Gina Harris's Blog, page 90

Narrow targets

One of the oddest Twitter conversations I have ever had happened a few months ago. It included me being told "Lesbians are female homosexuals."

I had not realized that definition was in doubt.

We got there because this person was angry that TERF was starting to be used as a slur against lesbians. She had three examples!

If you don't know, TERF is an acronym for Trans Exclusive Radical Feminist, so someone who is all for feminism, except for including transgender women in feminism.

I believe the prejudice is more focused on not accepting women who were assigned male at birth (AMAB and AFAB are other acronyms you will see), like the fear of having someone use a bathroom that does not correspond with what was on their original birth certificate. (This is one of the most common TERF talking points.)

This is far from my specialty. I am not even sure how I ended up in the conversation except that someone must have retweeted something and I thought I could be helpful. I guess that aspect was odd, but also I thought it was odd because - and this is what I replied that led to the explanation - most of the prominent TERFs appear to be straight.

Again, I am not expert here. I got the impression that Germaine Greer (probably the most prominent TERF) is straight, anyway, though I admit to limited interest.


The original context was a thread about infighting between cis women and trans women, apparently from someone refusing to retweet something she found transphobic, which led to someone asking about the term "TERF".

I know that people who fall under that category tend to find the term very offensive, because how dare you label their bigotry? I had also heard that there were people working to turn other queer people against transgender people - knock the T off of the LBG, if you will.

So when someone barged in complaining that TERF was a lesbian slur, my first thought was that misappropriating the term might be one way of sowing discord. By the end of that conversation, I started to think that person might actually be one of the people attempting to sow discord, but I almost always start out assuming good faith.

Still, looking at that profile again, I suspect a troll account built on what they think lesbians are like.

My takeaway at the time was was that as the right works to divide everyone, of course they will pick on the most marginalized. Trans women are already extremely vulnerable. That shouldn't be something that anyone would fall for, but also, speak up for the Jews and the trade unionists and the trans women - it doesn't matter if that is your group.

At this point I can't even say it's because they will come for you. They will, but speaking up is the right thing to do, and that has its own value beyond self-interest. We need people who will do something just because it is kind and just.

But your self-interest should also know that they always expand. That's just how it works. The narrow targets will expand.

Concert Review: Alkaline Trio

First of all, Alkaline Trio is currently touring (though that is wrapping up) with a new album under their belts, Is This Thing Cursed.

The album is great. I especially love and relate to the title track.

One of the great things about the band is their constant development and growth, which is not hurt by them doing other projects. For this album, I don't think morbidity is quite the right word, nor gothic, and it's not necessarily completely supernatural, but there are all of these dark themes that come out beautifully.

I remember when I first reviewed them four years ago I was pleasantly surprised by their early punk sound. Here they are still very melodic, but there are reminders of punk, perhaps this time in a little more Misfits way. (Actually, I may be wrong on this, but it suddenly occurred to me recently that "This Addiction" can go well with "Don't Open Til Doomsday/Hell Night".)

I also feel like I hear more Daniel Andriano on this one - not just singing more, though he is - but where I hear echoes of his solo project, The Emergency Room.

Everyone sounded and looked good. Singer Matt Skiba especially (I think) is looking younger or healthier or something.

What becomes painful about this review is that the concert became a horrible experience for me. That was not the band's fault, but I need to get it out.

There was some moshing going on at the show. That was not really my problem, but it was related.

It started a few rows back from center stage. I noticed this one idiot with a stupid mustache and a Hawaiian shirt first, but there started being more people joining in. I especially noticed one fairly short man that they kept hitting into.

Another guy who was in the group did apologize, and the second band - together PANGEA - thanked them for resolving it on their own. I was not sure that they deserved the credit; it was not long after that I saw the short guy take a hit to the back of the head that didn't look good.

Security kept looking, but they only really did anything when someone was crowd-surfing. To be fair, someone dropped on their head would cause a lot of problems, but it's not the only thing that can be a problem.

Anyway, I was distracted by that. Moshing is only fun if you want to do it. It is also hard to control. The only venue I have seen really handle it well was the Haunt. Their small size helped a lot for that, but also they are not even in business anymore. (There were cool things about them, but the location was terrible.)

So it distracted me, but it was also not anywhere near me. I started out as just aware.

I suppose the first sign that I was in a bad location was during soundcheck. I was in the second row of people from the barrier, stage right (house left). There was a mic right there, but based on what the tester was saying, it was Matt's mic. It's nothing against Matt, but I never get tired of watching Daniel play, and it would have been cool to be in front of him. It was still a good location. That was my problem.

Shortly after they came on stage, I felt this huge shove.

My previous experience during AFI was mainly with people shoving for the sake of shoving and then moving on. I thought this was that it was, which may have left me more unprepared. He actually wanted my spot and he won. I resisted but ended up behind him, and was lucky to still be on my feet.

There was a guy who played a thug on the last season of Once Upon A Time, Sandy Robson. He was clearly supposed to be Wreck-It Ralph, but his IMDB credits just call him "Perp". Anyway, this guy looked like that, and he was built like an ox, except with a less intelligent expression on his face.

I objected, but he completely ignored me, taking out his phone and filming and putting his arms up and posing and loving his position in the second row of people. There had been a cute girl in front of me, and I did see him steady her at one point, but after all, he could easily see over her. (He would have been easily able to see over me as well.)

I'm just going to tell you now that I was only there for four songs.

I had various thoughts about things I could do. I envied the shoulders spikes on the jacket of the woman a little to my left. I thought about knocking away his phone, unlatching his watch, or pouring the half water bottle I had left over him. I thought about shivs, too, but I didn't have one, and I wouldn't really do that, though the thought was surprisingly attractive.

I was willing to believe that maybe that was his special song, but then they played "Mercy Me"; that's my song. At this point I punched him. That was in the shoulder, from the back. He looked around, and I told him he had to move, that was my spot. He looked mildly surprised, and then turned back around.

The thing is, I am capable of fighting harder and dirtier, but I don't know that I can justify it for a position at a concert. Also, based on his solidity, the effort I would have had to expend to have any impact was likely to get me thrown out instead of him.

It ruined the concert for me and I left. I'm not proud of that.

I would just never do that to someone. Where I come from, if you want to be up front you come early and you commit. That means not taking breaks between acts for the bathroom or more water, but holding on to your spot. Well, not him. He took out a person a foot shorter than him. He must be very proud.

The thing is, I really needed that night. It is hard to arrange time away from my care giving responsibilities; that was my time! I had been wanting to see them for at least four years. I wrote that review in 2014 because their tour was not coming here, and it was at least a way of hoping that they would come. It was because I kept looking to see if they were touring again yet that I saw that Daniel was touring with Matt Pryor. That's how much I wanted to be there. That I needed it so much, and that I wanted it so much, made everything that much worse.

And it totally drove home the value of respite time, because I was not at my best the next day. There is this mental energy that you need to keep someone with dementia engaged, where you have to gauge where they are and what will work, and I did not have it. I was drained instead of replenished, and I don't know when my next chance will come.

I have thought of things I could do differently. My only chance was a long shot, but if I'd grabbed the barrier and kicked back, that might have worked. I would have had to have realized what he was doing right away, and been really quick, and I don't know that it would have worked. I will not say that he wanted the spot more than I did, but he was certainly a worse person in ways that were helpful.

And it's disappointing. So that's how it goes? Getting what you want is a result of how awful you are willing to be? To which I'm afraid the answer is, "Oh good! You do understand!" but I remain disappointed. I have the political climate and my mother's health as areas for feeling powerless. A concert should be a place to feel good.

Concert Review: together PANGEA

together PANGEA put on a pretty good show.

Honestly, a lot of that relates to the keyboardist/guitarist who slid around with amazingly smooth dance moves. He reminded me of Napoleon Dynamite, except that his T-shirt said "Megadeath" instead of "Vote for Pedro".

But the music was pretty good too.

I hear elements of Seattle grunge - more on "Why" than on any other track - but it is not grunge. My favorite songs were probably "Badillac" and "Friend of Nothing", so those could be good starting places.

together PANGEA is currently finishing up a tour with Sharp Shock and Alkaline Trio, with a handful of dates left.

http://togetherpangea.com/

https://www.facebook.com/togetherpangea/

https://www.youtube.com/user/togetherPANGEA

https://twitter.com/TogetherPangea

Concert Review: Sharp Shock

I loved Sharp Shock.

I was pretty sure I would. I had never heard of them before I looked up the openers for Alkaline Trio, but I was able to check them out a little before the show and they sounded really good. I thought they sounded good starting out, and then the second track I heard was "Superficial" and I knew they were awesome.

(For that one it may be the bass line that puts me over the edge, but I like the overall message too.)

Anyway, I went in with high expectations that were then exceeded. 

The band bursts with punk speed and energy. One great thing about punk songs being short is that you can fit a lot of them into even only a half hour set. I think they played everything I could have wanted. That definitely included "Dancing All Night" and "Infatuation".

When singer Davey Warsop first addressed the crowd, his Birmingham accent immediately make me think of Oi!, but the band's origins are a bit more complicated than that. Regardless of birthplaces, Sharp Shock is currently operating out of Los Angeles.

As much as I appreciate the sheer fun of them, I also need to point out their general decency. The things that make punk work also easily go along with obnoxious to possibly worse behavior. The band hints at that connection with songs like "Bad Lad" and "The Reds", but they stay above it, going out of their way to speak against racism, sexism, and other bigotry.

They were a great start to the night, and I am glad to have found them.

Sharp Shock currently has about another week on the road with together PANGEA and Alkaline Trio, and will be playing the Surf City Blitz in Huntington Beach on October 27th. That is going to have some good bands, and Sharp Shock is one of them.

http://www.sharpshockband.com/

https://www.facebook.com/sharpshockband

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC303JPAPUKkeqZh8AIbgKOg/featured

https://twitter.com/sharpshock

Thanos was wrong

Yes, this is about Avengers: Infinity War.

Again, there will be spoilers, but it came out in April so I like to think we're good.

It is a reasonable follow-up to writing about the aspects of each individual mattering in Ant-Man and the Wasp. There is a huge body count in Infinity War. It's almost like a DC film, except there aren't piles of dead bodies at the end, just something like ashes floating away.

Even more to the point, you see a real impact from the loss of those lives as well.

Many people were torn up by the death of Peter Parker. He got more words in - possibly because he felt it coming, possibly because he can talk a lot, quickly - and he said them to Tony, who had previously shown guilt about getting Peter into dangerous situations, and who had started the movie talking to Pepper about having a child.

(Also, somehow in the impossible to detect pattern of the destruction, everyone else on the planet's surface had gone, except for Nebula, a cyborg stranger to Tony, leaving him terribly alone.)

The fadings happening in Wakanda stuck with me more: Rhodey looking for Sam and just missing him, Bucky and Cap's eyes meeting just before, and T'Challe reaching out to help Okoye. I was sure he was going to see her go, which would have been one kind of tragedy, but then the one who faded was him.

Beyond that, you could see how the randomness was leading to immediate complications. Back in New York, a plane was going down, and if the former occupants of the crashed car weren't going to feel the impact, that doesn't mean that similar accidents would not have casualties.


(And yes, I assume it will all be undone, even rolled back to save the Asgardians from the beginning. Dr. Strange saw the one plan that worked, and he still handed his stone over to Thanos. Obviously it will all be fine. No arguments.)

From that immediate awful aftermath, I can see the chaos extending far beyond that. 

Part of that is that in some of my readings about authoritarian regimes, I have seen that once you expel the foreigners, the economy goes stagnant and there isn't enough food. That can also happen when you nationalize markets. When you target people who are more educated and have more money, that is not a guaranteed combination, but it tends to get rid of at least a few doctors and people with good skills to have (some dead, some escaping). That causes problems. It causes suffering.

Thanos could defend his plan of ending suffering by reducing the universal population in half all he wants, but it caused immediate suffering with a promise of more suffering in store.

It doesn't make sense to get all worked up over a movie adapted from comic books, especially when I believe the next installment will resolve everything. However, much like there being a large contingent of people declaring that Killmonger was right in response to Black Panther (my thoughts on that), there has also been a contingent declaring that Thanos had a point.

And sure, that's mainly a subreddit where you shouldn't expect too much from the inhabitants, but yes, there are a lot of people who with infinite power would still see more point in eliminating people than increasing resources or improving the distribution thereof.

People reference Malthus a lot in relation to this. He was not twisted in that manner (he could be faulted for an understandable lack of vision), but Malthus' writings have been used in some really twisted arguments about why sometimes you want to let people suffer and die. Really, he just wanted people to wait longer to have kids, which has several advantages.

Infinity War was a pretty good movie in general. Given the size of the cast it was impressive in what it managed to balance, and the fun it managed to have despite some serious and painful situations.

It also gives us something worth thinking about. That isn't so much whether or not individuals have worth; the film comes down pretty clearly on the side of that. It is worth thinking about how hard some people fight to avoid accepting that.


Remember, the problem with #alllivesmatter isn't that it's not true; it's that it misses the point of specific lives being counted as less. Truly believing in the value of each life requires examining the structures that endanger lives, which are sometimes very specific. It's a deflect when the opposite is needed.

The damage of lost lives is never merely collateral.

Thoughts on Ant-Man and the Wasp

I adored Ant-Man and the Wasp.

It worked on several different levels for me.

The following text contains spoilers. The movie also came out July 6th, so I hope we're good.

The sheer charm of Paul Rudd was one factor, along with the the room that the script gave him to be a goofy and endearing father. It would be easy to get a crush on him from this film alone.

I liked the way they played with size. Stan Lee once said that a weakness in the original Ant-Man comics was that they didn't do enough sight gags to take advantage of how the shrinking. There were some great contrasts here, with some pretty clever gags. Having Scott stuck at an odd size and getting around it by posing as a child, having two people of mismatched sizes stuck in the same closet, and many pieces with buildings and vehicles changing sizes (plus one large Hello Kitty Pez dispenser) was both cool and fun.

What I ended up liking most was the caring. Every person mattered. That included cold-hearted criminals and mostly competent but somewhat insecure government agents. (Yeah, getting actors like Walton Goggins and Randall Park doesn't hurt.)

It included a very messed up villain. Ghost caused a lot of problems, and was willing to do worse. The visual effects they used to convey her being out of phase were effective, but you were also able to feel empathy for all of the loss and for the constant pain.

It would have been easy to let her character go, and it could have happened in multiple ways. She could have been taken out by other characters as they attempted to defend themselves or protect Janet. She could have gotten to Janet, started the energy absorption, and have it backfire horribly, killing her that way. She could also have had a redemptive arc, where she decided that costing someone else's life and someone else's parent was not worth it, and let herself fade away.

I really wasn't expecting her to just be okay, to be healed, and to have someone standing by her, even when arrest was likely. She was around people who understood that she mattered too, though. That's what made the difference.

Finally, I really loved the scale. No, that's not about the size jokes.

I think I remember Gail Simone once saying that she would rather read a story about someone trying to save a dog than save the world. Those big whole world stories can get exhausting, and a bit repetitive. So for me, much of the emotion came down to Hope. Hope's desperation to see her mother again, her hope that it could be possible, and fear of losing that hope again. I needed them to be reunited.

That's not that the big world movies can't have emotional impact, or even that I won't write about that tomorrow, but this was a really good film.

But for all of the many things that Ant-Man and the Wasp did right, the one that stays with me most is that lives mattered. Even ants getting eaten by sea gulls mattered (even if you laughed at Scott's cry of "Murderers!"). And when you care about life, you try and preserve it.

Band Review: Nothing

Having just seen Johnny Marr two weeks ago (review posted one week ago), I have been reminded of jangle, and of how downbeat it can sound.

I would not be at all surprised to learn that Nothing - an alternative band from Philadelphia - was inspired by The Smiths. They may not have been, but there is some similarity in how downbeat the treble-y guitars manage to sound. I think what is more important to note, however, is that they sound a lot less depressing than they look. I am not speaking about the physical appearance of the band.

Artwork for their 2018 album, Dance on the Blacktop, is disconcerting. It's subtle, but ever so creepy.  Videos tend to be really downbeat as well, though "Blue Line Baby" is also beautiful.

I wouldn't have expected that just from the music. The songs are low key, and it would make sense if some people like to listen to them while sad, but you don't have to be sad to enjoy them and listening does not specifically make you sad. The videos can be pretty creepy, though, and I wouldn't necessarily have expected that if not for the album art.

(I guess the name should have tipped me off. "Nothing" must imply at least some existential angst.)

So don't be caught off guard, but don't hesitate to check them out either. Especially if you have been missing those Sheffield bands from the 80s, Nothing could be a very good fit.

I checked them out on the recommendation of Frank Iero, and he does know his stuff.

https://bandofnothing.com/

https://www.facebook.com/BANDOFNOTHING/

https://nothing.bandcamp.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHVPhO-aRf57XFYQOpZKSGg

https://twitter.com/BandofNOTHING

Band Review: S A Reyners

S A Reyners is a singer-songwriter from Wellington, New Zealand.

Most of the tracks have a pop cheeriness, but with an off-beat, lo-fi quality that does not sound like many other artists. It is not at all surprising that he has expressed admiration for Kate Bush, though he does not sound like her.

The songs do sound kind of similar to each other, but "Wanted For Ages" is probably the most interesting, which has kind of a hint of menace running through it..

https://www.facebook.com/sareyners/

https://sareyners.bandcamp.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK4z6elyxEQmtyaonakuLqA

https://twitter.com/sareyners

Kavanugh, Thomas, and Graham

There is one main memory that has stuck with me from the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings. I know a lot more about everything that was going on now than I did then, and it does bring up a lot more similarities. For example, I only learned later that there were other complainants that they decided they didn't have time to hear. Now we know that other people have come forward, even if we are not going to hear from them. See, information technology has improved!

FYI... https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/dozens-potential-sources-information-have-not-been-contacted-fbi-kavanaugh-n916146

Not that I expect it to affect Jeff Flake's vote.

No, the strongest memory I have from when Anita Hill was testifying was that regardless of all the attempts to paint her as a liar, it was not that they didn't believe her. They didn't want to be bothered with her.

That doesn't feel that different today.


Yesterday I may have seemed hard on Republicans, what with the references to racism and corruption that were absolutely accurate but could sound biased. I hope any concerns about that will consider the potential ramifications of Kavanuagh on the court voting that state charges for crimes that were pardoned on the federal level constitute double jeopardy. Given the context of the current administration, that comes really close to putting the president above the law. It would not be automatic, but there are reasons to believe both that this president would abuse it and that the court as he desires it would support it.

(Really, there are a lot of ways in which Kavanaugh resembles Bork more than Thomas.)

As much as that should raise concerns and give lawmakers pause, Republican senators are pushing this through. It was okay to hold Merrick Garland off until after the election, which was a much longer time period. Here there is a rush. Yes, I am sure they will be happy to overturn Roe v Wade, but the hurry is for Gamble.

Not only that, but were any of you a little taken aback by Lindsey Graham's tantrum about the "most unethical sham"?  I was. I mean, I know he's been in politics long enough to see worse ones, and I don't expect him to have any integrity, but it still seemed a little out of nowhere.

It wasn't. It happened after questions were starting to zero in around the July 1st entry in the calendar.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/09/27/kavanaugh-is-pressed-key-july-entry-his-calendar-only-point/?utm_term=.9ff97a01ebe2

It is frustrating to see people hear "no contemporaneous evidence" and repeat "NO EVIDENCE", but look, there appears to be some contemporaneous evidence too. Instead of stepping back and thinking maybe we could find someone better for this lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land, tantrum time. This is the kind of corruption that enables treason. There will be no apologies for saying that.

These posts have all pretty much been about the political and not the personal. I have things to say about that, but I think I will have more to say if I wait a couple of weeks. I am willing to wait. It's not a wait to be less angry; just to have more information. I will still be plenty angry.

For now I will leave this here:

https://www.theroot.com/revisiting-anita-hill-on-racism-stereotypes-and-respe-1829447283

Déjà vu all over again

Some people have drawn comparisons between the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings and those of Clarence Thomas in 1991. Those comparisons tend to focus on the nature of the accusations and the conduct of the Senate Judiciary Committee, but there is another important correlation that has been largely missed: like Kavanaugh, Thomas was not a particularly impressive appointee.

Thomas was not a great scholar. Other than the Anita Hill's testimony, Thomas is best known for hardly ever asking questions or dissenting in interesting ways, but just being a solid but not distinctive conservative vote.

(Scalia often sounded nonsensical, but he made much more of an impression.)

Thomas's lack of contribution was to be expected. His service previous to the appointment was not really distinguished. The Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit is not an unreasonable place to look for candidates (his predecessor there was Robert Bork, who was also nominated, though not appointed), but Thomas had served there less than two years.

That could again be a situation where you wonder why this person, and then why not just let him go once the harassment allegations arose, but Thomas presented a crucial combination of traits for the Republicans of the time: in addition to being reliably conservative, he was Black.

That sounds cynical (especially given Thomas's antipathy to Affirmative Action), but there were considerations. The appointment was due to the retirement of Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first Black man on the Supreme Court. Returning the court to its prior all-white state would have been viewed as a step backward. As important as white supremacy was to the Republican party even then, they were still going for quiet dog whistles and plausible deniability of their racism at the time. Bush really needed a Black man.

Bush also wanted that reliable conservative vote. While there would have been good Black candidates who leaned liberal, that would not have moved the court in the manner that Bush wanted and needed. Most intelligent and legally experienced Black people were well aware of what the dog whistles meant and were not okay with them; finding someone who was meant searching through the dregs. Thomas didn't have much competition.

With Kennedy being white and pretty conservative (yes, sometimes a swing vote), that should leave a pretty big pool open for potential replacements, where they could have done much better than Kavanaugh. However, there is something that Trump wants that Kavanaugh seems best able to provide.

Gamble vs United States is pending. It could be heard this month. It has the potential to decide that a federal pardon would make state prosecution fall under double jeopardy.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/09/trump-pardon-orrin-hatch-supreme-court/571285/

This would be a real gift to a corrupt president who has expressed a lot of interest in his ability to pardon (including speculating on pardoning himself). It would undo a lot of work done by Mueller on investigating Russia's interference and corruption in the 2016 election. Many of the crimes being established would still be eligible for state prosecution even in the event of a federal pardon under current law. So far.

In other words, if you like this administration and want to be able to see them continue unfettered, this may seem like a good deal. It is still not great for the Constitution, or for the rule of law meaning anything. Because of that, there are a lot of potential distinguished candidates for the Supreme Court who would not look favorably on such a resolution.

Kavanaugh seems like the best bet for the ruling Trump wants. That says a lot about him. Once again, to find the policy you want (in the body that is supposed to be non-partisan) involves rummaging around in the dregs.

Sure, it is hard not to see certain similarities between Trump and Kavanaugh, where you would expect a sympathy to exist between them. They have a similar tenuous hold on their composure. They claim credit for things that were given to them, though Kavanaugh tends credit hard work more, as opposed to Trump's superior genes and genius. (Like, I can see where Kavanaugh might not believe that his prep school attendance and his grandfather affected his getting into Yale, but does he really believe he was first in his class?) Neither man does anything with his personal conduct to contradict the many accusations of sexual abuse against them.

Sure, they could get along famously, but that's not what this is about. Trump and the people around him think Kavanaugh will be useful. They're not even wrong, but it's a problem if you want to hold on to the republic.

We are not doing a good job of keeping it.