This past weekend, while hosting the UW Collegiate Poetry Slam back in Madison, I got the chance to clear up some confusion when it comes to my work. “I just want to say for the record…I don’t think all white people are evil.”
“But white supremacy is the devil.”
People didn’t know whether to applaud, laugh, or punch someone in the mouth. Mostly they just held their breath. I continued on, and did my poem for Peter Norman, the Australian track athlete who supported Tommie Smith and John Carlos in the famous Black Power protest at the 1968 Olympics. (Listen to a clip of my poem at http://www.salutethemovie.com).
All this got me thinking about the upcoming holiday, that great American feast of turkey and revisionist history: Thanksgiving. Now, maybe the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag natives really did all get along for this one day of Hallmark-approved festivities. Maybe. But even if it went down like that…before, and especially afterwards, the Pilgrims and their colonizing European brethren sure didn’t treat Squanto and the indigenous peoples of this continent with anything resembling gratitude. More like theft and genocide.
America is a country built on myth. Idealistic legends and lies. The type that play out today in popular culture and public policy, so that the descendents of colonizers and immigrants can now build walls (both physical and political) to keep out “illegal” (meaning brown) immigrants and protect “native” (meaning white) Americans.
Fortunately for us, there are voices who speak truth. Justice. And the TRUE American way. Those are the voices of the Addams Family.
I offer this video with gratitude for the people in my life, the fall harvest of pumpkins and possibility, the joy of seeing my former Madison students become even more brilliant than I remember, and the knowledge that one day all people will know justice and live in conditions that we can all truly be thankful for.
Happy turkey / tofurkey day. Enjoy! (with Swedish subtitles to boot!)
I’m not a big boxing fan. The idea of two grown men beating the shit out of each other as people make money off their blood…I guess it goes against my (semi)pacifist tendencies. But I gotta admit — I do like Manny Pacquiao.
Maybe it’s how he smiles throughout the whole fight, or how he carries the Phillipines (and half the Third World) on his back, or how he just dominates his sport with ease. Whatever the case, I found myself in a living room full of Pinoys watching the Pacquiao-Cotto fight this past Saturday. Needless to say, this was a loud, proudly partisan crowd. As it became clear by the 6th or 7th round that Pac-Man was going to win, we started a little game: “Who else would you like to see Pacquiao fight?”
We started with other athletes, then movie stars, then finally…world dictators. This was where it got really interesting. We made a couple guidelines, namely that they had to be post-WWII (no Hitler, Stalin, etc), but they did NOT have to be currently alive. Obviously there’s plenty worthy (meaning atrocious) contenders for consideration. That said, let me present my choices for…
The Top 10 Dictators I’d Pay to See Pac-Man to Whoop in the Ring
10. Rafael Trujillo (ruled the Dominican Republic, 1930-1961): The first leader deserving a royal beatdown, if you don’t know about Trujillo, just read The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz. Dude ruled the DR with an iron fist for 3 decades, with thousands of innocent and dissident citizens imprisoned and killed by his secret police known as the SIM. He was all about the cult of personality, aka Trujillo-worship, and basically hated on anything, or anyone, Haitian (meaning black).
9. Mao Zedong (China, 1949-1976): Some on the Left might hate me for putting him on the list, but let’s be honest: Mao needed to get knocked out. No doubt he deserves credit for leading the 1949 Revolution and creating alternative economic models that helped millions of Chinese. But…he also created the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, which led to famine, imprisonment, and political purges that caused the deaths of as many as 50 million people. Enough said.
8. Francisco Franco (Spain, 1936-1975): Just so y’all know, these dates are not when these dictators lived…they are when they RULED. Franco came to power in the 30s, around the same time as Hitler and Mussolini, when he crushed the ruling socialist government of Spain. The difference between him and those guys: he STAYED in power for 4 decades. A straight-up fascist, he used censorship, torture, and his anti-Communist alliance with the U.S. to remain El Presidente until his death.
7. Kim Il-Sung (North Korea, 1949-1994) and Kim Jong Il (1994-present): This is two-against-one, but something tells me Pacquiao would hold his own. And these dudes deserve it: Kim Il-Sung was the longest-ruling dictator of the 20th century…and then he passed on the crown of death to his son Kim Jong Il. Between the two of them, they have starved and repressed millions of their own people.
6. Pol Pot (Cambodia, 1975-1979): He had the shortest rule of anyone on this list, but in his four years, Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge enacted a system of slave labor, malnutrition, forced migrations, and executions that resulted in the deaths of almost 2 million people – about 1 out of every 5 Cambodians. Many of my students are the children of Cambodian refugees (and other places on this list) — they’ve told me stories no child should tell.
5. Mobutu Sese Seko (Zaire/Democratic Republic of Congo, 1965-1997) – This man changed not just his own name (from Joseph-Désiré Mobutu to the seven word Mobutu Sésé Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga), he changed the country’s…from the Congo to Zaire. So it remained for 31 years, as Mobutu personally exploited the natural resources of central Africa and consolidated power by publicly executing political rivals. His policies helped lead to the genocide in neighboring Rwanda and the ongoing civil war in his own country that has taken the lives of millions of people.
4. Ariel Sharon (Israel, 2001-2006) / Hosni Mubarak (Egypt, 1981-present) / Saddam Hussein (Iraq, 1979-2003) / etc.: I want Manny to take out ALL the dictators of this region, but let’s start with the “only democracy in the Middle East”: Israel. Much of the world doesn’t call Sharon “president” but rather the “Butcher of Beirut” – the man who committed war crimes at Sabra and Shatila, who built a wall in the West Bank, and denied as much land and rights as he could to the Palestinians. Mubarak isn’t any better, denying any democratic rights to Egyptians while enforcing the southern half of the blockade on Gaza. As for Saddam…besides gassing his own people (it did happen), my feeling is that if Pacquiao could have knocked him out with one punch back in the 80s, then we wouldn’t have had two George Bushes sending in the U.S. army to kill thousands of people and take over Iraq’s oil in the name of getting Saddam.
3. Augusto Pinochet (Chile, 1974-1990): The perpetrator of the original 9/11, this right-wing punk (with active support from the CIA) led a coup d’état which put an end to Salvador Allende’s democratically-elected government. From then on, Pinochet criminalized dissent, killing and disappearing thousands of Chileans, forcing many more into exile. He also used the crisis to implement IMF-supported neoliberal policies of privatization and hypercapitalism – check Naomi Klein’s book The Shock Doctrine.
2. Ferdinand Marcos (Phillipines, 1965-1986): This was BY FAR the most popular choice among the Filipino crowd watching the fight. What better dictator for Pacquiao to knock off his pedestal than the guy who led his own country into authoritarian corruption, despotism, and massive human rights violations? And it was his people who brought him down: the People Power Revolution of 1986 forced Marcos into exile, but not before he and his wife Imelda had embezzled billions of dollars of public funds to his private bank accounts. What could possible top Pacquiao getting justice with left hook right into Marcos chin? Well…
1. Ronald Reagan (U.S.A., 1981-1989) — Depending on who you are, this is either a total shock….or not at all. While not technically a dictator inside the U.S., Reagan (like many of his American predecessors and followers) still ruled much of the world undemocratically, oppressing and killing countless innocent people. His radical conservative economic policies, aka “Reaganomics,” reduced regulation of corporations, cut taxes for the rich and government spending for the poor, and basically laid the groundwork for the global recession we’re in right now. He bombed Libya, spearheaded the Iran-Contra affair, introduced crack to the streets of American cities…and he invaded Grenada. That country has a population of 110,000 – that’s basically a small neighborhood in Brooklyn. A bully like that needs to beat up.
So there it is. Pacquiao vs. Reagan as my # 1. Don’t agree with the order of the list? Should someone else be in there? My goal here is not to trivialize these men and the atrocities they committed, but rather to remember that authoritarianism everywhere needs to be opposed — and in some cases, knocked out in 7 rounds. So put a name in the ring — that’s what the comment box is for…
* And just to bolster my top selection, let’s watch this clip: the very first minute from the first episode of The Boondocks:
From the Richmond Peace March, November 7, 2009. Photo credit: Bethanie Hines
I went to the Peace March this part Saturday that was organized in response to the recent gang-rape at Richmond High School. It was a healing event for a lot of folks. Despite the tragedy that brought us together, the spirit of love and solidarity was strong. Dennis Kim gave one of the best speeches I’ve ever heard at a rally. Youth Speaks had a contingent out to support, and I felt good about our presence.
But something strange happened as well. First once, then twice, and finally almost a dozen times, I was approached by women in the march who said to me, “Thanks for being here.” Almost like it was a surprise that I, a man, was there to take a stand against violence towards women.
There were a decent number of men at the march, but I realized that, amongst many other things, we really do need men speaking to other men about this issue. Despite the media hype, the Richmond High incident unfortunately is far from isolated. This shit happens all the time – and not just in Richmond. It does no good to further criminalize East Bay youth. The question is: how can we stop sexual violence against women EVERYWHERE? As someone who’s had the privilege of working with some brilliant, amazing students (young men & women) at Richmond High, and across the Bay, I wanted to talk directly to the folks who I think could make the change we need.
To the Young Men who Watched and Said Nothing
i call you young men,
not boys.
but i don’t mean that
as a compliment.
boys play freeze tag
and three-on-three.
young men watch
a mob assaulting their classmate
and go home to watch MTV.
i don’t know your names,
but you knew hers.
it wasn’t Jane Doe.
i know this shit
happens everyday.
you heard what the football team
did to that girl in El Cerrito.
you might have been pushed
against a wall yourself once.
pants pressed to your ankles,
forced to turn around and take it
like a man.
you know what rape is.
you should have been inside at the dance.
getting your off-beat grind on
or standing awkwardly in the corner
like teenage boys are supposed to.
but you went outside, to the courtyard.
and you saw what they were doing
to her.
you said nothing.
you watched them:
punch, scratch, choke, violate her
for one hundred and twenty seven minutes.
you said nothing.
you left to go to the bathroom,
came back, and they were
still at it.
you said…
you were scared
that you’d get jumped.
get called a snitch, a bitch, a punk
who’s as white as his tall tee.
but what colors did you see that night in Richmond?
do you remember the reds of her knuckles? the blues in her eyes?
the blacks of her throat as she screamed for Someone, Anyone?
i am not perfect. not even
in the same area code as perfection.
i am a young man myself, after all.
i have never hit a woman, but that
doesn’t mean i have never hurt one.
i was raised by my mom,
grandmom, aunt, and my little sister-cousin.
she is 16 now. the same age
as the girl you saw in that courtyard.
who do you think i thought of when i heard?
can you look your own sisters in the eye?
and i was raised by my father.
no saint either, but he was with me
at my Bar Mitzvah, the day
that i became a man.
my father is a good man. he loves me.
and i still love you.
like a brother, who’s fucked up
in ways I couldn’t have imagined.
like a student, who’s brilliant
but got caught up in some horribly stupid shit.
like a young man,
who isn’t a boy
no more.
From the Richmond Peace March, November 7, 2009. Photo credit: Bethanie Hines
I’m gonna be real with you — I was excited that J Street invited me to their founding conference. Excited to be part of the conversation of progressive, peace-seeking Jewish Americans that had found a new, stronger voice in Washington. Excited to push conference attendees towards language and policies of real justice and human rights for Palestinians, not just a ‘peace process’ that perpetuates Israeli supremacy. And excited to be pushed back; to challenge and debate about how best to change American foreign policy, how to build multi-ethnic coalitions, how the hell we can resolve this conflict before we’ve all lost what humanity we have left.
So when J Street capitulated to a right-wing smear campaign and dis-invited me and my fellow poets because we had poems questioning the moral purity of Israel, I was disappointed. But not surprised. The more I learned about J Street, the more I realized that their leaders was more conservative than their own energized members, whom had been wooed with promises of “hope” and “change.” Sound familiar?
Now, I voted for Obama, but I also didn’t expect him to usher in any transformative era unless independent social movements maintained strong, vocal pressure. So when J Street kicked us out, Kevin Coval (the other poet, who has a long, illustrious record of being censored for his solidarity with Palestine) and I wrote a public response and decided to do our event anyway, now open to the community. Organized in three days, the place was packed: artists, activists, youth, elders, Jews, Palestinians, and a number of J Street conference attendees who left the official gathering to join the planned-then-banned dialogue.
The event itself was brilliant. Laila Al-Arian, the amazing Palestinian journalist and organizer whose father became a political prisoner after 9/11, moderated and brought a much-needed perspective to the space. I did my set, followed by Kevin, who came hard. During the Q&A, an Israeli army veteran offered his support and encouraged solidarity with the Refuseniks who won’t serve in the occupation. A Palestinian woman urged us to write more about Palestinians as diverse, complex individuals rather than a uniform ‘Palestine.’ Medea Benjamin of Code Pink made a call to action for the Gaza Freedom March this December. For all these calls, there was response. There was respectful, lively debate. “Culture as a Tool for Social Change” was the title of the original event. Yes! This is what we do!
The most prescient moment for me was with a young Jewish student in town for J Street. He’d been in sessions all day talking about the Mideast, in a very policy-wonkish way. Hearing our poems, he told us, was the first time he’d ever cried in a conversation about Israel/Palestine. “I’m not sure what that means,” he said. “But I think it’s a good thing.”
Going on, he asked us, since our voices had been removed from the conference, what message did we want him to take back to those activists gathered down the block? Now that was a great question. I told him what my own plan is: to support J Street when they’re right and criticize them when they’re wrong. To build with other critical supporters, because we are stronger as a bloc, and leaders will always try to marginalize dissent. And to build coalitions with other organizations and communities who we need if we are going to really move towards peace and reconciliation.
As for the actual J Street conference, I followed some of it online, and it was interesting to see their next public controversy unfold. Apparently the student caucus, dubbed J Street U, decided to take the “pro-Israel” out of their official slogan, so they were just “pro-Peace.” I totally understand their reasoning: to call yourself “pro-Israel” (especially if you don’t add “pro-Palestine”) on a college campus these days is political, and ethical, suicide for any proud progressive. And this is the challenge: how to build the movement in Wisconsin and New York, in Ramallah and Tel Aviv, rather than just in a fancy hotel in Washington.
Roberto Rivera, a hip-hop educator and friend of mine, likes to tell progressive activists, “We don’t need to reinvent the wheel…we just need to put some spinners on it.” Translation: rather than acting in a vacuum and constantly starting organizations that end up repeating the same mistakes, let’s recognize there is good work already going on, and we should improve off (and yes, critique) that work in new, creative ways. This is where I’m at when it comes to the the Mideast. I’m down for fresh dialogues and tactics: Free speech debates inside Hillels nationwide. Israelis and Palestinians fasting outside checkpoints on Yom Kippur. And yes, a strategic campaign of Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions.
If that work is being done in J Street, or Jewish Voice for Peace, or the International Solidarity Movement, or all of the above, then let’s roll. If not, then how can we make it happen? Either way, we – and more importantly the people of Palestine and Israel – can’t afford to spin our wheels aimlessly any longer. The status quo is the displacement and disenfranchisement of millions of women, men, and children. Let us stand for justice for all the people of Jerusalem. And let us put some spinners on our wheels, and get moving.
Thanks to the amazing filmmaker Jessica Mariglio, we now have video from the October 25th event, “We Will Not Be Silent.” Kevin Coval and I were uninvited from the J Street conference taking place that weekend in DC…but we decided to proceed with the original event anyway! Now at Busboys and Poets and open to the whole community, the place was packed and the response was lively. Check out the clips below for a taste of what went down.
First off, the context:
My poem that got Michael Goldfarb’s right-wing panties in a bunch:
Thanks to everyone who came, everyone who wrote us notes of support, and everyone for their commitment to free speech, peace, and restitution for Israel and Palestine.
