Gina Harris's Blog, page 39
August 17, 2022
Staffing again: The Next Level
One factor driving call volume is that doctors' offices are overworked as well.
Members call because they need to change their primary care provider when the assigned one can't get them in until November. Maybe they got a referral to a specialist, but the specialist can't get them in.
I can't say that the only issue is a doctor shortage. When COVID first hit, many non-emergency surgeries were postponed, partly for safety and partly because hospitals were full. There could be some residual backlog from that. Once a backlog starts it is hard to get out.
However, we have also lost doctors and nurses to COVID. Some have died, some may now be disabled, and some are just burnt out.
I believe I made it pretty clear in the last post that I support universal health care. That doesn't need to be Medicare for all (there are ways in which Medicaid for all might be better), but there should be something.
However, we could probably change that structure far faster than we can change the amount of health care providers out there, and we will need more.
I referred in an earlier post to the two months required for training for my job, but also then the time and experience required before you become adept. That affects the ability to make change.
What if the training takes eight years? (Depending on how you count it.)
What if that training is becoming more and more financially inaccessible?
Astronomical debt may increase stress in a way that contributes to burnout, but that's assuming someone still takes it on. How many people who would make great doctors are just deciding that it's out of reach?
The current system has its flaws; there can be some really good arguments for a training process that requires less sleep deprivation and substance abuse and the complete takeover of one's life. Changes that make the process better for the learners won't necessarily get them through faster.
Even Navy corpsman training takes fourteen weeks.
There are things we can do.
College used to be a lot more affordable, and we should get back to that. It still takes time.
You have probably seen nurse practitioners and physician assistants doing more. That can be helpful.
We might be able to do a crash course, where lots of people take something similar to the corpsman training, and then work in association with medical doctors. Locating candidates, setting up training, and arranging places for them to practice also requires work.
Infrastructure isn't just roads and power lines.
There is a lot that goes into a functioning society, but the giant first step is deciding priorities.
Do we want people to be well? When you're sick, do you want to be able to get care? When your mother falls, do you want her to have wait a few hours to be treated?
For people you don't know, can you believe that they should also be able to receive medical care?
If not, is your sense of well-being wrapped up in other people not having their needs met in demonstration of the fact that you are worth more?
And just in case I have not spelled out enough complications, there is one more thing driving calls.
August 10, 2022
Falling apart: Systemic
One of the bad moments with this current job was when I realized that it is sucking the life out of me at a level similar to taking care of my mother did toward the end. The levels of mental beating down, the wearing on executive function, and the overall tiredness are similar.
This job definitely pays better, but the compensation with the care giving is that I knew what I was doing was important and necessary, at least based on the resources we had.
That is less clear in this case.
I provide phone support for a few different health plans. Two of them are Medicaid programs; the rest are Medicare supplements. That means that our members are on these plans due to disability, poverty, or old age, often with a certain vulnerability.
I understand the necessity of my job in that navigating health care can be confusing and require assistance. I can't help but know how much of that is because we make it hard to get health care. The obstacles are put there to save money, prioritizing money over health.
That is not necessary.
When we are talking the worker shortage, understand that it requires thousands of people to administer insurance. We have built an entire industry around limiting health care, and then helping people navigate those limits.
Those are the people working for the insurance companies, definitely, but also the government employees trying to work out the alternatives need when medical care is tied to employment. It requires a whole field of people who are capable of translating medical reports into correctly coded claims that have a chance of being paid, then another field of people checking those claims for errors that can potentially result in non-payment.
I do not only talk to our members; I also talk to people checking the status of claims, or complaining about rejected claims or trying to understand them and get them corrected.
A large portion of these callers are based in call centers in India. While they are often very friendly and professional, the language barriers and the general complication of medical claims and insufficient training results in lengthy calls, where I may answer the exact same string of questions for every claim for the same member, then do it all over again for a different member.
This is not efficient!
I mean, if they are paid cheaply enough it might be cost-efficient (though probably exploitative), but that is a big part of my volume increase, and it's hard to feel like it is benefiting anyone.
Placing obstacles to health care means some won't get it. It's not even always something where the plan says "NO', but there is an error in the navigation.
More than once, I have had someone tell me that I saved their life. That was usually just sending an e-mail, but they needed someone to do it, and it hadn't been done yet.
The lie of capitalism is that through competition eventually there will be better results for everyone.
That might have been more true when unions and protective legislation were strong, but we are past that now. I am not even proposing capitalism or socialism as the answer, at least not in the Marxist sense, for various reasons, but the preeminence of capitalism needs to be challenged.
I know that people are more important than profits. That makes an already difficult job -- and certainly not the highest in profits because of my specific area -- more difficult.
But I stay, because I need income.
"Essentially we all live in the same country, called capitalism." -- Bong Joon Ho
There are two specific things driving call volume that leads to even worse issues, so count on at least one more post.
August 3, 2022
Falling apart: Inter-organizational
I may be the only one really struggling with the call volume (I suspect I am not), but there is no question that the call volume is higher.
Rather, I should specify that there is a combination of more calls coming in and fewer people to answer those calls. The increase is in both total call volume and the quantity of calls fielded by individual agents as our number decreases.
I was in a situation once (not a call center), where there was a lot of attrition, but due to automation and other factors, it did not increase the work load for anyone. That is not happening here.
I was on the team that helped determine the requirements for the automation process. As the volume kept declining and I got laid off, I could "joke" that I efficiently put myself out of a job.
I would love to have some ideas for how to do that now.
There are a few factors driving the increase in total calls, but focusing first on the diminished work force, I think we have to look at COVID.
The obvious beginning is looking at deaths during the pandemic, and how that reduced the workforce. There are people who will tell you that it was only the elderly, and that they weren't working. Not only is that not true, but it also overlooks how some of those elderly may have been childcare providers, either for family members or in other settings.
Child care is a serious factor in the ability of parents to work.
It may be less obvious but still in mind to consider those who have long COVID symptoms. Some of the people entering and exiting the work force may be exiting because they find that they cannot keep up.
I have thought of that, but a recent thread that I read got me thinking more about people working through those symptoms. I am angry at myself for not bookmarking this thread, because I can't find it now. However, it pointed out that on any given day, there will probably be some people out sick, but also some people working through brain fog.
A lot of the volume that I deal with comes from human error.
It's not always on our side; I may be talking to someone who has incomplete notes from a coworker, or they took down incorrect information.
Sometimes, though, someone is calling back, and as I check the details from previous calls I will notice something that was not previously noticed that is pertinent and wholly changes what needs to be done.
That is not necessarily due to brain fog either. We have a lot of newer people. I am unusually good in general about sussing out details and spotting inconsistencies, but I am better at it after a few months of looking at things. Medical claims are complex. If I spot something that someone much newer on the phones missed, that is not surprising. Even knowing where to look to see what you might miss takes time.
It's harder if they are dealing with brain fog, and if the reason they are newer is because we lost someone else to brain fog (or death), it becomes more of a web than a cycle.
Webs are sticky.
That is not even taking into account the one relatively good result of the pandemic, in that employee shortages have increased wages. If someone finds that they can't do this job, the odds of them finding something else they can live on have increased.
(Bank of America and former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers have some thoughts about this, as do I, but not right now.)
As it is, I am receiving more calls lately from people just checking to make sure certain faxes have been received. For this particular process, the total review is two weeks, so they know that won't have happened yet, but they don't trust it to have gotten in at all. There is a lack of confidence, whether it is on their side, ours, or the reliability of faxing.
We can keep hiring people away from other jobs, and we can keep losing people to still other jobs, but is this effective? Is it productive? Is it good?
And is it all related to another problem entirely?
Related links:
https://theintercept.com/2022/07/29/bank-of-america-worker-conditions-worse/
July 29, 2022
Falling apart - personal
I hate my job.
I know that's not exactly the right way to say it. For the most part I like the type of work I do, which is helping people.
I would not automatically hate that I am helping people over the phone, either, except that it is just too much. We are too busy.
That means that before I can finish logging one call, or any time I want to take a moment to check something, my line jangles again. That happening multiple times a day takes a toll on my nerves.
Sometimes at the end of a day, my ears are ringing. I can try and adjust volume to match what is needed for each caller, but it doesn't always work out.
Generally, my body -- even though I did purchase a better chair -- tenses up so much over the course of a day that I end up stiff and sore.
Consistently I grow hoarse from all the talking. I try and mitigate this with cough drops and water, but the cumulative effect means that when I am off work and wanting to talk socially, I get hoarse too easily. Also, I have never been a great singer, but I enjoy singing and this doesn't help.
Even worse is the mental tiredness, which seeps into my off hours when I should have time to do what I want for me and my life. I can't pull myself together right away. Writing may have taken the biggest hit, but I notice more when I can't focus on reading. That's a bad state for me.
I am not sure that five days of work to two days off is the best proportion, but if a large part of the two days off is required for recovering from the five days, then I want at least one more day. Flipping the ratio entirely would be even better.
As it is, too much of my waking life is now frustration, exhaustion, and despair.
Plus, because it is a public-facing job, every now and then someone will just go off on me because they can, or try and guilt me into things that I really have no power to do. Mostly, though, the interactions are fine; there are just too many, coming too close together.
I recently had a review where I expressed these concerns. They said they wanted to keep me, and that they were looking to hire more people soon, but last year that was me. It took a solid two months of training, we lost one person in the middle, another right as we were getting on the phones, and one just dropped out last week. Many other people have been leaving, and I don't know if it's because they feel the same way, or if I am the only one struggling this much.
For health and time reasons I am glad to work from home, but you don't get to know your coworkers in the same way, or get the same sense of how they are doing.
As it is, when they send around trivia games and getting to know you things, I have tried to participate, but lately I am usually too stressed to even consider it. In fact, I get angry. It's not reasonable, but I created a file for it and had a hard time coming up with a name for the folder other than "Nonsense". (I ended up using "Social".)
Yes, I am looking; no, I have not had any luck.
I could be looking harder; the time and energy crunch is not helpful, but that's to be expected.
Another concern is that I want to continue telecommuting. For a while it looked like the plague was going to let up, but that's not happening. So a job with commuting, travel, or lots of time physically present with others, I could not consider safe.
I am concerned about money. Right now, my house payment is 60% of my take-home pay. Yes, that is also considered the wrong ratio. Regardless, it means I can't afford a pay cut.
My biggest concern, though, is that it won't help; that I will end up in another understaffed/overworked place after I have started over with training.
If it were super-busy, but the kind of busy you could concentrate on -- like answering e-mail in high volumes, or proof-reading, or checking files for accuracy and then publishing -- that would be okay. I might still have to take a pause at the end of the day to recover my concentration, but taking the pressure off my nerves and my voice would be huge.
I just don't know that I have any good options.
I am trying to find something out there before the phone call that makes me burst into tears, or swear at someone, or just hang up and walk away.
If that got you down, please enjoy this interesting thread on the long history of people not wanting to work!
July 13, 2022
Reading banned books
It's really more "challenged" books, but then we lose the alliteration.
There was a time when I read things based on whether I was interested in them, or if a teacher assigned them, not really thinking about who had a problem with it.
This means that while I haven't really read any Henry Miller or Lady Chatterley's Lover, I have read most Judy Blume books.
I have not read Forever, but that wasn't deliberate. I just never came across it and didn't care enough to seek it out. I know Blume has meant a great deal to many young people, and I appreciate that, but I am fairly neutral.
I did read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in school, and agreed with other friends that the challenges that claimed to be about the use of the N-word were really more about Jim's humanity, but there could be other books that would do that.
Lately, with so many ridiculous book challenges, I find myself irresistibly drawn to them. Every time I see an article about terrible corrupting influences, I have to read them.
They are often quite good. They do not fill with respect for those challenging them. And yes, libraries are the ones coming through for me, so I know that makes libraries a target. I will defend libraries to the death.
Adding these books may sidetrack my already ambitious reading goals, but it has been a good thing.
Anyway, here are some relatively recent reads:
Big Wig by Jonathan Hillman
A picture book about shyness, and how costumes can help you have confidence, but they are not the only things that help you have confidence. Yes, there is drag, though the wig does other things. Honestly, watching someone else exploring drag recently and finding it really affirming make this book seem more accurate.
GenderQueer: A Story From A Different Closet by Allan D. Hunter*
This one was actually the worst, but it was also the wrong one. I mean, yes, the memoir's author is not completely gender-conforming, and sexual acts are described, additional reading indicates the actual book was Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer: A Memoir. Obviously I need to read that soon.
https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/gender-queer-most-challenged-of-2021/
Hunter's book is not terrible, but he thinks he is more interesting than he is. The best illustration is that once he started figuring out his issue -- white guy who does not always fit masculine norms, but likes his body and attracted to women, and yes, he did face abuse for that -- he started pressing his manifestos on everyone, including somewhat prominent strangers. That was aggressive enough to get him institutionalize, but even then he could have avoided it by reading the papers he was signing or asking key questions. There are more insightful people out there, but he feels his book is needed, and maybe he's right. There should be lots of books.
It's Perfectly Normal: Growing Bodies, Changing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health by Robie H. Harris
https://www.npr.org/2014/09/21/350366435/it-may-be-perfectly-normal-but-its-also-frequently-banned
Your local school district protesters HATE this one, but it's really good.
If any of you have read Peter Mayle's Where Did I Come From?, this is like that, but for adolescents so with information on puberty. As a more modern book, it also does better at incorporating different body types, skin tones, and sexual orientations, though the edition I read could use some updating for transgender inclusion.
The reassuring (and true) title is pretty well honored by the book. If you believe that more information and affirmation is a good thing, this is a good book. If you hate that stuff...
Front Desk by Kelly Yang
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/why-parents-tried-ban-childrens-book-143223253.html
I loved this one! There are now four books in the series, so more reading to look forward to, and I think it would make a great television series.
Complaints about the book that I saw focused on the portrayal of police being racist to a Black character at a hotel. That happened here not too long ago; it seems like fair game for a book.
Beyond that, the book is incredibly empowering as Mia finds solutions to help those around her, many of which come from author Kelly Yang's life. You can make a difference, even if you are young, or an immigrant, or poor, or scared. That's a great message.
Drama by Raina Telgemeier
(Maus was included in this "quarantine", but I read that back in 2012,)
The worst thing about this book is that the play the characters are working on is set during the Civil War, a time that needs no romanticizing.
Beyond that, the title is a clever wordplay for the characters actually acting, directing, and working on stage effects, but also having misunderstandings, crushes and emotions... drama!
The book also treats at least two homosexual characters (one definitely out, one questioning) as human, valid people, and Florida doesn't want that to happen.
Bone: Vol. 1 (Out of Boneville) by Jeff Smith
http://cbldf.org/banned-challenged-comics/case-study-bone/
I believe the issue here is that the most capitalist character is a jerk. Apparently there is some smoking and drinking in the 4th volume, and violence and horror in the whole series but especially in the 2nd volume.
Okay, there are rat creatures, and they are implied to be dangerous, but I haven't seen them get a single win, at least in the first volume. In the complaints of racism, the Bone cousins are super white, but there don't seem to be any negative depictions based on that. No, I think the issue is that greedy, wealth-obsessed Phoney Bone is a jerk, and it gets him ostracized from their society, dragging his cousins Fone and Smiley along with him. And even though the people who know Phoney do kick him out of town, his cousins still care about him.
How much deference do the capitalists need? Don't answer; that was rhetorical.
I'm not saying that banned books are automatically the best books, but there have been some good ones. If that makes sense because the people most likely to uphold racism, homophobia, and misogyny are pro-ignorance, well, the logic is easy to understand.
And if you like seeing what I think about books, let's connect on Goodreads:
July 6, 2022
Black Music Month + Pride Month
I am reporting back on how the daily songs for June -- during which time I was celebrating Black queer musicians -- went.
I was worried about having enough artists to choose from. My initial brainstorm came up with fourteen, though it turns out that while Lil' Kim is an ally she is not herself queer. There is a reason I looked up every single person, just to make sure, even though I would normally find doing internet searches to find out whether people are gay pretty suspect.
I wanted to be able to feature Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender artists. I am not aware of any Black Intersex or Asexual artists, but at least one was non-binary, and I feel good about the overall representation.
With the help of a few articles, I ended up with 43 to choose from; I have not used every option (songs used appear at the end of the post), though I have listened to them all.
It is shallower than I would have liked, because -- like with the various Asian artists for May -- I only listened to their top ten songs, and only once. As frustrating as it is that I don't have more time for my pursuits, that I am still able to find and learn and manage something is affirming.
The other thing I did was link an article with each song. Some of the artists have historical significance, and I started with that, but then thought that if we are spotlighting and supporting, then I can probably find a link for everyone, and should. There were some really good articles.
My favorites at this point, at least for those who were new to me, are probably Lex Allen, Cakes da Killa, Victoria Monét, Todrick Hall, Joy Oladokun, and VINCINT.
The biggest concern (other than checking everyone's queerness) was that some of the songs used the N-word. Yes, that can be their choice, it can still feel weird for me, but this was so much a case where some people might be offended by the highlighting and support that I just went with it. There was no censorship. Some of those songs are about sex!
But I am probably not going to use the song "Gay Sex" from Be Steadwell, because I like "Greens" better for her musically, though "Gay Sex" is more politically savvy.
On that note, I feel a little bad in that Lil Nas X has videos that are more overtly gay than the one I used, "Dead Right Now"; I really liked the song, though, and it also kind of fit my mood for the day. Realistically, once they are in my head, they can come back in at any time.
(I will probably never use "Old Town Road" though, based on my general aversion to country. It's not personal.)
Other people that I could have used but did not came down to confusing information where I could not find a good article, only articles that were about a recent suicidal spell, and one person crossing a picket line. Those were things I worried about, but I had so many choices that it's okay. I can always use them at another time.
Something else I found interesting was that when you look at Queen Latifah's top ten songs, they are half numbers from musicals she has appeared in. That included "You Can't Stop the Beat" from Hairspray. I am fond of that song, but it is an ensemble peace, and its promise of forward progress rings a little hollow now. I used "Dance For Me" for June, but then "You Can't Stop the Beat" on July 1st, followed by Hozier's "Take Me to Church" on the 2nd. Hozier is not a queer Black artist, but his song is nevertheless accompanied by a powerful video and has become something of an anthem, apparently.
Through July 11th, I am using some Asian artists that I did not get to in May, plus some queer Black artists that I did not get to in June, and maybe some things related to reading and viewing. I have some Black music (though not specifically queer) reading and viewing slated for June also, but that will be happening mostly in July and August. Regardless, I would like to get in songs for Charlie Parker and Paris Is Burning.
Starting July 12th I am going back to picking ten songs from different years of the '80s, starting at 1985. That will be a bit of a break, because I am quite familiar with that content.
I like stretching and exploring, but the familiar has its charms.
Black Music Month and Pride Month
6/1 “Rock Me” by Sister Rosetta Tharpe
6/2 “Dead Right Now” by Lil Nas X
6/3 “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” by Sylvester
6/4 “Dance For Me” by Queen Latifah
6/5 “Baby Can I Hold You” by Tracy Chapman
6/6 “Thinkin Bout You” by Frank Ocean
6/7 “When I Get It Right” by Joan Armatrading
6/8 “Children” by Billy Porter
6/9 “Work It” by Missy Elliott
6/10 “Luvaroq” by serpentwithfeet
6/11 “Don Dada” by Cakes Da Killa x Proper Villains
6/12 “Sunday” by Joy Oladokun
6/13 “American Pie” by Shea Diamond
6/14 “Bye-Bye Blues” by Blackberri
6/15 “Great Gosh A'Mighty” by Little Richard
6/16 “Coastin'” by Victoria Monét
6/17 “Breath” by Todrick Hall
6/18 “spaces - Remix” by Dawn featuring Maliibu Mitch and Quay Dash
6/19 “Faithful” by Meshell Ndeogeocello
6/20 “Someday” by VINCINT
6/21 “You Go To My Head” by Billie Holiday
6/22 “Where You Are” by Rahsaan Patterson
6/23 “Where My Girls” by Dai Burger
6/24 “Stay High” by Brittany Howard
6/25 “American Dream Plan B” by Shirlette Ammons
6/26 “Key Changer” by Doug Pinnick
6/27 “Your Love” by Frankie Knuckles
6/28 “Black Queer Anthem” by Lazarus Lynch
6/29 “Explode” by Big Freedia
6/30 “Hope” by Arlo Parks
June 29, 2022
The Slap: Overreactions
I admitted last week that I don't know the best way to respond to someone consistently and publicly disrespecting your wife. I suppose the preferred way is to simply be so powerful that no one dares to, but that isn't always practical. Without knowing a perfect response, I agree that there are problems with even a mild physical assault.
Obviously the Academy had to respond in some way; it was their event. A ten year ban from attending any Academy events seems severe, but that was their decision.
Other people wanted something much more severe, calling for Smith's complete expulsion or to have his Oscar taken away.
An Oscar won being revoked would be very unlikely. That has only happened once, because it turned out that the movie was from the wrong year. Even with the revoked nominations they were generally for very technical reasons: something believed to be original having been based on an existing work or coming from the wrong country.
https://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/movies/oscar-nominations-that-were-revoked
For getting expelled from the Academy, there are currently only five: four sex offenders and one person who bootlegged Oscar screeners.
https://wegotthiscovered.com/movies/every-celebrity-who-has-been-expelled-from-the-academy/
Interestingly, Roman Polanski has been known as a sex offender for a long time, and still got a nomination and a win and Harrison Ford delivering his Oscar because Polanski is still hiding out overseas to avoid jail. He was only expelled when the new Code of Conduct came out. It took a long time (and two really high profile cases) for the Academy to decide that being a sex offender was a problem. Normally we expect that a woman shocked to be kissed without consent will play it off as a joke (and will be asked if it was "good"), or that there might be a whole musical number about having seen the breasts of various actresses, including one where it happened in a rape scene and that has all been fine.
That's not really what this post is about though. I am more interested in how comfortable people were with quickly condemning, inflating, and calling for vengeance, and some of the ways in which they did that. It is not a coincidence that the examples I am going to use are all white.
This is not about you: Amy Schumer "traumatized: and complained about not being able to make an Alec Baldwin joke.
https://www.nme.com/news/film/amy-schumer-alec-baldwin-joke-wasnt-allowed-to-say-oscars-3198409
It's would be a really weird juxtaposition, except then I remember her "parody" (is that the right word?) of Lemonade and "Formation", and I guess that's kind of just her. Regardless, they did not just "let" Smith slap Rock. If Smith had asked permission, they would have said "no" and in the absence of that he was expelled.
That doesn't even make sense: A doctor (so obviously an authority), pointed out that such a slap could have killed Betty White.
If you want to condemn the slap, that is fine and you have lots of company. You don't need to add a ridiculous hypothetical. I neither believe that Betty White would make a joke that would upset Smith that much, or that he would respond that way if she did. A reminder that it is easy to cause serious injury in that circumstance could be fine, and not unreasonable. All you did was inspire a bunch of parodies of your own tweet. Could it be that you were afraid people were not getting how dangerous this Black man was? That would remind me of this next one...
Your house is glass: Judd Apatow tweeted out about how Smith could have killed Rock, and his out of control rage.
https://www.newsweek.com/judd-apatow-blasted-after-saying-will-smith-lost-his-mind-oscars-1692408
Those tweets were quickly deleted after backlash. Apatow himself says that he wasn't watching, and he heard "punch", not "slap" -- which, hey, I noticed that miswording myself, but I suspect the thing that really got him to delete the tweets were questions about him not stepping in when James Franco assaulted Busy Philipps on the set of Freaks and Geeks.
https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/busy-philipps-james-franco-assault-freaks-and-geeks-1202973054/
Hypocrisy can be embarrassing, true, but it could have been avoided if he hadn't been so quick to condemn something that he hadn't even seen with his own eyes. Why would you feel compelled to vividly describe and analyze something you had not even seen? To hear about it and think, "That's not right," is one thing, but there is no need to interject, except maybe there is a sense that it is allowed, and that sense relates to institutional racism.
Speaking of hypocrisy: Jim Carrey also felt free to criticize Smith, though he also got called out on some of his own inappropriate behavior, forcing a kiss on a young Alicia Silverstone when she presented an award to him. (But that wasn't the earlier reference; that was Adrien Brody and Halle Berry.)
Skills that were needed and not present here include de-centering, grounding, and self-reflection.
I do believe there is an eagerness to be able to cast judgment and sound wise. It is really easy to botch that; maybe we generally aren't that wise.
If we want wisdom, it's going to have to include engaging with the past. That includes individual failures and collective ones. There are going to be threads of race and sex and exploitation, and we have to face them.
That is the only way anything is going to get better.
June 22, 2022
The Slap: Context matters
I will start with what seems like a diversion and write about inter-species revenge.
You have probably recently heard of an elephant fatally injuring a woman and returning to the funeral to trample the corpse some more.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/13439379_Odisha--Elephant-tramples-woman--then-her-corpse.html
Other stories have added details about the elephant trampling the family home, including killing goats, and the possible motive being that the dead woman would assist poachers by throwing rocks. Those details are not substantiated, though for people who were sure the woman did something awful, the possible assistant poaching provides the desired "A-ha!"
Elephants trampling humans is common enough in India (100 - 300 annually) that the trampling itself would not have made news. Returning to the funeral is what caused the first story to catch on, fascinating with the extremely personal nature.
Later details may just be enthusiastic fabrications, but this series of posts is considering how we react to things, including whether we try and understand, or whether we find the indignant judgment too delicious.
I have been more interested in the attempts to understand. I have definitely seen references to habitat loss bringing humans and nature closer together, leading to more conflicts. This thread was more specific and interesting:
https://twitter.com/bloomfilters/status/1537844061222187008
I thought it was an important thread because it was getting too easy to laugh at the death of a human being and possible displacement of an already grieving family. If the human did participate in the loss of the elephant's children, but she did it to feed her own children, then how do we feel? Economic circumstances and exploitation (and over policing of minorities) can really perpetuate desperation.
Then there was this other tweet, referring to increased aggression in elephants that saw a lot of family loss while young in the 80s and 90s:
https://twitter.com/GiddensVision/status/1537885730860478465
This appears to be a posting of a private message, so is also unsubstantiated. It may be referring to this study, which does track with increased violence toward other species (including humans but also rhinos):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3874604/
That study was done with African elephants, so it's a different population. However, that the repeated trauma of losing loved ones, combined with having fewer family members around in adolescence, can result in greater aggression (with more complicated reasons relating to decision making and knowledge), carries a certain logic. Were there similar poaching issues in India in that same time period? India has also had a long tradition of using elephant labor. If the family members are being taken away rather than being killed for ivory, there is still trauma there.
It could be very tempting to spend some time extrapolating here about similar trends we might see among humans. My point is that even the most shocking stories don't happen in a vacuum. There are layers and background. If you just like being entertained -- "Wow! Fascinating!" -- that may not matter, though the layers could add interest. If you want things to be better, though... if you care about animals including humans... that may require paying more attention.
In that light, let's re-examine "the slap".
One interesting factor is that Chris Rock has a decades long history of making fun of Jada Pinkett Smith.
https://www.thethings.com/chris-rock-has-a-history-of-making-fun-of-jada-pinkett-smith/
I have since seen some speculation that Rock has an unrequited thing for her, but that is not a necessary explanation; it would not be at all surprising for a comedian who habitually punches down to get lazy about the targets and feel really comfortable exploiting misogynoir.
The other thing I only learned from Twitter is that Rock has a reputation making it acceptable for white people to laugh at Black People. I don't have an article exactly on that, but one of the complaints was Rock giving Louis C.K. permission to use the N-word, and this is a pretty good article on that:
What I did know on my own was that I have Chris Rock's 2009 documentary Good Hair. Even as some of the issues with the racism Black women face regarding their hair are treated, there is more time spent on the inconvenience to men. His conclusion that he will hope that his daughter is more concerned about what is in her head than on it is not really earned, especially if his daughter ever tries to get an office job. I would not expect him to have much empathy for how a woman might feel about losing her hair.
There were also comments about the microaggressions of that night, including Jane Campion's needing to reference the Williams sisters (which was Will Smith's movie) and put down their victories to prop up hers. Rock's comment may have been one straw too many.
Let us let us also remember the different between a slap and a punch. A slap is how you start a duel, and show disrespect; it is not likely to result in a serious injury, nor is it generally intended to. The Biblical injunction to turn the other cheek does not rule out self-defense, but is saying that maybe you don't have to worry about being disrespected, which is especially helpful when you legally can't.
Obviously, none of this condones the slap. If we are going to try and understand, though, then it is worth thinking about what is considered an appropriate masculine reaction to your wife being insulted. A lot of the "rules" of social behavior depend on everyone obeying them equally. That gives the advantage to the one who does not mind being a jerk. There are a lot of problems with that.
There is one last thing it might make sense to remember, though this will be more to the point for the next post: there is a historical tendency to over-police Black men. It goes along with the historic differentials in power and authority that might make ridiculing Black people in the service of white people tempting.
None of this happens in a vacuum.
June 15, 2022
The Slap: What was said
I am now starting my three-post series (that's how I think it will go) inspired by "the slap" and our trip to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
It has been hard to get started. There are so many connected thoughts and I like my writing to be organized and flow in a logical manner. The two things that nagged at me the most were related, so they are the starting point.
In the post-slap discussions of violence at the Oscars, various people on Twitter kept mentioning that it had taken six men to keep John Wayne from assaulting Sacheen Littlefeather.
Thoughts inspired there were brought home more at the Academy Museum. In a hall with rotating winner announcements and speeches (and some Oscar gowns), I was able to view the speech.
Evening gown with black bodice and gold and black skirt on platform. Walls behind show videos of past Oscar acceptance speeches.On Twitter there had been mentions of Littlefeather not being allowed to go over one minute. As I heard her, I realized that she was not able to read all of what Marlon Brando wrote. She did say she would make it available to the press, and it can still be found:
It struck me more because for years I always remembered being told that Brando sent up a "fake" Indian.
This was the 1973 Oscars. I was one year old and should not have any memories of it. That I do indicates people talking about it years later. I don't really remember, but I suspect it came from my father at one point expressing disgust with Marlon Brando. Dad was a fan of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood.
Then I remember years later reading an article about Littlefeather, who really is Indian. It might have been from around 2018 when she was diagnosed with cancer, but it could also have been back in 2015 when I was reading Ojibwa Warrior by Dennis Banks. Banks mentioned receiving aid from Brando, and felt his commitment to their cause was sincere.
There are plenty of worse things that can be said about Marlon Brando; I may get to them myself in a different post. For now, I am going to assume that at least for this his intentions were good, and his desire to raise awareness sincere.
(Whether it was an effective form of protest is a completely different question.)
Brando's speech indicates that he intended to go to Wounded Knee himself, and that was one reason for not attending the awards. Another article indicates that preparing for the awards show ended up being hurried, so he seems to have still been in California that day. Plans don't always work out.
https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/03/31/john-wayne-sacheen-littlefeather/
Regardless, I remember this pause at realizing something false repeated as fact. Littlefeather is Apache and Yaqui through her father. Why was she called fake? Were they confusing her with Iron Eyes Cody?
It might have started with John Wayne's quote about Brando "taking some little unknown girl and dressing her up in an Indian outfit." I suspect that is a way to minimize the validity of the protest, and what is being protested.
Reading about Cuba at the time of their revolution, how well off people were socially and financially seemed to directly correlate to how sure they were that the Taino were completely extinct. I would not expect more successful genocide to alleviate guilt, but what do I know?
Maybe loyalty to a system that benefits you is harder when someone the system harms is in front of you. As it is, I was writing about harmful portrayals of Native Americans in film just five years ago, so questioning the progress made over the past five decades is reasonable.
https://sporkful.blogspot.com/2017/06/humor-me.html
Also, there is another whole discussion to be had on blood quantum ways of determining who counts as Native American, and to whom, even today. That is not the point of this post.
Remember, I said two things nagged at me. The other was that in the immediate aftermath I saw lots of people talking about Will Smith punching Chris Rock, but it not a punch.
That people now refer to it as "The Slap" is actually progress, but that difference matters, and we will get more into how that matters in subsequent posts.
For this post, it reminded me of one other thing.
Once, where there was a lot of protesting going on (but it was not George Floyd, it was before that), I was getting onto a bus and the driver advised me not to stay out too late, because there was a riot scheduled. No, what was scheduled was a protest.
We were not even at the point where Portland Police would automatically declare a riot so they could break out the tear gas then. It was just that the right had gotten to the point where talking heads were changing the use of those words: protests were riots, and protesters were rioters, and those heavily negative connotations were being accepted automatically by those who leaned conservative.
If you need examples of deceit, escalating language being used as a weapon, and of people refusing to face truth (and not even having to fight that hard to avoid it)... well, you don't need the Oscars or my memories. You might view chilling January 6th footage on one channel, and then find another channel only mentioning the hearings to call it boring and manipulative.
I maintain that truth matters.
With words being such a crucial component of communication, words matter too.
June 3, 2022
Messy and mattering: May's daily songs
I understand that I stress about things that may not really matter; that does not stop me from doing it.
May is Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. I have tried to do some reading and movie watching with that, but also very much wanted the daily songs to focus on appropriate artists.
There are two areas where I always struggle with this. Firstly, well, with Pacific Islanders in many ways their experience feels more like that of indigenous people. Still, that's how the month was arranged.
In addition, I generally end up mixing in Asian people with the Asian-Americans. For the reading and movies it often gives some cultural context that adds to understanding for the immigrant experience, but for contemporary music, does that make sense?
What made it additionally frustrating this year was that I have not been reviewing any bands, but I did not want to only play songs from familiar artists.
Therefore, I made it a point to listen to the top ten songs for each of the Asian, Asian-American (mostly US, but some Canada), and Pacific Islanders that I have listed to review. I also checked out previously reviewed bands to jog my memory and see if they had new material since the last time I listened, but I did listen to at least 27 new artists.
Normally when I do a review, I try and listen to the artist's complete catalog three times, and learn more about them. This is much more shallow, and there is less opportunity to notice things.
This became more of a concern after having read some comments about Turning Red (which I also watched and enjoyed).
One artist that was not featured in the May daily songs is Awkwafina. This is because of criticism of her appropriation of Black culture, especially in a way that exploits misogynoir. I say this having enjoyed her in movies and not thinking that she means any harm, but still being sure she could do better.
Some discussions of Turning Red criticized a similar appropriation of Black culture. I also saw responses to it that for many kids growing up, the only people of color they saw on television were Black, and they did tend to identify with and imitate those characters. It was interesting to think about. I can sympathize and understand that harm can happen without intent, and also know that I totally miss things.
When I highlight different music -- regardless of theme -- I am trying to do a good thing. I began to worry that some of these artists may be appropriating, or they may be being misogynistic, or anti-Black, or fascist in a way I don't even know about, because this is more hurried than it would be ideally.
I mean, generally the first I saw of the videos was the day I played it, and I often did not see the whole thing. In fact, Psy was getting a song, but I saw it had a line about the pandemic being over and I actually deleted it right after posting. That is why there are two songs from The Slants (but also that they are great). I don't know that I had a great reason for doing two Mitski songs; it just worked out that way.
(I know it is not unreasonable that a pop star that focuses on style would align the capitalist trend of prematurely declaring the pandemic over, but bad Psy!)
So, I have had concerns, and they are probably over inflated, especially given that there is a good chance that no one ever really clicks on the songs I post.
However, I do have more familiarity with a number of different bands, and I have really liked some of them. If I ever do get back to having the time and ability to do reviews, I will be glad to get to some of them.
A lot of those bands were from articles and recommendations, but then Spotify and Youtube began making recommendations. That is how I found Jennifer Chung, and I really liked her. That is a reason to do things like this.
Also, I totally nailed a BTS song on Beat Shazam the other night; that totally would not have happened otherwise.
To delve more thoroughly into the complicated relationships between Asian Americans and African Americans, I am pulling up some additional reading. Will I understand it all after that? Of course not, but I am committed to trying, and to caring.
I will continue to complicate my life in June by focusing on artists that are both Black and Queer, for a combined Black Music/Pride month.
(I recently saw that May is also Jewish Heritage Month. I don't know if I will ever successfully combine those two themes, but it is something to think about.)
Daily Songs:
5/1 “Endlessly Falling” by The Slants
5/2 “Growing Up” by The Linda Lindas
5/3 “Short Hair” by Cho Yong-Pil
5/4 “Dance With Me” by Beabadoobee
5/5 “Be Sweet” by Japanese Breakfast
5/6 “Dynamite” by BTS
5/7 “Le Manu” by Shepherds Reign
5/8 “A Little Peace” by MILCK with Creators for Change
5/9 “Helpless” by Clones of the Queen
5/10 “Why Not” by Jake Shimabukuro (feat. Kenny Loggins)
5/11 “Monsters Calling Home” by Run River North
5/12 “This World Breaks Your Heart and Makes You Grey” by Ogikubo Station
5/13 “Rocketeer” by Far East Movement (feat. Ryan Tedder)
5/14 “Sagaba” by Blue Scholars
5/15 “Rydeen” by Yellow Magic Orchestra
5/16 “Narcissist” by No Rome (feat. The 1975)
5/17 “Black Hole” by Griff
5/18 “California” by Rich Brian, NIKI, and Warren Hue
5/19 “Me After You” by Paul Kim
5/20 “Guap” by Yaeji
5/21 “Try” by Melissa Polinar
5/22 “First Love/Late Spring” by Mitski
5/23 “Honeybody” by Kishi Bashi
5/24 “June Gloom” by Low Leaf
5/25 “Alone Again” by The King Khan & BBQ Show
5/26 “Thursday” by Asobi Seksu
5/27 “Marionette” by BOØWY
5/28 “Come Back Home” by Katherine Ho
5/29 “Take It One Day At A Time” by Jennifer Chung
5/30 “18 21” by The Slants
5/31 “Washing Machine Heart” by Mitski
