Charlotte returns from communist summer camp

I spent the past week in Seattle participating in the Progressive Labor Party’s (PL) summer project, organizing among Boeing workers.  PL is a revolutionary communist party.  There are members around the U.S. and the world.  They reject the notion that governmental reforms can successfully solve modern society’s problems, which are entrenched in the capitalist system.  In other words, you can’t make a system which depends on the majority of the population having nothing and a tiny majority having everything, “nicer” or humane.  Certainly not in a lasting way.  (A slaughterhouse can’t be made “nicer” or humane, either, adds this vegan.)  To reach a point where communist revolution is possible, by which they mean complete abolition of production-for-profit and labor-for-wages,  PL works to develop solidarity across the working class, from students to workers to soldiers, regardless of sex, age, race, nationality, etc. — regardless of all the arbitrary boundaries that keep us apart.  For a PL’er, there are really only two kinds of humans: those who work, and those who exploit those who work.  This is the only crucial, significant distinction.

I came to learn of PL through podcasting: Bob & Jenna of Vegan Freak Radio are friends of Dan & Jenna of Abolition Radio (if you are vegan, female, and on a podcast, chances are your name is Jenna).  Then I met one local PL’er at an anti-war march this past March, and took part in PL’s May Day celebration in Brooklyn some weeks later.  Since then I’ve kept in touch with the local PL members (joining PL as a member is an official act), through whom I learned about the summer project in Seattle and decided to go.  So I spent the week living in the home of some Seattle PL members (one of whom currently works for Boeing as a machinist), along with several other project participants, learning more about communism, PL, and how it all operates.  Here I’ll post a day-by-day recap, so you can relive the week with me.

What’s Archie disapproving of now?

The Holocaust

Genocide was nothing new in 1939, but the Nazis under Adolf Hitler created an assembly line of murder that has been rivaled nowhere else except modern slaughterhouses.  Six million Jewish humans were killed by the Nazis and their collaborators.  If we include other ethnic groups, prisoners of war, disabled people, homosexuals, and dissidents who were also exterminated, the death toll is at least 11 million.

These events must be accepted as historical fact.  The physical and documentary evidence, not to mention living eye witnesses, belie any and every madman’s attempt to deny these events.  There are no logical grounds from which to question their historical veracity, nor moral grounds from which to approve or forget or conveniently ignore.  Instead these events ought to be analyzed with open eyes, for signs and causes and outcomes.  To deny the trauma of this history is naive and cruel.

Barack Obama

Rest assured that at any given time, I am disapproving of this human capitalist-wolf in sheep’s clothing — much as I disapprove of maligning both sheep and wolves by that trite human analogy.  I am often forced to compromise precision of meaning in efforts to communicate through the imperfect medium you call “language.”  Betty, Veronica, and I never have trouble understanding each other even without vocalization, symbols, complex syntax or grammar.

Your American president wordmaster must love the limitations of human language, however.  He can talk around any issue, leave nasty truths unsaid, and come off looking like a swell guy.  If his middle name isn’t “Potent Rhetoric” it should be.

What’s that you say?  His middle name is Hussein?  Oh yes, that’s right — much has been made of this fact, especially by him, in his recent trip to tyrannical-states/U.S. allies (is there really a difference?) Saudi Arabia and Egypt.  Let’s examine some examples of his rhetorical efficacy from his speech at Cairo University.  There was this gem:

Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong, and it does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America’s founding.

The first statement sounds great to the casual listener — the idea of anyone abandoning violence seems a “positive” development towards a “civilized” resolution of differences.  But it presupposes that Palestinians en masse are currently engaged in violent acts which they must abandon.  I can only presume Mr. Obama means to evoke the ever-useful specter of rocket fire from the Gaza strip and the image of Palestinian political party Hamas as dangerous extremists.  This rabbit has no interest in defending Hamas, but consider for one moment that they are the elected leaders of Gaza.  Is there an elected government anywhere else in the world that, if its territory were blockaded by another power and its people bombed, would be expected to respond with no show of force whatsoever?  Furthermore, if Hamas as a group is so violence-prone, and so representative of Palestinians at large, they are also remarkably ill-equipped and incompetent.  Consider that in the Israeli siege of Gaza in January of this year, 13 Israelis died–four by friendly fire–compared to 1,300 Palestinians.  That’s 100 Palestinians killed for every 1 Israeli, 4 of whom were killed by their own side.  Leading up to this, ratios of Palestinian deaths due to Israeli military activity compared to Israeli deaths due to Palestinian rocket-fire regularly topped 200 to 1.  Mr. Obama included in his speech no recommendation to the Israeli state that they abandon violence, yet these figures crudely suggest that Israel is at least a hundred times more violent than the Palestinians.  Should we conclude killing is only wrong when used to resist occupying power, not to entrench it?  Or maybe it’s only wrong when Arabs do the killing — I’m not sure which President Barry meant to imply.

One wonders what sage words Mr. Obama would have offered to the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto uprising of 1943.  Perhaps they too should have abandoned violence?  But let’s not make unfair comparisons, eh?  Let’s grant Mr. Obama his way: he evokes instead the civil rights struggles in the U.S. and elsewhere that included leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., who committed themselves to nonviolent forms of resistance.  Obama conveniently glosses over the violent conflicts that contributed to the abolition of slavery and the formal recognition of black American rights.  He has been out of school for some time, and perhaps John Brown’s raid, the Deacons for Defense and Justice, Malcolm X, et al., were not emphasized in his history classes, but how anyone misses the Civil War is beyond this bunny.  Or at Gettysburg was it Union troops’ “peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America’s founding” that did in23,000 Confederate soldiers?  Obama’s speech also comfortably assumes that full and equal rights have been won for all American citizens.  Sure, legally, black and white Americans are no longer segregated, but geographically, socially, and economically, the divide remains — Mr. Obama’s individual rise to fame and fortune notwithstanding.  But the speech admits no room to question this presumption.

Instead, with intolerable smugness, Obama’s message to Palestinians is that “we” Americans know how to resist and end injustice like civilized, peaceable people, so take a page from our book and you’ll have your precious civil rights.  He either doesn’t know or doesn’t wish to acknowledge the full range of ways Palestinian humans have resisted and continue to resist the Israeli state’s violence against them.  These include regular nonviolent protests where and when Israel sends its young people to demolish Palestinian homes or erect apartheid-style walls.  Some Americans may vaguely remember Rachel Corrie, an American who traveled to Gaza to live and work in solidarity with Palestinians; an Israeli military bulldozer ran over and killed her in 2003 as she was peacefully protesting.  More recently Akil Sadek Sru and Basim Abu Rahmah were killed in separate incidents protesting at the separation wall near the West Bank village of Ni’lin — the site of regular protests and regular violence against these protestors from Israeli forces.

Obama spoke not a word to condemn Israeli violence, which includes not only the direct use of force and weaponry, but the day-t0-day violence of denying basic necessities like food, water, fuel, electricity, access to hospitals.  The most charming of hypocrites, he also ignored the blatant violence of his own state against Iraqis, Afghans, and Pakistanis; he ignored the fact that Israel’s violence is funded (in vast majority) by American aid.

How can he get away with this?  Why did not truth seekers shout him down at once?  Allow me to point out another instance of Obama’s sleight-of-tongue:

Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust. Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich. Six million Jews were killed, more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless, it is ignorant, and it is hateful.

Here he prefaced his remarks on Palestinian violence with a denunciation of Holocaust deniers and anti-Semitism.  Fine.  But now watch carefully, kids, as he effortlessly allides Nazis with anyone who would dare criticize the Israeli state:

Threatening Israel with destruction, or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews, is deeply wrong and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve.

Here the first phrase, “threatening Israel with destruction,” is equated with “repeating vile stereotypes about Jews,” both “deeply wrong.”  Thus the listener, if agreeing that the latter action is wrong, is forced to agree that the former is also wrong.  But to claim Israel = Jews is wrong, and erases the worldwide diaspora and those within Israel who do not endorse the violence of the Israeli state.  The fact is  “the peace that the people of this region deserve” is most disturbed not by outsiders threatening Israel with destruction (a tacit rebuke to Iran’s leader) nor by repeating stereotypes about Jews (though stereotyping indeed is a vile human behavior) but by the state of Israel itself — in breaking ceasefire agreements, in bombing a trapped civilian population, in denying basic necessities.

Let’s talk about animal rights and…abortion!

I’m always curious which way the wind is blowing on animal rights, especially in venues where a liberal/lefty slant isn’t a given.  A co-worker recently steered me toward this article in First Things, a publication of interreligious but orthodox theologians interested in shaping public policy.  Yes.  That’s right.  I’m terrified as well.

Interestingly, the author attempts to make the case for an alliance between the anti-abortion movement and vegetarians (and maybe vegans, too?).  At one point in my intellectual development, I was much enamoured of this idea — after all, if you consider an unborn fetus’ life sacrosanct, it doesn’t seem like much of a leap to lend a similar sanctity to the life of a chicken/rabbit/pig/cow/lobster…  Ah, youth!  My naivete seriously underestimated the speciesist outlook of many pro-lifers, and I myself hadn’t yet tackled the sticky issues of criminalization and bodily autonomy that attend the abortion debate.  But it’s a debate worth having, so let’s have it!

Experimental discussion question (email me your results!)

Once again, Charlotte will be teaching Greek and Roman Mythology.  Which means once again, Charlotte is tweaking her syllabus, lectures, and discussion plans.   She’s thinking of using the following exercise in the first discussion, but needs some raw data (i.e., idea what kind of results to expect) before committing to it.  You can help her by doing the following exercise yourself and emailing her your results or posting here.  Be as honest as you can and as anonymous as you like.

1) Picture a basketball player. Write a brief physical description. 2) Picture a baseball player. Write a brief physical description. 3) Picture a softball player. Write a brief physical description.

Variation: Raspberry Golden Vanilla Cupcakes (33)

In the ingredients preface to VCTOTW, Terry & Isa encourage their baking padawans to collect and experiment with flavor extracts: “Collect a bunch and soon you’ll be known as ‘That Magical Extract Lady (or Man)’ and the local children will follow wherever you go.”  Vanilla and almond extract have never let me down, but there’s a lot more to the flavor world than those old stand-bys: coffee, orange, mint, maple… I could go on and on, making a deliciously different batch of cupcakes every day, solely by alternating the extracts in the mix.  No children are following me yet, but I’m doing pretty well with the twenty-something post-college set.  Parents of the twenty-something post-college set, too.

For this recipe, I have to thank mi madre for acquiring the raspberry extract and suggesting the flavor combo. Perhaps she was inspired by the luscious photo on p. 42 of the Sexy Low-Fat Vanilla Cupcakes with Fresh Berries.  While those are a recipe unto themselves, the cakes that my lovely assistant Dohn Juan and I produced were mix-and-match.  We used the standard Golden Vanilla Cupcakes (33), substituting 1/4 tsp of raspberry extract for the almond I usually give ‘em.  On top, we spread raspberry preserves, and drizzled some Skinny Confectioners’ Icing (41).  The Icing is about as simple as can be–pure confectioners’ sugar plus 1-3 tsp soy milk.  It’s a snap to make, especially when you have a baking prodigy to help stir while you pour.  My stir-er proved himself so naturally gifted–clockwise strokes, who’da thunk?–I could even overlook the silent “h” in his name.

And the taste of these cupcakes?  Wow.  That raspberry extract is magical–like your tongue dives into a raspberry-flavored swimming pool.  With the icing and preserves on top, these cupcakes are like a really good Pop-Tart, or Nutri-Grain Bar.  And you don’t even need a toaster.

Next Post

Visit http://www.PentagonMarch.org for more info

And in vegan news…

…yet another dietic study suggests that eating vegan is not only healthy, but healthiER than omni diets.  Plus easier to maintain than counting calories.  Imagine that.  Of course I recommend a firm understanding and commitment to animal rights go with your vegan diet.

Letter from an Israeli member of Checkpoint Watch

Madre received this video letter from an Israeli friend, and she in turn forwarded it to me in response to Archie’s last column.  While Archie & I question the utility of addressing such problems to Mr. Obama (or any ruler), the letter-writer vividly testifies to the violence that occurs daily under the Israeli government’s occupation of Palestine.  This isn’t “really” addressed to Obama, it’s addressed to humanity.

What’s Archie disapproving of now?

Charlotte

Every day, this human goes somewhere, for some purpose, instead of meeting my modest demands for food, shelter, water, and stenographer. When she is present in the apartment in front of her computer, she continues to claim that she has “work” to do and that website updates must wait. To her I must reply, what “work” could possibly take priority over giving the worldwide web notice of the most current objects of my disapproval? She has no response. Of course there is none.  And no excuse.

Snide comments about rabbits neglecting their columns when in fact it is the rabbits’ human caretaker who is neglectful

See above.

Take-out and the teenage personnel who deliver it

It’s bad enough when the humans I live with cook for themselves banging pots and pans around in the kitchen that lies mere feet away from the rabbit pen. Sometimes they also order food, cooked off the premises, to be brought to our door. Why is this objectionable? Aside from the testament to humans’ extreme laziness and wastefulness (how much Styrofoam can do you need? Really?) — which is only to be expected from thoughtless bipeds — the most recent example of this “take-out” phenomenon brought two extremely giggly young women to our apartment threshold. They shrieked (in delight, I assume) upon seeing myself, Betty, and Veronica; and proceeded to invite themselves in to pet us rabbits, further shrieking over our cuteness. We are NOT here for your enjoyment, humans, to be ogled at when your aren’t ogling members of your own species. If the arrangement of our features pleases you, rest assured this is purely coincidental and should NOT be regarded as some kind of invitation to treat us as toys/dolls/conversation pieces.  The next human to do so shall feel my wrath!  And by wrath, I mean teeth.

Israel

How could one mere rabbit disapprove of an entire nation state? Oh, where to begin? I could mention that the very concept of a “homeland” that exists solely for one segment of the earth’s population, chosen by religion and ethnicity and not morally relevant characteristics (like, say, a penchant for not shooting children in the head), is inherently unjust. I could mention that blockading one and half million people in a 7.5mi x 25mi area; refusing to allow regular transport of food, medicine, and fuel into said area; and then firing on outsiders attempting to provide such necessities, is what one might call “terrorism.” If, that is, that term had any actual consistent meaning. So too demolishing homes — with or without warning, with or without the occupants inside. So too refusing pregnant women access to hospitals. So too dropping bombs on a civilian population with nowhere to go except UN refugee camps, which (guess what?) will also have bombs dropped on them. So too agreeing to a ceasefire and continuing to fly bombing missions. Such activities are designed to leave the victims in a state of utter helplessness and uncertainty — a state in which their very lives are continually in jeopardy, through threat of direct violence or the violence that is want of material basics like food or a doctor’s care. What if you didn’t know if you would live through the day? Every day? Would you be, oh, I don’t know, terrified?

Think I’m being too hard on Israel? Think the Israeli government is responding to legitimate threats to “its” people? Think I’m making too much of a few, isolated atrocities? Let me leave you with this fun fact, then you tell me that Israel doesn’t have a long-standing, systemic policy of terrorizing civilians: between 2000 and 2004, 621 children died from small arms’ fire at Israeli checkpoints, in the street, on their way to school, and in their homes in the Gaza strip and the West Bank. Of those, two thirds had wounds in the chest, neck, and head – “the sniper’s wound,” in the words of Dr. Derek Summerfield in the British Medical Journal. 621 children. Shot by trained Israeli soldiers. Famed for their shooting accuracy.

“A Report from Kenya: Parsing a Native Son”

In December 2006, I had the pleasure (privilege?  honor?  misfortune?) to spend some time in Kenya meeting and avoiding eye contact with other writers.  You know…  Kenya!  That country in eastern Africa where Obama’s dad was born.  Lots of folks there were excited about Barack and his prospects of becoming president — way before the U.S. of A. felt the full force of Obamania, and one year before Kenya’s elections brought out the best in ethnic violence.  You know how in the U.S. Obama represents a minority demographic and so his election looks like a great triumph over prejudice and a victory for the little guy/gal?  Similar thing for Kenyans, because Obama’s dad (and hence Barry himself) is a member of the Luo ethnic group, while it’s been the Kikuyu group who have dominated Kenyan politics since independence in 1963.  I wasn’t in a position to be thinking too critically about anything (except maybe my own writing) while I was there, but fortunately there were and are people willing and able to cut through the myths.  This article was written by one of them, in response to Obama’s inauguration.  The writer is a pretty chill guy, to whom I am eternally grateful for hanging out with me even though I am spoiled, white, American, “impossible to engage in conversation,” and perennially “young and confused.”  He cares enough to tell the truth.  I still owe him a drink [and a story I think?], but until one of us makes it across the Atlantic, plugging his work is the best I can do.  Bonus points for the use of “parsing” in the article’s title.