regardless. Perhaps I felt the problem was too big… taking the vast expanse of desert, the endless horizon of an ocean, the leaves on a thousand trees and trying to capture it all in a teaspoon. And it is that, to be sure. Big, I mean. Huge. Mammoth. Stand anywhere in the world, and turn in any direction you wish and you’ll be facing towards uprooted lives, traumatized children, shoes whose soles have been worn thin from walking, walking, always on the move; bloodied hands that have been shredded by grasping barbed wire - and still they grip, attempting to pull it open; tongues hanging from mouths, white and parched, not even enough moisture left to wet the lips; a slice of bread that is the meal of the day, split among four; labored breathing, wide eyes and backward glances, hearts pounding, shushing the children as they try and hang on with little hands made slick with fear. On the move, on their way, to where some have no idea, but they hope when they get there someone will let them in.  I realized, however, that the problem is also very small, easy to understand, childs play to grasp. Clear, simple, basic and elemental, yet intricate - the percussion of one raindrop hitting the surface of the water. Sanctuary. Since the beginning of time, when there is war, when there is no more food, when there is death or disease threatening, people have packed up what they could, left the rest to maybe never be seen again, grabbed their children and gone on the move. It makes sense, of course, to get out of the danger areas. There are other reasons too - bombs masquerading as food packets, lessons taught from the barrel of a gun, your young children stolen in the night, or even in broad daylight, by competing factions. Your son forced to carry water, bedding or arms; to learn to shut off all feeling and kill or maim indiscriminately; your daughter to cook, to carry arms and to be repeatedly raped until she is tossed aside like trash, to live or die. Some uninvited guests never arrive without company. There are individuals, groups and organizations that, before the echo of the first shot fades, it sometimes seems, also pack up and start out for some semi-safe spot to make the first catch of the invariable detritus of war, famine, epidemics - broken lives and broken people. I’ve often thought that in order to really know what is going on in the world, that these are the people to watch. They hear things we don’t, see things coming that we don’t know about til they’ve passed us, if then… they need to - in order to provide the first relief, to set up the first sanctuary, temporary shelter until things calm down. Although as I’ve grown older and more cynical, I’ve wondered if part of the job of some of them was not also to halt people in their tracks.
And you know what I noticed, while looking at picture after picture of interrupted lives, whether by war or by disaster, by acts of nature or acts of humans? They all look alike. Really. Oh, they have different skin colors, different clothes, each has individual features and cultural artifacts… some may come from the city, some from a rural area, have different professions… teacher, banker, student, farmer, caregiver, mother, sports figure, many things… but they all have the same look. I don’t know how to describe it… not waiting, exactly, because I am not sure waiting has any meaning anymore for some of them. Not hope, although I am sure that is part of it. Maybe it’s simply… I am present, I think, but that is all I can say for sure. Even the children have it: What do we do? At the moment, we tweak aside the curtains of our world to peer for a moment at the mass of humanity on the move, just outside, before we pull them tightly closed again and head for our own sanctuaries - the garden, office or study, the kitchen to check on the roast - pausing along the way to turn up the sound on the TV or stereo lest we accidentally hear the plea of those walking, walking, always on the move, for the scraps from our table. The richer we are, as a country, the more we have to share, the less inclined we seem to want to do so. Or sometimes, some think we already do share, in great amounts, because of rhetoric and myth. Racism is a huge part of it, of course, but not the only part. Some of it is fear… fear of not having enough, especially when sometimes our own lives appear to be teetering on the edge - quite purposely so, if you ask me, as it benefits governments to have an insecure (but not too insecure), and thus fairly compliant populace. There is so much more to this story… it will never all be told, and as long as there are wars, famines and upheavals, it will never end. In many cases, we are being overtaken by the shadows cast years ago which are only just now, in this time of increased mobility and knowledge, drawing over us. For the forseeable future; for years to come, someone will always be at the door seeking sanctuary. What will we do?
Posted by Nanette on 09/05 at 11:32 AM
Immigration • ShameOnUs • HumanBeams • Humanity • HumanRights • Permalink • Tell-a-Friend
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Thursday, August 31, 2006 We’re here today, you die tomorrow by Nanette
You can rage and cry and shake your fist, talk about morality and mercy, about proportionality and accountability, about justice and non-combatants - but no law will touch me, because I am within the law. In fact, I am the law - my power deems it so. The targets are the children, of course. The initial blasts may be for whoever is in the vicinity of the dropped bombs, but the little unexploded, sometimes brightly colored bomblets, that mimic food packages? Or are dropped 72 hours before a planned cease-fire?? Those are for the children, so that they can keep dying or being maimed long after a war is over. Who else runs heedlessly across the grass, looking over their shoulder at the kite they are propelling, laughing and leaping with joy until the moment they seem to leap higher than ever, only to come down in pieces. What others, no matter how many times you warn them, reach out their small hands to investigate what is this new thing in their now very short world. Remember me, the wee bomblets are saying, sending a message from a people to a people long after their representatives are gone. Remember what I can do to you - my power is such that I can snatch your children from you anywhere. Your garden, their playgrounds, their schools, the road to the market, any little place at all - that’s the beauty of it. And it can all be done while we are sitting at home in our easy chairs, watching our own children play outside in the pool, having nothing to remember. Remember that you can’t do anything at all about it… except bury your dead. You can rage and cry and shake your fist, talk about morality and mercy, about proportionality and accountability, about justice and non-combatants - but no law will touch me, because I am within the law. In fact, I am the law - my power deems it so. If I want to space out the killing of you for two days, two weeks or two decades, the law has said it is perfectly okay. A child, a stranger, a grandmother, a groundskeeper - a leg, a hand, an eye or a life, it’s all in memory of me. Remember what I can do to you - my power is such that, with nary a footstep set on your patch of earth, I can dig your grave and put you or your children in it in the same blink of time, and never break a sweat. Remember me as you lead the blind, steady the halt, bind the wounds of the maimed and feed the motherless with the milk of despair. Remember me from generation to generation, our little giftlets demand…
...yet we are always so surprised when they do.
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And you know what? I’ve decided that’s okay - because, while who is president of the US and which party controls the congress, which laws are made or, more importantly these days, upheld and followed by those in the highest office, and who appoints the Supreme Court members… while all of that does matter, it’s not the be all that ends all. And it’s not there that real changes get made. Not the deep, structural changes anyway. That takes more than laws and much more than politicians and more than doing the same old things in the same old ways. 
Now then, never having planned a revolution before, I’m a little unsure how to go about it. But, that’s okay! I will no doubt learn as I go along and as other, more experienced, revolutionaries join the cause. First, I imagine, is defining just what the revolution is about and what the cause is, no? Then comes the strategizing and implementation. And, having already done all my mid-life crisis moaning, indecisiveness, longing for something different and meaningful and all that in full view, might as well figure out the strategery there too.
OK, sure. I have a computer clock, the clock on my little (not cell) phone, and a couple of other time pieces of varying trustworthiness scattered about the house but when I really want to be sure what time it is.... I call time. Still. My inner Luddite coming to the fore, maybe. It may be contradictory but another thing that bugs me about this story is the realization that the vast majority of the U.S., with the exception of California and Nevada, apparently lost time ages ago.
People are soooo tired of those 