Post Racial America
This is a repost from 2014. A current google search for Who said America is Post Racial? yielded Microaggressions and Traumatic Stress: Theory, Research, and Clinical Treatment. “Many media personalities made comments about the United States entering this alleged postracial era, including radio host Lou Dobbs, who in November 2009 said, “We are now in a 21st-century post-partisan, post-racial society” … MSNBC host Chris Matthews even claimed, “[President Obama] is post-racial by all appearances. You know, I forgot he was Black tonight for an hour.” Although Matthews’s comment was likely well-intentioned, it actually is reflective of his implicit bias and covert racism: Because the newly elected president did not fit Matthews’s schema of Black people, he was deemed to have no race—or, more likely, to seem White.”
It is a cliche among certain pundits that this is not “Post Racial America.” No one seems to know what PRA would look like. PRA might be less noisy, with fewer odors, than the current model. The opinion that we do not live in PRA seems unanimous. I heard the PRA denial, and began to wonder something. Who said America is Post Racial?
Mr. Google has 119 million answers to the question “who said america is post racial?” The short answer is nobody. The closest thing on the front Google page is an NPR commentary from January 2008. This was the early stages of the BHO run for the White House. The commenter said that the election of a dark skinned POTUS might usher in a post racial era in America.
This piece will not have any fresh opinions about race relations in America. That subject has been worn out elsewhere. If someone finds it to their advantage to denounce “racism”, there will be an audience. The truth is, very few people have ever said that America is Post Racial. Pictures are from Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library
Hollywood Part Four
This is a repost from a couple of years ago. I am currently reading Factotum, by Hank Chinaski, aka Charles Bukowski®. You will learn nothing by reading Hank Chinaski novels. Hank will not make you a better person. Hank requires little of the reader, except the labor of turning the page. Hank recycles the same story over and over. Work, fight, drink, fuck, over and over. I would say rinse and repeat, but Hank is not big on washing. When you are finished with a Hank Chinaski story, you are left with wasted time, instead of insights into the plight of humanity. My kind of book. … What follows is part four in the chamblee54 celebration of Hollywood, by Charles Bukowski/Hank Chinaski. The book details making the movie Barfly. Other installments of this series are available. one two three five Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
29 – The movie is shooting. Press people are starting to descend, in search of interesting copy. People have this notion that Hank is gonna be interesting. “The phone rang every day. People wanted to interview the writer. I never realized that there were so many movie magazines, or magazines interested in the movies. It was a sickness, this great interest in a medium that relentlessly and consistently failed, time after time after time, to produce anything at all. People became so used to seeing **** on film that they no longer realized it was ****.”
Hank Chinaski has to have a pro-active editor. This book is too smooth, and too easy to read. There is no way that a broken broken down urinal-feeder like pink China’s key can write a page turner like this. (Sometimes it is best to not correct the robo secretary.) Easy riding makes hard reading. Stream of consciousness is more fun to write, than it is to read.
Barbet Schroeder/Jon Pinchot did a series of interviews with Hank for French TV. I’m gonna find them on YouTube, and listen to as much as I can stand. (I did not make it through two minutes.) I thought I could use them as background noise for a graphic poem. The text was written by Ambrose Bierce, yet another drunken journalist. I’m gonna to use pictures of dogs for the background. This is gonna be the first time that I’ve married images to text in a while.
30 – Hank and Sarah go to a party. They meet a lawyer representing somebody. The client owes Hank money. The lawyer says the check is in the mail. Hank, Sarah, and the lawyer, continue to drink heavily. The lawyer’s wife, Helga, is a retired drunk. Hank says that there is absolutely nothing worse then being sober around drunks.
I was brought up in a Southern Baptist house. Father would drink a beer or two, but mom was a teetotaler. As a result, I really never learned how to drink. A social outcast in high school, I didn’t learn there either. I may be the only person alive that never drank, before he was legal. By this time, I was a dedicated pothead. It went from enjoying an occasional beer, to the point where the drinking was more than I was comfortable with. I never got a DUI, and I never progressed to hard liquor dependency. When I was 34, I quit, and never looked back.
I quit drinking on December 31st 1988 … The windows robo-secretary quit, for the last time. I am moving over to google docs, which is much better. … I’m not as willing to put up with alcoholic nonsense as I was before. I try not to be obnoxious about it. Alcohol serves as a social lubricant, that helps you get to know people. I spend a lot more time by myself now. It got even worse when I quit smoking pot. Now I’m an anti-social mess. It would be best if I could figure out *moderation,* but that is not happening for me.
31 – The checks did arrive. They promptly bounced. … I’ve always liked the phrase, returned for insufficient funds. The last time I got a reality check, it was returned for insufficient funds.
There’s a campaign ad, from a lady named Kay Ivey. She’s some sort of politician in Alabama, and she has nothing good to say about President Brandon. I’ve condensed this video down to the best 5 seconds. This lady looks at the camera all sweet and squishy and says “poor Joe bless his heart.”
32 – So they’re shooting the scene in a bathtub. Francine is concerned that her tits are going to show. Mickey is not loosening up. They’re on their 19th to take. The camera man wants a drink … he’s a brilliant camera man, and a drunk. They don’t want him to drink. However, people do want Francine to have a drink, so she can loosen up. Finally, Sarah comes out of the kitchen, with of coffeecup of whiskey, gin, and cat piss. Francine drinks the concoction, and the scene is shot.
Being a retired drunk is nothing to be proud of. If I was really doing it right, I would have learned the gift of … what’s that word, not sobriety, not temperance … anyways that that word that means that you can drink enough to enjoy yourself, or to loosen up when you need to, but not become a basket case. Now I can’t remember the word. I never could do it when I was drinking, and now I can’t remember the word for it. I’m sure I’ll remember it later.
33 – They’re shooting a scene. The building they’re using used to be a ballroom. It was full on Saturday night. The drunks outside hated the bougie dancing people. Now the building is a rehabilitation center for alcoholics, full of “reformed drunks who read the Bible, smoke too many cigarettes, and play bingo.”
This German lady, and this Italian lady, want to interview Mr. Chinaski. Italian lady goes first, all she wants to do is talk about drinking. Hank wants to talk about being pickling up the ass of death. By the time he got to German lady, Hank ran out of things to say. … There’s an old joke, about this Polish starlet. She thought she could get a part by fucking the screenwriter.
I am happy with the google robo secretary. It is time to take this further, and try editing in gd. as this program is affectionately initialized. I have to have background music. This would be The fastest guitar in the world. A man named Lloyd Ellis created the album in 1958. A bunch of studio musicians record instrumentals, destined for the $1.98 bin at K-mart. Meanwhile, the timer on the phone goes off. Breakfast is ready. Life is good.
34 – Jon Pinchot calls Hank. The movie has been cancelled, again. That seems to happen a lot. Hank is sympathetic, and invites Jon over for a few drinks. Pinchot says no thank you, I have a date with two lesbians. Hank was going to go to the racetrack anyway.
The racetrack system is all based on the concept that the public must lose. You decide what the public is going to do, and bet against it. Hank has a good system, but doesn’t always follow it. One of the problems that you have to defeat is human weakness.
Cary Grant was a star of LA racing. He would go to Hollywood Park, place a $2 bet, and go into hysterics when losting. The former Archie Leach was so well known at the track, they named a race The Cary Grant Stakes. Randolph Scott was a drink served in the clubhouse.
Hollywood Park eventually became obsolete. It was torn down, and SoFi stadium was built on the site. The Super Bowl is playing in this venue as we speak. I have a digital converter powering a huge tv that weighs 66.6 pounds. It was given to me. The game is on Channel 11, where over-the-air broadcasting is not a priority. The picture is on for a while, then breaks down into pixelated goulash.
35 – Hank and Sarah go to see a scene shot. They go to the bar. It is somehow connected to a flop house hotel. They go in, and a famous film critic there. .. Siskel and Ebert or Airhead or one of those guys .. Soon, Francine Bowers/Faye Dunaway comes in with her little notebook.
She is playing Jane, Hank’s gf, and wants to know about her. The Barfly cheat sheet says that Jane is “real,” but I suspect that her name is really Betty. In one of his books, Hank talks about his shack job Betty. Neither one was a member of the Junior League.
This man, Illiantovitch, comes in, and orders a double vodka. I had that I had to Google that name because it’s not in the Wikipedia summary. I found this Bukowski Forum. They had a text document, with every character in Hollywood, and the real life counterpart. There is no information about Illiantovitch, which is too bad. He is a sloppy drunk, but a neat character. Illiantovitch keeps drinking double vodkas, cussing out everybody when they go to watch the movie.
Francine is a great name. On dead Saturday, 1973, I went to a Stadium concert in Charlotte NC. One of the bands was ZZ Top. This was back when their beards were only about three fingers long. ZZ Top was the only band that to play an encore. One of their star songs was Francine.
36 – They need to shoot the bar fight. They’ve got doubles, to do the real fighting. Mickey Rourke is just going to pretend, in a couple of close-ups. Let the doubles do all the dirty work. Hank is nostalgic for his days as a barroom drunk. Later, Francine asks Hank how Jane died. She was the maid in this hotel, and everybody gave her a bottle of wine for Christmas. Hank went over to see her, and saw all these bottles in her room. “Babe you can’t drink all of that you’re going to die.” He came back a few days later, all the bottles were empty, and she was laying on the bed unconscious. Jane came to long enough to say “I knew it was you going to be you.” She died an hour later.
Tea Party
This is a repost from 2010. It was a simpler time. A mixed race “liberal” was the new President, and “conservatives” were not happy about it. The Tea Party emerged, with lots of protesting, and general merriment. A good time was had by all. In 2024, the political Tea Party is obsolete. If you google Tea Party, the top result is 5 Tea Party Etiquette Tips.
In the first year of the Obama regime, America has seen the rise of the “Tea Party”. These affairs are usually right wing, sometimes racist, and have lots of clever signs. The general idea is that taxes are too high, government is too big, and that the people need to do something.
The namesake event was the Boston Tea Party. On December 16, 1773, crowds of people (some dressed as Mohawks) went on board the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver. The crowds threw overboard 342 chests, containing 90,000 pounds of tea. The crowds were unhappy because the East India Company was importing the tea into America, with a 3 pence per pound tax.
Listverse plays the contrarian. “American colonists did not protest the Tea Tax with the Boston Tea Party because it raised the price of tea. The American colonists preferred Dutch tea to English tea. The English Parliament placed an embargo on Dutch tea in the colonies, so a huge smuggling profession developed. To combat this, the English government LOWERED the tax on tea so that the English tea would be price competitive with Dutch teas. The colonists (actually some colonists led by the chief smugglers) protested by dumping the tea into Boston Harbor.”
According to Wikipedia, the Dutch tea had been smuggled into the colonies for some time. The Dutch government had given their companies a tax advantage, which allowed them to sell their product cheaper. Finally, the British government cut their taxes, but kept a tax in place. The “Townsend Tax” was to be used to pay governing colonial officials, and make them less dependent on the colonists.
In Charleston, New York, and Philadelphia, the tea boats were turned around, and returned to England with their merchandise. In Massachusetts, Governor Thomas Hutchinson insisted that the tea be unloaded. Two of the Governor’s sons were tea dealers, and stood to make a profit from the taxed tea. There are also reports that the smugglers were in the crowd dumping tea into the harbor.
The photogenic tea party movement seems to be destined to stay a while. The question remains, how much does it have to do with the namesake event? Pictures for this post are from the Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library
Did Ben Franklin Say “Question Authority”?
“It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority.” Benjamin Franklin This nugget appeared on facebook recently, and the bs detector was buzzing. I never heard the phrase “Question Authority” before 1981. QA sounds awfully modern for 18th Century America.
I quickly googled the phrase, and found indications that it was in not found in the Franklin Papers at Yale University. A search of the Mr. Franklin’s wikiquote did not turn up QA.
Unfortunately, I chose to include a link to Snopes in my facebook reply. The meme-poster saw Snopes, and said that was not a valid source. We went back and forth on the issue. I did say that Snopes was questionable, but had other sources that fueled my skepticism.
A google search credits Timothy Leary with saying “Think for yourself and question authority.” … “Timothy Leary’s track on Sound Bites from the Counter Culture (1989.)” 1989 is a few years after I saw my first QA bumper sticker. Maybe Mr. Leary heard someone else say QA, and claimed it for himself. Timmy Leary was an authority that required enhanced interrogation.
A Christian oriented forum says that Mr. Leary got QA from Ben Franklin. At any rate, QA is counter-culture phrasing, of the type that Ben Franklin probably did not use. According to Google n-gram, QA does not appear in print before 1885. 1976 and 1987 saw QA spiking, with QA usage peaking in 2005.
Let’s examine the concept of questioning authority. In this case, the authority was a facebook meme. When I presented Snopes as a dissenting authority, it was rejected. When I presented Wikiquotes as an authority/source, I was satisfied, and my facebook opponent dismissive. I should note that in my initial facebook reply, I said that it was unlikely that Mr. Franklin said QA. We cannot claim to have heard every conversation Ben Franklin had, or if he said something similar.
Did Mr. Franklin question authority? Lets take a look at a famous quote: “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” “The words appear originally in a 1755 letter that Franklin is presumed to have written on behalf of the Pennsylvania Assembly to the colonial governor during the French and Indian War. … the Assembly wished to tax the lands of the Penn family … to raise money for defense against French and Indian attacks. … In other words, the “essential liberty” to which Franklin referred was thus not what we would think of today as civil liberties but, rather, the right of self-governance of a legislature in the interests of collective security.” The “essential liberty” Mr. Franklin referred to was the ability of the government to tax citizens. It’s all about the Benjamins.
One type of questionable authority invoving Mr. Franklin was slavery. Benjamin Franklin owned slaves. Pennsylvania tax records of 1769 and 1774 show “1 Negro” as being in his possesion. “Franklin owned slaves from as early as 1735 until 1781. The Franklin household had six slaves; Peter, his wife Jemima and their son Othello, George, John and King.”
Mr. Franklin ran advertising for the slave trade in his publications. “To be SOLD A very likely breeding Negroe Woman, and a Boy about two years old. The woman is fit for any Business Either in Town or Country. Enquire of William Bafdon, over against the Coffee House in Front Street.” … “Advertisement for an enslaved woman and an enslaved child from Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette (December 9-16, 1736).”
Mr. Franklin later changed his tune. “In 1787 Franklin became the President of the Philadelphia Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage, often referred as the Abolition Society. … The Abolition Society was the first in America and served as inspiration for the formation of abolitionist societies in other colonies. The group focused not only in abolishing slavery but also in education, moral instruction and employment. In a letter dated November 9th, 1789, Franklin wrote wholeheartedly against the institution of slavery. He argued that slaves have long been treated as brute animals beneath the standard of human species. Franklin asked for resources and donations to help freed slaves adjust to society by giving them education, moral instruction and suitable employment. … On February 3rd, 1790, less than three months before his death, Franklin petitioned Congress to provide the means to bring slavery to an end. When the petition was introduced to the House and the Senate it was immediately rejected by pro-slavery congressmen mostly from the southern states.” Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. This is a repost.
Netanyahu Pushes Back
The display of a link on this page does not indicate approval of content.
Scoop: Israeli minister blocking flour Bibi promised Biden would be allowed into Gaza
The retconning of George Floyd, part two: the autopsy Breaking down the lies, deception …
Nathan Wade Takes Over 15 Seconds To Decide If He’s Been To A Cabin With Fani Willis
Hearing to decide if Fulton DA Fani Willis will be disqualified from Trump case
prohibited and constitutes a violation of the French Intellectual Property Code.
Ukraine’s War, Putin’s Worldview | Robert Wright & Leonid Ragozin
Lawyer Repeatedly Asks Nathan Wade To Read Invoice While He’s On The Stand
Ukraine’s War, Putin’s Worldview | Robert Wright & Leonid Ragozin
A look at the man who may know all the secrets in the Fani Willis Trump drama
Should You Eat the Meat or Not? You’re going to a family gathering on a Lenten Friday. …
‘Good Friend’ Testifies Fani Willis & Nathan Wade’s Romantic Relationship Began In 2019
Fani Willis Embarrasses Black Women, Turns Courtroom into Beauty Shop
Gazans’ Displacement, AI’s Acceleration | Robert Wright & Andrew Day
Fani WIllis’ Shameful Behavior In Court & The Godless Goon Pastor Who Loves …
Mika Brzezinski Defends ‘Fiery’ Fani Willis: You Know She’s ‘Winning’ When Fox News Talk About …
Netanyahu pushes back on international concerns about an attack on Rafah
Non-profit behind ‘He Gets Us’ Super Bowl ads is main funder for US hate group
No, Trump, the U.S. Can’t Pay Down the National Debt with Oil
The Mother of All Fiscal Cliffs: We fall off it in 2025, and people aren’t worried enough.
Has Fergie Chambers shut down the Berkshire Communists’ ‘gym’ as ordered …
He’s Got $250 Million to Spend on Communist Revolution Fergie Chambers is heir to …
Aaron Ivey, Pastor Husband of Podcaster Jamie Ivey, Accused of ‘Indecent’ Texts with Men
Shooter at Houston megachurch had lengthy criminal history including weapons charges
Remove Alana Evans from Leadership Position in Adult Industry Union
Rachel Maddow, Ken Burns on U.S. and Holocaust & American fight against fascism
How Israel’s genocide in Gaza became a showdown between the West and the Global South
Bombshell New Details About “Star Crossed Lovers” Fani Willis and Nathan Wade
Man flashed gun at Schnucks employee who said he had too many self-checkout items
Rainbow Mafia has infiltrated, hijacked our youngest generation.” so claims Fox News ..
Putin Critic Alexi Navalny Dies in Prison w/Scott Horton Daniel Davis / Deep Dive
Who is Robin Bryant-Yeartie? Fani Willis former friend testifies against Georgia DA …
Jonathan Turley: This is the strange thing about Fani Willis’ testimony
Pro-Israel groups, deeply critical of American news outlets such as Washington Post …
HARDBALL,S Ep145: THE MOM WHO BAKED HER BABY IN AN OVEN
fani willis body language ~ qi clay ~ qi clay ~ yarmouk ~ nyt podcast
terrence ahmed bradley ~ idf ~ wayne newton ~ louvre collections ~ le louvre
original ~ hatler dean gurius ~ @radleybalko ~ glenn & john ~ romney
ryan powers ~ hatler gurius ~ hatler gurius ~ daniel morgan ~ stuart culpepper
jack v lloyd ~ mises u ~ french toast ~ creative commons ~ soul divine
timpson ~ timpson ~ amanda timpson ~ radley balko fired ~ balko
Robin Bryant Yeartie ~ Ogelthorpre ~ austin dabney ~ austin dabney ~ austin dabney
law.com ~ wade campbell ~ racist ~ Young India 1924-26 V0l-ii ~ gandhi correspondence 1925
gandhi 1925 ~ gandhiserve ~ gandhi’s ashes ~ hh addendum ~ coleman hughes
eigenrobot ~ balko ~ KISS ~ gsu ~ steve rickz
@inkfit_ ~ super bowl ~ superbowl ~ original ~ rfk ad
mardi gras ~ public speakers ~ polish jokes ~ polish jokes ~ rowe center
Аквариум – Поезд в огне ~ bookman ~ Cloacal Anomalies ~ @jccfergie ~ fergie chambers ~ debt
this original spawned this haiku reduction like bible tracking FBI disco Christians buy product MAGA ~ @hzomlot This is 7 year old Sidra, the cousin of my wife. The impact of the Israeli missile was so powerful it flung her out, leaving her mutilated body dangling from the ruins of the destroyed building in Rafah 48 hours ago. My wife’s aunt Suzan, her husband Fouzy Hassouna, two of their sons, Muhammad and Karam, Karam’s wife Amouna and her three children (7-year-old twins Sidra and Suzan, and 15-month-old Malik) were all killed. The family had been displaced from the north of Gaza and took shelter in Rafah. We will be relentless until those responsible brought to justice. ~ Fani Willis went “Marilyn Mosby” on the Trump case, and indicted several other actors. Michael Roman, one of the other defendants, told us about the affair with Nathan Wade. Question: If Fani Willis had focused on Donald Trump, would we be having this scandal? ~ this is the monday morning reader for the day after the super bowl massacre. The picture today was taken by John Vachon in February 1942. “Burlington, Iowa. Sunnyside unit, FSA (Farm Security Administration) trailer camp. McReynolds family in their trailer for workers at Burlington ordnance plant” ~ It is Fat Tuesday again, and here is my Mardi Gras post. It is another world. The picture is from the GSU library. I don’t think this description is completely accurate. “Ponce de Leon and Briarcliff, 1954-02-22” ~ #UnpopularOpinion The RFK ad in the stupidbowl was pretty “swift”. Just some retro sixties fun, before it all turned sour. I had the game on the background, with the sound off. Trying to find the commercial today is a struggle. Google has lots of chatter, but no video. Finally, I found a tweet with the ad. ~ In 2020, Democrats blamed Covid on Trump, despite knowing that they would have done little different. In 2024, decent people are blaming the slaughter in Gaza on Biden, despite knowing that Trump would have done little different. This is called karma. ~ the Georgian Terrace Ballroom was across from the Fox Theater on Peachtree Street. It hosted a series of music venues over the years. It caught fire in 1987. The Hotel next door built an annex on the property. ~ “the Free Press — a publication that advertises itself as the antidote to the gullible, lazy mainstream media … Hughes … will be moderating a panel discussion on Gaza (of all things) in New York later this month.” ~ This is a repost from February 11, 2020. Thirty days later, the stock market fell 2400 points, and Kroger had panic buying. The pandemic had arrived, and nothing was ever the same again. ~ this feature is about a TED talk, Toni Morrison, Robin DiAngelo, and an angry Black man. It was originally published February 11, 2020. Thirty days later, the stock market fell 2400 points, and Kroger had panic buying. The pandemic had arrived, and nothing was ever the same again. ~ your post was removed because it has a Meme, graphic, Tiktok, or comic that wasn’t made by a religious fruitcake from their point of view. ~ was Mohandas Gandhi a racist? He lived in South Africa for 22 years. There are reports that he did not appreciate the native South African population. ~ This is a repost from February 2020. A few things have happened in the last four years. … ~ A few years ago, Jordan Peterson underwent “emergency medical benzodiazepine detox, which we were only able to find in Russia.” This story was originally published a month before the start of the COVID lockdown. Pictures today were taken in March, 1940, by Marion Post Wolcott. “Farmer’s son and friend playing cards in pool room on winter morning. Woodstock, Vermont” ~ This is a repost from 2018. Rose McGowan lives in Mexico City today. ~ Rose McGowan was once a presence in Hollywood. She currently lives in Mexico City. Russell Lee took the photograph in February 1939. “Mother and child, white migrants, Harlingen, Texas.” ~ @haaretzcom 🧵1/8 Israel’s National Buffoonery Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ordered the Southern District’s police chief to skip a meeting with the IDF chief about protesters’ efforts to block humanitarian aid to Gaza ~ pictures today are from The Library of Congress ~ selah
Rose McGowan Again
This is a repost from 2018. Rose McGowan lives in Mexico City today. … Brave is the book that Rose Arianna McGowan is promoting. Whenever there is a fresh controversy, there is usually product to sell. This blog has done it’s part, writing about RAM thrice: Rose McGowan Misogygate, A Rose By Any Other Blame, and The Rose And Bret Show.
Recently, during a promotional event, push came to shove. RAM fought back, against the trans activist who verbally assaulted her from the audience. While RAM, and her opinions, can be highly annoying, it was fun to see someone push back at a troll. RAM said a few things about labelism.
“Don’t label me, sister. ’ Don’t put your labels on me. Don’t you f—ing do that. Do not put your labels on me. I don’t come from your planet. Leave me alone. I do not subscribe to your rules. I do not subscribe to your language. You will not put labels on me or anybody. Step the f— back. What I do for the f—ing world and you should be f—ing grateful. Shut the f— up. Get off my back. What have you done? I know what I’ve done, God dammit.”
Andi Dier is the trans activist who made a scene. There are unconfirmed rumors of bad behavior on their part. @PopCrave “Andi Dier the woman who heckled Rose McGowan at her book signing is now being accused of sexual assault by multiple women.”
Some reports on the B&N episode note trans-problematic comments made on RuPaul’s “What’s the Tee?” podcast. In the last part of the show, RAM makes comments about trans women not having periods as teenagers. Is that transphobic? Certified cis-male PG is the wrong person to ask.
The rest of the show was fun to listen to. RuPaul is a smart cookie, and made sage observations about the illusionary nature of just about everything. RAM made one comment, at 51:11, that is easily refuted. “60% of gun violence deaths are in this country are women.” The FBI issues a report every year. The homicide numbers for 2016: Total 15,070 male 11,821 female 3,208.
Pictures are from The Library of Congress. “Mother and child, white migrants, Harlingen, Texas.” The photographer was Russell Lee. The pictures were taken in February, 1939.
Jordan Peterson Goes To Russia
This is a repost from February 2020. A few things have happened in the last four years. … Sometimes, things go beyond the like/dislike binary. Some stories are just so weird, that the only reaction is to observe in wonder. Just how can real life could be so bizarre? The recent chapter in the Jordan Peterson story is an example. Dr. Peterson is a Toronto psychologist/professor, and youtube personality. His signature work is a book, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos.
Mikhaila Peterson, the daughter of the professor, released a youtube video on February 7, 2020. “Dad was put on a low dose of a benzodiazepine a few years ago for anxiety following an extremely severe autoimmune reaction to food. He took the medication as prescribed. Last April when my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer, the dose of the medication was increased.” This went on for a while, until he went into rehab. This article, about the first rehab, is dated September 20, 2019.
“After several failed treatment attempts in North American hospitals, including attempts at tapering and micro-tapering, we had to seek an emergency medical benzodiazepine detox, which we were only able to find in Russia. … He’s had to spend 4 weeks in the ICU in terrible shape, but, with the help of some extremely competent and courageous doctors, he survived.”
“She and her husband took him to Moscow last month, where he was diagnosed with pneumonia and put into an induced coma for eight days. She said his withdrawal was “horrific,” worse than anything she had ever heard about. …Jordan Peterson has only just come out of an intensive care unit, Mikhaila said. He has neurological damage, and a long way to go to full recovery.”
This raises a few questions. Why Russia? France ranks as the number one healthcare system in many rankings. The World Health Organization, in their ranking of “Overall efficiency in all WHO member states,” puts Russian Federation at 130, out of 191. (The United States is 37.) USNews ranks Canada as number one. Jordan Peterson is famously Canadian.
Pride goeth before a fall. Jordan Peterson is not a humble person. It is bad manners to celebrate the misfortune of others. However, when the fallen person is famous for promoting 12 Rules for Life, it is tough not to speculate. This story has inspired some creative types. “deep in the Russian wilderness, an unholy experiment is underway. for years Peterson has attempted to transmute himself into the exalted lobster, king of the animals. but there’s been a malfunction—he’s stuck in the interstitial stage, forever to live as an eldritch abomination.” @MenshevikM “Jordan Peterson is incredible because most right wing hacks are very boring career hypocrites, whereas he went from nobody to living in Russia with brain damage in about 3 years by practicing what he preached”
There are hundreds of hours of Jordan Peterson talking online. These videos are a gold mine of ironic comments. Chamblee54 had a post about a Peterson appearance in June 2018. (The video is no longer available.) Apparently, this was after he started taking Benzos. Two quotes that stand out. “What stupid things am I doing that is making my life wretched?” “The next rule is to not let your children do anything that will make other people not like them.”
On November 29, 2018, Peterson was on the Joe Rogan Experience. Rogan “you have the schedule that you have and the amount of energy and enthusiasm you maintain with the schedule is very remarkable cuz you’re not stopping you’re not slowing down I mean you’ve had your foot on the gas for like two solid years now” Peterson “make hay while the Sun shines I guess is that how you feel about it well you know when you have an opportunity that’s completely preposterous you’re a fool to take it for granted … Tammy and I have been to a hundred cities since January.” Dr. Peterson was raking in the dough, and did not want to get off the merry go round. “What stupid things am I doing that is making my life wretched?”
Dr. Peterson started to make appearances after his first bout with rehab. PG saw a video, and noticed a difference in his appearance. PG has written about Dr. Peterson two times, in addition to the 06/13/18 post. There was a commentary about a video at Prager U. When you click the original link to that video, you get a message: “You just hit a route that doesn’t exist… the sadness.” Dennis Prager is another snark-worthy public figure.
The other video is about an appearance Dr. Peterson made in Aspen, hosted by Bari Weiss. John McWhorter asks a question. Dr. Peterson does not have a slick answer. Pictures, for this tabloid view of academia gone awry, are from The Library of Congress.
Was Mohandas Gandhi A Racist?
A meme appeared on facebook, “GHANDI’S 7 DANGERS TO HUMAN VIRTUE.” Below the misspelled name were seven concepts, written in all caps. This got PG thinking.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (M.K. Gandhi) “was born was born on October 2, 1869, at Porbandar, a small town on the western coast of India.” At some point the title Mahatma was applied, and is often used as though it was his name. Exact transliterations between languages using different alphabets is tricky. What is the “correct” spelling of this man’s last name? Most sources today use Gandhi.
Another term, Gandhiji, turns up in the research. “‘Ji’ in Hindi or Urdu is a suffix used after the names of respectable persons and elders like father and mother. It is used every day by millions of Indians to address their elders. Hence Gandhiji is but Mahatma Gandhi, father of our nation, addressed reverently and respectfully. We call mother mataji. Mata means mother.”
The quote in the meme is real. It is found on page 135 of Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Vol. 33. It was in an article found in Young India on October 22, 1925.
“SEVEN SOCIAL SIN The same fair friend wants readers of Young India to know, if they do not already, the following seven social sins: Politics without principles, Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity, Worship without sacrifice. Naturally, the friend does not want the readers to know these things merely through the intellect but to know them through the heart so as to avoid them.”
The next entry in the collected works is interesting. “79. THAT ETERNAL QUESTION However much I may wish to avoid it, the Hindu-Muslim question will not avoid me. Muslim friends insist upon my intervention to solve it. The Hindu friends would have me discuss it with them and some of them say I have sown the wind and must reap the whirlwind.”
The meme had comments. Lloyd Lachow Gandhi was intensely racist. Joanne Gibson Gandhi was not intensely racist. Fighting racism was his first cause. John Janiga Gandhi racist??? John Taylor Lloyd, were you born an idiot, or did you have to work at it?
This looks like a job for Mr. Google. When you type the phrase “Is Gandhi,” suggested searches include “sill alive” and “on netflix.” This does not help if you want to know if someone is racist.
Mr. Gandhi lived in South Africa from 1893-1915. During this time he was offended at the treatment of Indian nationals, which led to a decision to fight for Indian rights. Unfortunately, these rights were not to be extended to the native South Africans.
… “there’s no doubting that Gandhi had little time for black people. During his 21 years in South Africa, he repeatedly expressed contempt for the native population, claiming they were no better than the “untouchables” of Indian society. One speech in particular stands out. In 1896, he was quoted as referring to black South Africans as the “raw kaffir, whose occupation is hunting and whose sole ambition is to collect a certain number of cattle to buy a wife with, and then pass his life in indolence and nakedness.” For those of you who aren’t up on your South African slang, “kaffir” is a direct equivalent of our N-word. Another time, he complained about finding himself in a “kaffir” prison, claiming Indians were “above” natives, who “are troublesome, very dirty and live like animals.”
There is the story of the Durban Post Office. “The first major accomplishment of the Natal Indian Congress was to further entrench racial segregation into South African society during a time of massive racial strife. At the time, the Durban, South Africa post office had two doors. One was for whites and the other for Indians and black natives. Gandhi was so disgusted at having to share a door with blacks that he initiated a campaign for the creation of a third door. … A year later, after the issue had already been resolved, Gandhi chose to expound upon his reasons for raising it in the first place. In his August 14, 1896 letter, “The Grievances of the British Indians in South Africa: An Appeal to the Indian Public,” he called being “put on the same level with the native” a “disability.”
This is a repost. Many of the links no longer work. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
TED Talk Google Adventure
This is a repost from February 11, 2020. Thirty days later, the stock market fell 2400 points, and Kroger had panic buying. The pandemic had arrived, and nothing was ever the same again. … TED sends me emails, recommending talks. This week, it was The real story of Rosa Parks — and why we need to confront myths about black history. I felt like listening, and clicked on the link.
David Ikard was the TED-talker. His son came home from school, having learned a lesson about Rosa Parks. Unfortunately, he was taught the version where Mrs. Parks is an old lady, whose feet hurt. The truth is that the protest had been planned.
Dr. Ikard was offended that his son was taught the incorrect version of the story. He wanted to have a conference with the teacher. The transcript tells what happens next. “So I’m agonizing over this, primarily because I understand, as an African-American man, that whenever you talk to whites about racism or anything that’s racially sensitive, there’s usually going to be a challenge. This is what white sociologist Robin DiAngelo calls “white fragility.” She argues that, in fact, because whites have so little experience being challenged about their white privilege that whenever even the most minute challenge is brought before them, they usually cry, get angry or run.” At this point, I decided not to listen to any more of the talk.
I got curious about how this turned out. His son taught his own lesson to the class. The teacher saw the error of her ways. That part of the talk has a happy ending. Unfortunately, the talk has eight minutes to go. Dr. Ikard tells another story. If you want to hear this story, you can listen to the talk.
After the second story, Dr. Ikard is talking about race relations in general. He repeats a quote. “Toni Morrison said, “If, in order for you to be tall, I have to be on my knees, you have a serious problem.” She says, “White America has a serious, serious problem.”
I have never read any of Ms. Morrison’s books. I have heard an interview on CBS radio, and seen a couple of videos. The “If, in order for you…” quote sounds like something she might say. However, I wanted to know the context. How did she come to say that?
I highlight the quote, right click, select google search. The only results that I saw, in English, were the TED talk. The next step is to find the Wikiquotes page for Toni Morrison. Go to Control F, write a search term in the field, and see what you find. After using tall, knees, order, and serious, as search items, the quote does not appear. It is possible that Ms. Morrison did say that sentence, but, for our purposes, it is not verified.
This is not the first time a Toni Morrison quote has caught my attention. A few years ago, a facebook friend posted a video of Ms. Morrison on the Charlie Rose show. I asked the fbf if he had a link for the video, for which he replied “Google it, sir.” It turns out that the video used creative editing, and did not accurately represent what Ms. Morrison said.
This is the problem with saying “Google it.” A search engine is going to show the searcher information that you might not want them to see. Besides that, saying “Google it” is rude. If you post something on facebook, or a TED talk, you should show where you get your information.
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
The Georgian Terrace Ballroom
The Georgian Terrace hotel used to have an adjacent ballroom. The building opened as the “Lucky Strike”, featuring “Duck Pin” bowling. At some time, it became a 1300 seat ballroom. It was not the grand ballroom, where events for the premiere of “Gone With The Wind” were held. As time moved on, the ballroom became a music performance hall. I saw shows there under four different business names. After the Agora Ballroom closed, the building was vacant, until a fire August 30, 1987. The site of the ballroom is now occupied by an annex of the Georgian Terrace Hotel.
The first show I saw at this facility was in 1972. The name of the business is forgotten, as is the act that performed. A band, comprised of people I went to high school with, played before he got there.
In 1974, “Big Time” promoter Alex Cooley opened “Alex Cooley’s Electric Ballroom”. (Alex Cooley died December 1, 2015.) The first show that I saw was Dr. John The Night Tripper. A few months later, Capricorn artists Cowboy played, with a vulgar New York band named Mercury opening. Gato Barbieri played, with some wondering how people could dance to that type of music.
Several major acts appeared at the Ballroom, mostly without me in the audience. KISS played there in 1974, and photographs from backstage are in the video. In April of 1974, Steely Dan was across from the Fox. In the summer of 1974, The Tubes played a week at the ballroom, with another heavily hyped show. On January 23, 1976, The Patti Smith Group played at the ballroom.
In 1975, Bruce Springsteen was on the covers of Time and Newsweek, and was receiving a promotional push unlike anything seen before. He played a show at the ballroom that summer, with a generous press party in the balcony. (At one unforgettable show Alex was caught off guard by a Bruce Springsteen request. “He asked if we could shut down the cash registers because they were making too much noise!… That’s the only time I ever did that.” Alex admits.)
I attended two shows in 1975. Mckendree Spring opened for Fanny, while I drank too many bourbon and cokes. In November of 1975, Juice Newton opened for Hot Tuna. Miss Newton seemed to be a bit pale, and performed “Get drunk and screw”. Hot Tuna was amazing. They went on stage at 10:55, and played, without a break, until 2:50. The drummer wore a shirt, mother fucking hot tuna. Few would argue that night.
In autumn of 1977, some brave soul opened a place called “The Ballroom” in the space on Peachtree Street. One night, I went with some friends to see an act, Happy the Man. There seemed to be a bit of chaos in the management of the facility. The Great Southeast Music Hall loaned a few microphones for the show. When the show was over, I walked out to a car, whose motor was running, with the driver asleep inside.
In the summer of 1978, the ballroom opened as The Agora Ballroom. Apparently, there is a music hall in Cleveland with that name, and they opened branch facilities around the country. There were some shows that I did not attend. Todd Rundgren opened the facility August 19, 1978. On October 2, 1979, The Clash played. Pictures from the crowd appeared on an album by the band. On December 2, 1981, U2 made their Atlanta debut.
A few weeks after the opening, PG won tickets to an all Texas show. Marcia Ball opened. I got bored and went to a neighborhood bar to drink beer. I returned later, and stayed long enough for the singer with Asleep at the Wheel to ask the crowd, Are you stoned?
In November of 1978, I called a radio station, and asked to be put on the guest list for Talking Heads . (For Talking Heads, and three links in the following paragraphs, the link is for a previous Chamblee 54 post about the show.) The first six people he called were busy, but the last one agreed to go. On the bus going home, a group of black men started to make unfriendly comments. At the next stop, a black friend got on the bus, and went to talk to me.
A few weeks later, Tim Curry made his United States debut. Some record company invested a lot of money in him, and supplied him with an outstanding band. I was wandering around the balcony after the first show, and saw Tom Waits sitting at a table. The bodyguard said no, that’s not Tom Waits, it is just someone that looks like him. At a bar, after the show, I was raving about what he had seen, when a lady came up to him. What color are your eyes? They are brown, because you are full of shit. Soon, the 23 Oglethorpe was taking him home.
Somewhere in the haze of 78 and 79, Ultravox brought their synthetics to the Agora. A local band, First Blood, was more entertaining as the opener. I drank a very large can of Foster’s beer, and floated through the proceedings. After the show, I was invited to a party in Candler Park. On the way there, there was a horrific car crash on Ponce de Leon. At the party, friends of First Blood dissected their performance, between lines of coke.
One night, I was enjoying drink specials at a neighborhood bar. He took a break, walked over to the Agora, and saw a few minutes of a show by Freddie Hubbard.
In early 1979, the B 52s were on the verge of stardom. (Here is a nifty feature about the Atlanta local music scene in those days.) The opener for the 52s was The Brains , yet another talented band that never made it big. At the table next to PG, a lady wore a dynamite World War Two army uniform.
Later in 1979, Ted Turner had an idea for a TV show, “Live at the Agora”. The first show was filmed in Atlanta, and featured Graham Parker and the Rumor. If they ever show that film again, and you see a crowd shot, that is me wearing a white T shirt, with a white Agora iron on logo. Parker was a great musician, who had the misfortune to look like Big Bird’s nerdy little brother. If Graham Parker looked like Bruce Springsteen, he would have been a superstar.
In March of 1980, Lene Lovich came to the Agora. About a year later, Spirit played on Peachtree Street. The show was sponsored by a radio station, and tickets were $2.96. Despite the low price, and high musical quality, the balcony was closed, and only about a hundred people were at the show. I thought this was odd, but little surprised me by this time.
The last show that I caught at the Agora was The Ramones. Joey and the pinheads were past their prime, with only two original members playing. It was an all ages show, with alcohol served in the balcony. Downstairs was a festive party, with costumes and enthusiastic high school kids. The balcony was the same rock and roll drunks you had seen for years. The Ramones would have made a great oldies band, if they could have quit dying. This is a repost, with pictures from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Chamblee54 
leave a comment