Everybody's on a high as a result of the last two weeks of protests in the wake of George Floyd's murder.
But was it even murder?
A wide swath of Americans don't believe it was so.
You think the only white nationalists, the only Republicans, the only deluded are out there protesting at statehouses for the reopening of America and the right not to wear masks. But there are tens of millions more sitting at home, a great number of them wealthy, who like things just the way they are and despite not going on the record, always refusing to talk politics, are gonna vote for Trump.
Because it's good for them. Lower taxes. Unrestricted business dealings. Few consequences. What's not to like?
And the money is important. Joe Biden can't raise any cash from individuals, they're just not inspired by him. So, Joe is raising funds from the usual suspects, the corporations and the fat cats, who are not giving money out of charity, they expect a quid pro quo. Remember that legal term from impeachment?
And what's important about impeachment is the only Republican who broke ranks was Mitt Romney. And you can break out all the polling you want, about his approval rate in Utah, but the truth is he's been written off by the Republicans in the Senate, he's not to be trusted, and they're gonna hammer him ad infinitum until he fades away and does not radiate.
You may have been protesting in the street, but Iowa just passed a law saying you can't vote by mail unless you request a ballot in writing.
And yesterday we saw the insanity of the evisceration of the Voting Rights Act in Georgia. Plenty of polling stations in white neighborhoods, no lines, and hours-long waits at the few polling sites left in black neighborhoods. This evidence was in plain sight. But it's not the lead story in today's news. Oh, it got reported, but today everybody shrugs, this is now business as usual, remember Milwaukee?
Voting has been rigged. If you live in a blue state, like California, more power to you. But in red and purple states the lines have been redrawn to keep Republicans in power. And their response when challenged is to say that Democrats would do the same thing if they were in power, but they aren't, and may never be.
So, you've got the young and angry protesting in the street, and the professional watchers, the professional pundits, they're all saying it's about the election.
Hogwash. This just like the NFL and Kaepernick. Goodell only wakes up when there's riots. That's what it takes to foment change in America, and it works slowly, if at all.
You're expecting a radical remaking of corporate America.
Despite all the statements and the self-congratulatory advertisements, this ain't gonna happen, not in a significant way. They'll appoint an African-American to the board, but he'll be less like Cornel West and more like Michael Steele. They're looking for someone just like them, who talks just like them. Not someone from the street, but from the Ivys. As for employees...they'll throw their hands in the air and say there just aren't enough qualified candidates. We can debate the veracity of this all day long, but one thing is for sure, they're not giving blacks opportunities, they're shutting them out of colleges, they're not giving them jobs at the base level, they'll say it will take time to create a pool, and then the people running the corporation will change and the idea will be back-burnered because it's all about profits, about Wall Street, correct? The only company that seems to put people over profits, that truly cares about the environment, is Patagonia. That's one. In a sea of thousands.
And if you think Congress is gonna raise the minimum wage, you've ignored the past decade of debate. They'll whip out the "fact" this will hurt small business, say the nation runs on small business, which is factually untrue, and there will be a lot of talk and no action. Kinda like gun control. Come on, they shoot schoolkids all over the country and what we've got is less gun control. You see you can't take away people's freedom!
Their freedom, they don't care about yours.
And their freedom means their kids must not be edged out in competition for educational slots and job slots.
And their freedom means that there need to be fewer regulations, come on, do you think Trump has been railing about the economy because it's irrelevant to him and his constituents? Never mind that the improved economy didn't help you. They've got manipulated statistics to show you you're wrong. Everybody's got a job! And if you can't put food on the table it's your fault.
And they're sick and tired of affirmative action. They'll say they tried it and it was unfair and didn't work, even though it did. They don't want to suffer for you to improve your quality of life, no way. That ship sailed in the sixties and seventies and was sunk and is never going to be rebuilt.
The "New Yorker" did a whole story about the silent majority of rich in Greenwich who support Trump. I'd link to it, but you're either aware of it or don't have the time or inclination to check it out. You've got no time, and the waters have been muddied to the point where nothing is true, absolutely nothing.
And today the "Washington Post" published a video illustrating the falsehoods spread by Tucker Carlson, and how it's an organized plan, but that's behind a paywall, because unless you're rich the only news you get is what filters down to social media.
"Opinion-Tucker Carlson's guide to injustice": https://wapo.st/3dSAY0m
(Actually, the video appears to be free to all, but since most of the WaPo is behind a wall, you don't check out the site.)
But let's say we believe in the system, will the same youngsters who didn't come out to vote for Bernie Sanders come out to vote for Joe Biden and defeat Trump? Very questionable.
Meanwhile, all the talking heads say it's about bringing back those Trump voters who used to be Democrats. Forget the fact that Rachel Bitecofer has gone on and on how this is a false paradigm, what have the Democrats done to win the support of blue collar workers who've switched parties? I don't see Joe Biden agitating for the institution of unions. I don't see significant rule changes in Amazon warehouses. The Democrats are just like Trump in 2016, they say they're your only choice, and what can you lose?
And the Republicans will say taxes, i.e. your money. They'll say if the Democrats win, your taxes will go up, spending will be through the roof.
Even Democrats believe that! That's what a forty year plan of disinformation has achieved. Reagan said the government was the enemy. Rich and poor believe this, as for the middle...it keeps getting squeezed and demonized. Poor people pay no taxes! They may pay no income taxes, but they're taxed up the yin-yang every damn day, at the gas station, the supermarket...and they're spending all of their income to stay alive.
I know I'm painting a bleak picture. But you optimists cannot handle the truth.
And the truth is we need systemic change. And you only get that via something akin to revolution.
Boomers protested against the Vietnam war in the sixties and they got rid of Johnson, who was replaced by Nixon and it was business as usual.
As for Trump... Did you see that Bolsonaro is on the brink of bringing out the military? That's right, Brazil is devolving into autocracy. That's the pattern all over the world. You see when people feel threatened, when they can't make ends meet, they elect a "savior" who ends up turning on them. Happened in Venezuela, happened in Eastern Europe, but for some reason Americans think they're immune, that it can't happen here. They still believe the United States is the land of social mobility, that if you work hard you can get rich, even though statistics tell us otherwise, that this paradigm exists in western Europe more than here.
And that's an element of the disinformation campaign. You don't want socialism, you don't want a safety net, because that will eviscerate your freedom! And it won't allow the job-creators, i.e. the rich and corporations, to run willy-nilly and the end loser will be you. Huh?
And it does come down to income inequality. Because it is all about money. Hell, the candidate who can flood social media with ads tends to win.
And then there are the left wing canards that make informed heads rotate upon their necks. If I hear one more person say to save local newspapers... Any student of history will tell you propping up old paradigms based on emotion never works. The problem is the business model, not the news. There's got to be another way to deliver news.
And sometimes you've got to reach your limit before there is change. Facebook and Google profit on the efforts of news collectors, but now the ship is turning, after decades, to the point where they're coughing up dough. Maybe they need to pay for local news. Maybe there's another way to get reportage. But talk to the techies, who don't live in D.C. and don't populate the DNC, and you'll hear the truth, but techies are now evil, everything they say is wrong, talk about throwing out the baby with the bathwater...
And if he loses, Trump isn't gonna leave. And there's a good chance he's not losing. What are the aftereffects of yesterday in Georgia? I don't see any. And now with electronic voting and hacking the results are inherently questionable. So Trump just ain't gonna bring out the Army and lock us all down, he's gonna claim the vote was inaccurate and he won, just like he had the largest attendance at an inauguration ever!
He lies and...
The media reports his lies.
The most important story you'll read this week was by Ben Smith in the "New York Times," about how youngsters are changing news media. They're sick and tired of the outlets staying above the fray, reporting and not speaking truth and agitating for change. The reporters broke the rules, they protested, and the end result...the papers didn't win, the reporters did.
"Inside the Revolts Erupting in America's Big Newsrooms": https://nyti.ms/2YBbhLJ
So, we're sick and angry about the death of George Floyd and all those who preceded him. One thing about riots, they demonstrate how angry people are. Oh, the right and the rich blame it on outside agitators who just want to wreak havoc. But unless we challenge the precepts of these entrenched players change is doomed.
The reporters won by breaking the rules. Unfortunately, that's the only way we're gonna get change in the country at large. When the game is rigged, you flip over the table, you don't continue to play it and complain you're losing. You've got to challenge the fat cats at their core.
And the reason Bernie Sanders lost the nomination comes down to his demonization by the press and entrenched players. They don't want change, don't you get it! They want you to believe the safe candidate is the only one who can get elected, and to just trust the experts. Yeah, the same experts who said a file was not as good as a CD, the same experts who said no one would buy an electric car, these same experts who keep demonizing smartphones because they give you the instant ability to communicate and organize and gain power, which is the last thing they want you to have.
Want to have more black people at the record company?
Hit acts have to refuse to release new music and to promote the old.
But this was the ethos of the sixties, today it's all about brand-building and money, no one will sacrifice for the greater good. They'll throw out some dollars, make a statement, but you can't challenge their business enterprise.
As for line workers... I'm not telling them to sabotage the product, but believe me that gets results. As do slowdowns. But unfortunately Democrats have gone along with Republicans in killing unions and making the moniker a dirty name. Come on, who is protecting the working man? Nobody in power.
And the rich have convinced us CEOs deserve their outrageous salaries, that if we don't pay them they'll jump to another company. Once again, it's a club and you're not in it. They pass the gigs amongst the cabal the same way Grammy committees pass the trophy amongst insiders.
And then they tell you to believe the organization is transparent and worthwhile. But what did they say about Deborah Dugan...change was happening too fast! And that's in music, with plenty of African-American players. Do you really expect big corporations to be goaded into instant change?
Once again, this comes down to revolution. It looks like we're not gonna get any change until there's one. Hell, let's even say Biden gets elected, do you really think the man from Delaware is gonna lower your credit card interest rate? Keep dreaming.
You see the owners of this country pushed it too far. They could have maintained most of their power and lifestyles but they got too greedy. They wanted everything, at the cost of the living standards of everybody else. And if you tell them they're the problem they tell you how much they pay in taxes, and they hire lawyers and lobbyists to make sure there's no change. Here in California, the beach is open to the public. But for decades the rich have locked the gates, they just keep on litigating, and they just keep on defying orders. Meanwhile, if you defy orders you go to jail.
We've gotten too far off course. Business as usual is not going to continue. Either Trump and his cronies are going to hoist the authoritarian flag or the public is gonna sink the ship.
Happens all over the globe. You just believe since you live in the United States, the self-professed greatest country in the world, it can't happen here.
Trump was built on television by Mark Burnett. Who won't come out and tell us the truth, who won't release outtakes.
Trump went bankrupt again and again, and in a real head-twister he said it was smart!
Meanwhile, the government changed the law so you can go bankrupt, but can't write off all of your debts. You must pay, the rich do not.
Once again, the ship can't be turned around, it's got to be sunk.
But the rich and powerful like it the way it is, and then there are those scared to take action and then there are those afraid of action, afraid of the chaos, which frequently results in authoritarians in power.
Come on, are we gonna get black NFL owners? Of course not, not enough blacks have that kind of money, never mind want to put it there.
Meanwhile, Roget Goodell makes $40 million a year. Your whole neighborhood doesn't even make $40 million a year!
I'm just pointing out the gap, between those who have and those who do not. Those who want change and those who do not.
Look at the changes tech wrought. They were not gradual, the companies did not get permission from entrenched players... Change happened nearly instantly, and new entities gained power.
That's the only way it's gonna happen in the country at large.
I'm gonna vote, like George Carlin said, do it if it makes you feel good. But just like he said it makes no difference, I'm starting to believe the same thing. Of course Biden will be better than Trump. But do you really think the country is gonna change under this structure? Hell, if women got the vote, why can't we get rid of the electoral college? Why is everything inviolate, claiming the Constitution says otherwise when the truth is the framers of said document were revolutionaries themselves looking to create a better nation, who did not want to institutionalize the past, i.e. top-down government by a monarchy. Hell, if the framers were alive today most would be to the left of everybody in D.C!
But the Supreme Court is ruled by people who say otherwise.
It's a sad state of affairs and peaceful demonstration in the streets is a start, but far from a solution.
We need further action.
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