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American Reaction to the Invasion of Ukraine

4/27/2022

The devastation in Ukraine is horrible. Report after report shows flattened buildings, homes, schools, hospitals, and more. Citizens are killed simply because they are there. Children’s lives are snuffed without a shred of remorse. Decency in the invaders is rare. Americans are shocked. As we should be

So how do we react? What do we as individuals do?

I’m sorry to say, many have responded in the same old ways we have resorted to all too often in the past.

We attribute the sins of Vladimir Putin and his ilk to anyone who is Russian.

Or seems to be like a Russian.

Or has the most tenuous connection to the word Russian.

There have been reports in this country of threats to those with Russian backgrounds. Even if they are American citizens.

Restaurants serving Russian dishes have been trashed.

A ballet school using the Russian method of teaching the art and with Russia in its name and run by non-Russians has come under fire.

Even Ukrainians, confused by many as being Russian, have suffered at the hands of the ill-informed.

This shouldn’t be surprising. Consider our history.

During World War II we rounded up and placed in detention camps those with Japanese heritage, Including those repulsed by what Japan was doing.

After 9/11, Muslims became pariahs to many.

During Covid and due to disgusting comments by our past president, Asians came under attack because blame was being placed on China for the virus.

In a situation I am surprised about and disappointed with, the Metropolitan Opera withdrew a role from a Russian soprano because she would not renounce the invasion. I don’t know her reason. Perhaps she actually was in favor of the attack, and, in that case, I don’t feel sorry for her. However, I suspect there is a more reasonable explanation. Because of her art she has had the opportunity to view the world as it really is, not as Putin says it is. So her perspective might be different from the official Russian line. What I suspect is she had family in Russia and knew that any comments against the invasion could bring harm to them. She is not the only artist who has had to face this situation.

I am disgusted by the invasion. I believe all responsible should be held accountable. I think our country should do all it possibly can to assist the Ukrainians, including advanced weaponry. Much more than it now is doing.

We as individuals should support such efforts. It disgusts me that so many in our country on the far right are in favor of the Russian position.

But we as individuals also should be careful how we treat our neighbors and friends just because they share superficial characteristics with those acting abominably.

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Books of Sin

4/20/2022

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Sex, gays, Hispanics, Blacks, interracial friendships. You know, the subjects teenagers have on their minds and in their lives as they carry on their daily activities. The sort of subjects about which it’s often difficult to discuss with parents.

Especially the parents who believe they shouldn’t be discussed at all. Especially in the classroom. Or one-on-one with a trusted teacher or school counselor.

And, by golly, those parents are going to see to it that such discussions don’t occur. They are going to keep any threatening books away from their children. And everyone else’s child. They will get them banned from classroom instruction and school libraries. And they heartily approve of a new law that prohibits discussion of sexual orientation in grades K through 3 and then any such discussion should be age appropriate thereafter.

Actually, that sounds reasonable to me. As it does to public school systems throughout Florida. As I understand it, they already follow that dictum.

Keep in mind, though, this law was pushed by our Republican controlled legislature under the urging of our Republican governor. That’s a clue that all might not be as rosy as it sounds.

And indeed, there is a major catch. What does “age appropriate” mean? Most reasonable folks think it means different ages for different kids. Teachers are used to dealing with such uncertainties.

But not the uncertainties posed by the law. Because now it will be the parents who have the power to decide. Because a second hitch is the law permits them to sue the school board if they are displeased with what is taught or discussed.

If you’re a teacher, how will you respond? I suspect with infinite caution. That means you will avoid discussions on some subjects because you know there are parents out there who would sue at the drop of a hat. True, they might not win, but in this age of conservative judges, how can anyone be sure? Plus, why subject yourself to the hassle and possible discipline?

The result? The most unreasonable and, indeed, the nastiest, parents will win, and children of other parents will suffer. Some kids, on the fringes of their sexuality, may experience mental illness when the teacher support system is denied them.

Unfortunately, all seems to be going well for our repressive parents. They’ve got this wonderful law, and they have state backing for ensuring no dangerous books will be available. There is a list circulating of well over 100 books they don’t like.

The county adjacent to mine recently was asked to pull four books, which it has done. They are Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez, Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews, All Boys Aren’t Blue by George Johnson, and Looking for Alaska by John Greer.

I have read none of them, but I understand they all fall into the young adult genre. I have reviewed brief synopses of their plots. As far as I can tell, and from what others have reported, they all do indeed deal with young adult subjects. In particular, the subjects mentioned in the first words of this screed.

It’s those words that indicate what is probably an agenda, maybe not even recognized by those parents demanding that the books be pulled. I suspect hidden somewhere in their psyche is a prejudice against people and situations that are different from themselves. Blacks. Gays. Interracial relationships. And I suspect many of these parents have an uncomfortable relation with sex.

The books have been removed, but only temporarily while a review proceeds. That review will determine which, if any, will return, or whether they all will be banished. It will be interesting to see what happens, because it might provide a clue as to our future.

And we would be right to worry. After all, book banning is nothing new. We’ve seen it before when the Nazis turned banning into burning, And in the present day many countries restrict information allowed to their citizens. Like in Russia, China, and any number of other nations where dictators rule.

It seems reasonable. to equate knowledge limitation with dictatorial tendencies. So a major concern is where will it will lead in this country.

And speaking of this country, our prior record leaves something to be desired. When I was young, Boston was famous for banning books. Not to keep them from just kids, but from everyone. The reprehensible tomes included Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence, and the play Desire Under the Sun by Eugene O’Neill. Not too shabby a list and this is just a small percentage of those achieving banishment. Many of which are familiar. The ban was overturned for some works, but not often.

One would think that being banned would be devastating for a book. But a funny thing happened. Publishers and authors loved to be able to say their book was “banned in Boston.” Because sales would soar.

Humans are funny. If you deny them access to potentially important or titillating information, and they still have enough freedom (there’s the catch), they’ll want to see for themselves what is so horrible about it. One wonders if Lady Chatterley’s Lover would have been as successful if Boston hadn’t singled it out as improper reading.

I am hopeful that most teenagers, when learning a book was taken away from them, would do what teenagers (and many others) do and hunt out the book elsewhere and dive into it.

Certainly, some subjects are inappropriate at too early an age. But the age when that is no longer true cannot be controlled by a governmental system or parents who think they know everything.

Unless we have indeed lost our freedom.

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A Winning Strategy

4/13/2022

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In the race among the states to become the most repressive, Florida last year took a significant leap toward victory with the passage of SB90.

SB90 contains many features, all designed to discourage people from voting. But not just anybody. Mostly classes of citizens who tend to vote Democratic. Like Blacks. Like Hispanics. Like the poor.

You wouldn’t know that was the goal by listening to the legislation’s sponsors. Indeed, they say it is so we can be assured our elections are secure, apparently not like the 2020 one where the “legitimate” winner of the Presidency did not get to take office.

This despite the fact that Republicans had declared the 2020 election the best in Florida’s checkered history. And despite the fact that most of the election shenanigans making the news were perpetrated by Republicans!

So what are the main features that SB90 imposes?

Restricts the number and available hours of drop boxes (now ridiculously called “secure ballot intake stations”) where voters can deposit ballots that otherwise would have to be returned by mail
Forces voter registration organizations like the League of Women Voters to announce, when registering an individual, that they cannot guarantee the registration will be returned to the Supervisor of Election’s office in time, despite there never having been a problem in the past.
Prohibits offering water or other refreshments to voters standing in line in the hot Florida sun as they wait to cast their ballots.
Requires registering to receive mail ballots every two years instead of four and necessitates identifying information like a driver’s license number or the last few digits of a social security number, supposedly to allow verification of the ballot.

SB90 joins a host of measures, passed by our Republican dominated legislature and signed by a Republican tyrannical governor, that everyone knew would wind up in the courts. The state then hires lawyers at well over $600 per hour (for each one) to defend the indefensible. Isn’t that a better way to spend our tax dollars than, say, affordable housing, improved mental health systems, or increased Medicaid?

And so it was with SB90. The day the governor signed it into law the League of Women Voters of Florida and other plaintiffs sued. The trial before federal Circuit Judge Mark E. Walker was held in February of this year. Judge Walker recently issued his opinion. Two hundred and eighty-eight pages of it!

He was not kind to the defendants.

His opinion has been reported extensively on local and national media and by several columnists and bloggers including Heather Cox Richardson in her March 31 offering (a column I recommend reading).

A few of the points made in Walker’s decision are

This case is about the sacred right to vote
The right to vote and the VRA [Voting Rights Act] are under siege
It might be difficult to look at SB90 alone and determine, as the plaintiffs maintain, that it is racist
Unless you trace out the history of Florida with regard to race and then SB90 seems to be another in a long list of attempts to deny the vote to those who typically vote against the party in power
Thus the overall goal is suppression of the Black vote to rig the election in favor of Republicans
This is important because differences in political power create differences in economic and social power

In short, he declared most of SB90 unconstitutional, a great victory for the plaintiffs and, I might add, to anyone believing in fair election results.

Walker wasn’t done simply because he had dealt with SB90. Startling most, he further decreed that for the next ten years Florida must receive permission from the court before making any additional voting changes.

Judge Walker was appointed by President Obama, a fact mentioned by the irate Republicans in the state. Governor DeSantis, acting like the spoiled child that he is, blustered that the verdict will be reversed as the state, spending that $600 plus per hour for each lawyer, appeals.

Unfortunately, I fear he may be right. The next step is the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, one of the most conservative in the country. Then after that is the United States Supreme Court, and we all know what that is like these days.

But for now, for whatever brief time we have, we can rejoice that there is at least one judge who believes in democracy and common sense.

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It's Not Slapstick

4/6/2022

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While missiles were falling in Ukraine and over four million of its citizens were seeking sanctuary outside their country and amid Republican threats to our democracy, what were our citizens discussing?

Well, inflation and gasoline prices for sure. I can understand that, since those on the brink of economic disaster can be pushed over by the smallest change.

But for those not living paycheck to paycheck, the big story was the childlike behavior at the Academy Awards Ceremony. What a sense of priority!

I’m sure everyone knows what happened. Why, even I, who cares not a whit for the celebrity world, learned of it. Comedian Chris Rock, who was emceeing the show, included in his routine a mocking of Will Smith’s wife’s lack of hair, a situation resulting from a medical problem. Smith was incensed and, showing the maturity of the celebrity, walked onto the stage, slapped Rock, muttered a few choice words, and refused to leave. Not funny in the least. Not slapstick. I am told that both of these individuals are well known.

But, honesty, who cares? Well, apparently a lot of people, because social media went crazy and regular broadcast channels devoted precious time to it.

When asked how I felt about the incident, I replied I thought Smith had acted in a disgusting manner, although I understood his being angry. I would be if someone made fun of my wife in a derogatory way. But I wouldn’t pick a physical fight. There might be words, but they would come later and not in a public setting. I would be disgusted with myself if I had acted in the way that Smith did. So why did he feel it was acceptable behavior? I can think of two reasons.

First, did Smith feel like he was so important, so well known, so superb at his job, so adored by millions, that he had the right to respond with violence?

We tend to look on celebrities with awe, knowing we could never act, sing, dance, or play basketball the way they do. So why do we give them so much slack? My guess is very few of them could teach mathematics, or take a nurse’s shift, or clean a. toilet, or do any of the myriad of jobs that we “normal” folks perform on a daily basis. Our love probably is because they are entertainers and for brief moments help us escape from the daily humdrum of our lives.

But it doesn’t give them an excuse to act worse than we do!

The second reason is scarier, Could the general breakdown of decency we are experiencing in this country and around the world have created a mind set in all of us, not just celebrities, that physical altercations are a completely acceptable way to deal with a problem, that there are no longer the societal checks that used to restrain bad behavior. Take our love for guns. If their preponderance doesn’t imply increased threats, I don’t know what does. Just scan the headlines of any paper on any day for verification.

For whatever reason Smith felt he could do what he did, any decent person would conclude he acted reprehensively. So were there only a few decent people at the ceremony? How else to explain the standing ovation Smith received later in the evening when he accepted his award.

There’s another aspect of the incident that bothers me.

What about the actions of Chris Rock? Is he all goodness and light? After all, he makes his money by mocking others. Do we condone eliciting laughs by playing on the weaknesses of others, especially ones suffering from a medical condition? I think we do,

I can understand the appeal. Especially if the mocking hits home, that is, if it deals with a situation where we can relate. Like about family. Or work. Or school.

Still, though, what does it say about the human species if we get a kick out of making others uncomfortable. I know this has been the norm for a long time. Don Rickles comes to mind.

It has been pointed out that I’m being a hypocrite, big surprise. Because my moral stance is damaged by the fact I am currently watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel that presents a comedienne ripping apart those in her life. And it is funny.

So how do I come down on the various aspects of the Oscar controversy? I’m not sure. There’s no question Will Smith acted abominably. Chris Rock seems to have stayed within at least what we think of as the norm.

I fear that the actions of both are a product of the times in which we live and the seeming lack of respect we have for each other.

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American Reaction to the Invasion of Ukraine

Books of Sin

A Winning Strategy

It's Not Slapstick

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