Sucked into the Vortex of Hate
It will go on until everyone and everything involved is spiritually or physically expired
When I was living in New York, I would get frequent calls from my mother telling me not to go near certain places when she would see some news story about the city. “Don’t go to Times Square tonight, there’s a shooting.” Of course. “There was a train robbery in Brooklyn, are you safe?” Brooklyn’s a big place, Ma. “Did you hear what happened in the Bronx?” I barely hear what’s going on down the street.
So seeing all the news of Columbia and City College, I can hear her voice now: “Don’t go anywhere near those places.” Mother dear, you couldn’t catch me dead or alive at either of those campuses on a good day. Why would I go there to put myself in the line of fire against the fascist state? I am sympathetic to the students speaking out, but good golly, if I was studying at those institutions, I would have gone remote at the first sign of trouble. “Hey Professor, you and I both know the shit’s about to hit the fan, so I’ll watch tomorrow’s lecture about The Tortured Poet’s Department’s symbolism online…”
Is it out of touch? Is it reductive? Is it cowardice to not want to - at first glance - take sides? I’m on a side. I’m on the side of the kids and faculty at Columbia and CUNY and UCLA and Arizona and UT and Emerson and Northeastern and BU who just want to get through finals and another semester. I’m on the side of the Israelis and Palestinians and Americans who know the right thing but don’t want to get sucked into the Vortex of Hate. And I am - trust me - on the side of the students and citizens who meant to build a peaceful protest and encampment to speak out for an end to genocide and investment in Bibi Netanyahu’s brand of oligarchy and fascism. I’m certainly not on the side of the administrations or police or outside actors who authorized or carried out more escalations of violence against students, the media, citizens just trying to get home from a long day at work…
This is an empty statement. I get that. But the events of the past - what’s it been now - almost seven months have got me feeling that way about this whole thing. I’ve written before that I feel the situation between Israel and Palestine - and parties who sympathize with either side - will not end well for anyone, and it will go on until everyone and everything involved is spiritually or physically expired. History will call some of them martyrs and heroes and fighters. Oscar Wilde had a quote about martyrs: “Just because someone dies for something does not necessarily make it true.”
I’m probably messing that quote up but you get the point. Palestinians want to live in peace and reclaim the homeland Britain stole from them on behalf of the Zionist cause. Israel wants the right to exist and - so they say - remain a safe haven for Judaism in the world. Both things can happen. Bibi could resign and a more sympathetic Israeli leader could take power and begin negotiations with Palestinian authorities. Hamas could cool it the fuck down and let more reasonable heads work with Israel to create a real solution where both sides could co-exist. No one else has to die or put their body on the line. No one has to go to holy war about this anymore. We can see change and peace in our time. It is possible!
Nahhhh, you know what, on second thought, let’s just see how many more millions of dollars we can funnel into the pockets of the wealthy by killing innocent families and putting more kids in prison. That’s totally the best option. I think we should instill a culture of fear and surveillance into the citizens of the world while we’re at it. Why not make basic life necessities and education and housing less affordable for the common citizen while we’re at it? The bridge to Hell is paved with good intentions, but why not take a shortcut and jump off? Again, I know that’s not the saying.
Scattered thoughts on this grey Wednesday morning at the pond… I’m mostly focused on the story of how a lost song called “Ulterior Motives” was found after years of research in a 1986 adult film called Angels of Passion. I have a hunch that the song’s composer Chris Booth posted the clip himself and let the lost media nerds of the world go to town looking for it. But now everyone wants him to rerelease the song, so whether he was in on the joke or not, he’s going to make his dollar for sure.
And you know how the Internet loves to take things way too far, so I’m sure within the year we’ll see a remake of Angels of Passion, whether it’s a modern-day triple-X flick in the spirit of the original or a sterilized version which reads more like a Matt Farley film. The plot of the film - where three randy folks die in a freak accident and become angels who save lives through the power of the nasty - is a reminder that most adult movies are some of the finest comedy. Few understand the cinematography and art behind pornography… Don’t ask me how I know this. Frankly, I kick myself every day that I didn’t write my senior thesis in college on the subject. I think literary journals far and wide would have screamed to be the first to publish Behind The Money Shot: Common Themes of Adult Films of the Late 20th Century.
So, there’s some bad news and good news. The bad news is we’re all doomed and all systems of power exist to protect the wealthy and evil at the price of the Earth and all its creatures. The good news is we found a lost song in a forty-year-old skin flick. Oh, and the New York Mets - who started 0-5 and were called “rock bottom” at the beginning of April - have ended the month 15-14. Also, I’ve discovered that putting a little chili oil on a matzo pizza gives it just the right amount of kick.
It’s the little things that get you through the day.
As the semester ends for many campuses around America, a toast to all students: May you get enough sleep, may you pass your exams and finish your papers, and may law enforcement not storm and occupy your campuses under the façade of “public safety.”
(EDIT: Shortly after scheduling this post I saw that Marge Greene and Tom Massie - the two folks in Congress who hate being in Congress so much - are going to force a vote to kick Mike Johnson out of the House speakership. I have little to say about this except that I await the day they both start hawking protein powder alongside Pat McAfee and Mike Lindell.)