Letters from a Young Radical

I find it really funny when guys (usually it's men) say "I'm not homophobic, but I'm really not cool with gay guys hitting on me". Now. I don't think there's anything wrong with feeling that way. After all, I'm sexually attracted to men, but I don't like it when they hit on me either. That doesn't make me heterophobic.

But I also don't feel the need to bring it up. Which makes me feel like that statement reveals a remaining homophobia, even if the person has enough sense to realize that it's not a good thing.

This "infomercial" for Barack Obama makes it even more clear (in case we forgot) how very very good his marketing team has been. I don't think the US has EVER seen such a gorgeous, touching, emotional and SEXY campaign in its history. Thank heaven for the trends of glassy buttons, gradients and drop shadows! So obviously this presentation is impressive, and a skeptical person would wonder exactly how many elements (particularly the touching music and beautiful cinematography) are helping to brainwash them.

Having said that, it made me feel a little guilty for being so grumpy about Barack Obama during this campaign cycle. I have decided to vote for him, because unlike Al Gore and John Kerry in the 2000 and 2004 elections, my resolve has fallen like so many other people to having a little crush on Barack, and truly being touched by his words and demeanor, and again the historic accomplishment that would be his presidency. The way he speaks reminds me a great deal of Martin Luther King Jr.

Moreover, a LOT of what he says I agree with. I love the way he talks about how the money going towards the war could be used for other things, even though I don't think his position on withdrawal is strong enough. I love the way he talks about education and his idea for rewarding volunteer efforts with tuition grants - brilliant idea! I love the way he talks about health care and I'm so glad he says he's concerned about this bullshit preexisting condition stuff, however his policies fall short on a Single-Payer Healthcare system, which I think we need NOW.

The ideas he touches upon, or the language and visuals he uses to hook the "right" don't bother me so much, although it's obviously a strategy. I had a little twitch during the shot of the African American couple holding hands at the dining room table both with bibles open in front of them. Questions arise: Is his marketing staff simply pandering to the religious of the country, because democrats are generally considered to be anti-religion? Or is he really so religious himself that it was appropriate to put in there? I figure it's forgiveable. Which I find interesting in itself. If he had shown a scene of me, a far leftist, and my life, there are probably a lot of conservative people who would be offended and simply not vote for Obama because of that, whereas perhaps leftists are more likely to forgive the campaign for emphasizing family and the bible. Fortunately I can say that I'm not running with stereotypes anymore, since there's been some research done on the differece between Liberals and Conservatives.

Anyway. I find this whole thing terribly confusing, because like any rock star, you can love what they show you, but you can never know who that person really is. Case in point, my mother ADORES Obama. Thinks he's going to save paralyzed people everywhere. Says he's just the best person in the world for pausing his campaign to visit his sick grandmother in Hawaii. And I said to her "yeah it does seem like he's a nice guy because of that, but I guess we can't ever really know if he was doing it for the campaign or what." I think she was a little offended at me even suggesting that as a possibility. Because she feels like she knows him. My grandmother on the other hand, reportedly called Michelle Obama "disgusting" the other day while watching her on television. My theory is that she's just racist, but at the same time, she thinks she knows who Michelle Obama is. And doesn't like it for some reason (perhaps even LESS reason than my mom has to like Obama, since she's not simply making a snap decision based on skin color).

Point is, I love Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance because he seems normal. I love Jason Kay from Jamiroquai (although I'm positive sure he's a huge asshole). I love the things that Dave Matthews says in his lyrics, but he seems like a real douchebag whenever he talks. Watching the gossip rag covers, Brad Pitt seems to continue to have a shined and buffed image and he can do no wrong. How much of this is real, and how much of it is smoke and mirrors? (For the record, I think the most real-seeming celebrity of all time is Amanda Palmer).

How many more positive emotions did I feel while watching Obama's infomercial simply because of the touching music? How much more appealing do I find him simply because he paid some people to make one of the best design campaigns in history? Or am I remaining reasonably un-brainwashed with proof being my disgust at the simplicity of the slogans "Change", "Hope", and "Progress"? Am I doing ok because I can say I like this rhetoric, but I don't think he's taking it far enough, and I'm not even sure if he can follow through with his promises?

I find the whole thing pretty fascinating. The only conclusion I can come to is that I like MOST of the image that he and his team of marketing gurus has come up with. I don't like much at all about McCain except for his goofy old man hamster faces. There has to be something to that - they are different and at least to some degree, the campaigns are going to reflect the individual. So I'm voting for Barack Obama. I'm skeptical at best that he will or actually CAN follow through with his promises, but I'm in support of a great deal of them. As for the rest, if he's elected this coming Tuesday, I'm ready to push from below (and he asked for it!) to hold him accountable, demand more, and let him know when he has done something that makes America better off. Hopefully, as he promises, he'll open the lines of communication as much as possible, and do the same.

This is a really informative and persuasive talk by a meat-eater (hehe, always sounds like yer talking about dinosaurs, right?) who thinks we REALLY should eat less meat. These are the practical and political arguments that I feel won me over, and are more powerful to some people than the "animals are our friends" argument. Don't get me wrong, I could never kill an animal, but I'm not against eating them. I just agree with Mark that we don't NEED to eat them, the animal abuse that goes into the process of mass meat production is hardly worth it, and the polution and health risks are even less so.

So I wanted to update on my vegetarian goal. I definitely have not achieved it. I've done better some months than others. What I have achieved is that I haven't bought meat for eating at home since I set the goal, and I've discovered a lot of REALLY tasty veggie products that I like quite a bit better than meat.

What's hard about "going vegetarian"?

1. Telling people you're visiting. Seems all this summer I got grumbles and teasing and "well I already made it so I guess we'll have to make something else for you" - general annoyance


2. Going out to eat. I love going out to eat, that's one problem. The other is that there are still so few "normal" (as in not vegan or veg specifically) restaurants & bars that only have a couple options for vegetarians - usually salads and sometimes soup. If you're ok with fish, sometimes fish. I think the place downstairs has an ok veggie burger. But still 95% of the menu items contain meat. I really hope to find a way to push for change in this area (this and smaller portions please!!). There are tons of awesome and hella tasty recipes, even ones you can grease and gravy up to your pleasure (though I'd prefer you didn't), so hopefully in the near future, restaurants will start getting a clue.


3. Someone else ordered it. This is definitely cheating but I figure if I didn't pay for it, I'm not being part of the problem. Yeah, I'm bad.

So I haven't done an AMAZING job, but I've definitely eaten less meat, noticed more about what I eat, discovered some hella tasty alternatives, and I think if everyone started thinking consciously about this, we'd be off to a good start. Poof.

This sort of thing drives me nuts. Yeah, these campaigns are great. I have no idea if they actually work, but hopefully they do. Me, I decided to vote for a lesser evil this year, but this isn't really about my politics.

As Frederick Douglass said, "Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will." Last time we had an economic crisis like this (The Great Depression), the hero that made The New Deal happen wasn't the president who executed the orders, but the people who put pressure on him to do so.

Yes, voting is important, particularly if you're someone who believe that the ideal president can make better decisions for America's people than America's people can. I of course, don't share this view, but many people do. That's why videos like this spend all their time on trying to get people to vote the right person in, rather than talking about how once they're in power, we have to hold them accountable.

Heroification of the office of president is one of the dangerous ideas that discredits the power of the masses. Our history textbooks are rife with it. The individualist character of America makes it even worse. They benefit when we believe that uniquely special people are what changes the world, because then we won't band together with others to make demands. But history has proven that it's pressure from below that makes the real magic happen in Washington.

Apologies for totally not writing in a long time. I have a lot to say but for the moment I'm just going to get this little pet peev off my chest.

IT DRIVES ME NUTS when people talk about "preaching to the choir". The phrase itself basically implies a useless act, but more specifically that the "preacher" is trying to convince the already convinced. I often hear the phrase used in reference to any politically leftist event in Seattle, suggesting that no one should bother doing anything leftist in Seattle because most people here are already leftists.

Frankly I think this is absolutely ridiculous. Let's go back to the preacher and the choir example. There's a reason people go to church every week and it isn't to get more converted than they already are. I'm also fairly certain that the stream of people entering a church on Sunday to get converted is slim to nil, or at least not enough to merit weekly services. The preacher preaches to the converted every week because people are constantly learning more about their faith and themselves through his/her sermons. They gain strength by hearing motivating ideas and continually returning to a group of people who share their ideals and dreams. They come back again and again because there's always something new to do - this week a soup kitchen, that week a bbq, next week a Habitat for Humanity project. I dunno, whatever church people do.

My point is that any leftist political activity in a heavily leftist city, or any leftist political activity in the meetings of an anti-war group, or any discussion by leftist people, IS USEFUL EVERY TIME. In my opinion, there's no such thing as preaching to the choir (except perhaps in the specific incident of one individual literally trying to convince another individual of something that they already believe).

Having events for example, that talk about the atrocities of the war in a town that's likely already antiwar in majority, is USEFUL. Perhaps people who are on the fence will come. Perhaps people who are already antiwar will bring their friends who have never engaged in grassroots activism before. Perhaps many of those who are antiwar will learn things they haven't learned elsewhere. Perhaps getting all of these people gathered together in one spot will create a sense of solidarity, a sense that things are actually going well, and this will dispell some of the demoralization that has been stacked upon our country for 30 years now. Perhaps people will meet new people, get their contact information and start a group at the university, or in their work places, or at a local pub. Perhaps those little groups turn into movements that change the world.

It's ALWAYS USEFUL. And that's why we keep doing it.