Living in coronavirusworld 92: Election Day

6/23

I did

Malcom and Dr. King

at Wadleigh

Election day. Even in a pandemic, we vote. I walk around the corner and go to my polling place, Wadleigh High School, where the daily  free food distribution is.  I notice that two new  portraits have bene added to the  lobby. One with Malcom X and Dr. King and the other with two women I can’t identify.  I go to the gym and find my place and cast my vote for Bernie Sanders  and the delegates who are pledged to him. Even though Joe Biden has secured the nomination, it is neverthelesss important to sends delegates to influence the platform to be as progressive as possible. I  pick up some food and head home. 

Most of the day is spent working on strategy for the Presbyterian General Assembly and planning  for my concert. I take my daily walk through Morningside and enjoy the heat and sun. I’m in a bit of work cave or tunnel right now.

I’m worried about Seattle and it’s “autonomous zone.” Two shootings over the weekend seem to have forced the authority’s hand. The shootings upset me. Even though Washington is an open carry state, I don’t understand why they allow guns inside the zone. But then, how would they enforce a ban? Like Occupy, have they so quickly discovered original sin?  Now the city wants to clear the zone and the occupiers don't want to leave until their demands are met. It worries me. 

And I don’t understand what’s going on with protestors and the statues. They seem to have become true iconoclasts. Out of solidarity, I generally try not to criticize protests. But pulling down union soldiers who fought slavery, pulling down Gandhi? Trevor Noah on the Daily Show said he was afraid to stand still at a cross walk. I don’t get it. It’s too early to have reached the French Revolution stage. And I continue to not even be sure who’s doing what for what reason.  The disappearance of truth, even fact from our society  is disturbing.

And several governors seem to have decided to screw it and just not worry about how many people die than do what’s necessary to protect public health. Hospitals, critical care units are reaching capacity. 

During this quarantine, I’ve become a real fan of the National Theatre in London. Their excellent Frankenstein, Streetcar Named Desire , Official Barbershop Chronicles and Small Island have all been quite good. They mix classics and contemporary, but even more so, given the current global response to black lives, are streaming productions that explore post-colonial racism in England. Last night I watched Small Island, their dramatization of Andrea Levy’s prize winning novel. While quite complex in terms of relationships, it goes right to the heart of the issue by following lives of Jamaicans who fought for England in the Second Word War. The integration of British troops as opposed to segregated American forces gives them a false impression of what they  will find in immigration. The dream of a “golden life” quickly meets harsh reality. Getting a deeper understanding of the global reach of this Black Lives moment is valuable.