What Can I Say?

There has been yet another school shooting.  There have been so many, it seems that one blends in to the other. I can’t keep them all straight. All I know is that too many children, teachers, aides, administrators, and others have died because apparently, this country values its guns over the lives of children and adults. I am so sad and so angry that I can’t focus my thoughts well. I can’t say it any better than Robert Reich, Heather Cox Richardson, or anyone else. I feel absolutely zero optimism that anything will be done about these deadly weapons, despite words from President & Dr. Biden and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of NY. The National Rifle Association is deep into the back pockets of legislators. Nothing will change until THEIR children are killed in a mass shooting.

I read that Elon Musk of Twitter and other social platforms (like Facebook?) are going to institute or are considering instituting paid memberships. Right now, I’m thinking, go ahead. Start charging. It’s probably time I get off social media completely and find another way to stay in touch with my family and friends. I dread the news: the mass shootings, the latest fascist acts being perpetrated in FL, TX, and other red states, and the latest poisonous spouting of the man who should’ve been in jail by now.

Yesterday was the anniversary of Japan’s gift of cherry trees to the United States. This was in 1912, and the trees were planted around the Basin near Jefferson’s Memorial. I have seen the trees in blossom only twice in all the years I lived in the DC area. The first time, I was about 12 and during spring break, we drove to Washington to see the sights. The cherry trees took my breath away. I had a Polaroid camera but at that time, the pictures were only in black and white. I wished I had a color film camera to capture the beautiful blooms.

The second time was about 30 years later, in 1996. I was working as an interpreter for the Deaf and had become very familiar with the Metro transit system to get around town. My first husband, Rich, and I took the kids to DC during their spring break. We drove to the subway station and parked there. Using the Metro, we could transfer from train to train and get all around town. One of the first places we wanted to see was the cherry trees. 

They weren’t at their peak yet, but they were still pretty. I had a camera with me—one of those Instamatics so that I didn’t have to load the film.  I took lots of pictures on that trip but was only able to find one of the cherry trees.  We spent most of our day visiting the Smithsonian museums.

 

                                           That's my son in the Cub Scout cap

Today is another anniversary: the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island in western Pennsylvania.  It led to a partial meltdown that released toxic gas into the air on March 28, 1979.

By unhappy coincidence, I’d just seen The China Syndrome, a movie starring Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda, and Mike Douglas. The movie was pretty darn scary and drastic. What would happen in a total meltdown? Well, everything melts into a toxic kind of lava that releases all kinds of radioactive stuff into the atmosphere.

Now, something like The China Syndrome was happening just hours away from where I lived! For three nail-biting days, my friends and I wondered if the hydrogen bubble found inside would explode and release contaminants into the air. Before this accident and the movie, people thought nuclear power plants were a great idea to save energy. During those three days and afterward, no one seemed to support the idea anymore.  For years, no other nuclear power plants were built. That changed about 10 years ago. There is one in Tennessee now.

Before the week was over, we learned that the bubble wouldn’t cause an explosion and we wouldn’t get radiation poisoning.  Although people around TMI were exposed to some radioactive material in the air, the levels were very low. There were no deaths or injuries. As far as I know, there haven’t been clusters of cancer or other radiation-exposure illnesses.

Ending on a happier note, I submitted a flash memoir to a Writers Advice contest. I just heard back from them, and they requested a bio and an illustration for the story. I have no idea how I placed in it and won’t know anything until it’s announced.  I feel very happy and positive about it.

Courage Under Fire

 I really meant to read a less stressful book after the last one.  In fact, on a friend’s recommendation, I requested Homer’s Odyssey. Going to the library just to pick up one book is challenging for me. As I walk in, there are displays of books everywhere. I found four more I wanted and one of them was Courage Under Fire by Steven A. Sund.

 

What happened on January 6, 2021, is forever etched in my mind, just as are other traumatic dates. It was my husband’s birthday, and we were enjoying watching TV when suddenly the show was interrupted by coverage of the insurrection at the Capitol building. We watched with growing horror all afternoon and into the evening, wondering WHERE was the National Guard and why didn’t they show up until after the traitors departed? Last August, I read Representative Jamie Raskin’s book Unthinkable and experienced what it was like for the legislators, staff, and family members inside who were protected and safely evacuated by Capitol police.

 

Steven A. Sund was the Capitol Police chief that day. I wanted to read his book because I still had so many questions about what happened that day and wanted the viewpoint of the man in charge.  One of the first things I learned is how complicated security is within the Capitol. I would have thought that Sund would be in control of implementing all the plans and would have the authority to call in all the help he needed. But, no. In order to request the National Guard, he would have to get permission from the two sergeants at arms (one for the House, one for the Senate). And THEY have to go talk to their people (Speaker, Senate Majority Leader).

 

Based on reports Sund was getting from Intel across all the federal police sources, there was only a “remote” chance of violence because all six protest groups were supposed to stay in place. However, when they began advancing on the Capitol and becoming increasingly menacing and violent as they began fighting with the Capitol police guarding the outside perimeters, Sund called the sergeants at arms. The House Sergeant didn’t like “the optics” of having soldiers at the Capitol, but he’d go ask Speaker Pelosi and get back to Sund. The Senate Sergeant suggested that Sund call the Guard and see what they might have available.

 

The protest turned into a full scale coup attempt. No one got back to Sund about calling in the National Guard, and so he began calling other agencies with a police force: Supreme Court, FBI, Secret Service, and nearby police forces from Virginia and Maryland. Even New Jersey sent troopers to help at the Capitol, which was rapidly overrun by the insurrectionists.  Sund was in a near panic, watching his police force being attacked with all kinds of weapons and noxious sprays.

 

At about the time Capitol police within the building began escorting legislators, staff and family members to safety, Sund finally got permission to call in the National Guard. But they didn’t come. There were some units within sight of the Capitol, directing traffic, but they were not permitted to deploy to help the struggling officers.

 

Why? And this was my biggest question: why wasn’t the National Guard deployed earlier?

 

Sund explained how the Army was giving him the runaround about deploying soldiers to the Capitol even though the general Sund spoke to could see how dangerous the insurrectionists had become.  Sund does give a reason why the response was so horribly delayed, and it’ll raise the goosebumps in you as it did to me.  You’ll have to read the book to find out why and other hairy details unknown at the time to us viewers.

 

This is the scariest part: there was a massive intel communication failure before January 6^th. Over two years have gone by and not much has changed. Analysts and other intel agents haven’t been replaced; the procedures haven’t been changed. Steven Sund and the two sergeants at arms were both forced to resign before being fired. They were the sacrificial lambs and the world went on.

 

It could happen again. Without any changes, it will.

 

Right Side Up/Upside Down

 

I’m so tired of the Upside Down. Anyone who’s watched the series “Stranger Things” will understand what I mean immediately. For those that haven’t, the Upside Down is a parallel world, similar to our own but is dark and evil. In the last few years, I feel I’ve been traveling back and forth between Right Side Up World and the Upside Down.

                                       Upside Down
 

When I’m in the Right Side Up World, I’m spending precious family time with my hubby, my adult children, my grandson in NJ, and my granchildren and great grandchildren whenever they're visiting. All is well and we’re surrounded with love. In the Right Side Up World, I’m walking on a trail in the park and surrounded by nature. In the Right Side Up World, I’m writing or reading a book. In the Right Side Up World, I’m a tutor, working with elementary aged children to boost their language and reading skills. Right Side Up World is a happy place.

                                         Right Side Up World

The Upside Down is intrusive. It’s physically and emotionally draining. In the Upside Down, 45 is calling for another insurrection because he is afraid of being arrested. He should be ignored and ridiculed for that, but this is the Upside Down: he has what used to be the GOP under his thumb. He also holds the leashes of some very violent supporters who want nothing more than civil war. Truly, I am so sick and tired of this foul, evil creature. I think it's entirely possibly he’s the real Anti-Christ.

The Upside Down is filled with the power hungry and cruel minions of demon 45. They’re busy infiltrating state and local governments and have been for some time. And why? So that they can bring about laws to restrict voting rights, restricting women’s rights to choose their health care, and restricting children’s rights to a decent education. South Carolina would like to set the death penalty for any woman that gets an abortion. Florida and other red-led states have been happily banning books that have anything to do with different races, cultures, religions or sexualities.

The list of banned books is daunting. But 45’s foaming at the mouth fanatics in the House have proposed The Parents Bill of Rights Act (H.R. 5). I belong to the NEA, and this morning I got an email from them. It read, in part: “The bill would undermine local control, a bedrock principle of U.S. public education. It would also facilitate censorship and book bans, with the federal government cast as a national school board that dictates what students can learn and read.” I suppose they are trying to take control away from local districts because not all across the country are in lock-step with this act of fascism. No, the party wanting smaller government control wants to involve MORE government control in education.

I wrote to Representative Andy Kim. It wasn’t necessary because I know he wouldn’t support this noxious bill. But people need to write, especially when they have a red representative. These people need to hear from us that this is NOT okay. They probably don’t care to listen to their voters and haven’t been anyway.

In the Upside Down, there is no justice unless you’re in the 98% and especially no justice if you’re not white. Traitors and participants in the January 6^th insurrection not only are walking around free, many are serving in Congress right now.

I don’t like this world at all. I’m sick of it. I would like to withdraw and hide but that isn’t the right thing to do. The right thing to do is to keep fighting it.

Spending time in the Right Side Up World helps recharge my batteries so I’m off to do that now.

Parable of the Sower

 I tend to avoid dystopian and/or science fiction stories. Dystopian stories usually depress me, and I maxed out on science fiction in my 20s.  On one of my visits to the library during Black History month, I saw Parable of the Sower on display. I became interested when I saw that the book was set in 2025 (not so far away!) and that it was in first person. I enjoy first person stories because you really get into the mind and soul of the narrator even if it means other characters aren’t fleshed out as well. Octavia E. Butler has a writing style that engages the reader right from the first page.

 

This is an excellent book, but it’s not a happy one. The story begins in a small town in California. Global warming and a complete breakdown in the economy has caused unemployment, food shortages, and poverty. A breakdown in law enforcement has caused the rise of gangs, thieves, and other dangerous marauders.  The main character, Lauren Olamina, and her family and neighbors live in a gated compound, trying to stay safe from the lawless criminals on the “outside”. Lauren, her family, and the community are multi-racial, which was one of the few positives I found early on.

 

Safety, even in a locked and gated community, can’t be guaranteed and Lauren realizes early on that having an escape plan is a good idea. However, her friends and family scoff at the idea. They believe in their own safety. Lauren begins to secretly gather items for a “go bag.”  She has another secret as well: she has been developing her own idea for a religion with a goal.

 

Although her father is a Baptist minister, Lauren isn’t comfortable with that faith although she obediently goes through the motions. She journals every day and that is where she develops her ideas centered around the name “Earthseed.” She reasons that change is the motivating force in the universe and people must either control change or adapt to it. She writes her philosophy out in verse.

 

A major change happens in the community and Lauren finds herself on the road, trying to reach safety with a band of other refugees. To find out more about Lauren’s journey and Earthseed, please read the book. Some of it felt so chillingly familiar, I had to check and see if the book was published recently. I was somewhat surprised to see that it was published in 2000.

I say somewhat surprised because I remember it was around then that Al Gore began warning us about climate change.

 

As for the other events, I think Octavia Butler was remarkably prescient about what our future might look like. I also learned that she was one of the first Black science fiction authors to be published and, sadly, that she passed away in 2006.

 

She did write a sequel called Parable of the Talents, and I am requesting it because this book really pulled me in, and I want to see what happens to Lauren and her group.  I would definitely recommend this book to anyone whether you are into dystopian/sci-fi or not.

 

Before It's Too Late

 I was looking at different sources to see how many people read books. By people, I mean teenagers to adults. I was thinking that perhaps there are too many complacent people in the country, ignoring the spreading fascism because they don’t read enough and don’t believe we could have such a thing in the United States. It turns out that the stats haven’t changed too much and that the average person reads at least one book a year.

To me, that’s shockingly low because I’ve been a bookworm all my life. People lead busy lives as adults, though, and many don’t have much time to sit down and read a book. Perhaps kids and adults would prefer to play video games or check out their social media. Maybe instead of wondering how much people read, I should wonder WHAT they are reading. They sure don't seem to be learning a damn thing about history.

The recent news has me shaking my head.

Florida’s governor Death Santis wants bloggers to register with the state if they’re going to write about him. He also wants reporters to not only register but turn over their material after covering one of his appearances. He wants to know the political views of professors at the college level. Now these are chilling ideas for anyone who has bothered to read what was happening in Germany in the early 1930s. This same governor has further restricted a woman’s right to make choices about her own health.  This same governor has made it harder for minorities to vote. This same governor has terrorized school teachers and districts into removing books from their shelves for fear of being charged with a felony. Does this sound like a book burning without the fire? This same governor had a “don’t say gay” law and an “anti-woke” law passed. That’s not even half of what he’s been up to. He’s a truly scary guy.

But where are the protesters? Why aren’t legislators speaking up about it? Understandably (I guess) half of our legislators side with the repressive fascist but why are there crickets from the other side? Why aren’t they speaking out?

When there was no outcry, fascism began spreading like wildfire. States seemed to be competing to see who could come up with the cruelest and most outrageous violation of a person’s rights. Texas and North Carolina would like to sentence a woman to death for having an abortion. And still … crickets?

Do the citizens and legislators choose not to speak up because they think: oh, that’s just crazy stuff? It’ll never happen here.

Oh yes, it could. Our democracy is still in danger. There are still folks who’d like nothing better than to overturn it and bring on authoritarian theocracies. At that point, it’s too late to say, “Hey, we didn’t want this.”

Today is the anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama. It took place on March 7, 1965. There was a one-day mention of it on Sunday, but I haven’t seen anything about it since. Is its history too ancient? I’ll bet young people didn’t learn about it in their history classes and maybe it wouldn’t even be legal to teach it in half the states today. White supremacists and christian nationalists want to bring us back to the Jim Crow era or worse. Isn’t there some nut down in FL (where else?) who wants to make the Democratic party illegal?

Recently CPAC held its weekend-long convention in Oxon Hill, Maryland. And Michael Knowle said, “transgenderism must be erased.” Erased. If you erase transgenderism, you’re erasing people. If you erase people, isn’t that just a nice way of saying genocide? After all, the Nazis didn’t start by exterminating Jewish people. They started with “undesirables”. And when no one said anything, then they moved on to the increasingly inhumane treatment of the Jewish population.

There is too much rubbernecking going on. Everyone who disagrees with fascism, Nazism, oppression, suppression, racism, bigotry, and misogyny should be doing something. Boycott. Write letters. March. Sit in. United, peaceful protesting.  The time for that is now, not when it’s too late.

Bloody Sunday

 

Yesterday was the ceremonial memory service of “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Alabama. That was when peaceful protesters wanting voting rights attempted to cross what was then the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma on March 7, 1965. The police beat them bloody. It makes me sick to think about it. I was 10 on that day and completely ignorant of it.  President Biden was there yesterday and gave a speech in which he said history shouldn’t be sanitized. I am very happy he was there and gave the speech BUT…

Reverend William J. Barber II was also in Selma. He was at Brown Chapel, where John Lewis and other activists started their march across the bridge. Rev. Barber said that they all returned to Brown Chapel, which had to become a field hospital for those injured at the Bridge. The bridge has since been renamed John Lewis Bridge after the late congressman.

I was so impressed and emotionally moved by Rev. Barber. He began with a Bible verse from Hebrews which stated something like, we are not of these who shrink back. We persevere for our salvation. So he said to the people watching, “Shrinking back is not an option.  We must stand up and push forward.” He had the congregation repeat those lines a couple of times and then turn to the right and repeat those lines to their neighbors.

Two of his points stood out to me. The first was that the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965 was gutted in 2013. Congress could have restored rights taken away, but they haven’t done anything. There was an attempt by Democrats after red states tried to gut the law further but the Rethuglicans voted it down—including so-called “good” Rethugs like Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger.

Then Rev. Barber cited the poverty statistics in the red, southern, and midwestern states. In all of those states, governors refused the expansion of Medicaid to needy families. Barber said we’re not just talking about Black, Hispanic, and indigenous populations. White people are suffering too. It takes two full-time incomes to “maybe” afford a 2-bedroom apartment.

At presidential debates, he pointed out, no one asks the candidates “What are you doing to do about poverty?” Nothing ever gets done about it, that’s true. Instead, Rethugs convince marginalized groups to vote against themselves by selling a false story “It’s the Democrats who are keeping you in this lowly Position.”

It seems like 40% of the population is struggling. If those groups (and I would include the elderly and the disabled) would come together as a voting bloc, Rev. Barber is sure there would be enough votes to choose the President and the legislators in Congress. What a concept!

But how?

That’s why Rev. Barber was having the people repeat that they have to stand up and push back. Retreat is not an option. Being tired is not an option.

I signed up for his group, Repairers of the Breach. I want to stand up and push back too.