Gina Harris's Blog, page 16

Daily Songs for Hispanic Heritage Month 2024

In 2022 I read Decoding Despacito: An Oral History of Latin Music by Leila Cobo. I felt like there was a lot more to learn from it and promised I would get back to it.

Trying that this year, I was not nearly as impressed. What I had left to learn was not going to come from that book.

Part of that has been a growing disdain on my part for oral histories. It was exacerbated here by there being so many songs that seemed like they should have been included but were not. Was that because she had no one to interview?

And why did Cobo choose "Whenever, Wherever" instead of "Hips Don't Lie" for Shakira? I think it was just because she wanted to highlight this line:

Lucky that my breasts are small and humble
So you don't confuse 'em with mountains

I did some more searching and found a list of the 50 Greatest Latin Pop Songs by Rolling Stone:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-latin-lists/50-greatest-latin-pop-songs-695776/benny-more-bonito-y-sabroso-1951-695801/

The criteria for inclusion here was more clear: these were supposed to be songs that had an influence. Some of the writers made better cases than others, but I still felt like there were exclusions. 

(They did cite "Hips Don't Lie" though.)

Rolling Stone mentioned Richie Valens' "La Bamba", but not the Los Lobos version. There was also a mention of Latin pop having a resurgence that would coincide with Los Lobos, and I believe they had an influence. 

No one mentioned "Rico Suave", but it at least put a new phrase into the lexicon.

"Bang Bang" was mainstream enough to end up in a King of the Hill episode.

No one mentioned the Gypsy Kings either, but they did allow other musicians from Spain. I admit the history of Roma people being expelled from Spain gets complicated, but a lot of this is complicated, when you look at it.

Rolling Stone even allowed a song in Portugese, Kaoma;s "Lambada". They only mentioned one of the terrible movies inspired by it, though. There were two. (Apparently Golan and Globus split up on it; usually they just make one terrible movie together.)

I was going to listen to everything and choose the ones I liked, but it eventually felt right to use all of them, plus some songs that were mentioned but not featured in each work, plus some songs that I remembered.

This resulted in the longest list of songs for one month ever, running from September 17th through November 24th. 

They are in chronological order with one exception. Before I decided I would use everything I was going to skip "Feliz Navidad" (1970), as I had used it before. It became the last song, leading into Christmas music.

That still did not feel like quite enough, so I took a few musical styles that had either been mentioned or that I thought I remembered being mentioned. Those genres were son, bachata, reggaeton, dancehall, and cumbia. I looked them up on Wikipedia as well as finding which ones were mentioned in the article as relating to those genres, and found songs for additional listening that way. 

I'm not an expert now. For one thing, some of them -- especially son -- have many different regional versions. Still, I know more.

There is also some really interesting political history regarding how things were popularized and why, especially for the Dominican Republic. 

There is always more to learn.

The notations on where the song came from are pretty obvious, but just in case...

DD = Decoding Despacito
RS = the Rolling Stone list
* = the song was mentioned in the cited work, but not one of the featured songs
MM = from my memories (maybe that one wasn't obvious)

Daily songs:

9/17“Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White” by Dámaso Pérez Prado (1950) DD*
9/18“Bonito y Sabroso” by Benny Moré (1951) RS
9/19 “¡Que rico el mambo!” by DámasoPérez Prado (1952) DD*
9/20 “LaBamba” by Ritchie Valens (1958) RS
9/21“Mas Que Nada” by Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66 (1966) RS
9/22“Bang Bang” by Joe Cuba Sextet (1966) MM
9/23“Oye Como Va” by Santana (1970) RS
9/24“Contrabanda y traición” by Los Tigres del Norte (1974) DD
9/25“Periodico De Ayer” by Héctor Lavoe (1976) RS
9/26“Plástico” by Rubén Blades and Willie Colon (1978) RS
9/27“Querida” by Juan Gabriel (1984) RS
9/28“Amor Eterno” by Rocío Dúrcal (1984) RS
9/29 “YoNo Te Pido la Luna” by Daniela Romo (1984) RS
9/30 “LaJaula de Oro” by Los Tigres del Norte (1984) RS
10/1 “ToAll the Girls I’ve Loved Before” by Julio Iglesias & Willie Nelson (1984)DD
10/2“Conga” by Miami Sound Machine (1985) RS, DD
10/3 “AyAmor” by Ana Gabriel (1987) RS
10/4 “LaBamba” by Los Lobos (1987) MM
10/5“Bamboléo”by Gipsy Kings (1987) MM
10/6 “LaNegra Tomasa” by Caifanes (1988) RS
10/7 “LaIncondicional” by Luis Miguel (1988) RS
10/8 “Tuy Yo Somos Uno Mismo” by Timbiriche (1988) RS
10/9“Dr. Psiquiatra” by Gloria Trevi (1989) RS
10/10“Lambada” by Kaoma (1989) RS
10/11“Como la Flor” by Selena (1989) RS
10/12“El gran varón” by Willie Colon (1989) DD
10/13“Tren al Sur” by Los Prisioneros (1990) RS
10/14“Burbujas de amor” by Juan Luis Guerra & 4.40 (1990) RS, DD
10/15“Rico Suave” by Gerardo (1991) MM
10/16“Tu Pun Pun” by El General (1991) RS
10/17“Oye Mi Amor” by Maná (1992) RS
10/18“El Matador” Los Fabulosos Cadillacs (1993) RS
10/19“El Tiburón” by Proyecto Uno (1993) RS
10/20“La Gota Fría” by Carlos Vives (1993) RS
10/21“Macarena” (Bayside Boys Remix) by Los del Río (1994) RS, DD
10/22“Amor Prohibido” by Selena (1994) DD
10/23“Ese Hombre” by La India (1994) RS
10/24“María (Pablo Flores Remix)” by Ricky Martin (1995) RS
10/25“La tierra del olvido” by Carlos Vives (1995) DD
10/26“Comó Te Voy A Olvidar” by Los Ángeles Azul (1996) RS
10/27“Suavemente” by Elvis Crespo (1998) RS
10/28“Smooth” by Carlos Santana & Rob Thomas (1999) DD
10/29“Livin’ La Vida Loca” by Ricky Martin (1999) DD
10/30“Waiting For Tonight” by Jennifer Lopez (1999) RS
10/31“La Negra Tiene Tumbao” by Celia Cruz (2001) RS
11/1“Whenever, Wherever” by Shakira (2001) DD
11/2“Obsesión” by Aventura feat. Judy Santos (2002) RS
11/3 “ADios le Pido” by Juanes (2002) RS
11/4“Pa’ Que Retozen” by Tego Calderón (2002) RS
11/5“Eres” by Café Tacvba (2003) RS
11/6“Quiero Bailar” by Ivy Queen (2003) RS
11/7“Algo Esta Cambiando” by Julieta Venegas (2003) RS
11/8“Gasolina” by Daddy Yankee (2004) RS, DD
11/9 “ZaZa Za (Mesa Que Mas Aplauda)” by Grupo Climax RS
11/10“Atrévete-Te-Te” by Calle 13 (2005) RS
11/11“Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira feat. Wyclef Jean (2006) RS
11/12“Fuego” by Bomba Estéreo (2008) RS
11/13“Danza Kuduro” by Don Omar feat. Lucenzo (2010) RS
11/14“Inténalo” by 3BallMTY (2011) RS
11/15“Cómo Puedes Vivir Contigo Mismo” by Alex Anwandter (2011) RS
11/16“Vivir Mi Vida” by Marc Anthony (2013) RS, DD
11/17“Bailando” by Enrique Iglesias, featuring Sean Paul, Descemer Bueno & Gentede Zona (2014) RS, DD
11/18“Ginza” by J Balvin (2015) RS
11/19“El Taxi” by Pitbull feat. Sensato, Osmani Garcia and Dayami La Musa (2015) RS
11/20“Despacito” by Luis Fonsi, featuring Daddy Yankee & Justin Bieber (2017)RS, DD
11/21“Mi Gente” by J Balvin and Willy William (2017) DD
11/22“Malamente” by Rosalia (2018) DD
11/23 “ILike It” by Cardi B., Bad Bunny, J. Balvin (2018) RS*
11/24 “Feliz Navidad” by Jose Feliciano (1970) DD

Related posts:

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2022/12/hispanic-heritage-month-2022-songs.html 

Futile?

I deleted another friend on Facebook.

He was gloating that the pardon means Hunter is guilty. (The first person I deleted chimed in too.)

I don't believe there was ever any dispute about the paperwork being filled out incorrectly; the question was whether it needed to be a federal case or not, and whether anything beyond politics was causing that level of prosecution.

Now that it is clear that the persecution would only get worse, I have no problem with President Biden deciding not to martyr his son to some sense of propriety. It is clear that no amount of good examples is going to have any effect on the incoming crew.

In trying to do multiple posts explaining things, I started to get a real sense of frustration with the repetition of it all. I've said that. People know that. If they don't know it, it's because they don't want to know it.

I guess my thought was that if there were nuances that people didn't know, putting them out there could help, but honestly it doesn't feel very useful.

It is more about whom we are, but there is one more type (perhaps two), where I just need to put it out there.

If someone religious supported Trump for reasons of righteousness, please call them on that.

Again, we have talked about how banning abortion doesn't really save babies, but it sure does oppress women. 

Do pro-life voters really know that?

Some of them absolutely know, but the oppression of women is kind of a turn-on for them. That does not just apply to men, but also often to women who feel like they are special by standing on the backs of other women.

There are probably also people who don't interact very much with others outside of a small circle. They may not know. They may believe that any woman having an abortion is doing so with a callous disregard for human life, and that is what is being stopped. 

I have seen doctors arguing that no doctor would really withhold life saving care from a woman miscarrying, and that the law doesn't really require it, except it keeps happening. Then when a commission looks into it, they get disbanded. 

https://www.propublica.org/article/georgia-dismisses-maternal-mortality-committee-amber-thurman-candi-miller

That at least has to make you wonder, right?

For most religions -- and certainly the many flavors of Christianity (except for Westboro Baptist) -- hating people, dehumanizing them, judging them, and trying to seize control of their genitals is not allowed. If they do believe it, they should be at least capable of feeling guilty for being called on it.

It might not work. They might get huffy. Still, if a little wiggle of doubt can sink in from your words, that's worth something.

For these people whom I have deleted, I have clearly decided it is not worth it. Protect your peace; the future will bring many assaults on it.

But if you can believe that someone's humanity is still within reach and appeal to that, it's worth a try.

... we are each other’s
harvest:
we are each other’s
business:
we are each other’s
magnitude and bond.

 -- Gwendolyn Brooks, from  Paul Robeson

Wrong!

Yesterday's post focused on inflation and the economy. Those are things that people might reasonably look at when deciding between candidates.

(For all the reasons that I mentioned for why prices won't go down under Trump, I can't believe I forgot to mention that the proposed roundup of undocumented immigrants will wreak havoc on agriculture. It did last time.)

Other almost reasonable policy issues that I have already written about are foreign policy, especially as it relates to Palestine and Israel, and the draft.

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2024/10/some-thoughts-on-strategy.html

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2024/12/i-am-angry.html 

My saying "almost reasonable" rather than "reasonable" should be obvious from the posts, so I don't want to spend a lot of time on that.

There were also some concerns mentioned about Biden's age before he stepped down. I already wrote about that:

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2024/10/election-2024-some-thoughts-on-bidens.html 

(That should be ironic in light of Trump's own narcissistic incoherence, but irony is starting to lose all meaning in this timeline.)

There were conservatives making fun of him, as there had been all along, but I still feel he was governing well. 

There were also Democrats wanting him to step down as well, and then they got mad at him endorsing Harris. 

It looks like for at least part of them, the hope was to install a younger white man, most likely Gavin Newsome. They blame this loss on the party running the wrong candidate.

Newsome would have lost too. 

It pains me to say it, but I don't think that Democrats had a clear path to victory for this election. 

If you remember the work it required to turn Georgia blue in 2020, that would have been needed in multiple states. Between local and state governments in states with more influence in the electoral college, that would be hard. It would have been worth it, but it didn't happen.

We need to consider that there are votes that will not be counted, but also votes that did not get cast due to strong efforts at voter suppression and voter disenfranchisement. Yes, there has been harassment at the polls in other elections where Trump was running, but I think this is the first time that polling places in neighborhoods that would have leaned toward Harris had to close due to bomb threats that originated in Russia.

There has also been a remarkable lack of fairness and coverage of important issues in the press. That means that fighting disinformation doesn't mean merely releasing statements highlighting good work and policies, but creating new news channels. 

Yes, a lot of our citizens are racist and misogynistic; they do not want to vote for the daughter of a Black man and Indian woman. 

That racist misogyny makes them love Trump. Newsome's whiteness is not enough to compensate for him being less committed to white supremacy.

The other reason that a lot of them give is that Democrats keep talking about DEI, and have thus abandoned the working class.

Allow me to note that "working class" is not exclusively white men. The pro-union positions that Biden and Harris were taking were clearly not an abandonment, for people like James Carville and Bernie Sanders, white male grievance is a drug that's hard to quit.

Allow me to also note that is was not Democrats talking about it. Conservatives talk about it a lot more as a scare tactic.

To have a woman of color running does show to some extent that the Democrats are trying to live diversity, equity, and inclusion, while still choosing qualified candidates with experience and interest in public service.

Newsome might have been less of a reminder, but he would still be a very poor substitute for Trump.

The really hard part is admitting that so many people want him.

Somehow Democrats are expected to make that better, and to do so by coddling the ones who thrive on the racism and misogyny. 

I am pretty sure it would not be worth selling our souls, even if it would work, but I am positive that it would not work. 

I hate that, but denial isn't going to save us. 

Personally, I could write more posts about how various talking points are wrong and why, but I am not sure how valuable it is.

I saw one person say that he voted for Trump even though he doesn't like Trump but did it to prevent the United States becoming communist. I have seen others lament RFK Jr. dropping out because he had so much integrity.

I try not to throw around the word "stupid", but for someone who needs those things explained, I don't know that this is the best use of my time.

It really is more about how we need to be as people. 

Of course, that does play right into a few more talking points. 

It's not the economy (stupid)

Lots of people have been talking lately about what Harris did wrong and what Democrats did wrong. 

For the most part, they are wrong or lying. Maybe sometimes they are both. 

It is important to call this out. People who are ignorant and don't know it are not well served by that. 

Some people do profit from lying, but a lot of that gets tied up with religious reasoning. If that is truly something they care about, they are going to need to give up the hate. 

Remember that when you are telling people they are wrong, it's really for their sake. 

It may be hard to do it lovingly, and there are some people it may not be worth trying with at all, but please at least keep in mind that people are important, and they can change. They can also get worse, and no one needs that. So -- with serenity, courage, and wisdom -- let's try.

My plan is to spend some time going over the proposed reasons and refuting them.

It will take a while.

For people saying it was about inflation, yes, it is possible to have a good economy where people within that economy still face financial hardship. Part of that relates to how you measure a good economy. For the traditional indicators -- GDP, employment, stock prices -- things have been economically good under Biden.

Some prices that went high turned out to be related to price gouging. Wealth consolidation has a huge impact on housing and rents. Skyrocketing corporate profits mean that higher prices are not necessary. 

Now, you can increase taxes on the top tiers -- for individual incomes and corporate profits -- and you can raise minimum wage and legislate against price gouging and maybe even put in price controls, but that's big government. It would be very hard to pass, and the people complaining most about the economy would complain about those measures. 

Wealth consolidation and huge corporate profits are not things that Trump will fight. 

I promise you that reducing food safety measures will not find those savings passed on to the customer. It may lead to other expenses, largely related to health care and lost income. Those are also areas where Trump is unlikely to be helpful.

In addition, tariffs will be raising prices. 

While it is true that tariffs can favor using domestic producers over imports, you have to have domestic producers. COVID and various natural disasters have shown that our supply chain is not quickly adaptable. 

That is partly due to its complexity, which means that most products do not have a single point of origin anyway. 

I don't object to wanting lower prices. I would not sell out human rights to get them, but I get wanting lower prices.

We will not be getting lower prices. 

There is nothing in Trump's past performance or stated policies that gives any reason to think he will be better for the economy.

Someone would have to be remarkably uninformed to fall for that.

There has been a lot of effort put into keeping people uninformed, but that's what we're fighting. 

In conclusion -- Pride 2024

I could have called it hodgepodge; there is some of that.

For example, in reading Over the Top, there was a reference to Jonathan Van Ness writing a children's book. Actually, he wrote two:  

Peanut Goes for the Gold by Jonathan Van Ness and Gillian Reid

Gorgeously Me! by Jonathan Van Ness and Kamala Nair

They were pretty cute. Both had good messages, but the illustrations for GorgeouslyMe! were... well, gorgeous, on a different level than Peanut Goes for the Gold. I think both sets of illustrations suited the content though, which is really the important thing.

Also, there was this one book that had been on the reading list for a while that I finally got to:

Ash by Malinda Lo

For a not completely relevant story, I initially got stuck on finding it. I was looking for "Ember", and then I figured out that I was thinking of Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I am not even sure Cinder has any queer characters. This is just a reminder that there are many re-tellings of fairy tales in different settings and it can be easy to get them mixed up. 

Ash was well told and the resolution was ultimately satisfying without being predictable, all well and good. 

However, I had indicated that the last post for my Pride writing would be more about activism; those books feel more important.

Miss Major Speaks: Conversations with a Black Trans Revolutionary by Toshio Meronek and Miss Major    

Honestly, this one was kind of a mess. It was very free-flowing, made worse by the author quoting a lot of full text in the introduction. At some points I wondered if there was a printing error or I had gotten confused in my place because I knew I had already read that. 

(If you do read it, I recommend skipping the introduction.)

To be fair, last time around I had thought I should know more about Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson, and then I kind of added Miss Major as an afterthought. Maybe it serves me right.

Then there were the two books that were really important, published in 2021 and 2022:

Let the Record Show: A Political History of  ACT UP New York, 1987 - 1993 by Sarah Schulman

It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful: How AIDS Activists Used Art to Fight a Pandemic by Jack Lowery

It is so interesting that these books about illness and activism, but from getting close to forty year ago, came out so recently; could something have happened to stir up memories?

I can't tell you the shape of the future, but there will be deaths and dangers that will require protest and information and mutual aid and care. There are things we can learn from the past.

Lowery's book is more about Gran Fury, which focused on artistic protest. It is good, but more specific.

Schulman's book just has so much! I spent longer with it and wanted to treasure it. There is so much understanding of then that is useful for now.

It came about as a result of over 200 interviews, which is the source for the abundance of information and different perspectives. While it is long, the organization is excellent. I have recently grown to hate the laziness of oral histories; I have to give Schulman credit for getting that much information but working to give it focus and narrative, while still leaving the original interviews accessible. There is a real consciousness and conscientiousness that I cannot praise highly enough.

I recommend this book!

For a conclusion, there are two things I want to note.

With other history months (especially Native American Heritage Month, with the Sand Creek Massacre), there are points when there is a realization that this is familiar. After time there is a background where many things are familiar and you are putting more details against that. Even if something is pretty new there is a helpful context for it.

I seem to be there already with Pride Month reading.

I think it is because so much of what I am reading about happened in my lifetime, or maybe just a little bit before. 

I understand that queer people did not suddenly spring into existence at Stonewall in 1969, but for a lot of the activism, it did and I remember reading or hearing about it. 

For much of the history before, it kept getting erased. That includes Nazis burning books.

I realize there is a lot more to know, but what I am finding feels really relevant for now, even for straight people. It resonates, and we still know people who have been around for it, even though many or those people have been lost.

Also, in an earlier post I had mentioned continuity, and not being sure if this was a regular thing or what schedule to follow.

That was partly due to realizing that the plans for this year's reading for Pride Month had actually happened when I had been reading for Transgender Awareness Week; I forgot that it hadn't been about Pride all along until I checked an old post.

(My always being behind schedule is a contributing factor here, I know.)

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2024/10/pride-month-continuity.html

When I did the Transgender Awareness reading, I initially thought it was a one-time thing. I realized there were other things to know.

From this round of reading, there are even more other movies to watch and books to read and people to look up. Even though I think I have built up a pretty good context, there is more to be added to it. 

Pride takes in more people, and June will come sooner. 

Therefore, -- as much as COVID and Trump mean we will need to know how to resist plagues and fascism -- Pride Month reading is going to be a regular thing.

Wear a damn mask!

I am so tired of being the only person wearing a mask.

I know I am not the only one, but it's so rare to see one. 

Sometimes there are people who have one, but it is somewhere below their nose -- maybe all the way down to their chin -- and I don't understand why they bother. 

Let's not forget that COVID denial started as allegiance to Trump. Yeah, I know a lot of people who didn't vote for him aren't wearing their masks either. What is your excuse?

No, it's not comfortable. My nose itches, and sometimes people have a harder time understanding me. So what?

Wear a damn mask!

It's not even just for COVID. Whooping cough is on the rise. Yes, if people hadn't gotten weird about vaccines that probably wouldn't be an issue, but here we are.

Maybe we don't care about kids anymore. I mean, a third of the preteens that contracted long COVID are still not recovered after two years and there is immune system damage. 

Wasn't it enough to decide that old people don't matter? 

Wear a damn mask!

Speaking of old people, I remember last year having this discussion with one of the workers in my mother's memory care facility. She has gotten COVID twice. She hasn't gotten it each time it has gone around, there tends to be a round of new infections for every holiday as family members bring it in.

Thanksgiving down; Christmas and New Year's still to go.

Wear a damn mask!

What really gets me is when we decided that people of color don't matter. It was the draft all over again.

It makes sense; existing health disparities lay a groundwork that something wreaking havoc with your immune system will make worse. 

We should be ashamed for the existing disparities. We should be ashamed that we had accepted them before and that the past four years haven't changed anything.

Wear a damn mask!

https://www.protectly.co/

https://www.medical-and-lab-supplies.com/ 

https://www.shopmaskc.com/

People have died. I am still grieving two mutuals. They were smart, kind, dynamic, caring people, and they are dead. Repeated COVID infections triggered other conditions and after long fights they lost.

I know lots of other people have died, but their deaths claw at me.

Wear a damn mask!

They were both Black women.

Are you mad about the election? Maybe we shouldn't have let so many people from the demographic that voted 91% for Harris die!

Wear a damn mask!

There are other people I am afraid I will lose. There have been some close calls. For the record, they are not Black, but they aren't white either. Funny how that works.

Wear a damn mask!

One thing that those still living have in common is disability. 

There is a large population of disabled and immune-compromised people out there who keep having to say "no" to optional activities and then have great risk with the things they can't refuse because we are not doing our part to protect them.

They are human beings. They matter.

Wear a damn mask!

Over 7 million people have died. There are currently over 700 million cases. Not all of them will die, but they won't all recover.

I have seen the havoc that has caused in health care and a lot of job areas in general. 

Do you remember the backup it caused with morgues? Do you doubt that there are workers who have PTSD from that?

Wear a damn mask!

I have been very lucky. I have only gotten it once, despite masking. I have also had fewer colds and less issues with my allergies.

I am also immune-compromised. If I do contract it again, it won't be good. It might kill me.

The funny thing about that is that I still don't really wear a mask to protect myself. There is something very human about it, but I don't think about me being at risk. I mask to protect others and to show my values; then it protects me too.

Wear a damn mask!

I know the people who aren't wearing them aren't thinking about the risks and the deaths they are contributing to, but that's the problem, isn't it? If it's not happening to us, how important can it be?

Of course, the funny thing about disability and risk in general is that it changes. 

You may be healthy now, but disease can change that. Aging has a huge effect. 

It's worth protecting yourself, but it is vital to care about and look out for others.

Wear a damn mask! 

I am angry

I am angry that Trump is going to be president again.

We should have learned from that.

I am angry that he got elected the first time. 

In large part, I am angry about the racism.

As much as I believe that misogyny played a somewhat greater role this time around, racism is a key factor in the electoral college delivering that win. 

Racism is a key factor in his popularity.

Racism is what made it so easy to believe all the grotesquely false and popular things he says.

It's astounding ignorance, and pose-election analysis shows many people continuing to be loudly and insufferably wrong, but I will get more into that next week.

I will do that because it needs to get out how we continue to be wrong. 

I don't know that my posting does much to get it out there. I am not so angry about that -- it didn't have to be me -- but for all the misinformation and disinformation out there, there is good information too; why aren't there more people listening?

I would say it's ironic that I am putting out all of my anger here, because the worst people are coming off as really angry, but I don't think that's the real problem. I think it's the contempt. Then they get angry, but they don't have love or respect to guide them into how things can and should be.

So I am angry at the contempt, and at the ignorance and bigotry that goes with it.

For example, one of the minor issues that people said they based their vote on was that warmongering Democrats would draft up their sons to serve in the way, and it was worth their daughters potentially losing bodily autonomy to protect that.

I could pause on the remarkable disconnect from reality for someone to think that Democrats are going to be seeking out warfare in a worse way than Republicans, or that we are going to go back to forcing young men to fight when that hasn't been a thing for about fifty years, or to think that a draft might not also involve their daughters when women are about 17.5% of active duty military. There's a huge amount of ignorance and delusion there, yes. 

However, I am a bit more hung up on the fact that back when the draft was a real concern and people of different races combined to fight against it, that white people abandoned the fight once their children were safe. 

We've never really moved past that, where too many people stop caring about any wrong once they've got their situation resolved.  

They never care about a situation that hasn't personally touched them. They don't even believe it when they hear about it from those who are affected.

I am very angry about that.

So I am angry about people who find drag queens and sex education in schools an existential threat, but vote for a rapist who keeps appointing people associated with sex trafficking.

I am angry at people who complain about inflation without having an accurate perception of the economy and then vote for the guy who will actively make it worse.

I am angry at people who only care about unborn children, but not the people around them.

I am angry at people who use the suffering of one group as an excuse to throw away any obligations to any other groups, including the people actually around them.

I am angry at people who say there is no difference when there are catastrophic differences.

I am angry at people who don't respect the importance of their votes. I am also people who think their votes are magic and so as long as they do that everything is magically fine. They are different, but they contribute to each other.

I am so angry about the hypocrites. 

I am angry about the dishonestly, intellectual and otherwise.

I am also very frustrated that I can't fix it. I can only try and help with the shambles.

That even though it would be very easy to have contempt for all of these racist, ignorant, misguided, selfish people, that over and over I need to keep seeing their humanity, loving them, and hoping for the best for them, even if priorities and boundaries necessitate not engaging.

That is what I am going to do, but there is one more very specific anger that still needs to come out.

 

The gift of anger

I am thinking about gifts now: what I have to give and what people would like to receive. I will probably ask some questions about that.

I hope most of what I write here can be helpful and uplifting. I also have some real anger to let out. That might be more likely to make people feel bad or accused or just irritated.

That being said, while anger is not a good stopping place, it might be a good starting place. 

It is also sometimes unavoidable.

Today is just a warning. There are going to be two very angry posts coming.

Watch this space. 

Thanksgiving specials

Last year we saw some articles about forgotten Thanksgiving specials and started making an effort to watch them. 

Some were harder to find and a lot of them weren't that great. We did not finish last year, but I kept a list. 

I made it through the others now, for what it's worth.

I couldn't find the exact articles. I will list some that cover them, but am not sure they are quite right. I only found one list by searching on the name of a show that wasn't coming up anymore. I don't remember the Star Wars Holiday Special (1978) coming up so much. I did see that when it originally aired, but I always thought of it as more for Christmas.

It is time to watch Christmas specials again.

I want to go over the things that I watched and how I felt about them. I will do that, but I need to add that I know too much about colonialism and the origins of Thanksgiving to view them as I would have then.

I had already seen them, if you were wondering...

Of course I had already seen A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973); who hasn't? But in fact I had also already seen Garfield's Thanksgiving (1989) and Grams Bear's Thanksgiving Surprise (1986). Actually, you might be surprised at some of the Garfield and Charlie Brown things that I have seen. (I have not seen as much Care Bear-themed entertainment.) Of these three, none of them are terrible, but I don't really need to watch any of them again.

Well, I saw part of it:

Looking for Bugs Bunny's Thanksgiving Diet (1978), I only found the clips that went between the already existing cartoons. That really comes down to Dr. Bugs getting two clients, one large bunny who comes onto him, and he rejects, and one svelte bunny whom he decides is worth the potential ethical snags. Not great.

Similarly, with Pooh Corner Thanksgiving (1983), I found a clip of Rabbit with many of his relatives, celebrating but not specifically Thanksgiving. Well, the 100 Acre Wood was in England.

It did not really stick with me:

I know that I watched Q*bert: Thanksgiving for the Memories (1983) and that is about all I remember. They were in class to start with, talking about the first Thanksgiving, I guess. Then it went into the story and Coily was a jerk.

B.C.: The First Thanksgiving (1973) was just scattered attempts of the men trying to find a turkey, and all mumbling. My strongest memory was B.C. being harder to understand than Mushmouth.

Really didn't stick the landing:

The Berenstain Bears Meet Bigpaw (1980) starts with a legend that if the bears get too selfish, Bigpaw will com. You can see that the bears are in fact getting more selfish. That is except for Mama Bear, of course, who has a kind of weird musical number. 

Anyway, Bigpaw comes and everyone is scared and preparing to fight, but then see that Bigpaw saves Brother and Sister, so they can all be friends. Shouldn't there have been something about selfishness?

Pretty typical:

In The Thanksgiving that Almost Wasn't (1972), the threat that nearly stops it is that two little boys (one Pilgrim, one not) are lost in the woods. There is a wolf who wants to eat them, but a squirrel saves the day so everyone still gets to feast. 

Maybe it's better to forget:

Underdog: Simon Says... No Thanksgiving (1965) is kind of racist. The most racist depiction is of gophers standing in for Native Americans. They keep winning, so I get it could be worse, but it was just uncomfortable. There is a kind of fun absurdity to the Simon Bar Sinister plots, but I can live without it.

Then Nick's Thanksgiving Fest (1989) is not terribly focused on the colonizing, which is nice, I guess. It's just that everything is kind of stupid and drawn ugly.

But I hated this one most of all:

Intergalactic Thanksgiving (1979) starts out with pioneers from Earth in space. One family stops on one planet where the natives are so focused on joking that they don't notice that their harvesting and eating practices are destroying the planet. The earthlings fix it with their superior agriculture. That is so Canadian.

I will say that while I do not remember this from my childhood, I remember other Nelvana things and they are always worse than I remembered when I go back.

They could have been worse:

The funny thing about This is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers (1988) is that I had tried watching it before and just couldn't get into it. On trying again, it really wasn't that bad, and had some information that is often missed. 

Turkey Hollow (2015) was very much designed as a family film. There is juvenile humor for younger children, snark for adolescents, and older references for adults. None of it is great, but there were some smiles and nothing that made me really angry. The monster Muppets were cute.

I had seen these before, long ago:

I knew that I had seen The Mouse on the Mayflower (1968) before but could not remember much about it, except for the John Alden/Priscilla Mullens angle. It is very colonial. For more of a historical background, the Charlie Brown one is better.

I had these vague memories of Bill Cosby in a balloon with some kids watching Dorothy through a telescope. It must have played around the commercials for Thanksgiving in the Land of Oz (1980). I don't really remember the cartoon, but then watching it now the characters and plot lines are familiar because they come from the books. It's like Return to Oz (1985) all over again, where familiar elements are changed around, but less nightmarish.

As long as we are being nostalgic...

Without remembering any other details, I remembered two things: the melody of the theme song for Miss Peach of the Kelly School (1982), and one of the kids sharing his room with a turkey who told him "Your parents are my kind of people: vegetarians."

It looks like that was episode two of the short series, and it is more complicated than that. The turkey is staying with them prior to the raffle for which he is the prize. Once Arthur understands that the turkey will not be a dinner guest, but dinner itself, he works to save the turkey's life. This involves showing his value by getting him first a part in the school play, and then a bigger part. 

Cute, but could be shorter.

I don't regret watching them, but I am fine being done with it. 

Obviously, the most important Thanksgiving viewing is the "Turkeys Away" episode of WKRP in Cincinnati (1987).

Happy Holidays!

https://www.metv.com/lists/8-forgotten-animated-thanksgiving-specials-of-the-1980s

https://movieweb.com/forgotten-thanksgiving-tv-specials-nostalgia/ 

https://www.metv.com/lists/these-nine-thanksgiving-specials-will-take-you-back-to-childhood

Thanksgiving discussions

Last week I posted about family that maybe you don't want to talk to, but it's not always like that. 

https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2024/11/setting-boundaries-before-thanksgiving.html

What if you will be spending time this week with people with whom you agree on core issues? Maybe you are all feeling a little down about things to come.

There is some comfort in commiseration, but that shouldn't be a stopping place. Making plans can be a huge mental boost, and this weekend can be a great time for some planning.

Maybe it makes sense to update communication plans. There could be discussions about how everyone would fare if there was no electricity or water for two weeks, or if prices are going to rise horribly, what things everyone could stock up on now.

It doesn't all have to be emergency preparedness; perhaps you will decide to have everyone read a resistance-related book and come together to discuss it after.

I will list possible books below. Even if they all sound good, start with just one.

If you aren't sure that your family is like-minded, but you don't think they are terrible, perhaps the way to test the waters is talking about the first Thanksgiving. For real.

http://www.thepeoplespaths.net/history/ThanksgivingDayMassacre.htm 

(The best thing I have seen on that is Kathy Kerner's "The Thanksgiving Epidemic", but I have only see it in the book American Indian Stereotypes in the World of Children, by Arlene Hirschfelder, Paulette Fairbanks Molin, and Yvonne Wakim, and it can be a little hard to find.)

Thanksgiving ushers in the holiday season, and there may often be talks of gifts. You may want to discuss holding back on the capitalism, but also having an honest discussion about needs and wants. 

If what you need most is help paying bills, to stock on on food items, or get your tires replaced... that requires some open and honest discussion and probably some cooperation. 

Those can be discussions we have with friends too. Maybe you actually can't do anything financially for each other, except remove the expectation of coming up with trinkets or gift boxes, but expressing caring and taking down veneers can be a beautiful expression of love.

Love is a gift.

Maybe your family group is not really in financial need, but there are people who are. Family service projects can strengthen bonds and create warm memories.

Don't rule out having a joint excursion where everyone updates their vaccines while it is still legal.

I have been blogging extra a lot, and that probably isn't over. 

For this week it is okay to take a pause. Enjoy the connections that you have and envision things that -- within your power -- can be made better.

As much as there is outside of out control, that is not all there is.

Book suggestions:

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder

Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining Our Future by Patty Krawec

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi 

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACTUP New York, 1987-1993 by Sarah Schulman 

Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture by Toby Hemenway 

I promise there is not a single one of these that I won't write about more.