April 21, 2022

Beyond the Valley of the Vallow

"I spent 20 years in prison, in a hell hole where people everyday tried to strip me of my dignity. I did nothing to be there. .... I did not belong there. Because I refused to follow their rules, I spent 10 of my 20 years in solitary confinement -- 6 feet underground, 5 slices of stale bread a day. I was stinking and starving. There was no morning, noon, or night -- just different shades of darkness. Hate took over everything." -- Rubin "Hurricane" Carter


My older son and his girlfriend visited. They talked about their workplace. She said, "It's really dysfunctional, but people ave adjusted, and the work gets done." This reminded me of two things: first, Erich Fromm's classic 1955 book, "The Sane Society," and second, one of Rubin's friends in Rahway State Prison, joining Carter in atalk with an amateur boxer who was angry and prone to hateful responses to his surroundings. Fromm's book details how difficult it can be for sane people to navigate in an insane society. Rubin and his friends would expand on their efforts, to create what became Rahway's "Scared Straight" program. The angry teenager listened to Carter's advice, hung up the gloves, and went on to become a sociqal worker. (Indeed, I used a modified "Scared Straight" with the help of my brothr-in-law, who worked at a correctional facility, when I worked with teens.)

Communities can reach a level of dysfunction when there is widespread issues of violence, poverty, drug abuse, and other problems. That dysfunction multiplies in force when a percentage of people experience what is known as shared delusional thinking. I do not think it is the long arm of coincidence wrenching itself out of socket to hold that we passed that point when Donald Trump got elected president. Most of us have family, friends, co-workers, and/or neighbors who, when it comes to politics, are as delusional as, say, Lori Vallow Daybell is about religion. Thus, in my opinion, we find ourselves existing in a dysfunctional society at this time. Our collective response will determine if we plunge further into an insane society.

Rubin's friend Tommy spoke of how when a person first enters prison, and a system different than anything they have previousle experienced, they tend to behave in a certain pattern. At first, the observe how that system operates. Soon, they adjust their behaviors in a manner that provides some degree of safety in an unsafe setting. And then, they become part of that sick system. That change in their behaviors becomes entrenched, thus explaining why rates of recidivision is so high upon their release. Dysfunction has become ingrained.

A significant percentage of republicans -- including people you and I knew as decent, rational people -- now are inhabiting the Valley of Vallow, where delusional thinking saturates their being. And, again, our individual and collective response will determine the future.


"Every 15 days we were allowed to take a shower, and every 30 days we were given a physical exam. During one of the checkups, I walked by a mirror. I saw a grotesque image. I saw the face of hatred, a monster, and that monster was me. I realized that Iwas not hurting them. They were hurting me. Hatred and bitterness only consumes the vessel that holds it." -- Rubin Carter

Back in 2001, after listening to Rubin speak at Binghamton University, a professor there asked a friend to ask me if I could get Rubin to add a chapter to a book she was writing. She had been raised in a brutal household, and the emotional scars that remained were extremely difficult for her to deal with. The quotes I am using here are from Rubin's contribution to her book.. He began with his thoughts on pain as a part of suffering, before talking about the amazing writings of Victor Frankl about his experiences in a concentration camp.

Frankl's writings played an essential role in Rubin's transformation, from a hostile man wrongly incarcerated, to becoming free. He knew that this would demand that he forgive those responsible for his incarceration -- the two convicts who were pressured into lying about him, the three cops who planted "evidence," and the prosecutors, judges, and juries. "I had to first forgive myself," he wrote. "I had to understand the conditioning. People are not born hating others or themselves. Their hate did not have to become my hate. ....

"... I came to an understanding of who and what I am. Like Victor Frankl wrote about concentration camps, I realized that prison provided me the tools to become all that I could be. I was able to seize the opportunity to use the horrible conditions to find something above the law. I had an opportunity to go on an anthropological expedition into an unnatural laboratory of the human spirit."

When a single piece on a mobile hanging above an infant's crib shifts, the other pieces must also shift. As Rubin changed, he found that those around him changed as well. It was a slow process, of course, but came to include not only those around him in prison, but also his circle outside of prison. This included members of his circle being motivated to uncover evidence that would be used in his final appeal -- including some from that former angry teen turned social worker. Rubin would attribute his winning in the federal courts to his transformation as a human being.

Few of us will ever be confronted with the type of circumstances that Rubin was confronted with. Yet, he could relate on a personal level with the issues the university professor was dealing with. He told her that, "ro forgive yourself and your parents, you need to understand that you too are a machine. I am no different, you are no different. There are no saints. It is the way we were created. We are all savages on this earth. We are as much of a machine as your lawnmower. Your reactions are the same as mine or anyone else's. But you have the ability to wake up. That's your salvation. Somehow, some way, you have to get over it."

Rubin used to tell me that every day we are alive on this beautiful, living earth, is a miracle. He also recommended that I move my family up near him in Canada, because he thought the United States resembled the crumbling empires of the past. Yet he believed that the good people in this country had the ability to transform it into a more perfect union, but that this would require a significant number of citizens to "wake up" (not to be confused with the misused "woke" we witness today). This was not some type of "religious" hokey-pokey, for Rubin viewed most "religious" leaders as charlatans. It was his belief that human beings were the highest level of unconsciousness of the earth, capable of becoming the earth consciousness. To transform the severe damage humankind has done to what we call the environment in recent centuries. And that this transdormation is on both the individual and group level.

April 16, 2022

Peace

'You can gain reconciliation from your enemies, but you can only gain peace from yourself.'
- Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter


The "spring peepers" were busy singing their song before the sun had set. Their chorus is a sure sign of good weather to come, although the next few nights are sure to be cold with a full moon rising. There are always three freezes after their first song before one should plant the earliest of garden crops, and this weekend marks the third. This is one of the teachings of the Elders, from the distant past.

As the dog and I venture down to where the bran once stood, we are followed by two cats, a rooster and a hen. Some crows signal that we are on our way, as others consume the sunflower seeds that have fallen from the bird feeder. The Plymouth Rock rooster is no fan of the crows, and he overtakes the dog and I as he engages in his rapid waddle towards the crows. He is surely a modern, if miniature, tyrannosaurus.

The barn was not like those of the dairy farm variety still seen on the New York State rural landscap. It was the much smaller, "family farm" type common in the first two-thirds of the 19th century. The ground floor for a few cows in the winter, the second floor for their hay. The barn burned 70 years ago, and that area has now become wooded. A very old water pump is still there, and I've asked my son to pull it out so I can transplant it as a decoration in my garden. He stops here most days to train for the finals of the NYS Golden Gloves, and I told him that moving the pump for me is a great way to get in shape.

The dog loves to dig holes in the dirt, as dogs do. The soil is black, not only from the fire, but from decades of plant growth and decay. I think back to my father telling me about his father teaching him a lesson from the Old Sod about the need to enrich your garden's soil every year. Dad said that as a kid, his father had him bring soil from the delta where smaller streams intersected with larger ones. When I taught my sons this when they were young, they asked why Grandpa didn't just buy Miracle Gro?

As the sun sets, two Pileated Woodpeckers fly in, one appearing to chase the other. For the first sixteen years I lived here, a pair lived in the huge trunk of what had been an Ash tree. In its shadow grew another Ash, which judging from its size was a century old. Yet the remains of the dead one were even larger. The woodpeckers had converted it into a home with an amazing number of entry-and-exit holes, and raised their young each year. But after sixteen years, the old tree trunk fell, and the other tree died and fell, too. Most of the Ash trees on my land have died, due to the emerald ash borers. No more pileated woodpeckers until this year. I note that I will not have to buy so much mulch and bark chips now.

Being outside brings me inner peace, although I have to check for deer ticks when I come inside. (I recently got over my 4th bout with Lyme disease.) I have become reconciled with the fact that I have to take various precautions that were not part of my life in the past. I recently came upon a recipe for a non-toxic recipe for a tick reellent, but checking for them remains essential when coming indoors, I recently found.

I cannot find inner peace by watching/reading "the news." Or engaging in discussions or debates with other members of the human race, either in person, on the phone, or on the internet. I am solely responsible for finding my own inner peace. And, without it, interactions with others is of a far lesser value. This I know as well as I know the back of my hand -- or the front of it, for that matter. And I know that right now, as I write these words, that these difficult days make it a much harder struggle, and not only for me, but for many -- if not most -- of the Good People trying to make it a better society. I know that if many more of us do not make conscious efforts to find that inner peace, that the disturbed people will continue to poison society with the fears and hatreds of the Trump cult. That is something I think about as the November elections approach.

Peace,
H2O Man

April 4, 2022

April 4, 1968

The above film is of the speech Dr. King gave the night before he was murdered. This is something that I meditate on each year. I think it is especially important at this time in our nation's history.

March 31, 2022

A Televised Trial

Is anyone watching the Michael Barisane trial on the Law & Crime Network?

Michael was a horse trainer of note. He was unhappy with a lady with horses on his farm, and both had been in contact with lawyers. Michael opted to avoid the potential for a civil trial over their disagreements, by shooting Lauren Kanarek twice in the chest.

She survived, and has been on the witness stand for parts of two days. The prosecutor is doing a solid job. The defense attorney is frustrated, because his client really has no way to excuse shooting the woman. Hence, Barisane appears to be trying to convince the jury that he is legally "insane" with his behaviors at the defense table. It should be interesting when the defense puts on its case.

March 28, 2022

Bright Shiny Things!

Look over here!

No!!!! Look over there!

Or, another option is to not be distracted by bright shiny things. As the Civil Rights Movement's saying recommended, "Keep your eyes on the prize."

Just my opinion.

March 26, 2022

Beyond Good and Evil

“Madness is something rare in individuals — but in groups, parties, peoples, and ages, it is the rule.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil


I am not comfortable in agreeing with Joe Scarborough as a rule. Thus, when he said that he agreed with Mark Meadows' text that the effort to overturn the 2000 presidential election was "good versus evil," but that Meadows was on the wrong team, I was stunned. Was it possible I agreed -- kind of -- with Mourning Joe and Mark Meadows? Or was I actually experiencing the dreaded LSD-25 flashback that teachers warned us about in the 1960s? Was I confronted by Jimi's haunting question, "Is it tomorrow, or just the end of time?"

As if that was not horrible enough, I then heard that Virginia "Ginni" Thomas had urged Meadows to make Sidney Powell "the face" of the effort to steal the election. I was aghast! More, Thomas almost climaxed when Rudy delivered his oil-stained address. Great googla-moogla! Powell and Giuliani! Still, it is Donald Trumps pre-carcass mug that is the actual face of the insurrection. I was not slipping into a Nietzsche-like madness. It was today, at least so far.

The past few days have provided evidence that the attack upon democracy and reality continues. Watching the Senate hearings with Ketanji Brown Jackson made that clear. It's not, of course, as if a old white male nominee by President Biden wouldn't have faced attacks by republicans. But this is worse. My cousin questioned why a core group of republicans was focused on child pornography? I said that Ted Cruz may have conflicted reasons for doing so, but the others were sending a loud dog whistle to those who believe the Q-anon stories about Democrats running a child sex ring. I was pleased to see an old forum friend saying much the same on facebook.

Speaking of the decomposing ex-president, add his "genius" Putin comment to the mix. There's little doubt that Putin, like Trump, is a very stable genius who knows more than his generals. His invasion of Ukraine indicates that, at least in Trump's mind. But make no mistake: many in the Trump cult admire Putin. They just aren't quite stupid enough to say it publicly. Instead, they attack a lady who they know frightens the grass ruts of the Trump cult -- Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Imagine if you will the thought processes of one who respects Sidney Powell and admires Virginia Thomas. This is the type that views Marjorie Taylor Greene and the para-Sarah Palin, Lauren Bobbitt, as representing all they love about America. And this type demands that their Representatives and Senators compete with the Odd Squad in saying and doing things to stir that pot of madness that Nietzsche spoke of. The type that just ain't comfortable with the thought of a highly educated, capable black woman being in a position of power. So facts be damned, those republican Senators did their best to smear her with innuendo to connect her to the sex trade of children that Q-anoners subscribe to. And that is dangerous.

The madness being unleased upon Ukraine had many good people questioning how it could happen in Europe in 2022. I suspect that this includes people who wondered how January 6 could happen in the United States in 2021. We have an advantage over the people from Ukraine who are suffering. We still have elections, the January 6 Committee, and the rule of law -- imperfect as it times seems to be. But we have to recognize the importance of working between now and November to promote Democratic Party victories. We need to support those working at various levels to keep the barbarians in check.

March 17, 2022

Water Falls

"... So out there in this pristine, shall we say, land where everybody wants to go and see and be for a little while, that's the beauty of a place and sometimes, there's people there who are so unintrusive that you don't even see them. They've acclimated to the place. They live there with it as part of it. And that's the people who have a knowledge."
-- Faithkeeper Oren Lyons, Onondaga Nation; Interview with Bill Moyers; 1991.



When we moved into this house in 1995, some of the few nearby neighbors stopped over to welcome us. I learned that another, who lived across the road, had lived in the house some seventy years earlier. His name was Fred, though my four year old daughter called him "Old Fred," convinced he was the character from the Beatles movie "Yellow Submarine." As Fred was in his early 90s, I don't think he minded.

I rarely saw Fred outside, and when I did, he was usually walking home after spending time at the waterfalls. A c0-worker at the mental health clinic had grown up in the neighborhood, and so I asked her about him. She said she knew his children from school, but could only remember seeing him a couple of times. "He's a hermit, you know," she said. "And he has been for a long time.

Soon, I began taking produce from my garden to Fred's door -- not frequently enough to be a pest, but to use those opportunities to ask him about local history. Eventually, he became comfortable answering my questions. I remember one winter's day, after a significant snow storm, he and I were shoveling out our mailboxes, along with a couple neighbors' which were next to our's. When he took a break -- being in his 90's! -- he explained that as a young man, he learned local history from the old men, born after the Civil War. In turn, he said, they had learned from the old men before them.

Fred remained a hermit for his remaining years, but seemed to enjoy talking to me and granted full access for us to swim at his waterfalls across the road. His only request was that we leave no trash, something we would never have done anyhow. He told me how he used to camp out next to the falls when he was young, because he loved the sound of the flowing water.

This reminds me of conversations that I had over the years with another elder when we sat near creeks and streams. Onondaga Chief Paul Waterman told me about how, as a kid, he liked to sit on a hillside and drink spring water as it gurgled from the ground. That was something my late brother and I did as kids, when we took breaks from clearing stones from the hillside pasture -- after clearing brush.

One night, Paul's daughter told me that he had suffered a stroke, and that I should visit him in the hospital the following day. I was expecting the worst as I made my way to his hospital room, but was happily surprised that he was awake and talking to several nurses. As we talked, I thought I'd do an interview with him for a newspaper I wrote for. I wanted people to learn from another point of view not often even mentioned in the mainstream media. In time, I would do four interviews for publication that I thought were pretty darned good. More, my supervisor at work -- a former English teacher -- said that they represented the best record of a past era that the current society needed to read and understand. I will include a few things Paul said that may relate to these troubling times.

In the first interview, keeping in mind the quote from Oren, I asked how long the Onondaga had lived here? "The first words spoken by my people were the names of the alligator and of the turtle. How old are these animals? And how long have they lived here, on this land? We have ceremonies with dances where these animals are involved. Think about that, and you'll understand how old the Onondaga are, and how long we've lived here."

As the year 2000 approached, a lot of people were concerned that Y2K would cause wide-spread computer failures, resulting in a global crisis. I asked Paul about this? "Listen: if the Creator wants to bring dinosaurs back, they'll be on your front lawn tomorrow. And if he wants to end the world, he will."

At a time when many religious people were praying for divine intervention, I asked Paul what he thought? "Be a good neighbor. If my garden is ready before yours, we should share mine now, and yours later. Too many people don't understand the power of sharing. You have to rememmber that all of the earth is the Creator's garden, and he shares it with us. That's why I say that sharing is divine intervention."

The last question of the final interview was about what message he had for readers? "Live. Don't be afraid to live. We can live through this.

"I did reburials at the Penn Site. Germ warfare killed them. At the Bloody Hill Site, it was small pox. Some of the burials were of parents and their children. They were holding hands. That seems to happen when germ warfare kills families.

"But we are here today. It's our turn to live now. And if you're reading this, it's your turn as well. Make the most of it. Enjoy your family."





Since a number

March 15, 2022

Man and Superman

"The art of government is the organization of idolatry." -- George Bernard Shaw; Man and Superman.


Four people stopped at my house yesterday, and two so far today. The number one topic is the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, and the destruction and suffering it has caused. Some think it is time for the US, NATO, and/or the United Nations to step up and protect the people of Ukraine, while others are convinced that would lead to another "world war." Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, of course, and mine includes some of the social dynamics that I've commented on here on this forum for years. Let's take a look.

Sociologists recognize three basic types of leadership: traditional, bureaucratic, and charismatic. Since traditional leadership was found primarily in pre-industrial societies, we can focus on the other two as we compare Putin and Zelenskyy. Putin is, by definition, a bureaucrat. He is a specific type, who believes in exercising autocratic power. Reports indicate that he has been isolated -- likely to avoid Covid -- and that seems to have amplified his Cluster B personality traits. In some troubling ways, Putin has begun to resemble a severely disease villain from a James Bond film in real life.

People recognize that Putin is a bully, prone to making threats, yet his statements about nuclear weapons have to be taken for something that has, at least on some level, crossed his mind. Still, it is important to understand that bureaucrats -- even the blustering bullies -- tend to follow the processes of the bureaucracy they head. Thus, if Putin continues to be frustrated, he will place blame on those just below him. Like Trump, he will then select benvh players to replace them. And that contains some real dangers.

If he becomes more paranoid, especially if he thinks the US and NATO are actively assisting Ukraine, creating problems for the Russian military, he would be more likely to attempt other forms of wardare than immediately using nuclear weapons. That includes a number of options, from attacking the grids of the US and NATO countries, to perhaps resorting to biological wardare in Ukraine. There is no way to predict if the Russian military and intelligence would go along with this. It becomes more likely they would remove him if he demanded nuclear attacks.

One can only speculate at this point, but I think that Putin's time as the idol Shaw describes is running out. The planning of the invasion of Ukraine, while extremely brutal, has not gone as expected. Things have gone a wee-bit differently than in the past conflicts that Putin has been involved in around the borders of Russia. The sanctions that the Biden administration has led the global community to place on Russia are far more intense than Putin expected. Putin did not expect 20,000-plus miltary and medical volunteers from distant lands -- including Canada and the US -- to travel to Ukraine to fight the Russian army. He did not anticipate the condemnation of the global community. Instead, he thought the invasion would solidify the reputation he seeks, as a feared superman. But he is now exposed as a vile little man.

Contrast that to the law school graduate turned comedian who became the president of Ukraine. Is there any wonder why Putin wants Zelenskyy killed? For Zelenskyy, who has an above average grasp of bureaucratic systems, was elected with 73% of the votes. He stood his ground when Trump attempted to strong-arm him. And he has transformed into the most charismatic leader in the world as he leads the fight against Russia. Unlike Putin, he has not sought the safety of isolation far from the conflict. Rather, he has become the voice of the Ukrainian people, expressing their thoughts, fears, and desires. Again, the complete opposite of Putin.

Throughout history, charismatic leaders have been compared to shooting stars that create a bright but brief display of light. Many have been killed by enemies, others by former close aides, while very few have reached old age. However, it seems possible, perhaps even likely, that Zelenskyy will survive longer than Putin. And that, my Friends, is Putin's biggest fear -- that if the Russian people were able to access accurate information, that they, too, will demand democracy.

Peace,
H2O Man

March 2, 2022

My friend came to me .....

Apologies if this type of information has been posted already. A friend contacted me about supporting the people of Ukraine. It is great that the US and European countries are providing support for the military of Ukraine. I think that there are a lot of people like myself who want to do something. My friend said the group in the below link is a good resource for doing so.

Thank you for your consideration.


https://ucca.org/

February 28, 2022

Batter Up

Years ago, my father asked my brother and I to assist him in the basement. A rat had literally broke through the cement floor, and had taken up room in the pool table. When we had it trapped in a corner, it quite literally attacked my father. I used a coal shovel to remove and eliminate the threat. I found myself thinking of that corner rat today while looking at Putin.

Now, although the Russian attack on Ukraine came as no surprise, it still made me feel sick when I saw coverage. I felt sick all day. Since my head injury three years ago, I have not experienced "anger," and am disappointed that my doctors said that emotion is unlikely to return. I decided to test that, by reading and watching a number of things on Putin.

This included "old" stuff on youtube. Some of those -- including several from other countrie -- were very impressive in their analysis of Putin. Yet others, such as a speech by John Mearsheimer, were very wrong. Now, John has been called "the most influential realist of his generation. On many issues, he has great insight. So, how could he be so wrong, while others were right on target, when it came to Putin?

I think the answer is thus: John thought entirely in the context of geo-politics among rational human beings. Intelligence sources include psychological assessments of various world leaders. I thought of my 2020 series of three interviews with Dr. Bandy Lee about Trump, his spporters, and finally the likelihood Trump would instigate violence if he lost to Biden. How I've been saying that Putin is the sociopathic thug that Trump dreams of being, since hearing the "genius" bit. So my primary focus was on listening to assessments of Putin that blend military and psychological concerns.

In between, I watched news updates, talked on the phone, and communicated with people on the internet. I was pleased to know that my west coast brother had been watching some of the same reports on Putin that I have been. I'm confident that everyone has an accurate opinion of Putin, and just how dangerous he is. While the Putin invasion of Ukraine is not going as he anticipated, we must recognize that he might intensify the violence And he has access to terrible weapons.

The pictures and reports of his recent meeting with his gang were curious. The distance between him and them would seem to at least hint that he prefers some degree of isolation. I was reminded of a clip from the movie "The Untouchables," linked below:

The only difference is that Putin carries a bigger stick. He sees the public rejection of his war, not that he cares if people like him. He counts on instilling fear by killing critics. He wants people to be too intimidated by his threats of violence to oppose him. But it is evident that he has miscalculated. Government leaders are not fleeing -- they are taking up arms. The people of Ukraine are determined to fight. NATO is not divided. He expected that fear of him would play a decisive role, and that isn't happening.

We hear the the next 72 hours will be extremely important. Of course that is true, but this will not be over any time soon, unless Putin is removed. I hope someone near him steps up. I know that sounds harsh, but I think it would be best. Yet we have witnessed that those surrounding Trump were too cowardly -- and often too greedy -- to do so, and it seems less likely anyone in Putin's inner circle will step up to the plate. Thus it is likely that Putin will demand an increase of violence, in the manner of a cornered rat.