snippets of the fireball in my belly

[questioningit]

so apparently imogen heap is going to be in milwaukee wi in october - and i think i'm going to go... *gigantic smile screaming and doing a happy dance* imogen heap fucking rocks. she is brilliant. i saw her on some late show a few months ago but i've been listening to her stuff for years...with the exception of the frou frou thing she did briefly

Comments

[asibikaashi]

ooh! it would be amazing to see imogen heap live... i've been a fan of hers for years, too. my favorite album is 'i megaphone'. so good.

i can sincerely appreciate that riled up feeling... here in regina, politics are lacking to a point that leaves me incredulous. luckily jake moves in subversive, countercultural crowds, but even in those groups i am overwhelmed by a sense of apathy. which i don't blame anyone for; this space could certainly squelch the most active of activists. but it's not gonna get to me! i'm still appreciating my time here as a sort of vacation, and i'm prowling around enjoying the art & scenery, and engaging folks in challenging conversations - racism is rampant here. jake & i have been daydreaming about the idea of traveling to various unconscious communities, small towns etc and getting everyone all riled up with new political ideas, just spearheading something radical & revolutionary... like planting a seed; and then moving on to the next town. it gets me excited.

[questioningit]

i know! i'm so psyched. the concert is actually in december, but i got tickets last weekend. i megaphone is definitely my favorite, too!

what types of racism have you run into there? how is it embedded? that's sort of what we've been asking with the diversity circles here..challenging the roots and the stereotypes, encouraging humanization.

"and i'm prowling around enjoying the art & scenery" -i've been doing that a bit here recently. yesterday my friend steph and i went and got some coffee at a local coffee shop and went to this art store that consisted very much of a hodge podge of thrift-finds and recycled-treasures. we ran out of time, but there are two other thrift stores we want to check out right around the corner, and an art musuem a couple of blocks away. fun!

[asibikaashi]

well, most notably i have observed extreme racisms towards people of first nations ancestry & african-american individuals. the former is so severe, it isn't even considered racism... the statement "i'm not racist, i just don't like indians," i have heard too many times. i'm a part of the local freecycle community (are you familiar with freecycle?) and we got into a heated debate, as everyone here seems to be very much against affirmative-action, and throw around bourgeois terms like "reverse racism" (which makes me cringe every time i hear it). i keep running into people who are willingly oblivious to the history of canada & the usa, and all of the wrongs done toward the first nations people. as for the latter, i am a very friendly person and generally smile & make eye contact with every person i see on the street. what is unnerving is that any person who is not white tends to get excited about this & stop to talk to me, as they aren't used to being smiled at by white people. which of course makes for good conversations, but breaks

[questioningit]

wow, that's blatant racism alright. eick. here it is often couched and it has taken me awhile to pinpoint exactly how: people talk about something they don't like about someone- and if the person isn't white, their race is mentioned. it makes me sick. as if someone's race has anything to do with the particular personality traits they have.

i actually have mixed views about affirmative action. affirmative action only does so much: it changes the appearance of workplaces so that they look more diverse, more representative of the population they serve. what it doesn't do is change the attitudes people have about race or challenge stereotypes or encourage people to value diversity. -which is what is needed to successfully rid racism and other forms of discrimination. i think affirmative action needs to be redesigned ...and as usual, education is muchly needed. what are your thoughts?

[mediaanarchist]

I know what you mean- tonight my dad mentioned that we only have to worry when they start telling us how to worship- and I thought- isn't that what nationalism is? religion with a different name. i think the people who get really fanatical are the ones who actually would describe themselves as "American" as a primary identity. plus I think they sang "you're a grand ole flag" a lot in school. I'm so tired of living with Fascism.

on a plus- totally jealous about imogen heap! have you seen her before? I haven't yet, but I heard she's amaazing.

[questioningit]

yes, fascism is exactly what it is

[mediaanarchist]

So true! Have you read, "Lies My Teacher Told Me"? It's so crazy how from early childhood we are brainwashed into not questioning what we are told.

IMO, the purpose of civil disobedience is to raise consciousness of the systems we participate in without thinking about our actions, as well as to challenge the systems themselves by refusing participation. I think any action that could be civil disobedience still has merit if it goes unrecognized, but to truly be civil disobedience it must satisfy both requirements. So not standing up when the national anthem is played could be civil disobedience if it disturbed the environment in which it was being played, but it isn't necessarily an effective action.

[questioningit]

I've heard so many good things about "Lies My Teacher Told Me"...and I desperately need to read it!

i really appreciate yr answer. in a class we were discussin two sides of civil disobedience -from the perspectives of thereau and stavrianos. stavrianos basically says civil disobedience is a threat to democracy and without democracy we will have chaos. however, under democracy, individuals theoretically should have the power to challenge the systems in place..so, i was thinking about thereau's refusal to pay his taxes which certainly raises consciousness about the systems we participate in without questioning. at the same time, i couldn't figure out how that action challenges the system..what it is going to change. and i think yr right, those challenges are key to civil disobedience that is essentially productive/effective.