Remember the Cold War propaganda we saw as kids (I say “we”, referring to my fellow Gen-X-ers)? We were shown footage of Russian bread lines as evidence of Communism’s blight. That particular message struck a chord with us because, presumably, WE had never had to wait in line for bread.

And so, my fellow middle-classers may also be anticipating my argument with “Tracey, I know where you’re going with this. People weren’t forced to wait in that mob for deep discounts’. Maybe you’re thinking, simply, “shut up, Tracey”. I refuse.

I read today that Cubans, in the era of Who concert stampedes and soccer hooliganism, had a different way of cue-ing for concerts: Show up at the venue ahead of the event and receive consecutive place-numbers from the individuals who waited a short time after their fore bearers, relieving them of their cue-ing. Repeat this action on the individuals arriving after you. Then, arrive at the event to find people respectfully upholding those line assignments. No cutting, no pushing. That was in the 70s

Americans followed this model, roughly, and only in response to concert stampede tragedies of the 70s and 80s. But we see the same behavior now in the marketplace. Is there a better way for us to practice the Golden Rule species-wide that doesn’t require tragedy to piece-meal us back into social awareness?

From Wikipedia (ah, communist encyclopedia):” Herd mentality implies a fear-based reaction to peer pressure which makes individuals act in order to avoid feeling “left behind” from the group.” and, since we are still mostly animals, Evolutionary biologist W.D. Hamilton’s theory that the fearful animal herd appears to “act as a unit in moving together, but its function emerges from the uncoordinated behavior of self-seeking individuals” tells us why it is unconscionable for us to prosecute any one, or five individuals in the WalMart trampling. It was mob rule. What governs the mob in this case, since there were presumably no lions chasing these humans into the store?

Maybe our current marketplace is the savanna. Maybe our lions are trickle-down economics. Maybe our mob is ruled by the fear of being left behind in our economy’s oasis, the house and all the trimmings: where arrival is marked by one’s personal material appointments…

I say this all from a position of economic comfort, so I’m not just belly-aching, in case any of you with your own oases think I’m just being silly. I didn’t force you to read this.

Does the free market work on a social level? Apparently it’s parent company, the economic free market, didn’t. Are there good capitalistic Samaritans? Of course there are: my father, a Reaganite, made good money in the go-go Nineties and has a great philanthropic heart. Can we trust everyone at the top to be like my dad? The short answer: no. Religious organizations, non-profits, etc. just can’t fill the gap left by our system in it’s current state. People are being left behind.

If we are only animals, these stories suffice. They are chapters in the history of a failed species and a doomed planet. But, if we have hope, and if there’s a shortage of bread, let’s all wait in line, patiently–realizing that everyone deserves a slice. Better yet–let’s form a circle.

Headlines about yesterday’s shopping Terror are turning gross. One example: “Police Hunt for Tramplers in Black Friday Wal-Mart Death”

Seriously? We’re gonna “hunt” individuals and prosecute them? Is this some shameful attempt to purge our collective guilty conscience and continue our consumerist orgy?

Shoppers themselves at that Long Island WalMart reported feeling queasy about even filing in today in the aftermath…in contrast, WalMart officially called the incident “unfortunate”, opened it’s doors without fanfare, and attempted to practice “business-as-usual”. Meanwhile, WalMart workers, in an attempt to salvage some humanity, staged an impromptu memorial; lit candles and said prayers. People are begging for humanity right now. Corporations are banking on it’s absence.

If you have a moment, google “Dead Peasants Insurance”.

I wonder how much money WalMart made off of Jdimytai Damour…

Now the headlines have been replaced with: “Holiday Sales Kick Off With Discounts to Lure US Customers”. USA! USA! Forget about that black dude with the funny name, there’s bargains afoot! Jesus, people! It hasn’t even made it through our bloated 24-hour news cycle! FUCK!!!!!!!

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I almost broke my communist fast. Thank Obama I was stopped–perhaps too late.

There I was, googling the socialist blogs for discussion of the recent capitalist crisis that manifest at WalMart and ToysRUs on this very dark black Friday. I was so hungry for analysis from my comrades at MSNBC that I tempted the breaking of my fast with the TIVO-ed Matthews-Olberman-Maddow Trifecta. Little did I know their programming had been usurped by a repeating Orwellian fear mongering: teenagers caught on tape. No, it wasn’t porn, at least not in the sexual intercourse sort of way. It was the systematic attempt from our culture’s collective fear and guilt complex to suppress the inevitable youth movement.

One anecdote: a recent poll found that Evangelical Christians under 25 are bigger supporters of gay marriage than New Deal Democrats over 60. The youth movement is coming and old people should listen to and/or join in, not fear it. It’s not going to hurt anyone if we love one another.

Let’s work ourselves into a spending frenzy for Jesus to the end of trampling fellow pregnant Americans. Sounds like the end of an era to me.

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/11/28/the-black-friday-mindless-stampede/

Take a moment in your day to read and parse the words in the following:

Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today…

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world…

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one

-John The Lennon

Does not challenge my atheistic sensibilities. Discuss.

Boys are cute…what with their boy stuff and things. I’m stupid for boys. Hooray, boys! Play your videogame guitar magic, hero! I love your faces. I love boy forearms. In ode to boys I say, "let’s keep the good ones and throw out the lame!" I’ve had it with lame-tard boys ruining it for everyone. Good ones: make your presence known! Shame on the lame! Amen.

Tracey Bushman wrote:

> Dear Mr. Ashdown,

> Please advise on the legal/financial ramifications of the following sentiment. We can’t afford to build a house on this lot, and no one will buy it due to the unique nature of it’s dizzying travels through BOA and HLC. Remember us? Public statement follows:

>

> It is with great and renewed hope and belief in our democratic system of government that we wish to donate our interest in our land, 667 Wall Street, to the public trust, under the provision that the manner of development of said land be decided by the residents of the block of Wall Street that played a deciding role, democratically, in superceeding our right of property when it came to designing what we deemed appropriate by measure of both the Historic Landmarks Commission and the Board of Adjustments. We do hope our neighbors on Wall street share our belief in President Elect Obama’s call to revitalize our Nation’s economy through public works projects, and we regret only that this is a relatively small contribution in light of the urgent economic needs of our country at this moment in history.

>

> Thank you.

>

> Sincerely,

> Tracey Bushman

>>> Pete Ashdown <pashdown@xmission.com> 11/10/08 08:59 AM >>>

Tracey, this is a magnanimous action on your part. I am sorry that the
neighbors were not more accommodating to your request, because I see
that lot every day and think personally that your house would have been
an asset to the neighborhood. Regrettably, I don’t know what the legal
ramifications are regarding a lot donation, you’ll still probably have
to talk to the city and an attorney for advice on this. Maybe you can
turn it it into a community garden or a pocket park dedicated to
President Obama.
I have been off Landmarks since shortly after your case. It wasn’t due
to the case, which was probably the most upsetting one I’ve had to deal
with during my tenure, but the fact that my second term was over. If
there is anything I can do to assist with your intent on the lot, please
let me know. I have no idea how the Wall Street people feel about it,
but I’d be happy to donate to the cause too.

Pete

Hi Pete! We talked about it and we were remembering that the neighbors next door told us and are on the public record saying they wanted an orchard and parking. We could do both .

Viva Obama!

Thanks for your support. I’ll keep you updated.

My sister, a Mormon, called us, Atheist polyamorous Communists, to invite us to dinner Sunday evening. We told her, jokingly, that we wouldn’t be joining them because we’re boycotting everything Mormon. We’re, I reiterate, just kidding her–mostly. Some families in this climate, however, are not. Does the LDS church realize that it’s support of Prop. 8 divides the very families it claims to be saving?

BTW. I write on other subjects as well. See my other notes.

Early this morning, after trying to sleep, Christian and I decided to stop fighting the inevitable: go downstairs, smoke another bowl and flip on the telly. The resulting programming was seemingly from another time in our species’ collective unconscious. It was an academic panel chaired by various law scholars and acting politicians, among them President Gerald Ford, our own Senator Orrin Hatch, two retired Supreme Court justices, and some others. Among several swimming ideas in my head during the program, what struck me above all else was the inevitability of progress we now face. After all, if I was watching this functioning, transparent, constitutional government in theater, so were many others. So many people are now filled with such civic hope that, going forward, people who never tuned into the political process before will now make their voices heard. The flood be coming; the rats be leaving.

Sarah Palin is the first to go. Now, without her campaign handlers, the woman who could have been our vice president, the woman who doesn’t know shit from shine-o-la, told us “I know that I know that I know…that there was no wrongdoing” in the $150,000 clothing scandal. That, we’re quickly finding out, is just the tip of a very corrupt, Orwelian iceberg machine against which the electorate overwhelmingly raged on November 4.

Black voters this year woke up to a country in which their hope delivered a decisive affirmation of our government’s mandate; for the people, by the people. One black voter who had never voted before told an MSNBC reporter he was voting this election because, pre-Obama, he “always thought they just put in who they wanted”. Neo-cons of yore trumpeted this sentiment as the very cornerstone of their rise to power: the lower the turnout, the better the Machiavellian system functions and allows sinister, opaque policy to flourish behind the curtain of Executive privilege. Luckily, our system, despite what we think we’ve witnessed over the past several years, is, has, and always will be functioning precisely the way the founders intended: with checks and balances. One of the checks that is often overlooked during times of electoral apathy is the branch of government called We the People.

We the people saw the revolution coming. Several in government must have. The ones with their pants down are the rats: the corrupt head of FEMA, let alone the corrupt head of our country, that let the genocide in New Orleans happen. These same rats that have, over the course of recent political history, called Barack Obama a communist–as if that were an insult. Observe yesterday’s hurricane Paloma in Cuba, a COMMUNIST country (oooooooo), that somehow managed to evacuate every last citizen in harm’s way: a staggering 50,000 people. Heck of a job, Brownies! So instead of evacuating our black people from New Orleans, we at least figuratively and with collective deliberance, flooded that city. As one Katrina survivor put it in an interview conducted in the still flooded, still un-rescued New Orleans, “I kept having a vision of the politicians opening those levees and killing all the black people.” Well, now she can be sure: they did.

Just watch the rats running away. They have no idea what they’re up against.