Nelson Lowhim's Blog, page 81

Oh, Polin.

In the annals of our ape-history, there are few examples of any one institution (especially the less flexible ones) staying good for long. First up on the docket is the Catholic Church as it was in Poland or Polin. 

Read the following:

In recent months, more than 30 localities have passed legislation declaring their region free from “L.G.B.T. ideology.” A national conservative newspaper, Gazeta Polska, distributed stickers so people could designate “L.G.B.T.-free” zones, a stunt that drew a swift rebuke from the American ambassador to Poland, Georgette Mossbacher, and others and was later banned by a Polish court.A group in Warsaw called “Stop Pedophilia” has been traveling the country smearing gay people with baseless claims of abuse.

Yup. So signs/stickers with a crossed out LGBT flag  are ubiquitous in that nation now (note, driving back from Aushwitz, and elsewhere, I saw star of davids crossed out as well... so, you know, idiocy is still out there). And all this is the doing of the church which seems ready to look for enemies where there are none.

Two weeks before the march, Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda issued a letter that was read aloud in all churches in Bialystok and the surrounding province of Podlasie, asserting that gay pride events constituted “blasphemy against God.” He invoked a Latin phrase that was once the rallying cry of priests fighting for freedom against Communist rule. “Non possumus,” he wrote. “We cannot accept this!”

 Note the use of a word used against a totalitarian system [2]. Are they simply too used to looked for enemies where there are none? And if they are, why do so against those who are powerless? [3] Why invoke that which was used against a totalitarian system and use it against people who could use your help?
It really boggles the mind, this senseless cruelty. [4]
 But not as much as my own incredulity, I suppose. 
Still, I'm reading this book, Uncivil Society, [5] and how Poland had managed to keep quite the civil society going during communism (and this alone helped with its transition out of Communism). A large part of this was the Church. They provided spaces for people to be able to think and think outside of the uncivil society that was Communism. 
But now, I would venture, even if they are using the same language as before (and as a writer, I understand what language is: a tool) but are part of the uncivil society. What else could they be? Here's hoping some other kind of civil society (LGBQT etc) can grow in that country and in the face of growing authoritarianism around the world. [6]



[1] note that this same cabal that tried to take all rights from women in terms of abortion and is openly racist against refugees.  
[2] Though in Poland itself, the communism wasn't quite that bad as the rest of the Eastern block
[3] Note that the people in power who created the mob with their words are now backing off their previous statements and claiming they never wanted violence. But if you use such terms with the masses, what can you expect? So fuck them and their apology. Also fuck their Nazi/Commie-kind PR tactics {a}. Apparently if the appropriate flag of humanity is a boot's imprint on humanity's face that boot to the face also imprints the logic of boot on face thinking. Even to the face with a boot on it. 


          {a} Note even when they were pushing for banning all abortions (to include in the cases of a mother's life... so fuck that attempt at mass murder) they were pushing out subtle hints that life, "at all stages, even the very start", was precious. Even at my wife's grandfather's funeral.  
[4] Not that I'm saying the church was pure all through the Nazi occupations or vis a vis the Commies. Read this book on Jews in post-war Warsaw for a better understanding of the Polish people during that time and how they did blame the powerless, and rather easily, back then. But some things really don't change, do they? See the following quote from the Times:

Ms. Sztop-Rutkowska, a sociologist, said that as she was surrounded by thousands of angry protesters, perhaps the most chilling thing was that there were familiar faces in the howling crowd.“I recognized a former neighbor,” she said. “A friend recognized their doctor. A student of mine saw a counselor from her child’s school.”“One young girl from Warsaw came up to me and asked if she could stay with me,” Ms. Sztop-Rutkowska said. “She was so terrified she burst into tears.”

This so reminds me of what the book, The House at Ujazdowskie 16 mentioned: that one day they (Jews) were living in an idyllic
 
 [5] A great book, seriously. You should read it. I never knew it was essentially debt to Western Banks and the following austerity (sound familiar? Sound IMFish?) which led many Eastern block countries to fail? Guess that's my own ignorance. But though it shows mostly unorganized people protesting at the right time came to overturn the Commies (in different ways for each nation), we're seeing a lot of protests now used for vile ends (this one in Poland, mainly, right-wingers elsewhere too)

[6] It's not going to be easy, really. Especially with the control needed to embark on a proper program to defeat climate change. Sometimes I wonder if the wave of authoritarianism can be attributed to increasing heat. Of course we know an increase in heat can lead to more violence (and suicides, apparently). If that's the case, does that mean this is a cycle we cannot stop? We are truly damned if so.



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Above the Fray?

Well I commented on my discus about it, but might as well make some points of mine be known in the latest fight between the HIIC (POTUS) and four brave reps (4BR)[1]. Note that I'm not going to delve into the idea that Trump merely tweets to distract from bigger issues (like his r-ship with Epstein and other issues that loom bigger than his outrageous tweets). [2]
Still, reading this article over at the Times was depressing to say the least.  But I want to give my thoughts on this odd way of framing any discussion, especially when non-whites venture to say something the right doesn't like. Know that I don't think that "if you don't like it leave" is even relevant. Having come from the right wing myself, I am particularly aware of this and how it's essentially a kind of tic of white supremacy. (same with the signs I see on big trucks that state: if you don't like the US flag leave. Ok, but make it double so for those who wave the flag of treason known as the Confederate flag... oh wait, there's silence on that one from the right)
Take, for example, Trump himself. If his entire campaign wasn't a elongated complaint about America, I'm not sure what was. But that's the thing with many people on the right (some in the center too)... they are well aware of this hypocrisy, but they don't really give a fuck. They can complain all they want. It's fine. However, anyone they consider lower on the hierarchy of races better not complain. [3] Note some of the comments in that article:

“They happen to be black or colored,” Dennis Kovach, 82, said of the women, as he watered the lawn of his home near the lake this weekend. “But I don’t think that viewpoint is a racist viewpoint. I think it’s — quit the bitching, if you don’t like it, do something different about it.”

 I mean, these are house reps and they are trying to do something about it. In fact, that's their whole job is doing something afuckingbout it. But, of course, you wouldn't think that from hearing it from these people. What they mean to say is that don't complain if you're not white.

Which is absolutely disgusting and should be called what it is. [4] Of course, here on this blog you know I will.

What are your thoughts on any of this? [5]

[1] Given this country's history on attacking, in deadly ways, minorities who speak out, they are indeed brave. 
[2] This focus of the media on Trump's "palace intrigue" (as indeed our entertainment minded media is apt to do for even other presidents) rather than the substance is important. Nevertheless, the whole "go back to where you came from" directed at people of color is a large marker of white supremacy (three were born here, Obama received similar treatment with birtherism and we know plenty of whites who are as socialist who never get the same treatment..) and it points to how if things are outrageous enough they must be dealt with. So this is an example of yeah, you kinda have to pay attention.

Also note how Trump pretty much polls his words via reaction of the crowds... (this was said to be the main reason he chose "build that wall", it was because the crowd cheered the words). So when he tried each name, of course the most middle "American" sounding one (Presley) got no boos. Think on that. The people probably don't know anything about the women except they have foreign sounding names and are punching above their station... So the next day, Trump says three reps instead of four. Not surprising, is it? It's a game to him. A reality show. But it's dire for many.
[3] Now, I could write a book on the range of views on the right regarding race or simply how much money you have. I could definitely write about the change of tack from their view on the economy in 2016 to what it was the moment Trump got elected. IOW being a loud carnival barker works, unfortunately. There is no evidence (maybe you could say the stock market as  result of buybacks is doing better, but does that really get to everyone?). Also I should note that since this "fight" started, Trump as remained rock steady in polls and one could even say he went up slightly. 
[4] This goes for almost anything from people who try to call them Communists (like Graham, who also brought back the "never say anything bad about a president if he's GOP" trope I remember from Bush's days).
[5] Of course the article has some trope about communism and what not. Or socialism. I'm not sure such arguments are worth my breath. Remember anything the GOP doesn't like is just that. In the mean time CC continues apace and our death cult (yes, GOP is worse than ISIS at this point) continues to short circuit democracy to stay in power.

That being said, this "go back" if you're the wrong color and type is in full effect. Note that it was started in Obama's time but has now gone full crazy. Veterans are kicked out (some after being here for decades and having served their time). Trump is also going for naturalized citizens (almost always of color) in the civil courts because he doesn't have to prove intent of fraud. So, IOW, if some random person or your lawyer was sketchy, you'll get fucked. And look, I don't make the Nazi comparison lightly. In the end, there's much difference between Germany and here (much of the cruelty here is baked into the culture more so than in Germany, I'd say, and never forget the lead-addled minds of the older generation), but after reading Arendt, I remember distinctly the start of the Nazi program where they kicked out Jews who weren't German and did so gleefully. We're there now.
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Once upon a time (spoliers)

I wrote a short story that was meant to speak to violence that lingers in the air, that meant to speak to the logic of violence itself.  [1] Well not just any kinds of violence, though it touches on that. At the end, there's a moment with a manifestation and there we see something like a... well what exactly?


[1] I listened to the very short audiobook of it and loved every minute of it. Well, actually it gave me the chills as I relived the moment of gestation/creation for that piece and the emotion & thoughts that came with it.

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Nelson Algren and Me.

In my younger days of writing, I used to send out my novel manuscripts to many publishers. The usual reply, which I was never a fan of, was that they were good, but unmarketable. I'm not sure if I want to get into it here, but I really hated that reply more than the form rejections. The latter is thoughtless and you can only get so angry at it, while the former dangles a possibility in front of you which you cannot truly understand.



Fast forward to today and I've entered the Chicago Tribune's Nelson Algren's short story contest (please I want to win, though I haven't heard anything so maybe that's bad?) and now hearing more articles about this man who was forced into obscurity.

Now I'm wondering if that editor's comparison was a little too on the nose.

You see, I've just read Fink's book on the CIA and its incursion into the American literary world after WWII.

If ever you needed a reason to be paranoid, and maybe to blame the lack of your publishing success to some shady cabal, then this book will help you feed that beast within. From the start of The Paris Review, to the American lit world's need to act "apolitical"[2], you'll see how hidden forces have shaped our literary culture in many insidious ways.

For example, I always thought the "be apolitical and focus on the individual" American lit mantra to be a little banality that was the result of suburban ideology, but it would appear that there is more to it than we would think. [3] More than I thought, at least.

Algren himself was part of a blacklist whereupon his initial fame gave away to obscurity. [4] This New Yorker article really gets into it. He was followed by the FBI (the same one that drove Hemingway to suicide and also gaslit many other artists (oh you're just being paranoid, said many an agent/stool pigeon of theirs when in fact they were being followed). [5]

He final act was seeing the truth in the Hurricane framing for murder case and being sidelined once more.

I guess I'm writing about this because it only goes to confirm, against all that I hope, that being the bearer of truth conveys no rewards whatsoever. Especially if you're going up against the powers of the day.

And Algren? Well I'll be reading more of his work. It really does make more sense to do so today.




[1] Jargon is something I toy with, in terms of what I'll keep in a story. Sometimes it helps. Many times it doesn't.

[2] Always a facade since nothing is truly apolitical, though the book shows how the powers that be influence writing in America to act that way.

[3] The interplay of what's convenient to a person and how powers that be shape those positive/negative reinforcements is always at play.

[4] random aside: the man died 2 months after I was born.

[5] Also note that the FBI tried to drive MLK to suicide. Luckily the man had the wherewithal to prevent that.

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Art.

Some interesting pieces on art here. This guy manages to do something I wrote about. But ten years before I did. Of course, that's the beauty of much of contemporary art, in that the best of it really does help you to move out of the normal framing of what art and what you exactly are. (this list at the Times is truly worthwhile).


That's why, recently, I've been enjoying going to contemporary art museums over the older "classical" ones. Even when I went to places like Rome. I'd even say that those odes to Ceasar's of old or Rich families (medicis) no longer struck me as worthwhile (even if I understand their historical significance).

Many people act shocked. But it really is usually more interesting (especially once you've gained some knowledge about the past) to see what contemporary artists are doing (even if most are not detached from the same powerful forces as previous artists had to bow to). That latter link is an example of why.



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Polin.

Wrote something over at Medium. [1] Went to Warsaw, saw many things,but the Polin (Jewish) museum was the best thing there. Absolutely nuts (and I still haven't absorbed it all) to see how much culture and humanity was basically destroyed so quickly. A history of the world, of course, but it really does show where hate can lead.






[1] yes a little hypocritical of me, given that I've said that I would not create much for them. But give it a quick look as it's quite short and just a section of thoughts.

[2] Note, for anyone caring, Obama started up quite a few of these camps. But, OFC, Trump is taking his cruelty to new levels because his supporters want cruelty. They want to ethnically cleanse this country. Thus they were willing to protest brown children coming over here unaccompanied. Do you understand how evil that is? Children fleeing war-like conditions (mainly of our own making) and they wanted them back in the fire rather than to lend them a hand. I will say, as an atheist, that this is mainly done by Xtians makes me laugh, because that's the loudest kind of "fuck Jesus" they could ever yell out loud. 

[3] Ok, the Holocaust Museum has a point that not everything can be compared to the Holocaust and the death camps. But they can certainly be compared to concentration camps because that's what they are.  So too can the language of the right be compared to fascist statements/actions (like only highlighting immigration crimes etc etc)

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More from the annals of an amoral Hemisphere.

Who here remembers Je seus and Hebdo? well I do. I especially remember the likes of the center-left (probably most are in the #resistance right now) joining hands against the specter of brown people who scare them and claiming to be hardcore on free speech. Wonder what they think of this? Note the reaction to the artist when he's sticking his finger at Putin. Then notice how it changes when he points at the powers here in the West. 
Wonder where the free speech absolutists will be on this one? 

edit: Read this piece over at the LRB on the refugee issue, how Europe has turned the crisis into a market for slaves and turned the Mediterranean sea into a graveyard for ~14,000 Africans. Note that Europe with its Empire-lite is certainly to blame for much of the chaos (nevermind climate chaos and what that is doing to Africa). Act accordingly people. Donate to RAICES and other places that help.
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A Messi Moment. (what will happen in the Copa America?)

he will hit the crossbar, it bounces back, knocks him out and rolls, very slowly (very slowly, it takes 30 seconds before it crosses the line), back in. after 50 minutes of VAR deliberation, they call it a goal.

Messi still knocked out. Maradona is in the stands beating his chest in anguish, a soulmate is down and though he has no words to describe this, he does have the power of his raw, cocaine-fueled, emotion.

Argentina are in the final. Down 5 goals with 7 minutes of stoppage Messi comes to. He doesn't remember anything. Not his life, not the game of soccer. So he plays like a toddler for a minute. People start booing him. Especially his teammates who pass it to him at every chance they get.
The next minute he starts to pick up the pace. feints past a defender. 1-5.

And he gets better. Dribbles by 2 defenders. 2-5.

Passing anything we've ever seen he keeps improving. You can't see it on TV but a warm glow emits from the recently risen. The Stadium is quiet. All TV announcers at the game are quiet too. Something is in the air. He steals the ball. dribbles past 10 defenders. 3-5.

4-5.

The silence is deafening. An American drone has metadata that Messi is the one who will topple all Empires, but especially the Empire. Dribbling past 11 players, and through a hellfire missile, Messi ties it up, 5-5.

6-5 is a formality, as all the players and fans bow to the one.
Ronaldo runs out to hug him. This is the last soccer game. Next the last shall be the first and the first shall be the last.


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I'm Bigger than the Beatles

You mean as famous? No, as in I'm big in Liverpool right now. And note that they just won the Champions League just when I became big there. Coincidence? I think not. 






Any how, Professor Seed, thanks for the Liverpool love, and as you can imagine, I'm sure the good times will continue to roll in that city. And for those who are curious, check out Ministry of Bombs . Sure, it's 6 years old, but trust me when I say that it's still damn relevant. 
Actually, you know what? There's no need to go to Amazon. You can get the ebook here, in any form. And, while I'm still at it, why don't you enjoy this moment and use this coupon to get it for one dollar:
AM87T
Man, Christmas came twice this year, didn't it? Well enjoy and let me know your thoughts, did the professor get it right?


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Conspiracies in the World Today.

Just when you think you have the world figured, you see something like the above review for Chomsky's latest book Who Rules the World? 



So I go to the library to look at Chomsky's latest (which my BIL read and enjoyed). And I see this review. Look, I expected that someone would call Chomsky unpatriotic etc etc, and perhaps even anti-American (whatever the fuck that means) [2].

But this tack was interesting to say the least (see that there are enough coincidences about Chomsky Koch etc to make you think... huh)[3] and I know that Hersh mentions being blamed in a similar fashion in his great memoir.[4]

This "you're a CIA plant" comes from issue with Kennedy's assassination which seems to have been a refuge for many people of that generation. [5] Look there is much to wonder about this moment, to include the fact that much has not been revealed about the assassination (wasn't there supposed to be an declassification of those files and investigations?).

So there you have the lack of information and people needing some hope and boom, anyone who doesn't side with them for the conspiracy that JFK was killed by the CIA and you have something like conspiracies getting out of hand.

Your thoughts?



[1] Unfortunately you don't get a link because that veteran blog website is down. Yeah I'm devastated too. Note that some of the main points for the piece were that the conspiracies especially from the sections of our population with some level of power are very much underhanded. Why worry about chem trails from planes when minority communities are suffering from very real pollution from planes? Why worry about fluoride in your water when poor children (black children for the most part) are suffering from lead in their water? Is it a combination of racism and the need for more power? (and not quite being high up in the societal ladder and wanting to silence the minorities from complaining?). A million forces at play, certainly, but which ones are important? You tell me?

[2] Like the above issue in 1, there are a few things at play when it comes to the loudest section of 'Murika yelling. Most give an actual fuck about the nation or the people in it and only care about some tribal aspect of it. See black people kneeling to protest being shot broad day etc etc.

[3] But like many conspiracies it doesn't provide a proper model. How does Koch undermining voting rights and Climate Chaos prevention line up with anything that Chomsky says?

[4] by Oliver Stone, no less. I met him at a VFP conference and I enjoyed his talking quite a bit. Shame to hear him speak in this manner.

[5] It has something to do with the Vietnam war, certainly, but perhaps people aren't/weren't willing to see that the entire edifice of American government (to include JFK) were for such a war? Because JFK definitely was. I know that in some reaches of the internet (reddit etc) people claim on every new President's brief by those in power, they are met by the CIA who then says that we killed JFK, don't fuck with us...

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