Well put, O Wussy One.
Tomorrow I'm marching in a "Support the Troops" right in the Belly of the
Counterculture Beast -- San Francisco.
Should I engage anyone -- fellow marchers, opponents, spectators, media
folk -- in dialogue, one point I want to make is that I am not marching
against the peaceful protestors (whom I consider mostly misguided, and
manipulated by genuinely subversive groups like ANSWER and NION). Nor will
I indulge in the blanket condemnation of ALL counterculture or offbeat
lifestyles or behaviors, that seems to be *de rigeur* on the
knuckle-dragging Right. Personally, I like many aspects of our various
homegrown and imported subcultures, and feel that they are a testament to
our country's freedom and tolerance.
My real beef is with the "Shut the City Down" types. These people, IMHO,
have crossed the line from dissent into sedition. Their stated purpose is
to disrupt the economic and government functions of American cities, thereby
draining the resources of municipalities in dealing with them (since the war
started, San Francisco has been spending close to $1M a day on riot-related
expenses). I believe the longterm goal of our local anarchists is to create
such havoc that the State and Feds have to step in and declare martial
law...which will, of course, trigger The Revolution, maaaaan...
Personally, I believe most of the people who believe and promote this sort
of nonsense are bargain-basement Lindhs and Corries. They seem to be deeply
disturbed people who have bottomless amounts of rage at ANYTHING that
reminds them of Daddy and Mommy back in the 'burbs, and are wasting what
could be the happiest and most productive years of their lives getting
nothing but arrest records and body lice. My gut impulse to introduce their
skulls to my good buddy Mr. Louis V. Slugger is tempered by a sense of
sadness and pity about them, and what they COULD be. If they put the same
youthful energy and intelligence into jobs, school, relationships,
spirituality or art, that they do into screaming at cops and vomiting on
buildings, they might actually bring about that Better World they keep
talking about through their sheer productivity and positive energy.
What if Lindh, for example, had become a Sufi instead of a Wa'haabi, and
gone to the Middle East to work in a Red Crescent hospital? Or what if
Corrie had married, gotten a good job, and adopted a couple of kids (one
Pali, one Israeli) orphaned by the conflict? Obviously both found it far
easier to pour their rage and rich-liberal self-loathing into becoming
would-be Che Guevaras. Much as it's far more of a short term rush for our
local black-clad, bemasked hordes to throw temper tantrums in the Financial
District, than develop the patience and self-discipline that, say, the
back-to-the-land Hippies did in setting up WORKING alternatives to wage
slavery. Whether it's being crushed by a Gaza 'dozer or languishing in a
SFPD holding cell, the result is the same: life wasted on behalf of some
arbitrary cause.
> John, your near-essay on affluent idealistic young people sounds like a
> description of ( here he goes again) my Malibu kids, many of whom are
> protesting the war right now.
>
> And I could not agree with you more that a trip to the developing world is
> great for the young and for anyone...In fact, I seem to sometimes be the
> last of the JFK Liberals , although, Clinton echoed this theme...I am a
very
> strong supporter of the Peace Corps, Americorps and all the rest...( One
of
> my ex-students is doing a stint with Americorps right now)
>
> In fact, some months back, ( you remember the date probably :) ) I
publicly
> disagreed with Mike on the subject of community service. It is a
requirement
> at my school, and I strongly support it. It is good for them...it broadens
> their horizon. As much as I love my teen demons, they can be a bit spoiled
> no surprise there) .
>
> But nothing in your description of your friend in Africa, or any of the
> other young idealists that we have all known and been ( ESPECIALLY
> Mike....Did you ever meet Blackbird Willow???? She is the EPITOME of that
> type, and Mike has always been supportive of her) can represent any
support
> for the likes of Rachel Corrie or John Walker Lindh.
>
> They crossed the line into anger and violence, to the point of
near-murder.
> They, in fact, create a backlash that goes against the gentle spirits of
> such young idealists.
>
> Without realizing it, you are actually making the mistake that many
> conservatives make. That anyone who goes against the "American Way" is the
> same. No difference between the peaceful gentle pacifist Deadheads and the
> frothing at the mouth violent Leftists?
>
> Look back at the history of the 60's. The Right tried to make the case
that
> the apotheosis of the Hippie movement was... Charles Manson.
>
> No, I share the hopes and dreams of the gentle young idealists. Sometimes
> even their tactics. And if I may say, I think Mike does too.
>
> And it is precisely because I do that I reject the hate and anger of the
> Corries and Lindhs. The fate of neither one of them was a surprise.
>
> L
>
>
> > Yes, you were number "666", you beast.
> >
> > :-)
> >
> > Allow me to respond to what you have said...
> >
> > > > I think there is a similarity between Rachel Corrie and John Walker
> > > > Lindh: Both were young people from affluent backgrounds,
> > >
> > > Yup. Only rich kids can afford to play at being oppressed.
> >
> > Absolutely! These kids (or "adults", as you pointedly called them
> > later in your message) came from a level of comfort and idleness, and
> > did not have to worry about getting a boring job like so many other
> > folks. They wanted to 'fix the world', and their parents probably were
> > proud of their enthiusiasm and gave them the money to go travel.
> >
> > Let's face it: Most people, idealistic or not, do not get such
> > opportunities. The option for them is to join the Peace Corps, which
> > would not be acceptable to the Corries and Lindhs because they expect
> > you to WORK. ;-)
> >
> > I don't want to mention any names, but I know a person who had joined
> > the Peace Corps and had gone to Kenya for more than 10 years. He left
> > the USA with the knowledge that the USA and capitalism is bad, and
> > that the legacy of the Western World left a terrible wound in the
> > 'African Psyche'. He was a hard worker, and was going to help any way
> > he could!
> >
> > He married a Kenyan woman, and now lives near LA. He has told me a lot
> > about his experiences. The corruption and pettiness was more than he
> > could bear. His anger about it is palpable. They could not even
> > install a pipe to get clean water to a village: After paying all the
> > outrageous bribes, any efforts were always upset and derailed by
> > neighboring villages. People were stopping other people from getting
> > ahead, if necessary by death and destruction. The end of it all is
> > that nobody is ahead.
> >
> > These are hard times, Mike, but I still think that we need not be so
> > harsh on youthful idealism. A trip to the Third World often does
> > wonders to put things into perpective, by the way. I have always
> > recommended that more people travel...
> >
> > When I was younger after graduating UCLA I went on my own to the USSR.
> > The Soviet Tourist Agency had package deals, and visitors like myself
> > had friendly tourist guides (in Iraq, they are called "minders", I
> > think). I was easily able to give these folks the slip and I went out
> > on my own, using their extensive subway system. An obvious foreigner,
> > I met people and was invited back to their homes. (This was completely
> > safe! Sadly, I also accepted similar invitations in North Africa, and
> > am lucky now to still be alive...) I saw the standard of living in the
> > USSR: It was comparable to a USA family on welfare. Maybe even not as
> > good as. At that time, there was also no freedom of speech like we
> > have here, though by then Gorbachev was already working on it.
> >
> > Later after leaving the USSR I ended up in Britain and visited
> > relatives. Some of them are quite left wing... correction, ALL of them
> > are left wing! They wanted my impressions of the USSR, and I told
> > them. No, no, they disagreed. They insisted that the standard of
> > living in the USSR was high. High? Compared to what? Pakistan, maybe.
> > They also concluded that I had not seen the 'Real USSR', or something
> > like that. All of these opinions from people who had never been more
> > than 100 miles in any direction! Never even been to France.
> >
> > Anyway, my point is that these folks had their idealism, their
> > opinions, but lacked any resources to travel and see the world. So,
> > they are more likely to be stuck that way.
> >
> >
> > John
> >
> >
> >
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> > OliveStarlightOrchestra-unsubscribe_at_yahoogroups.com
> >
> >
> >
> > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> OliveStarlightOrchestra-unsubscribe_at_yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
Received on 2003-03-28 23:17:46