Author: Nanette

[Note]: This diary is the next installment of 10 Stories the World Should Hear More About as identified by the United Nations for 2006, a Booman Tribune Group Project suggested and coordinated by ManEegee. For further information see Group Project: 10 Most Underreported Stories.

I have had a hard time starting this piece – why, I don’t know, as I’ve been thinking about it for weeks. Even this morning I’ve torn paper after paper out of the typewriter, balling them up and throwing them on the floor. Well, metaphorically… in reality I just clicked delete which, while it may be quicker and cleaner, does not give quite the same satisfaction. This version I will muddle through with, regardless.

Perhaps I felt the problem was too big… taking the vast expanse of desert, the endless horizon of an ocean, the leaves on a thousand trees and trying to capture it all in a teaspoon. And it is that, to be sure. Big, I mean. Huge. Mammoth.

Stand anywhere in the world, and turn in any direction you wish and you’ll be facing towards uprooted lives, traumatized children, shoes whose soles have been worn thin from walking, walking, always on the move; bloodied hands that have been shredded by grasping barbed wire – and still they grip, attempting to pull it open; tongues hanging from mouths, white and parched, not even enough moisture left to wet the lips; a slice of bread that is the meal of the day, split among four; labored breathing, wide eyes and backward glances, hearts pounding, shushing the children as they try and hang on with little hands made slick with fear. On the move, on their way, to where some have no idea, but they hope when they get there someone will let them in.

I realized, however, that the problem is also very small, easy to understand, childs play to grasp. Clear, simple, basic and elemental, yet intricate – the percussion of one raindrop hitting the surface of the water.

Sanctuary.

Since the beginning of time, when there is war, when there is no more food, when there is death or disease threatening, people have packed up what they could, left the rest to maybe never be seen again, grabbed their children and gone on the move.

It makes sense, of course, to get out of the danger areas. There are other reasons too – bombs masquerading as food packets, lessons taught from the barrel of a gun, your young children stolen in the night, or even in broad daylight, by competing factions. Your son forced to carry water, bedding or arms; to learn to shut off all feeling and kill or maim indiscriminately; your daughter to cook, to carry arms and to be repeatedly raped until she is tossed aside like trash, to live or die.

Some uninvited guests never arrive without company.

There are individuals, groups and organizations that, before the echo of the first shot fades, it sometimes seems, also pack up and start out for some semi-safe spot to make the first catch of the invariable detritus of war, famine, epidemics – broken lives and broken people. I’ve often thought that in order to really know what is going on in the world, that these are the people to watch. They hear things we don’t, see things coming that we don’t know about til they’ve passed us, if then… they need to – in order to provide the first relief, to set up the first sanctuary, temporary shelter until things calm down. Although as I’ve grown older and more cynical, I’ve wondered if part of the job of some of them was not also to halt people in their tracks.

People are soooo tired of those seeking asylum (pdf), everywhere, it seems. Governments have fortified themselves, or even changed hands entirely -usually to the right wing, on the strength of keeping people out. Of course, creative marketing is sometimes needed to allow people to feel better about this… refugees and asylum seekers become "queue jumpers", "illegals" and "invaders" (or sometimes citizens and residents become "refugees", ala Katrina). Still, unavoidably, a few slip through. And still more await.

And you know what I noticed, while looking at picture after picture of interrupted lives, whether by war or by disaster, by acts of nature or acts of humans? They all look alike. Really.

Oh, they have different skin colors, different clothes, each has individual features and cultural artifacts… some may come from the city, some from a rural area, have different professions… teacher, banker, student, farmer, caregiver, mother, sports figure, many things… but they all have the same look. I don’t know how to describe it… not waiting, exactly, because I am not sure waiting has any meaning anymore for some of them. Not hope, although I am sure that is part of it. Maybe it’s simply… I am present, I think, but that is all I can say for sure. Even the children have it:

What do we do? At the moment, we tweak aside the curtains of our world to peer for a moment at the mass of humanity on the move, just outside, before we pull them tightly closed again and head for our own sanctuaries – the garden, office or study, the kitchen to check on the roast – pausing along the way to turn up the sound on the TV or stereo lest we accidentally hear the plea of those walking, walking, always on the move, for the scraps from our table. The richer we are, as a country, the more we have to share, the less inclined we seem to want to do so. Or sometimes, some think we already do share, in great amounts, because of rhetoric and myth.

Racism is a huge part of it, of course, but not the only part. Some of it is fear… fear of not having enough, especially when sometimes our own lives appear to be teetering on the edge – quite purposely so, if you ask me, as it benefits governments to have an insecure (but not too insecure), and thus fairly compliant populace.

There is so much more to this story… it will never all be told, and as long as there are wars, famines and upheavals, it will never end. In many cases, we are being overtaken by the shadows cast years ago which are only just now, in this time of increased mobility and knowledge, drawing over us. For the forseeable future; for years to come, someone will always be at the door seeking sanctuary.

What will we do?

Further reading

Stranded

Refugee Action: Challenging the Myths (UK)

Right wing nationalism. Racism. Xenophobia. Exceptionalism. Paranoia. Militarism. Chicken and egg. Call and response.

Old familiar stories, far too often told, and no less disconcerting when the tales are being woven within the pages of a book labeled “Progressive”. In fact, in my case, it is more so. There is that sense of dissonance one feels when you think you are grabbing on to one thing and it turns out to be something else entirely.

I have long been concerned at the coalescing of activists, political factions and so on around being anti-Iraq invasion, war and occupation – in other words, anti this war – with little or no discussion of what else binds them together. As we’ve seen lately… in some cases, not a lot. Or, at least, not enough. I am not actually adverse to such temporary coalitions – with full knowledge. I’ve found it best to not only know who you are walking with, but who, in turn, is walking with you.

So. Anti-American.

That’s a term that has been bandied about a lot here recently, from the top down. So, I’m wondering… what does that mean to people? To be “Anti-American”? I’ll point out some things, but it’s far from an exhaustive list.

For some it seems to mean being anti-US Military. Or, it may be better said, anti some interpretations of how one apparently must view the U.S. military, in order to avoid being anti-American.

Leftists who don’t believe in, or justify in any way, American Exceptionalism also apparently qualify as anti-American.

Let’s see… who else. Ah, peace activists. If you believe in ‘never war, there are always better ways to do things’, and that respecting human rights and social justice can and will lead to peace, apparently you are also anti-American.

And, of course, if you are non American and are any combination of the above, you are definitely anti-American.

I am of the view that this sort of language, especially arising as it has been out of militarism, is far from benign, and is usually calculated to bring about a result. There is a reason the right (and sometimes left) wing uses demonization and nationalistic language time after time after time. Because it works… every single time. Although, thankfully, not on every single person.

I’ve considered keeping silent, but I think nationalism, especially arising out of militarism, is way too dangerous a product to be left sitting like the elephant in the room. Instead of staying in the one place you put it, it tends to sprawl out, taking up residence here and there, knocking over lamps, crushing knick-knacks underfoot and in general is not a very pleasant houseguest. Brushing it under the rug also seems to have little effect.

Others no doubt know far more history than I do, but I can’t think of any time when such language and sentiments as have been being thrown about, followed to their conclusion (or even just on the way to it), have been harmless and beneficial.

Besides, I’m curious. I want to know what is going on… it’s not just here, either. I know that as things head into electoral season, the tendency of those concentrated on ‘electability’ is to swing to the right (although usually not with such neck wrenching speed). Am not exactly sure why as, as far as I can tell, that has not been much of a winning strategy.

Or maybe it’s just the frayed nerves from all the messes going on around the world… and after all, someone must be to blame.

Whatever, I tend to ask questions when I don’t understand something, and what has been going on around and about lately I really don’t understand. So, what is going on?

I think the media is learning a lesson in that.

I’m not really sure why the media decided to hook themselves to the Bush wagon in the run up to the 2000 election – maybe they were bored with Gore (or figured he wouldn’t provide nearly as much material as Bush); maybe they were leaning over backwards to show that they really weren’t the “Liberal media”. Whatever the reason, many seem to have decided to take a pass on real reporting, even before they entered into their post-9/11 prostration. After 9/11… gah! unspeakable.

Still, even then there were some reporters who were going to do their jobs and hold power accountable, even if their corporate bosses weren’t too happy about it. Some, such as the New York Times, were perfectly willing to not only acquiesce to publishing total spin, through Judy Miller, but acceded to White House requests that they withhold stories that detailed this administrations illegal operations. (An exception to supine corporate bosses would be the Knight-Ridder corp – one of the few media organizations that pretty consistently did real investigative reporting and asked questions in the run-up to the war – but gosh, darn, for some reason it all of a sudden became imperative to the stockholders that this media organization be sold and broken up. And so it was.)

I have a feeling that some of this was in the form of an attempted inoculation… no doubt the press corps, more than most, knew the type of people who are inhabiting the White House. The stories that have made it through – on Abu Ghraib tortures, “renditions”, illegal wiretapping, excessive secrecy, corruption and more, are appalling. One can’t help but wonder what things are going on that we don’t yet know about. What ever it is… the Bush admin really, really doesn’t want us to find out.

So what, in the land of the free and the home of the brave, do you do when the press that you thought you had cowed and compliant, that knew their place, decides to start digging and keep digging?

Why, you threaten to prosecute them as spies, of course, under the Espionage Law.

Adam Liptak reports, in The New York Times:

(more on the other side)

Earlier administrations have fired and prosecuted government officials who provided classified information to the press. They have also tried to force reporters to identify their sources.

But the Bush administration is exploring a more radical measure to protect information it says is vital to national security: the criminal prosecution of reporters under the espionage laws.

Such an approach would signal a thorough revision of the informal rules of engagement that have governed the relationship between the press and the government for many decades. Leaking in Washington is commonplace and typically entails tolerable risks for government officials and, at worst, the possibility of subpoenas to journalists seeking the identities of sources.

But the Bush administration is putting pressure on the press as never before, and it is operating in a judicial climate that seems increasingly receptive to constraints on journalists.

[…]

Because such prosecutions of reporters are unknown, they are widely thought inconceivable. But legal experts say that existing laws may well allow holding the press to account criminally. Should the administration pursue the matter, these experts say, it could gain a tool that would thoroughly alter the balance of power between the government and the press.

[…]

In February, Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, asked Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales whether the government’s investigation into The Times’s disclosure of a National Security Agency eavesdropping program included “any potential violation for publishing that information.”

Mr. Gonzales responded: “Obviously, our prosecutors are going to look to see all the laws that have been violated. And if the evidence is there, they’re going to prosecute those violations.”

Recent articles in conservative opinion magazines have been even more forceful.

“The press can and should be held to account for publishing military secrets in wartime,” Gabriel Schoenfeld wrote in Commentary magazine last month.

There is much more, including discussion of the 1917 and 1950 laws that might be manipulated for this purpose (remember, Ashcroft had Greenpeace activists – I think it was – charged under some ancient, obscure “sailormongering” law), as well as the link between the recent arrests of the AIPAC lobbyists and the possible prosecution of journalists under that same law.

Much as I deplore what some in the media have become, (and would like to thumb my nose at them and sneer “suckers!”), this would be an unbelievably dangerous development, akin to places we usually regard as being “third world” countries, or totalitarian regimes. Even before this, Reporters Without Borders put US press freedom at #44 (on US territory… in Iraq it is #137)… below Italy (where the recently booted out Prime Minister owned much of the press), Bosnia, Mali and El Salvador.

I have a friend who was a member of one of the anti-Milosevec youth groups, and who watched as that country sank into totalitarianism. He no longer is shocked or surprised at some of the parallels here in the US… he just shakes his head and worries.

What’s that again about “It can’t happen here”?

crossposted from Stalking Sunlight, HB mag’s blog

I had a strange, dissonant experience this morning – that led to a thought, a discovery and a question.

I’m on the U.S. west coast, so by the time my day begins the rest of the nation and the world has gotten quite a head start on murder, mayhem and natural disasters. Consequently, I try to avoid watching the news first thing when I get up, as too often I’m staring bleary-eyed at some horrific scene, sipping coffee and trauma and trying to get my sleep fogged brain to absorb whatever it is that is happening on the screen. Much easier to do after second cup of coffee, so even though my old mom already has the network news on in the living room when I wake up, I’ve been pretty successful at just sitting in the kitchen and tuning it out until I am ready.

This morning, however, as I wandered into the kitchen to get my first cup, out of the corner of my eye I caught the scene on the TV… people being rounded up and herded into buses. My stomach immediately dropped and I moved closer, trying to figure out what was going on. I heard only snippets – “… illegal immigrants… thousands… arrested… managers charged… ” because my mom, who was thoroughly appalled, was at the same time trying to tell me what was happening – “It’s going on all over the country! They are arresting them!”. Oh jeeze, I thought, what fresh hell, etc?

(there’s more on the flip)
The segment ended and I still had no clear idea of what was going on, so I did what any self respecting news junkie would do… I got online and went immediately to the news and blog sites, sure that it would be the talk of the town. NY Times first. Nothing. Washington Post. Nothing. Of course the LA Times would have something… nope. Tried a few blogs… nothing. Hmmm… so okay, either what I saw wasn’t what I thought I saw… or… well I wasn’t really awake enough to think of an or.  

Finally I went to google news, put in “immigrants”, and found out about the raids at the IFCO plants, a Netherlands based firm, carried out by the DHS across the country. Quite obviously a political ploy (that has very real consequences for the people affected) in an attempt to raise Bush’s very dismal poll numbers. So… bad, but not nearly as bad as I thought.

You realize, of course, what I was thinking? Exactly. I’ve been haunted by these articles by Duke and Jeanne since reading them. (I wondered at the time if they were going to start with visibly Asian people as a sort of testing of the waters, considering the past). I also realized, when I was watching that segment that not only do I believe that it’s not a matter of if, but when… and that when the if happens… I don’t have a plan. I am not even sure what a plan would consist of, and this worries me.

I recently discovered that the fair grounds in my area had been used as a sort of holding station/way station for those on their way to the actual concentration camps. Like so much of US history, it’s been been covered over with flags and laughter and happy thoughts…but the ghosts remain. It’s all very well to declare “This can’t happen here again”, and to point to the apologies to the Americans of Japanese descent, and the acknowledgement of the injustices visited on them by our government and to a supposedly enlightened and changed populace, but… well, I just don’t buy it.   And I’ve noticed that in many cases, all you have to do is change the target (preferably after constant demonizing and dehumanization), and many tend to fall right into line because this is not that… this is something different. Find the right hook and even some who consider themselves staunch liberals get dragged over to find “common cause, just for this”.

 So… I live in California. We have something like 3 million unpapered Americans here, of various nationalities. Quite likely some of them are my neighbors. Or their families. And I really don’t have a clue what to do if some government agency starts disappearing them into “internment camps”, because they are “illegals”, and we must “protect our borders” and follow “the rule of law”. Oh, and “respect authority”.

At some point we’re all going to be required to make a stand, one way or another, and while I know I’ll stand on the side of the oppressed… I don’t know exactly what it is I will do, what will be the most effective.

I wasn’t alive at the time of the internment of the Japanese, and even if I had been I would have been a non-person myself, and so not had much power to change things. I am alive now, however, and while still not all that powerful I do have a voice and a vote and no doubt other resources that I’ve not thought of. I just don’t have a plan.

What is your plan?

crossposted at   Human Beams – Stalking Sunlight blog

I’ve always loved that saying “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Such a simple thing it seems, taking that first step, no matter where you are heading on that thousand mile journey.

Me, I think taking the next step is harder.

It’s very easy to get stuck on that first step and think you are done, that you’ve gone as far as you can, and even to imagine that you’ve gone farther than you have. In the context of a progressive society, however, we can look around at the renewed push to oppress women worldwide, even where we thought some battles were already won; the never ending siphoning off of some societies resources and the resultant disease, hunger and death; the rise of right wing political groups who trade on fear of Others, and their increased political support; the continuing ravaging of our environment by politicians and governments that speak out of one side of their mouths and do out of the other – we look at all these things and realize… we’ve not come nearly far enough.

So, my next step (which I’ve been putting off)… attempting to change the debate at the ground level, as well as at the top. To this end, I (and my friend and business partner, Arin) have started The Progressive Focus Center. It actually came into being last year, but while the framework was there, it was not well thought out enough – instead of phasing, I tried to start everything at once and just wound up confusing everyone ;). So, instead… here is phase one:

First thing to know – it’s not a blog. Well… not exactly. While it is in blog format (and does have a community blog) the vast majority of the site is a group of think tanks… people powered, community run. But not a blog in the sense of being concentrated on essays and breaking news – all of which I do love and spend too much time reading – but more of taking what is said, proposed and thought of on various blogs (and elsewhere) and seeing where we can go with that, and what we can accomplish.

I know the format won’t be for everyone… for one thing, phase one is internationally focused because establishing that connection first is key. Once there is interest and committment then that will be the time for national and regional centers. Also, it’s not done… I’ve been putting off writing this for just that reason, until I lost that excuse by realizing… it will never be done. In fact, that is the point… growing and changing through the years, with the best strategies to effect change in the political and cultural arenas. Never finished.

Anyway, for anyone interested, I’ll put the information on each of the initial think tanks below the fold.

There is no “Front Page”, per se. Or, there is, but all areas are on it. There is a section which will be for informational purposes… pointing out which areas are involved in heavy debate and planning, or highlighting various blogs and other places which have a good view on different issues and so on. We are not in competition with regular blogs, but hope to function more as a different arm of them, a complement to their strengths while filling in some of the weak areas. Or something like that.

Anyway, on to the departments. [added] – FAQ

[note: While anyone can comment, you must be registered to post, and you can post in any of the think tanks (except Research/Reference). If you are registered for Human Beams, same password and username will work for PFC.]

First, the general Community areas:

Community Blog – General chat, essays, rants, breaking news, etc.

The Progressive MarketPlace – Where each post is an ad – a place for (liberal/progressive) people anywhere in the world to list their blogs, businesses, services, books, wares and so on. I believe it’s important for progressives to support progressives, as much as we are able. This is a step towards doing that (read the disclaimers, though ;).

Think Tanks

Creatives – Love to brainstorm, hash out issues, follow things to the edge of practicality and beyond? Then this is the blog for you. We are the people of big ideas, big dreams, imagination and the ability to make things happen. Working together, we are only that much stronger.

Wonks – Strategize, plan, present proposals and hash them out. Talk numbers, policies, legislative and/or governmental agendas and so on. If it’s wonky, we want it.

Research/Reference – A little different from the others in that, because each thing has to be fact checked and referenced, to be made available to whoever, only those who are interested and are detail oriented and all that stuff will have access to posting here. If that’s you, just say so.

Women – All about women, all over the world. Women are facing huge challenges, from the disproportionate effects of globalization in many countries to the attempted rollback of reproductive rights and women’s health, as well as religious and cultural restrictions on freedom of expression and movement. This think tank is about developing effective, actionable strategies for dealing with all of these matters.

Unions/Labor – Often the backbone of progressive movements, and also the target of anti progressives worldwide. Strategies to increase the power and reach of workers. Etc.

Non-Profits/NGOs – Discussion of and by non-profit organizations, NGO’s, various humanitarian agencies and endeavors, and ways to support existing and build our own.

Environmental – Plans and policies for a sustainable world, energy conservation, green businesses and more.

I know we are missing some areas – those will be being added as time goes on. If you’ve gotten this far and have questions, I’ll be happy to answer them. I always miss saying something or other important because of a familiarity with the topic that others may not have. Which is why I may not make all that much sense at first ;). Thanks for listening.

In the midst of some of the brouhaha here lately, I told a story of an childhood incident that left a decided impression on me. I don’t tell that story to make anyone feel guilty, or to garner pity or anything… but for the lesson it taught me, that I’ve since tried to live up to. Ductape mentioned that I should make a diary of out it, but I didn’t really want to do that, and wasn’t sure how to anyway… but then I remembered… I already had, last year. I’m going to repost this here, even tho it’s a bit dated, just because it tells a bit of where I’m coming from. I hope others will also tell some of their experiences and lives and maybe we can reach some of this “convergence” that scribe described so beautifully. Anyway, here goes:

 I think of the era in which I grew up to be the best of times. Others…? Eh, they think of it as the opening of the floodgates of Hell.

Yes… I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s, in California.  

Born in 1958, I am at the tail end of the Boomer Generation, so I was surrounded, from birth, by discussions of equality, challenging authority, challenging tradition, changing the world.  Although I didn’t at the time realize the magnitude of the tragedies that were the deaths of John and Bobby Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, I shared in the sorrow because those around me were sorrowful. But not defeated. No cause depends on just one person, but is built up from the many individuals who decide that now is the time; enough is enough.

[more after the fold]
My older brother was the hippie of the family and would bring all sorts of interesting people home. I spent hours listening to their discussions about war and peace, about justice and equality, overthrowing the establishment, building a new society and peace and love, man. I was too young to join them in their endeavors (and quite often, it seemed to me, some of them were too… chemically enhanced, let’s say, to do much of anything anyway), but I loved sitting in the corner and absorbing their thoughts and dreams. Did I ever thank those young men and women, not that much older than I was, for their idealism, their belief in the ability to create a better world, their willingness to protest and to fight for what they believed in? I know some of you are still around, still fighting the fight, leading the way, still dreaming and believing that change is possible.  Thank you.

The older I get the more I realize how unique my upbringing was in one respect, for that period of time. In our home we were raised to believe that “our kind” was humankind. Not just through meeting people of different cultures at school, or at events, or in books, but by having them a part of our lives. The known and loved faces of my childhood were Black, White, Mexican, Japanese, Italian, Irish, African, Indonesian, Gay, Straight and in between. Gatherings and parties at our house were like the UN, before the UN was cool.

My mom… divorced single mother, business owner, with three children, didn’t join peace marches or organizations of any sort, that I can remember. What she did is live every day as an example, whether she knew it or not. I learned much just observing her kindness and courtesy to all individuals, regardless of their “station in life”; the respect she commanded just by respecting others, and recognizing the dignity and humanity in everyone, regardless of who they were. It was up to them to live up to that respect. Or not. She still treated them the same.

 It’s my belief that you can talk about tolerance to your children all you want, but it’s who you invite into your home and life that seals the lesson.

For me, life was good. But as we know childhoods eventually end.  Bigotry, hatred, racism are no respecter of age or reason.

It’s pretty devastating when you are 10, and at a school friend’s apartment for a birthday/pool party, to have the apartment manager come racing out, screeching that you… and only you… must get out of the pool RIGHT NOW, we can’t have a Negro child in there or we will have to drain the entire thing!  

This was my first remembered encounter with the dreaded (but to be pitied) Ignorant Person my mother warned me about. And, I noticed, they were just as ugly as she said they would be. (A lot of things were tolerated in her household, but being an Ignorant Person wasn’t one of them).

I still remember everyone gathering around me, back in the apartment, as I sat shivering on the couch, not from cold. They apologized for the manager, but explained that of course I would understand if everyone carried on swimming without me, here there are books and a TV and we’ll be back soon. I nodded an agreement that I didn’t exactly feel, and watched them all walk away, out the door and back to the party.

I think it was at that moment that I decided that if ever it came down to a choice of standing with someone against an injustice, or walking away, I would choose to stand, to the best of my ability.   Sometimes I’ve failed, over the years, made the wrong decisions, took the easy way out.  More times, though, I have been fortunate enough to have the courage make that stand, even when it would have been easier or more comfortable to walk away.

This, to me, is part of the essence of liberalism.

I love being a liberal. Sometimes I even love being a Democrat. We’re not in the least bit perfect, thank the gods.

We debate things to death, go to bed thinking we’ve done a good job, wake up with a new outlook on the matter and debate it all over again. We have that blessedly cursed ability to see many sides of an issue; forget just shades of gray… someone usually throws some fuchsia and lime green in just to make sure we have everything covered.

We tried so very hard in 2004 to walk lock-step, which is basically antithetical to our nature. But boy, did we try. The wildly beautiful discordance of our multitude of voices attempting to sing the same song (often to distinctly different music), will not soon be forgotten. Nor should it. We accomplished much, if not what we most wanted.  

We are still more than they ever will be.

There is great beauty in our variety. To me, conservatives are dull monochromatic creatures (vultures, maybe?), while liberals, progressives, Democrats… we range from fierce hawks, to brilliantly hued and flamboyant tropical creatures, to the softest, most helpless tiny warblers.

I wouldn’t have it any other way. We stand up for all, are made up of all.

Right after the election, in the midst of anger and grief and recriminations, when we are still being beaten about the head daily with words flung by pundits and prognosticators and charlatans masquerading as the godly — “It was gay marriage. It was Hollywood, it was atheists, it was a documentary, it was him, it was her, it was you, it was whatever I want you to believe it was no matter what…blame them, they lost the election for you. ” – we’ve done what we do best. We’ve talked, we’ve debated, argued, planned, searched our policies, our souls and Google; should we retool, refit, reform, get religion, make a new presentation, wrap a package up differently, embrace the middle, move left, move right, yell, whisper, march, organize, or simply pull the covers over our heads and wait it out.

What we didn’t do… except for a very few… is say, “Let’s walk away, we can still have our party without them.”

I love our principles. I love standing with people who realize that “equal rights for me, but not for you” is an unacceptable contradiction. Who believe that justice should be more than just a word carved on a courthouse wall. Who believe helping those with the least among is us not only a good thing, but also the right thing to do. That, regardless of your political persuasion, you should have a vote, and that your vote should count. That our actions should a true reflection of our ideals, not just phony posturing. That torture is not a moral value.

I love most of all that while we necessarily squabble and debate, pull in opposite directions in an effort to reach the same destination, argue passionately and forgive wholeheartedly, and probably always will, that the debate is over how best to achieve our goals and stand up for ourselves and others. Not whether to stand up at all.

On the clear, sunny morning of September 11, 2001 two hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center towers in New York City. Within hours both towers came crashing down; colossal waves of dust and debris turned the sky to night and hurtled through the streets with such force that even the inside surfaces of sealed buildings were covered with layers of powdery substance.  Rescue workers, those who had escaped from the towers and people on the streets fled for whatever shelter they could find to escape from the onslaught. And when the dust cleared up a bit, some rushed right back to continue to search for survivors.

In all, about 40,000 people from various areas of the country, but mostly New Yorkers, worked search and rescue operations at Ground Zero, hauled debris from the buildings, and did cleanup and recovery work. Many more returned to live and work in the general area.

On September 18, 2001 Christie Todd Whitman, EPA Administrator, announced that:

results from the Agency’s air and drinking water monitoring near the World Trade Center and Pentagon disaster sites indicate that these vital resources are safe.

People were a tad skeptical, but anxious to believe, as well as to do anything they could to help out in the first weeks after the tragedy.  To further ease their minds, on October 3, 2001 OSHA and the EPA issued a joint press release saying, among other things:

OSHA Administrator John Henshaw confirmed that workers on the site should take appropriate steps to protect themselves, but there is no threat to public health. “[…] “It is important for workers involved in the recovery and clean-up to wear protective equipment as potential hazards and conditions are constantly changing at the site; however, our samples indicate there is no evidence of significant levels of airborne asbestos or other contaminants beyond the disaster site itself.”

I wish I could say that they were just doing a heckuva job… but in reality they were just flat out lying.

Or, as Donald Faeth, an emergency medical technician, put it:  “I think that there are several people who died that day and didn’t realize that they died that day. “

[read on…]
On November 4, 2001 CNN reported that:

Officials downplay risks of pollution near Ground Zero

NEW YORK (CNN) — Asbestos, fiberglass, benzene, dioxin, freon. All these pollutants and toxins were released into the atmosphere when the World Trade Center towers imploded and their remains burned.

After New Yorkers absorbed the shock of the tragedy, they started worrying about the long-term health effects, especially those who live near Ground Zero.

Government authorities responsible for monitoring air, water and soil say pollutant levels in the area still climb to hazardous levels some days. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration calls it “the most dangerous work site in America.”

But beyond Ground Zero, they say the worst days are probably over.

“The further you get from the site, the data does not demonstrate significant risks to people,” said William J. Muszynski, acting regional administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

[…]
But environmental watchdogs said they aren’t so sure.

“It’s not safe, and what’s proof of this is that medical clinics have diagnosed people with occupational asthma already and other respiratory problems, people that not only work down there but live down there,” said Joel Kupferman, executive director of the New York Environmental Law and Justice Project.

Kupferman filed a Freedom of Information Act request to get data about the EPA’s monitoring of pollutants, data that the EPA said he takes out of context.

Apparently Kupferman did not see a rosy future after viewing what EPA documents he was able to obtain, regardless of context.

He wasn’t the only one:  

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) — Ground Zero tests by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the days immediately after the World Trade Center collapse did not support the agency’s own statements the air around the site was safe to breathe, a newspaper reported.

A report by the EPA’s Office of Inspector General said the agency reached its conclusion on the safety of the air using a cancer risk level 100 times greater than what it normally considers acceptable for public exposure to toxic contaminants.

The status report, obtained by The Sacramento Bee, supports the views of some doctors and public health advocates who evaluated thousands of firefighters, volunteers, demolition workers and laborers working on the site.

“To say that it’s safe, which suggests no risk, we just knew that was wrong,” said Jonathan Bennett, a spokesman for the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health.

January 17, 2006 – 9/11 workers die after respiratory illnesses

NEW YORK (AP) — James Zadroga spent 16 hours a day toiling in the World Trade Center ruins for a month, breathing in debris-choked air. Timothy Keller said he coughed up bits of gravel from his lungs after the towers fell on September 11, 2001. Felix Hernandez spent days at the site helping to search for victims.

All three men died in the past seven months of what their families and colleagues say were persistent respiratory illnesses directly caused by their work at Ground Zero.

While thousands of people who either worked at or lived near the site have reported ailments such as “trade center cough” since the terrorist attacks, some say that only now are the consequences of working at the site becoming heartbreakingly clear.

“I’m very fearful,” said Donald Faeth, an emergency medical technician and officer in a union with two of the ground zero workers who died last year. “I think that there are several people who died that day and didn’t realize that they died that day.”

[…]
The city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which is tracking the health of 71,000 people exposed to September 11 dust and debris, said last week that it is too soon to say whether any deaths or illnesses among its enrolled members are linked to trade center exposure.

Both Keller and Hernandez, each with a decade on the job, were nonsmokers and had no previous health problems before September 11, Faeth said.

Zadroga, a 34-year-old New York detective, logged 470 hours at the site in 2001, including September 11, and died January 5. Family members and co-workers said he had contracted black lung disease and had high levels of mercury in his brain. Autopsy results have not been released. (Full story)

David Worby, an attorney representing more than 5,000 plaintiffs suing those who supervised the cleanup over their illnesses, said 21 of his clients have died of September 11-related diseases since mid-2004. He said he was not authorized to release their names, but represented people who toiled at ground zero, at the Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island where trade center debris was moved, and at the city morgue.

Armed with the truth of just what a mishmash of toxicity they were surrounded by, would some have done the exact same thing anyway? I think so – there was still the hope of saving people, and still the lingering shock of the attack in the first place. Maybe there would have been more insistence on actual protective gear, however, instead of little face masks that work great when you are sanding wood, but not so much when breathing in lethal concoctions of chemicals and debris.

Sadly, the courage of those who rushed back into the billowing clouds of smoke, who conquered their fears in order to return to work in small shops and high rise buildings, who sent their children back into the schools, and who shopped, as urged – was not matched by a like courage, and honesty, from the Bush administration and the EPA.

Update [2006-2-3 19:13:54 by Nanette]: – Arcturus, in comments points to this story –

U.S. District Judge Deborah A. Batts refused to grant Whitman immunity against a class-action lawsuit brought in 2004 by residents, students and workers in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn who said they were exposed to hazardous materials from the destruction of the World Trade Center.

Actions actually may have consequences, this time. One can hope, anyway.

crossposted at Human Beams – Politics

“The only kinds of fights worth fighting are those you are going to lose, because somebody has to fight them and lose and lose and lose until someday, somebody who believes as you do wins.

In order for somebody to win an important, major fight 100 years hence, a lot of other people have got to be willing — for the sheer fun and joy of it — to go right ahead and fight, knowing you’re going to lose. You mustn’t feel like a martyr. You’ve got to enjoy it.”
n    I.F. Stone

One of my favorite (and only recently discovered) sayings.  I don’t actually have much to add to it.

Except… there are so many amazing people here. I’ve not been able to participate as much the past few months, but every time I’ve stopped in I’ve thought  – wow, how they’ve grown.   In size, surely… sort of like a family kid that you remember as being just to your midsection, and the next time you see them they are towering over you.

But, not just in size… that’s mainly just a function of advertising and good content and so on. A natural progression, so to speak. No, what I noticed most was the growth in… power, I suppose would be the best term. Or rather, the realization of the power we all hold in our hands, in our words, in our voices. People who had to psych themselves out to make a comment in times past are now in full throated roar, prodding and encouraging and demanding that people take a stand, get active, do something.

Some who felt that all they had to offer was maybe addressing envelopes and answering phones (both worthy and needed things at crunch time, don’t get me wrong) have found new depths in themselves and now think nothing of hopping on planes and into cars to go march, hold vigils, tell others – and dare to believe that they … yes, they! can and will make a difference.

And you have. Even if this one vote was lost, much was gained. Experience, determination, cynicism, knowledge of who can be counted on to stand up for what is right, and who cannot.  Bad as things seem right now, nothing need ever go to waste… we use what we’ve learned this time to build on the next time, is all.

US developers think they have it bad, having to plan around spotted owls and other endangered species. Little do they know what other wee creatures could be in the way…

Fairies stop developers’ bulldozers in their tracks

VILLAGERS who protested that a new housing estate would “harm the fairies” living in their midst have forced a property company to scrap its building plans and start again.

Marcus Salter, head of Genesis Properties, estimates that the small colony of fairies believed to live beneath a rock in St Fillans, Perthshire, has cost him £15,000. His first notice of the residential sensibilities of the netherworld came as his diggers moved on to a site on the outskirts of the village, which crowns the easterly shore of Loch Earn.

He said: “A neighbour came over shouting, `Don’t move that rock. You’ll kill the fairies’.” The rock protruded from the centre of a gently shelving field, edged by the steep slopes of Dundurn mountain, where in the sixth century the Celtic missionary St Fillan set up camp and attempted to convert the Picts from the pagan darkness of superstition.

“Then we got a series of phone calls, saying we were disturbing the fairies. I thought they were joking. It didn’t go down very well,” Mr Salter said.

In fact, even as his firm attempted to work around the rock, they received complaints that the fairies would be “upset”. Mr Salter still believed he was dealing with a vocal minority, but the gears of Perthshire’s planning process were about to be clogged by something that looked suspiciously like fairy dust.

[…]

“A lot of people think the rock had some Pictish meaning,” Mrs Fox said. “It would be extremely unlucky to move it.”

Mr Salter did not just want to move the rock. He wanted to dig it up, cart it to the roadside and brand it with the name of his new neighbourhood.

The Planning Inspectorate has no specific guidelines on fairies but a spokesman said: “Planning guidance states that local customs and beliefs must be taken into account when a developer applies for planning permission.” Mr Salter said: “We had to redesign the entire thing from scratch.”

The new estate will now centre on a small park, in the middle of which stands a curious rock. Work begins next month, if the fairies allow.

This is even better than the Garden Gnome Liberation Front!

I showed this story to a British friend, mainly because I wasn’t sure if it was something real or a spoof (British humor is sometimes difficult to get… there you are, laughing away and then you figure out that the joke was on you). Anyway, he said that it seemed real to him… in many rural societies in Britain pixies and elves and fairies are still very much believed in. Or, at least such a part of the thousands of years old (pre-Christianity) traditions that actual belief or disbelief is immaterial.

That makes sense and considering that a number of cultures have `little people’ traditions, although by different names, well… who knows?

Whether or not the ancient Chinese actually had such a curse or it is just an urban legend, we are indeed living in interesting times. But “interesting” doesn’t have to be all bad.

In quiet moments, which I’ve taken a lot of lately, I look around at all the things that should by rights be sending me into the depths of despair… and I instead feel a tremendous hope, apparently in defiance of all logic.  I realize that the temptation to ask if I have completely lost my mind must be almost overwhelming, but bear with me, and I will attempt to explain… well… why I haven’t.

Never has the fight for justice – social, environmental, economical – been so important… not because victory is so far away, but because it is so close.  Not quite close enough to touch yet, but if you look quickly you can sometimes catch a glimpse of it struggling over the horizon – clumsy, rather unwieldy and prone to falls like a baby just learning to walk, but determined to eventually master the process.

[there’s more…]
When you view the ominous events and actions of the past few years in the “darkest before dawn” frame of mind, they take on new meaning – those who are feeling their power slipping away are hastening to enshrine their views in law, and to muddle the minds of the citizenry, in the hope that by so doing they will be able to stem the tide of history. It won’t work.

So many “democracies” too appear to be deciding that a democracy, a republic, one person one vote, representative of the will of the people, is not such a good idea after all.  People start to insist that that should actually mean something, you see.

Thus the increasing dependencies on theocratic nationalism, militarism, eliminationist rhetoric, corporatism and a dumb and compliant populace, which are all highly unpleasant, exceedingly dangerous… and the manifestations of last ditch desperation.

You will be forgiven if you are not yet convinced of my attachment to reality but follow along a little longer and my reasoning will become clear.

Each and every day we bask in the legacies of the social movements and activists that have come before us. Great and brave men and women, many trembling in fright and horror at the thought of what they were doing, and the likely repercussions of the stands they were taking, but who did it anyway. Imagine standing up, time after time, fully knowing that you are going to be knocked down, maybe never to get up again. But also believing that every time you do get up, your foot is placed just a tiny bit further than it was… maybe even an entire inch… and that the next person who stands up starts from where you left off.

The world is a very different place today because of actions taken and lives committed to change in the yesterdays. And it can and will be a different place in the tomorrows because of actions taken and lives committed to making changes today. Despite what seem to be very dark times, we are starting from a much better position in this era than we have ever been in before. Things that used to be common practices are now considered wrong – most beyond debate.

That the struggle to make sure these gains are fully realized (and not rolled back) is constant does not detract from the fact that equal rights for all is the accepted “civilized” standard. Some may have an imperfect understanding of what “all” means, not to mention “rights”, but we’re working on that. That non-whites, women, gays and lesbians are equal citizens, that the slavery of another human being is not tolerated, that reproductive justice is a vital part of the lives of women, that people who do a days work deserve a days pay – to the people on the front lines even just sixty years ago, and especially to those who labored in the shadows, these things must have seemed like a very far off and almost impossible dream. Still, they dreamed. And here we stand today.

We did that.

I’ve never quite understood people who buy into the entire “wimpy, soft Liberals and Leftists” trope. What are they talking about? Courage doesn’t lie in the one driving the tank bristling with firepower and the ability to easily crush underfoot, but in the one standing in front of it, armed only with a couple of shopping bags. Courage doesn’t lie in the forces who have the might of law and history behind them, demanding to be obeyed, but in the small woman who refuses to give up her seat.

Speaking truth to power, when it’s likely to get you tossed in jail or ostracized, refusing to run with the pack – choosing instead to stand with the few against injustice, planting yourself in the path of a vicious foe, not for your own protection but for that of those weaker who are standing behind you… now that is courage. That is progressivism, liberalism, leftism, kumbaya idealists – whatever you want to call it.

It awes me sometimes to realize that there are few places on this earth where you can take a step and not tread in the footsteps of giants. We don’t know all their names, what occurred in their lives, who they loved, when or how they died or anything else about them. But that they, before any of the large social movements ever began, stood up (or sat down) and said “No more.” cannot be in doubt. It took all the “little” people (giant though their small actions may be) to change the course of history or society. We did that. One by one, and together.

Gather that thought – draw it closely around you like a soft, comforting heirloom blanket woven by untold fingers… blunt edged and worked roughened, crisscrossed with scars and lines, soft as a baby’s bottom, every color and size imaginable, each contributing a strand, gossamer fine and tough as tungsten… and to which each of us who work for justice and peace add our own unique patterns as we move through life, to be later passed on to those who come after us.

Never should we lose sight of all the work still to be done to bring about a just world, but we must not allow that to obscure our view of the triumphs already gained. The forces for justice, equality, dignity and humanity cannot and will not be denied… we are unbeatable, awe inspiring and effective. What do “the powers that be” fear most? Us, and what we can accomplish together, when we stand up for one another, and for the dignity and rights of every person.

There may be no time to rest on laurels, as we have a long ways to go yet, but there is always time to think of how far we really have come, and to remember… we did that.  We are the unstoppable dynamism that has changed history, sometimes inch by inch, since the beginning of time and we are the ones that can and will do it again – and no one can take that away from us.

crossposted at Human Beams Magazine: Our Society