Peace, love, and dopes

A while back I was sent this online training by Move.on for the 99% Spring.  There is the call for non-violent action, training tips on how not to appear threatening, how to peacefully capture the attention of the powers that be, etc., etc.

Frankly, it's a whole hell of a lot of hogwash.

To be blunt, I had a lot of hope for the Occupy Movement, but unfortunately, it was misplaced.  The Occupy Movement is already done.  I think it's really great that here and there they are keeping folks from being foreclosed upon or that they're disrupting shareholder meetings with valid questions, but in the end, it's been about as effective as stopping a flurry of bullets by swinging a baseball bat at them.  You might get lucky and hit one or two, but in the end, you're going to lose.

The powers that be seemed to have little trouble dispatching the Occupy Movements in numerous cities.  As we're seeing right now in Wisconsin (I hope I'm wrong, but I have a feeling this movie is not going to have a happy ending--in fact, I think we're going to lose so bad that it's going to be an embarrassment of major proportions), them that has the gold makes the rules.  Last month's Liberal darling, Ilya Sherman, went down quite easily in Illinois.  This month's, Norman Saloman, is well behind in California. 

Digby noted earlier this week that we're fighting an uphill battle--the truth is, as much as we might not like it, most American just don't hold Liberal views. Don't think so?  House republicans passed a budget that cut 25% from aid for the poor to not have to cut defense spending (where we spend more than the rest of the world combined)--and the outrage, except among the usual suspects (Digby, Daily Kos, Think Progress, etc.) has been exactly where?  David Atkins posits that part of it might be that we Liberals just don't do as good of a job as consevatives of appealing to the masses' hearts.  It may be the massive amounts of money being made by the powers that be--corporations are showing record profits and CEOs have reached a point where the average worker would have to work 244 years to make what American CEOs make in one year.  That kind of money can't just buy material goods beyond the pale, but people's votes and opinions, too.  I'm sure it doesn't help that major media outlets are no longer forces for the greater good (or journalism for that matter) but businesses with managers instead of writers.   How else to explain The Detroit News and The Detroit Free Press both writing editorials within days of each other extolling the urgency of fixing Social Security now, when, even if the economy stays this bad (highly unlikely) we can pay full benefits for the next twenty fucking years.

In addition to the 99% Spring, I was also treated to this post linked by Digby as being a vital read on what should be our election strategy.  Don't get me wrong--the writer makes a lot of good points concerning stealing republican tactics like winning at the local level, taking over the Democratic Party, and being cutthroat with errant members.  In the end, though, the piece is basically an advertisement for Norman Saloman, who sounds like he would be a wonderful member of the House, but unfortunately we need about 175 more of him and about 40 more of Bernie Sanders in the Senate, and one President, to boot.  Meanwhile, in the light years it will take to accomplish this, more and more of the middle class will find the American dream farther and farther out of reach, and for the poor it will become like trying to take a flying leap and landing on the moon.

Whatever can we do?

The first thing we can do is give up on the whole "What's so Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding?" strategy.  Non-violent action worked wonderfully for Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. because there was a solid base of rational people that could be won over to counterbalance those that couldn't be.  Frankly, right now in America, Sarah fucking Palin would draw 45% of the vote for President even though she has as much business being President as Tom Thumb does of being the starting center for the Los Angeles Lakers.  And with the amount of money being tossed around on campaigns, it's not so hard to find a willing media and a few more percentage points on any issue or candidate (Willard Romney being a fine example--as brutal as he is as a candidate for the Presidency of the United States it's nothing short of amazing it's even a race).  Fuck this turning the other cheek--when we get slapped we need to respond with an elbow to their fucking teeth (or, like Sean Connery in The Untouchables, "...the Chicago way.").  Second, it's the economy, the economy, the economy--we spend far too much time gnashing our teeth over saving the planet, gay marriage, or the advantages of being a vegan.  They are all noble goals, they help keep the base together...but honestly, if it comes down to eating Elsie or putting your kids through college, which one wins?  And that comes to our last one--winning hearts.  I see all kinds of well written, fantastically logical, faultlessly researched pieces...zzzzz.  Hell, I'm a believer and I skim or completely skip so many of them because they just don't grab me--how the hell do you suppose those on the fence are going to react?

In the end, though, the only way we'll win is to go medieval on their asses.  Guillotine a few Wall Street bankers, execute a few hedge fund managers, and we'll be amazed at how quickly sharing their wealth won't seem like such a burden.  Marie Antoinette didn't go down in history as a hero for her "let them eat cake" quip.  She ended up on the wrong end of a sharp blade, and a lot of people were a lot better off for it.

Peace,
emaycee