Earlier this month, I read an article about how it's becoming more commonplace for police to use groping of female protesters as a method of getting people to get arrested. The first story is pretty disgusting. I mean, the kind of situation you wouldn't expect in this country, because we like to think we have freedom and act bravely. Like, the kind of thing you would expect in a movie about oppressive states. Or like that scene in The Labyrinth, which you should watch if you don't know what I mean. Read it here:
Are NYC Police Groping Women Protesters?
And we don't live in/ on the way to a police state. And this isn't a rape culture. And women have total equality. And women aren't objectified on the daily. Seriously.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Unsolicited Advice for Occupy
Everyone hates the police when they get caught doing something bad. Like taking a cookie without asking or intentionally disobeying the rules. But for Occupy protesters in the United States, and for peaceful protesters throughout the world, police brutality has become the main reason to be rather upset and let loose a little "Fuck the police."
Since the Occupy movement is based on being peaceful and changing the system (for whatever reason you think it needs to change), and claiming that the movement represents the 99% of the population, police need to be on the side of Occupy. I know that they have been a little testy. I mean, in one protest the a window was broken by a cop smashing a peaceful, non-resisting protester's head through a window. I'm sorry, I meant protester medic. I don't mean to qualify this guy as more important than the average peaceful, non-resisting protester, but it is pretty ironic that someone there to help people who get hurt gets smashed into a window.
But the cops need to be behind Occupy is Occupy is going to be successful. Period.
Allison Kilkenny on her and Jamie Kilstein's podcast Citizen Radio said that it would take a Buddhist calm to be able to protest in favor of cops. Well, too bad, that's the point: forgiveness and calm and having a right-mind.
And a perfect opportunity has presented itself. The Chicago PD who worked during the NATO protests may not be getting paid their overtime. I guess specifically, the police officers' contract states that the officers can be paid either in money or in time off. However, the officers that worked during the NATO summit in Chicago were issued overtime slips with the "money" box already checked, giving the officers no option for time off. Occupy should demonstrate in their favor.
The officers that worked the NATO Summit's protest were not all super. Citizen Radio did have a great three episode series talking about the NATO protests, if you would like to hear specifically how the cops behaved, including multiple cops attacking one journalist and telling people to get off the sidewalk while pushing people onto the sidewalk and then arresting them. And all that.
But if we want to avoid pushing our country further toward a police state, we need to have the cops on the side of the citizens. Unfortunately, the cops work under the mayor, and the mayor is a politician, and politicians are in the pockets of the evil Monopoly Men.
Since the Occupy movement is based on being peaceful and changing the system (for whatever reason you think it needs to change), and claiming that the movement represents the 99% of the population, police need to be on the side of Occupy. I know that they have been a little testy. I mean, in one protest the a window was broken by a cop smashing a peaceful, non-resisting protester's head through a window. I'm sorry, I meant protester medic. I don't mean to qualify this guy as more important than the average peaceful, non-resisting protester, but it is pretty ironic that someone there to help people who get hurt gets smashed into a window.
But the cops need to be behind Occupy is Occupy is going to be successful. Period.
Allison Kilkenny on her and Jamie Kilstein's podcast Citizen Radio said that it would take a Buddhist calm to be able to protest in favor of cops. Well, too bad, that's the point: forgiveness and calm and having a right-mind.
And a perfect opportunity has presented itself. The Chicago PD who worked during the NATO protests may not be getting paid their overtime. I guess specifically, the police officers' contract states that the officers can be paid either in money or in time off. However, the officers that worked during the NATO summit in Chicago were issued overtime slips with the "money" box already checked, giving the officers no option for time off. Occupy should demonstrate in their favor.
The officers that worked the NATO Summit's protest were not all super. Citizen Radio did have a great three episode series talking about the NATO protests, if you would like to hear specifically how the cops behaved, including multiple cops attacking one journalist and telling people to get off the sidewalk while pushing people onto the sidewalk and then arresting them. And all that.
But if we want to avoid pushing our country further toward a police state, we need to have the cops on the side of the citizens. Unfortunately, the cops work under the mayor, and the mayor is a politician, and politicians are in the pockets of the evil Monopoly Men.
He actually pretty much just looks evil.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Sports!
I enjoy watching sports, and sometimes playing them if I'm not too horrible at it. Professional sports, however, very much get under my skin. The main reason for this is the ridiculous amount of money that is being made, and how that is never enough for even the highest paid athletes. It seems very frequent that I hear about one sport or another bitching about who's going to get the fucking billions of dollars being made. Trillions, probably.
And I think that is selfish.
Given, I've never had that much money, so I don't know how it could corrupt one's mind. But I would like to think that any decent and reasonable person (both of which I assume I am), would not just be absurdly rich and whine for more money and that be that. They would give the money away to those in need. We all know that these days, many, rather, most are in need. The vast majority, actually.
I was having this conversation the other day with some people that do know and enjoy watching sports. Each one of them agreed that the pay system is ethically wrong, and it needs to be changed. One person suggested that we change it so that everyone starts with about $100,000 for the year and if the team wins, they get a bonus, and if they lose, they get a pay decrease. This was the "socialist solution." Well, even though we know that this is just a different way of working within the rules of capitalism and he probably misspoke, the idea of a socialist solution is intriguing.
So here's what I was thinking: Sports players and their posse do deserve to be payed for what they do, as entertainers. The amount of money is far too high, but it is based on supply and demand, so theoretically, if they were paid less there would be a surplus, and that would have to go somewhere. As sports teams are meant to represent a specific region of the country or world, why should that money not go back into those communities? There is always a use for more public hospitals, homeless shelters, infrastructure repair, mental health support, support for our veterans, jobs programs and so on, that the government doesn't have the money for because that money is too preoccupied killing people and destroying cities over seas. Oh, and bailing out companies that are too big to fail... And some other unethical thing that makes no sense.
I know we have to start small with the whole restructuring our society so it doesn't collapse on itself thing, but why not start with something that the best part of the country loves and respects and idolizes? I mean, the majority of the inspirational films that have every come out in the United States are based on sports.
If sports are supposed to bring people together, where class and race lines are erased and we are all part of the American family, it needs to show the rest of the country how that is done. If we are supposed to take this idea that "people who are good at football can achieve their dreams and so can you" seriously we need something other than a good soundtrack and a white woman saving a black man.
Because is that not the point of following a sport - feeling like you belong, like you are a part of the team, and that you have a community? As far as I understand it, that is the most important reason people participate in spectating.
I really do feel that this would be an amazing step in the right direction. And so symbolic, too. If the behemoth that is the sport industry, that is something that people talk and think about probably more than any other kind of entertainment, made this change, it would lead the way in changing the way we think. We need to start thinking in terms of "we" and "community" instead of "I" and "individual."
Go sports!
And I think that is selfish.
Mario and Luigi would never pull that shit.
Maybe Wario.
Definitely Bowser.
Given, I've never had that much money, so I don't know how it could corrupt one's mind. But I would like to think that any decent and reasonable person (both of which I assume I am), would not just be absurdly rich and whine for more money and that be that. They would give the money away to those in need. We all know that these days, many, rather, most are in need. The vast majority, actually.
I was having this conversation the other day with some people that do know and enjoy watching sports. Each one of them agreed that the pay system is ethically wrong, and it needs to be changed. One person suggested that we change it so that everyone starts with about $100,000 for the year and if the team wins, they get a bonus, and if they lose, they get a pay decrease. This was the "socialist solution." Well, even though we know that this is just a different way of working within the rules of capitalism and he probably misspoke, the idea of a socialist solution is intriguing.
So here's what I was thinking: Sports players and their posse do deserve to be payed for what they do, as entertainers. The amount of money is far too high, but it is based on supply and demand, so theoretically, if they were paid less there would be a surplus, and that would have to go somewhere. As sports teams are meant to represent a specific region of the country or world, why should that money not go back into those communities? There is always a use for more public hospitals, homeless shelters, infrastructure repair, mental health support, support for our veterans, jobs programs and so on, that the government doesn't have the money for because that money is too preoccupied killing people and destroying cities over seas. Oh, and bailing out companies that are too big to fail... And some other unethical thing that makes no sense.
I know we have to start small with the whole restructuring our society so it doesn't collapse on itself thing, but why not start with something that the best part of the country loves and respects and idolizes? I mean, the majority of the inspirational films that have every come out in the United States are based on sports.
If sports are supposed to bring people together, where class and race lines are erased and we are all part of the American family, it needs to show the rest of the country how that is done. If we are supposed to take this idea that "people who are good at football can achieve their dreams and so can you" seriously we need something other than a good soundtrack and a white woman saving a black man.
Because is that not the point of following a sport - feeling like you belong, like you are a part of the team, and that you have a community? As far as I understand it, that is the most important reason people participate in spectating.
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! knows what I'm talking about.
I really do feel that this would be an amazing step in the right direction. And so symbolic, too. If the behemoth that is the sport industry, that is something that people talk and think about probably more than any other kind of entertainment, made this change, it would lead the way in changing the way we think. We need to start thinking in terms of "we" and "community" instead of "I" and "individual."
Go sports!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)