gagablog 76: Protest and the "Paws Up Revolution"

This gagablog is all about magic, including the magic of numbers and time. In a tangent to a conversation yesterday, I came up with the idea that giving all of oneself to someone at a given time, and how that experience changes going into the future, is a clue to the other, non-linear aspects of time. So is any real consideration of time, from anniversaries to numerology, especially when considered magically. This week is the 50th anniversary of the beginnings of the student protest movement at Berkeley. This event is a major beginning of the Civil Rights movement and while we certainly have made progress there are fascinating echoes and repetition of cycles. Here in Lakewood, Colorado, where I live, they are trying to change the AP History curriculum to downplay protest and promote citizenship. Students have staged walk-outs and sidewalk protests. One was just around the corner from my house, over a thousand students lining the road and holding signs and cheering when I honked at them and gave them the "Paws Up" out the window, even trying to give me high fives the third time I drove by. I made the comment that it was ironic that probably only a small percentage of students are interested in protest, and teaching about protests in history class can probably only make that percentage grow from like 5% to 10%, but trying to take it out, and having kids actually get themselves involved in protesting, might actually get like 80% of the class or more interested and participating in protest. Instead of history, it becomes what is going on now, the cool thing to do, and can be the beginning of a life of social awareness and responsibility. This is the essential debate still going on in America and painfully obvious in the current midterm political ad campaigns: do we care about each other ("women"), or not? Aziz Ansari was just on Dave Letterman tonight and made a great point. He said he and his girlfriend are feminists and then said he expected some in the audience were, too, and some people clapped. The he said he suspected more people actually were feminist but were afraid of the word. he defined it as believing men and women should have equal rights and then made some great points. He said not using that word is wrong, that this is what words are for, to convey meaning. He gave the example of saying "I treat conditions of the skin" "Oh, you're a dermatologist?" "Let's not go there, that is too string a term..." and then said people are scared of "feminism" because they think it means a woman is going to yell at them. Then he gave another test to see if you are really feminist and said if you go to a Jay-Z and Beyonce concert and think "she should only make 78% of what he does for this show and why is she onstage anyway she should be cooking him a steak because he is probably tired after those two songs" - if you aren't thinking that, you are a feminist. I know this is a long digression but I thought it was really good and also shows how people do like to think the terms of civil rights were from the 60's and apply to the 60's but the truth is we still need them, we need the meaning of these words to help change our world. There was a news event today: The Supreme court refused to hear cases about same-sex marriage, effectively legalizing marriage in like 10 more states, bringing the number of states with gay marriage up to 30. This is the current fight for civil rights and it is rooted in the civil rights struggles of 50 years ago and before, and has the same opponents. I know and believe in some other, magic ways of getting rid of patriarchal power and conservative political influence, but I want to point out some things about how all this works together and what Gaga has to do, has to do with it. I heard two things on NPR, one this morning and one tonight. The first was about the protests themselves, how the student movement at Berkeley was a fuse for the whole counter-cultural movements of that decade. I did a book report in AP History on "Coming Apart", a history of the 60's, so I can see this theme as historically accurate. Then they said that because of reaction against the protestors, Ronald Reagan's hardline approach, to lock all these crazy kids up, was what helped him become Governor of California and eventually President - to me, one of the scariest and worst presidents ever - and eventually even became the Patron Saint of Assholes. As evil as that is, that trajectory of the birth of the civil rights movement, the good things that came out of it outweigh that. One is personal computing and the internet: the second radio program was all about the culture that produced the first personal computers, how it was different from people working in computers for corporations back east, how the whole philosophy of acid and community influenced the people who created and developed computers for everyone. Civil rights movements themselves have brought us great progress and the internet and technology promises even more. We still fight over ideas but free expression lets better ideas come out and bad ones be exposed for what they really are. Am I discouraged that 50 years later my comparison to the Berkeley protests that were so instrumental in galvanizing the civil rights movement is the kids down the street protesting a conservative politically motivated curriculum change? No, I'm very excited by this. Ours is a small protest but the principles are the same and the protest was big enough to make the national news. In the 60's things really caught on thanks to the media but also thanks to the growing word of mouth of the youth of the day, even without social media or cell phone or anything. Now in a way you could say it is easier to protest, or easier to think our actions are "protest", just posting something to facebook, and actually makes us more docile and manageable to think we are protesting or revolting when we really aren't. Then there is this new phenomenon of calling something a revolution, in other countries, as soon as you can come up with a name for it and the only "revolutions" we supposedly have in America are new product launches. I'm talking about the "Twitter Revolution" in Iran - you probably don't remember it because I think it lasted a few hours or a day or two then went away with no lasting results. They are currently calling the protests in Hong Kong "The Umbrella Revolution", they were calling it that on Day 1 or Day 2. Now it seems to be fizzling out, I might add without taking over China. What I wonder is why did they not call the protest in Ferguson, MO the "Hands Up Revolution" or something? I mean, I know why, we all know why, but lets just think about it and compare: we mock China for blacking out any reports on the protest there, while we had constant "coverage" (from designated media-zones and a no-fly zone over the area so no aerial coverage....) of the protests in Ferguson, for a couple of weeks anyway. More liberal media was keeping the story going to hopefully make some changes and at least more police departments got cameras for their cars and officers so some good has come of it, in addition to raising awareness by continuing the discussion. But conservative media was basically only reporting on how wrong it was for liberal media to be reporting on it. Then in following weeks, similar news stories of unarmed black people being shot would make the news, for a day, but protests, if any, got no coverage. And now I've heard no resolution that came out of Attorney General Eric Holder going to Ferguson, last I heard was protestors saying they were not going to stop. But after a few weeks the media coverage did stop. After a few weeks those stories that made the news, but did not have new protests associated with them, came and went, and by now I don't think they even make the news anymore. We did raise awareness, some, but to that Homer Simpson level, when Lisa complains about Global Warming. He says something like "that was the 80's - our leaders recognized the problem and fixed it, right?" Here's the thing: Just because you call something a revolution does not make it a revolution. I'm looking at you, newsmen and advertisers. And just because you don't call something a revolution does not mean it is not one, or it won't be. I fully believe in empowering people, especially women, not with guns but especially with sex, with art and creativity of all sorts. In a way the whole debate is about whether people can be empowered or whether we believe they/we have to rely on some sort of force to have any power. We have the example of peaceful schism, the vote for Scotland to leave the UK, which everyone seemed proud of as the example of making big decisions without force or threats. We may even have the example of re-united Korea, not thanks to weapons and force but starkly in spite of them, or out of fear for that direction we might be turning around, towards peace instead of war. This was always my hope for Syria, that somehow we could avoid what will be historically "the last war". It is a different situation than the Bush's invading Iraq in the first place, though it is a result of that, but the coalition with Arab states and others around the world could turn into something good, ultimately. Israel's war against Gaza is another example of unnecessary, politically-fueled war that ultimately backfired on the hawkish Israeli government. We just don't live in a world where you can hide the truth and get away with it anymore. They say that Putin has been designing World War 3, that he really wants it and that is the motivation for why things are going as they are in Ukraine, and probably Syria, too. I just don't think we have to play that game. I said earlier that Syrian war was initially non-violent protest by women. Today's news story is about a woman who was part of that and ended up joining ISIS and has now defected and is sharing her story to keep others from being duped. We've all been duped in different ways but communicating will liberate us. We can sneer at China for blacking out their protests and when people learn the truth there is a certain animosity towards the people, power, and mentality that kept it from them. But you can make people think they've heard the truth, then make them think if you aren't talking about it anymore it went away. But there is still police brutality and murder in America. It is not right and never will be right, eventually the truth will come out, with media help or despite media acceptance "permitted" reporting or outright distraction. Stephen Colbert had a great point saying "the only way we can make sure we don't ever have another report of police shooting unarmed people is if we stop reporting on it." Of course he was telling a joke because the real way would be to stop it from happening, but this also sums up the American version of the Chinese black out. It's more like a bore out in America: people who are victims of injustice and people who care enough to be aware see the coverage, hope it will lead to change and get frustrated when no changes are made. People who were not aware might be made aware by the media, and this is a good thing, but once the story goes away they are not likely to remain engaged, or like Homer assume somebody took care of the problem. Then there are people who refuse to see the problem, or racists or misogynists who blame the victims. The conservative fuckwads are the problem, refusing to even allow the story to be told, claiming they are the victims of having to hear about it. This does come full circle for me, since I will never get over how pissed I was when Georgia elected a republican secretary of education or whatever and she took the Trail of Tears out of the school textbooks because it made kids sad. The same lady stole millions of dollars from the state school for deaf kids and got caught for it. I don't think she went to jail, in fact I saw her on a gameshow, maybe "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" and she was trying to win money for that school - but they did not mention that the money was probably what she had been ordered to repay them. This is just how this gagablog brought these topics into a circle, but really, like any magical discussion, it spirals into a higher realm, and this is why we need Gaga. Keeping the Gaga aspect in mind will always elevate any meaning, this is what makes divinity so useful. I'm probably oversimplifying but I think she referred to "Born This Way" as "a cultural Baptism" and "Artpop" as "artistic revolution." This does not mean a revolution in the art world, that is like advertisers' promises that a phone or car is a revolution. This means a revolution, political upheaval and the overthrow of power, through art. It is a non-violent revolution and it is our destiny. It essentially is the "Hands Up Revolution" that "began" in Ferguson, MO - in that way. It did NOT begin in 1994 when some cops in Athens murdered a kid I went to summer school with a few months earlier, Edward Wright. Jesse Jackson came down and people cried but they didn't burn anything down or protest that made the news. That revolution did not officially begin after the hundreds, thousands of other black kids and adults were murdered by police between Edward Wright and Michael Brown. It has begun, in a way, in Ferguson, MO, but has not also begun in Utah and other places where a similar thing happened in the months since Michael Brown. And there has been no resolution or justice for Brown, yet, either. But just because it has not started in other places, or gotten justice in Missouri, does not mean it has ended, does not mean the protest is over. It does not go away, just like the protestors vowed they would not go away even if the media did - though once the TV cameras are gone, even from the official media zones, who is to stop them from arresting everyone and ending the protest that way? It is all part of this same revolution - protests we hear about, those we are blocked from, and those that never even happen but are turmoil in peoples' hearts. I can't be the only one who finds it deliciously ironic, if sad, that we know China fired 87 teargas canisters at the thousands of Hong Kong protestors - that's just a fact they throw into the news reporting here in America. But how many tear gas canisters were fired at the much smaller group in Ferguson? I don't know, I'm gonna go ahead and assume it was more than 87. I mean, gassing anyone is not nice, I think it is a war crime in war, but apparently not domestically - I learned that from an Iraq vet who was on CNN complaining about being gassed at Ferguson protests when she had not even been gassed in Iraq, in war. Even if it was less than 87 my point is that we can report on that as if they should be ashamed but don't even have a number, being widely reported anyway, to compare with Ferguson, a much smaller community. But I suspect the number is shameful. Just like it is shameful that in one year the police force of the entire country of Germany shot like 80 bullets, all together, and American cops can shoot that many in one incident, in a matter of minutes. A few of our cops can shoot more bullets in a few minutes than all of theirs do in a year, and it is not like Germany is My Little Pony Land, I'm sure they have plenty to deal with, they just do it better. We have Assad to deal with, "and" ISIS (or they are really in cahoots) and Putin, and surely we could just bomb them all into oblivion, bomb everything into oblivion. That is one outcome but it is not really a solution. The revolution against police brutality started, again this time, in Ferguson, even if it is not on TV. It's the Hands Up Revolution, peacefully revealing injustice and oppression. This is the power of any suffering community, from Gaza to women. The NFL immunity for players to beat women and kids is finally being questioned and while they act like nothing has to change the facts are coming out and change is on the way. It is just Justice and the Future, they go together like chocolate and many things. All revolution is part of this same quest for liberty. This is the 76th edition of the gagablog. I was born in '76, the Bicentinneal of America. The Spirit of 76 implies Freedom, liberation. Like in Berkeley 50 years ago, it is not like everyone gets behind one issue. The women's liberation movement, the civil rights movement, the anti-war movement, the student free speech movement and the hippie legalize weed and acid movements all came together to make the 60's such an amazing time for the counter-culture and promotion of community over the system. The same spirit and even the same people has fostered more progressive movements since then, and all of these are part of much older traditions, from labor and progressives and suffragettes a century ago to abolitionists to American revolutionaries and others. I think one magical way to look at the new version, the version that can be so much easier or more effective thanks to technology but also has some unique weaknesses due to reliance on the web and "others", is to compare symbols. The Black Power Fist means "fight the power" and is not only still relevant but has become relevant to many more causes. It is a powerful message and has a powerful magical effect. After giving those brave protesting high school kids the Paws Up I thought about it: why didn't I give them the Black Power Fist? It would have been more historical and certainly appropriate - they are fighting the power, fighting the school board and more importantly fighting the conservative power that uses it's status to promote ignorance, the only way it van survive, but that still is in power and making the rules - just like republicans favorite things are voter suppression and lying in ads. We do have to oppose the power, to end the influence of the bigoted, greedy status quo. We still have to do this. But times have changed, too. We need to seize the power and transform it. The Black Power Fist is recognizable no matter how the arm is positioned. The same is true for Paws Up - there is not a right way, it is all about the hand position on a raised arm. Both symbols are the same in this sense, they both work the same way magically - except with the variation of the hand. The fist represents solidarity, resistance, power, strength, even fighting. The Paw/claw does not imply fighting, or implies more animalistic or feminine fighting, and it implies more freedom and individuality - it still means the power of a group as it is the identifying sign of little monsters, but each finger is different, it is like the Diverse Power Paw, and it applies to opposing all sorts of injustice ("Jesus is the new black" from "Black Jesus Amen Fashion"). But it also means instead of knocking power down, knocking down the system, take it back, claim it. This is the grasping nature of the Paws Up - reaching out for liberty and taking it. This is all to describe the current phase of the revolution, but the real turning point is coming soon. I will be back to talking about the songs on Artpop soon but #76 had to be special: I like to think I was born an Aquarius at the Dawn of the Age of Aquarius but I still feel the sun has not really come up (the sunrise we see is an 8-minutes ahead projection, to me compensating for the 8 minutes light takes to travel to get here, and that has all sorts of mystical scientifico-magical implications to me but I'm just saying it here as an analogy) Gaga was born ten years later, and at the same time I was discovering my true spirituality in the Oz books. After 20 years of predicting her Gaga arrived to fulfill my hopes and I expected the world to transform at any moment. At the same time, it has been a few years now that I've been contemplating my book about the magic of Oz and Gaga and I realize that it won't be prophetic if it comes out after the monetary system collapses. In fact, if my instinct it right, it is really a necessary book to make that collapse fall the right way, into happiness instead of despair. I feel like I'm holding the whole thing up, and that it is time, now, to act. Even if that means raising my level to something greater, if it means really following Gaga. Because that is why 76 is the most special to me, so far. I finally saw Gaga for the first time 2 months ago yesterday. It changed my life, in a way I expected, and totally surprised me and blew me away. I'll make 77 about it before I go back to talking about the Artpop lyrics, but this one had to be about what is going on "now". And I feel like it is time to become who I really am instead of just continuing to do this - I really need to write my book, make my songs, and make more art. I know this and will never forget the way she told us - that when you have a creative dream chase it like the fastest horse you've ever seen. I've been riding in the chariot and loving it, but look out, world, I'm about to get out and run. This applies to all of us and this story of protest and revolution we are all part of. We benefit from the heroes of the past but recognizing that calls us to be the heroes of the future. And we do it by tweeting, by gathering in protest or even in celebration, even at a concert. We can truly party our way to a better world and while the first steps might be to see that it is needed and believe we can do something about it, once we get started it just becomes fun, natural, and just, and everybody wants in on it. Believe me, everything will be so much easier without money, all the difficulty stems from continuing to believe in money, when everything is really Love. If money is not the opposite of Love then it is the most stagnant form of it, but we have the Goddess of Love now to liberate us from it and from all the suffering that goes with it. Bad things persist but these are the signs of what needs to be done, and we will do it. This is a sexual revolution we will win, and while the terms are still phrased as "fighting for women" and making feminism an ideal word again it really is for the benefit of all and once we start seeing those benefits it will be easier and easier for more people and places to get on board, just like the legalization of weed. This is justice coming true and we can all join in the struggle to bring it about and the celebration of victory.