Death is personal

Last night I watched on my computer screen as my oldest brother died.  He was in the hospital with Covid, experiencing organ failure.  Our other two brothers and their families were there too, on Zoom.  Adam was unconscious but we talked to him and played some of his favorite Jazz in the background for a couple of hours, then the nurse extubated him, and then he died after a few minutes.

I've been through the deaths of my parents, closest friend, other close friends, lovers, clients, colleagues, and animal friends.  Grief has always been present in my life.

When someone has always been part of your life and then they die it's world changing.

When someone you love is murdered it's a special kind of trauma.  When someone you love is murdered in a genocide perpetrated by the President of one's own country, well I don't have words for that yet.

More about fascism...

The sight of Trump, and the words he said, at the Lincoln Memorial on May 3, were completely 100% lies and self aggrandizement; all the usual garbage we have come to expect from Trump. What made it especially rancid was the setting which was selected for dramatic impact. Presenting such gaslighting as he did in front of a memorial to an honest man, causes such cognitive dissonance as to throw people further off balance. This is an essential aspect of nazification. Hitler did it, Mussolini did it, Trump is doing it. It’s obvious, it’s recognizable, and we know what it is.

When we name what is happening we weaken its power. When we name Trump for what he is, a toxic narcissist Hitler-wannabe, we put him into perspective and that offsets the unbalancing effects of his actions. His actions are designed to horrify and disgust, to put people into a state of emotional reaction that makes them less effective in resisting the fascist agenda. We do not have to fall for this.

When we name the power behind the throne, Charles Koch, as a wealthy white man, disconnected from the world, surrounded by wealth, raised by nazi sympathizing parents, we put him into perspective.

Etc etc. Putin, Xi, MBS, all people who pull Trumps strings, all need to be named, recognized for what they are, and to have their power weakened by being seen. The nefarious thrive on being able to operate in the shadows. Shine the light on them. Show them for what they are. Gradually people will see, and will stop co-operating.

Conundrums and questions

I open my email and there is one from an animal rights group asking for donations, with a story about someone beating a pregnant dog to death. What is wrong with people??  Who does that?  What kind of sicko?  Wait, it gets better.

In Stillwater, Oklahoma extremists actually threatened people with guns for wearing masks to protect themselves from the corona virus. Yes you read correctly, they threatened people for wearing masks because that was seen as disloyal to Trump.

The US has been successfully nazified.  The dictator can do anything he pleases, there are no limits, no accountability.  The legislative body, Congress, has been rendered ineffectual and is now a rubber stamp for fascism. The executive has told states that they must kiss his ring in order to be allowed medical supplies during an epidemic. This is real.

It is done.  There is no more United States.  Now what?

Now we are each charged with finding the most effective and creative ways of non-co-operation.  We are each the keeper of our own conscience.  What does yours tell you?

I know I will have to get past this heartbroken feeling, and somehow I will.  My own tiny contributions keep me sort of sane; having something to do that speaks to people, my radio show. It's not enough, nothing is enough, but together maybe all of us can be enough.