The Revolution Continues blog is news, views, opinion and other expressions of hope from a leftist point-of-view. (We are not affiliated with any candidate, political party or organization. All are welcome.)
I’m
writing this on the way home from an annual science fiction
convention we’ve attended for many years. My husband and I
primarily speak on writing craft and publishing topics, but sometimes
we’re asked to be on panel discussions dealing with the
intersection between fiction and reality. How does SF (speculative
fiction) show us the current situation humanity finds itself in or
even our possible future?
Wise words from a famous science fiction author
I
happened to land on a panel called “The
Handmaid’s Tale:
Fear and Social Dystopia.” (Excellent topic idea!) We were to
discuss how this best-selling novel by Margaret Atwood, and the more
recent streaming television series based upon it, reflects the horror
of discrimination American women currently face and how it could be a
prediction of even scarier things to come.
Of course, since I was on
the panel, the discussion soon wandered into what I see as
the novel’s true premise. The story of the abused and enslaved
handmaids isn’t a dystopian tale of the near-future or an alternate
future but an accurate reflection of both our current and past
American society. Atwood, as a Canadian, is in an excellent position
to see us as a sympathetic outsider and point out painful things that
Americans have blocked from our cultural memories. There
is much for us to learn from her discerning eye.
Is
the USA in reality the mythical “Gilead”? Why do we not see the
red-caped young women marching
in lines and
“the wall,” the
place where
dissidents
and non-believers are hung for
their crimes against the state and
their
bodies
left hanging
as a warning to others?
My contention is that these two things do in fact exist, albeit in
slightly different forms.
When
the
US
imprisons
whistleblowers and journalists (such as Chelsea Manning, Edward
Snowden, and Julian Assange) because they revealed
horrific torture
operations
done
in our name by
the US military, the CIA and
others
at the
Abu
Ghraib Prison and at our very
own
extrajudicial
detention
camp at Guantanamo
Bay, are we not in reality hanging these
brave souls
from “the wall”? Are
we not using their slow deaths in
prison and exile
to
scare other potential
whistleblowers
not
to
do likewise? Isn’t
dangling
their
reputations
in front of the mainstream media (aka “the wall”)
and
making false charges against them a
deterrent to others
emboldened to
expose the immorality
and
corruption of the US government?
When
cops murder people of color in cold blood for minor traffic
violations or for simply sleeping
in their own beds, is this not a kind of state execution or “the
wall” that tells others to stay quiet and obey their white masters
and don’t fight for their rights? When the police use teargas and
rubber bullets on protesters and striking workers, isn’t this putting them on “the
wall” to kill their hopes and dreams for a better future for all?
The
US now spends more money on militarizing our local police departments
than most countries—including Russia—spend on their actual
military. No other country has 800+ military bases scattered all over the globe. The closest
is China with about eight bases. The US has the largest military budget
in the world, one that is more than the other top ten nations
combined, and yet it has no money available for health care,
education, or housing for all its citizens.
Now,
which country reminds you of the fascistic/militaristic realm of Gilead—the
country who recently announced that poverty had been eradicated
within their borders (China) or the one that has criminalized
homelessness in many municipalities (USA)? “The wall” presents
injustices along with rotting corpses of those the state doesn’t
want.
What
about the red capes and the rapes
of the handmaids/ concubines? Atwood purposefully had her handmaids
wrapped in “bloody cloths” or
red capes,
a symbol of birth and sacrifice. These young women are the heifers
and hens forced to give birth like livestock in order to provide
enough laborers to support the ruling classes. Gilead’s economic
system relies on slavery—but it isn’t necessarily thought of as
chattel slavery by
its rulers.
Wage
slavery works just fine in present day America and our rulers (bosses) think
nothing of it, either.
Which
so-called “first world nation” has the highest maternal mortality
rate? You know it—it’s the USA. The maternal mortality rate for
mothers of color is even higher than it is for whites, but it’s
also high for poor whites with no access to private health insurance.
What other society tells its women of child bearing years that their
health and safety during child birth isn’t all that important?
Could it be the only so-called first world nation that doesn’t
provide universal health care for its people?
And
then there’s the overturn of the Roe V. Wade ruling. (Read my take on how abortion rights are used against women in A Matter of Control.)
What other country allows basic human rights, such as the right to
bodily autonomy, to be stolen away from its citizens at the whim of
conservative judges? Yes, Trump did appoint conservative federal
judges,
but he didn’t appoint all of them or even the
majority
of them. Most federal
judges
currently serving have been serving for more than ten years.
Arch-conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was appointed during
the Clinton Administration.
Who was the senator that made sure Clarence
Thomas
was appointed to the Supreme Court by discrediting Anita Hill’s
testimony and raking her over the coals? Senator Joseph R. Biden of
Delaware is the
man who made sexist, disparaging remarks to Professor Hill.
You
may have heard of him.
Atwood’s
Gilead has one advantage the
US doesn’t.
It doesn’t waste time playing the silly game of what “color” or
establishment political party is currently in the majority. True
rulers always will
get
what they want at the expense of the ordinary working
people’s
lives. The
establishment parties are
mere distractions, foils as it were, and will
always
do
as they’re told. Therefore,
all
third parties or alternative viewpoints must be crushed at
whatever cost.
The
upper-classes can’t have the ordinary people thinking for
themselves, can they?
I
posit that Americans
have been living in Gilead since 1776. The corrupt economic system
established by our “Founding Fathers” will always favor wealthy,
white, land-owning (and slave owning) males. Women will always be
controlled by the state through their wombs or reproductive capacity.
Activists who speak up against injustices and attempt to organize the
poor and working classes will always be labelled as agitators,
communists, or
enemies of the state.
Los Angeles has criminalized the homeless.
Isn’t
this the society Atwood
envisioned
in The
Handmaid’s Tale?
There’s no reason for Americans to lie to themselves any longer.
The US is a dystopian novel.
What
can we do about it? Audience members asked the panelists if there was
a way to overcome the Gilead characteristics baked into the DNA of
the USA. I’m optimistic there is something we can do because folks
did
ask
that question and assumed that they are capable of enacting changes
for the better.
I think our best shot is to create genuine community
and practice systems of mutual aid, such as the ones I described in
my novel Where The Bodies Lie.
We can grow our own food and share it with neighbors. We can create
worker co-ops and organize worker-run unions to take on exploitative employers. We can work around the discriminatory distribution systems
for food, health care, and shelter by fulfilling needs directly
without including the predatory middle-man that capitalism seems to
think is necessary for life (and that we all know isn’t).
There
are many positive things we can and already do to dispel the gloom of
dystopia, but we must do them together.
No more of this “rugged individualism” that keeps us
struggling
and infighting amongst our
fellow workers while the rich receive tax breaks and government
subsidies for failing businesses. We need
to build
compassionate
communities capable of
feeding and taking care of each other, such as those
described
in the New Testament in the
book of Acts.
No
more leaving anyone behind!
Until
all
women
are free, all
people
of color are free, the homeless and the migrant and the hungry are
all
free,
none of us will ever
be free. None of us will escape
Gilead. It’s an all or nothing proposition. But
do
we have the will to turn The
Handmaid’s Tale
dystopia into a Star
Trek
utopia? If
any group can make the world into a better place, I
believe it's sci-fi fans.
Maybe we should junk the whole thing and start over?
The System Isn't Broken
(A Tribute to RBG)
By Redd Phlagg
You can become
overloaded with others' bellyaching at times. You have to tune it out to
preserve your sense of sanity. With the recent death of Supreme Court Justice
Ginsberg, a whole new round of neoliberal woe-is-me-ing has begun to get on my
nerves. The fact of the matter is it's all for naught and your tears of
righteous indignation are just going to circle the proverbial drain, unheeded.
For all intents
and purposes, the system is working in the way it is intended. It's efficiently
replacing one cog in the pro-corporate, pro-billionaire machine with another.
Already the "left wing" of the "same bird" is stepping
aside and allowing the "right wing" to replace Justice Ginsberg with
the puppet of their choosing. Nothing unusual there. It's business as usual.
And it is business as in a "America's business is business" sort of
way.
The system
isn't broken as many attest and needs to be fixed. It's fixed in place,
servicing well those it was meant to serve--the oligarchs, the 1%, the rich, whatever
you want to call them. So, stop the crying about how "democracy is at
stake" if a pseudo-left-leaning judge isn't appointed to the Supreme
Court. How would it make any difference who is picked and placed in that spot?
As long as the billionaires are getting their way, Trump could appoint Daffy Duck to the court,
and they'd give Daffy their blessing.
Your needs and
wishes are not all that important, peons. Get over yourselves!
If you want to
use that righteous indignation in a productive way, stop the neolib whinging
and start marching to the beat of a different drummer. Try democratic
eco-socialism. Face it--we don't live in a democracy. We never have. If we did,
all voices would be heard and attended
to instead of only white males with tons of wealth. If this doesn't describe you, then this isn't
the system of government for you.
We don't take
care of our neighbors as we should--we have our militarized police shoot
human beings dead for driving, walking or sleeping while black, or lock them
up in ICE detention if they're brown with a Spanish accent. That ain't democracy--that's
fascism. Trying to perpetuate this totally f***ed up system with its easily
corrupted checks and balances--or "checkbook balances of the rich"--is
societal suicide.
And just stop it
with the "Saint Obama would have never done such awful things!"
bullshit. Who do you think set up the ICE deportation centers in the first
place--Trump? Did Obama shut down Gitmo? (Answer: Nope to both questions.)
These travesties of justice didn't just materialize overnight because "Trump."
Remember, you're living in a fascist failed state. These concepts and
anti-democratic institutions have been developed, perfected and implemented over years, many years.
Now do you
understand why replacing one "rubberstamp the corrupt system" justice
with another doesn't make one speck of difference? Things are going to run the
same way for the benefit of the same folks (the 1%) if we continue to prop up
the dirty system we got now.
Solution? Tear
it all down and start fresh.
As Thomas
Jefferson said:
The system ain't
working for you, but it's not "broken" by a long shot. It's just
totally and utterly corrupt, and it breeds and nurtures corrupt leadership and
creates corrupt practices and then it rewards even more corrupt men with them. That's all it was ever meant to do. Well, that and fool ordinary people into putting up with it.
Don't
expect things to change for the better if you're not willing to stop putting up with corruption and fight it. Save your energy
for the struggles ahead in tearing the whole system down and replacing it with
something that is actually democratic. And while you're at it, can your insipid moping over a dead
one-percenterSupreme Court justice. She's resting in a better, safer place than you are currently, right? I think even Ruth would tell you, "Stop whining and get
to work!"
BIO: Redd Phlagg has had enough of those who can't see the forest for the trees and easily fall for the latest mainstream media drivel. Redd says, "It's time to grow a pair and think for yourself before it's too late! Our founders would not be proud of how we're handling things. They didn't sit on their butts and complain--they took it to the streets and made some noise and kicked out the bums holding them back. What's holding you back? Worried you'll miss your favorite Netflix show or break a nail? Get over yourselves!"
Here's yet another example of the mainstream media propagating propaganda and writing hit pieces to cover up neoliberal lies and campaign mistakes. Jimmy Dore on the Dems: "How is disenfranchising voters encouraging them to vote for Democrats down ticket? Their voter outreach should be called 'bullying into submission'... If the Democrats understood irony they'd change their name."
These converging crises -- public health,
racist police violence, and ecological collapse -- are laying bare
who, and what, matters most in our system.
Should we be surprised? Well, no.
How can we be surprised that profit and
property are consistently prioritized over human beings, when our
founding documents -- that still guide our system to this day -- were
written to do exactly that?
And what would it look like if we
had a People's Constitution? Join us for a People's Movement
Assembly, where people from all walks of life will come together and
envision a country and a world with genuine and vibrant democracy.
This conversation might not be for
everyone. But if you’re ready to come together with other
passionate people and envision together what we would want in a
Peoples Constitution -- and figure out how to build towards that
vision -- you are invited.
This two day event will include art
shares, panel discussions, small group breakouts, planning and
community building. Move to Amend is partnering with other
organizations like the Community
Environmental Legal Defense Fund and A
Radical Guide to put forth a rich and visionary
weekend October 24th and 25th.
In a year full of grave racial injustices, this is some of the worst.
U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement has been forcing women in ICE detention to receive hysterectomies against their will.
The horrifying news comes from heroic whistleblower Nurse Dawn Wooten,
who worked at ICE's Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia.
Let that sink in: The days of the Tuskegee experiment, when our
government intentionally let Black Americans suffer from syphilis, are
not over. Violent, state-sanctioned medical abuse against women of color is still rampant in the United States.
When Jesus' mother Mary sang of bringing down the powerful from their
thrones, it was surely with abusive governments like this in mind. A
fundamentally racist system must be changed, and the corrupt authorities
who have enabled it -- including Donald Trump and his allies -- must be
swept from power.
The first step is to put our faith into action by supporting the calls of local organizers to permanently shut down Irwin.
This is forced sterilization – and it fits the broader pattern of
racist abuse that has characterized the U.S. immigration system for
decades. Immigration officials have been repeatedly accused of rape
inside detention cells, filming women as they showered, shackling
pregnant women, ignoring miscarriages, and threatening victims with
deportation if they speak out. The problems have only grown worse in recent years, emboldened by Donald Trump's hatred.
It is not surprising to learn of such atrocities from an
administration also guilty of separating families, rejecting refugees,
teargassing those who protest for racial justice, banning Muslims,
desecrating sacred Native lands, and supporting white supremacists.
Yet some have been brave enough to speak out. In Georgia, organizers
and attorneys have been taking complaints of medical neglect for a long
time. In Texas in late February, Cameroonian women at an ICE facility
staged a sit-in to protest their lack of medical care. What's different
this time is the courage shown by whistleblower Dawn Wooten.
Nurse Dawn is a Black woman, and Black women have often been the
bedrock of social change. She will likely be the subject of racist
attacks herself, which makes it all the more important that we believe
her, support her, amplify her complaint, and condemn racism whenever and wherever we see it.
Thank you for everything you do to love your neighbor, welcome
immigrants, and oppose both racism and sexism. After you sign this
petition, we'll send you several next steps you can take in the fight
against injustice.
In peace, Rev. Nathan and the Faithful America team
***
From Color of Change:
Prosecutors have failed to deliver justice for Breonna Taylor.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced the decision we
were all fearing he’d make: No murder charges will be filed against the
police officers who murdered Breonna Taylor in her home. Just one
officer was charged with "wanton endangerment," and it was NOT for
shooting Bre.1
After 194 days.
2.3 million petition signatures.
100,000 phone calls.
And a global uprising demanding justice for our sister, Breonna Taylor.
No justice was served.
By
failing to bring murder charges in the brutal killing of Breonna
Taylor, Attorney General Cameron has failed to deliver justice for Bre.
Instead, after more than six months, all we’ve received is a second
injustice as Bre’s killers — Brett Hankinson, Jonathan Mattingly, and
Myles Cosgrove — walk free with no murder charges.
Elected
officials at every level — from Mayor Greg Fischer and Commonwealth’s
Attorney Tomas Wine to AG Daniel Cameron — all failed Breonna, her
family, and the millions of people like you who demanded justice.
Cindy,
this moment is more than disheartening — it’s infuriating. And while
you may be thinking, “what more must we do to get justice for a Black
woman murdered by police?”, don’t forget what we’ve made possible since
March: After millions demanded
#JusticeforBre, the phony charge against her boyfriend Kenneth Walker
was dropped. Louisville voted to ban no-knock warrants. Audio of the 911
call was released, and one of the police officers involved was removed
from the force. None — and I repeat, none — of this would have happened had we not exercised our voices to stand up for Bre.
Color
Of Change won’t stop fighting. Black Lives Matter Louisville won’t stop
fighting. And you can’t stop fighting either.
Here’s what you can do right now to continue demanding #JusticeforBre:
Millions, if not billions, of people worldwide have joined the movement to say her name and demand justice for Breonna Taylor. Black
kids across the country have recognized their power to effect change.
Our white allies are having the much-needed tough conversations at their
dinner tables. And so many local organizers now have the resources they
need to keep the fight going.
Breonna Taylor changed the world. And this is not the end.
We
can’t be deterred. Because folks like Tamika Palmer, Breonna’s mom, are
still on the ground fighting relentlessly to secure justice for our
people.
We stand with
Breonna’s family, BLM Louisville, and local organizers and activists in
demanding the Louisville City Council take immediate action to divest
from the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department and invest in
communities.
Today is a hard day. But although we may be discouraged by this announcement, we will never stop fighting for Black people.
Until justice is real,
Scott, Rashad, Arisha, Erika, Marybeth, Malachi, Leonard, Ernie, McKayla, Ana, Ariel, and the rest of the Color Of Change team
