http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph
If anyone hasn't seen this magazine its possible one of the brightest beacons of true investigative journalism in America. Take a look, poke around, enjoy!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
R.I.P. Troy Davis
The laws protects those who fund it, the rest of us are doomed to fear it. Last night an innocent man lost his life to the whims of the state and its dogs of violence and oppression.
"The State is the altar of political freedom and, like the religious altar, it is maintained for the purpose of human sacrifice." Emma Goldman
"The State is the altar of political freedom and, like the religious altar, it is maintained for the purpose of human sacrifice." Emma Goldman
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Class Solidarity: The Have-nots save a life, the suit checks his cell phone
After class yesterday I went to grab a coffee with some friends and they were talking about a story being perpetually replayed on the news. It was the story of a motorcyclist in Salt Lake City trapped under a burning car after an accident. By standers gathered together and through combined will and strength lifted the car so that they could pull the motorcyclist from under the wreckage and too safety. Below is a link to the amazing video.
http://www.youtube.com/user/CNN?blend=1&ob=5#p/u/25/cZw32VQ1JEU
I posted the CNN Piers Morgan version for a reason. Even today catching snippets of the news new one is making a class analysis of the video. Look at the dress and try to generalize a certain class distinction of the people immediately moving towards the effort to lift the car. Its clear at least three are construction workers, a clearly working class distinction. One is also a woman and as we learned in our discussion last night women are in the vast majority of working class distinction. One of the men interviewed is a Doctoral student at a local university, thus as a student in relation to power structure we can place him in the lower middle and even working class. Now take a look at the video again, notice the man in the suit at the left end of the screen. I think its safe to assume by this mans demeanor (analyzing his cultural capital at a glance) and his dress he is either stable middle class or even in the wealthy class. He does not make a single move to aid the effort in moving the vehicle, not even a step forward. Instead he checks his cell phone. Also to the actions of the police officer. He doesn't initiate the effort to move the vehicle, no he tries to keep people away, yes he does eventually assist but then if you pay close attention he then afterwards tries again to move people away. I don't find him as guilty of negligence as the man in the suit but its an interesting reaction when you analyze his place in the power structure of society.
To me I think the really positive picture here is not just a humanist impulse to save a fellow human being but this was truly an example of class solidarity. In the Marxian sense it seems less predominant that any of these men and women thought to themselves, "That's a working class biker under there! Let save him!" I don't intend on making that argument. Instead its a matter of cultural class distinction that the victory is won. When we discuss cultural capital we tend to focus on the negative side of the discussion, the hamstring cultural capital delivers to the working class, the valued since of high class cultural capital, etc. But there is a well-spring of positivity to working class culture even without romanticizing it! The culture that arises from an environment of minimal autonomy, thrift, constant work, etc is one of mutual aid. One that focuses on the benefit of "having each other back." Its in my opinion the saving grace of the working class and I hope will one day be the tool we use to organize our selves to create a better world.
What do you think? Is this over analyzing? Or do you see something similar in this story?
http://www.youtube.com/user/CNN?blend=1&ob=5#p/u/25/cZw32VQ1JEU
I posted the CNN Piers Morgan version for a reason. Even today catching snippets of the news new one is making a class analysis of the video. Look at the dress and try to generalize a certain class distinction of the people immediately moving towards the effort to lift the car. Its clear at least three are construction workers, a clearly working class distinction. One is also a woman and as we learned in our discussion last night women are in the vast majority of working class distinction. One of the men interviewed is a Doctoral student at a local university, thus as a student in relation to power structure we can place him in the lower middle and even working class. Now take a look at the video again, notice the man in the suit at the left end of the screen. I think its safe to assume by this mans demeanor (analyzing his cultural capital at a glance) and his dress he is either stable middle class or even in the wealthy class. He does not make a single move to aid the effort in moving the vehicle, not even a step forward. Instead he checks his cell phone. Also to the actions of the police officer. He doesn't initiate the effort to move the vehicle, no he tries to keep people away, yes he does eventually assist but then if you pay close attention he then afterwards tries again to move people away. I don't find him as guilty of negligence as the man in the suit but its an interesting reaction when you analyze his place in the power structure of society.
To me I think the really positive picture here is not just a humanist impulse to save a fellow human being but this was truly an example of class solidarity. In the Marxian sense it seems less predominant that any of these men and women thought to themselves, "That's a working class biker under there! Let save him!" I don't intend on making that argument. Instead its a matter of cultural class distinction that the victory is won. When we discuss cultural capital we tend to focus on the negative side of the discussion, the hamstring cultural capital delivers to the working class, the valued since of high class cultural capital, etc. But there is a well-spring of positivity to working class culture even without romanticizing it! The culture that arises from an environment of minimal autonomy, thrift, constant work, etc is one of mutual aid. One that focuses on the benefit of "having each other back." Its in my opinion the saving grace of the working class and I hope will one day be the tool we use to organize our selves to create a better world.
What do you think? Is this over analyzing? Or do you see something similar in this story?
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
A great human rest while we continue to fight
This is a bit late but I think this is a man worth noting. Stetson Kennedy was note an academic, he wasn't an organizer, he was an agitator; less concerned with tenured nature of his work as the fire it creates. Kennedy helped create the modern Anti-facist and Anti-racist movement of today. A link to his obituary is below. It is up to us to take up the mantel of his fight against racism and fascism in America,
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/us/30kennedy.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/us/30kennedy.html
"Property is theft" P.J. Proudhon
http://www.zcommunications.org/revolt-of-the-elites-by-frank-pasquale
Frank Pasquale is a Professor of Law with a focus on Health Care Regulation and Enforcement at Seton Hall University. We writes here an article that aims at sobering not the general population but the advocates and "activists" who seem to be pointing their megaphones in the wrong direction. Pasquale describes the current world wide upheaval as one that sets the top murder-bankers as the "Robbin Hood" character as portrayed by their loyal dogs of information wars in the media. As such it is the capitalist who is beaten down by the billy club of regulation and taxation who if given his freedom from the club of social responsibility would create a world of......oh wait were living in their world. But if we give them more freedom and more subsidies they will fix everything and make sure and make sure everyone has a jo.....oh wait realistic unemployment is in the double digits. Well, they'll make sure things are still produced efficiently and that every table has a loaf of brea........wait recent estimates have the Somali famine as set to destroy over 75,000 lives. BUT THOSE DAMN PIRATES ARE RUTHLESS THUGS STEALING OUR PRECIOUS...oil. Pasquale goes into a recollection of many previous thinkers who foresaw what society would become and how government, military, and business have blurred into one repressive tool used to massacre and starve the workers and disposed in order to acquire comprehensible fortunes, militarize society to more efficiently squelch any social revolts of the lower classes, and mind sludge the population with media and consumption to divert attention.
For a fightening and gut wrenching look into the militarization of the police force and the creation of a security states policy becoming internationalized Jesse Strauss has a wonderful article written for Al Jazeera English
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/08/20118301581793156.html
Frank Pasquale is a Professor of Law with a focus on Health Care Regulation and Enforcement at Seton Hall University. We writes here an article that aims at sobering not the general population but the advocates and "activists" who seem to be pointing their megaphones in the wrong direction. Pasquale describes the current world wide upheaval as one that sets the top murder-bankers as the "Robbin Hood" character as portrayed by their loyal dogs of information wars in the media. As such it is the capitalist who is beaten down by the billy club of regulation and taxation who if given his freedom from the club of social responsibility would create a world of......oh wait were living in their world. But if we give them more freedom and more subsidies they will fix everything and make sure and make sure everyone has a jo.....oh wait realistic unemployment is in the double digits. Well, they'll make sure things are still produced efficiently and that every table has a loaf of brea........wait recent estimates have the Somali famine as set to destroy over 75,000 lives. BUT THOSE DAMN PIRATES ARE RUTHLESS THUGS STEALING OUR PRECIOUS...oil. Pasquale goes into a recollection of many previous thinkers who foresaw what society would become and how government, military, and business have blurred into one repressive tool used to massacre and starve the workers and disposed in order to acquire comprehensible fortunes, militarize society to more efficiently squelch any social revolts of the lower classes, and mind sludge the population with media and consumption to divert attention.
For a fightening and gut wrenching look into the militarization of the police force and the creation of a security states policy becoming internationalized Jesse Strauss has a wonderful article written for Al Jazeera English
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/08/20118301581793156.html
Saturday, September 3, 2011
A short intro to the eulogy of brevity
My name is Kevin Cordeiro, at the moment I'm in my final year of a bachelors in History. This after a bit of an ideological fall out with the education department. (someone got called a naive puppet of the for-profit education boss-bourgeoisie more interested in the inflation of white middle class students sense of noblese oblige then solving any real problems with the factory education system.) I'm hoping to move on to a graduate degree in secondary education in history from either an out of state or international school. My goal is to research and implement a means of involving local gangs within their local schools and emphasizing their positive aspects while addressing the grievances that bring the gang together in a hopes of debasing the gang hierarchy and shifting it from a vessel of drug trade and territorial battles to a means of organizing local youths around direct action and autonomous solutions to the struggles of the working and lumpen classes. Its a thesis that needs refinement but one thing that is concrete is that I by no means intend for this to be some far fetched process of assimilation or integration of local gangs into the state-run school apparatus. Instead I see the school as a means of working outside the state and in some ways against it and its owners by taking advantage of the situations and environment produced by the factory school system. In other words, sabotage. I've been a member of the local providence Industrial Workers of the World since 2009, I'll admit I'm a tad behind on paying dues. From my time with the IWW I have had the extreme luck of working with such wonderful people and organizations as RI Jobs With Justice, DARE, ONA, and Libertalia. It was also through the Wobs that I was introduced to the theories and actions of another cause of passion for me, Anti-Fascist and Anti-Racist Action. On the lighter end of the spectrum I have a Fell Terrier named Chomsky and am a 3rd generation soccer hooligan. Seeing as how this is my second to last semester I'm hoping it will be a great one.
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