Gar McVey-Russell's Blog, page 8

Do we have a functioning democracy?

Do we still have a functioning democracy in this country? Sadly, the evidence points to no.

I submit the following as Exhibit A to support this answer:

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders posted this photo on Facebook. With his post, he added the following:

This page is from the tax bill Senate Republicans rewrote and passed in the middle of the night—a 429-page bill that we received just hours before the vote and which had zero public hearings. Can you even tell what it says? Leave your guesses in the comments.

Despite its length and complexity, no one got a chance to read it before voting on it late last night, where it passed on a largely party-line vote of 51 to 49. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee is the only Republican to vote against it.

I tweeted my first thought about the bill Saturday morning:

The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief.

-Job 24:14#TaxScamBill

— gar mcvey-russell (@the_gar_spot) December 2, 2017

I’m not a Christian and learned this verse from an episode of Miss Marple (the Joan Hickson version, of course). But even without subscribing to the Christian faith, one can easily grasp the larger truth this verse conveys. It accurately captures what happened in the Senate, in the middle of the night.

I’ve been thinking all day about this verse, the Bible, and how so many Senators who voted for the tax bill call themselves Christians. Many religious leaders from many faiths have declared that no person of faith could possibly support the tax bill, an obvious giveaway to the greedy at a cost of the needy. And really, at a cost to society at large.

Society only works when you fund it. Firefighters, police, maintenance, healthcare, education, all of these things make up a society. We gather together to set up these institutions to help us, the people, live out lives. When we fund these things, we do well. When we don’t fund these things, we suffer. The Bible warns against avarice, greed, and gluttony. Yet, these sins are commonplace, even celebrated.

Republicans proved, again, that they stand for nothing but money. They use the Bible when it suits them. Otherwise, they easily disregard it. It suits them to control others, so they use the Bible to bash LGBTQ folks. However, their attachment to money allows them to ignore passages about the evils of greed. They cannot see how much they hurt others, or they simply don’t care.

So great is their hypocrisy, that they can now put stuff like the above up for a vote and get it passed. I mean look at it. What a mess. If I had turned in a paper like that to my 9th grade research writing teacher, he’d still be kicking my ass all these years later. Nothing like that should have appeared on the Senate floor, much less voted on. That’s a travesty.

We have not arrived at this point by accident. Many roads of good intention paved the way to our current hell. Ronald Reagan sang the gospel of greed and many listened, took heed. Thus, 28 years after he left office, we now have an elite class of citizens who own enormous wealth. We now view this as normal, as part of a thriving capitalist society, a job well done. We don’t view such obscene wealth as we should: a sickness. Why covet what you cannot possibly use?

So no, we do not currently have a functioning democracy. A majority of the country opposes the tax bill, yet it passed. Makes sense, really. Those who passed it do not care about the Bible’s admonitions against greed, despite calling themselves Christians. Why should they care about the will of the people, even if they call themselves defenders of democracy?

© 2017, gar. All rights reserved.

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First Review for SIN AGAINST THE RACE by Amos Lassen

Amos Lassen is a well-known member of the LGBT community. For many years, he has tirelessly reviewed hundreds of books and movies to, as he puts it, “spread the word about our literary heritage.” During the many years I toiled on Sin Against the Race, I hoped that Mr. Lassen would review my work. I’m happy to say that he has, my first review!

“McVey-Russell is an excellent writer who pulled me into the story from the first moment… There were moments that I had to stop and dry my eyes.”

Please read the entire review here.

© 2017, gar. All rights reserved.

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A year ago, my country failed

A year ago, my country failed.

The failure started quite early. Rather than reject a man who began his campaign with these fateful words:

“They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”

The media went out of its way to cover every belch and every fart this man uttered for a year and a half. The media failed to highlight who he was and what he really stood for and for that matter why he ran in the first place. (Hint: To undo everything the black dude did.)

MSNBC had a diverse lineup of on-air talent that slowly, over the course of a year, became more white and more male. Those who did not disappear outright (Melissa Harris-Perry, Touré) appeared much less frequently (Rev. Sharpton, et al.).

Comedy Central had one of the most diverse shows on television: The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. Mr. Wilmore populated his show not only with a diverse cast, but also a diverse writing staff. It pushed envelopes. Unfortunately, Comedy Central seemed to have wanted a second Jon Stewart and instead it got a new Dick Cavett. Laughs, yes, but also thoughtful discussions on a variety of topics. A few months after Mr. Wilmore introduced the Unblackening as a means to describe the 2016 election, he himself was unblackened off the air.

Rather than embrace the diversity heralded by the Obama administration and keep it going, the media and society at large ran from it as fast as it could. Freaks with tiki torches took to the streets to “take back their country.” Hate crimes skyrocketed. Vile speech became the norm. An ugly, ugly id emerged. A grotesque manifestation of molten hatred oozed into the White House. It emboldened the freaks and their tiki torches and clubs and boots.

Nothing this administration has advocated or tried to carry out in any way benefits the people who voted for it. Trump hates poor people and disdains the middle class. He is a horrible president who has made the country less strong and less secure. He won their votes, far more likely than not, because he wasn’t the black guy or the woman.

So we failed. Instead of building upon a more diverse America, a more real America, an America that reflects the many faces that make up the country, we fell backwards into a land of make-believe, where everyone is white, straight, cis, and Christian. It’s a world that does not exist nor has ever existed. It can only be maintained with a great deal of effort—gerrymandering, voter suppression, foreign influence.

The ballot got us into this mess. And ultimately, the ballot will have to get us out. People have to vote these kooks out of office. This year’s elections seem to bring some hope. Hoboken, New Jersey elected its first Sikh mayor, Ravi Bhalla. Both New Jersey and Virginia elected black lieutenant governors, Sheila Oliver and Justin Fairfax, respectively. Danica Roem, a Democratic transgender activist, defeated Republican Delegate Bob Marshall, a vile man who tried to legislate discrimination against the transgender community. I love instant karma.

Real America, the one with lots of different people coexisting, came back with a vengeance in this year’s off-year election. Let’s hope that this trend continues into 2018. Otherwise, our failure of 2016 will compound, with interest.

© 2017, gar. All rights reserved.

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Sin Against the Race: The Book Launch

I’m holding a book launch celebration for Sin Against the Race…and everyone is invited!

Date: Saturday, November 18, 2017

Time: 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm

Place: The Octopus Literary Salon, 2101 Webster Street, Oakland

Price: FREE

Sin Against The Race follows the coming out journey of Alfonso Rutherford Berry III, son of a city councilman and grandson of the state’s first African American legislator. All his life he believed that he would enter the “family business” and go into politics–forsaking his true first love, dancing. But after a series of tragedies, starting with the death of his fierce, out cousin Carlton, his assumptions explode in his face along with his closet door. In the process, he makes new friends, finds loves, and discovers his own voice.

Written in taut prose steeped in history and current events–and seasoned with the blues–Sin Against The Race follows the coming-of-age journey of a young black gay man as he progresses from an invisible councilman’s son to a formidable presence in his community.

Copies of the book will be available for purchase. I will read, take questions, and sign copies. Come and mingle in a haze of jazz and the delicious wine, beer, and food offered by Octopus Literary Salon.

© 2017, gar. All rights reserved.

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Influences: Music and Family

[Part of a series of posts previewing the novel Sin Against the Race.]

Sin Against the Race did not start life as a “jazz novel.” When I first started this journey, I listened mostly to classical. Dvořák, Chopin, Mozart, Brahms, the usual suspects. My music habits changed after my mother died. Miles, Coltrane, and of course Ellington & Strayhorn eventually worked their way into the story. I have my parents to thanks for my initial jazz education. And KCSM, Jazz 91 to thank for furthering it. As noted in an earlier post, Sammy plays jazz in his store constantly. Sammy influenced Carlton, who in turn influenced Alfonso.

I first learned early on in my jazz journey that Billy Strayhorn was gay, and not particularly closeted, for his time. That blew me away. His influence comes early in the story, indeed the very first scene.

Sirens broke Alfonso’s sleep, but when he awoke they’d gone. His mind switched on, he again found himself in the desert of another sleepless night. Disasters stirred in the dimly lit alleys of his mind. Sweat sopped his forehead. Closed eyes longed for sleep. Weariness eventually drifted him into what his cousin Carlton described as a halfway to dawn state, neither dark nor light, neither asleep nor awake. He wanted to linger in that state for as long as possible and cocoon himself in its ambiguities.

Halfway to day is a Billy Strayhorn expression, Carlton explained.

Alfonso wasn’t familiar with the jazz legend. Who is Billy Strayhorn? he asked. His cousin scowled and said, You better get an education, young man! That night, they listened to ‘Lush Life,’ ‘Chelsea Bridge,’ and other wonders.

-from p. 1, SIN AGAINST THE RACE

Lady Day’s powerful, intense blues seemed to best match Carlton’s story, so she became his heroine.

“‘Gloomy Sunday’ had filled Alfonso’s head during the service while the organist played anonymous dirges, dreck that failed to capture the complexities of Carlton’s life. His cousin often sought salvation from Billie’s bruised singing, ‘Gloomy Sunday,’ ‘Some Other Spring,’ ‘Good Morning Heartache,’ others.”

-from p. 10, SIN AGAINST THE RACE

Later we hear how Ahmad Jamal and McCoy Tyner influenced Sammy’s life.

Alfonso the dancer also likes electronic music–an influence of my sister Tania. When she was a kid, Mom called her Terpsichore. So it seems natural that Alfonso would listen to folks like Mocean Worker.

Music lived in my household growing up. All music. Jazz, classical, rock, folk, Indian, soul, R&B. My brother JK has a great love of prog rock, and introduced me to some of the genre. My brothers Louis and Robert play soul, jazz, and R&B. Tania sings as well as dances. Mom had a lovely voice. My father bought an LP with a Pt. Chatur Lal tabla solo on it long before I was born, much less started studying the instrument. He loved music, too, though did not perform any. Also, his penchant for quoting queer authors, like Isherwood, inspired my writing. In his understated way, he was letting me know that he was cool with me.

I wouldn’t be who I am today without these wonderful, eclectic people in my life. They made me who am I. So Sin Against the Race is a family effort, because my family is so a part me. I dedicate the book to all of them, and in particular to those who did not see the journey’s end.

© 2017, gar. All rights reserved.

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Alfonso’s Companions: Bill and Roy

[Part of a series of posts previewing the novel Sin Against the Race.]

In addition to meeting his late cousin’s friends, Alfonso meets two folks closer to his age: Bill Hawk and Roy Prince.

Before there was Alfonso R. Berry III, there was Bill Hawk, an 18-year-old freshman. In early drafts of Sin Against the Race, Bill was my major protagonist. SATR, in fact, started life as a short story where Bill, just coming to terms with his sexuality, witnesses a vicious gay bashing in the large park across from his family’s apartment. In that story, I wanted to contrast his joy at coming out with the fear he has that his new identity will mean new oppressions. One could say, accurately, that Bill’s experiences, as I first envisioned them, mirrored my own at that stage in my life.

Bill comes from a small town and moves to the big city to go to college. He goes to Alfonso’s family church as well as the same college. That’s how they meet, on the main drag on campus where student groups table.

“A young brother with a baby face came and stood at the table. He wore blue jeans and a black hoodie with a green shirt peeking from beneath. Alfonso thought he looked shorted than himself, but he had a stockier build, broader shoulders padded with muscles. The brother seemed particularly interested in the brochure about the tutorial program [the African Students Association] cosponsored with the Beacon Hill First Baptist Church.”

-from p. 24, SIN AGAINST THE RACE

Bill has some history. Early on, we find out that he had a boyfriend in high school, Gabriel. They had adventures of the sort I wish I had had in high school. Any crushes I had in high school I kept quite to myself, and never seemed destined to be reciprocated. Bill and Gabriel met in the locker room showers—a detail I had in earlier drafts, but does not appear in the final book. They were the only ones in the showers and Gabriel was clearly putting on a display, slowly rinsing himself off under the stream of water for Bill’s benefit. Gabriel gave Bill permission to pursue him, and Bill leapt at the chance, willingly allowing Gabriel “to guide them wherever imagination saw fit.”

Bill lives on the periphery of the closet—out to himself and a few select others. Alfonso finds a lot to admire in him.

Roy Prince doesn’t know what a closet is, other than a place to hold his fabulous wardrobe. We meet him when Alfonso sees him sitting on the bus.

“He looked taller, still skinny, still dressed sharp. He accented his outfit with a red vest, a silver feather earring on his left lobe, and a smallish black trilby cocked back, revealing his short red hair. Carlton described Roy as coming out of the womb with zero fucks to give, his first word likely a high-flung snap with lips pursed. He began hanging at Sammy’s as a precocious 10-year-old, with his mother’s blessing. He’d go with her shopping, then just stay there. She died when he was in middle school. With his father often away on long hauls in his truck, the whole village stepped in to raise this child of Carver Street.”

-from p. 17, SIN AGAINST THE RACE

An 18-year-old freshman like Bill, Roy is a theater major, having already done Shakespeare in high school. For Alfonso, the frustrated, wannabe dancer, who viewed Roy only from a distance, the thespian is a beacon of what his life could be. Alfonso sees Roy living life on his own terms, despite having a seemingly indifferent father who doesn’t appear to understand him. A condition Alfonso knows all too well.

© 2017, gar. All rights reserved.

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