All I Want For The Holidays Is...
by C.A. Matthews
All I Want For The Holidays Is…
…Peace on Earth.
Seriously. The US spending trillions of dollars on death, destruction and mayhem over the last decades doesn't fit into my--or anyone else's--definition of peace. I don't believe for a moment that the war in Afghanistan is over since our mercenaries and weapons are still pouring into that beleaguered country. I don't believe for a moment Biden won't start a conflict with Russia and/or China over Ukraine and/or Taiwan. Our military-industrial complex can't stand to be left out of the action when there's so much money to be made. We won't have peace on Earth until every single last military contractor is shut down--permanently.
And for the planet and all its inhabitants--human and otherwise--to be at peace we need to start treating it respectfully and reverently. This means an end to fossil fuel production and use. It means we outlaw concentrated animal feedlots (CAFOs) and other polluters of drinking water. It means we stop chopping/burning/disintegrating forests, jungles, plains, savannas, wetlands, and other wildlife habitats. It means we pick up and recycle all the kajillions of plastic bottles, wrappers, and other worthless jetsam contaminating our oceans and lands.
If we continue to allow the Earth to be treated like a toilet to house all our messes, the temperatures will rise, the oceans will rise, and the threat of war and civil unrest will rise. We can't have peace without a planet and vice versa. Get it?
My idea of goodwill means that all human beings have a roof over their heads, food in their stomachs, health care when they're in need of it (both mental and physical health care), and to be freed from the suffocation of massive debt owed to billionaire capitalists who try to squeeze the last drop of blood out of the working classes and those trying to better themselves through education. Access to free education for all from Pre-K through college and access to health care and food and shelter should be a right--not a privilege.
Goodwill also means that we no longer protect make-believe lines in the sand
and call them "our borders" and tell people that they're not welcome
on our side of the make-believe line because we're prejudiced against their
race, religion, ethnicity or class. This should be true of communities both large and small. This may sound crazy, but I believe equal rights should be distributed equally to all.
No longer should the US tell refugees and asylum seekers to go away under the guise of Title 42, a directive in direct violation of the 1967 UN Protocol on Refugees that we signed. No longer should we force those seeking a better life for the families to "Remain in Mexico" where they're preyed upon by kidnappers and drug cartels.
Goodwill is just that--good, not evil and selfish. Any questions?
All I Want For The Holidays Is… The Right to be Treated with Dignity and Respect.
If this statement needs further explanation, this must mean you've lived in a "golden bubble" all your life. You are one of the few that have never been hungry, homeless, or harassed simply because of your race, age, gender, gender identity, or perceived economic class. It's hard to explain to rich dickheads how demeaning and cruel it is to be on the receiving end of their bigotry. We really should do them all a favor and return their callous treatment of others unlike themselves. Maybe then they'll get a clue.
If you don't have the empathy to walk a mile in another person's moccasins and experience the pain they feel when they're not treated respectfully and understand where they're coming from, then just shut the f*** up. I also recommend giving all your money away to charitable organizations before we roll the guillotine up to your front door and ask you to step out for a close shave.
All I Want For The Holidays Is… For The Means of Production to Be in the Hands of the Working Classes.
This is a related statement that explains itself. The workers should profit from the fruits of their labor. They aren't wage slaves who exist solely to be exploited by billionaires and other capitalists who leech off their workers' labor.
As money is the root of all kinds of evil, perhaps it
is time to eliminate the filthy lucre and replace it with a society based on
plenty for all instead of artificial scarcity that forces cash into the hands
of the relatively few. Read up on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) if you don't understand how the US can afford a $780 billion plus military budget year after year but somehow can't give everyone free health care which costs less.
All I Want For The Holidays Is… For People to Actually Read This Blog and Have Intelligent Discussions with Their Friends, Family, and Neighbors.
And to donate a couple of bucks toward keeping the blog going for another
six and half years. Or until the fascists come and cart us off to jail--whichever
happens first. The choice is up to you. Which will it be? You can donate at:
Happy Holidays! May you have a happy and healthy New Year. And as always: Workers of the World Unite!
Also read (and watch the video): How Capitalism Stole Christmas and Killed the Planet Along the Way https://www.rsn.org/001/how-capitalism-stole-christmas-and-killed-the-planet-along-the-way.html
***
We cannot – and will not – let him off the hook.
President Biden campaigned on seeking justice for families separated by
Trump’s cruel Zero Tolerance policy, but his administration just walked
away from providing victims with the resources they desperately need to
heal.
We
can’t let Biden go back on one of his central campaign promises by
sweeping the consequences of one of the cruelest, most inhumane policies
under a rug. Take action today: email the White House NOW to demand immediate justice for separated families.
Even President Biden himself has publicly called family separation
under Trump “criminal behavior” and “a historic moral stain on our
country."
He’s now going back on his word with this decision and inaction. He’s walking away from the more than *5,500 children* separated from their families at the US-Mexico border. He’s
walking away from the babies, as young as 6-months-old, stolen from
parents who had no idea where they were going or if they would see them
again.
Sweeping this bigotry under a rug is a disgrace. Every single person in this movement, and in this country, should be appalled. Dropping the plans to get the support families need to heal sends the clear message that the Biden administration thinks family separation is okay.
We cannot let that happen.
Trump’s “zero-tolerance” scarred toddlers, children, and families that were forcibly separated for life. It’s egregious that the Biden administration is now defending officials culpable for tearing babies from mothers’ arms. President Biden promised to address the emotional and physical abuse families experienced due to negligence, torture, and crimes against humanity, and we’re seeing everything but that. We need to stop playing politics with people’s lives.
We cannot stop fighting until all families are reunited and receive the justice they deserve.
President Biden must keep the campaign promises he made us and deliver justice to families. This cruelty ends by all of us taking action right now:
Today, almost four years after being separated, over 270 children are STILL separated from their parents. If you had asked me years ago if this is where we would be today I never would have imagined it, but we will not rest until every last child is reunited.
There will be no justice until every child is reunited with their family, until we right the wrongs of Trump’s four cruel and racist years, and until we build a system that stops this inhumanity for good.
Thanks for all you do,
Paola Luisi, Director
Families Belong Together
***
Native Organizers Alliance (NOA), IllumiNative, and Research for
Indigenous Social Action and Equity (RISE) have launched the second
annual Indigenous Futures Survey (IFS), a Native-led research project
designed to highlight the authentic experiences, systemic challenges,
and priority issues of Native peoples today.
The inaugural Indigenous Futures Survey was the largest and most comprehensive study ever conducted in Indian Country.
Native and Indigenous peoples all across the United States are
invited again to participate in the survey and voice their perspectives
and opinions on critical issues our communities face.
Data gathered from the IFS is being used to make policy changes by
elected and tribal leaders. The 2021 reports and research data were
shared broadly across Indian Country and were used to inform Congress on
the impacts of COVID on Indigenous communities and on a broad spectrum
of issues including civic engagement, identity, and culture.
The 2022 IFS will continue to be a tool for social change.
“Native and Indigenous peoples deserve to be seen and heard,” said Crystal Echo Hawk (Pawnee), founder and executive director of IllumiNative.
“For so long, we have been forgotten or worse, deliberately excluded
from research and data collection. But we have taken back the power to
control our own visibility and future through the Indigenous Futures
Survey.”
“The 2020 survey was the first opportunity for Native peoples and
communities to share the challenges they face with a national audience,”
said Judith LeBlanc (Caddo), director of Native Organizers Alliance.
“The results gave us a platform to advocate for change at all levels of
government. We were able to take a step towards reclaiming our
collective voice, showing that Native people are politically engaged and
actively challenging the narrative. We proved that our voices matter
and that we will organize for meaningful change.”
"For too long data, or lack thereof, has been used to silence and
render Indigenous Peoples and experiences invisible. The majority of
scientific research omits Indigenous Peoples, including research on
bias, prejudice, and discrimination. In the rare cases when Indigenous
Peoples are included, our data is most often owned by and interpreted
through the lens of non-Native researchers. Ultimately, this keeps
people from understanding who we are and seeing us as fully human,” said
Dr. Stephanie Fryberg (Tulalip), director of Research for Indigenous Social Action and Equity (RISE) Center.
Amber Torres, Chairman of the Walker River Paiute Tribe
said, “This also showed our strengths and weaknesses, and where we can
continue to build for the next seven generations. The results in 2022
are very important for the fact that we need to see if we have made a
dent in any of the issues that were brought up and where we need to
continue to advocate for. Native voices have to be at the table.”
Our non-Native relatives, please help spread the word about the
survey by sharing on social media and lift up the importance of
Native-led data collection.
To learn more, please visit: https://indigenousfutures.org.
Thank you. Hawwih.
Judith LeBlanc
Director
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