When whitey dies people listen

Check here for background and context.

Brad Will was an anarchist journalist, he was murdered on the barricades in Oaxaca last week. On the day Brad was killed so were two other people: a teacher, Emilio Alonso Fabián, from the Los Loxicha region; and a neighborhood resident named Esteban López Zurita. The conflict in Oaxaca has been boiling for years and jumped up in the past five months. Predictably Brad's murder inspired a lot of action back in the states, most of which recognized Brad's role as a journalist and as such an observer of and interloper in the struggle. The vast majority of "movement" press (by "movement" press I mean everything left of Democracy Now!) covered this story well, parsing Brad's long history as an activist from the situation in Oaxaca, and using the personal angle presented by Brad's murder by state agents as a hook for interest in the long term fight in Oaxaca.

Almost as predictably there has been a backlash against the percieved lionizing, and in some cases even remembering or honoring Brad's life and work. You see Brad is white and american, and if there is something that the american left has always been good at it is a ass-backwards understanding of white privilege. If Brad was a frat boy who died at a donkey show in TJ, this would be easy to lay to rest. But Brad was a committed life long activist. So how do we define him? By what he choose to do with his life? Or by some accidents of birth? How do we address the privilege that he did enjoy? Was it something he used to expose the system that provided it? Or was it something he unconsciously ignored? And how do we use the conversations sparked by his murder? Do we castigate the "stupid white kids" who didn't know anything about Oaxaca before this? Do we rail against the system of power and privilege that gave Brad the ability to travel and be a witness and journalist?

One thing about white supremacy and white privilege is it's perniciousness, everyone is fucked up by it and most aren't consciously aware of it. When something like Brad's murder happens it is an opportunity to expose white power and white privilege. When whitey dies people notice. I don't think it is crass or exploitative to take advantage of that, it's pragmatic. Also to not call attention to Brad's death and Brad's life and Brad's work and Brad's struggle because Brad was/is white is just about the most misdirected confused conflation of the personal and the political that I can think of. It's almost as dumb as me refusing to go to college because I would be taking advantage of my privilege, I can guarantee you that no oppressed person got my vacancy at where ever it was I didn't go to college, I can also guarantee that the spot went to some soulless dot comer. Yes all the martyrs in Oaxaca (and everywhere else) deserve every bit of attention Brad is going to get, no Palestinian should have to live in Rachael's shadow either, and no tree in Judi's. But we are damaged by the world we have come into, we often don't see things until they happen to someone "like" us, and if Brad's death can get one latte sipping hipster to examine white privilege, to think about international solidarity, to realize that their ease and privilege is directly related to exploitation and extraction abroad and at home, then I'll happily show his work to them.

While I agree that challenging systemic white supremacy and white privilege is crucial, and resolving it's interpersonal damage is imperative, I think expecting inexperienced folks who's first exposure to the situation in Oaxaca is the state sponsored murder of an anarchist journalist who happens to be a white american to spontaneously understand that their sympathy and empathy for Brad should also be felt for everyone else on the ground in Oaxaca forgets what white supremacy does to white people, they don't have to think about it, it's the norm. Relationships and consciousness that can be built from people's gut empathy is where this kind of critical analysis can be useful. An approach of "he was a white guy, forget about him" is a bit cock-eyed. That approach ignores reality. In the grossest terms: reality is that white americans only pay attention to the deaths of white americans. To expect that to change without there being a countervailing norm (like one that honors all life, or a broad movement of international solidarity) forgets the work we have to do. We have to change peoples minds. I don't mean issue based arm twisting, I mean we have to change the way people think, the values they base their decisions on, their view of the world around them. Brad did that work, everyday as far as I can tell. And somebody better fucking say so.

If we don't recognize the exceptional path Brad took, we are saying there was nothing special about it. If we don't recognize the exceptional end of his life, we are saying there was no value in it. If we forget his contribution we are doing everything we can to undo it.

troublemakers

troublemakers
Originally uploaded by general grumpypants.

you know, I can't possibly describe how awesome it feels to have friends and friendships that survive the most heinous self-inflicted nihilism.

nudity

nudity
Originally uploaded by general grumpypants.

for our last show Jon got naked, Tom got hand cramps, I got a sinus infection, Muhammad was unaffected by anything, and we all had a fucking great time

black box is over

My band of the past 6 or 7 years (I really don't remember if it was 99 or 2000 when we started) is done. We are playing our last show on June 11th at the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma. The show is a book release party for Flowers In The Sidewalk a book about a rather notorious punk house at 714 Humboldt in Santa Rosa. You should come out the show starts at 5pm, and Black Box's set could be one of the most socially uncomfortable experiences of your life. It's not often that one can witness a rock-n-roll meltdown 6 or 7 years in the making.

A day with 10,000 immigrants

The local daily gives the cop head count for today at 7,500. Typically I double the cop number, but today I'm amiable or they are only 2500 from honest. So let's call it 10,000.

I posted this over at indybay, and it'll have to do for now, cuz I'm pooped. I'll ramble more later about the organizing model, which I'd compare to the famous March on Washington.

that immigration thing

To even enter into the fray of the current immigration debate I'd have to:

1) accept that borders are anything more than imaginary lines
2) pretend that people who are walking distance from a better life won't walk to a better life
3) pretend that language and culture determine the intrinsic worth of humans
4) pretend that the "labor market" is anything more than some made up bullshit to keep poor people fighting each other

if you want me to get more in depth I'd point here.Not that victor speaks for me, but he's plenty smart.

oh and my brother made this poster

denying Hersh

Seymour Hersh has stirred up a bit of troule with this. The vigor with which it is being denied, has me thinking he's onto something. Without a doubt there is contingency planning that includes the possibility of nuking Iran. But there is also contingency planning for invasion from Canada.

What is most distrubing about the discussion of Hersh's writing is the use of "we," reporters and journalists refering to US military plans and planners as "we" says volumes about what is happening in the US today.

back?

I've been busy, new house, new dog, new job. But my brother insists that I have "important" things to say. I think I just say them prettier than him. So I'll be saying them more often.

I have been thinking about spinning off another somthing and calling it "myjackassneighbor.com" sort of a crack head tinkerer version of all those revenge photo sites. This is definately not very important.

I am working on a piece about the hip-hop reniansance that is threatening to break loose this summer. 3 new Public Enemy records in 12 months, plus 2 greatest hits records, maybe a Flav solo record, a DVD concert and video retrospective, and double CD audio documents of the Nation of Millions and Fear of a Black Planet era's. Ice Cube is putting out his first solo record in 6 years, he's squashed the Don Mega persona, the lyrics for the first two singles remind me of Amerikkka's Most Wanted era, in other words a good resurgence of his attitude, politics and intellect. Plus Caitlin's bringing me a promo of the new Coup record as I type. Guerilla Funk continues to release great records at a break neck pace. All in all promising developments.

"excited delirium" or "jackasses unable to correctly state facts"

The local daily has once again made it's readers dumber or angrier, depending on their subjective disposition. In this article about "excited delirium", a new rationalization for police murder, Derek J. Moore states that "excited delirium,' a controversial medical condition marked by extreme agitation that has been blamed for at least one Sonoma County death and dozens more nationwide." The local case he's talking about is the Dec. 7 murder of Michael Tolosko. Tolosko was killed by police, not a panic attack, not methamphetamine, but 3 consecutive Taser shots, which rendered him unconscious,the police then hog tied him with maximum restraint cord. The coroner lists the cause of death as "cardio-respiratory arrest", considering this was the result of a struggle followed by binding, any coroner who knew his trade and had a shred of conscience would call it homicide. If I shocked someone until they were unconscious and then tied them up and left them restrained even though they were unable to breathe, what would you call it?

Excited delirium is just a pseudo-medical excuse for cops to hide behind. "Suicide by cop" has obvious troubles gaining traction in the granola covered hills of Sonoma County, so some pencil pusher at the Sheriff's Department or Coroner's office dug up some crap about "excited delirium" and forwarded it to Mr. Moore, and Moore gets to play reporter. This oozes bullshit, especially when the surviving family has been cut out of the discussion, Tolosko's mother called the police for help and ended up with a dead kid.