Conjectural Demons

In which I meditate on the uselessness of many fears and most worries...

Revenge

A brief meditation on the fact that revenge may be sweet...but it is often (alas) not cost effective.

A word of explanation to the Republican National Committee

So, the other day, I read that the Republican National Committee, and the Republican establishment in general, just couldn't understand why Trump...a radical populist demagogue who openly employs quasi-fascist rhetoric...could possibly have become their party's front runner.

Shocked, they were, they said, just shocked...and utterly mystified.

I therefore did this little video to, shall we shall, explain things to them.

https://vimeo.com/166115668

A meditation on something dread-full...but meaningless

Today I saw an interesting thing. There was an article on the web…actually a personal essay. It was written by an extremely earnest young individual and published (as I recall) by a left of center website.

But what intrigued me was the topic. The author was a white woman, intensely opposed to the patriarchy and the system As It Is. Which is quite understandable and, indeed, in my opinion, praiseworthy. Even as a white, middle-class, middle-aged male, I can see that.

But, where the story gets complicated is in her topic. She had written what amounted to a mea culpa…because of her hair.

She had, it seemed, dreads—dreadlocks, I mean. She had adopted this style as a means of advertising her opposition to the white patriarchy in all its manifestations.

Okay, fine. I’m not particular fond of dreads on us white people. I think they look kind of ridiculous. But it absolutely none of my business how people want to their wear their own hair.

But, the woman wrote…and wrote with what I think was real anguish...she realized that her adoption of the hair style was “cultural appropriation,” that it signified her own white privilege, and that she should be truly ashamed of herself. As an act of contrition, she then promptly snipped off her un-curly locks.
I came away from the story just a bit astonished. Because, well, bluntly, it is beyond what good or bad was done here.

I mean, honestly, exactly what real, honest-to-God, actual harm did her dreads do anyone or anything? Did they increase the probability of a young black man getting shot at random traffic stop? No, probably not. Those odds are pretty damn high as it is.  Okay, so did they cause more young women of color or otherwise to be raped and killed in their own neighborhoods? Again, no. That happens all too often, neither in spite nor because of anyone’s haircut.  So…let’s cut to the chase. Did her dreads mean that there were more drone strikes in Iraq, more innocent people blown to shreds in the Middle East, more people of color beaten to death in the backs of police vans…more wars or destruction or death or oppression?

Answer? No, no, no, and, for a change, no.

Okay, let’s play it back the other way. The author cut her hair. Did that do any good? I mean, real, material, physical good that you could see, feel, or measure? Did it reduce poverty in America? Did it feed hungry children in the streets? Did it put any serial killers, sadists, thugs, child abusers, terrorists, KKK members…or International Bankers…in jail?

Uh…no.

Very, very honestly, I am not sure that anything did happen here. I feel that it is complete non-event. Maybe it made the author feel better, which is fine. Maybe a few of acquaintances were no longer offended by her act of cultural appropriation…which is a good thing, I suppose. But, again, it seems a little irrelevant to the world at large.

Yet, clearly, this was an issue…for the author, and perhaps for the acquaintances I mentioned. And that concerns me.

The reason? If you really want something to be concerned about, if you want an issue, open your newspaper. Or turn on the computer. There’s lots to pick from, much of it perfectly horrible. In my own city paper, this morning, the headline article refers to a child, a Native American girl of just 11 years, who was abducted and killed by a stranger. They found her body on the mesa. The good news, if there can possibly be any, is that think they’ve caught the man who did it. (He won’t last long in prison, I suspect.)

Or, if that’s not to your taste, look over to the right side of the paper. We have news of Donald Trump’s more or less total victory in the GOP primaries. It is now pretty certain that he will be the candidate. That is a terrifying thing. I am one of those who believe that a Trump presidency could spell the end of the nation as we know it. But, then, none of the other Republicans were much less of a threat. (Can you genuinely envision a Ted Cruz in the White House? Or any of the puppets of the Koch Brothers?)

Still not enough? Okay, let’s flip open the paper. On the next few pages we have shootings and killings; stories on the increasingly bloody wars in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan; refugees turned back or beaten in Europe, or drowned off its shores; a feature on increasingly severe weather events, and the global warming which may make parts of the Middle East and North Africa uninhabitable before the end of the century; job losses and factories closing everywhere as the Neoliberal, Neo-Managerial, Post-Industrial Economy completes its disembowelment of the world…

There is, in short, not a place on the planet where you couldn’t find something…something real, something tangible, a genuine threat to life, limb, and liberty…to be concerned about.

In comparison to that, hair…or “cultural appropriation,” whatever the hell that really means…simply doesn’t cut it. No pun intended. It is, at best, irrelevant. At worst, it is a distraction from the real problems that we face as a civilization…from, in fact, the things which could result in our demise as a species.

That’s why this story of the author and her hair worries me. I don’t mean to focus on this one woman, or her essay. I don’t mean to personally rebuke her or discount her concerns. But, I have seen too much of this kind of thinking among the intellectuals, academics, activists, and others who should be at the cutting edge of social change, who should be the ones leading the charge, who should be fighting for inclusion, liberation, the end of oppression in all its myriad forms…

Yet, instead, they have focused on symbols rather than facts, on the abstract rather than the actual. Which means, in material terms, in terms of measurable good or bad, they might as well have never existed at all.

So, I beg you… all of you…idealists and activists and intellectuals…

For God’s sake, forget the hair, forget the “cultural appropriation,” forget the relentless hunt for slightest ideological imperfections in yourself and others… even, yes, for now (if not forever), forgive and forget the occasional “micro-aggressions” and insensitivities of even clueless white males like myself (well-meaning, but so dreadfully unaware of our privilege)…

And see the world as it really is…where they are much greater, much more dangerous dragons to oppose… far more deadly than dreads… even more perilous than men like me. Because dreads can be cut. I can be ignored.

But the deaths of children, of hope, of life…

Such things are horribly, terribly, unforgivably eternal.

The Most Moral Among Us

So, here’s something I’ve talked about before, but I’ll revisit it in light of the current election…

Certain figures in American politics (mostly on the Right) tell me, quite forcefully, that they represent the best in us. They say they are principled, strong, wise, and, for lack of a better term, genuinely American and truly Christian.

Which may be so…but…well…

I am a middle class, middle-aged chap who lives in the suburbs. I pay my bills on time. I don’t deal in drugs or steal cars or snatch purses. I have never cheated on my wife and don’t intend to. I don’t molest children. I even go to church on a regular basis.

And yet…

I just can’t escape the feeling that if those figures in politics, with all their self-professed morality, should come to power…

I might find myself in a very difficult position. I might find my, shall we say? position in society…terminated.

With extreme prejudice.

Taking Hate Seriously

Here’s an interesting piece of history. Until quite late, as late as 1940, a surprisingly large number of well-informed people thought that Hitler’s anti-Semitism was more show than real. It was, some people thought, merely a way of stirring up the masses, and would dissipate soon enough.

It made sense, really. Hitler was an Austrian, and an admirer of Karl Lueger, the mayor of Vienna who preached but did not practice anti-Semitism.

Only afterwards, did people realized that Hitler had been, all along, entirely ...and terribly...in earnest.

Why do I bring this up? Well, the amazing thing is how often in history we encounter exactly this sort of situation. A monster comes along and tells us precisely what he...or she...is going to do. But nobody believes him...or her. It is all put down as rhetorical flourish.

And then...and then...too late, we learn the truth.

Which is why I bring it all up now. It seems like we’ve got a few people making similar statements today...calling for violence...or making excuses for violence.

We do see it on the Left. Let’s be honest. It’s there. Seek and you shall find.

But, at least here in America, what I find most disturbing is its presence on the Right... in the statements of certain candidates.

And sometimes I fear that we are, once more, making an error...that we are discounting these remarks, a little too easily...

Because, history seems to show that when someone talks about expulsions, concentration camps, carpet bombing, targeted killings...we need to take them at their word. For they may well mean it.

Or even if they do not mean it, well, soon enough, there may well appear, some dreadful literalist, with no subtlety and no sense of humor, who shall make horribly real what his...or her...mentor considered merely abstract speculation.

And from that, boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, we might never recover.

This is the first of a series of short videos which I shall do about my father. And my mother. Their lives. And their deaths.

The videos will accompany a book which I’m also writing about them. When it’s done I’ll post links to where you can find it.

Why am I doing this? Well, as an homage to them. As a way of dealing with my feelings toward them. And, because we all go through this eventually, as a way of stating my affinity with the world.

With, that is, you.

mjt

My latest video...this one a little postmodern in that it talks about art and artist in an age of intelligent creations ...

Yet another experiment

So now I'm trying something else new. I have been posting my videos to Youtube, but then it dawned on me...why not just post them to Google drive (or wherever) and then provide a link to them?

Let's see if it works.

My father's obit...

Another little experimental video. I think this is a little more successful than the previous one, and I learned a great deal while making it (notably getting a better handle on having a picture in a picture).

Still, I think it didn’t quite work out as well as I’d hoped. The idea of a conversation between present, past, and future is an interesting one. But I’m not sure I completely pulled it off here. The meaning of the “future” framework around the major part of the story (my vide0) is just too obscure.

Still, it was interesting to make. (And yes, I really did have this talk with a friend.)

This may be the last of the purely experimental ones for a while. So, stay tuned for the next project...

Just a little meditation on the joys of being an obscure non-entity

Dedicated, with real affection, to those futurists who attempt to predict coming events to the best of their ability, regardless of who their prophecies might offend. And, with perhaps less affection, to those consultants who tell their clients only what they want to hear.

Plus, maybe, a little speculation on the capacity of ideology to blind us to peril.

And, finally, perhaps, some thoughts on the long term effects of the automation of white collar professions.

And part 4 of the Pucket Saga

And here, finally, is part of the Plucket saga :-)

cheers
mjt

And part 3 of the Magnificence of Rudolf O. Plucket!

I'll be interested in seeing how people respond to these. They are my very first attempt at story telling with limited animation. Clearly, I need a lot more practice before I get to the level of high-, middle-, or even low art. But, it is a fascinating experiment for me.

The Magnificence of Rudolf O. Plucket - Part II

My second attempt at telling a fiction as a multiple part, limited animation video. This is Part 2 of a four episode series.

Keep in mind, this is only an experiment...

mjt

The Magnificence of Rudolf O. Plucket - Part 1

Here's something quite new...

This is my first experiment at telling a fiction as a multiple-part, limited animation video.

This is part one. Parts two through four will follow.

Maybe not as close to the bone as my confessional pieces, but I’m learning a lot by doing them.

See what you think.

mjt

Once again, I've been stupid. And done an animation about it.

Like it says, I've been stupid and done a video about it.

The good news is that this is an interesting experiment, combining animation with live video.

Ode To Consumption

Just a little protest written when I was temporarily overwhelmed by the sheer ferocity of holiday shopping. Plus a few terrors about whether or not our society can survive in its present form.

But, don’t worry, I promise, in a week or so I’ll be back to normal and salivating over sports cars like a normal person.

On why the universe doesn't give a d*mn about your morality...

Like it says...

The Very Young Therapist

On why you should never play the martyr card...