I deeply respect the ongoing efforts and accomplishments of professionals such as Dr. Homer Venters and New Yorker journalist Gonnerman — featured on Democracy Now! today, but the fact is that no matter how valuable the new documentation is which Amy Goodman & Co. have spotlighted, the scorecard’s been in for quite some time respecting the degree to which we disrespect and destroy the incarcerated souls of our sick society. And, on that note, I want to underscore how much we all are complicit in permitting the Prison Industrial Complex abominations to continue.
It would be a pretty simple matter for decent citizens to get on board with a new political party which would give us a shot at dealing decently with our collective crises, which includes all incarcerated issues and much much more. As per what’s embedded in an old article of mine when I was planning to save the world using ugly Tuscon. Arizona as a home base. As per what I’m still advocating in the so-called Golden State. [Please note that the delineations are dated and that a number of elements were intentionally omitted in the postings.]
The bottom line idea is to put to bed all the obsolete approaches to bringing about institutional change currently in vogue, all the dated ways of dealing with direct action, and to get — for starters — a handful of committed activists to embrace something fresh, whether or not it’s what I recommend; I’m not attached to the TOSCA game plan spotlighted in the articles above, but I am attached to securing leisurely in-depth discussion time with focused (aware) concerned citizens, so that we can move post haste toward creating the necessary critical mass required to radically restructure society. For just about everyone I see all along the Leftist spectrum are moving at an arthritic snail’s pace, or banging their collective heads against a wall which has been in place to stop meaningful momentum for quite some time.
How long? For as long as the scorecard’s been in on the incarcerated. For as long as Rachel Carson’s definitive documentation been available, for as long as our nuclear dynamic has been an apocalyptic threat as part of the historical record. And so on. And so on.
All of our collective crises cry out for someone to interview me, and get down with exactly what we can do IMMEDIATELY to address what must be addressed from a brand new angle, with a new pace. OR… interview someone else; my plea here isn’t personal whatsoever. The thing is, NOTHING is being done at present worth our heartbeats. All we’re getting is article after article, conference after summit, self-promoting souls on the lecture circuit, short-circuiting statements about 2030 and 2035 and the like, as if we can afford to think in terms that go beyond yesterday. Meaning, well-meaning, highly educated and deeply experienced concerned proactive citizens are engaged in something which does NOT have the appropriate sense of URGENCY in gear. Meaning much more too, of course.
But to avoid taking up our collective time and energy with more Apollonian talk about why we need to — if we’re rational — do something right away, I submit that I’m one person who is capable of stirring up the creative juices of a select group of souls so that we can eventually recruit the critical mass required around the corner. First, though, one-on-one bonding must be established with a core group. One of the major mistakes that all third parties make — understandably — is their embrace of that very old obsession with numbers. An embrace that is coupled with the delusion that says that the powers in place would allow any radical movement to secure significant reins of decision-making power via the electoral arena. Ever notice how NO THIRD PARTY in place ever tells that truth to their membership? I have. And so… UNPRECEDENTED DIRECT ACTION must be part of an in-depth discussion among third party people across the spectrum, pulling no punches in carefully vetted meetings in confidence.
Everyone talks about the presence of surveillance and the threat of infiltration, but I don’t detect any acknowledgement of those dynamics manifested in action. Talk talk is quite a different affair than Walk Talk, particularly streetwise, properly cautious Walk Talk.
What am I talking about here? Well, it must not be spelled out for the general public right now. Not if one is truly on track to pulling off revolutionary activity. That would be tantamount to telling the powers that we’re going to have a demonstration on Friday at Fifth and Main at Five O’Clock.
What’s done all the time these days must change. But — first — you must change your life, as Rilke says, risking your life in lieu of exclusively reading and writing and attending on a come and go basis.
