What else has to happen....{to be continued}

…..before we act?

How often, especially in the recent decades, have I heard the cruelest, earthshaking, most unfuckinbelievable news and ran to throw open my apartment door, ready to rush into the streets with the good u.s.ofa people masses - only to witness life 'as usual' continuing here in the u.s.

I don't know what else has to happen before we choose to eradicate the amerikkkan nitemare's hold on us and dedicate our lives to working for equity, ending violence, protecting the mother earth and all life on our planet.

So I'm working on this piece - in three parts, growing on each part, trying to highlight each injustice, and our relationship as individuals and a nation to each, how we benefit and what it costs us. It is not finished but I have to share as I go or it may never get published...

What else has to happen .... before we act?

I.

·         We have fracking destroying our water

·         We’ve got  carbon emissions destroying our air & making air pollution

·         We’ve got Fukushima radiation destroying our oceans

·         We’ve got oil companies, the meat industry & everybody else & the Albany City Council devastating our forests and trees

·         We’ve got Monsanto poisoning and trying to control our food

·         We’ve got mega drug companies trying to control our health & our illnesses

·         We’ve got 1000 military bases around the world

·         We’ve got a bigger military budget than every other country combined

·         We’re bombing and hurting how many countries, how many people in the world

·         We have 25% of the world’s prison population, close to 2/3’s of whom are people of color

·         Both weapons and prisons are our biggest ‘legal’ exports

·         The enslavement, rape, torture of girls and womyn, and some boys is our largest ‘illegal’ money maker, coming a close second to drugs

·         We have 3-5 womyn per day murdered by some man who claims to have loved her…

·         We have people getting shot every day by white men who are going crazy with the guns, black men who are killing each other, and police who are killing an African American womon, child, or man every 28 hours

·         We have increasing and new mental health diagnoses and diseases especially for our children

·         We have private corporations controlling every institution from education to health to “justice”

·         We have private corporations needing to fill prisons with people, profiting off the incarceration of humans

·         We have national and global violence against womyn and girls increasing exponentially, resulting in the #1 killer of womyn:  death from male violence killing more females age 15-44 than the other top 5 killers of women combined

·         Over 70% of women around the world will experience male violence in their lifetime

·         Not to mention our typical m.o. born with the creation of this nation of wars and violence against peoples of color, womyn and the mother earth rage on with increased and unimaginable, unhuman brutality

II.

We have fracking exploiting and destroying our water = no potable water….

…. as we turn up the thermostat & throw one sweet potato into the oven, without thought.

We have got carbon emissions polluting and destroying our air = no fresh air to breathe…

…. as we drive blocks and country miles mindlessly.

We’ve got Fukushima spewing radiation destroying our oceans = hundreds of thousands of years contamination….

….as we keep on demanding and burning energy.

We’ve got Monsanto poisoning and trying to control our food = inability to feed ourselves….

….as we make them rich devouring non-organic – but dollar cheap – food.

We’ve got mega pharmaceutical companies making us sick so they can sell us drugs = poor health & death…

….as we gulp down pills and feed our children genetically modified nutritionless poison.

We have police murdering an African-American womon, child, or man every 28 hours = genocide….

….as we allow armed uniformed men to roam our streets with their billy clubs, handcuffs, legalized racism and steel-toed black boots.

We’ve got 1000 military bases (that we know of) around the world making the U.S. military the biggest single consumer of fossil fuels in the world = hegemony…

….as we accept for the price of oil and asphalt the daily genocide and murder of people of resource-rich countries, or the funding of right wing extremists to create havoc and coups in these countries.

We have 3-5 womyn per day murdered by some man who claims to have loved her = misogyny ….

…. as we foster and condone male violence and give men the bill of rights to bear arms and the institutional rights to oppress womyn.

We have a bigger military budget than every other country in the world combined = empire of bullies….

….as we work to pay 50% of our income and discretionary taxes for wars.

We are presently bombing and hurting how many countries, 7? 8? and how many people in the world = terrorism….

…. as we allow the military unfettered  access to our youth so they can provide job training in killing, maiming, raping, and torturing other human beings.

We have 25% of the world’s prison population as we imprison 1 in 3 black adult males while 58% of all youth incarcerated are African-American = criminal injustice, institutionalized racism….

….as we launch no national or local campaign to eliminate racism and institutionalize equity and reparations.

We have our biggest exports of weapons, how-to-kill-your-own-people training, and prisons = that’s what we’re selling the world….

….as we ensure the world is in turmoil and rendered vulnerable to our corporations so we can buy cheap goods and make huge profits to maintain our life styles under the empire.

We’ve got oil companies and the meat industry and Albany City Council devastating our forests, our trees = exploitation for profit….

….as we continue enjoying mega shopping centers, online superstores, and access cheap meat daily.

We have the U.S. military callously exploding armaments in over 500,000 – that’s half a million – square miles of ocean 24 hours a day, seven days a week = death to the ocean…

….as we claim we live in the best country in the world.

We have “fishermen” tracking fish with drone technology and pushing fish populations to extinction, or its edge = eventual human extinction…

….as we go out for rare seafood, sushi  and fish & chips, and gobble endangered and ancient sea creatures.

We have a human being dying of starvation every 2.3 seconds = murder…

….as we waste enuff food daily to fill a 90,000 seat football stadium.

We have developers paving over every inch of land in our cities, spreading suburbs, destroying the desert, rain forests, mountains = amerikkkan nitemare….

….as we demand bigger houses with several bathrooms and identical fake landscapes to inhabit.

We have 149 acres of rainforest destroyed per MINUTE by agri-business or oil & mining corporations, resulting in the extinction of multitude of plants and animals and causing severe climate change = amerikkkan nitemare …

….as we continue to wolf down McDonalds, sirloin, and gold.

We have over half the golf courses in the world, some guzzling 1 million gallons of water a DAY – which is what the average family of four uses in four years = amerikkkan nitemare ….

….as 28.6 million u.s.americans enjoy playing golf: over 2/3rds of the world’s humans – 4.7 billion people – could be supported by 2.5 billion gallons of water per day; 2.5 billion gallons of water per day are used to green golf courses

We have access to most of the world’s clean water so the average single u.s.american can use 176 gallons per day while the average whole family in Africa uses 5 gallons per day = amerikkkan nitemare ….

….so we can keep flushing the toilet, leave the faucet running and take endless showers as many times a day or week as we desire.

We have 1% of our population hoarding as much wealth as almost half of the world’s people = capitalism….

….as most of the 99% continue to buy the goods and services of those one percent while wanting the wealth of the 1% for themselves.

III.

We have fracking exploiting and destroying our water …. as we turn up the thermostat & throw one sweet potato into the oven, without thought.

We have got carbon emissions polluting and destroying our air … as we drive blocks and country miles mindlessly.

We’ve got Fukushima spewing radiation destroying our oceans ….as we keep on demanding and burning energy.

We’ve got oil companies, the meat industry & everybody else & the Albany City Council devastating our forests and trees … as we robotically grab household products off the shelves, 40-50% of them using palm oil

We’ve got Monsanto poisoning and trying to control our food ….as we make them rich devouring non-organic – but dollar cheap – food.

We’ve got mega drug companies trying to control our health & our illnesses … as argri-business & pharmaceutical companies make us sick so they can sell us drugs ….as we gulp down pills and feed our children genetically modified nutritionless poison.

We’ve got 1000 military bases (that we know of) around the world… as we send our youth off to become the occupying forces of the countries we’ve conquered,  making  the U.S. empire’s military the biggest single consumer of fossil fuels in the world

We’ve got a bigger military budget than every other country combined ….as we believe in our right of world domination and accept murder, genocide, enslavement for the price of our entitlement to the “amerikkkan nitemare”

We have a bigger military budget than every other country in the world combined ….as we work to pay 50% of our income and discretionary taxes for wars.

We’re bombing and hurting how many countries, how many people in the world … so we can access cheap oil and asphalt thru the daily genocide and murder of people of resource-rich countries, or the funding of right wing extremists to create havoc and coups in those countries, so we get cheap access to their resources.

We are presently bombing and hurting how many countries, 7? 8? and how many people in the world …. as we allow the military unfettered  access to our youth so they can provide job training in killing, maiming, raping, and torturing other human beings.

We have 25% of the world’s prison population, over half of which are people of color …as we imprison 1 in 3 black adult males while 58% of all youth incarcerated are African-American … and we launch no national or local campaign to eliminate racism and institutionalize equity and reparations.

Both weapons and prisons are our biggest ‘legal’ exports… we’re making the most money on how-to-kill-your-own-people training, the armaments needed to do so, and prisons  ….as we ensure the world is in turmoil and rendered vulnerable to our corporations so we can buy cheap goods and make huge profits to maintain our life styles under the empire.

The enslavement, rape, torture of girls and womyn, and some boys is our largest ‘illegal’ money maker, coming a close second only to drugs…. as we foster and condone male violence and fail miserably to protect the lives and quality of life of womyn and children, bowing to the god-given needs and rights of males.

We have 3-5 womyn per day murdered by some man who claims to have loved her…as we give men the bill of rights to bear arms and the institutional rights to oppress womyn.

We have people getting shot every day by white men who are going crazy with the guns …

We have police murdering an African-American womon, child, or man every 28 hours ….as we allow armed uniformed men to roam our streets with their billy clubs, handcuffs, legalized racism and steel-toed black boots.

We’ve got oil companies and the meat industry and Albany City Council devastating our forests, our trees ….as we continue enjoying mega shopping centers, online superstores, and access cheap meat daily.

We have the U.S. military callously exploding armaments in over 500,000 – that’s half a million – square miles of ocean 24 hours a day, seven days a week ….as we claim we live in the best country in the world.

We have “fishermen” tracking fish with drone technology and pushing fish populations to extinction, or its edge ….as we go out for rare seafood, sushi  and fish & chips, and gobble endangered and ancient sea creatures.

We have a human being dying of starvation every 2.3 seconds ….as we waste enuff food daily to fill a 90,000 seat football stadium.

We have developers paving over every inch of land in our cities, spreading suburbs, destroying the desert, rain forests, mountains ….as we demand bigger houses with several bathrooms and identical fake landscapes to inhabit.

We have 149 acres of rainforest destroyed per MINUTE by agri-business or oil & mining corporations, resulting in the extinction of multitude of plants and animals and causing severe climate change ….as we continue to wolf down MacDonalds and sirloin.

We have over half the golf courses in the world, some guzzling 1 million gallons of water a DAY – which is what the average family of four uses in four years ….as 28.6 million u.s.americans enjoy playing golf.

We have access to most of the world’s clean water so the average single u.s.american can use 176 gallons per day while the average whole family in Africa uses 5 gallons per day ….so we can keep flushing the toilet, leave the faucet running and take endless showers as many times a day or week as we desire.

4.7 billion people in the world could be supported by 2.5 billion gallons of water per day; 2.5 billion gallons of water per day are used to green golf courses

We have 1% of our population hoarding as much wealth as almost half of the world’s people ….as most of the 99% continue to buy the goods and services of those one percent.

Over half the prison population are incarcerated on “illegal” drug charges that are discriminately enforced against black people and for white people.

We believe in protecting the rich and punishing the poor

1 billion tons of pesticides used in the u.s. alone

Russia

Over half the prison population are incarcerated on “illegal” drug charges that are discriminately enforced against black people and for white people.

Private

Bees butterflies

Before I tell you what happened....

I will go to court this week to face the violent white man stranger who punched me in the face a year ago. He is pleading "not guilty" and the d.a. is going ahead with the trial.

Here is the piece I wrote after he battered me:

Before I tell you what happened, I have to tell you who I am

I am a strong womon, a womon who does not cower, a womon who confronts bigotry

Before I tell you what he did, I have to tell you how I stand in the world

I stand tall on Mother Earth, her black richness absorbed thru my feet, (my feet rooted in her black richness) my being flowing from the womyn who came before me, the womyn who are here, the womyn who are to come

Before I tell you the story of violence, I have to tell you the story of survival

I am daughter, granddaughter of survivors of the Holocaust; I am the survivor of the isms: racism, sexism, anti-lesbianism; I am the survivor of my husband’s violence

Before I tell you the story of my husband’s violence, I have to tell you how I ended it

His angry footfalls booming warning up the outside stairs; my baby, three weeks old, whisked off hidden in the bedroom closet, begging her not to cry; the square, aluminum-clad electric frying pan filled with steaming sloppy joes, the red arrow purposely being twisted from warm to high.

Before I tell you what he did, I have to tell you how I would not allow it to happen

I face him, no longer pregnant, my very being now directed from protecting the life inside me to protecting me … 43 years ago

Before I tell you what happened today, I have to tell you who I have become

I am a womon who does not allow men to touch me, let alone to make me weak

I am a womon who calmly, with fear morphing into courage, faces white violence, male violence, all violence; a womon who watches for, challenges, dissipates, undermines even, violence

I am a womon who chooses to be me in the world, despite the pervasive hovering dominance of white & male violence

Before I tell you what the violent white male stranger did today, I have to tell you what my violent husband did then

He swept my wooden broom resting in the corner next to the metal garbage can, into his huge, angry hands, advancing towards my back as I slip the plug out of the frying pan and with my two determined hands, grab the handle and whorl around to sling our now boiling dinner, his favorite meal, at my seething husband.

I am a womon whose 19 years old self, no longer pregnant, defends herself with scorching hamburger bits and blistering blood red sauce, slung, not onto the advancing fuming face of the man brandishing my broom, but at the last second, diverted to fly millimeters left of his head.

But it is enough, the hot pungent mixture grazing an ear, splattering a U.S. Air Force uniformed shoulder, to splat sizzling into kitchen corners and onto the garbage can, not even slightly burning his body, but it is enough to lower his hands, to halt his hostile advance mid-step as he looks at me in shock when words fly with our dinner, you ..can ...not ..hurt ..me ..anymore.

I am a womon who does not allow men to hurt her; a womon who knows self-defense; a womon who puts circles of protection around herself, her child, her home.

Yet when the white male stranger stormed on his path toward me today, I did not even see his fist let alone fathom his calm willingness to casually haul off and punch me.

I wish I would have, after failing to block his blow, thought to stick out my foot and trip him smashing his face into concrete as he smoothly, safely, continued passed me into his house. I have amazing reflexes, but they failed me today.

I wish I would have jumped on his huge back and pummeled his round, balding head as he steadily marched across the sidewalk and then up the stairs into his house.

The police, when they arrive, assume he is my boyfriend/fiancée/husband/ex-intimate partner, my “other half” they say – assaulted once again, this time by a white male face infused with kind smiles and violent weapons.

“What did I do to provoke him” – this officer knows a million ways how to ask that question without using those words; my thinly disguised distain silences him:

·         ???My provoking dress: I’m wearing hot pink, “DISARM, DISARM, DISARM” boldly written in black magic marker on my tee shirt, front and back.

·         ???Lesbian provoking interracial provoking ‘couple’: black womonfriend, white me?

·         ???My provoking stance: I do not cower when he jumps out his car to threaten me, I do not lower my eyes and tremble when he bullies me, I do not remain silent when he shouts at me

·         ???CODE provoking pink: has he seen me on the news protesting marines, war, killing?

The officer ‘arrests’ him: i.e. he gets a piece of paper with an ‘order’ to appear at the jail…at his convenience…to be finger printed, photographed, given court date.

He punches a womon he doesn’t know & gets to get processed “at his convenience”; I get arrested protesting military recruiting of our youth, I get arrested attempting to protect our youth from the war machine, I get handcuffed & hauled off in the back of a police car to be detained in a jail cell after being photographed, fingerprinted, thoroughly searched, questioned, and info recorded.

Assaulted once again by a system that protects and values white male violence much more than my well-being.

Since I’ve told you what happened, I have to tell you how I stand:

I stand tall on Mother Earth, her black richness absorbed thru my feet, (my feet rooted in her black richness) my being flowing from the womyn who came before me, the womyn who are here, the womyn who are to come