Thoughts on MDC and other American "political" bands

Subhumans show last night was great. Dick announced a Citizen Fish US tour as well. They'll be in LA in November of course, when I'm in the UK. Stiff Little Fingers too (though they're just doing the east coast and midwest).

Anyway, MDC opened and I wound up on the phone with J another 2 hours dissecting what exactly it is about them that I find so objectionable.

1) Dietary advice.
If you choose to be a vegan, good for you. If you are one of the almost non-existent percentage who manage to do it without also becoming severely malnourished, then I commend you wholeheartedly for looking after the needs of your body. The operative phrase here being YOUR body. Your body is not my body, and what works for you may not work for me. For instance, faced with the option of a bowl of rice and a skinless chicken breast, which is more healthy? Well, for me it would be the chicken. Why? Because my body doesn't process carbohydrates properly, and chowing down a big bowl of starch sends my blood sugar out of whack, contributes to circulation problems, and could result in such complications as loss of eye sight and organ failure. I'll take the chicken. I'm also a bit allergic to soy.

Do I believe in torturing animals for fun? No. But I do think its possible to be a responsible meat consumer.

Veganism isn't a catch all solution to solve the world's ills. Processed soy products have been shown (among other things) to shut down healthy thyroids and inhibit serotonin production, leading to mood disorders. The estrogen mimics in the most GM organism on the planet are having varied and possibly catastrophic effects on our environment. Many third world countries moving from livestock to grain agriculture also experience an explosion in hemorrhagic disease and other rodent borne illnesses, yet lack both medical care and vector control capabilities. Hundreds of thousands of small animals are maimed and killed by commercial farming equipment each year, to say nothing of the loss of habitat as it turns into arable farm land, and the dumping of chemical toxins into ground water. (Yes, I know forest loss is an argument against cattle farming, but let's remember it goes both ways.)

So good for you for doing the best you can for you and your world. I am doing the best I can for me and my world. This does not make me the personification of all evil.

2) Success is a sign of weakness and failure.
No, money won't buy happiness, nor will it buy spiritual freedom (though I think we've all seen enough examples recently that its a pretty good get out of jail free card). But telling me I can't be "free" because I'm financially secure, and that I should feel guilty for my possessions is stupid. You're not playing this show for free. If you have such a problem with my prosperity, give me back my $12.

I've done the homeless thing. I've done the starving thing. I've eaten my share of dumpster sandwiches, and I've fished pennies out of mucky gutters. I've got to tell you, it isn't all that liberating. Living like a starving dog and having to steal food or trash to get by is more than a little demoralizing, and what I want to do with my life is not hang around restaurants trying to snatch leftover food.

I have a job I love. I'm good at it, and I get to make my own hours more or less. I get free trips to Hawaii and decent benefits.

I also give money to the homeless or crust punks if they ask for it, because I'm not in a position to do so, and I remember.

Don't try to make me feel guilty, or denigrate me because I'm not still miserable.

Am I obsessed with money, and the pursuit of money? No. Do I say a little prayer of thanks every time I crawl into my bed, under my faux velvet blanket, snuggled next to my loving kitty? Damn straight I do. Being comfortable doesn't make me a bad person.

3) Kill the police
I'm putting this last, but this is the most important to me. I can not support anyone who advocates killing the police, especially when they reason that the police "aren't people".

Chickens aren't people either.

Do I love cops universally? No. Do I think the system as a whole is open to corruption and needs some serious re-haul. Of course. The current system in place more or less guarantees a police force that attracts uncreative sadists. Does the LAPD in particular have some serious issues that need immediate addressing? Yes indeed. May Day Melee, fatal shootings and on and on. None of these things are right.

But advocating the murder of another person because you don't agree with what they've done, or worse, what their colleague has done is a dangerous road. A cop hassled you once, and now you say kill all cops. If a Mexican is mean to me, do I get to advocate killing all Mexicans? Do I get your ardent support?

Suddenly I've crossed a line. Now I'm racist.

So who decides who's "people" and who isn't?

Yes, there are bad cops. There may even be a lot of bad cops. But I know some individuals in law enforcement, and I've worked with some of these people in the course of interning with the EMTs in Worcester, and there are some honestly good people out there who are doing the best they can to help people. There are also people who are there because they know the system is wrong. They know the system is broken, and they are doing their small part to make things a little better.

And that's more than I can say for you, MDC.