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Shameless pimping for The Coup’s new album Sorry To Bother You.
Shake it, yeah we agitatin’
Yeah, we bump and break it,
Yeah, we fit’n to take it
Hey now, we goin’ work it
Yeah, we jam the circuit,
Yeah, we got the verdict
Yeah, it’s fuck that circus
1-2-3-4
(If these lyrics are wrong, I hope Boots will correct me. Pretty sure he’s the first hip hop artist to use the word “dagnabbit” in a song; that happens later but I wasn’t up to transcribing the whole thing.)
So . . . election season is killing me. It can’t be over soon enough. My attempts to have a civil discussion about voting (or, more precisely, voting for Jill Stein or—gasp!—not voting at all) have resulted in people who don’t know me from Adam calling me a “lefter-than-thou asshole,” a violent, window-smashing anarchist, and a “hit-and-run [See You Next Tuesday].” People who do know me say that I am fatalistic and that I have fallen into the same “government-hating” trap as the teabaggers; they wish I would stick to talking about cats. And those are the people who are still talking to me; lord only knows how many people have unfriended me in virtual space, or for real. Facebook has recently added a “custom” list feature; I am sorely tempted to divide my FB friends into “violent, fatalistic leftist assholes like me” and “everyone else.” If I made such distinctions, more of my list would fall into the former category than the latter (as opposed to the real world).
But never mind that. Last night, mr. hotflashcarol and I went to our first Occupy Chico General Assembly. It was the most hopeful I have felt in months. After living in a neighborhood that we not-so-lovingly refer to as “Grandpa Acres,” where the noise – and the conversation – consists not of gunshots but of lawn mowers, leaf blowers and weed whackers, we were thrilled to find some kindred spirits who wanted to talk about revolution. It was a small but spirited gathering. I asked a dozen questions and got a lovely little Occupy Chico history lesson. Just like all the other occupies, Occupy Chico has not disappeared or gone into hibernation. They’re still making news. For the past year, they’ve been working on stopping foreclosures, Occupying Monsanto and Beale Air Force Base, reconstituting the local Food Not Bombs, establishing a “time bank” where people can trade services, educating people about California’s Proposition 37 (which has significant ramifications for this local agricultural community) and preparing for Occupy Evolution, an anniversary event that takes place on Monday at Chico State University. Can I get a round of twinkle fingers, please?
As much as I am coming to love Chico, I left at least part of my heart in Oakland (apologies to Tony Bennett). My OO homies have plans for an October 10th Anniversary Assembly and a reconvergence to Take Black the Plaza on October 25th. We hope to bring a convoy of outside agitators from Chico to that event. It’s time to re-energize, to feel that sense of Hope and Change in the air again. A lot of people say it was the best time of their lives; wouldn’t it be something to re-ignite that fire?
C’mon, kids! Let’s Occupy!
(More shameless pimping for The Coup. But if the Magic Clap doesn’t make you happy, it’s on you.)
27 Comments
“Tell Homeland Security we are the bomb” – from The Magic Clap. How can the revolution go wrong when it has a soundtrack like that?
Boots! Shameless! Hotflashcarol! Occupy Chico! Great, dagnabbit!
Stay off Facebook! Hell, they don’t even know the term is ‘Leftier‘ than thou, the ignorant asshats. Pearls before swine, and all that rot… ;o)
So good to hear about all the coming actions, darlin’ carol. You rock, and so does Mr. hfc.
Oh, and…Rec’d, by the by. ;o)
Thanks wendydavis. It was really cool to see how passionate people still are. Now we just need more visibility – and more people, of course.
Are you Occupyin’ Mancos today?
If it is any consolation, FDR described himself as slightly left of center.
Then, he was elected how many times? Four was it? Today, he might be assassinated in short order. At the very least, his paralysis would have been publicized and mocked.
As it was, he so terrified politicians that they amended the constitution after he died to limit presidents to two terms.
As far as today’s Democrats, ponder this: Theodore Roosevelt was a Republican President. Initially, he endorsed Taft, then decided he had erred in that endorsement. So, he ran on things like giving women the vote and judging each white man and black man on his individual merits.
Not too long ago, our current Democratic President said he could endorse almost all of the things Teddy ran on. (Ted had said some horribly racist things, too.)
So, I guess what was left leaning Republican in 1900, sans the racism, is now supposedly liberal Democrat.
No wonder Democrats who feel more of a kinship with FDR Democrats than with Joe Lieberman hybrids are now advocating voting third party. And no wonder New Democrats think we’re insane radicals, instead of the slightly left of center folk we actually are.
We’re still New Deal folk. They’ve gone considerably to the right of Nixon.
Yes, nixonclinbushbama – your user name says it all, even in terms of who is to the right of whom. Cynic that I am, I still couldn’t have predicted this sort of “Democratic” president in my lifetime.
The left/right dichotomy is feeling terribly old-fashioned these days, anyway; what we really have is a top and a bottom.
Hehheh. Lefter than thou is a step up from crazy ass conspiracy theorist, which I have been called. Inspirational post. I’m looking forward to #S17.
I’ve been called a crazy ass conspiracy theorist, too, come to think of it. I’m looking forward to #S17 as well – hoping it will be a great kickoff for year two.
“Grandpa Acres”? Hah, that’s funny!
Be ever vigilant at upcoming OO activities, for the Feds will be more involved and coordinating more vigorously than ever. That’s part of their ongoing plan anyway, but what with the election and all, corralling, containing, and quashing dissent is more urgent than ever. And so far, they are getting away with it.
Did you know that the act of taking photographs now means you have no rights? Photographers labeled potential terrorists
Exactly.
No rights, no charge: US extends ex-marine’s Facebook psych-ward term
Yeah, Grandpa Acres. We moved here from a warehouse in East Oakland, so it’s a bit of culture shock. I had forgotten what a lawn looks like. Ours is way less than perfect; luckily our next-door neighbor makes sure our dandelions don’t last past noon. We only have first world problems here. :)
I’m sure the Feds are gearing up for all events between now and election day. Not sure what to expect in Oakland. Will they try to keep us from assembling at all? They were relatively hands-off during Obama’s visit to Oakland, but nobody was trying to re-occupy.
Thank you for the link about photographers. I did know a little bit about that. These new laws allow people to be arrested and detained for just about anything the cops can think of. A lot of them don’t hold up, of course, but the damage has been done – you’ve been in jail a day or two, they’ve confiscated your property, etc.
Nah; not quite up to it physically just lately, but soon (she sayed hopefully).
@ timesthree: You may convince our friend; thanks fer the good assist. ;o)
Pretty hard to put the FB genie back in the bottle. And as my friend Zappa says, security culture often means that you and the cops are the only ones who know about your plans. I have been able to stop engaging in election arguments, however.
I wonder if the Feds just used FB as a pretense and had other reasons to want to keep that marine under wraps?
Aw, shucks, sorry to hear that you aren’t your typically inconvenient self, wendydavis.
FB is like a bad drug. But I hate texting or being on the phone so it’s the easiest way to keep in touch with people.
Would that make twitter the gateway drug? Happily, I’ve never gotten into the FB thingie, but I do love teh twitter…
“Twinkle fingers” for Occupy Chico. What a great combination of activities! Thanks for the report.
Based on their past behavior, I’d hazard the guess that the FBI is doing their usual picking of low hanging fruit to shore up the idea that they are “protecting” us. And the MSM eats it up.
Kinda like their habit of starting their own terrorist plots and recruiting vulnerable people to assist. Only this time, the terrorist act seems to be the act of expressing an opinion. Easy pickings since that fruit was already on the ground.
Although the Feds are financing and coordinating anti-occupy efforts, they seem to be happy letting local police departments do the heavy lifting and also take the credit when the MSM stenographers come around.
If that doesn’t work, the next step will be the calling out of the National Guard and/or the corporate paramilitary forces built up since 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq.
Somewhat off topic, but I just watched this miraculous poem from a Chicago schoolteacher and it brought me to tears. It ought to be a diary but I have to leave for a while. If anyone wants to post or share or whatever, please do. See, I wouldn’t know about this if it hadn’t been on Facebook. Edited to say: I just posted it on the front page Myths Vs. Facts article so maybe more people will see it.
Yellowsnapdragon, I love reading other people’s tweets but I don’t do it myself.
marym, thank you!
I put Molly Meacham’s poem up as a separate diary here. Keep a box of tissues handy.
hfc–
Thank you so much for this excellent diary. And, of course, for what you do for “Occupy.”
At least, you may be a little safer participating in Occupy Chico, than Occupy Oakland. (Heck, the OPD’s dubious reputation is even known in my college town in TN–now that’s an achievement!).
Have to admit, every time that I see you now, I think of “Journey.” So much enjoyed that diary. Please do post again, if his comings and goings make it back into your local news.
Be safe, and best of luck with Occupy Chico.
Recommended.
Blue
Love this diary. Not sure exactly why honestly but what difference does that make? Love the video too.
Ma’am! Running into the same thing communicating from here in Canuckistan with US friends and rellies. I have tonnes of ammo for the ‘lesser of two’ argument, incl the Supreme Court branch. Where I founder is the ‘what happens if…?” twig. Although rarely encountered, I have been moved to think on it. Well, if Jill S or Rocky A were elected (not bloody likey, IMO, but still), I am pretty sure we would be back to the MR/BO situation. But seriously, folks, I don’t think any third party has a snowball’s chance in Hell (more is the pity) but if they did, it would be v convincing how fast they got deaded. And then we could go from there, but there(here) is where we have to go from anyway. So, yeah, vote your hearts out, but just don’t devote to much time, $$$ or effort to it, as all three will be required for the coming revultn. Where *is* that roll of tinfoil?
Thanks, Blue. I just checked on Journey (California’s Lone Wolf) and he was still in Northern Plumas County as of Thursday. I guess he probably won’t make news again until he is spotted somewhere else of interest, but it’s reassuring to know he’s still hanging in there. He sure does need a mate.
Thanks, Kurt. The Coup and a little hopeful news go a long way, don’t they? There’s another link at the bottom for The Magic Clap.
My gut tells me that after a certain number, votes for Jill or Rocky are likely to be miscounted/misdirected to make whatever point the oligarchy wants to make. I think they are pretty much in the tank for Obama and that they don’t want too much controversy after the election.
I have heard people make some pretty compelling arguments about how you can at least make your voice heard with a third party vote, but nobody wants to talk about the machines – at least not in my recent experience. There is a huge emotional investment in believing that your vote still counts. For me, there is a disconnect. Anyone who believes the 2000 (and likely 2004) elections were stolen/tampered with, should be able to connect the dots again.
Yes, I have concluded that voting is just something to do, don’t expect it to actually work. greg Palast puts the last nail in th coffin, if any more were needed, andI agree w you that BHO has proven himself the ultimate deliverer of assets to the PTM, and they will anoint him for another term.
Just saw Molly M’s poetry reading, took a while, perhaps some Canada copyright issues or something, but got it off vimeo finally. Thank you, and thank you, Molly.
You say you want, what? Could be dire, but don’t know what else to do.
Thanks, hotflashcarol.
I hope the Occupy fire is reignited, it’s been kind of flickering lately.
Recc’d.