More from UMC General Conference 2008
Please feel free to visit the General Conference site. I haven't transfered my complete video of the protest - action yet but will as soon as I may. It isn't ideal because I filmed from on the floor (as part of everything) and got everybody walking in and out again, but the middle doesn't reveal much.
It's a hard time here and we're all pretty freakin' tired.
And we're doing a pretty good job supporting each other.
And I perched on the shoulders (almost literally) of the two primary, radical paternalism operatives near our section for several hours, which frustrated their attempts at covert communication and was pretty satisfying. Got lots of pictures for my own education documenting who talks to whom so I have a better idea how their energies flow.
And we have so little counter-subversion infrastructure that any coordinated strategy that might include their tactics is almost impossible. We SO need an ongoing justice-action group that works together at a professional level year 'round and is very prepared for GC.
And there are wonderful, heart-overflowing, faithful and trusting people all around.
And we've eaten WAY too many free cookies.
And
and
nd
Brandon
P.S. And BOY am I'm going to sleep when we get back. And eat a huge bowl of salad for every meal for a week.
A more full report will appear here and inside the Epworth wiki when I have a moment to write it.
For now - images...
Labels: conference, daily, Methodist
| posted by Brandon @ 5/01/2008 07:01:00 PM
A brief post from the United Methodist General (International) Conference in Fort Worth TX
I'm worried I don't know enough to be able to help beyond running errands and posting media.
I'm also worried the radical "right" is allowing removal of some exclusive and demeaning language as a calming tactic to draw focus away from Constitution level amendments, structurally de-funding "progressive" Bishops, and trying to combine our area with Texas so the inclusive, freedom voices get lumped in with MANY fearful others who will then vastly outnumber and effectively silence us. "They", whoever that is, distributed mobile phones (see below) to African delegates with a list of people for whom they should vote. VERY disturbing but even more so the denials that anything inappropriate was afoot.
Also participating in some excellent actions, marches, and prayerful interventions from the GLBT crowd. Feels vunderbar to get lumped in (by all sides) as "one of those people" because I'm wearing their colors/uniform.Getting no writing done. Just some research. Sick for the first two days here and laying low at
Mom's. Now better but in danger because not enough sleep and extremes of temperatures between WAY excessive air conditioning and outside marching.Doubts arise following gifts of cell phones
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By Linda Green*
April 25, 2008 | FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS)
Delegates and church officials attending General Conference are wondering if democratic processes have been compromised because a renewal group provided some African and some Filipino delegates with cell phones.
The Renewal and Reform Coalition created myriad conversations among delegates, church leaders and visitors after they learned that the Confessing Movement, Good News/Renew, Transforming Congregations and UMAction provided free cell phones to more than 150 African delegates to use during the General Conference.
Some delegates and officials expressed concern that the coalition is trying to sway the votes of African delegates who are typically more conservative than their U.S. counterparts. They fear the coalition might use the phones to offer suggestions on how to vote on particular issues.
An April 23 letter from the coalition announces the cell phone give-away as a service “that might be helpful to delegates.” That letter also invites the delegates to a “free breakfast” where they can have “fellowship with other like-minded delegates,” and receive “information about the important issues that are coming before the conference.” The letter concludes with a request that they consider voting for a slate of members for Judicial Council.
"It is very important that we elect people who will be fair and who will uphold the Book of Discipline,” said the letter. “The coalition is supporting a great group of persons who are diverse in terms of culture, ethnicity and gender. But all of them are united in the belief that the Bible is God's word and that we must maintain biblical standards for theology and morality."
Bishop Felton May, interim top executive of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, found the cell phone gifts “surprising and puzzling. I would like to have an answer to the rationale. The last paragraph (of the letter) intrigued me in that there was direction given in relationship to the election of Judicial Council."
Rob Renfroe, a member of the Confessing Movement and a coalition member, said the cell phones were provided to give the central conference delegates the same access to communications and material that U.S. delegates have. "We thought the gift of a cell phone would be beneficial."
Crosses the boundaries’
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The provision of cell phones "crosses the boundaries of what is appropriate in this kind of community, and I hope that it would cease," said Bishop Kenneth Carder, a professor at Duke Divinity School, Durham, N.C. Everyone, he said, needs to trust the integrity and the autonomy of a democratic process. "This seems to be an undue influence and violates the very essence of what it means to be Christian community."
A joint monitoring team from the Commission on the Status and Role of Women and the Commission on Religion and Race said the giveaway “is inappropriate behavior and it destroys community. We have gathered for Christian conferencing, which requires trust, honesty, openness and respect. Whenever there is an imbalance of power relationships with the expectation of reciprocity, this behavior gives the appearance of paternalism, manipulation, exploitation and of course, racism."
Jim Winkler, top executive at the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, said some renewal groups have journeyed across Africa "providing deliberately distorted and inaccurate information to African United Methodists." He views the distribution of cell phones "in the context of a pattern of manipulation of the African delegates, and that is what really, really troubles me.”
However, Renfroe said it is "demeaning to the African delegates to think that a gift of a cell phone would change their vote." He said the coalition is showing hospitality to many people who have traveled a great distance to attend General Conference. "They are highly educated, aware of the issues and supremely principled in their beliefs, and to think that the gift of a cell phone would change their view is demeaning to them."
‘No strings attached’
The Rev. Tom Lambrecht, chair of the Renewal and Reform Coalition, said his group was “deeply disturbed by the charges that are leveled by the various church leaders.”
“We find the charges to be totally outrageous, and we lament the fact that no one who is making these charges contacted us to share their concerns or to ask for an explanation,” he said. “We find this to be a violation of the covenant of holy conferencing.”
Rose-Marie Jalloh and other delegates from Sierra Leone received cell phones. "There were no strings attached to the cell phone," she said. "We appreciated it because it was a gift for us while we are here. We will use it to call friends in the United States. I do not know if it will work when General Conference is over."
"The African delegates are mature people who make value judgments," said Liberian Bishop John Innis. He wants General Conference delegates to know that the African bishops have not encouraged the cell phone gifts for their delegates. "We want to be very clear about that. The delegates are mature people who have read all of the material sent to them regarding General Conference and read all petitions and will vote their conscience.”
James Harris of the Liberia Annual Conference found the receipt of a cell phone helpful in communicating with his colleagues and committee members. "It is a great help for me." He asserted that there were no conditions related to receiving the phone. "We were told that the phones are to be used for local connections in the United States and to contact my fellow delegates."
"They did not give us conditions. It was free," said Rosen Mwenze, a delegate from North Katanga. "We were given cell phones to use for the time we are here."
But Abraham Sellu, an East African delegate, declined a cell phone because he did not want to be lobbied. "Coming here, you see a lot of people outside giving you papers with agendas up their sleeves." He said he was told during April 23 orientation that there are strings attached to gifts given during General Conference. "Not knowing much about who was giving me this gift, I refused to go for one," he said.
Gifts raise concerns
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The giving of cell phones exclusively to people of color outside the United States raises some concerns about racial paternalism. Early colonialists used the same sorts of tactics -- giving of gifts with intention for self-profit or gain in some sort of way, said Erin Hawkins, top executive of the church's Commission on Religion and Race.
"My hope is that the white leadership of the church would be mindful of the actions in light of the history of exploitation of people of color in this church. I hope they would not willingly engage in any sort of behavior that would undermine the humanity of people of color whether they are in the United States or other countries," she said. “This action of giving cell phones to buy or manipulate people can be interpreted as a return to that sort of racist behavior."
Lambrecht said that was a misconception. “The cell phones were not given exclusively to people of color; they were to be given to any central conference delegate who had a need,” he said. “It just so happens that out of financial necessity and technological situation, most of the recipients were people of color. And we felt like we were doing an act of kindness to people to make them feel welcome” and to enable them to participate on a more equal basis.
The Rev. Alex Vergara, president of the National Association of Filipino-American United Methodists, described the gift of cell phones as "vote-buying” and “bribery.”
"We believe everyone has the right to advocate (his or her) position to other people to gain the latter’s favor. But this giving of gifts is nothing but vote-buying, which is a perversion and abuse of a democratic and sacred act,” said Vergara.
“The hospitality that we offer should be the hospitality that is offered to everyone.”However, Lambrecht said the gifts were given with “no expectation on our part. … No questions were asked on our part, and we find no difference between our giving of these gifts and the gifts that are given by general boards and agencies and other groups to the delegates of General Conference.”
– M. Garlinda Burton
He said the implications leveled by the church leaders were “completely untrue,” as well as “hurtful and destructive to the building of community.”
Bishop Gregory Palmer, president-elect of the Council of Bishops, said he was saddened if any group is attempting to influence the votes of delegates in "an unhealthy and manipulative manner. That grieves me for the whole church." He said people have a right to their own opinions and perspectives and they may share how they will cast their vote; however, the sharing should be done in a way that makes it clear the gift is not given in exchange for a vote.
“The hospitality that we offer should be the hospitality that is offered to everyone,” said M. Garlinda Burton, top executive of the Commission on Status and Role of Women.
*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Linda Green, e-mail: newsdesk@umcom.org.
Phone calls can be made to the General Conference Newsroom in Fort Worth, Texas, at (817) 698-4405 until May 3. Afterward, call United Methodist News Service in Nashville, Tenn., at (615) 742-5470.
Labels: Christianity, conference, Methodist, politics, religion
| posted by Brandon @ 4/26/2008 04:18:00 PM
I owe an apology. It has been months since I recorded the 3rd Annual International Women's Peace Conference and agreed to bring this woman's plight to the attention of as many as I can. I have only now been able to transfer the video and load it to the web. Sorry, Lucy.
Lucy Semeiyan Mashua was born on March 19th, 1978 in Illassit, Loitokitok a remote village in southern Kenya. She is from the nomadic tribe of the Maasai people and is fluent in 10 African languages as well as English and speaks some French and Arabic. She graduated in 1998 from the International Central Management Institute and holds a degree in Hospitality and Public Service specializing in Communications. In 1999, Lucy was the only Kenyan at the time to qualify as an international radio broadcaster with the Voice of America (VOA) radio. Lucy has lived in eight African countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Somalia, Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo engaging in social and political activism. In 1999, at the age of 21, Lucy became an activist, speaking out against the subordination and abuse of women, and became a mobilizer of peaceful demonstrations. In September 2003, Lucy was the head of Public Relations and Media at the 13th International Conference on AIDS and STDs in Africa (ICASA) held in Nairobi, Kenya. She has also volunteered with the International Somalia Rehabilitation Association (ISRA) helping to organize the 2006 International Women’s Day in Baidoa with the Ministry of Gender and Family Affairs in Somalia. She has been on the forefront of the fight against governmental corruption and the misuse of funds in Africa. Her activism soon put her life in danger. Eventually, she had to flee her homeland, leaving behind three young children. In 2006, Lucy came to Dallas seeking asylum. Today, she lives in Grand Prairie and is fighting to gain her asylee status. She is now a member of the United Nations Dallas Chapter. At the age of nine, Lucy could not escape the deep-rooted tradition of female genital circumcision and was forced to undergo the procedure. Then three years later, at the age of 12, she was forced to marry. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a controversial practice that violates several human rights laws set into place by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. While speaking out against the genital mutilations performed on girls in her native Kenya, she has faced strong resistance from people in her tribe. She has even had to hide her family for fear of reprisals. Soon her eight year-old niece whom she has adopted as her own daughter will have to endure the procedure. Relatives are keeping her children safe, but she hopes someday to bring all her family members to the U.S. As a result of her horrific experience, Lucy is now fighting hard to stop the tradition of female genital mutilation. She wants to establish rescue camps for girls in her country. “I want to be a voice for the voiceless,” she says. “I would like to start an organization here to help with this,” she said. She hopes that she can help end genital mutilation by raising awareness of the practice. As a survivor of torture, Lucy now speaks out on the following topics: Female genital mutilation, early childhood marriage, forced abortions, human rights abuses, and the abuse of women both physically and emotionally.
Labels: 2007, conference, FGM, international, peace, person
| posted by Brandon @ 11/25/2007 10:18:00 PM
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Communications
With that said, they charge the usual appendage ($15/24hrs) for high speed access. I'm coasting on whatever nearby networks I can, occasionally coffee shops when I'm not on duty, and my posting will be spotty, as in Beam Me Up, spotty. Also my Canadian roaming on Verizon is the magical .69 cents a minute, so my phone is disabled and spotty communication all 'round.
BMC UserWorld 20071030-1102
at Vancouver Convention and Exhibit Centre or see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Convention_&_Exhibition_Centre
Conference Recording Service cohort:
Abraham Haviv, arriving October 30 and departing Nov. 2nd.
Julia Harrell, arriving October 28th and departing November 2nd.
Lou Judson and Coleen Burrows, arriving October 30th and departing Nov. 3rd.
We took over the "Servery" on the 2nd level (floor plan here, if you are interested), a service kitchen in the midst of one block of rooms. We are running:
- two wireless receiver racks belonging to BMC
- one block of rooms (17-20) wireless in the rooms but hardwired to our recording station
- two rooms into Zoom H4 mp3 recorders
- three ballrooms into Marantz mp3 recorders and
- running backup analog cassettes to the all rooms on the 2nd level except those going to the Zooms
I may write more here later about our joys and concerns during this gig. The BMC A/V crew has one less member than 2006 at the SF Hilton and are suffering from one internal relational issue having to do with a boss feeling profoundly ill informed by a direct report and spending a bunch of time increasing everyone's tension and being crotchety. They are ill prepared, especially compared to last year which was SMOOTH, and didn't know how they were going to mic the rooms until long after we were ready to start laying recording XLR cable. More later, maybe.
Almost always, my Conference Recording Service gigs double as research into the development of the Process Arts (thereby justifying the inclusion of this work in Association Building Community's "Saving Sounds" budget line) because the forward edge thinkers who speak are on the wave that doesn't know it reflects an entire discipline yet. Most luminaries in "progressive" work are calling for a process shift from what we make to working with how we make it, thereby indicating this "new" field. CRS' annual work for BMC might seem incongruous because it is right up next to Big Business' income-yoked Bottom Line. But it too is a part of the Process Arts and doesn't know it. BMC's primary products track work flow and how just about everything gets done, thereby drawing everyone's attention to the Process by way of their profit motive. Fascinating windows onto the doorway to the Normal business world and also the potential shadow of the Process Arts as a whole.
Friday and Saturday evenings I had the pleasure of listening to Kristian Alexandrov (keys), Leslie Mounteney (vocals), and John Nolan (drums) perform live jazz at the Hyatt. It was indeed a pleasure.
The Unit
I can't help but reflect on teamwork, etc. when I am engaged in any group activity. One of my favorite playwrite/writer/directors is David Mamet. I'll list his achievements another time but I read or see anything he creates and have included him in my dissertation. Recently I've been watching his TV series (never thought it was possible he would shift this far into TV) called The Unit, a counter-terrorism drama based on Eric Haney's book Inside Delta Force. The word I would use to describe Mamet, not because it is True but because it is apparently characteristic, is "uncompromising" and he works with people who also carry the mystique that accompanies that word related to character, integrity, and honor with a major dose of post-modern realpolitik and con. Fascinating to watch myself watching it and listen to my thoughts as I wonder into the choices made. It draws me into feelings of power and fantasies of purpose even as I sit, physically inert, participating in the video medium.
Labels: Canada, conference, daily, travel
| posted by Brandon @ 10/29/2007 03:17:00 PM
Parked at 3pm on Friday, stolen at 5 or 6 pm, reported on discovery Saturday evening, much lamented...
On Monday I went to get a parking permit for the Honda so we might get and put a rental car in its place in the garage where it won't be ticketed for existing on the street in Berkeley. The Parking Enforcement people asked "Do you know you're other vehicle has a ticket?" I said "Hot Diggidy!", was made fun of roundly by the clerk for sounding like a hick, found out where the ticket had been issued, ran down the street to activate the cops and walked to meet them where the van was parked, five blocks from my house. The Bad Guys sorted our stuff and removed the expensive stuff they wanted, but left the heirloom silver pitcher from my grandmother Craig and the van in working order with only minor damage. I'm feeling VERY glad to have Serenity back, have purchased a brake pedal lock anti-theft device, and am most grateful for all your support during the crisis.
Fall is officially here. The shorts are being switched for sweaters in my closet and I need a jacket every night as I walk in the neighborhood. Ahhh. Birthdays and other new beginnings galore. Intense memories. Aidan's Birthday on the 23rd was particularly difficult. Spent it alone as much as possible, which was very good. Not looking forward to December.
Richard Page and I went to D.C. this month to record the International Forum on Globalization's Teach-in addressing the "Triple Threat: Climate Change, Peak Oil, and Extinction." The weather was unbelievably beautiful, we drove back and forth in cabs, and came back alive, against all expectations. Throughout we avoided employing any false solutions to the big three. We traveled in no hybrid vehicles, generated no nuke-you-lar power, and shipped no house-pets to feed children in the Amazon. OK, well, there was that one pig we sent back to Equatorial Guinea only to discover he wasn't from there originally and that we had created another displaced person, of sorts, but you can only do your best, after all.
I was called on the carpet at the National Gallery.
To enter it is required to stop at one of the long tables that blocks every door to the outside and interact across said table with security guards who will ask questions and prod in bags with a garden variety dowel or other arm length stick of their choice.
After being in the building for some time we needed to get to the cafe. I approached a nearby security detail and, stepping up behind and between them, discretely inquired as to which direction we should go. They leaped to the side like John Cleese in Fawlty Towers and the younger of the two insisted "you are on the carpet!" Not sure about how to take this revelation I looked at the floor.
There was, as he insisted, a carpet there.
I was, not to put too fine a point on it, on it.
Not wanting to unsettle him too much further I became agreeable.
"Yes I am!" quoth I.
Said he in reply, "You can't be on the carpet, sir!"
Reluctant to gainsay him I could not prevent a certain downward glance as I observed in all honesty, "Nevertheless, here I am."
"Step off the carpet, sir, and come around to the side," said he.
Moving the 1 1/2 feet required I asked him again where I might find the cafe.
Regarding me with great suspicion, he pointed in a direction that turned out to lead, eventually to the vicinity of the cafe.
By the time we arrived it was closed.
I had been called On The Carpet and, to be sure, I had been.
more later...
"The heightened period for order occurs from age two to three. The child will close drawers, move chairs, put things in their proper places. The child's sense of external order is black and white and he is disturbed by changes (and other David Bowie songs, the Sensitive Period for Glam Rock occurring much later in the child's development)."
Labels: conference, conflict, daily, season, travel
| posted by Brandon @ 9/29/2007 03:55:00 PM
Load shift
Her Montessori training moves forward apace and I find the renewed nearness of that pedagogy existentially reassuring in a way that is both pre-rational and post-literate, by which I mean it is a supportive and nostalgic reminder of the innocent world of my childhood and comforts the reflective consciousness of the adult activist working for education and thereby understanding beyond the functional literacy required to read traffic signs and draft notices and calculate and pay taxes to fund empire building wars.
During the conference I felt particularly impressed with
The Gund Institute for Ecological Economics
University of Vermont
and
Earth Economics
I'll see what I can do about a lengthy podcast featuring these guys.
- Monday - fly home.
- Tue with Iris, taking a free Gears class at the Missing Link bike co-op so I can begin working on our new modes of transport, and preparing for the BDay party Wed night.
- Wed. working all day with Jim and then the party.
- Thu writing all day!! and then lovely training at AiBerk.
- Fri apt. and administration tasks (money, bills, etc.) then writing.
- Sat I teach the new Basics class at AiBerk.
- shrimp and manchego croquettes
- charcuterie including house-made pork terrine and duck pâté
- jumbo crab cake with tasso ham, fried okra (the only let-down), sweet potato, and crawfish coulis
- pan-roasted moulard duck breast, plums, duck ham, rapini, gastrique
- and a bottle of lovely Beaujolais I can't remember more about just now.
Labels: conference, CRS, daily, travel
| posted by Brandon @ 8/29/2007 02:32:00 PM
My earlier post dwelt mostly on the politically motivated demagoguery during the Women's Peace Conference that put me in mind of the contemporary devaluing of authentic criticism. This post attempts to range more widely and tell more of my experience of the event as a whole.
The event began with a ritual in which dozens of women (and men) carried a flag from each of the entities with U.N. recognized sovereignty and led the group antiphonally intoning "May Peace prevail in _______" for each. My mother represented the Maldives and was a bit mortified at not knowing how the country's name is pronounced. Everyone followed her lead loyally, however, wishing that Peace might prevail in Mald~..*_s. Despite the conspicuous absence of the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, the whole thing was rather moving.
Dr. Nia MacKay buslted about being a most effective Director of Communications for the Conference, and took care of everyone in grand style. At one point I had the pleasure of saving the day for an Israeli delegate named Hagit who had not brought her laptop and could therefore not show her presentation. I overheard an advocate for her telling the story of her dilemma and finally offered to provide my laptop for the length of her presentation. Later she came by and graciously thanked me, after which we entered a conversation about the Conference and it's worth, during which she insisted on teaching me that there is no need for teachers. This oft repeated lesson is almost always appreciated.
Dr. Patricia Dodd from Brookhaven Community College found herself hanging out at the CRS table and blowing off steam on the first day. She had submitted a paper for consideration to present and had been sandbagged, she believes, because it made no bones about the ethnic cleansing in progress in Palestine. The Conference organizers decided in advance that they would exclude and discourage talk about the war against the people of Iraq and the current activities of Israel. This they couched in terms of being "non-partisan" which, of course, makes her irate, as she spend time in the middle east on a semi-regular basis and feels pretty alone among folks who talk about peace and then stay home.
After Betty Williams expressed her ire (see previous post) several women in the power structure stomped around as though they had received a personal affront. I suggest that nobody involved is stupid. A significant quantity of the middle aged, white, wealthy women at the helm (it is Dallas after all, and that is how moderately "progressive" things most often get done) are more and less aware of strategy and tactics, and more and less identified as activists. They knew, as they chose to be "non-partisan" and quash certain voices that every laureate would speak against the atrocities the U.S. is committing under the banner of the agenda abbreviated as "BUSH." Betty Williams was followed by Jody Williams who beat that drum as well, not till the skin was peeling back but sufficiently to let everyone know where she stands. I don't agree with where they drew their line but I'm certain it was consciously scribed.
One of the highlights in my experience of the conference was my interview with Sharon Welch, who outlined several of the more vital points of my dissertation during her keynote. If you'd like to hear it click "POSTS" on the Gcast player on the right and chose "In the Midst with Integrity"
Here is a list of authors mentioned:
The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace by John Paul Lederach
The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative (Indigenous Americas) by Thomas King
Manifest Manners: Narratives on Postindian Survivance by Gerald Vizenor
Also my mother introduced me to Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, from the South African Peace and Reconciliation process. Lovely woman with whom I'd love to speak more about her take on the psychologies of conflict currently in vogue.
Peace laureate and candidate for the Presidency of Guatemala, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, was a pleasure to hear, if done a profound disservice by mistranslation during her keynote.
Local guitarist, Christopher McGuire, presented an amazingly virtuosic classical guitar concert, in beautiful counterpoint with the next evening's performance by Sara Hickman who has always been a favorite of mine. In the "Blast From The Past" category, I ran into two regional theater actors from my past at the Dallas Theater Center, including Pam Hoffman who directed Tall Texas Tales and was one of my children's theater instructors even before that adolescent success.
Finally, it was my pleasure to speak with and videotape Lucy Mashua. A Kenyan who "has worked for African women throughout her life on the issues of female genital mutilation, early childhood marriage, forced abortions, human rights abuses, and the abuse of women...has worked with the International Somalia Rehabilitation Association and is a member of the United Nations Association Dallas. I will post the video to YouTube and here as well so she can use it to appeal for greater attention for her work and the women and men she wants to reach. I'll bring this post back to the top of the blog when that happens.
This post took some time to complete and is out of chronological order as a result. After the time it needs to be the lead post I will return it to it's original place in the vicinity of 7/17/07
Labels: acting, activism, audio, conference, CRS, Dallas, peace, video, walkabout
| posted by Brandon @ 7/22/2007 10:25:00 PM
We have a dilemma that is so obvious as to be almost past the point of mentioning. This necessitates mention because that kind of obvious is a next door neighbor to "that's just the way things are". I worry lest the other ways that have made us who we are (free speech, open dialogue, etc.) fade mostly into the past and personal attacks, which once upon a time marked a public figure as a desperate lightweight and not worthy of attention, fall into the place of everything that once was reserved for public and foreign policy.
It is Wikipedia which notes that "A pundit is, in contemporary English, someone who offers mass-media opinion, analysis or commentary on a particular subject area, (most typically political analysis, the social sciences or sport), on which they are presumed to be knowledgeable. As the term has been increasingly applied to popular media personalities lacking special expertise, however, it can be used in a derogative manner. Pundit is also a slang term for politically biased people pretending to be neutral."
According to Richard Page, when he was recording a massive gathering for peace in Berlin during the 1980s, Huston Smith was reported as being a Moonie because he had defended their right to practice their faith. He was invited to go on the air in East Germany to respond and said that their right to practice their faith is guaranteed in our Constitution (implying he was just being a faithful American) and to construe from his statements that he is a Moonie would be like saying the Dalai Lama is a Communist because he supports communist people's right to govern themselves as they wish, while objecting as strongly as possible to their attempts to govern his people in spite of their wishes. The next day's headlines read
Last night at the 3rd International Womens Peace Conference in Dallas, where we (Assoc. Building Community) are audio and video recording "progressives" in progress (thanks to continuing work with Conference Recording Service), Nobel Laureate Betty Williams allowed as how violence is a choice. She lamented every pointless and horrible death on 9/11 - all 3,000+ who perished so needlessly in the Twin Towers, and the 35, 615 children around the world who died that day without notice or remark. She then talked about the responsibilities of a Nobel Laureate to stand up and tell the truth and to live with other folks' expectations. She drinks, smokes, and swears a bit and so tends to shock people who hear "Laureate" and expect Mother Theresa. It seems to her that it is easy to talk about Peace when, if you mean what you say, you should rather be living it. She is so frustrated with President Bush she'd like to kill him but obviously hasn't and made quite clear she doesn't mean literally. "How do you kill somebody non-violently?", she asked, to clarify the dilemma of keeping the natural response toward violence in check.
For a clip from my original source of what Betty Williams actually said please click on the Gcast player to your right. If you can't see it right away click on POSTS.
For a complete CD of the original recordings - audio CD or video DVD - visit conferencerecording.com and search "betty williams"
So, most of our (Richard, Lisa, and myself) today was dominated by tense running around by the more conservative upper-middle class white women who were very put out that Betty might say such a thing. One, on an errand to get a copy of the recording from us to deliver to the media, decided her time was better spent elsewhere and demanded "just give me the damn tape" when it became clear we didn't agree with her. Her main error was moving to dominate us before she actually had the recording in her hand. Later we spent hours working with Chris Salcedo (http://cbs11tv.com/topstories/local_story_193220448.html) of Channel 11, the Dallas NBC affiliate, to dig out some footage from our raw video masters. The video of the newscast from our footage is here. http://cbs11tv.com/video If it is not immediately apparent search the (if it bleeds, it leads) headline "I could kill Bush"
The issue is both honesty and flexibility of thought. Instead of talking about any of the very newsworthy things Ms. Williams said, which continue to escape coverage in most corporate media outlets, those whose power and income flourish in the presence of fear literalize and thereby purposefully misquote an obviously metaphorical but nonetheless weighty comment. This condescends both to an international public and our domestic body, dulling the potential for further authentically critical thought in the future out of habitual exposure to obvious spin for its own sake. This has ever been one of the most egregious of crimes on the part of public figures from Greece to our contemporary Capitol. Flim-flam doesn't have to be the rule. It can be the exception. Only We the People can insist on it. Call and write your purveyors of media.
Again wikipedia...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demagogy
Demagogy (Demagoguery) (from Greek δῆμος, "people", and ἄγειν, "to lead") refers to a political strategy for obtaining and gaining political power by appealing to the popular prejudices, fears and expectations of the public — typically via impassioned rhetoric and propaganda, and often using nationalist or populist themes.
Labels: audio, conference, conflict, daily, peace, polis, politics
| posted by Brandon @ 7/12/2007 09:35:00 PM
Anyway, I'm exhausted and just starting the Weill Nutrition and Health conference in San Diego.
And I'm wanting the integrative practice of blogging since there is so much simply happening at light speed without the opportunity for public reflection. Dilemmas galore.
Labels: activism, conference, CRS, daily, spiritualigion, work
| posted by Brandon @ 5/13/2007 12:11:00 PM
