six-demon-bag-blog

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Summer on the balcony.

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One of my favorite live performances of all time finally got restored, so the video doesn't sound like crap anymore, and what a great cover. Put on your headphones, turn up the volume, and forget about everything else for a few minutes.

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Happy 7th!

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Amidst all the back and forth about the Confederate flag, there have been a lot of references to a quote from Vice President of the Confederacy, Alexander Hamilton Stephens' Cornerstone Speech, simply stating the cornerstone of the new government would be the "great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition". I've also seen a claim or two saying it's taken out of context, so I decided to read the actual transcript and I can now say with confidence that's not the case. But he didn't stop there. He went on to criticize other civilizations that incorporated slavery for doing it wrong-- whites were enslaving whites-- and dedicated much of the speech to the notion. As far as the flag in question goes, sure, it isn't actually the flag of the Confederacy but it was used as the flag for those opposed to giving black people civil rights. So I still have fond memories of The Dukes of Hazard but I can't say it's any less understandable that people would be offended by the flag painted on the General Lee than it would be to find the Nazi flag offensive even if it was painted on the sweet ride of the lovable heroes in a popular TV show. I know it goes deeper than that; I'm just saying. History is relevant and the ugly parts don't go away when they conflict with our nostalgia. That said, I did find one intriguing proposal in the speech, that presidents would serve one six-year term with no option for reelection. "It will remove from the incumbent all temptation to use his office or exert the powers confided to him for any objects of personal ambition". I have to admit I don't hate the idea even though the extra two years might be terrible in certain cases. Anyway, have a look if you like. It gets juicy starting with paragraph 10, "But not to be tedious...".

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Dino “Fuck I almost cried...” Suitable music for the infuriating imagery and video footage.

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Oh no, there goes Tokyo Go go Pridezilla

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“who you gonna trust when the killer is the cop” “thought that you were safe but nobody ever was”

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We (white people) need to get off our defensive high horse and realize the racial equality movement isn't so much about us personally, or even our generation and is more about how explicitly racist policies from the past have evolved and landed us here. It is, however, on us to accept what's really going on and try not to let it continue. Our social classes are divided by more than just work ethic or state of mind and this piece from a few years ago provides a good example if we can bring ourselves to give thought to something that doesn't reinforce our preconceptions.

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@algierstheband

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Having intentionally ignored politics and world events in my youth because I didn't trust our political system or any other and assumed my vote had no meaning, I now feel guilty as a repeat of historical tragedies and the kind of oppressive, authoritarian government I only associated with other cultures now feel like a very real threat. I was of the mindset that history would likely repeat itself no matter what and chalked everything that ever happened up to human nature. Simple. But as events unfold and the rights that make up the foundation of this country continue to be taken for granted, I am seriously concerned and can no longer lean on that as an excuse to do nothing. It seems we would rather ignore corruption under the guise of preserving peace than consider the possibility that democracy as we know it is in danger of collapsing and fight to prevent it from happening. Pride has its upside and downside like anything else and it's scary to see our reluctance to look past ourselves make us willfully ignorant of the struggles of others and the state of the world. We downplay racism (sexism and other isms too) and even resent claims that it is a real problem under this notion that they demean our own personal struggles. Then we make quick emotional judgments that only reinforce our ignorance when civil unrest occurs after racism rears its ugly head, all the while clinging to the idea that we can't be held accountable for what our ancestors and others did without bothering to look deeper to get the whole story. I'm no sociologist but it seems logical to prepare for some very hard times ahead while we continue to invest more in the escapism of entertainment and the bliss of ignorance than in the patience and vigilance needed to truly understand those we don't immediately relate to or want to relate to and perform our duty to keep our government in check. I think it's important to really think about less savory times, people, and places, and remember what happened once can happen again, and what happens there can very well happen here if we let our pride trick us into thinking we're above it.